Arin powered her way back to campus, back to her dorm, up to her room, and to her desk, which she ripped open to pull out the business card, still flashing with lightning. 

Hesitation took hold. 

What are you doing Arin? You can’t really do this, she thought to herself and paced around her messy room. She could see the sleeve of her red hoodie, hanging out slightly from her wardrobe. That dumb hoodie started all this nonsense. 

She stopped a criminal in that hoodie—a real criminal. 

So what if she damaged a priceless car in the process? It wasn’t like anyone got hurt. 

That was one criminal. Not a supervillain, she told herself, still pacing. 

The sound of laughter from Michael and his pizza-shop-girl with the long-winded stories echoed through her ears—laughter which rang thanks to her. 

That guy’s phone might never turn on again because of you, she admitted to herself. So what if a guy’s phone was probably broken? At least his relationship was stronger.

Her computer loomed over her, still broken on her desk. There was no guarantee that her team would have won had she not accidentally blown up her own machine, but they definitely would have had a better chance. She owed it to her teammates to learn how to control this random power thrust upon her.

Above her computer, the last piece of a complex calculation sat in the dark corners of the shelf above her desk: the stolen textbooks. They represented a billowing debt about to be piled onto her for a degree she didn’t even want, to work a job she knew she’d hate. All to get out of the tiny, insignificant town she grew up in. But, if she could get out, help people, learn about her superpower, and make a small fortune when she accomplished it all…why shouldn’t she? 

She pulled out her cellphone and gripped it tight in her hand, muttering to herself about how stupid she was for doing what she was about to do. The flashing business card was hot in her hand, begging her just to punch in those numbers. 

And so she didn’t. Two at a time, she entered the numbers, then waited for the next lightning strike to hit so she could memorize two more. It really wasn’t the most convenient business card in the world. When she finally got all the numbers in, she smacked the call button on her phone before she could tell herself to think about it for one more second.

Her phone didn’t ring as she held it to her ear. 

Instead, 

Thunder crashed from behind, sending Arin halfway to a heart attack. She dropped her phone and jumped up from her desk, only to be met with the face of Dr. Rage, standing dark and tall as ever, somehow in the shadows even in a flat-lit dorm.