The Adventures of Amy Jeakins

Star Twins

Amy flew through the night sky. She was going home after defeating a dangerous villain. She knew Bethany had already gone home, and was probably already in her regular clothes, instead of her superhero outfit.

Amy heard a whistle from behind her. She turned and saw a girl about her age with orange hair and some sort of superhero-like suit with green and purple splotches on it, including a purple mask. The girl hovered in the air.

“Orange Hero!” the girl called, staying in the same place.

“Yes?” Amy asked, slowly floating closer.

“Funny I should meet you here. Big fan, by the way.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Just not of you,” the girl said, then laughed evilly, “That Coder was pretty cool, though. And Jacob Adderson, in Nebraska, was it? He was really smart, wasn't he?”

“Why are you here?” Amy asked.

“Oh, no reason,” the girl answered, “Except, of course, for your defeat.”

“Defeat?” Amy raised an eyebrow, “You really think you can take me?”

“No, why would you think that? We will!”

“We?” Amy asked.

“Yes,” said a girl from behind her, “We!”

Amy turned around to see a girl identical to the one she had just been talking to. Except, she noticed, the coloration of the suit was different. Where the first girl had green, this girl had purple, and where the first girl had purple, this girl had green. Even the girl's mask was the opposite color.

“Who are you?” Amy asked.

“Well, I'm Starlight,” said the girl with the purple mask, floating closer to Amy.

“I'm Starfight,” said the girl with the green mask, also heading toward Amy. Then they said simultaneously, “We're the Star Twins.”

Starlight, the one with the purple mask, lit her body up, as if she were a huge light bulb. Amy tried to use her powers to move Starlight away, but the blinding light made her not be able to see the girl. Amy closed her eyes to make sure she didn't go blind, keeping her from seeing the attack Starfight was preparing. A ball of fire sped at Amy and barely missed her, had a ball of water not put it out. The light from Starlight also dimmed, and Amy thought she heard a scream.

Cautiously, Amy opened her eyes. The Star Twins were fleeing. Amy looked behind herself to see a blonde-haired girl with a blue suit and mask standing on the sidewalk.

“Bethany!”

“Not Bethany,” the girl smiled.

“Sorry, Beth — I mean, Water Lass. Thanks for that. Her light . . . ”

“I know, Orange Hero. We better get back home. I could only slip out for a minute. Meeting tomorrow?”

“Sure. My house or yours?” Amy asked.

“Yours, please! I have too many snoopy siblings,” Water Lass answered.

Amy flew through her bedroom window, and she barely saw Water Lass surround herself with water and propel herself through the neighbors' window and into her own bedroom. Amy smiled, remembering the few days she and Bethany had been friends.

The next morning, a blonde-haired girl knocked at Amy's door.

“Bethany, come on in!” Amy said.

“Race you to your bedroom,” Bethany said, running toward the stairs. Amy glanced around to make sure no one was watching before flying past Bethany.

“I win,” Amy said after Bethany got to her.

“No fair,” Bethany laughed, closing the door. “So, who were those girls last night. I saved you, so I have a right to know, you know.”

“Alright, Beth. They said their names were Starlight and Starfight.”

“Okay, Amy. Do you know what they wanted?” Bethany asked.

“Something about my defeat, or something,” Amy answered.

“Well, that can't be good.”

“No, we have to stop them. Did you see what they could do?”

“Well, one of them seemed to be making herself shine brightly, and the other one almost hit you with a ball of fire.”

“That makes sense. They called themselves the Star Twins. Heat or flame, plus light . . . blinding light that I can't see past, if that makes sense.”

“Sure it does. Do you really have to see something to move it? I mean, using telekinesis.”

“Yeah, that's how it works for me. Sometimes I don't like . . . hold on a second.”

Amy stood up and opened her drawer. She pulled out her superhero suit and touched a small round thing connected to the shoulder. She detached it from her suit and crushed it between her fingers before she opened her window and threw it as far as she could, carrying it on with her powers until she could no longer see it.

“What was that?” Bethany asked as Amy closed the drawer again.

“Bug.”

“Bug? No one's done that before. Does that mean they know our . . . ”

“Secret identities?” Amy sighed, “Yeah, most likely. We'll need to stick together for this one. And be prepared. So it may be best to always have your suit with you, or something.”

“How did you know it was there?” Bethany asked.

“I don't know. I just had a feeling, I guess.”

Later that day, Bethany and Amy went out to walk Bethany's dog. They wanted to go to watch out for the city and see if they could find the Star Twins. While going down a street a few blocks away from their houses, Amy spotted an orange-haired and green-eyed girl their age walking toward them.

“Bethany!” the girl said, “How odd to meet you here.”

“Do you know her?” Amy whispered.

“Yeah. Her name is Chrystal Starr,” Bethany whispered back, “In fact, she's a cousin of mine, I think.”

“Chrystal Starr? She doesn't happen to have a sister, does she?”

“Actually, she does. A twin sister named Krista. They're really into astronomy. Do you know how many constellations they can name? Like, all of them! Then, if you let them, they'll talk about all of the stars in the constellations.”

“What was that?” Chrystal asked.

“Oh, we were just talking about the stars,” Amy answered, “They're really pretty, aren't they?”

“Yeah. Krista and I just love stars. We even made our own group with stars as the theme. Just her and me, no one else.”

“Wow, you two must really enjoy each others' company.”

“Yeah, we do. Plus, there are so many star-related things to talk about and debate. One time we debated the stars, using real facts and things we could see, for over two hours,” Chrystal said.

“You really know your stuff. What's your favorite star?” Amy asked.

“Well, I'd tell you, but I've been told Bethany doesn't like it when I talk about it.”

“That's very thoughtful,” Amy said.

“Oh, I just don't want to hear her complaining, that's all,” Chrystal explained. She pulled a small black thing out of her pocket and asked with a confused looked on her face, “Do you know what this is?”

“It's a — ” Bethany started. Amy nudged her.

“No, we have no idea what it is,” Amy answered, looking at Bethany.

“Well, I suppose the Orange Hero would probably know, wouldn't she?”

“Yeah, probably,” Amy said, “But she's not here right now, so I don't suppose we could ask her or anything, could we?”

“No, we couldn't. Looks like some sort of squished electronic insect or something to me, though. Do you know what it was doing over there?” Chrystal asked, pointing further along the sidewalk.

“No, we don't,” Amy said, “Maybe someone accidentally dropped it. Bethany and I should get back home now.”

“Hmm, maybe. Krista was going to meet me soon, though. I'd love for you to meet her. I wonder where she is. Maybe she needs a lighthouse or something to show her where I am. If only I had that.”

In an instant, Chrystal had a suit on her, the same one that Starlight wore, complete with the same purple mask. She began to rise and to light up, although this time it seemed to take longer. Amy tried to use her powers to move Starlight, but she had to look away from the light before she could. Bethany tied the dog to a crosswalk sign.

“Who are you?” Amy asked.

“You know who I am. And I know who you are, too,” Starlight said from inside the area of light.

“I don't know what you mean,” Amy said.

“Don't play dumb with me, Orange Hero.”

“What? Who are you accusing me of being?”

“Don't worry, your secret is safe. For now, that is.”

“I'm gonna go get help,” Bethany said, starting to run away.

“No, you're not!” said the other twin, landing right in front of Bethany. “We can't have you getting the Orange Hero's superhero friend, whoever she may be.”

Bethany stared at Amy and smiled. Amy grinned back. The Star Twins, no matter how deductive they might have been, still hadn't found out that Bethany was Water Lass.

“Starfight, flame cage,” Starlight ordered. Starfight nodded, stretching out her hand. Bars of fire appeared around Bethany, with a fiery top over her head.

“So, Orange Hero, how are you going to save your friend now?” Starlight asked.

“I don't know what you mean, calling me the 'Orange Hero', but I do know that both me and Bethany are going to get out of here.”

“Oh, really?” Starfight asked from behind Amy.

Amy looked at Bethany. She stared at her friend, then gave the tiniest of smiles, just for a second. Bethany winked at Amy, then turned around.

“So, what are you going to do with the Orange Hero after you defeat her?” Amy asked.

“Why must you refer to yourself in third person?” Starfight groaned, “I just hate it when people do that.”

A few minutes of stalling later, Bethany, dressed as Water Lass, stepped up next to Amy.

“What are you doing with her?” Bethany asked.

“Water Lass? How did you know we were here?” Starlight asked.

“Bethany told me,” Bethany answered, smiling.

“Ugh! Starfight, why'd you let the girl escape?”

“Sorry, Starlight, I thought she was right here,” Starfight said. She turned to Bethany and stretched her arm out.

“Oh, no you don't,” Bethany said, making water appear around the villain.

Amy stared at Starfight and used her powers to knock her into her sister, who turned off her powers. Amy then carried the twins up into the air, while Bethany made sure neither of them used their superpowers. Amy dashed for cover before coming back out wearing her Orange Hero suit.

Amy and Bethany together carried the two girls off to the police. Then Amy and Bethany returned to Bethany's house with her dog, hoping no one noticed they were walking the dog far too long.

“Did you have a good day with Bethany?” Amy's mother asked that night.

“Yeah, it was pretty awesome!” Amy answered, a smile on her face and a gleam in her eye, “The two of us make a pretty good team.”