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There was a reason why the young heroes and heroines in books never had their parents around. It was always a magic boarding school, a secret summer camp, a solo trip to the big city. Connie Maheswaran, 14, knew well the reason. It was very hard to have a magical adventure with your parents around. She loved her mother very dearly, and never wished anything bad to happen to her like in those books starred by orphan kids, but often she wished she could like them have her own adventures without worries.
It wasn’t a far-fetched wish. She did have all the traits of a heroine, and they were part of her life whether she liked it or not. She knew everyone who first saw her wondered about the gemstone on her forehead, even when they didn’t ask. She was often too tired to tell once again about her mother - her other mother - who was a warrior from a distant planet, member of a race called gems, who protected Earth for thousands of years, before giving up on her body made of light to become half of her daughter, Connie, and that gem was all that was left of her, half of what made Connie who she was. She just said it was a gift from her mother - her other mother, the one who wasn’t there anymore - and questions ceased.
Her mother - her human mother - taught her to be proud of who she was. Proud of her heritage, on both sides. But not everyone had the patience to hear about light bodies and alien warriors. That was alright for Connie.
She learned that the gemstone came with other things when she was 12, when she saw the light on her reflection on the turned-off TV. Her gem was glowing. Priyanka, her mother, had freaked out in a way Connie had never seen before. The glow soon faded but her mother made her promise to tell her if it ever happened again. Yet, she didn’t answer any of Connie’s questions about what was happening.
Connie did the only thing she could think of: she went to Pearl’s, her other mother’s, friends. They were gems as well, so they must know, and they were more open about things than her mother was.
Her questions got her a history class from Blue Pearl, complete with holograms, a live demonstration from Yellow Pearl of how she could summon things from and store things inside the gemstone on her chest, and a few silly ideas of how to make her own gem glow again from Pink Pearl.
All was well until Priyanka found them on the beach and added the newest rule to the many already in Connie’s life: no gem magic until she turned 18. She wasn’t to try to use it, and she wasn’t even to ask the gems to show it to her, until she was “old enough”.
Connie wasn’t a fool. She knew the gems had some kind of mission on Earth, though they never told her the details. They were often on trips via the warp pad near the temple where they lived. She had heard many times that they protected Earth, but not from what. Whatever their mission was, she knew that her mother knew, and she knew that it was hers too.
Why should she be forbidden from learning about it, then? She was ready. She was not a child anymore. Even her powers were starting to show.
When she was 13, Connie first managed to summon a weapon from her gem, a white and ornate spear. She practiced summoning it in a clearing in the woods, away from the eyes of her mother and of the gems. With the help of some tubetube videos, she learned how to use that spear, the right posture and moves. Until she was confident enough with it.
Her life was full of secrets. She deleted her phone’s history every day just in case her mother decided to check it. She told her she went to the woods to meditate, and learned more about it so she could answer any questions she was asked. She never summoned her spear near her house, or too near the city. Her mother couldn’t know she was using gem magic in secret.
To be honest, Steven had been disappointed when his Dad told him he was retiring from the stage. His whole life, he had never seen his Dad as anything other than a rockstar. He would miss the road.
But part of him had been excited too. Greg Universe decided to settle down in Beach City, the same place where he did his first concert, and where he first met Steven’s mother.
Steven loved this story. About his father’s first concert, that had a public of only one person, his mother. Later that night, when his father was about to leave for his next show, the next city, his mother decided to go with him, leaving her whole life behind. She never looked back. And from their love, Steven was born.
Beach City was small, but it had everything Steven could wish for. The sea view was beautiful, and the new house had so much space compared to the van! The donuts shop had so many options and he felt like he would get along well with the people who worked there, and there was a statue of a giant woman sculpted on the cliff, and the mayor drove a van with a giant head on top of it. After a whole life of traveling from place to place, he felt like he wouldn’t mind calling this one home.
Steven had been living in Beach City for two weeks when he first saw her. He spent most of his time exploring the city or walking on the beach. This particular day, he walked to the woods near the city limits.
The girl moved almost as if dancing, if dancing could look that fierce. Each step looked carefully calculated, yet effortless. She stabbed her spear at invisible opponents one after the other.
Starry-eyed, Steven couldn’t help but applaud when she finished.
Startled, the girl turned around and pointed the spear at him for a moment, before lowering.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” She shouted, sounding half angry and half afraid.
“Hi, my name is Steven!” Steven introduced himself. “I’m new in town.”
The girl frowned at his extended hand. “I’m Connie.” She said, hesitatingly taking it. “You can’t tell anyone you saw me here!”
“Why not?” Steven asked. “What you were doing was so cool!”
The spear vanished from her hands. “It’s a secret, and it’s very important that no one knows about it. Please, promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
Steven nodded. “Okay. I promise.”
There was a moment of silence before he asked. “So, are you a superhero?”
Connie looked away, but her lips curled up. “I wish.” Steven gave her an encouraging look. “Maybe I will be one day. Like my mother. She was a warrior that used to protect Earth!”
“Really? That’s awesome!”
Steven spent the rest of that afternoon hearing to Connie’s story, paying attention to each word. He hoped he would be seeing her often from now on.