Chapter Seven
January 15th, 2012
“Oh my god, Emma Stone is so talented,” Sara sighs, sprawled across Sesha’s bed while her sister packs her backpack for her return to NYU – she doesn’t have a dorm since her family lives in a duplex right in between NYU’s performing arts building and Stark Tower. “Like, did you see her in The Help? She’s so cool!”
“Ah, someone’s got a crush,” Sesha teases, going through her folders to remove unnecessary things.
“What? No! I just think she’s a really good actress,” Sara protests, her cheeks warming. Ah, the denial. The thirteen-year-old grabs one of Sesha’s pillows and hugs it to her chest. “Besides, I don’t have time for crushes. Too busy with training – I mean, studying.” Phew, that was a save.
Sesha pauses her packing, giving her sister a knowing look. “You know, it’s okay if you do. Have crushes, I mean. On whoever.”
“Akka, I know that,” Sara rolls her eyes. “Anna’s bi, remember? That whole dramatic coming out where you helped him set up that PowerPoint presentation?”
“Oh, yeah, that was iconic,” Sesha laughs. “Mom and Dad’s faces when he included that pie chart of crushes by gender was funny.”
“And then she just told him she doesn’t care who he dates as long as he becomes successful and the person he dates isn’t bad,” Sara grins.
Their laughter was interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by Harsha poking his head in, now sporting an undercut that their mother was getting used to, and Sara felt a little jealous of him for a bit – she never knew why. “Hey guys, Tony Uncle’s here. Says he needs Sara for some urgent lab work.”
Sara sits up quickly. Tony never came to the house unannounced anymore – not since she’d started training. What happened?
Downstairs, she finds Tony in deep conversation with her parents, speaking rapid Telugu. She caught phrases like “security concerns” and “increased activity” before they noticed her.
“Ah, there’s my favorite student,” Tony switches to English in a heartbeat. “Ready to help me with quantum computing problems?”
Sara knew better than to question the cover story – they never talked about quantum computing. “Yeah, let me grab my stuff.”
“Be back by dinner!” Arun called after them. “We’re celebrating Harsha’s internship extension!”
In Tony’s car, Sara waits until they are a few blocks away before asking, “What’s actually going on?”
“SHIELD picked up some unusual energy readings,” Tony replies, his grip tight on the steering wheel of his Audi convertible. “Similar to the New Mexico drama. They’re keeping it quiet for now, but…” he glances at her. “I want you prepared, just in case.”
“In case of what?”
“In case the world gets a lot bigger, very quickly.”
The training room had been modified since her last visit. New holographic targets hung in the air, and what looked like a combat simulator was in the corner.
“Your control’s good,” Tony judges, watching her warm up with basic forms. “But if something happens – fi you ever need to defend yourself or others – you need to be able to think strategically.”
Sara nods, falling into her stance. “Like Iron Man?”
“No. Like yourself,” he corrects. “You’re not me, Kuvi. You’re something new.” Though Tony felt it – she was almost a carbon copy of him. She’s literally his daughter. But Sara doesn’t know that.
They spend hours running combat scenarios, and Sara learns to create fire shields – to control the temperature of her flames to the extent that she could melt metal without burning the wood beneath it, to channel her power through different forms of movement.
“Good,” Tony calls out as she completes another sequence successfully. “Now–”
“Sir,” JARVIS interrupts, “Director Fury is requesting an immediate video conference.”
Tony curses under his breath. “Take five, Sara. I need to handle this.”
Sara plops on a bench, drinking water and trying not to eavesdrop as Tony speaks with the one-eyed man on the screen. She caught mentions of “Tesseract” and “potential threats” before Tony ended the call.
“Everything okay?” she asks as he returns.
“Just work stuff,” he waves off her concern. “Hey, isn’t Harsha’s celebration dinner tonight? I should get you home.”
Back at the house, Sara finds her family in full celebration mode. Sesha had temporarily abandoned her packing and sorting to help decorate, and the house smelled like chicken – Sandhya had made Harsha’s favorites.
“Finally, Chaaru, you’re back!” Harsha chirps as she enters. “Google’s extending my internship through the summer, and they might have a full-time position for me after graduation!”
“That’s awesome, Anna!” Sara congratulates, genuinely happy for her brother despite her worries about whatever was concerning Tony.
“Thanks,” he grins, then lowers his voice. “Hey, you okay? You look stressed.”
Sara forces a smile. “Yeah, just tired from studying. You know how it is.”
“Yeah, well, take a break sometimes, okay? You’re thirteen – you should be having fun, not working yourself to death.”
If only he knew about the firebending.
During dinner, Harsha talked about his projects at Google, carefully not mentioning the cute intern – Aurelio – he’d been texting (though Sara had snooped and seen the messages pop up on his phone). Sesha mentioned the piece she’d been working on for her next recital and talked about the music production startup she’s seeking to start with a friend.
Sara watches her family laugh and talk, feeling part of it and separate. The weight of her secrets – her powers, her training, the growing sense that something big was coming – pressed against her chest.
“Saranika?” Sandhya’s voice pulls her from her thoughts. “Are you not eating your food? You’ve barely touched it.”
“Sorry, Amma. Just thinking about… stuff.”
“Engineering stuff?” Arun asks proudly. “Tony mentioned you’re doing amazing!”
“Something like that,” Sara smiles, catching her mom’s look. Sandhya knew better than anyone the cost of keeping secrets from family.
Later that night, Sara sits at her window, practicing the breath control exercises she has always been. A small flame dances between her fingers as she thinks about Tony’s warnings, about the growing tensions she could sense even if she didn’t understand them fully.
Her phone buzzes with a text.
1 new message: Tony Uncle
Extra training tomorrow. Be ready
As she types back her reply, Sara glances at the family photo on her desk – taken last Diwali, all of them in new clothes, smiling. Her father’s arm around her shoulders, her siblings making funny faces, her mother’s proud smile.
How much longer until everything changes? And when it does, would her family survive the truth?
A knock at her door scatters her thoughts, and she quickly extinguishes the flame. “Come in!”
It was Sesha in her pajamas. “Scoot over, I can’t sleep.”
Sara makes room on her window seat, and her sister settles beside her, just like when they were little. They just sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the city lights.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Sesha says, finally. “Whatever’s going on with you… I’m here.”
Sara leans her head on her sister’s shoulder, throat tight. “I know, Akka. I just… I can’t. Not yet.”