Hope was ten when her power fully manifested.
Not gradually—explosively. A tantrum over something trivial (a broken toy, a missed lesson, the ordinary frustrations of childhood) triggered a release of energy that leveled half the Bayou.
I felt it from The Crossing, miles away.
[ALERT: HYBRID POWER SURGE]
[Source: Hope Mikaelson]
[Magnitude: OFF SCALE]
[Recommendation: Immediate containment]
I was there in seconds, appearing in the clearing where Hope stood surrounded by destruction. Trees uprooted, ground cracked, the safehouse somehow intact behind her.
She was crying, terrified, power crackling around her like lightning.
"Paradox!" She ran to me, and I caught her, holding her while her power raged.
"It's okay," I said. "I've got you. Breathe."
"I can't control it—"
"You will. I'll teach you. But first, you need to let it out. Safely."
I guided her through the exercises we'd practiced for years, channeling her power into the ground, into the sky, into anything but the people around us. Slowly, the storm subsided.
When it was over, Hope collapsed against me, exhausted.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Don't be. This is who you are. Who you're meant to be." I held her tighter. "And I'm going to help you become everything you can be."
[HOPE'S POWER: FULLY MANIFESTED]
[Classification: Hybrid (Original vampire + werewolf + witch + dimensional resonance)]
[Threat level: VARIABLE (depends on control)]
[Potential: UNLIMITED]
[Evolution progress: 99.9% toward Stage 5]
[Note: Hope's power is resonating with your own]
[Note: This may accelerate the final evolution]
I'd known this was coming. Had been preparing for it for years.
But knowing and experiencing were different things.
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