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Parahumans Series - WildbowX-Men - All Media Types

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Victoria Dallon | Glory Girl | Antares & Taylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver

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Alt-Power Taylor HebertWhat Was I Thinking?Phoenix Force (X-Men)

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English

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Published:2025-08-09Updated:2025-11-02Words:248,706Chapters:39/?Comments:242Kudos:457Bookmarks:258Hits:29,911

Firebird

chibipoe

Chapter 5: Slumber 1.5

Chapter Text

A week without Emma.

I almost couldn't believe it. None of my efforts had yielded any results on that front since she turned on me, but within a week of his arrival, Professor Singer had disrupted their bullying of me. I didn't know why he had done it, but I had to take advantage of her absence. Which is why I was now positioned in front of my bathroom mirror, taking the time to twist my hair into a careful braid. I would still have to deal with Sophia and Madison, true, but Emma was a large part of their power, given her popularity.

One week wasn't nearly enough time, but it was a start. I finished the braid and gave the result a critical look, nodding in satisfaction. I needed to get it trimmed for split ends, but this would do for now. Humming, I went downstairs in search of my shoes. A few minutes later and I fished my jacket from the closet and pulled it on.

"Do you need a ride to school?" my dad asked, coming out of the kitchen.

"No, I thought I'd catch the bus," I said, waving absently at him as I approached the door. "I'll see you after school. Bye, Dad!" I heard him say something as the door closed behind me but I was already moving so I pushed it out of my mind while on my way to the bus stop.

The bus ride to school gave me time to think, as the route took a roundabout path before passing near Winslow. There were a few other students on with me that I thought were part of one of the more popular groups at school, but they didn't harass me. I did, though, feel several curious looks directed my way as I sat there, turning my attention the harbor as our route overlooked it in several stretches.

I had a week without Emma, but I didn't doubt that Sophia would try and corner me during that time, laying the blame for her cohort's suspension at my feet. How I responded was going to set the tone for the rest of the week.

My expectation was that it would be violence since that seemed to be what I got from Sophia most of the time. She was likely to be in a rare form from stewing over the weekend. If anything, I bet she spent most of the time huddled with Madison and Emma, plotting over how they could get back at me. How to deal with Sophia was still dominating my thoughts when I stepped off the bus about a block away from Winslow and started toward the school.

By first period, though, I had begun to realize that I wasn't going to have near as much trouble with Sophia as I thought. She was entirely preoccupied with another issue that, truthfully, worried me a bit as well. There were a lot of students openly sporting gang colors and an undercurrent of tension hung in the air almost everywhere I went.

Parahuman Social Studies was were the tension broke, as it seemed to be the only class with a teacher who didn't look worried about the several students in blatant ABB or E88 colors staring death at each other as he or she tried to teach their subject. That was due, no doubt, to the fact that Professor Singer could be very intimidating in his own right, and no one displaying colors seemed willing to be act up when he was around.

Mrs. Knott's computer class was my second period and I took a different seat than the one in the back corner where I usually hid. I felt eyes on me as other students entered the classroom, but no one tried to displace me.

"You're Taylor, right?" the person to my right asked while Mrs. Knott was toward the back of the room, helping someone else.

"I am," I said, frowning a bit. Who was this? I couldn't recall if I had seen her in school before and I was drawing a blank on a name to match the face. Her hair was brown, framing a heart-shaped face and green eyes that were regarding me curiously.

"I'm Catherine," she said, holding out a hand which I tentatively shook. "Hope you don't mind me bothering you, but you are the first person whose name I knew."

"How-" I began, then rolled my eyes. "You saw some of those stupid news reports, didn't you?"

She nodded sheepishly. "I did. It made the rounds and I had to argue with my dad about being sent to a craphole where they would do something like that to a classmate."

"New here?" I asked, pushing thoughts of the locker and seizing on the other part of her statement. "I didn't think I'd seen you before."

"Yeah, dad's military and we had to move when he got reassigned," she said, typing a few lines of text on the computer before looking back to me. "Sorry about bringing that whole mess up again, bad memories or whatever."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's done with."

"Well," Catherine said. "I sat down for comp-sci and I get an honest tv star as my seatmate, my day is looking up."

I felt my lips twitch slightly and I tilted a glare in her direction. "I'm hardly a tv star."

"You were on tv and people know your face," she said. "That's good enough."

I snorted. "If you say so." I finished off the day's assignment and opened an internet browser to keep busy.

Catherine glanced at the screen, blinking. "You're already done?"

I shrugged. "I usually have my work done quick for Mrs. Knott's class. As long as it's finished, you can spend the rest of the time as you see fit. Sometimes, I'll work on my own stuff, sometimes I'll just read up on current events."

"That's pretty cool," she said. "I'm pretty terrible with them beyond point and click. Any suggestions?" I glanced at her screen, running the requirements for today's assignment through my head.

"Well, for starters," I began, leaning over to point at one of the lines she had typed out. "You'll want to change that line. As it is right now, it'll just break everything else you want the program to do." I answered a few other questions she had, giving her a starting point that would keep her from having a completely terrible end result before settling back to focus on my own searches.

"Mind if I share a table with you at lunch?" Catherine asked a bit later. "Like I said, new here, so I have to start somewhere for making friends."

"I usually just find someplace to eat off by myself," I said, then frowned. No, I couldn't do that anymore. Things had to change and today was as good as any to start. "Actually, that sounds like a good idea."

"Really?" her expression lit up. "Thank you!" She fell silent other than a few comments here or there for the rest of class and I directed most of my attention to browsing the internet.

The rest of the day passed without incident. I could only assume that Sophia and Madison were keeping a low profile after Emma's suspension. It wouldn't last, but it was nice to have a day where I wasn't the target for their every petty slight.

My taking care with how I looked had apparently worked out as well, as other people had actually spoken to me throughout the day. I had almost forgotten what it was like to have a conversation at school with someone that didn't involve insults being thrown at me. It was actually kind of nice.

As I left school and headed toward the bus stop, however, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. It wasn't the first time during the day, with all the eyes I had felt on me during the day. My powers never alerted me to any immediate danger, so I forced myself to not worry about it earlier. Now, though, I turned my thoughts to trying to figure out why.

I had changed my appearance by the simple virtue of caring about how I looked and I hadn't been gradual about it, so I was certain that was part of it, but the thought wouldn't go away that there was more to it.

The news.

I frowned at the thought, realization settling in. Catherine had mentioned those stupid news reports. There had been a few of them that tried to sensationalise the whole thing and link me to that incident with the firebird. Was the interest in me because of that? I tapped my foot against the concrete of the sidewalk as I considered that. That was a possibility and I should at least not rule it out, however unlikely I thought it.

The bus arrived and I hopped on, waving my student pass at the driver before heading for an unoccupied seat. I turned and sat, my eyes skimming the near-empty bus, thankful that I wasn't sharing the ride with anyone who would cause trouble. I dug into my backpack for a notebook and began writing, listing other uses I could put my precognition to. I could solve any financial issues we might be having by getting Dad to buy a lottery ticket with numbers I picked. I didn't know exactly what sort of scrutiny they put on winners to avoid parahumans cheating, though, so I would probably want to research that first before getting Dad to do that.

Dad.

Should I tell him that I had powers? I wasn't sure and the few times I had used my power to see what his reaction would be, I couldn't figure out what he was thinking before I hit the limit. There had usually been arguments and I'd decided against telling him for the moment, but it was a thought I kept coming back to.

Probably best to keep it a secret for now. I decided. Dad wouldn't understand, would try to convince me to be normal. Like I could do that. Emma's crusade against me had killed any chance of that, if there had ever been one.

The pencil tapped against the paper as I glanced out the window, watching what I thought might be the beginning of snow zip past as the bus slowed to make a turn. Had the weather called for snow when I looked last? I couldn't remember and Brockton Bay usually had pretty mild weather. I got off the bus when its route brought it close to a strip mall that had a cellphone provider's store.

Having one on hand was simply too useful and although it would deplete more of the funds I had picked up from the scratch-cards, I could afford the cost of at least a cheap one so that I had a way to call or be called. A few minutes of looking over my options and I left with a new rechargeable phone in my backpack, heading for home while wondering what dad was going to make for dinner.

~~~~~~~~

The next time I think this sort of job is a good idea, I need to slap myself. Colin thought, checking his watch for what felt like the fiftieth time since classes ended. True to Blackwell's word, she had foisted the entire matter regarding Alan Barnes onto him. The man had all but demanded a meeting after school to discuss the matter of Emma's suspension being resolved and now he was late.

Colin was certain he knew why, the man was hoping to throw him off balance and control the flow of the discussion. Had he been meeting with him on grounds more favorable, such as the other's practice, he was sure that he would be sitting in a waiting room an inordinately long time.

He was, however, fully inured to dealing with such tactics and busied himself with looking over his notes that he had collected regarding the man. An accomplished divorce lawyer with a very successful career. The man was used to getting his own way, Colin was certain.

With a grimly satisfied smile, he moved to looking over some of today's assignments that had been turned in. Mr. Barnes might be used to getting his own way, but Colin would be more than happy to explain that would not be happening today.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Barnes arrived, with, of all things, his daughter in tow. Colin shifted his eyes in their direction, but didn't look up from grading papers otherwise.

"Just so you're aware, Mr. Barnes," he said. "Suspension means that Emma isn't allowed on school grounds for the duration of her punishment, so I'm afraid she'll need to leave the premises."

"That's what we're here to discuss," Mr. Barnes replied, his voice controlled. "The unfounded actions and unsubstantiated allegations you've made against my daughter."

He put his pen down and reached into a drawer that he had left open for just this purpose, withdrawing a folder and setting it to one of his desk. "This isn't a court of law, Mr. Barnes, and even if it were, we're not dealing with a divorce case, so you can spare the effort of trying to intimidate me in that fashion."

"I have spoken to Principal Blackwell and my daughter," he fired back. "You had no evidence sufficient for the actions taken against Emma. Taylor and Emma have known each other for years!"

"Have you paid attention to the news at all, Mr. Barnes?" Colin asked politely, his gaze drifting toward Emma, whose complexion started to pale as the question hung in the air.

"What does that have to do with anything?" he demanded. "I recall some sort of report about Taylor, after that dreadful incident with the locker, but what does-" His face blanked and then a scowl developed. "Now see here, if you think I'm going to stand here and allow you to malign my daughter in this fashion by implying that she would be a party to something like-"

"You'll be happy to know that I conducted extensive research into that incident and what the situation here at Winslow was like," Colin interrupted. "I did wish to know what sort of environment I was entering into. Unfortunately, while Ms. Hebert had mentioned who she thought was responsible, by her own admission she was shoved forward, so she didn't have opportunity to see who was responsible."

Mr. Barnes seemed to relax. "You see, complete nonsense-"

"However," he went on as if the other man hadn't spoken, "the incident that precipitated your daughter's suspension had nothing to do with who did or didn't force her into the locker. It concerned another issue entirely. You've read the report on that matter, have you not?"

Alan Barnes frowned. "I spoke with my daughter and Principal Blackwell, but I've had several cases that have kept me busy over the weekend, so I hardly see how that matters."

"I happen to have the report I wrote and submitted to the office," Colin said. "A man in your profession has to appreciate the utility of having multiple copies of paperwork in case of misfiling, I am sure."

"I've been advised about this, as I said," the man replied. "What is your point, Mr. Singer?"

"Professor Singer, Mr. Barnes," Colin corrected, sliding the folder over so it sat between them, unopened. "My point is that you appear to have a misunderstanding of the events that led to your daughter's suspension."

"It was an argument between friends," he said, glancing from the folder to Emma, who was staring at it with a decidedly ill expression. "Isn't that right, Emma? Just a talk that got out of hand?"

She looked up to him, forcing a smile. "That's right. Taylor was just overreacting."

Colin didn't smile as Alan Barnes looked away from his daughter, a frown appearing. "Would you like to see precisely what your daughter was punished for? I recorded the conversation in its entirety, with notations regarding who was speaking when."

"Conversations are typically difficult to transcribe accurately from memory," was the answer.

"I'm an accredited Professor, Mr. Barnes," he said, allowing a snort. "Recalling a conversation that was growing increasingly hostile and culminated in your daughter physically striking her friend is child's play."

"I wasn't told about any assault," Mr. Barnes said, his frown deepening. He reached for the folder without another word, flipping it open to where the report of the incident lay on top. His expression darkened as he read and he looked up after he had reached the bottom of the page. Colin knew that there was nothing else to be read past that point. His neat handwriting had efficiently filled in the details without having to resort to more than one page.

"Your notations are quite thorough, Professor Singer," he said, setting the page down in the folder and closing it. "This is accurate?"

"Down to the last syllable," Colin confirmed, curious to see what the man would do now. "I have speculation on other, related issues, if you'd care to hear it, but I must be clear that it is just that, speculation lacking conclusive evidence."

Mr. Barnes shook his head. "No, but thank you. I'm sorry to have troubled you. If you'll excuse me, however, I need to go have a discussion with my daughter." The tight, restrained tone he said that in suggested it was not going to be a pleasant discussion.

"Dad?" Emma said, blinking at his tone before turning an ugly look toward Colin as her father guided her out of the room, speaking in low, angry tones. Colin brought up his laptop and typed a few messages and sent them on, before packing away his things. The day had been a long and stressful one and he still had work to do once he was home.

The first and most important, he thought as he headed toward the parking lot, was laying out a plan for discouraging the sudden increase in gang presence at Winslow. Both the E88 and ABB were openly displaying their colors and causing problems at the school. There did not appear to be any reason for such blatant action. It was a dilemma he had been pondering throughout the day, but short of intimidating one of them into talking, there wasn't a great deal he could do.

As it stood, he was almost completely certain that the gangs throwing their weight around were a symptom and not the real problem. What their real goal was something that he needed to unravel.

Placing his briefcase in the passenger seat, he closed the car door, grimacing at the feel of being surrounded on all sides. The car he was using as part of his cover was something he was still getting used to and even so, his motorcycle was something he would prefer. It was entirely his now, its parts upgraded or replaced to such a degree that no real trace of the original remained. Still, this car had some improvements he had done to it as well, so it wasn't entirely dissimilar from his motorcycle.

"System, call Dragon," he said as he backed out of the parking space and set out on the road. "Encryption method zeta."

"I'm here, Colin," Dragon said, so quickly that he almost smiled.

"Waiting for my call?" he asked lightly.

"I had a subroutine set to monitor and automatically patch you to me if you called," she replied. "I was coordinating extraction efforts with that earthquake out on the west coast."

"How bad?" he frowned toward the speaker before navigating into traffic, becoming just another person on their way home.

"Casualties are low at the moment," Dragon said. "The biggest issues will be in repair and restoration. Quite a lot of infrastructure damage to be addressed and given what we expect in the new few weeks…"

He grimaced. "I know. It would be just like them to hit someplace already reeling, Regarding that, have you had time to look over those notes I sent you?"

"I reviewed it and have made some code changes," she answered. "It will definitely be able to predict Behemoth and Leviathan by modeling data. I've started compiling a database for the algorithm to draw upon, based on previous attacks."

"You don't think it will be able to predict her, do you?" he said, his hands tightening on the wheel.

"With Leviathan and Behemoth, we have details that we can draw upon to track their movement," was the reply. "Seismic activity, weather anomalies. The Simurgh, however, doesn't afford us anything of that nature. She appears to just hang there in orbit until she starts moving, leaving us always a half-step behind as far as predicting where she will go."

Colin frowned. "Some warning is better than none."

"You didn't call me to work yourself into a frenzy over a prototype project, Colin," Dragon said, a chiding tone to her voice. "What is it?"

"I haven't made any conclusive headway on determining who the parahuman responsible for the pyrokinetic display is," he admitted. "Worse, a complication arose today. I've been expecting some sort of action from the gangs, but I was expecting a bit more subtlety than what I've encountered so far."

"Elaborate?" Dragon prompted.

"Today had a large number of students openly flying gang colors and causing trouble," he said, focusing on driving while he organized and recounted his thoughts "I've surmised that it was the start of some action on their part, but at no point that I was able to observe was our primary suspect, Taylor Hebert approached."

"Laying hands on the info about her scans from the hospital records likely wasn't particularly difficult," she pointed out. "It's possible they've already dismissed her as a suspect."

"Granted," he replied. "But remember that monitoring suite we were working on? I was able to retask a portion of into an observation program that I inserted into the hospital's network. If anyone accessed her records, it was keyed to send me an alert identifying details of the access. So far, there are only two recorded instances of the record being accessed. The first was during a routine survey by Medhall for a tracking assignment of antibiotics. Part of an inventory system, as near as I can tell. The other was during a standard internal review of all cases to make sure any notes placed on the hardcopy are also within the computer record."

Dragon was silent for a moment. "But without being there in person, you'd have no way to know who else might have been looking over their shoulder, or if they copied information down on paper."

He nodded absently. "Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time with their system to tailor it so that it could determine if an access was falsified or not, so I don't even know if those were legitimate accesses of the system."

"Leave that aside for now," she said. "You mentioned an increase in gang activity? Violence?"

"Nothing obvious," he murmured, "but they were skirting the line very carefully. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were doing it intentionally."

"Perhaps they were," Dragon mused. "You were devoting attention to them, correct? Were the other faculty focused on keeping them in line as well?" Colin eyed the trees lining the road his house was located on, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Shit," he said finally, realization sinking in. "That's exactly it. They're a distraction."

"To what end?" Dragon asked. "While the the faculty is occupied, what do they stand to gain by being so overtly disruptive?"

Colin took a deep breath, considering the question. "It distracts anyone who might be keeping an eye on our suspect, on Taylor Hebert, for one. But it also distracts the students who aren't members of either faction, keeping them more focused on possible harm if they draw attention, so they don't pay as much if…" He frowned for a moment, then nodded. "They're too focused on that and don't pay any mind to when they get asked questions about Taylor or other students."

"A sound theory," Dragon said lightly. "Is that all, though?"

He tilted his head as he pulled into his garage. "If this theory is true, then they're possessed of more subtlety than I gave them credit for. It's possible, then, that they've slipped someone in to get close to Taylor."

"I could look into the records to see if there are any new students," Dragon offered.

Colin shook his head. "A waste of time. There were several in the past week and it's just a theory as it stands. I'll keep a closer eye on Ms. Hebert, if possible and see if anyone is trying to ingratiate themselves with her."

"Bear in mind, Colin," Dragon murmured, "that new students could simply be looking for a friend in an unfamiliar location. Keep that in mind and don't persecute anyone."

He rolled his eyes. "No, I thought I would prowl the hallways in full gear demanding answers of every single student whether they are a good witch or a bad witch."

Dragon laughed. "You don't have the legs to play Glinda, Colin."

"You can't even see her legs in that horrible outfit," he snorted, pulling his phone from its cradle with one hand and his briefcase with the other. "I'll have you know that I… you know what, never mind. Thanks for the feedback, Dragon. I'll keep you posted on any developments when I send my reports. Could I trouble you…"

"I'm already preparing a summary of your conclusions and will forward it to Miss Militia," Dragon said. "Take care, Colin."

"You too," he murmured as the line disconnected. He tapped the control that began lowering the garage door and headed inside, mulling over the discussion with Dragon. If the theory was true, then he would need to develop some plans for dealing with as many possibilities as he could. Popping his neck, he headed for the kitchen to prepare for a long night.

~~~~~~~~

Being able to go to classes and not worry about Emma, Madison, Sophia and their flunkies made the days at Winslow significantly more tolerable. Halfway through the week and I was actually able to talk to people without one of them popping up to ruin things. It let me take the time to actually look at the arrangement of students and what groups they fell into.

The gangs were probably the strongest faction, followed by the sports teams. There were a few others, like the computer geeks, but Winslow's lack of funding meant that there wasn't much support behind them and if they had any strength, it was outside of the school. Integrating myself with them wouldn't help when Emma returned.

One option I had considered was signing up for sports. I had taken to running in the mornings before school and enjoyed it, but Sophia was one of the star members of the track team and I doubt I would enjoy having to spend time around her, much less work with her on the track team. The gangs weren't an option I was willing to entertain and that left me with a dearth of options.

I could continue on by myself without falling into any particular group was one, or I could try and create my own group. The latter, however, would be problematic as the other groups would be unlikely to allow another group to spring up that could offer alternatives to them. The gangs in particular, as their strength was in others not having options.

And what if I was the only option? The thought brought a slight smile to my face. I could do that, couldn't I? Go from being the lowest rung to the top banana, socially. I nodded to myself. I could rule this school. It wouldn't even be particularly difficult. I took my fork and picked at the substance that I thought was supposed to be mashed potatoes, considering the pros and cons for that. The biggest obstacles I would need to immediately deal with would be Emma and Sophia. I had no illusions that they would try something as soon as her suspension was over.

Which meant I needed to strike first. Whatever power the two of them had, I needed to break it completely and utterly. Emma coming back to find that her attack dog had been defanged would be quite satisfying. The only question was how to deal with her in the few days I had remaining. I began running ideas through my head while picking at my lunch.

"Can I sit here?" a soft voice asked and I glanced up to see a girl with dark hair that had a streak of purple and features that were asian, but I couldn't begin to place from where.

"Sure, table's open," I said, waving at the empty seats all around me.

"Thank you," she answered and took one of the seats opposite where I sat. "I'm Yor-, ah sorry. Minako Yori. It's nice to meet you." She ducked her head slightly as she said that, looking nervous for a moment.

"Taylor Hebert," I replied, deciding that whatever these were on my tray, they weren't mashed potatoes. "New?"

She shook her head. "No. Well, sort of. I was away due to family issues and just returned, so I'm a bit behind." Minako peered at her own tray with a frown. "Those aren't mashed potatoes, are they?"

"I don't think they are," I agreed, eyeing hers with the same scrutiny as mine. They still didn't appear to be mashed potatoes for her either. "I haven't determined what sort of life-form they are, however."

"We are probably not meant to know," she said finally, looking up. "Do you suppose if it is another life-form, it's trying to communicate with us?"

"I'm not sure what message they would be trying to convey by appearing as almost liquefied potatoes," I observed, switching to the subpar meatloaf they usually served with the not mashed potatoes.

"Perhaps pretending to be harmless?" Minako suggested.

"That's possib-" My power alerting me to a situation. I leaned over slightly as if to check my backpack, avoiding a collision that would have shoved my arm into the food, ruining my sleeve. Sophia. I met her eyes and gave as close to a bored expression as I could, but said nothing. She glared for a moment, then snorted and walked away with her tray, looking equal parts disgusted and perplexed.

"Who… was that?" Minako asked hesitantly, glancing toward Sophia's retreating back then to me.

"A problem I have to deal with," I said with a growl. "She's had it in for me since I met her and I don't really know why. I honestly don't care at this point, either." Minako gave me a concerned look and exhaled slowly.

"She is unpleasant," she finally said. "It radiates around her." She shook her head, distaste clear.

I glanced her way. "Radiates?"

She ducked her head. "A figure of speech, but an honest one, no?"

"It is that," I said, slicing off some of the meatloaf and testing it. Yup. Still bland. Edible, but bland. "I would avoid her if I were you, though."

"Avoid who?" Catherine said, settling at the table opposite Minako. "Hey, Taylor. And you, you're Minako, right?"

The other girl bobbed her head, half-smiling. "Pleased to meet you."

"Now, who are we avoiding?" Catherine said.

"Oh, Minako was witness to Sophia Hess," I shrugged. "Nothing to worry about."

"Hess," Catherine frowned, then her eyes widened. "She's one of that bunch, isn't she?"

"Yes," I said with a shrug. "My problem, though, so I'll deal with it." Catherine exchanged a look with Minako and I got the sense that they knew each other as they seemed to hold an entire conversation in that one glance.

"What are you doing after school?" Catherine asked me.

"Home, probably," I shrugged. "Nothing else comes to mind." The two of them exchanged a glance again.

"Come hang out with us, then," Minako said. "We were thinking of a trip to the mall, maybe check out that new shop that opened?"

"The shoe store?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow. "I don't usually go shoe shopping."

"You're not," Catherine said. "You're hanging out with us while we go wherever we want."

I bit my lip, considering the offer. Neither gave me any sense of dishonesty, but after the stunt Emma had come up with of getting someone to pretend to be my friend, I was wary. Still, I did have to start somewhere, right? Having friends as support was going to be crucial if I really wanted to go forward with my plans.

I exhaled slowly and then nodded. "That sounds like fun, actually." Both of them beamed and I felt the distrust of others lessen a bit. I would make friends and put an end to Emma's campaign of terror. I had to start somewhere and this was as good a place as any for that.

"Great!" Catherine said cheerfully. "Where's a good place for grabbing some food afterward?"

"Well, there's Fugly Bob's," I said as they quizzed me on places to eat, enjoying the simple pleasure of being able to sit and talk in the cafeteria during lunch. "Burgers are good, but not great and they're not that expensive."

"Sushi?" Minako said and I frowned, thinking of a response as I racked my brain for where the sushi restaurants were.

"There's a couple of them downtown," I said. "And a good place in the mall, I hear…" The rest of the lunch period passed in a blur.

---

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Victoria Dallon | Glory Girl | Antares & Taylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver

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Alt-Power Taylor HebertWhat Was I Thinking?Phoenix Force (X-Men)

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English

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Published:2025-08-09Updated:2025-11-02Words:248,706Chapters:39/?Comments:242Kudos:457Bookmarks:258Hits:29,911

Firebird

chibipoe

Chapter 6: Slumber 1.6

Chapter Text

Wednesday Afternoon, third day of the week without Emma.

I stared at scribbled note at the top of the page. Was I really keeping time by how many days were left until I had to deal with Emma again?

"You look entirely too occupied with something," Minako said, drawing my attention to where she sat across the table from me.

"Just thinking about when I'll have to deal a problem again," I muttered.

"Oh, Emma, right?" Catherine asked, sitting down in her usual spot. When I blinked at her, she shrugged. "I asked around since I figured you didn't want to talk too much about it. She seems like a real class act. Grade A Bitch and all that."

"Catherine," Minako chided. "This is the library. Please refrain from being vulgar."

The brunette blinked. "You are giving me flak about language? This is a joke, right?"

"I'm certain I have no idea what you mean," Minako said.

I looked between them, certain this was another one of their private jokes that I didn't understand. I thought they had just met recently, but they seemed to have known each other much longer sometimes. "I have to agree. I can't imagine Minako swearing at anyone."

Catherine glared back and forth between us then snorted. "Both of you are ganging up on me."

"Nonsense," Minako said. "We are in agreement that I could not possibly use vulgar language, that is all."

"You're both impossible!" Catherine protested with a pout. I hid a smile as Minako said something else that got a rise from the other girl while I focused on my homework. I had been pushing hard to get caught up or if possible, ahead so that if they tried sabotaging my homework I would at least be able to save something, somewhere. Listening to them banter while I worked was nice, if still a bit odd.

Every now and then, I caught myself thinking I was going to wake up and things would be back to how they were before, days after days of torment. It was nice to have friends again and not have Emma spearheading efforts to ruin everything for me.

"..and that's why I think Taylor is actually a dinosaur." Catherine's words caught my attention and I blinked.

"Wait, what?" I asked and both of them began laughing. "No, seriously. Why am I a dinosaur?"

"A better question is why wouldn't you be a dinosaur? Personally, however, I feel you are more like a bird." Minako asked. "Our study period is nearly over, however."

"A bird," I said, grimacing. "It's because I've got legs like sticks, right?"

"Ignore Minako, she's being silly. You're a dinosaur because you've been studying so much that I'm surprised you aren't old and grey. You spend all your time in here. I bet your study notes have study notes now." Catherine announced, picking up one of my notebooks and beginning to open it.

"Not that one," I said quickly, snatching the notebook with my drawings from her. "That's… um, private."

"Oooh, this sounds interesting," Catherine grinned. "Taylor's private little journa-ow!" She grabbed the back of her head and looked at Minako, who was looking at her friend sternly.

"You should refrain from pestering Taylor about her private thoughts," Minako told her. "Her art is her own and she will share it when and if she knows."

"Art? You've looked at it?" I said, feeling my voice start to raise. How dare they-

She shook her head. "I have not. But I have seen you in class, drawing when you think no one is looking."

"Oh," I swallowed, holding the notebook close to my chest. "I, sorry, it is private. Maybe someday…"

Catherine grimaced. "No, it's cool. And seriously, sorry. I get ahead of myself sometimes. I'll behave."

I ducked my head. "Sorry."

"Do not apologize," Minako said. "Catherine will behave, as she said. We should head to classes, though."

"I was thinking we could head to the mall and hang out again?" I asked as we gathered our things. "The other day was fun." Catherine and Minako exchanged looks before nodding.

"We've got a few hours, so, sure," Catherine nodded."We'll have to bounce around six though."

I nodded. "That sounds good. I've got algebra, so I'll see you guys out front?"

"We will be there," Minako said and I left the library, heading to the nearest stairwell in a good mood. Hanging around them was fun. The door closed behind me as I entered the stairwell, latching with a click in the same moment a hand caught the collar of my shirt and I found myself slammed against the nearest wall, staring into a pair of angry eyes.

Sophia.

"Knew you couldn't be," she muttered. "Just a stupid girl who doesn't know her place."

"Let me go," I snarled, shoving at her hand. She was stronger than me, though and just pulled me forward and slammed back so I saw stars for a moment.

"You're going to tell her dad there's no problems and then you're going to not breath a word about anything we do, got it?" she snarled.

"You're crazy if you think I'm doing anything you want," I almost shouted, pulling on my power. If I twisted this way… Sophia stumbled back as I shoved, no longer held by her grip. "I am done with your crap, got it?"

She sneered, baring her teeth. "One thing you apparently haven't learned? I don't lose." She took a step forward and I fought to control my apprehension. Cornered in the stairwell like this, I didn't have much room to move and I'd already seen what would happen if I tried to match her strength. But I would be damned if I let her do whatever she wanted to me.

"You know," a voice said from my left, belonging to a familiar face as she stood on the stairs, with another beside her, "there's a benefit to losing."

"You get to learn from your mistakes," Minako finished, leveling the most hostile look I had ever seen at Sophia. "You would be best served by leaving now."

Sophia gave them ugly, if wary looks before turning to me. "You won't be able to hide behind them forever, Hebert." Then, she was through the door and gone. I stood there for a moment, letting my heartbeat settle before I adjusted my collar where Sophia had grabbed it.

"Thanks," I told them.

"Nah," Catherine waved a hand. "S'what friends do, right?"

I sighed. "Asking the wrong person for that." I had been in such a good mood I hadn't even seen Sophia coming. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Taylor," Minako said gently. "Are you hurt?"

"Oh, no," I said. "Just kicking myself for-, oh never mind. Late for algebra now, it looks like." The bell rang right after I said that and the two of them exchanged a glance.

"Eh, we're late too," Catherine said. "So, how about we just blow off last period?"

I blinked. "Won't we get caught?"

"Only if it's that hypervigilant guy from Social Studies, the Professor or whatever," Catherine shrugged. "He's got seniors this period and he's on the other end of the building, so we'll be gone before he could notice."

I thought about it for a moment. "Tempting, but I should go to class, late or not. I don't want to get behind again when I just got everything more or less caught up." And I didn't want to leave now, the idea felt like running after what just happened.

"We will meet you outside of your class then," Minako said, staring at me. "In case she thinks to try something again."

"You don't have to," I began.

"Correct, we do not have to," Minako said. "We want to." I stared at them both, oddly touched, then nodded and we started up the stairs together.

~~~~~~~~

It was unusual, Colin thought, to be entering this building while not wearing his usual gear. Odd, he decided, and a bit uncomfortable. He had to shift his hands back a few times, when he noticed that he was reaching for devices he kept stored on his suit. Devices that were most definitely not to be found on one of the suits he wore for teaching.

He almost smiled as a thought occurred to him. Perhaps a micro-mesh suit with a spatial displacement function, that let him conceal items much larger than would normally fit in suit jacket or slacks pocket. There was even a bolt of a tinker produced fabric in one corner of his lab that might work as a starting point.

"Excuse me, sir, this isn-" he turned toward the speaker, one of the security officers at this particular checkpoint into the PRT headquarters. Lou was his name, he thought, as the man frowned and stared at him. "Oh, apologies, sir. If you'll just run your badge at the scanner for verification and we'll be set."

"Thanks, Lou," he replied, swiping the badge. "Is it Lou, right?"

"Louis, but Lou's fine," the man grinned, eyeing the results of the badge scan. "Everything's in order, so you're free to head in, sir."

"Have a good evening," Colin answered, fishing out a notepad and beginning to make some notations about the idea he had for later perusal. A few people threw him looks as he walked past the rows of desks, more than once he saw a frown directed at him before it was replaced by astonishment.

"Good to see you in, sir," one of the PRT officers said.

"Danica," he replied, inclining his head. "Headed to the meeting?"

"Oh, yes sir," she murmured, pushing her glasses up while trying to juggle the stack of papers she had. "I just came from compiling the latest reports on the independents as well as prospects for recruitment. The Empire, unfortunately, picked up a new telekinetic they're calling Rune. Wards-age, we think. She was involved in a three way altercation the other day."

"The other involved party, what and who were they?" he asked idly.

"Oh, a pair of independents," she said, flipping through her papers. "They've been harassing the Merchants with a fair degree of success. The reports from the thinkers peg them as possible Wards candidates. I think I have the file about them… Oh!"

Colin almost stepped back as her efforts at holding the assortment of folders and papers while trying to find one in particular resulted in the papers scattering onto the floor around them. Shaking his head, he knelt down to help gather them up.

"Oh, that isn't necessary, sir," she said, dropping down as well and beginning to gather papers. "You shouldn't have to clean up after my clumsiness."

"It's alright," he said, neatly gathering the papers up into a tidy stack. He glanced at the one on top, which had been what she was about to show him, he thought. "Hanabi and Rockshow? Odd mix of names."

"Oh, those two," she pursed her lips as they both stood. "They were approached by Triumph, but didn't seem interested. The ones that I meant are a couple. Or siblings of some sort. The thinkers weren't entirely sure, with the information we have. A Mover and the other has some sort of surveillance power, I think. I'm not sure what they had classified it as yet though. FreightTrain and Spyglass are their designations."

He frowned. "Sounds familiar, but I don't believe I've met them."

"I'll have more details in the meeting," she said. "I'll share then, if it's alright. No sense in repeating myself more than I have to."

"I can wait," he shrugged lightly. "Anything else of note to report?"

"In town can wait for the meeting," Danica said. "Outside of town, there's some reports about one of those roving thief groups. I think you ran into them once before? A tinker and some others."

He grimaced. "Yes, I remember those four. Irritating, but they're notoriously bad about escaping. They avoid confrontations and getting data for my prediction software is annoying when they will run instead of fight."

"Well, isn't it better though?" she asked. "I mean, not that they get away, but that they don't want to engage in property damaging fights?"

"The last thing we need are more smart villains," he paused then shook his head as he held the door to the meeting room open for her. "Though, come to think of it, I wonder about their intelligence sometimes. One of them is named Chubster, after all."

The room was more than half full as they entered, with the Director already there, looking haggard as she sorted through an array of papers before her.

She's having sleeping issues again. The thought crossed his mind as he surveyed everyone present. Probably a bad episode recently. Colin made a mental note to broach the subject in private, again, of getting Panacea to repair the damage to her kidneys. The last thing Brockton Bay needed was the Director retiring due to ill health and someone less experienced or less restrained taking her place.

"Hey, boss," Assault said, the mask of his costume down around his neck. "Gotta say, clean-shaven is a weird look for you."

"I left my beard at home," he replied without thinking, then sighed mentally. He was never going to hear that end of that. Assault, however, simply stared, speechless for a moment.

"Did.. did you just make a joke?" he asked in a small voice. "You did, didn't you?"

Colin sighed. "Blame it on being around teenagers most of the day."

"I'm scared," he said in a voice that was supposed to be a whisper, but was anything but. "Armsmaster's making jokes. We're all doomed."

"Stop being stupid," Battery said, punching his shoulder. "It's a good thing that he's unwinding a little. I mean, er… you do seem more relaxed, sir."

"Thank you," he nodded, noticing that the Director was staring at him. "If you two will excuse me?"

He didn't wait for either to reply, moving toward the head of the table and the seat beside the Director that was currently unoccupied. Hannah was in the one he usually sat in.

"Director," Colin said, nodding. "Hannah."

"Any developments on your investigation?" Emily Piggot asked.

"Unfortunately not," he grimaced. "Little progress and recent developments are creating obstacles that I have to navigate around."

"You're certain it isn't the Hebert girl, still?" she asked.

"I'm not certain of anything," he said. "I'm leaning away from her being the one, but I can't rule out that she can hide her abilities completely. From what I have gleaned, she's had some personality changes. More assertive and outgoing."

The Director shuffled her papers. "How much longer do you expect you'll need to continue this undercover operation, then?"

"The only stipulation is to provide notice if I have to depart," Colin told her. "Beyond that, I can end it shortly after we find answers. Any developments on Mr. Gladly's condition?"

"We did have a development there," Hannah said, fishing out a report and skimming down it with her eyes. "He remains mostly comatose, but those periods where he isn't, he appears stuck trying to leave and travel to another location."

"So we could be dealing with more than just a pyrokinetic," he mused. "The question is, whether it's the work of the one responsible for the display, or unrelated."

"Find out," Emily said. "I'm not exactly enthused about the prospect of us dealing with a High School with parahumans acting so openly when we know of only one. I don't need to tell you what sort of a situation we could be dealing with if the reason we haven't found anything is that someone got to the one responsible already and are covering their tracks."

"I'm aware, Director," Colin said. "The possibility is one I keep in mind, but I find it unlikely, given the gang presence. You know if one of them had secured this person, they'd be lording it over the others. An outside group, perhaps, but if so, why have we heard nothing? This isn't exactly a subtle power, judging from the display."

"Whatever the case, I want this solved," Emily stated. "Find him or her and do it soon."

"We're ready, Director," one of the aids said before Colin could respond. "Everyone's here." Colin fished his notebook back out as the door closed and began making notes on what the suit he had thought of earlier might need while the meeting officially began.

~~~~~~~~

"We'll see you tomorrow!" Catherine waved as the pair departed, leaving me at the mall. I tapped my foot on the ground, considering what to do with the time I had left. I had already called dad and let him know, so I had another hour to myself before I needed to go home.

After a moment, I decided and turned on my heel, heading for the art supplies store. I wanted to do some more work on the sketches and maybe put some color on them, but I was out of some of the colors I wanted, so I would need to get some more.

"Taylor!" a voice called and I turned to see Vicky waving with her free arm, the other was tangled with the arm of a handsome teenage boy who just looked bemused.

"Vicky, hi!" I called, walking over while noticing that there were several people staring at Vicky like she was the most amazing thing they had ever seen. Her companion, presumably her boyfriend, leaned down a bit and whispered something to her and she rolled her eyes.

"Dean, this is Taylor," Vicky said, introducing us. "I met her last week."

"Nice to meet you," I murmured, shaking the hand that was offered. "Sorry I hadn't called. Just got a cell and with school work, I'd been busy."

"Oh, don't worry about that," she said. "What are you up to?"

"Was headed to the art store for some paint, actually," I said, as they fell into step with me. Dean was quiet, with a puzzled sort of frown on his face.

"You paint and have amazing fashion sense?" Vicky asked, smiling.

"Just in my spare time," I said. "What are you up to today?"

"Oh, just hanging out with Dean," she said airily. "I tried to get my sister to come along, but she didn't want to come along. I swear, sometimes I wish she should take some time for herself instead of, well, never mind. Mind if we tag along?"

"Fine by me," I said. "It's going to be pretty boring, though."

"The alternative is Vicky going clothes shopping again," Dean said, flashing a grin at his girlfriend. "I'd rather spare my wallet today, if it's all the same."

"Oh, pssh, I bet you'd change your tune if I went to try out the skirts," Vicky said. "You certainly didn't mind the last time."

"Guilty," Dean admitted. "But the art store does sound like a nice change of pace, however much I enjoy your modeling efforts."

I shifted my feet, somewhat uncomfortable with the byplay. They were obviously close and I didn't want to feel like a third wheel. "It's alright. It's just in for some red, green, and gold paint. Maybe some black too." I bit my lip as I spoke, pondering. I might want to check my other colors and see if something else would work as well.

"Ooh, I've got this," Vicky said. "I know where they keep the best red. Crimson fire, I think it's called."

That did sound good and I did need to make more friends than just Catherine and Minako. "Sure, if you really want to, I'd like that."

"Awesome!" Vicky proclaimed. "Oh, and we have to go check out the clothes. I saw a jacket after we met the other day that I think would be awesome on you."

"Oh?" I perked up as we walked. The other day when I was clothes shopping with Vicky had been nice and had proven that she had a good eye for fashion, so I didn't doubt her claim. "Let me grab what I need and then we can go check it out."

"And somehow, we end up going clothes shopping anyway," Dean said jokingly. "Try not to kill my wallet this time, please?"

"I won't be too hard on it," Vicky said, grinning. "Now, let me show Taylor where that color is and then we can head over and we'll show her the jacket."

"I've got to make a call, so I'll be out here," Dean said, holding up a cellphone. "Come find me when you're ready." Vicky nodded and followed me into the art store, where I quickly found the green and gold. I thought of my earlier impulse and picked up a tube of black as well.

"And here you go," Vicky said, bouncing into the aisle I was standing in, holding a black tube out. "Crimson Fire, as promised."

"Thanks," I said, looking at the strip of color that indicated what it was supposed to look like when dry. "This.. this is perfect. Thank you!"

Dean was waiting when we left the store, the paints tucked away in my backpack. Vicky ran up and kissed him, unconcerned about the public display.

"Everything okay, sweetie?" she asked.

"Yeah, just class project stuff. Boring stuff, really, I can tell you about it later, if you want." he said easily, though I thought he looked uncomfortable for a moment.

Vicky eyed him for a moment and then nodded. "I'll hold you to that. But! Right now, we're not boring Taylor with whatever nonsense Roy's pestering you about. Clothes?"

"Clothes, yes," Dean agreed quickly, obviously eager to change the subject. "You said you had a jacket you wanted to show Taylor, right?"

"Oh, yes!" Vicky said, turning to me as I raised an eyebrow. "It's black and yellow, but not so much that it would make you look like a bumblebee, more like a gold, really."

I tried imagining it in my head, feeling an image almost taking shape. "Show me?"

"Onward!" Vicky announced, all but dragging us in her wake toward the store this jacket was at. The store turned out to be a smaller shop tucked in one corner of the mall. It sold only coats and jackets and every one of them I laid eyes on was clearly well made.

"Let's see," Vicky murmured, sorting through racks. "Oh, I hope someone didn't buy it… Ah, here!" She fished out a black and gold jacket and held it up for me. I looked it over, looking from one side to the other critically.

"A bit more gold than I like, but…" I began.

"Oh, go try it on!" she said, pushing it into my hands. "There's a mirror in the changing area back there so you can see how it looks yourself."

"Alright, alright," I acquiesced, holding the jacket close and starting toward the back to try it on.

~~~~~~~~

Vicky turned as soon as Taylor was out of earshot and tugged Dean toward a corner, wrapping around him and looking for all the world like she was kissing him. "Okay, spill. What's going on?"

"You know I can't talk about that with you, Vicky," Dean protested. "If you would join the Wards…"

"Nuh-uh," she said. "You know I won't do that. Now spill. You've been looking distracted since… is this about Taylor?"

He looked uncomfortable. "Maybe. She's the girl they pulled out of the locker last month, you know, when that bird showed up?"

"That's her?" Vicky hissed. "And, what, they think she did it? That's absurd. She's nice and hardly the type to go setting the sky on fire."

He shook his head. "I don't know too much, but I'm pretty sure they don't. Tests came back negative is the rumor. But... "

"What?" she asked. "Come on, tell me…" She pressed closer to him, giving him her most winsome smile.

"Ah, jeez, you're relentless," he groaned. "They tested her and she came back negative, like I said. But… when she's standing there, I'm not picking anything up. At all. It's like she's not even there."

"You've had people resistant to your abilities before," she said, grinning. "Take me, for example."

"To the overt part, yes," he said in a low voice. "But I haven't met anyone I can't get at least a feel for their mood from. She didn't even notice when your aura was on earlier."

"You're sure? Not just missing her with all the people around?" Vicky pressed.

"I haven't had that problem in a while, Vick," he said. "I haven't met anyone I don't get a read from unless something's interfering. Even then, there's usually something. This is more like a complete blank space where she's standing. I can follow physical cues, but she's not giving anything at all for me to pick up. It's like bouncing off a brick wall."

"Huh," she bit her lip. "Well, I think you're probably overreacting. I'll keep an eye on her though, but I don't like spying on friends, even new ones." She reluctantly disengaged and adjusted her clothing quickly in case anything was out of sorts, turning to see Taylor emerging from the changing area, looking pensive as she adjusted the jacket that she was still wearing, holding her backpack and the coat she had come in wearing in one hand.

"Well, how is it?" Vicky asked, grinning brightly.

"It is awesome, like you said," Taylor murmured before frowning. "But way outside my budget. Maybe some other time…"

"How much are you short?" Vicky asked, glancing toward Dean, who rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I'll have enough in a few days, and I can come back," she shrugged, slipping her arms free easily. "It's no big deal."

"Nope, it's perfect, like I said, and you are walking out of here with it," she pronounced, deftly snatching the jacket and passing it to Dean. "Consider it a birthday present."

"My birthday isn't until summer," Taylor said.

"A very early birthday present then," Vicky corrected. "Honey, if you would?"

"Fine, fine," he shook his head, looking exasperated but started toward the cashier. "It's just easier to go along when she gets like this."

Taylor blinked, looking unsure. "Why? You both barely know me and that jacket's really expensive."

"Lots of reasons," Dean said easily. "I haven't known you for more than an hour, sure, but I'd like to think I'm a good judge of character and I have more money than I could spend in both our lifetimes. Plus, it makes Vicky happy."

"And I'm encouraging it because your current jacket is all wrong for the clothes you were looking at the other day. You need something stylish, assertive for those." Vicky added, slinging an arm around Taylor's shoulder. "Also, call it an early birthday or a late christmas, whatever. I like doing nice things for my friends."

"You mean you like having me do nice things for your friends," Dean corrected, handing over a black card to the cashier along with his identification.

Taylor shook her head at the byplay between the two of them. "Thank you."

Dean started to say something but his phone buzzed and he grimaced. "You're welcome, Taylor. I'd stick around, but this is probably important so I'll need to go take care of it."

"Class project again?" Vicky asked, looking bemused.

"Roy's a pain," Dean shrugged. "I'll be happy when he graduates."

"Hate to buy you a present and run, but I should probably go help him," Vicky said. "They'll get cleared up faster with another pair of hands."

Taylor hesitantly took the jacket after the security tag was removed. "I… is it something I can help with?"

They exchanged a look and Vicky shook her head. "Roy's a stickler for rules. I squeeze in by virtue of being Dean's girl, but he is very picky about not letting anyone who isn't on the project help otherwise."

"Well, good luck then," Taylor said, clutching the jacket to her chest as they waved and left the store. Bemused, she tucked her old jacket into her backpack and pulled the new one one in its place.

~~~~~~~~

I left the mall in a daze, expecting that someone would stop me at any moment and I'd be arrested and the whole thing that had just happened was nothing more than a prank. By the time I made it outside and there was no one arresting me, it sunk in that this had really happened.

People I barely knew had dropped several hundred dollars on an expensive jacket as a gift. Who even does that? I didn't know what to think. I took a deep breath and pushed it to the back of my mind. I would need to think of something nice to do in return. I sent off a quick text message to Vicky and then checked how my funds looked.

I should probably cash in a few more cards. I bit my lip, thinking. There was a corner store near here that I could turn a few in at. I had some stuck in a binder in my pack. Would the store let me though? I stopped by a bench and made a show of looking at my cellphone while I used my precog to trace ahead and see.

A few minutes later and a headache had me nodding. I would get in and out of the store with no problems. Decision made, I cancelled my precog to let the headache fade. The store was about five minutes away and there was a bus route near it that I could catch to head home after that.

True to my prediction, I was in and out with my new funds tucked safely away in my backpack and headed toward the stop for the bus route. My eyes drifted down to the sleeve of the jacket and I smiled a bit. Even if their gifting it to me was odd, it was a nice coat.

Checking the display on my phone, I almost swore, before turning to look at the schedule pasted on the side of the rain shelter set up at the pick up spot.

"Not running after five on this route?" I read aloud, shoving the phone into my pocket. Back to the mall, then I could call dad to have him come pick me up. I wrapped my arms around my self as a gust of cold wind breezed through. The weird weather had been off and on, odd for this time of year. We almost never saw snow and a few dustings had already hit in the past week, with the weathermen promising more.

The parking lot of the mall stretched out in front of me and I cut across it rather than following the road. It was faster to the closest side entrance that way. Several of the overhead lights were out, casting large sections of the parking lot in darkness that made me frown for a moment before I kept moving.

The only warning I had was the rush of footsteps as I was surrounded on both sides, hands grabbing my arms and another hand that smelled of sweat and something foul that I couldn't put name to clamped on my jaw.

"Not a word, hear?" a gruff voice said, shaking my head so hard that vision spun and my glasses fell to the ground with a clatter. A second later, as I tried to make sense of the man's features, I heard the crunch of the frames breaking as the two men dragged me off. I twisted my arms, panic seizing me as I tried to get free.

"Stoppit right now," the man who had first spoken said. I felt him let my arm go, but the other simply used his free hand and wrenched my right arm in a hold that drew a pained sound from me. I kicked my legs, shouting against his hand and I saw his blurred features twist in fury.

The next thing I felt was a weight slamming into my stomach, driving the air from my lungs and almost bending me double from the impact. Pain filled every sense and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to shove away from the two men and curl up at the same time. They resumed dragging me out of sight and seconds later I found myself shoved against a dumpster and a wall.

"Please," I choked out, drawing in air while clutching my arms around my midsection. "I don't…"

They ignored me and advanced, one pinning me while the other ripped my backpack away. I tried to grab it back, but the larger one shoved me back while his friend retreated, roughly tearing the zipper open and beginning to toss things out. My notebooks were strewn across the ground carelessly, pages crumpling as they landed oddly. The bag with the paints was torn open and then the tubes cast aside after a moment's examination, followed by my old coat.

Then the folder I had stashed the money in was opened. "Lookee here, Jake. Girlie's got cash, like he said. Must be a grand here, easy."

Money? This was about money? And he said? What did that mean… I coughed as I realized the clerk must have called these guys on me. I had only looked to see if I would get in and out of the store without any difficulty. Stupid!

"Jacket, girlie," the larger one said. "Take it off."

"It's cold," I said, my hands gripping the fabric defensively.

"Don't care," he snapped. "And I wasn't asking. Take it off! It'll sell well, a nice coat like that."

"Hey, Jake," the smaller one said. "Got a better idea. She got this money from playing the cards, Ralph said. Had like five of them and all for high dollars. We make her do that again, if she can. Easy money."

"I dunno, man," he said, staring at me in a way I didn't think I liked. "Think this girl's trouble. Should just take her shit and go."

"No, it'll definitely be easy," the smaller guy said, his eyes drifting to me in a way I definitely didn't like. "We get some of the good stuff from Skids and she'll do whatever we say for a fix."

Skids? I felt the color bleed from my face as I realized who he meant. Skidmark. The leader of the Merchants. Which meant the good stuff was probably… drugs. I shook my head in denial.

"Girlie doesn't like that," the one called Jake said. "What the hell? Let's do it."

"No," I said, feeling cold seep into my bones suddenly, even as I clutched my arms tighter. I wasn't going to be their drugged up plaything! They should fear me.

It was like a switch being thrown. One moment, I was backing further into the corner, hoping it would hide me from Jake's approaching grip. The next, he was pale-faced, backing away as if the most terrifying thing he had ever seen was in front of him.

"Shit, Jake, what's wrong?" his companion asked and I swivelled my head to look at him. The air rippled between us and he went pale as well, dropping the folder and the money he had been taking from it.

"Gods…" the man whispered, scrambling backwards. "I didn't mean it! Honest! Don't… " Both men had more or less collapsed in seconds, whimpering and retreating. I looked between them, frowning at their sudden change in demeanor. I moved forward and they both backed away. Backed away from me. Was I doing this somehow? I focused on Jake, who had been the one to hit me and I watched whatever traces of color remained in his face flee.

"Please, please, oh god, dad, don't," Jake was babbling, clearly not seeing me any longer, but something else that terrified him. I took another step forward and found myself floating. The other man was still staring at me with eyes nearly completely white and I snarled at him, seeing the air distort between us again. Both men shuddered and went limp and the acrid stench that suddenly filled the air made me wrinkle my nose.

My feet struck pavement then, jarring me slightly. I seized a lungful of air and knelt, quickly gathering up all of my things. I threw a cautious look at the two men who had been terrorizing me just moments before. Neither was moving, but I could see their chests shifting slightly, indicating that they were breathing. I pulled my backpack up, clutching it to my chest and ran from there as fast as I could.

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