Hi everybody~!
This is my first fic so don't judge if it's terrible! Hope you like it anyways... I know I skip around a lot with paragraphs and scene changes in this chapter, the rest won't be like that (hopefully). Anyways please enjoy
-Realm13
Chapter One
See Me
A loud siren blares down the hall as a girl in a paper thin hospital dress runs as fast as she can down a long white corridor, sweat dripping down her face like rain. She can't distinguish her tears from her sweat and blood, but she keeps running. The door is in sight, so close now, but an eternity away. In between her and the endless white hallway through the endless blaring corridor, screaming its horrible tune and shooting its horrible caw up her spine are them.
"Stop it at all costs!" A male voice shouts behind her. Faster.
The girl extends her hand, fingers clawing at the air. She is feet, inches, centimeters away from the handle when a gunshot explodes behind her and she crumples instantly like paper to the floor. Blood steadily begins to pool out of a wound in her stomach. Oh God…
The alarm still screams as she fades out of consciousness and into the embrace of death, her fingers resting on the white door frame.
…
All eyes fall upon the child at the front of the room in unison. Half of the eyes stare with a bored disinterest, mostly the girls. The other eyes search and wander, poke and prod, dig and focus, watching, memorizing, and observing every angle of the child. Standing beside the homeroom teacher is a short girl. She is nearly two feet smaller than the teacher with light brown short hair cut into a relatively styled pixie cut.
"That's cute." A girl with long curly blonde hair and a red jacket whispered to another girl beside her. The girl in the purple jacket and pink hat nods, whispering something in response.
The girl at the front shifted under the heavy gazes of the other children, but does not crumple nor shy away as they began to observe her even closer. Her eyes are a bold and burning shade of green, an almost neon green. Her skin is flawless and a little pale, her cheekbones high and her body type thin. Around her shoulders is a grey backpack slung lazily on top of a grey-ish teal hoodie, the type with strings around the neck. Her pants are black jeans and her shoes are white converse. Her expression is empty, unreadable.
"Class, I'd like you to meet…" The teacher glances down momentarily to the paper on his desk. "…Lirah Kitz." The girl shifs under the weight of her own name and her gaze changed for a minute. After hearing her name most of the silent chatter and note passing gossip had ceased, and most of the students had accepted the fact of a new student and moved on, disinterested. But one of the boys in the class continued to stare. "You can seat beside Stan." The teacher motioned towards a boy with a blue and red hat. Just barely peeking out from behind the brim of the hat were small, scraggly strands of ink black hair. The boy is wearing a plain brown jacket and doodling something onto a page of his notebook. At the mention of his name the boy straightened and scooted his things down to one side of the table, making room for the short haired girl.
Lirah slowly moves, making no sound at all, to sit beside the boy. She glances at him and he nods in acknowledgement of her presence.
One boy continued to stare from the other side of the room. Something about this new girl seemed to stick to his thoughts. And it isn't a good feeling.
About an hour later the school bell trills loudly through the classroom. Every student moves at the same moment, grouping into bunches in the corners of the room or moving in small clouds out into the hallway.
The girl called Lirah stands and looks at the boy beside her. "Thank you." She mutters softly, her voice is like a whisper.
"Huh? Oh yeah, if you need anything, just ask. Lirah, right?"
"I go by Lie, usually."
"What kind of dumb-ass nickname is that?" A fat boy from behind them snorts loudly. Lirah turns to face him. His hair is entirely hidden under a yellow and sky blue hat. Around his shoulders is a red jacket, a white T-shirt visible underneath.
Before Lirah has a chance to respond a boy in a green hat shouts something in return. "Lay off, fat-ass."
"Jew!" The large boy crones back. The four boys left in the room look at the girl with expressions of utter confusion plastered to their faces. Lirah begins to giggle, then laugh.
"That's funny to you?" The boy under the green hat asks.
"Y-yes!" Lie chuckles, still laughing.
Stan and the boy in the green hat exchange a look of confusion.
"But, you're a girl…" Stan mutters.
"So? That was funny." She shrugs, grabbing her bag of the floor.
"Really?"
"Crazy bitch." The boy in the blue and yellow hat hisses. Lie turns to him and gives him such a look that his blood runs cold instantly. The boy doesn't back down, he just silences as he stands to grab his bag.
"So, you're new?" The boy in the green hat asks, walking over. Lie nods. "From where?"
"A-Arizona." She stutters, as if surprised by the question.
"Isn't it hot there?" Lie nods.
"I like the cold much better." She shrugs, giving a cocked smile.
"Crazy bitch." Everyone ignores him now. A feeling suddenly creeps up on the brown haired girl and she quickly glances to the other side of the room. On the very other end of the front row one person was still sitting, fixated on her. His face is hidden under the hood of a bright orange parka, the jeans around his legs ripped and filthy. He is sitting up perfectly straight, watching her. Lie repeats the gesture, uneasy.
The other boys notice the direction of her gaze and turn to follow her eyes.
"Kenny?" Stan asks. Immediately the boy snaps out of his trance and looks away quickly.
"Lie, right? I'm Kyle, the asshole is Cartman, and this is Stan. The one gawking at you is Kenny." The boy gives a brief introduction, pointing at each boy.
A garbled reply comes out of the boy in the parka. "What?" Lie asks.
"He says, 'I wasn't gawking, shut the hell up, Kyle.'"
The boy in the orange parka yanks apart the flaps of the hood violently, his face crimson with anger and embarrassment. His golden blonde hair lies in feathery patterns across his burning blue eyes. His dirt smudged face is slightly tanned despite the cold weather and one white bandage is on his left cheek. He glares at Kyle with his swimming blue eyes. Lie can't help but notice his beauty and crack a small smile.
"Kyle, are you driving?" Stan turns, pulling his backpack up over his shoulders, tossing a strand of black hair out of his brown eyes.
"Yeah…" Kyle notices Lirah shifting uncomfortably behind them. "Do you want to come, Lie? We're going to the mall so we can buy this new game-"
"She doesn't care about that shit." The boy called Cartman grumbles bitterly.
"Actually… I do but… I can't, I have to finish doing something." She smiles at the boys, encouraged by their kind invitation.
Something clicks in Kenny's mind, something about the girl's eyes. Something about her smile was… wrong. He's seen that look so many times before, but couldn't put his finger on where. Something was bothering him- no- haunting him about Lie.
"Unpacking?" Kyle offers. Lie nods, smiling again.
"Where do you live?" Kenny asks, leaning against the desk. Lirah turns about to open the door.
"Stalker much?" Cartman sniggers.
"Shut the fuck up, fat ass!" Kenny hisses behind him. Lie chuckles gently. That look comes into her eyes again. "I'm asking in case you need someone to walk you home, so you don't get lost…"
Stan whistles suggestively and the other two boys laugh. Kenny's face turns bright red again. Lie laughs. "I'll be fine, thanks." She turns, closing the door behind her. Only Kenny can see the look in her eyes before the door closed. She looked like she was about to scream.
…
The loud whooshing of fabric out in the night air travels to Lie's ears, it doesn't bother her. Probably a kite or jacket stuck in a tree. She leans back against the tree where her small camp is formed, closing her eyes for a moment. In front of her is a small camp fire, beside her the grey backpack, and behind her a wadded up blanket. Suspended over the fire by a string hanging from a low tree branch is a pan-like contraption filled with water. It steadily boils.
Suddenly the branch snaps and the pan comes crashing down into the fire. Lie jumps nearly four feet in the air, her breath now panicked.
She listens around her to the sound of the night, and something doesn't belong. With a loud whoosh of fabric whipping through air a figure lands on the other side of her fire, facing her. The figure is a mere silhouette behind the flame, its face and features hidden. The figure is hooded and wearing a long, deep purple cape. No facial features are visible except for a deep scowl.
"Dick! You made my thing fall!" The girl quips loudly, groaning, not even fazed.
"Lirah?" His voice is deep and fake, grave and intimidating.
She gulps after removing the pot from the flame. The fire lurches forward again, the figures features becoming clearer. The figure is a boy about a foot taller than her wearing a black mask and a dark purple hood over a light purple suit with a green M sewn on the chest. His belt contains an assortment of weapons and what seems to be fireworks. On the very top of his hood bobs a green question mark on a spring. His face is pressed into a deep scowl.
"Yeah…" She stands, her hand moving to her back slowly.
The figure knows what she is doing. "Do not move for a weapon. I won't hurt you."
She scoffs. "Really?"
"Yes. Lirah?"
"That's my name." Her hand finds her hip and she cracks a frown. Her eyes narrow to a sharp intensity. "How about you Mr. Under-wear-outside-my-pants. You have a name?"
"Mysterion."
She chuckles. "Town 'superhero' I presume? I heard about you on my way in. I did some research on the town before I moved… there are whole blogs about you!"
"Yes." Mysterion's features gradually relax. Lirah's eyes widen and she cracks a wide smile.
"What's your super power?"
"What?" He seems surprised and Lirah rocks forward on the balls of her feet. "All superheroes have powers or else you're just… lame."
"That's not for you to know."
"Secretive much?" Mysterion doesn't react to her words. She sighs dryly.
"What are you doing out here?" He asks.
"None of your concern, Mysterion." She kicks out her fire and grabs her bag, straightening her bag and staring down his figure in the now endless dark of the night. "You know, you should really wear a different outfit. You'll get hit by a car in all of those dark colors and die." She turns, walking out of the clearing, but not before Mysterion could get one more look at her haunting eyes.
Then it hits him. The look on her face. It's the look of a burden.
And he's only seen it one other place before.
In the mirror.
Lirah makes a sharp turn, darting between trees. She kicks herself mentally. Why a town superhero? Why? She shakes her head, nearly running into a tree. Her swimming thoughts have begun to blind her into a garbled panic but yet even in the dark woods of this mountain town she seems more composed than she had been standing in a classroom.
But then again, she's had more experience in the woods than in a classroom. Or anywhere with a large population of judgmental teenagers.
Does he know? She stops, dead in her tracks. No, some half-assed vigilante couldn't know. Lirah shakes her head again, cracking a tiny smile.
"Know what?"
Lie whips around on her heel. Standing just behind her is Mysterion, eyes narrowed and prodding. "Was I… talking out loud again?" Her face turns a scarlet shade of pink. The boy nods. "God dammit…" She slaps herself in the forehead.
"What couldn't a half-assed vigilante like me know?" The boy smirks.
"Things. About… stuff." The brunette waves him off, turning to walk away. "Besides, just… you wouldn't believe me." She huffs, trying to get him to leave.
"Trust me, you wouldn't imagine the things I've been through." The girl scoffs, scowling at him and stalking right up to his figure until they are toe to toe. Her head only reaches his shoulders but her gaze is menacing and fierce all the same. She's testing him.
"Try me." A light flickers behind her eye and she twists again on her heel, sauntering off out towards the direction of the street. "Don't try and follow me! This time I won't talk to myself!" She calls behind her.
Mysterion turns away, smirking. Something about her. Something about those eyes… It makes Kenny feel like he is an idiot, like there is something there, daring him, looking him right in the face. But it couldn't be what he thinks. That look… he must be mistaking it. There's no way she could have the look he thinks.
There's no way she can have something that heavy on her shoulders.
Right?