CHAPTER 1

"GUT FEELING"

Dark clouds spread in the sky like ink swirling in water. It was a usual Tuesday morning, which meant that Zella was supposed to be walking to the high school two blocks away from the apartment. In reality, as with most Tuesday mornings, she wasn't.

"Bum bum be-dum, bum bum be-dum bum…" she sang under her breath. The guy loitering under the bridge gave her a funny look. "What? It's just Rihanna."

She rolled her eyes and continued on. Destination: anywhere but school. Music thumped in her ears. Even the freaking public library looked appealing this morning. The empty, dusty windows stared back at her as she walked past. So long as she avoided Luthor and his guys, she would be fine. And like the two-mile radius surrounding the apartment and school…just in case. Her heart beat faster than she wished it would. There was always this unwelcome anxiety every time she bunked off school – and she bunked off school A LOT. Every time, a variation of the same vision came into her head: her teachers actually noticing her absence, realising how often she wasn't there, calling her dad… and now for the nausea.

It's not like I find this enjoyable, she thought. It's like... the lesser of two very unappealing scenarios. School vs. wandering around the city. Pain vs. boredom. Oh, I love this song!

"I'm a fine-tuned supersonic speed machine!" she sang, a little louder than she'd intended. But hey. The passers-by would love a little music to lighten up their mornings!

She admired her new red shoelaces as she walked. Hey, she had her sneakers in her bag. She could go to the gym, maybe –

A massive guy was blocking her path.

"Uh, excuse me –" she said, attempting to move around him, without looking up.

"Good morning, Zella," said a familiar, low voice, and she froze. Her eyes locked with his dark, apathetic gaze. Luthor. Shit. "Want to take out the headphones?"

"Not really," she said, but pulled them out anyway. "I guess you don't like Rihanna?"

"Why aren't you at school, Zella?" he asked, ignoring her. The street seemed a lot emptier, and the situation a lot more dangerous, without that great music pumping in her ears. Luthor was stood slightly behind his big muscleman that she'd bumped into, and he also had two more guys with him. Zella's chances = zero.

"School… I find it to be more of an optional pursuit, nowadays."

"So I've noticed," he said. His red-tinted glasses hid any kind of expression. "Education is important for a young girl like you. Keeps you off the streets. Out of trouble."

"It's a Tuesday morning. It's, what, 8 o'clock? What kind of characters of malicious intent would be hanging out at this hour?"

His lips curled downwards and she realised, happily, that he was a little pissed off. At least I can best him verbally!

"Well, I think it would be best if you headed back to school. Who knows, you might even make it in time for your first lesson."

"Wouldn't that be a miracle."

She tilted her head, staring straight back at him. Everything about him... it just made her want to fight back, DO SOMETHING! Buffy didn't let Angel bully her when he turned evil! Well, she did for a bit, but then she got over it... And Zella wasn't exactly one for rolling over on her belly and giving up. Well... she usually was. But not today!

"Just head on back, Zella, and we'll leave you alone. You know you can't be around here during the day."

"I can be wherever I wanna be, whenever."

She was surprised at the lack of shaking in her voice. But the fear seemed to be gone. Her body was filled with, mostly, anger. And resistance.

"You suck, Luthor," she said. "Just leave me alone."

His eyebrows raised the slightest amount – close enough to an expression to leave her satisfied – so she shouldered her backpack, and continued on the sidewalk past them. The first few steps were terrifying. She fought the urge to turn around and see what they were doing. Instead, she put her headphones back in.

The loudness of the music drowned out the steps behind her, so it surprised her when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her around, and she barely saw the first punch coming towards her face.

"Oh –" she managed to say, before the fist knocked all words out of her. It was the huge guy. She couldn't think of anything to do as he dragged her into an alleyway, scraped her back against the brick wall, and swung another punch into her gut. The pain was immediate, like a ton of metal had ruptured her stomach, and she doubled over.

"Please, continue," she just about heard Luthor say from somewhere above her, before a boot slammed into her side and she fell onto the concrete.

Everything hurt. Her face seemed to be wet and puffy – from tears as well as bruises. They left her, curled up, behind a couple of giant trash bins. Her eyes struggled to open enough to see if anyone was around, but her head wouldn't move, so she just had a great view of some dead leaves lying next to her face. Wow. That was new. Luthor had never tried anything like that before. And, she guessed, he would probably again... maybe, excruciatingly, the best move would be to go to school for the next few weeks. Or as soon as she could actually move.

Oh, god. This is not good.

A couple more tears squeezed out of her eyes and slid sideways down her face to the ground. She just needed to get up... then she could... but the world was turning black and white...

A/N: My first story in a while :) At the moment this has nothing to do with SHIELD - but, I promise, it will! Please review if you feel in a generous mood :)