Chapter 2

Who do you want to be

Isabel POV

Maybe I should start from the beginning. Not the very beginning, mind you. Hearing the same story twice can be quite boring, can't it? No, let me start from what I guess would be considered the middle of my story. It all started when my cousin and I decided we wanted to be superheroes. I guess you can say that since then, we've both been on a rollercoaster of sorts. Spinning out in all directions with the floor dropping us down another hill when we least expected it, only to be dragged up once again.

The biggest hill it dropped me down was after what happened at the D'Amicos. Let me tell you, witnessing a man being blow up over a city by a bazooka is not something you ever really want to see. Nor is it something you're ever likely to forget if you do have the chance to see it.

My friend, Jude, decided it was best for me and my safety to come back to Georgia. If only for the summer, anyway, I still had my senior year to attend in the fall. Whether he knew or not, I fully intended to return to New York to finish in the fall. As soon as summer vacations started, I was piled into his old Impala with all of my things and we drove for hours.

Arriving at his house, I was genuinely surprised by the red headed girl that was waiting on the steps. She was small, a little over 5 feet tall, and her vibrant red hair stood out against the pale white of the house as she practically skipped up and introduced herself. "So I've heard so much about you," was the first thing she said to me. I got distracted by how thick her southern accent was and how white her teeth were so it took me a second to reply and when I did, she promptly laughed and hooked her arm with mine and led me into the house.

Cecelia Deveraux was two months younger than me, just turning 17 the month before. She'd lived in Texas her whole life except for five years earlier when she'd moved to New York. She'd moved to Georgia, next door to Jude, with her mother and step father three years ago when her mother got pregnant with her little sister. She wasn't too fond of either of them, so she spent most of her time with Jude, whom she was dating.

To be honest, if you would have told me at that moment that Cecelia would come to be one of my best friends, I would have laughed in your face. But the universe is strange sometimes, isn't it?

When Cecelia first found out that I was Firecracker, she was shocked to say the least. Not talking to me or Jude for about a week before she finally came to her senses.

Which is probably why I was so surprised when she agreed to join me and Jude in creating our own little trio of heroes.

But more on the summer later. Nothing much interesting happened anyway besides a few drug busts that I can remember. Because, no. This story isn't about the summer. This story isn't just about me anymore either. This story is about all the people that are in my life. Your actions affect not only yourself, but everyone around you. I honestly should have known that then, but I didn't. The circumstances of not knowing? Well, I guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?

"So who do you want to be," I asked Cecelia after I'd went upstairs to change out of my costume. Jude had went about making coffee and the three of us were currently seated around the coffee table. Jude was sitting on the chair where one person could fit comfortably with Cecelia sitting at his feet. It never ceased to astound me how tiny she could make herself look. Even though she was only three inches shorter than me, the way she sat made her look almost like a breakable little doll sometimes. I honestly saw it as something she could use to her advantage. "I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders and leaned forward, resting an elbow on the table. "Maybe something like," she wrinkled her nose as I tapped my notebook with my pen and rolled my eyes.

"Don't roll those big brown eyes at me, Lizewski!" she snapped suddenly and then a look of realization appeared on her face. "Raven. I want to be called Raven." "Cute. Will you be wearing a cape?" I smirked as I leaned forward and wrote down the possibility of a name. "Is your dad secretly a demon or som-oof." Jude started coughing and I looked up to see Cecelia glaring at him as he held a hand to his stomach. "Jesus," I raised an eyebrow and shook my head at the two of them.

They really could be ridiculous at times. "Now now, children." I shook my head. "She punched me!" "Don't be such a pussy," Cecelia had rolled her eyes and the unexpectedness of the comment nearly sent my coffee spilling across the table as I fumbled with the mug.

"What colors? I'm trying to speed this along so you two can kill each other in peace," I went on in a deadpan tone which was met with two very unamused expressions. "Pink. Oh, and purple." I dropped the pen. "Listen, I know you look up to Hit Girl and everything, but that's a bit ridiculous, isn't it," I asked with a small smile on my face.

"I didn't know those colors were specific to her, you know. Plus, I can afford to get a good costume." She said in a bored tone. Both Jude and I stared at her waiting for clarification as she took a dainty sip of her coffee. "Well, you know. My dad still has to send a crap load of child support to my mother. And plus, he sends me a lot of guilt money over the past four years." She said with an expression on her face that said she obviously thought we were idiots for not knowing this already.

"How much guilt money are we talking?" I asked with honest curiosity. "About four thousand every two months." She replied. Jude nearly fell out of his chair and my jaw dropped. "You're fucking me." "No, she's fucking me," I heard Jude mumble and I let out a quiet growl before throwing a coaster that hit him directly in the middle of the forehead. "So you're serious, though?" I asked the redhead sitting across from me while I continued to glare at her boyfriend.

"Dead serious, darling. Now tell me. What do you want with your costume, then?" A grin was on her face as I stared at her. The expression on my face must have been as if someone had just slapped me, though it slowly turned into a smirk as I picked up my pen and began scribbling down notes.

"Wait! I want a new costume too! ..Guys…Guys!" Jude leaned forward in his chair and whined desperately as Cecelia merely sat there with a pleased expression on her face as she watched the two of us scramble over new details that we wanted to add. Having friends with money has its benefits sometimes.

A/N: expect an update on "Story of my life" by the end of the day! In the meantime, I just wanted to get this chapter up because my muses and ideas for this story are already plotted out and more active so enjoy! Reviews would be great, too!