Previously: Taylor returns home from the hospital, and discovers that she is a cape. She explores and experiments with her power, coming to an understanding with it.

Notes 1-4

I hesitated before the school, gripping the straps of my backpack a little bit tighter.

The week had passed by quickly, and the assignments mere afterthoughts to practicing with my powers. As a law abiding cape, I had quickly latched on the idea of being a hero, and that took up even more time as I considered what steps I would have to take before my debut.

I needed a cape name, a costume, equipment, information…the list went on, but I was crippled by a lack of words, a lack of Fear, a lack of expertise, and a lack of access. I had pretty much been stuck at home the entire time, and we didn't have internet access there.

But that was then, and this is now. I think it was only the knowledge that I had powers that gave me the courage to prepare for school after my morning jog, the only hesitations concerns of what tortures Emma, Sophia, and Madison had planned for me.

Still, despite knowing that pain likely awaited, I grit my teeth and forced myself through the doors. If I couldn't endure their pranks, their maliciousness… how could I even hope to be a hero and stand against the likes of…well, any cape?

The hall fell silent at my entrance, and I winced as I felt everyone's eyes on me. I stared back for a moment, trying to puzzle out why. Were they shocked I actually returned? Or perhaps the Trio simply had plans to make me suffer, and everyone was either in the know, or expected it.

I made the first move…or rather, I joined those who had grown tired of the stare down and tried to continue on my way. Emphasis on tried.

"Where do you think you're going, Hebert", drawled a familiar voice as Sophia grabbed my shoulders from behind and forced me towards some nearby lockers. The dark skinned girl hands dug a little deeper as she nearly tore my backpack off my back and threw it across the hall.

Had they been waiting for me? Was my suffering the only form of amusement in their lives?

I scowled as Sophia turned me around and pressed me against the locker, even as Emma and Madison emerged from the crowd…though I was somewhat amused that the two of them looked like they had run a mile or two.

Likely, they had watched over the different entrances just to make sure they caught me entering the school. As much as I hated it…I almost admired their dedication for making my life hell. Almost.

I took what little comfort I could that I suspected they had waited in vain over the last week where I didn't show.

"Look who finally shows her face", taunted Emma, "Did it take that long to find yourself a way out?"

Madison felt the need to chime in with, "Did you even bathe over the week you were gone? I can still smell the locker on you"

Half-hearted laughter rippled through the watching students, though the mere memory of the locker caused an almost universal crinkle of the nose.

I simply stayed quiet. Nothing I could say would change anything, and they would just turn it around to make me look worse. And of the two insults, the bathing comment was perhaps the more hurtful of the two. As soon as I had been able, I had nearly scrubbed my skin raw trying to remove the memory of the…filth.

I was tempted to say Emma was losing her touch…but I knew she would make me pay for it later, and that the temporary satisfaction wouldn't be worth it.

A shuffling sound brought me out of my thoughts, and a quick glance to the source showed me one the trio's groupies digging through my bag. My things went scattering across the floor...my notebooks, my pencils, my folder…

I breathed a sigh of relief as the girl completely ignored the folder and looked confused at the lack of any work. It seems that it was a good call to make plans with my dad for noon. Not even five minutes into the school day, and they were out for blood… or homework, though in a school setting the two were pretty much the same thing.

Still, I had nothing incriminating in there. Nothing to hide, and thus nothing they could use to hurt me.

When her face suddenly lit up, I winced as I realized that I had only considered school supplies.

It was the book I had dedicated to holding my stories that she pulled out, instantly recognizable by the Doodles I had drawn while puzzling out details, littering the cover in a satisfying pattern that my other notebooks lacked.

Why had I brought it to school today?

"I found her diary!", shouted the girl, and I paused.

It was most definitely not a diary. Keeping one was too much of a pain. I was filled with…something I had difficulty identifying. How would they interpret my stories? Concern welled up before fading into curiosity. I was positive I had left all mentions of my powers out of it, and a part of me honestly wondered how my stories, mere plans for they described, would be received.

I blinked at the sensation. Did…did that make me an artist? I hadn't thought of it before, but wasn't writing stories an art?

I must have shifted, because Sophia pressed me against the locker again with a little more force then she needed to, and with a laugh jerked her head towards Emma.

"You'd think she'd learn by now", laughed the Track Star, "I guess she really is as dim as you say. Let Emma read it, for everyone to hear"

Emma, Sophia, and Madison seemed to look intently at my face, and I shifted uncomfortably before I realized they were expecting to see shame and embarrassment at the announcement my secrets and fears and whatever a girl put into a diary was going to be exposed.

Fortunately, it wasn't a diary, and I felt none of those.

Emma had admired the cover for a moment, a hint of some unknown emotion flashing through her eyes, before opening it, and mockingly clearing her throat.

"Entry One: There was a rock I found, a pebble the same as any other by appearance. On a whim, I picked it up, and I found that it was heavy…heavier than any pebble of comparable size should be. 'How curious', I thought, and I placed it within my pocket where it remains to this day."

The resulting expressions on everyone's faces was quite refreshing. They did not expect that, and I could almost see the gears spin in everyone's brains as they wondered about what they had just heard.

I did have to force myself not to react when Sophia checked all my pockets however.

Finally, Madison smiled as if she had the perfect thing to say, "I suppose little Taylor has a thing for rocks. Everyone knows that people are out of her league"

And there went my good mood. Ouch.

I watched Emma flip a page…and then another several pages, naming the stories she passed in my head. Rock , Pencil 1, Pencil 2, Folder…

"Here's another one" she called out, and everyone fell silent, having acted up after Madison's sting. "Did you hear? Did you know? There lurk tiny men in the dark. They are petty, and thrive in it. Ever find your keys missing? Your glasses misplaced? Your Toilet Paper out long before it should? It was they, the tiny petty gnomes of…of…I can't read this last word. Ole? Your?"

"Yore", I answered without thinking, my mind remembering that that particular story had been born when I had misplaced my glasses and it had taken me an hour to find them. I had never actually read it, and I would never read it. I had written it for practice, and used my ability to determine how it would go.

I had enough problems with missing things, be it stolen or misplaced, to want entities whose entire purpose was to cause them to go missing.

Which is why as Madison tried to make a joke about me preferring tiny old men instead of rocks, and Emma tried to insult me for finishing the story, I was far more interested in watching shadows gather and swirl behind everyone, in the doorway to a bathroom with lights till out because of the early hour.

It twisted, and twirled, and gradually formed…a single wizened figure the size of an action figure, though with the proportional figure of a lumberjack. It winked at me, and then scurried back into the depths of the shadows.

I was stunned.

That wasn't right! I hadn't read the story! Why did it come true!? Was Emma going to take even that away from me? The ability that was unique to myself? How did it come true? I didn't have enough fear…

Actually, with about dozen to twenty people crowding the hallway, listening to my stories, I had enough fear for the tale to come true. How horrifying.

Perhaps…no…Definitely, it was an aspect of my power I was unaware of.

They must have taken my distress as a sign that they were getting to me, as they all laughed and then stilled as Emma flipped through another couple pages and naturally chose the worst possible one.

"Here's another one. Taylor…you really should see something about this fear of the dark, by the way", she taunted, before reciting, "A living shadow, it lurks just out of sight. The dark beckons it, and the light denies, this wisp will do what it can to bring the night. Shadows Loom within Brockton Bay, and it greets them with a smile."

That story had been brought about by a blackout a couple days ago. A drug bust a block over had gone wrong and the resulting mess had crippled the powerlines for hours until the city finally got around to repairing it.

I hadn't expected much from this story…just an entity that could replicate the event as an exercise to see if I could make the idea work. Fortunately, I had dreamed small with this creature: The only abilities it had were being a living shadow, but with the other characteristics… I had no doubt it was forming somewhere out of sight, and in the dark.

By then, Emma had finished skimming through my stories, and with an exaggerated sigh tossed to the floor. "Pathetic, Taylor. Your diary sucks"

That marked the end. With a few parting insults, people started wandering away, and I found myself shoved to the ground, "Where I belong", as said by Sophia before she joined the others of the Trio.

I spent a couple minutes gathering my stuff and evading people, hoping that the rest of my day would be better.

I knew I was out of luck when I saw the bathroom light flicker on and off.

End of Chapter:

Word count: 1834 / 6747

Page count: 5/18

Word Tinker: She creates entities and objects through words that clarify their abilities and characteristics. As long as the story is hers, she doesn't need to be the person who reads it. Unfortunately, they don't come out of nothing and are shaped from people's emotions towards the story.

Finally. My first chapter that isn't just straight exposition…ever…I think. I've been so concerned with the beginnings of stories that it's…well, crippled them. No more…hopefully. I think Chapter 2 saw helped me get some experience with dialogue.

I had planned for the chapter to be a little longer, but I'm cutting it short here…it's a good end point, and what I have progresses the story enough. Originally, I wanted to show some of the chaos and end the story once lunch arrived. I suppose the next chapter will have to do all of that.

DeathDemonWolf asked some questions, some of which I cannot answer yet, either spoilers, or just not having come up with a plan yet. Major Drawbacks? I believe the entire first arc will display them. Cape Name, Role, Endbringer, and Coil? That's for me to know/think about and you to find out later.

However, despite the story name being Hundred Tales…She's not limited to only a hundred Tales. It was just a name that sounds interesting, and points to the source of her ability…or is it.