The First Sigil
I walk down the main hall of Winslow High, eyes darting from side to side, expecting an attack at any moment.
Glancing around, I notice a new fixture at Winslow. An armed and uniformed BBPD officer. Did he just glance my way? He's looking for trouble from all angles, but he also looks my way multiple times, as if he's checking me out. Ew. Wait, not checking me out. He's checking up on me!
Victory is mine!
Ok, maybe that's going too far, but with him here it must mean that the investigation is moving forward. Dad, you're the best.
Heading towards my locker, I see Emma and Madison coming my way. Pretty little princess and her stuck up follower. This should be interesting, wonder what they'll try with an officer not 10 feet down the hall.
Amazing. Shocking. Flabbergasting! Mom was an English teacher and would be proud of that last one.
They do next to nothing: Emma looks at me then pointedly turns her nose up, Madison glances at me and mumbles "Bitch," but that's all.
Well, I can't let such civil behavior go unrewarded.
Over the weekend, I developed a new normal for myself. Personal Shield always in place, and Passive Perception on. At some point I'd transitioned to thinking of my Power in capital letters. My Senses extend about 20 feet out in all directions.
It is such a simply thing to grab Emma's left shoe with a Tendril as it strikes the ground and hold it in place. Ah...the squawk that leaves Emma's mouth is a thing of beauty. The Squawk the Justice.
Emma falling to the ground in an undignified heap; my fault.
Emma's skirt flipping up in just the right manner, thus exposing her butt; also my fault.
Emma choosing to wear an almost nonexistent black lacy thong; not my fault.
Seriously. It's January in New England. Why are you wearing a skirt in the first place!
I will admit, though I still hate her, that Emma does have a great butt. Totally unfair. I'm tall for my age, but that's all I have. Way too skinny and awkward. No butt, no boobs. I even have a slight spare tire around my middle. Man, I need to take care of this thing. I'll start exercising soon. That will help.
Back to Emma, I see her on the ground, backpack thrown a few feet ahead of her. She scrambles to a quick sitting position to cover her exposed butt. I quickly turn away so she can't see the huge smile on my face.
Slam!
I hit the locker in front of me, thankfully causing me no harm thanks to my Shield. Hands roughly grab my shoulders and spin me around.
"What the fuck are you smiling at bitch?" Of course. Sophia, my third tormentor. Picking up my head to look her in the eyes, I see it.
A symbol of some sort; glowing, about half an inch off of Sophia's forehead.
What. The. Fuck.
It glows a soft, golden color that does nothing to blurs its lines. It looks like writing of some kind. Maybe like the symbols used in Japanese writing? But somehow with an oddly alien quality to it. It has me in thrall. I drink in every detail of this strange, beautiful, somewhat alien looking symbol.
"...BERT!" Slam! As I hit the lockers again I snap out of my dazed state. "Stop staring at me you stupid cunt!" Oh right, Sophia. She must have been calling my name.
Out of nowhere a large hand lands on the back of Sophia's neck and pulls her away from me. "Alright, that's enough of that," the BBPD officer states in a firm tone letting go of Sophia.
Looking down from a 6'0 plus height, "Name?" he calmly asks Sophia.
"Don't you ever fucking touch me again!" Sophia shouts at the officer. Ah, the Sophia charm.
"Look ma'am, I witnessed you slam a student into the lockers with zero provocation. This is exactly why I'm here in the first place, to stop this type of behavior from happening. Now, your name please." The last was said as a demand, little question in his voice.
"Sophia Hess," I say, finding my voice. As I say her name, I can't help but continue to sneak quick peeks at Sophia's forehead. Sophia glares daggers at me, but doesn't say anything as she turns and stalks away.
"Are you alright ma'am? She shoved your pretty hard by the sound of it." There is genuine concern in his voice.
"I'm fine officer. This happens all the time, so I'm used to it by now. Thanks for stepping in."
"Well, I'm glad you're ok. Just so you know, I'll be reporting this to the principle and also the lead investigator looking into the accusations of bullying here at Winslow."
"Thanks, hopefully something finally comes of it. I've been complaining for over a year with no results."
Finding my seat for first period, I quickly pull out a notebook and start a sketch of the golden symbol. I'm only able to get a rough sketch before Mrs. Knott, the Computer Programming teacher, walks in and starts giving instructions for the day's assignment.
Closing my notebook I quickly finish the assignment. Computer Programming is one of the few classes that I don't have with any of my main tormentors. Because of that, I actually have a decent grade since I'm able to focus. It helps that assignments are uploaded directly to Mrs. Knott.
Pulling my notebook out, I stare at the symbol. Again, the thing that stands out to me is the otherworldly feeling it gives off when looking at it. What does it mean, and why was it hanging in front of Sophia's forehead? Closing my eyes, I picture the icon. Drawing the symbol a few more times, I finally have it right. Still no clue what it means.
"Sophia Hess, please report to the main office. Sophia Hess, report to the main office. Thank you."
Bringing my hand up to my mouth in a fake cough, I cover a smile.
I'm both pleased that Sophia might get in trouble, but scared that she'll take it out on me. Well, not a whole lot I can do about it. Just in case I'll try to hang out near the BBPD officer.
I make eye contact with the uniformed officer, Officer McHale, and head towards the cafeteria. Thankfully he sees and follows the crowd of students making their way to lunch. Lately I've been hiding in bathroom stalls, trying to eat in peace.
Speaking of bathrooms, during an earlier visit, I looked at my forehead in the mirror and...nothing. Guess I can't see my own sigils.
The rest of the day passes by quickly, and uneventfully. When I can, I keep Officer McHale in sight, and that seems to do the trick.
Heading home on the bus, I've only got one thing on my mind. The strange symbol. Getting off at the bus stop nearest home, I break into a light jog in excitement to get to the basement and experiment.
It's 4:00 PM and Dad doesn't get home until 6:30 PM most nights. Plenty of time to figure this out. Heading into the basement, I open my notebook and sit at Dad's small workbench. Now what? Does the symbol do something? Can I somehow activate it? Worth a shot, but how?
With my general awareness spread across the basement, I take a moment to Focus on the symbol drawn on the page. Nothing. Huh. Let me find something that I can carve or etch the icon into. Looking around, I settle my gaze on a spare piece of wood. Wrapping a Thread around it, I lift and carry it to the workbench.
Forming a sharp Talon, I attempt to carve the symbol into the wood. Crap. It's just cheap particle board, so it splinters and breaks up easily. Ok, something else then. A quick search finds me a blank electrical box cover. Basically, it's a square steel plate about four inches on each side.
I carve the symbol with my Talon, the displaced metal curling up into ringlets. This time it works perfectly. Setting the plate on the bench, I compare it to the sketch in my notebook with a critical eye. Everything looks right.
No. Not just looks right, it feels right.
Gently I lift the plate roughly 4 inches, cradling it with in a Hand. Nothing happens. I try to Envelop the plate. Still nothing. It's not until I Fill the grooves in the carving that I get a reaction.
Whoosh.
The plate phases out to a dark mist. I suddenly fit the puzzle pieces together.
Oh. Shit.
Sorry, but this is huge. I know where I've seen a phasing dark mist before. The edgy, dark hooded Ward. Shadow Stalker. High school aged, athletic build…
It's Sophia. Sophia Hess is Shadow Stalker, a Ward. The junior hero organization under the Protectorate's domain. I hate the idea that someone like Sophia, someone that's picked on me, hurt me, stolen homework, and ruined school projects, is considered a hero.
She's no hero. Not like Legend, Alexandria, or Eidolon, the leaders of the Triumvirate, the ruling head of the Protectorate. The Protectorate does what it sounds like, it protects society from villain capes and other threats, like the Endbringers. Or at least it should.
Probably why I can never seem to get justice. They've been protecting their pet psychopath.
I remember reading on PHO, Parahuman Online, the forums for all things cape related, that Shadow Stalker used to be an Independant cape. A vigilante who wants to do good, but doesn't play by the Protectorate's rules. Then she had a scandal involving her signature crossbows and an Empire 88 member pinned to a wall. He'd almost bled to death if I recall. Shortly after she had been basically conscripted into the Wards program. I'll bet she did it to avoid juvie.
It burns me up inside that my epic discovery about the power behind the symbol is tainted by Sophia.
I need a plan. Even with everything Dad is doing to shed light on how bad things are at Winslow, I feel that I'll never truly get justice while Shadow Stalker is a Ward.
I spend the rest of the day formulating a plan to bring down Sophia.