Things are gonna go downhill from here, just warning you now.
…
Hermes's POV
I'm right: work the next day is awful. And for the next three days.
I have agents scrambling out of my way, I have agents looking at me like I just killed someone, and I have agents whispering about me. Anke has it just as bad but she keeps her head up and ignores all of it. However, I can't. To me, it's grossly unfair. I was not the one who used their powers to attack people, yet people are acting like I was.
Kate has been locked up in Steele Bay, and she isn't allowed visitors. Even if she was, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to go see her.
Adrian, Noah, and Lateysha have all kept their heads down since it happened. They got a first-hand account from Anke and I about what happened, but they weren't actually there, and yet even they are getting unwanted treatment from other agents, even BTs.
My family have stuck close to me and Anke, especially Hazel and Parker. They've both been ferocious whenever anybody acts horribly towards us. In fact, it's got to the point where Anke and I don't actually go anywhere without at least one member of my family with me. If the agents see that Mom or Dad or even one of my older siblings is with us, they generally leave us alone. I'm grateful for that.
Four days after the incident, I finally get the courage to ask Major Monogram if I can see Kate. I'm not sure whether to be more happy or terrified when he accepts. As I leave his office to go up to Steele Bay, I literally bump into Madeline the Echidna, who actually hisses like a cat at me, though I see her back away a step.
"Freak," she snarls.
"Leave me alone," I say miserably, trying to walk past her.
She pushes me hard, making me fall over. "You don't deserve anything. You're just a mutant freak who doesn't deserve the same rights as us perfectly normal agents."
"Madeline, leave me alone."
"You don't even have the right to use my name!"
Madeline looms over me. I know I have the ability to make her get out of my way, but I hear Hazel's words echoing in my head: "Don't get provoked, don't start fights, and just be nice to everyone."
So I do.
"Please, I want to visit my friend in Steele Bay."
"Ah yes, the dog." Madeline casually looks at her long and sharp claws. "She's a freak and a criminal."
"My friend isn't a freak or a criminal!" I snap.
"Your "friend" tried to kill your family, and yet you stick up for her?"
"Madeline, please-."
"Please what?" crows Madeline. "I'm just speaking aloud what everyone is thinking."
"I just really want to go home now."
"You don't have a home. You'll never fit in. You're a freak who will always be inferior to us normal agents. That dog's powers went to her head and she attempted murder. It's only a matter of time before the same thing happens to you and you'll murder us all."
I feel that like a knife in my gut. "I won't!" I shout shrilly, momentarily breaking my promise to follow Hazel's advice.
"Don't raise your voice to me," Madeline snarls, digging her claws into my neck and lifting me off the ground. "I am older than you, I am more skilled than you, and I am an all-round better person than you. So when I say you'll lose control and murder us all, then that's what will happen."
I'm not entirely sure what happened next. One moment I'm struggling against Madeline's sharp claws, the next the echidna flies away from me and hits the wall, not too hard. I don't remember using my powers, but I guess they have some kind of defence mechanism in place.
"See!" Madeline gets up, not even looking hurt, despite the cut on her forehead. She's looking triumphant, jubilant. "You enjoyed that, didn't you? You're not just unstable: you're bloodthirsty. Will you finally be satisfied when you're standing over the dead bodies of your mom and dad and siblings?"
The knife in my gut becomes a serrated blade, twisting inside me, incurring agonising pain. I almost lash out with my powers but luckily I have no focus and they stay inside me. I don't know how she knows my worst fear, but somehow she does, and she's turned it into a weapon. She's hitting me where it hurts most.
I quickly turn and run. I keep going, not looking back, not looking around, not looking at anything apart from what's coming in front of me. I know if I stop now, I'll become focused and use my powers for something I shouldn't. I can't do that now. If I do, it'll never end.
…
This is simply a good place for a break. This chapter is NOT over yet I:}
Also: what the heck, Madeline?! I originally put Cassie in Madeline's place but then I scrapped that idea. I knew that Cassie and her personality would probably work in that position, but you'll understand why I scrapped that idea in a few chapters' time.
