I awoke to the sound of cold air as it blew through my cracked window. The hole wasn't a big one but was still enough for the winter weather to lower the room temperature. It was still dark outside, it would be some time until the sunrise. I had long since grown accustomed to waking up early to get myself to school on time. Dad was supposed to take me to school, but it had been years since he could that safely.
My house was just close enough to Winslow that I couldn't ride the school bus, but it was still quite a distance to walk. I gathered the blanket around myself as I rolled out of bed. I was going to have to skip breakfast if I was going to keep to my schedule. According to the clock I had only fifteen minutes to leave the house.
I dropped my blanket and clothes onto the bathroom floor. I hadn't showered in the two days, a fact that persisted unto something noticeable. The warmth of the shower spread down my body ,into my muscles and bones. For the first time since I had left the house I was at ease, the hot shower had addressed the tension resulting from the anxiety and cold air. Regardless of how it made me feel I was hesitant to use the shower for long.
If dad had heard the water in the pipes, he would have known that I was awake. The memories of what I had said to him were fresh in my mind. I knew that I resented him for a few things, and rightfully so, but tearing him down didn't leave me feeling as good as I thought it would've. The guilt from last night still hung over me. I couldn't avoid my dad forever, but I still dreaded when I'd inevitably had to speak with him again.
I finished up the shower taking a bit of extra time to brush and comb my tangled hair. Two minutes to brush my teeth and four to get dressed. Wearing my gym clothes underneath the regular ones wouldn't leave me sweating on my way to school. In this weather I didn't have to compromise between overheating or protecting my clothes from any tampering.
I grabbed one of my spare backpacks from underneath my bed. Having gone through several of them since the bullying first began, I made sure to request enough money from dad to purchase a few cheap replacements. Fortunately, he had been too hungover at the time to remember any of it. I had taken enough precautions that each of the backpacks were packed with at least enough supplies to get me through a single day.
I made my way downstairs but not before taking a moment to bury the Eidolon lunchbox deep into my closet. It wasn't much but would have to be enough to keep my dad from finding it before I came back home.
I made my way downstairs slowly, as to not announce myself before I could leave. A small lamp had been left on overnight. At first I assumed it was just another of dads careless mistakes, for the most part he was functional. He tended to miss the small stuff throughout the day a light here a bit of trash there. It was always something trivial, normally I would be the one to clean up behind him, the problem arose when those small things added up. Those were the times where I resented him the most, when our relationship became the inverse of what it should've been. At least I didn't have to memorize each step around the piles of trash like usual.
I'd reached the bottom of the stairs when I could see the rest of the room and by extension my fathers handiwork, apparently he had been busy for most of the night. Both the kitchen and living room floor leading to his office had been cleared of all trash. Not just the various beer containers but all the discarded papers and napkins that had built up over the years, they had all disappeared overnight. I must've slept heavy to not have heard even a hint of all the vacuuming and cleaning that took the old stench that I had grown accustomed to being in the air was absent.
It was nice to not have to step over clinking beer cans on my way out of the house.I noticed as I passed by that his office was empty and its door left open. It, unlike everything else remained just as cluttered as it had been yesterday.
The office was a cramped room just big enough to accommodate dad's computer and mini-fridge. All that left him was a tall office chair to sit in, it could recline to allow him to lay back and sleep. But due to the squat size of the room the most it could lean back was a few inches. It was where he liked to sleep and eat while he was didn't really go into his and mom's bedroom unless he needed a change of clothes, which wasn't often.
A small plastic bag had been left for me on the table next to the front door. It was a small bit of food dad had left for me with a small note attached to it. It read.'for my little owl' with the accompanied small doodle of the bird. The picture was meant to remind me of the nickname that mom had come up with when I was a little girl, it stirred up a few memories but none that I wanted to wallow in. It was obvious that dad was still hung up on mom, but I couldn't tell what he was trying to accomplish by trying to remind me of her.
Dad was making a real effort, the only question left was for how long he could maintain it. He had always been one for grand gestures. Moments or ultimatums that had to mean something due to their very nature. It had been the main reason why I had been so worried when I tried to sneak back in. But in a sense that was simultaneously good and bad he also had a tendency to backslide. Before he would make promises to cut back on the drinking or to communicate, only for him to be too drunk to even speak coherently a few days later. Today was probably just the first stage of his depressing cycle.
I took the bag with me on my way out the door, I could have waited to eat the food at Winslow but decided against doing so. I could never anticipate what issues or traps would be waiting for me there, so it was probably best to enjoy it while I still could.
Normally my powers could stave off the effects of hunger, I probably could've gone days without eating a proper meal and not feel any negative effects. That being said I still preferred food over an empty stomach. Besides, I didn't have much of the wraith left inside of me, there was no telling when I'd need to eat again.
Dad had packed me a bagel sandwich with bacon, eggs, and cheese. The food actually looked edible, the eggs had been cooked all the way and the bacon was crispy instead of burnt. It was an overall improvement on dads part. Normally he'd be too unfocused while he cooked managing to neglect one step of the recipe and ruining the whole meal. My breakfast was the first decent meal I had in a long while that I didn't have to cook for myself.
My schedule was set to allow me ample time to walk to school. It had occurred to me that I could've used some of Lisa's cash to pay for the fare for the public bus. But that would be ignoring my lack of smaller bills and the fact that I didn't want to get to Winslow any sooner than I needed to.
Before today it had been my routine to run to school, as a part of my new cardio regimen. At first it was painful to run. I was aware of a dozen things that felt off with how I moved, the pain doing little to help with that self-conscious feeling.
Every move I made was wrong somehow a step too far here, or to short their and there were always an immediate consequence following my actions. When I had first started running it had been a stumble or a near fall. Now my mistakes could end with me trapped in jail.
It was unlikely that the capes would arrive at my school to arrest me. I knew that it made the least logical sense, too many routes for me to escape, students in the crossfire. Most of all I couldn't imagine a situation where the heroes felt desperate enough to follow through with something that extreme.
Despite logical facts disproving most of the aforementioned scenarios as actually possibilities, I still had trouble relaxing. I could already I sense my body reacting to the inevitable stress. My shoulders and knees became tense making me quite aware that I was walking like a robot. I tried to force my body to relax but that only sent me in a cycle of rigid movements and forced composure.
As I finished the breakfast sandwich, I tried to focus on the positives.
I managed to recall a twinge of pride from having punched Sophia. When it came to the trio, or anyone at Winslow really, I held myself back from ever hurting them. I feared the consequences of lashing out even once, both externally and internally. I didn't want to go down the rabbit hole where attacking my bullies would become enjoyable. Yet a part of me still managed to relish the feeling from hurting Sophia.
If I had to put a name to the emotion the closest thing that would fit was probably relief. I broke one of my rules and felt good about it. Sophia probably had a mild concussion, not to mention the damage to her jaw. It was unlikely that she would be attending school today. A cautious part of me hoped that I never saw her again, but I already knew how unlikely that would be.
Sophia had been manipulating me from the very start. Along with the rest of the trio everyday, she pushed me closer towards my breaking point. When I was finally overwhelmed she was prepared to help in the aftermath. She had spent weeks being my 'friend' and mentor. I didn't know why she had done the things she did, only that she wasn't through just yet.
If the PRT wasn't going to interfere then, that would leave Sophia free to do what she pleased. It was easy to picture all of it as a new angle for the trio to harass me. Using my secret identity as a form of blackmail, they could hurt me even more both in and out Winslow. If the chest incident was any indication, then I didn't really know how far is too far for them.
My breathing had become shallow as I considered the possibilities of what the trio might've planned for me. I didn't know anything for sure, but worrying needlessly would only hinder me.
Life as a slave to my high school bullies was doubtful. Even if that were to happen, I didn't have much attaching me to my life as Taylor. Dad would take it hard, but he'd recover eventually.
Of course with Sophia involved things would inevitably get violent, it was her go to tactic when it came to any problems.
If things continued to get worse I could always fight my way out. Though, if I did the heroes would definitely be close behind, a fight I was almost completely sure I'd lose. But that didn't make it was impossible. Lung had spent years fighting off both the heroes and villains who challenged him. I wouldn't have to go to that extreme to escape, but hell would freeze over before I lived the rest of my life under those bitches thumb.
A breeze of cool air brushed against my scalp, yanking me away from my train of thought. I pulled up my hood tucking my hair deep beneath it. Just in time as I had arrived at Winslow. Groups of students had formed into cliques around the main doors, completely unaware of anyone outside of their conversations. I pulled down the strings of my hoodie harder than I had done the first time.I was hoping that my hood would be enough to conceal my identity.
I couldn't spot any signs of PRT officers or heroes waiting nearby, I wasn't even sure what to look for if they were. It seemed like today would be a normal but that still meant I had to keep my guard up. A normal day at Winslow had never been easy.
Already I could pick out the faces of several girls who were vying for a spot in the trio. Social climbers, sycophants, they were all the same in the end. At least that had been the case when they were with Emma, Sophia, or Madison.
The groups stood close enough to obscure some of the people included within them. I stuffed my hands deep into my hoodies pouch. Other groups were congregated near the same area, skinheads, the jocks, and regular students. They were all people I'd want to avoid for the same reason.
If not for the small chance of one of the trio hiding among their clique of friends. I knew for a fact that I didn't really have friends, if my fears were confirmed then I'd be a target of everyone nearby. In that scenario I would've preferred dealing with the heroes instead of a bunch of teenagers. I moved horizontally from the main entrance doing my best not to make any eye contact lest I was recognized.
It wasn't too difficult, school was going to start soon and the crowds of incoming students were enough camouflage my movements. After one or two instances of bumping into other people I had made my way to the fences on the schools perimeter where the buses dropped off students. Most of them would be too focused on their phones or their friends to notice me. However, if one of them did spot me there was a tall fence between us that would give me enough time to escape to the schools back door.
It was the least utilized entry way for the entire school mostly due the stench of the area. Months ago it had been covered in several garbage bags worth of feminine hygiene products and dirty needles. The school had done the minimum of what was necessary to clean up the mess. Most of the debris had been removed but enough of it had remained to render the area nausea inducing. I held my breath until I managed to push open the old door. As far as I could tell the school hadn't done any sort of investigation into what happened there.
Shadow stalker had assured me that was a good thing when I first heard about. She managed to convince me that without an investigation no one would be able to connect my regular and cape identities. At the time I believed her but now I realized that Sophia was only interested in erasing the evidence. Not that she'd ever need to, she was the star athlete while I was just the school loser. No one at Winslow cared about what happened to me.
I estimated that I had enough time left to make my way to the gym and prepare for my first class. Coach Johnson had never seemed like the type of teacher who cared about education. Fortunately, that meant that he wasn't likely to give me any trouble for skipping half of the previous school day. That issue aside still had my usual reasons for hating his class.
Normally I could avoid my locker altogether, but those were only on the days I could be sure to avoid the trio. On days like these I needed to pass my locker to get to the gym before everyone else. The issue with my locker was its location in the center of the school.
It was a catch twenty-two in that it was close enough too most of my classes that I could theoretically use it throughout the day. But, it was also located in the main corridor where student traffic was the heaviest throughout the day. If there was going to be an encounter with the trio, my locker would be the likeliest place for it to occur. So far all the previous incidents there were indirect; stolen books, broken locks, and sticky acts of vandalism. It had been enough for me to dread spending anymore time there than utterly necessary.
The locker was only slightly smaller than I was, a small part of me always feared being crammed into it like the old bullying cliche.
I despised how much of my life was dictated by their actions. How I was forced to plan ahead and adjust those plans due to their whims. All of it just for a few minutes of peace each day. It hadn't felt so long ago that I could look forward to my time as a cape to make my regular day somewhat tolerable. That had been the case until Sophia had managed to take that from me as well. Now I was back to square one, merely surviving each day.
I kept my head down for the most part to avoid any eye contact. I was tall enough that at least while I moved with the crowd, people would move out of my way. It was one of the few benefits I reaped from my appearance. Without my long and curly hair, I could easily pass for a lanky boy of average height.
Moving through the hallway, it became apparent that a decent chunk of the students were missing. It took me a moment to realize that it was the majority of Asian students. They weren't completely absent, the ones currently at Winslow looked as if they were beaten or bruised. Their current condition must've been the doing of someone else. Courtesy of me none of the gangsters present during that night in the warehouse were left in any condition to escape. I felt the only bit of pride I could savor from that night. No matter what else happened, I had helped get criminals away from where they could hurt innocent people.
As I approached my locker, I could spot Emma almost immediately. She and two of her lackeys were vandalizing my locker with large swatches of red paint. So far they had managed to paint 'go home fa-'. Emma and one of her friends were yelling at the girl whose job was to apparently bring the paint. They didn't have enough to finish the insult.
It had always irked me how that had always been Emma's go to. Taking a secret that I had shared with her in confidence only for her to pervert it into a weapon against me. It wasn't often that Emma had fumbled her attempts at bullying me. I almost regretted when she had because she always had to do something else to recover. When she redoubled her efforts the rest of the trio followed suit as if not to fall behind, like it was just a game to them.
As much as I wanted to enjoy Emma's visible frustration, I knew it was important to keep moving. If she caught me staring at her, the situation here would definitely be worse than at the front of the school. I'd be surrounded on all sides, trapped with nowhere to go, forced to yet again endure as my former friend tore me down in front of everyone.
I picked up the pace, taking note of a stray strand of hair that laid on the tip of my nose. I moved to immediately tuck it back into my hood, but apparently I had been to slow.
"Taylor! Taylor, it's me Greg!"said a voice too energized this early in the morning.
It didn't take long for me to spot his blonde bowl bouncing with every step he took. Greg was a little shorter than I was. I could only catch an occasional glimpse of his blue eyes as his bowl cut bobbed up and down.
Fuck. Things had been going so well up till right now. I had no idea how Greg could identify me while I had been disguised, or why he felt the need to shout out my name from so far away.
Greg was making a beeline towards me waving and shouting to get my attention. He waded through the crowd more like a bewildered bee than a human. Greg took sharp turns and winding detours on his way towards me, drawing attention to himself as well as general annoyance.
I would've liked to just ignore him and keep moving. But some of the people around me had stopped moving to see the commotion that was Greg. Too many of them were in my way for me to simply push through them. Emma had followed Greg's gaze to set her eyes on me with a wicked grin.
I turned around to walk back towards Greg. He wasn't the type to understand that he was causing a scene, the best thing I could do would be to engage him.
"Hey, Greg look now-,"
I couldn't finish the sentence before he spoke over me, "Taylor! I knew that was you, how was your weekend!"
Emma was making her way towards the both of us, the crowd parted to make way for her. I didn't have much time.
"Have you heard of this new game called Tenno?! It's a pretty cool game you should play it, it took me the whole weekend to get to rank three but it's totally worth-."
"That's great Greg, how about we talk somewhere that's a bit less crowded?"
I didn't wait for his answer. I forced my hand into his to drag him behind me as i pulled us away from the crowd.
As pushy as he could be Greg Verder was still a nice guy overall. It wouldn't have felt right to just leave him alone with Emma, especially when she had been so ready for a verbal lashing.
He continued to tell me about the video game he played over the weekend. As per usual when Greg was excited, he spoke quickly, as if he'd forget what he was saying before the words came out. The entire time he spoke he remained completely oblivious to the fact that I wasn't listening. I took the first turn out of the main hallway and was forced to take several more to get to the gym. Emma had never been the type to chase after me. That had been more in Sophia's ballpark, no with Emma I'd have to be worried about all the ammunition I'd just gave her.
The entire jog/run their I could spot people laughing at or pointing in my direction. My crappy reputation being as low as it was, had managed to slink even deeper into the toilet.
I didn't stop running until we arrived near the gymnasium. I pulled us into one of the neglected locker rooms; nobody liked staying there for long making it the perfect place to hide. Most mornings the smell didn't bother me.
I guessed the same could be said for Greg as he kept talking,"- so I've heard about this thing called the Stalker, it hasn't shown up just yet but it's supposed to be pretty hard to-"
"Greg please stop talking and just look at me for a sec. Things haven't been so good for me lately, I'm exhausted and really just need some time to myself right now, ok?"
It was the first moment of silence I had from him since he spotted me in the some reason his cheeks were red, maybe it was a seasonal allergy or something. I dropped his hand just to be safe.
"Oh, it's not your Dad again is it. I heard about how he treats you, and I understand if you need some space. Wanna talk about it?"
Since first meeting Greg I'd gained the ability to understand almost every word that left his mouth. But I almost believed that I'd misheard him when he spoke about dad. Greg was a passing acquaintance, a 'friend' in the barest sense of the word. I never divulged any of my personal problems to him leaving the rumor mill as the only way he could've heard about dad. Fucking Emma. Greg continued speaking, unaware of his mistake but I didn't care to listen to his verbal diarrhea.
The door suddenly swung open, "Hey losers, you know you're in the girls bathroom right?"
It was Sophia Hess who spoke those words, fully healed and standing confidently in the door frame. Greg snapped his head back muttering an eligible excuse now that he had the wherewithal to be embarrassed. He turned back to me when he finally gave up. I didn't have anything to say to make him feel better, I had my own worries.
Things were starting to lean towards the worst-case scenario. A healing factor had never been part of Sophia's power set, that meant that she got outside help. The fact that she was able to attend Winslow indicated that the heroes had been convinced enough to let her go. A smile crept across her teeth, as if she knew what I was thinking.
I tore my eyes away from Sophia halting my pessimistic lines of thought long enough to deal with Greg.
"Greg, I know that you mean well but I need to speak with her alone right now," in that moment Greg reminded me of a hurt puppy,"look I promise that we'll catch up later but right now I need to speak with her alone."
I tried to infuse my last words with a bit of sincerity, but I wasn't sure how well I'd succeeded. From the look on his face, I might've let slip some of the worry I felt for myself instead.
"Ok, Taylor see you later," he said so quickly it sounded like he had spoken a single word instead of a whole sentence.
He hurriedly stumbled past Sophia leaving the two of us alone in the empty room. I reached for my power and felt my body grow in height and strength. Sophia only laughed in response. It wasn't the significant change I was accustomed to. At most I had gained a few pounds of muscle and a light pink shade instead of my regular dark crimson.
"What are you gonna do like that, scare me to death?"
"Close, I was thinking I could finish what I started at the warehouse."
Sophia walked from the doorway to stand right in front of me.
"Well then what's stopping you I'm right here aren't I?"She had asked that question while holding both of her arms outstretched away from her body.
I hesitated, the last time I had acted without concern for the consequences I'd inadvertently made an enemy out of the actual heroes. I let the wraith seep out of my body and gathered it between the palms of my hands. It wasn't much, but it was enough to convey that I wasn't going to be a punching bag.
Sophia dropped her arms laughing again as she did so.
"You should just give up already, you're not going to intimidate me."
"You saw what I did to Lung, what makes you think you're any different?"
"Well for starters we both know you aren't going to hurt me. Furthermore, I wouldn't brag about your fight with Lung. I saw how he threw you around like a rag doll, I was their remember?"
"I'm surprised that you can after the concussion."
Sophia's smile had wavered for a moment at that last comment.
"Sure you could, if Armsmaster hadn't taken me to get healed, after you escaped he and I had a decent chat. Long story short I'm an official ward now."
The wards were the junior team under the protectorate essentially sidekicks until they graduated to the big leagues. From everything I knew so far Sophia had been telling the truth. If she had been a hero than what did that mean for me, was my identity an open secret among the heroes? If that was the case then was Sophia supposed to be my final chance before they arrested me? If my fate lied in her hands then I knew for a fact that I was doomed.
I was beginning to seriously regret my parents ban concerning anything to do with capes. I had a vague grasp on the powers of Armsmaster and Miss Militia. But that left the rest of their rather large roster a mystery to me. They could've been waiting just outside the school for all I knew. I barely had enough of the wraith left to hold in the palm of my hand. I wasn't confident that I could take care of even a single hero, never mind a whole team of them.
The entire time I had spent contemplating the implications of what Sophia said, she had stood still taking clear satisfaction as the realization dawned upon me.
"You should probably know that Lung died later that night."
"Liar." Lisa had no reason to deceive me about Lungs survival, not that Sophia needed to know that fact.
"Ok you got me their he did survive but you should know that you're a villain now," she said with a shrug.
"According to you, what's stopping me from going down their myself and tell them who you really are?"
"Go ahead and try it to them you're an unstable lunatic, thanks for helping me prove that by the way."
The Sophia I'd known was a bully, pure and simple, for her to have gone through so much trouble their had to be more to it. I needed to know the answer to understand which of the worst-case scenarios I was dealing with.
"What the point for any of this, why me?"
The smile fell away from Sophia's face and was replaced by a snarl.
"You think I need an excuse to mess with you of all people?Really Taylor you're flattering yourself if you think you're even a consideration when it comes to me, beyond how i use my right. Even with your powers, honestly the only impressive thing about you, you're still weak. I'm the type of person who can stand up to the world and forced it to make sense. When it throws me for a loop, I survive and adapt. That's where were different. I don't need a reason to exercise my strength over something pathetic like you. It's not even you fault really, just the nature of things. Nothing is ever going to change that not even superpowers. I'm the winner I've always been while you'll the loser all the same."
The remains of the wraith were growing agitated in my hands; I was forced to clench them into fists to prevent them from swarming her. Sophia had taken notice and stepped deeper into my personal space. I had labored not to automatically move back in response. I was done taking her abuse.
She pulled both of my hands into my own before she spoke again.
"This is how things are going to be from now on. Nothing has changed so you should just forget about your powers. The Protectorate is searching the entire city to hunt you down. Step out of line, attack me or my friends and you'll have a one way ticket to the birdcage."She paused to watch as her words sank in. "I own you Taylor."
The wraith had been in physical contact with Sophia from the moment she had grabbed my hands. It took all my willpower to keep it from devouring every drop of blood in her body. Standing so close to my face had made it impossible to hide the signs of strain from her. Sophia took visible pleasure at my discomfort. I finally had to pull the wraith back into my body to end the struggle.
"Good to see you're not stupid."
Sophia had turned as if to walk away but she kept on of her hands wrapped around my wrist.
"Oh and before I forget."Sophia had spun back around to face me pulling me forward in the process. Before I could react she had already connected a swift punch to my open jaw. I went stiff as my body fell to the ground.
I wasn't able to prevent my head from bouncing off the floor. When I tried getting back up my body wouldn't respond. For a second time in recent memory the world had faded into a fuzzy haze.
AN* Looks like I wont be able to complete NaNoWriMo (despite 'cheating'). I still intend to write up to 50k and a few thousand more to make up for failing. Please enjoy the story so far and thanks for reading.