Chapter Six: Who Bleeping Cares?!

Amy was thrown into battle just a day after her arrival. She wasn't in the mood, nor ready to face Starling. Though, it seemed quite the opposite for the superhero. She had a big smile on her face and wrapped a frustrated Havoc in a hug so tight it nearly knocked all the breath out of her body, "Oh, Havoc!" Starling clapped her hands, "You were gone for so long! Do you know how worried I was?"

"Not that much?

"Oh, hush! You were in hiding for so long! It was kind of cute, really how scared you were to come out and face me."

"I wasn't hiding, I was recovering."

"Yes, yes, of course, stress can always sneak up on the best of us. You probably pooped yourself out trying to think of a new plan to murder me, huh?"

"You have no idea what you did to me, do you?" The scarlet-haired villain asked, "You left me for dead, Starling."

"D-Death? No, no… That's impossible. Heroes don't kill." Starling laughed, "Look at you, you're all fine now! Good for you, using your regeneration powers!"

"I don't have regeneration powers." She growled, "In fact, not a single villain in Centropolis has regeneration powers!"

"No, no, no! You're lying!" Starling shouted, grabbing Havoc in a death-grip, "I haven't killed anyone!"

"Not yet, maybe."

"Shut up, shut up!" Starling refused to listen, plugging her ears, causing Havoc to plummet to her potential death. Eyes closed, ears plugged, the superhero failed to notice any of this.

But, Havoc wasn't one to back down.

By pure luck, she was able to unlock a new power- Sonic Propulsion. She used sound waves and pushed herself up, glaring at the girl. "I'm tired of this, Starling." She admitted, "I don't want to fight you anymore!"

"Finally giving up, then?"

"That has to be the single most dumbest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth." Havoc laughed, barely dodging the upcoming attack.

"Then I guess our fight's not over."

"So annoying." Havoc rolled her eyes, dodging the next attack and successfully punching Starling in the face.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you using your powers?" Starling shouted, annoyed by this new tactic.

"Easy." Havoc responded from behind, "I don't like being predictable." Then she kneed Starling in the stomach, "This is boring, Star-Star."

"Don't call me that."

"Why? You loved it so much when we were kids." Havoc hummed, lifting the Superhero up by the collar of her suit and pouting at her, "You never really did tell me what I did to make you hate me so much."

"Don't play these kinds of games with me!" Starling growled, successfully blasting Havoc in the face, "You know what you did! Quit pretending that you don't!"

"Why would I ask if I didn't?" The supervillain asked, "I have done nothing to you! Nothing at all! I never wanted to be your nemesis!"

"Oh, yeah? Then why are you always trying to attack me? Huh? Why are you involved with your stupid, evil family? Why don't you try being good for once?"

"Okay, Super-Brat." Amy scoffed, "I am attacking you because you're attacking me." She laid it out like it was obvious, "And, God, you really must be dumb, Star-Star. Of course I'm going to be a villain! That's all I've ever known! It's not like I can just flip a switch! Ugh!" Havoc avoided another attack before adding, "You know what? I'm actually glad that we're not friends anymore." She got up after a particularly bad kick and smiled, "And you should learn to take "No" for an answer."

Then, Havoc turned off her sonic propulsion and fell down, catching herself at the last second. She landed next to Colby, who was just as irritated as Amy was. "I want to leave." Amy announced, "There's not much for us to do here, anyway. Let's go."

"I don't think so."

Havoc looked up, meeting the ice-cold eyes of Starling.

"Ugh, you again." Havoc groaned, "Listen to be, Star-Star, I'm done with this, okay? I'm done with us. It's boring, it's repetitive, and you're not exactly the nicest person to be around."

"What are you talking about? I'm nice! I'm totally nice!"

"Nice at being annoying maybe, you filthy little brat." The villain humphed, "Come on Flashform, she isn't worth our time."

Colby shapeshifted into a Cheetah and let Havoc mount him. Then, they were off. With the combination of his super-speed and shape-shifting powers, they were able to return home in no time. The second Amy laid down on her bed, her phone rang. Jumping up, she grabbed it and held it to her ear. She could hear sobbing on the other end.

"Who hurt you?"

"Who hurt me? O-Oh my God, do you know how worried I was? The… The fight, I saw it… Then you fell… I just– I needed to know."

"I'm fine. Stop crying. Look, did I or did I not tell you to call me only in the face of an emergency?"

"You seriously don't think this qualifies as an emergency?!"

"Well, I mean, I've had worse."

"Yeah, I know. I was the one who saved you, remember?"

"And I am forever grateful for that."

More sobs came from the opposite and Amy couldn't take it anymore. She let out a loud groan, "Fine, fine, Hart! Just shut it, okay? We can go out for coffee or whatever it is normal teenage girls do!"

"Coffee. Yeah, coffee sounds good."

"Great. See you soon."

"Wait, you mean right now?"

"You better not be crying when I get there."

Amy hung up and raided through her closet of "normie clothes" as she liked to call them. She eventually settled on a spaghetti-strap dress, a pair of jean shorts and black sandals. She ran a brush through her hair and added a bit of makeup to her face then headed out. She wasn't excited. No, not at all. She just needed to prove to Hartley that there were no major injuries. The villain was a bit caught off guard, at first to see Hartley sitting on the front steps. The girl looked up and smiled, letting out a giggle of excitement, "Amy!" She shouted, running towards the villain.

Bracing herself for what was about to happen, Amy raised her arms just as Hartley barreled into her. Laughing a bit, Amy wrapped her arms tightly around the girl. She felt tears land on her shoulder and Amy frowned in disapproval, "I told you not to cry."

"That isn't exactly something I can control." Hartley choked out, frowning, "I was so scared for you."

"You've made that abundantly clear."

"Amy, be serious."

The brunette laid her chin gently atop the civilian's head. She still wasn't sure how to deal with this. How to deal with people giving a crap about her. "Now…" Amy said, reaching for the girl's hand, "How about that coffee?"

"Right. Come on, I know a place."

Just a few minutes later they ended up at a nice little cafe, Amy holding the table while Hartley went to order for them. She was already waiting at the other end for their drinks when she entered. Gem. She took one look at Hartley and scoffed, "Look who it is." The popular one said, "Hey there, sweetie."

"Gem."

Amy straightened her back when she heard the name. That name.

"Her name is Gem. She's been torturing me since I was little. When we were kids, it was easy to dismiss. Now, though, things have gotten pretty intense. She basically told me that no one loved me and that she wouldn't get in trouble because her "Daddy" had money. I had to take the fall and no one believed me. The principal confiscated my phone so I couldn't see any of your calls until after detention."

"Look at you, all alone." Gem mocked, taking one of Hartley's hands, "Poor baby. You should probably leave, you're kind of sucking the life out of this place with your dullness."

"I'm actually here with a friend." Hartley answered, "So there's no need for you to worry about me, I'm actually in a great mood!" She shoved a flabbergasted Gem out of her face, faking a smile.

"It's okay, sweetie, you don't need to put on a front for me."

"Oh, but I'm not! My friend and I walked here together!"

"Then you shouldn't have trouble introducing me to this "friend" of yours, right?"

"Of course not! She's just-"

"Right here." Amy interrupted, now by her best friend's side, "So, this is what that bitch looks like, huh?"

"Amy!"

"Y'know, she's a lot uglier than I thought."

"Amy…"

"What did she say?"

"Just being real here." Amy shrugged, "Speaking of "real" can I ask how much of Daddy's money went into that face of yours?"

"Wh-What? No! This is real." Gem protested, "A ton of my followers had work done to get this face."

"Including you, right?"

"Ugh! Hartley! What are you doing hanging around losers like what's-her-face? Have you finally hit the bottom of the barrel?"

"I think you're mistaking me for you." Amy countered, "It's not like you have that much to offer anyways. You probably bribed these two girls here to be friends with you."

"Hartley! Would you call off your guard dog, already?!" Gem demanded, getting more angry by the second.

"Amy, cut it out!" Hartley hissed, elbowing her friend in the side. The villain humphed, but remained alert, glaring at Gem.

"Well, girls, I think it's time to go." The popular one announced after a few seconds of silent tension. The group of girls left without even ordering their coffees. Served them right.

"What the heck, Amy?"

The brunette turned around and saw Hartley with tears in her eyes. Okay, crying meant sad. So… why did she also give off an angry vibe? Was she angry? Why? Amy had just told off that bitch Gem! Hartley should have been happy to have that girl off her back!

"We came here for coffee." Hartley said, "We did not come here to engage in battle. This isn't one of your superhero fights! You can't just do things like that! Even if she's tortured me my entire life and really has it coming… You can't just do things like that!"

"Why not? You need some self-confidence, Hart. Stand up for yourself. She doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as you."

"I… I don't know." Hartley gulped, "I can't just do it like you do."

"Hey, that's totally fine." Amy shrugged, "Everyone has their own way of sticking up for themselves! You just have to find yours."

"Lavender Latte for Hartley!" The barista announced, setting the cup on the counter.

"I don't know, it's not that easy." Hartley answered, grabbing the cup and taking a sip of it.

"Black coffee for Sourpuss!"

Amy stared at the cup on the counter as Hartley's laughter echoed throughout the room.

"That's me, isn't it?" The brunette questioned, murder in her eyes.

"... Maybe."

Reaching for the coffee, Amy elbowed her friend, doing her pity by holding back most of her strength. Even with that, it was still enough for Hartley to let out a loud groan of pain. Then, she took a long, slow sip of her coffee and returned to their table. Hartley was trailing behind, clutching her stomach as she took a sloppy seat into the chair opposite Amy.

"Now, what would you like to talk about first? The excruciating pain you are currently in or something that actually interests me?"