Raye's vision blurred as she stumbled down the sidewalk. Her temperature must have been a few hundred degrees, and her nerves were tingling. She was sure her fever had broken, but apparently, it was still as strong as ever. Raye sighed in relief as she collapsed onto the bench of a bus stop. It was only one block from the temple to the bus stop closest to her house, so she wouldn't be walking too much more.
"Hey baby." Raye glanced up. There were five men standing around her, probably in their twenties, and they were all smiling smugly. Raye gulped.
Crap! I can barely stand and I'm outnumbered five to one. Can this get any better? As if to answer her question, the tallest of the men stretched out his hand.
"Why don't you come for a ride?"
Raye smiled at them sweetly and replied, "No thanks, I can wait for the bus." The guy snickered and his friends formed a tight semi-circle around the bench.
"I didn't ask you if you wanted to." Raye felt her temper flare up, but she pushed it back down.
"And I told you that I don't need to go for a ride. That's why I'm not going anywhere with you, and now that I've answered your question, you can go bother someone else." The man's eyes narrowed and he folded his arms.
"I don't like your mouth." Raye's temper burned hotter than ever.
This jackass just won't take a hint! As her anger mounted, she didn't feel so dizzy any more. It was almost as if she was healthy again.
"I don't like your mouth either. Actually, I don't like anything about you. So get lost!" The man glared at her and uncrossed his arms.
"That's it! I'm through being Mr. Nice Guy!" His hand reached for Raye, and she felt her control snap. Raye's arms, draped lazily over the back of the bench, grabbed the edge and she pushed off the ground with her legs, throwing her body up and over the back of the bench. All five men stared, frozen in shock, as Raye landed gracefully on her feet, smirking.
"Sorry, you're going to have to try harder than that." The thugs started moving again, three came around the sides of the bench while the last two hopped over. Trying to strategize, the men formed a semi-circle again, trying to force Raye back against the wall of a building. Raye clasped her hands together in mock distress and pretended to be frightened.
"Oh! Please don't hurt me! I'm so terrified!" The leader stepped forward, scowling and brandishing a knife.
"We were going to have some fun with you, but you're gettin' on my nerves." Raye was trying her best to keep from laughing, and she was failing miserably.
"Oh! I am so sorry for annoying you, just please don't hurt me!" She shook her head and wiped away a tear.
"You're funny, you know that?"
The guy's expression darkened and he growled, "Give me all your money and maybe I'll leave that pretty face of yours the way it is." Raye ignored him and made a show of yawning and looking at her watch.
"Really guys, the bus is going to be here soon. I don't wanna miss my ride." The guy with the knife clenched his jaw, then relaxed.
"Have it your way." Raye's eyes narrowed and she frowned as he stalked towards her.
"I'm not giving you anything, and you're not touching me." The men snickered and elbowed each other as their leader stared Raye down.
"That's what you think, sweetie." The leader suddenly lunged, raising the knife to stab Raye in the shoulder, but Raye caught his wrist and shook her head.
"Don't call me sweetie." The guy growled and jerked his wrist free, swiping at Raye's stomach. Raye sprang back a few feet and put her hands on her hips.
"You're going to poke someone's eye out with that thing."
The man took another step towards her and made a jab for her neck, snarling, "That's the idea!" Raye sidestepped and jabbed her knee into his gut. The man's eyes opened wide and he gasped for breath as his knife clattered to the ground.
"Yeah? Well your bright idea obviously isn't working." Raye pulled her knee back, then elbowed the man in his kidney, making him collapse onto the sidewalk. Raye picked up the knife and glanced at the men around her, smiling smugly.
"Anyone else want to try their luck?" The four guys charged at once, but Raye's smile only widened.
"Ooo, a challenge." She adjusted her grip on the knife, then hurled it through the air. There was a ripping sound as the blade of the weapon tore through the closest thug's shirt and buried itself in a telephone pole. The guy yelped and tried to yank the blade out, but the knife was stuck at least six inches into the wood. The remaining three hesitated, giving Raye time to drop to the ground and sweep another man's legs out from underneath him. His body hit the concrete with a dull thud, as his two friends both dove at Raye. She rolled to the side and smirked as the men collided, then smashed their heads together and backed away. All five men were back on their feet now. The one stuck to the telephone pole had ripped his shirt away and left the knife embedded in the wood. The three Raye had knocked to the ground had managed to stand up, and their leader had finally caught his breath. Raye folded her arms and cocked an eyebrow.
"Wow, are you back for more?" The leader snarled and pulled a handgun from under his jacket, pointing it at Raye's head.
"I don't usually murder little girls, but you asked for it." He squeezed the trigger, and the sharp crack of the gun echoed down the empty street. As the echoes faded, all five thugs' jaws dropped in fear and disbelief as Raye calmly opened her hand and let the bullet drop to the ground.
"Holy shit! She caught it!" Raye shrugged nonchalantly.
"It wasn't that hard. It's just a bullet. Who can't catch one of those?" Raye could actually see the color draining from their faces as the guys started to back away from her.
"What kind of freak are you?!"
She smiled sweetly and cooed, "Don't you wanna play some more?" All five men turned tail and bolted down the street.
Raye's face darkened as she hissed, "I don't think so boys." She sprinted after them, catching up to the slowest one in a matter of seconds. The thug tried to run faster, but Raye body-slammed him into the side of a car. There was a satisfying crunch of bones, and then Raye was running again, catching up to the next three. All three men hopped onto a car and scrabbled over the fence there, but Raye simply vaulted over it and landed lightly in front of them.
"Are we playing tag now?" The thugs tried to hop back over the fence, but there was nothing to climb onto on this side, and Raye had no trouble grabbing two by their shirts and yanking them back. The third noticed his friends in trouble, and, displaying a shocking amount of bravery, charged at Raye. She sighed, then stepped forward and lifted her leg in a high extension kick that connected with the man's chin. He flew back and slumped against the fence, and Raye tossed his friends on top of him, then dusted her hands off.
Now where'd that last one go to? Raye started to turn around, but she heard a click and felt cold metal against her temple.
"Why don't you catch this, bitch." Another gunshot rang out, and Raye shook her head and wagged her finger in the man's face while her other hand held his arm to the side.
"The hand is quicker than the trigger finger." She squeezed the man's wrist until he dropped the gun, and Raye kicked it away. Then she tightened her grip and forced the guy to his knees, glaring down at him coldly.
"If you ever bother me again, or anyone else for that matter, I will personally kick your ass. You'll wish you'd never been born when I get done with you. Got it?" She twisted the thug's arm until tears streamed down his face, then shoved him to the ground.
"And
don't think I'm bluffing. Ares keeps her promises." She spun around and
walked back to the fence. In one easy jump, she was on the other side.
Serena was busy bandaging her mutilated hands when the doorbell rang again.
"Darien, could you get that?" Darien shook his head and opened the door, then almost fainted in shock to see a perfectly healthy, if a little shaken, Raye standing on the step.
"R-Raye! What happened?" Raye smiled soothingly and walked inside.
"It's
a long story, and I only want to tell it once, so Serena and Luna had better
hear it too."
Luna hopped down from the bed and began to pace the floor.
"This is strange. So you ran into these five thugs, and all of a sudden you were as good as new?" Raye shook her head.
"It wasn't instantaneous. I actually felt my body healing. It was only a few seconds, but it still wasn't right away. I don't know what happened. And I did some really strange things." Luna nodded.
"Yes, you already told us." Raye shook her head.
"No! It's more than that! I did more than just jumping fences and beating the crap out of five people. I… I don't know how to explain this but…" Serena and Darien leaned forward anxiously.
"What happened, Raye?" Raye bit her lip and took a deep breath.
"I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell you this a few minutes ago, but I think it's important. When those guys had me surrounded, the ringleader pulled a gun out and fired at me." Serena gasped and covered her mouth with a bandaged hand.
"He shot you?!" Raye shook her head.
"No, he tried to shoot me… but... I caught the bullet." Darien and Serena both stared at Raye, and Luna froze in mid-step, with one paw still in the air.
"What do you mean, you caught the bullet?" Raye threw her hands up in frustration.
"I mean exactly what I said! I caught it! He fired the gun, I felt something hit my palm, I opened it up, and the bullet fell out of my hand!" Darien stood up and grasped Raye's wrist, holding her hand up so that it was in the light.
"You don't even have a bruise! How can a human catch a bullet that was fired from a gun and not have a scratch?" Raye pulled her hand back and stared at it.
"I… I don't think I'm completely human anymore. I referred to myself as Ares again. I warned the leader that if he ever harassed anyone again, I'd beat him to a pulp. And then I said 'Ares keeps her promises.' I think I might be turning into Ares." Luna shook off her dismay and sat down.
"But that's impossible! Ares is male."
Raye turned to stare at the sunset and murmured, "Maybe not. Ares is a god, right? Well, aren't gods all-powerful? Couldn't they manifest as the opposite gender if they wanted to?" Luna frowned and started pacing again as her tail flicked back and forth.
"Well, I suppose it is possible. But why would a god want to do something like that?" Raye shook her head.
"You're missing the point. Do you think it's possible I am the female incarnation of Ares?" Serena's brow furrowed.
"I see your point Raye, but what does that mean about the rest of us?" Raye walked over to Serena's window and leaned out of it, gazing down at the street below.
"I'm not sure. But I intend to find out."
