August 2006 — 5 Years Earlier

Justice felt her heart hammering in her chest, her lungs burning with each breath she took. The gunshots still echoed in her ears, only partially drowned from the deafening roar of the fire. The startled, horrified looks on their faces — the couple's faces — was imprinted in the teen's brain. They were just trying to help for Christ's sake. Justice had managed to escape from the lab, managed to escape from the people who hurt her. She felt her throat tighten, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. Flashes of what they did to her flooded her mind... it was barbaric. They promised Justice — promised her parents; they'd help her control her powers. No... they had no intentions of helping her. They forced her to endure the worst pain imaginable.

Now they want her back. Or... they want her dead. She managed to escape; just barely. But she got pretty far. She found a barn and tried to hide, but the couple who owned it found her. They gave her clothes, they offered her shelter. That's all Justice wanted.

A gasp left the teen's lips at the sounds of a helicopter.* They had a damn helicopter! Looking back, she could see it gaining on her, but only that, she saw something being aimed at her — a gun. Taking a sharp left, Justice stumbled for a moment before regaining her footing. She had to figure out a way to outrun an armed helicopter, which was probably impossible. It felt impossible.

Justice's body seemed to be moving on its own accord — jumping over obstacles, moving to find any obstructions. The teen's eyes scanned the scenery in front of her before landing on a fairly heavily wooded area. As she moved in that direction, bullets started to rain down. The gunfire filled Justice's ears, causing her eyes to widen and her heart to skip a beat. She tried forcing herself to move faster, to go above and beyond her natural limits — but it wasn't enough. A bullet hit her shoulder, jerking her forward, causing her to stumble and fall. Justice cried out, the pain shooting through her arm and chest. She felt the bullet hit her bone, but it didn't go through.

Get up!, she thought. Get up, get up — get up!

The helicopter... it was flying over her but the shooting had stopped. That didn't make it any better.

Letting out another pained cry, Justice felt another wave of pain wash over her. It was from the gunshot wound; the pain was shifting, changing. It felt like... her body was pushing the bullet out. Her back arched, despite her suffering. Her fingers dug into the ground, her breathing becoming heavier. Another wave washed over her, and then it stopped. A feeling of numbness spread across her shoulder, lasting only a second or two, before she felt a sense of relief. The pain was gone. Her body... had forced the bullet out, the wound healing once it was out. Slowly, Justice sat up. Her body was trembling, from both exhaustion and adrenaline. Her eyes stung from her tears, from the overwhelming emotions she felt. The helicopter was still hovering above her. She had no doubt they'd try and kill her. After the little stunt she pulled...

Closing her eyes, Justice prepared for the worst. Except... nothing. No, something. Justice picked up on something — a scent; two scents. Unfamiliar. Opening her eyes, she didn't see anything in front of her; turning slightly, she saw two figures — a man and a woman. They were behind her, standing significantly far from each other, looking up at the helicopter. The man seemed to be wearing sunglasses; no, a visor? She couldn't make it out that well. The woman had white hair and dark skin. They were both wearing dark, leathery outfits.

What?, she thought, furrowing her brows in confusion. Her brows shot up, realizing they were in danger.

Justice shot up to her feet, hoping against all hope she was fast enough to get those two strangers out of harm's way. But the man touched the visor before she could reach either of them, and a bright red beam shot out and hit the helicopter, causing the teen to stop in her tracks. The beam hit the tail-end, and the helicopter lost control. Justice felt her heart stop. Those two... who — no, what were they? The man was shooting beams from his face — he had to be like Justice, right? He had weird powers. And what about the woman? Did she have powers? Questions flooded Justice, overwhelming her even more.

Before she had time to truly process what was happening, like the helicopter plummeting toward her and the two strangers, Justice felt someone grab her. It was the white-haired woman who grabbed Justice and held her close.

"Hold on," she exclaimed, a light accent lacing her words. Justice wrapped her arms around the woman, holding tightly. A sudden gust of air surrounded the teen and the woman, causing Justice to feel the air get knocked out of her; it was so abrupt, that when the gust came to an immediate stop, the teen felt herself stumble when the woman let go. Justice gasped, holding her chest in surprise and in an attempt to calm herself.* When she felt a hand on her back, gently rubbing between her shoulder-blades, the teen saw the white-haired woman looking at her sympathetically. "It's okay," the woman murmured, "just take deep, steady breaths. You'll be fine."

Justice took the woman's advice. She slowed her breathing, taking in long breaths before letting them out.

Once her breathing evened out, the teen focused on the woman. "Who are you?" she asked. "Where did you guys come from?" Justice looked over the woman's shoulder, seeing the helicopter had crashed. The man she was with, he had been far enough away that it didn't affect him, as he was making his way over to where the two of them stood.

"We're here to help you." The woman's voice was soft, comforting.

Taking a step back, Justice glared at the woman. "I don't need your help," she hissed.

"I understand you're scared," the woman continued, holding her hands up as if in surrender, "but you don't have to be. There's a place — a school — for people like us. It's safe, you'll be safe. But only if you want to come with us."

"You won't have to live on the run," the man said, standing next to the woman. "You'll have a bed, clothes, food — whatever you want."

Justice looked between the two of them. A school? How could a school keep her safe? But it would be better than running...

Looking down, Justice pursed her lips. Her mind wandered to the couple, the ones who owned the barn. They were willing to let her stay, at least until she got back on her feet. They ended up dead. All because they wanted to help her. Was it worth it? Going to the supposed safe-school? Justice wanted to say "no", that she'd be putting everyone's lives in danger. But she didn't want to live her life on the road, constantly running. Her options seemed limited. She could either say yes and possibly risk innocent lives, or say no and live the rest of her life running. Looking at the woman, Justice crossed her arms over her chest.

"Where's the school?" she asked.

A hint of a smile appeared on the woman's face. "New York," she answered.

"Where in New York?"

"Westchester County."

Swallowing thickly, Justice nodded. "Fine," she murmured. "I'll go."

Hello readers! Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I was feeling a bit under the weather and I wanted to at least feel better before I continued writing this. I am hoping you guys will leave reviews on this story, especially this chapter, letting me know how I can improve. Seriously, any kind of constructive criticism is welcome! It can be about my writing, how I portray certain characters — I don't care. I can't improve if you guys don't tell me.

Disclaimer: All I own are my characters.

A quick basic physical description of Justice: Long dark-brown hair typically worn in a messy bun, olive skin, about 5 ft. 3 in., and hazel eyes.