After the Madness of the morning bus ride to school Bayley was finally making her way to class. During the whole ordeal none of the kids on the bus realized how long the fight between The Ascension and Fashion Police had actually lasted until they got to school and were told to go to their third period. Once arriving at the school Becky took Bayley to the school's office so she could get her schedule for the upcoming school year. Lucky for Bayley it was only about two months into what will be her junior year, so she didn't have much to catch up on.
Currently Becky was showing Bayley around the school while at the same time taking her to class. Obviously she couldn't show Bayley everything the school had to offer because she has class herself, but she was able to show her some of the classes she would have later on in her day. It was a whole lot of information to take in at once, but Bayley had no problem memorizing what Becky was showing her.
As they were walking Becky rubbed her chin as she looked at Bayley's class schedule "Unfortunately, it seems like we only have first period and lunch together, but don't worry, you have a couple classes with me friends and I'll introduce them to you at lunch. In fact, you have a class with one of them now, Dean. He's really funny, a tad perverted, but what can you do. He's the kid who looks like he just rolled out of bed and came to school".
Although Bayley was upset that she and Becky only had one real class together and lunch, she was excited at the idea of meeting more people "and if their friends with Becky then I should be able to get along with them too… right?".
When the two finally got to Bayley's third period class Becky gave her a pat on the back "Don't worry love, you and Dean will get along swimmingly and if he gives you any shit just text me and I'll kick his arse".
With that Becky left and Bayley stood outside her class, but just as she was about to open the door Bayley could hear some rumbling and voices coming from down the hall. Bayley knew she should go to class, but curiosity got the best of her and she slowly began to walk toward the noise. It seemed to be coming from inside one of the stairwells, the closer Bayley got, the more clearly she could hear punches being made and someone moaning in pain.
As she entered the stairwell she sneaked around the back of the stairs and watched the sickening scene unfold. It was a group of three girls and one who looked as if she could barely hold her head up. Two of them were holding what appeared to be a badly beaten girl struggling to stand on her two feet.
The other one grabbed her face, forcing her to look at her "Cmon Dakota, where are those fancy powers now, you filthy mutant".
Then to add insult to injury, the girl named Dakota received a slap to the face, causing her to fall to her knees. From what Bayley could tell, two of the abusers appeared to be twins while the other one was a darker toned girl. The poor girl who was getting beaten up looked as if she was going to pass out any minute.
The one twin girl appeared to look a little uncomfortable as she talked to her sister "Nikki don't you think we've done enough".
The girl named Nikki scoffed "Shut up Brie and just help Alicia hold her up, we're going to make sure this girl knows her place and doesn't think she's better than us".
"I… never thought… I was better than you… Nikki" the girl said quietly between breaths.
Nikki just smirked as she pulled Dakota's head back by the hair "That's good, I'm glad you know your place, but here's a little something to make sure you never forget".
Now balling up a fist Nikki pulled back to deliver what would be the finishing blow, but before she could move her arm forward something stopped her. It was Bayley who had grabbed Nikki by the wrist. It was like a blur, one minute Bayley was just watching and the next she had Nikki's wrist in her grasp. She didn't know why she interjected herself into this scram, it was almost as if her body moved completely on its own, and now that her brain has had time to catch up with her body and realize what she just did, Bayley had no idea what to do next. Especially now that she was facing an icy glare from Nikki. Ripping her hand back from Bayleys grasp, Nikki called over Alicia's and Brie, dropping Dakota who fell to the ground face first.
As they walked up Alicia checked out Bayley and was unimpressed "Well, look at this, the new girl been here for what, five minutes and already sticking her nose where it don't belong".
Realizing the position she was in wasn't favorable Bayley tried to talk her way out of trouble before she ended up like that girl Dakota "C'mon guys, can't we just forget about all this and get to class".
Bayley extended her hand out in an attempt to shake things out with Nikki, but instead she felt a burning sensation on her cheek courtesy of a slap from Nikki.. Immediately Bayley brought her hand to where Nikki slapped her and could feel the heat from what she was sure was a hand mark now imprinted on her face. Then Nikki shoved Bayley against the wall and grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up just enough to where Bayley was on her tiptoes. Again Bayley was face to face with that icy glare from Nikki but this time the two were only separated by a couple centimeters and not only that, Bayley could feel Nikki's hot breath getting more aggressive and rapid. Fear overwhelmed Bayley, the anxiety got so bad she couldn't breathe, she had felt like her knees turned into jelly, almost as if she would fall if not for Nikki holding her by the shirt. Bayley was completely powerless, the feeling in her chest was so awful, almost as if she had a million tiny knives were stabbing her and that she was moments away from throwing up.
As if Bayley couldn't breath already Nikki tighten her grip making it impossible to even get a minuscule of air "Let's get one thing straight new girl, us normal people run this school. If you have powers or even worse, don't and are a mutant lover then we'll have to teach you to understand that".
Bayley needed to breathe, the anxiety of it all was too much for her, she wanted to run and catch her breath, but instead Nikki grabbed Bayley's face and forced her to look at the beaten girl who was now on her knees clutching onto her ribs "You see that pathetic animal right there. That thing is what we call a mutant, you see mutants aren't really people. No their genetic freaks who think they're better than everyone, and it's my job to remind them that they're nothing but worthless trash who don't deserve to breathe the same air as us real people".
Nikki them threw Bayley onto the ground as she rolled a couple feet in front of the stairs. Once she was on the ground, Bayley propped herself up on her hands and knees and grabbed her throat as she began coughing and gagging as she tried to catch her breath. However, her breathing hitched again as she saw the shadow of the three girls in front of her "Alicia, Brie, lets go ahead and teach the new girl how things work around here, since she wants to be so helpful".
"Nikki…" Brie tried to protest.
But her sister ignored her "Just do it".
Bayley's heart began to race again as she thought of the possibility of what they could possibly mean by "Teaching".
"Nikki what are you doing" A voice came from the top of the stairs.
The three girls stop and Nikki growled as she turned around "Ugh, just stay out of this Sasha, it has nothing to do with you".
At the top of the stairwell Bayley could see who she hoped to be her savior. She couldn't get a good look, but it seemed as if she had vibrant purple hair "Trust me, I wish I could, but your in my way and I suggest you get out it and leave".
Nikki clenched her fist and gritted her teeth so loud, even Bayley could hear it, then Sasha cocked her head and gave Nikki a sly smile, "Unless you want a repeat of what happened the last time you and your pack of cunts tried to teach me".
Nikki was fuming and Brie and Alicia quietly coward as they took a step back. Nikki then spun around as her friends followed her and made their way to the door, but not before Nicki added one last message "All three of you are going to regret this, you mutant and mutant lover are all the same, garbage!"
Finally the girls were gone and Bayley had her breath back under control. Wanting to thank her savior Bayley stood up, but as soon as she did and looked up the stairwell she was gone. Bayley looked around for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. That girl was able to scare off all three of them and protect her without even moving. If only she had the chance to talk to her, maybe they could have become great friends.
"Sasha" Bayley said her name, hoping to remember so she could thank her next time she saw her.
A grunt came from the back of the stairwell and then Bayley had remembered the girl that was originally getting attacked. Bayley rushed over to her side "Take it easy those girls really did a number on you".
Once the girl was standing on her own she waved her hand, "I appreciate your help but its ok, nothing I'm not used too".
Nervously laughing Bayley scratched the back of her head "Oh, I didn't really do anything, I mean after all that other girl did most of the work".
"Maybe, but still you step in when you had no reason to and that's something more people around here can learn from. My names Dakota Kai by the way".
Dakota extended her hand, which Bayley gladly took "Bayley Martinez".
Maybe this wasn't a friendship quite yet, but it was a start for sure. Soon after the bell signaling the end of the period rang throughout the halls.
Then Bayley realized what that had meant "Damn it, it's my first day and I already skipped a class".
Dakota couldn't help but feel a little responsible "I'm sorry if it wasn't for me then you would have made it to your class".
Bayley sighed as she looked at her schedule "Don't worry about it, it was those girls fault if anything. It's just that I was supposed to meet Becky's one friend Dean so he could show me where the cafeteria is".
"Oh, then here I can show you, it's the least I can do" Dakota said beginning to lead the way.
Seeing as this was much better than wandering around the halls hoping to find her destination, Bayley happily followed Dakota.
So the two began their walk to lunch, however Bayley did have a certain question on her mind "So what were those girls problems with you anyway".
Dakota looked over her shoulder and smirked "Oh yeah, I keep forgetting your new around here, that's just Nikki and her click running around thinking they own the place. They hate mutants like me so dealing with them is almost an everyday thing".
A frown formed on Bayley's face "Well, that's not right, and if you have powers shouldn't you be able to easily defend yourself against someone like her, and how come the teachers don't step in".
Dakota just laughed out loud at Bayley's question "Yeah, right, like the teachers give a damn about us. Very few of the teachers here actually care about what happens to us, the rest think we're better off dead".
Hearing this broke Bayleys heart, how could some of the people here, let alone teachers, actually care so little about the welfare of some of their students. They were treating people like Dakota like she some kind of second class citizen.
"As for why I didn't fight back" Dakota continued "Even if I did, no one would care, they would probably find a way to pin it on me and make me look like the bad guy even though it was in self defense. When it's between normal human and mutant, the benefit of the doubt, always goes to the human".
Even though Bayley may have only been in Whisper Wind Falls for a short time, one thing was for sure, after the way some of the other students acted when the Fashion Police saved them on the bus, the way Nikki jumped Dakota and the complete lack of action taken by the teachers it was clear to see that there was a serious bias when it came to the mutants. As if humans got some kind of special privilege.
Bayley couldn't stand this "I don't get it, why is it that people have to be this way, why do people always need to feel as if they are superior. Sure, maybe we'll never be able to completely understand what each group of people go through, but that doesn't mean we can't look past that and live together peacefully right."
Dakota stopped in her tracks and stared at Bayley. She was amazed that someone actually cared this much about this issue "Wow Bayley that's actually kinda inspiring, most people are just used to the way things are and don't want to do anything about it. You're the first person I can think of who actually sounds like they want to make a positive change".
Bayley couldn't help but blush as she realized she let her inner thoughts leak "Oh, I'm sorry, I can ramble on sometimes. Don't mind me and my silly thoughts".
Dakota taps Bayley on the arm "Hey now, I don't think their silly at all, if we had more people like you maybe we could live in a society that isn't so painfully fucked. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to kick start that new society".
That was the second time someone said Bayley might be able to achieve her goal of making a more accepting world "Thanks Dakota".
"Anytime" Dakota said with a smile as she motioned her head to the side "Welp. Here we are. I gotta get the class, but hopefully I'll see you around".
"Definitely" Bayley said as the two parted and she entered the lunchroom
Once she did, she was met by the rumblings of hundreds of students all talking at the same time. As she wondered, she bumped into countless people. What she was currently looking for was either Becky or the lunch line to get something to eat but things were not going well.
She was confused until she heard a voice coming from a familiar mane of red hair "BAYLEY! OVER HERE".
It was Becky who is waving her hand in the air, sitting at a table with two other people. Breathing a sigh of relief to finally see her friend and quickly making her way to her.
"Well, I see you were able to survive without me, that's wonderful. Don't worry Bayley I took the liberty of grabbing you some lunch figuring you wouldn't want to wait in line. Anyway, let me introduce to you the rest of our band of losers" Becky motioned towards her table.
Becky sat Bayley down across from her, sitting her next to a boy who seemed like he was passed out. Becky then wrapped her arms around a blond girl who was resting her head on the back of her hand "First, this cutie is Liv Morgan. Don't let that smile fool you though she can handle her business need be".
Bayley waved at the girl as she responded in same. Then Becky motioned to the boy next to Bayley "And of course, this right here is Dean Ambrose, he the kid I was telling you about, you know the one you would have met if you didn't skip class".
Bayley went to say something, but couldn't and instead put her head down, which made Becky laugh "Ha, I'm just screwing with you, it's your first day no one will care. Besides Dean probably would've been asleep anyway".
Once the introductions were finished Bayley told Becky all about what happened after she left, She told her about her run in with Nikki, about Dakota, and her mystery savor, in which Becky nodded "Ahh so you met Nikki, don't mind her she only acts like that when her clicks around. Also, I think I might have an idea as to who your mystery savor is"
Bayley's eyes flashed with anticipation "Really, who".
"I must warn you though she might not be exactly how you imagine her".
Bayley couldn't help but tilt her head as she wondered what Becky meant. Just then Bayley would soon get her answer as a purple haired girl sat down next to Liv. Then it hit Bayley, it was her the girl that saved her from the beating she would have received from Nikki. She didn't know what to do next so she just stared at her.
Becky, whose arm was still around Liv introduced the two "Last but not least Sasha Banks, don't let the bitchy attitude turn you off, she can be cool when she wants".
Sasha scoffed "Fuck you Becky".
Becky just stuck her tongue out at her while Bayley continued to stare at the purple haired girl. Bayley wanted to say something to her, but what, how she she start off, should she introduce herself first or thank her for what she did.
"Do you have a staring problem or something?".
This snapped Bayley out of thought "W-what".
Sasha then slightly leaned forward, giving Bayley a sharp look, "Ok sweetheart, so this is how things are going to go. Either say something or get out of my face".
Well Sasha was certainly more chippy then Bayley thought "Oh I'm sorry. It's just, that, I wanted to thank you. You know, because if you didn't step in I probably would have a black eye and a few bruises from that Nikki girl".
Sasha's hard glare was glued on Bayley as she continued, "Let's get one thing straight, I had no intention of helping you. I just hate Nicki, don't expect me to help you with your problems or be your friend, because frankly, if it was anyone other than Nikki I would have just kept walking as they beat you down".
Things got quiet for a moment until Liv jumped in and looked at Bayley "I know, isn't she so much nicer than you thought".
This earned Liv a pinch from Becky, who then turned to stop Sasha but Bayley didn't even notice. She was lost by this trance of fear, the icy glare added with an smug smile from Sasha only made it worse. She couldn't believe that the same person who came to her rescue, was the same woman before here right now. To Bayley, Sasha was just mean arrogant person who cared only for things that pleased her. It took Bayley a moment before gathering herself. Soon the group of friends were all chatting, but Bayley was stomped thinking about how someone like Sasha could be friends with people from the rest of the group. Sure, she hasn't really gotten to know everyone just yet, but surely they can't be as frightening as Sasha.
Bayley just sighed as she began to eat her lunch, but then the boy Dean finally picked up his head from his sleep, in which Becky teased "Well rise and shine darling, better hurry up the cows won't milk themselves".
Dean rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and soon realize someone was next him "Oh, you must be the new girl with the big butt. Hi, I'm Dean, what's your name again".
Bayley's face was every shade of red after what Dean said, Becky and Liv couldn't help but laugh. Even Sasha chuckled for a brief moment salivating in Bayley's embarrassment.
"What-, When-, How could you even think that you just met me" Bayley asked.
Dean shrugged "I don't know, word gets around quickly around here. Besides I took a peak before going back to sleep".
While Bayley was still working past her embarrassment, she notices Dean took a few sniffs in the air before scrunching his nose up in disgust "Ugh, heads up Nikki's coming".
Bayley didn't understand until she looked back and saw Nikki and her friends, making a beeline to their table "Dean how did you do that you didn't even turn around".
Dean then rested his head in the palm of his hand "Because I could smell the yeast infection from a mile away".
While Bayley looked at Dean in amazement and a little disgust, the rest of the table chuckled at his statement, but all laughing stopped once Nikki came over to them and slammed her hand on the table "Well if it isn't the scum of our school".
Nikki eyes scanned the entire table and landed on Bayley causing her to gulp "And the new girl who is now scum by association".
Liv grew tired of Nikki's presence "Do you have a reason to be here other than to be a bitch or…"
Nikki ignored her as her eyes remained on Bayley "you just made the biggest mistake of your life you dirty mutant lover. You better hope you have someone with you at all time because the second you don't, that's when the teaching will begin".
Nikki then appeared to try and touch Bayley's face as some kind of intimidation tactic, but Becky grabbed her by the wrist, then she stood up and made her take a couple steps back "Get this through your skull Nikki, as long as Bayley's with me you won't get anywhere near her. Now fuck off before I break your arm".
Nikki smacked her hand back, but remained in Becky's face, "You must think you're so untouchable because of who your cousin is don't you".
Becky smirked as she looked at Nikki, "No, that's not why I think I'm untouchable".
Then Liv and Sasha stood behind Becky ready to throw down if needed "I think I'm untouchable because I surround myself with good people. Now don't make me ask again, leave".
Nikki growled realizing a fight here would only end badly, so she and her group walked off and away from the table. Once they were out of sight Becky sighed, thankful that a skirmish was avoided.
Once everyone sat down Becky turned to Bayley "are you ok".
Bayley nodded "Yeah, but seriously, what's with her".
Becky shrugged "Honestly, who knows, she just hates mutants because she thinks it's unfair for them to be able to do something she can't. It's jealousy honestly, but don't get the wrong idea you got lucky twice today, Nikki and her click are dangerous ".
Then it was Dean who tried to install some encouragement "Don't you worry, as long as you're with us she won't bother you too much."
This made Bayley feel much better, but Sasha would have one more thing to add, "But don't expect us to always protect you, I only helped because Becky was here. If you are seriously going to be hanging around then you're going to need to pull your weight because I refuse to help some girl who doesn't even have the courage to help herself".
Perhaps a tad uncalled for, but not inaccurate. All day today Bayley needed to be saved, on the bus, with Nikki, and again just now. Sure, she stepped in when Dakota was getting jumped, but it was really Sasha who had fixed the situation. If Bayley was going to hope to stay with these guys, she is going to need to be to able help them the same way they do for her. Soon the bell rang and the students were dismissed, and everybody was hoping to get through the rest of the day without any incidents.
Standing outside on the tallest building in the town was a man overseeing the city. He took in the beautiful view, but his main focus was on the high school. Soon after he felt someone come up and stop behind him.
With his focus still on the school he spoke "The time has come, I can't protect them anymore from what is rightfully theirs. Tell me, are they all getting along".
The second man shrugged "For the most part, Sasha doesn't really like Bayley but they just need time".
The man overlooking the town rubbed his chin, he knew that Sasha was a tough nut to crack so this was expected "Good then".
The first man was now looking off into the sky "Once school ends today, I'm going to release the seal on Sasha and Becky. After that we'll have two years to get ready and help them master their powers".
"What about Bayley" The second man asked.
Sighing the first man replied "Right now our focus is to help Sasha and Becky. Let's hope I'll never have to release that seal".
"Should I help them".
Taking a moment to think he answered "No, there's no need to rush things. Let them experience their power just like anyone else would. Besides, I want to see what they'll do and how they'll use these new powers. I'd like for you to remain as just an overseer for the group of friends for now and make sure nothing bad happens to Sasha, Becky and the rest of their friends".
"Whatever you say".
The first man took one final look at the school "and so it begins".
Then flames engulfed the man as he disappeared.