"Hey Becky, wait up" an exhausted Bayley said
Currently, Becky and Bayley were out for a run around town. Running was one of the many things Becky like to do to clear her mind as well to stay in shape. She even convinced Bayley to join her for her morning run today. Something that Bayley thought was a good idea until she actually started running and now she was gasping for air with her hands on her knees.
Becky laughed as she walked up next to her "C'mon Bayley, our apartment is right there, we can get some water at my place and then relax the rest of the day".
Liking the sounds of that Bayley happily agreed and followed Becky into their apartment building. It's been a couple days now since school has been out for this extended Thanksgiving break. Figuring that it would take a while to fix the schools water pipe, they just added on another week onto the usual one week Thanksgiving break making it close to two weeks off. Also since then, Dean has been doing his best to try and help the girls control their powers, while Bayley and Liv assisted in any way they could.
Once inside Becky's home, Bayley sat down on the couch "So tell me are you able to completely control your powers yet?".
"Completely. No" Becky said tossing Bayley a water "But I'm not setting things on fire as much and also…".
Becky went to her kitchen and grabbed a bag of uncooked popcorn "I can do this".
Becky placed the bag in between her hands and stuck the tip of her tongue out from the corner of her mouth as she concentrated. Bayley looked at her for about ten seconds before the bag began to pop. It started off slowly but then little by little it got more rapid until the room smelled of butter and the bag puffed up with delicious popcorn. Bayley clapped her hands in amazement as Becky got a big bowl to pour their snack into. Then she walked over and sat down next to Bayley, who immediately popped a handful into her mouth.
"Wow, they're not burnt either, your even better than the machine at a movie theater" Bayley complemented.
Becky bobbed her head as she smirked "Well, I am pretty good at warming up my snacks before I eat them if you catch my drift".
After playfully smacking her friend on the arm for her dirty joke, Bayley found herself really settling in to her new town. Perhaps it was because she knew that she wasn't going to leave anytime soon that she found herself becoming good friends with Becky. Or maybe it's because the two shared what was a near death experience on the bus that one day. No matter the reason she was so glad Becky was the first person she really got to know in this town. Not to mention all the other people she met, including Dakota, Dean, and Liv. Bayley wasn't sure if she was ready to call Sasha a friend, but she did enjoy their little back and forths every now and then.
"Honestly, I'm a little surprised with how smoothly things are going" Bayley couldn't help but think.
Then, almost as if a higher power had read her mind, a huge explosion could be heard coming a few blocks from the girls apartment building. The two girls got up and walked out to Becky's patio and they could see black smoke in the distance.
Becky then smirked and glanced towards Bayley "want to go check it out".
Bayley took a step back "Are you crazy, don't you remember what happen last time we were close to a mutant fight".
Ignoring Bayley's logic Becky just took a hold of her arm and began to drag her "come-on love, there's no guarantee it's a mutant fight, besides, maybe I'll get a chance to use my power".
As Becky lead the way to the scene where the explosion came from, Bayley couldn't help but get a very bad feeling about all this.
Downtown
"Becky, are you sure this is a good idea" Bayley asked cowering behind the back of Becky as they ducked behind a car.
Becky laughed, her excitement growing as they got closer to the action "Totally, just sit back and watch".
The scene downtown has been just like the day of the bus incident, and the culprits were also the same. There were rumors that the Ascension had escaped their prison cell and it was very clear to everyone that those rumors were true. One thing that was troubling was if the Ascension is here then where are the Fashion Police.
Unfortunately for the town, it appeared that the shoulder injury, Tyler Breeze had sustained during their bout was much worse than they had first thought and required them to leave town for a while to get it fixed. Something that the Ascension were very aware of and taking advantage of to the fullest. With no other mutants around to oppose the two, they were free to cause as much chaos as they wished.
"Whelp" Becky said as she punched her fist into her palm "I guess that means it's all up to me".
Bayley's eyes widen as she began to flail her arms around "What no, that's not what it means at all".
Bayley tried her best to sway Becky but she wouldn't hear any of it "BAYLEY!".
Becky's sudden outburst silenced Bayley "Can't you see, I've waited for this my whole life. I've envied people who have gained superpowers ever since I was a little girl. All I wanted was the chance to protect someone, to have the power to make a difference. Even before I became one I never looked at being called a mutant as a negative thing. Instead, I look at it as a chip on my shoulder, and an opportunity to change the way people view that word and us. Sounds familiar right".
Bayley didn't know what to say. She couldn't believe what a hypocrite she was being, she and Becky have the same goal in mind, to change the hate in this town. Bayley wasn't sure how she was going to accomplish that and she still doesn't but there's one thing she could do. For right now she can help by standing at Becky's side and supporting her in every way possible because even if it wouldn't be Bayley, who will lead this great wave of change, it can be Becky. That was one thing Bayley was sure about.
Bayley just smiled as she stood up, "Well, if that's how you feel, I'm with you 100%. But it might not be a good idea to let your identity out just yet".
Then the two girls wondered how they could conceal Becky's identity, they kept brainstorming until they saw a costume store behind them, that just so happened to have the perfect disguise.
The Ascension were having their way against the town, local authorities tried their best to contain the two mutants but to no avail. It seemed as if all hope was lost until a person in blue and purple spandex and a luchador mask stood in the Ascensions path.
Konnor and Viktor stopped and were eyeing down their new opponent "Who the hell are you?"
The heroine pointed her finger at the two "I am the person who's going to stop you, the name is beck-".
Realizing that the whole point of the costume was to conceal her identity Becky had to think of a nickname fast "Well… I'm… uh… La… La Luchadora. Yeah, that's right La Luchadora and I'm filling in for the fashion police while they're on vacation".
The two villains look at Becky with a blank expression on their face only moving to blink every now and then. For a brief moment Becky thought she had scared them stiff making her feel rather proud of herself. However, it was short lived as the Ascension had broke out into a laughing bout.
"La Luchadora HAHAHA" Viktor mocked.
Konner then chimed in, "That's has to be the stupidest name ever HAHAHA".
Becky felt her patients running thin at the twos mockery "It's actually pretty clever considering it was on the spot".
Seeing that the two were distracted in their own laughter, Becky used this as an opportunity to strike first. Trying her best to remember her practice, Becky took a running start, once she was at a sufficient distance she then decided to make her opening move. Closing her fist and thrusting it forward in a punching motion, once her arm was fully extended she released a huge wave of fire, much bigger than she intended. The backlash of her own move causes her to stumble backwards a little. Becky still had a ways to go before mastering her ability, but she needed to push herself. Once the smoke cleared, she could see the outline of The Ascension begin to appear.
It also appeared she was able to get Viktor, who was holding his arm and chuckling to himself "The little bitch actually manage to burn me. I guess that means I better get serious".
Then Viktor slammed both his hands palm first into the ground and roared "Wasteland".
This caused Becky to raise her eyebrow as she had never seen or heard of Viktor using this move before. She watched carefully at what would happen next, if she remember correctly Viktor's power allowed him to disintegrate anything he touches in an instant. Watching his hands Becky noticed the ground that Viktor was touching began to wither away the entire block. The street, cars, building and shops were being disintegrated right before Becky's very eyes, almost as if they aging by the second. Then that same pathway was making its way straight towards Becky. She knew she couldn't allow herself to be touched by Viktors attack or else she'll end up like Tyler.
Watching as the pathway of destruction was getting closer and closer Becky had to think fast. She quickly analyzed the situation, it was useless to go left or right and she wasn't fast enough to outrun Viktor's attack. There was nowhere to run and Becky was running out of time.
"Damn it, think, think!" Becky mentally screamed.
Just then Becky felt a shooting pain in her head and clenched her fist onto her temples "Not now, you fucker".
She heard the evil chuckling of the voice that has been haunting her thoughts "YOUR STILL SO WEAK! BUT I CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE YOU DIE! SO I'LL MAKE YOU A DEAL, LET ME TAKE OVER AN ILL KILL THESE TWO IN NO TIME!"
"Go away, I don't need or want your help" Becky said rapidly shaking her head.
But the voice just kept laughing at Becky attempts to drown it out. Now Becky was fighting two battles, the one against the Ascension and other internally with this evil voice in her head. She hasn't told anyone but the voice has been a frequent occurrence ever since the first time it happened, but she kept it to herself in order to keep her friends from worrying. Now it looked like the voice was going to be the death of her as she was so concentrated on fighting off the voice's corruption that her attention was taken off the wave of disintegration coming her way. Until a voice snapped her out of it.
"BECKY!" Bayley yelled hiding at a safe distance "GO UP!"
Becky was still holding her head when she heard Bayley, so to the best of her ability she was ignoring the voice for now. When she came too, saw she literally had only a second before the wave turned her into nothing but bones and ashes. So in that moment Becky concentrated all of her energy to the soles of her feet and in a fiery takeoff similar to a rocket, she launched herself up into the sky. Looking up Becky could feel the wind blowing in her face and it even calmed her down a bit, however it lasted only for a moment.
"HAHA LOOK AT THAT! YOUR NOT COMPLETELY USELESS AFTER ALL!" The voice mocked.
Again grabbing her head in pain Becky tried to block out the voice once more. Back down on the ground unknowing of her friends internal pain, Bayley had another concern. The costume that Becky was using to conceal her identity was beginning to fall apart. Due to Becky's fire base power every time she used a move more and more of her outfit was scorched off. First it was her right arm and now it was both her legs that was completely exposed. If any more of Becky's clothing where to get burned off her secret would be out.
Back in the air Becky was finally able to suppress the voice, for the moment at least. It was too little too late though, as Konnor had purpled himself up into the skies to meet Becky in the air. By the time Becky realized, Konner had already landed a right hook to Becky's midsection. Konnor's fist dug right into Becky's stomach knocking all of the wind out her lungs in the process. After the punch connects Becky was sent hurtling to the ground, as she was falling she wasn't sure if she was hearing the wind whistling in her ear or Bayley screaming in terror. Soon Becky was slammed back first into the cold concrete and coughed up some blood upon contact.
Becky tried to move, but she was certain of two things, one her left shoulder was definitely dislocated and two she was at her limit. Becky then looked up and saw Konner running towards her to add the finishing touches while Viktor yells something along the lines of "KILL HER!".
Even in her final moments Becky sported a smile "Well voice I guess you were right, in the end I was too weak. I couldn't protect anyone, I even put my friend in danger and I'm about to have my life ended by someone most mutants don't take seriously. I guess I was an idiot for believing I could truly make a difference in a world of hate. Oh well, if anything I guess it was kind of fun to pretend for a little while".
Becky just shut her eyes and waited for Konnor to land the finishing blow, she had given it her best shot and nobody could fault her for that. However, that didn't mean everyone was going to accept it.
Bayley ran over to where Becky was and was trying her best to help her up, Becky didn't even have the strength to move so for Bayley it was like trying to pick up deadweight "Becky C'mon we have to move".
"Bayley you have to run, this is it for me" Becky weakly mumbled.
Now having Becky's arm over her shoulder, Bayley shook her head "No, it's not, I won't let it be".
Becky watched as she saw this girl she had only known for about a week giving her all to try and save her and with the rate Konner was coming she was risking her life to. Bayley tried and she tried, but couldn't manage to get Becky to stand. All she could do was get her to sit up.
"Why are you doing this for me, it's not like we've known each other that long" Becky asked.
"Because" Bayley said as she began to cry due to her failure "I could ask you the same thing. You were the first person to be nice to me, you gave me friends and protection all out of the goodness of your heart and that was just in the first day. You had no reason to pity the new girl and you did anyway. In fact it would have been easier for you to just ignore me. But you didn't."
Bayley then looked up at Becky with her tear filled eyes "And now here you are, not just protecting me again but trying to protect the whole town. To me it doesn't matter how long our history is, anyone who would go that far for me, I'm willing to go even further for them".
That's when it hit Becky, she wasn't just fighting for herself or to see what she could do with her power, rather she was fighting for Bayley, Liv, Sasha, Dean and everybody else in this town. She had thought all this time that being someone others can look up to was to be someone who's unbeatable, but the real role models are the ones who can find their resolve and protect the people close to them even when they're past their breaking point. If she failed here, then all their lives would be in danger just because Becky was afraid to go the extra mile.
"Thank you Bayley" Becky said beginning to stand.
It was wobbly and she stumbled a few times, but she made it back to her own two feet. Becky locked her eyes on Konner, even though she couldn't move well and her left arm was useless, she still had her right arm. So one more time, she focused all her energy to her right arm causing it to be set a blazed, so much so that even more of her costume began to burn away. All that remained was half of her mask and barley enough costume to cover up her body. With her eyes locked on Konnor, the second he came into striking distance Becky pulled back and put everything she had into one final strike. The fire around her arm helped push Beckys fist forward even more, catching Konnor right in the face. A couple of Konnor's teeth went flying as well. It was almost as if Becky's arm was a cannon and in a fiery blast Konnor was sent flying back right into his partner Viktor, knocking them both out and down to the ground.
Bayley watched in awe, as the embers around Becky began to fade. Her right arm fell to her side as that last attack rendered it useless for now. It was truly a sight to behold and as much as Bayley wished she could have taken it in a little while longer, she could hear the police sirens closing in.
Becky heard them too as she turned around "Cmon on Bayley we… need… to..."
The adrenaline and her own will power were all that was keeping Becky going towards the end of that fight. Now that she had a minute to recover, that wore off and Becky finally passed out due to exhaustion. Bayley was able to catch Becky but she wasn't able to lift her up before and that hasn't changed in the past couple of minutes. She quickly scanned the area trying to find somewhere to drag Becky and hide for a while but it was no use. Everything was either too far or destroyed. As the sirens got closer and closer, she began to panic.
Then something strange happened, Bayley couldn't quite describe it, but as she sat there on the ground with Becky unconscious in her lap, flames began to surround the two. The flames engulfed them, but yet there was no heat or pain, their clothes didn't even get burned. Instead, it was just a beautiful mixture of colors from the fire. It lasted only a few seconds and before Bayley knew it, the two were back in Becky's apartment. Bayley turned around to where the flames were, but they were gone. She even slapped herself a couple times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Somehow, in an instance Becky and Bayley were back in the apartment. Although she wanted to look deeper into this, she remembered the shape Becky was in. She turned her attention back to her friend, after making sure she was breathing Bayley used all her might to get Becky onto the couch. Unfortunately, taking Becky to the hospital right now wasn't an option or else they may figure out it was Becky who took down the Ascension. So Bayley did the next best thing.
She pulled out her phone and sent out a group text "Becky's hurt, come to her apartment ASAP".
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I know I said I would update every Tuesday and Friday from now on but I've changed my mind and instead will update every Wednesday and Sunday. So look out for updates on those days. Thanks for reading, don't forget to review. Till next time.