Chapter 6

Emma looked like a wreck.

It was more than just the bruises I'd given her.

I could see that she'd tried to cover it up, both with copious amounts of concealer and false smiles. But even after a year and a half, I could still see the little signs, the cracks and flaws in the mask that meant everything wasn't okay.

I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

Vindicated? Maybe a little. Satisfied? Less than I'd expected. Happy? More… hollow than anything.

In the end I'd decided it wasn't worth the effort or emotions to think about it any more.

The purple-source stayed within my range the entire morning, and even got close a couple times, but only in the halls where it was nigh-impossible to tell what (who) it was within the crush of students moving around trying to get between classes.

And for some reason my classes seemed easier, almost. I'd been a pretty good student before high school, but with Emma and all the sabotage my freshman year, that had slipped away. I still struggled a little bit —not as much now that I was focusing on my grades more— but there were still things I had trouble with occasionally. But today, stuff just… clicked, things falling into place with no effort.

The other thing about classes was that (after I'd given up thoughts about Emma) they allowed me to think. Ever since two and a half days before, I'd been almost constantly with Sera. Now that I wasn't, it gave me room to breathe.

Because even when it had been just me in the bedroom, there had still been the overwhelming blanket of her presence in the next room over.

It was so easy to get swept away by her. Here, I could take a step back. I could pause and consider.

Sera was very fixated on being a sister, almost to a naïve degree. As much as I had resolved (relented, submitted) to calling her that, and at least accepted the possibility of such, I was still… hesitant.

Siblings weren't something defined by a piece of paper, but by shared experience and life, something that Sera didn't quite seem to comprehend.

Emma had been a sister to me. That was a fact. And she'd been that because of what we'd shared, what we'd gone through together.

Right now, objectively, Sera truly couldn't be considered anything more than a girl who had lived with me for two days. A nice girl, perhaps, but still practically a stranger.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about what it meant that I'd let her into my life, accepted it. It's like with those 'If You Give A…' books. It starts with something small, like not being willing to turn her away, and steadily escalates until the person becomes a permanent fixture.

Did I want that?

On some level, I think I did. I missed my father, the house was lonely, and the past few days had been the most recent ones in memory that I'd felt alive. But at the same time, I wasn't sure I was entirely ready for it, nor the implications it might have.

For one, I wasn't sure I could handle the sudden responsibility that came with it. I was no longer looking after myself, but after another person as well.

I wasn't just working and making money to pay myself and the bills for myself anymore, but for Sera as well.

How had my Dad managed it?

At my age, the worst most kids probably had to deal with was their homework and maybe after-school sports.

I almost wished that was all I needed to deal with.

On the other hand, on the other side, I could see something in Sera. The potential for a future, a small seed that was already starting to grow, and I was uncomfortably conflicted about all of it.

I wanted to be happy. I think everybody can say that's natural. It makes sense. But the question was did I want to be happy like this?

And the answer was I didn't know, but it was getting to the point where I could tell the decision was going to be taken out of my hands before too long.

It would be all too easy to just fold and accept all of this, to settle in and not make any noise.

I just…

Was it so wrong to not want to be alone anymore?

By lunchtime, I still had no clues as to the purple-source, but that silk-thread of connection had increased to the thickness of a power-cable, and was still growing.

In English class, around 10 o'clock, I'd felt something within me shift, like the bolt of a lock moving when the key was turned.

That was when I somehow knew that I'd reached a stage of some sort, something that meant I had full access and could use it like it was my own, not just limited some way like it had been up until then. Where before I would have only been able to shift parts of myself out-of-phase, albeit a slowly growing progression that had started with just fingers, and then hands and feet, and then whole limbs, now I could do the same with my whole body.

And yet the connection was still growing.

The… thing I'd felt earlier, all coiled tightly inside me, stretched, flexing, like it was slowly waking up, temporarily sated by what had been achieved, but also wanting to put it to use.

I had no idea what it meant, so instead I resolved to figure it out later.

That wasn't the only thing different, though. For the first time in months, I left my fifth period class and didn't head to one of the few hiding places I had, but instead to the cafeteria.

My anxiety increased with every step, though I forced my hands to stay relaxed, knowing that by now I could probably easily crush the plastic/rubber handle of my lunchbox, and no, I didn't want that.

Sera and I were both having leftovers from the past two dinners, not that that was a problem; it made getting lunches together in the morning a lot easier.

Once I passed through the doors with the stream of people going in, I started looking around nervously, trying to find her. My… sister.

(Was I really doing this? Was I really okay with this?)

It wasn't exactly hard when I saw the pale white arm start waving in my direction, going down once I began walking in that direction.

Sera was sitting next to another girl I didn't know, but then again Winslow was one of the larger schools in the Bay. That plus intentionally keeping my head down meant I didn't exactly know very many names.

Biting my lip as I got within ten feet, I fidgeted before sitting down on the plastic stool attached to the lunch-table across from Sera.

"Hey Taylor!" she greeted, seemingly just as happy as ever, with the bubble of foreign emotions in my head only serving to reinforce that. "This is Becca," she said, gesturing to the brunette on her left.

I nodded towards her.

"Becca, this is my sister, Taylor."

"Um, hi," the girl squeaked out.

I couldn't help but wonder where that reaction came from.

"Becca's in my World History class," Sera explained. "We're both in the back row together. We're back-row buddies!"

I couldn't help by shake my head in exasperation, a small smile creeping onto my face at her antics. The combination of her cheeriness and the emotions I could feel made it hard to keep it from being infectious.

"We were just talking about movies and stuff, since I haven't really seen many, and Becca knows a lot," my sister said.

"…It's just because of my dad, really," the girl said after a second, looking down and poking at her food and acting as if that explained everything. Which it did to some degree, I guess.

Looking around one last time, I started unpacking my lunch.

"Oh yeah, here," Sera said, pushing a plastic fork across the table to me. "Got one for you too."

"Thanks," I told her, starting in on my rice and steamed vegetables.

"Anyways, we were talking about the influence of parahumans on the production of sci-fi and fantasy films. Which is like, a lot, apparently," Sera began.

Becca nodded and looked up. "There's less focus on individuals and more on exploration. Most special effects is environmental-focused. Aleph movies do it a bit too, but they're much more liberal with applying effects to people. There's not much here because of the um, possible similarities some less-human characters might have with Case-53s and the lawsuits that happened a couple decades ago."

"Those're the ones that look sorta monster-y," Sera said.

I gave her a look. Like you were?

She looked like she was trying not to smile and shook her head.

'Noooope. But there was less stuff with angels because of me.'

I rolled my eyes, and then noticed Becca looking between us curiously.

"It's nothing," Sera said, waving her hand.

"So, uh, you're… sisters?" she asked hesitantly.

This was going to be a regular thing, wasn't it.

(Why did that feel okay?)

Sera nodded after taking her fork out of her mouth. "Yep! Taylor was my god-sister and then stuff happened and I got adopted and now she's my real sister, because um…"

She trailed off, starting to look uncomfortable.

Yeah, she was a really good actor.

"O-oh," Becca said, seeming to pick up the implication that Sera was making. Godparents only became real parents for one reason. "I'm, I'm sorry?"

My sister shrugged. "I never knew Dad, but I really miss Mom, as bossy and demanding as she was." And the strange thing was it seemed like she meant it, a note of somberness creeping under the emotions I could feel from her. "I didn't really see her much, either, she was always off working."

"What did she do?" Becca asked, appearing unsure if this was an okay line of questioning or not.

"Research, mostly. All this super-fancy physics and sociology stuff," Sera said. "I even got to be in some of the studies she did. Usually only when they needed more participants, though."

"That sounds… cool?"

My sister shrugged. "Eh. It was more her thing than mine. Psychology's way cooler. …Not that I can even take it until junior year," she grumbled.

"Well, there's other electi—"

Something in my head screamed at me, electricity and fire washing through my veins in an instant.

Without even thinking, I'd swiveled around and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was about to "accidentally" spill chocolate milk on me.

I glared at the girl the hand was attached to.

"Don't."

Julia paled.

She was one of the ones that hung at the fringes of Emma's group, and she hadn't been in the hall when I'd snapped. She probably thought that by doing something like this while Emma seemed down for the count she could climb higher.

"Just… don't."

She started shaking slightly, the two girls behind her frozen, while the people immediately around us had gone silent and were staring at the spectacle.

I let go of her wrist, which jerked closer to her body.

I hadn't even noticed the effort she'd been making to try and pull it to her. Red marks left by my hand sat on her arm, likely going to bruise, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

Without a word, she backed up and then once she was ten feet from me, turned and rushed away as quickly as possible without running, the two tagalongs hurrying to keep up with her.

I looked around and glared at the people who were staring at me, who gradually turned back to their own groups and started talking again, though quieter than before.

Well, fuck them.

I looked back at Sera, who was grinning wildly, practically with sparkles in her eyes, whereas Becca was fidgeting uncomfortably.

With a sigh, I picked up my fork and started eating once more.

Her sister had been so. cool.

She'd had the sudden impulse to hug her as much as possible, ignoring the fact that there had been a table between them.

She'd managed to control herself, though. Barely.

But Taylor's powers were finally starting to show up!

Granted, it may have been because of that bitch who had the name she'd wanted, instead of like, that one family with the laser-stuff, but it was still awesome!

And she'd already made a friend and her first day wasn't even over! Take that, David!

Emma was so messed up she might not even need the um, talk that Sera had planned to have with her. Sophia might, though, with the way Sera'd seen her glaring at Taylor in the halls between third and fourth period.

And then there was that cunt Julia who thought it would be a good idea to attack her sister! Taylor had taken care of it, at least for now, but maybe she should make… plans to deal with that.

She hated how she couldn't use her obvious abilities at the school, and thus couldn't help Taylor as much, but she also knew that was probably for the best.

Taylor had to learn how to face stuff head-on. Solve problems directly and all that. Stand up for herself. Every problem could be solved with sufficient amounts of force, after all.

Of course, that was more Taylor's thing. She preferred subtlety and finesse. Brushstrokes on the canvases of minds. Butterflies to hurricanes.

Not that she could even do that as she was, stupid Queen. Then again, also probably for the best. Taylor probably wouldn't appreciate her making friends for her.

No. Definitely not.

Oh, well.

School was exciting. So many people and so much chaos. She probably could have sat down on a chair in the hallway and watched everybody for hours and not get bored. Teenagers were so ruled by their emotions. …Not that she could point any fingers. She had them too, and she loved it, even the ones that weren't so great.

Nine years, all still sharp and clear, and yet they paled in comparison to what she'd experienced in the past three days. As though she could finally see color, where everything before had been black and white. Cliché, but true nonetheless.

(And okay yes she technically hadn't been able to see before, but that's really not the point)

She wasn't at school to learn. She could easily do that on her own. She was there for the experience. And to be closer to Taylor, of course. Highschool drama was legendary, and there was a major difference between just knowing it happened from the minds she touched and actually being there herself.

Besides, four years wasn't so long, and it gave her time to practice.

It was sixth period that I found the source of [out of phase/not there].

It was sixth period that I realized what it meant.

It was sixth period when Sophia Hess walked into the classroom, and I could feel connection hum as soon as I laid eyes on her, still growing, just ever so slightly faster now.

Now, I wish I could say I was ignorant. I wish I could say that I didn't understand the implications. Unfortunately, just like everything else that day, it all fell into place, my mind making connections between seemingly disparate things that were actually connected in a blink.

The way I knew she was the source.

The sense of [intangibility].

Sophia reeling in the hall when I'd blacked out standing up. When I'd triggered.

Finding spoiled milk dripping over the things in my locker when I'd gotten a new lock only a week before. Notes and homework stolen. My mother's flute.

And it all added up, all pointed to a single conclusion that I couldn't deny. Sophia Hess was a parahuman.

My mind blanked.

Yes, I was shocked. Yet at the same time, I wasn't, it was just simply another fact to be filed away.

I tried to keep myself from reacting, but I couldn't help the slight straightening of my spine or the sharp glance I gave her, the ice that trickled through my veins as my heart sped up.

I'll be honest, I only half paid attention that class, because I was trying to stay calm while flickering through what this meant. What it would mean.

I hadn't heard of any capes in the area with [intang—], no, intangibility, but I also hadn't been looking. I'd already had computer class that day, which meant I couldn't do any research until I got home to my own computer.

Half-way through the class, around one o'clock, there was a second shift, a second level reached, and I knew I could push objects out of phase and still interact with them without needing to go intangible myself.

When all things were considered, it was rather obvious the connection and my own abilities were related to others' powers, though there seemed to be a proximity and time element. Also, with the way the connection had progressively weakened for a few minutes and then started strengthening again at the end of lunch, it probably wasn't a permanent thing.

I had no idea what good that did.

It was interesting that Sera didn't show up to me, but that also made sense since my powers were ostensibly derived from hers, and so there would be nothing to copy. It was weird how there didn't seem to be any obvious connection between them, though. Telekinetic super-smart precog who can build things, and then power-using Trump?

Yeah, no obvious relations there. Maybe I'd just ask her when I got the chance.

I spent the period with my hands clenched under my desk, worried that Sophia had noticed, that she would know something was different. Thankfully, it didn't seem she had, or at least dismissed my tension as remnants of what had happened on Monday.

Some part of me almost wanted her to notice, to react and do something impulsive, so that I'd finally have something to point to, some sort of unquestionable justification.

But that was just my own more impulsive feelings speaking. The part of me that wanted to lash out because of course one of my bullies had powers that let them make my life even worse. I pushed it down, trying to focus on the teacher and what she was saying.

The class seemed to drag on, minute by minute, until finally, the bell rang and we were released. I let Sophia leave before me, and instead prepared myself for yet another class with Emma.

At least she didn't have powers. Other than the completely normal one of being a total bitch, of course.

My last class I shared with Madison, but she still made no moves, and I at least found some degree of comfort in that, however tenuous it was.

And then school was over.

I couldn't help the breath of relief I released as the last bell rang. I kept my eyes peeled for any of the usual girls who bothered me as I made my way to my locker, but the couple I saw only glanced at me before quickly looking away.

Were they… scared?

I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Like, it would keep them off my back, I guess, but was fear really the way it should be done?

I pushed it out of my mind as soon as I saw Sera waiting for me at my locker.

"Hey Taylor!"

"Hey."

She blinked. "Is something wrong? You got really nervous in the period after lunch."

I swallowed. "I…" I shut my mouth trying to think about how to put it. "Yeah. I… found something out. We can talk about it at home."

She nodded, smiling. "Okay then."

I moved some of my books from my bag to my locker and then shut it, locking it. Not that that would do much good, now that I knew how everything had been happening.

"How was your day?" I asked.

Her smile widened into a grin. "It was great! I met so many new people, and I think I'm making friends with some of them."

"Well that's…" terrifying "…good," I finally settled on, at least trying to keep my thoughts to myself.

How would people even react to the thought that 'oh hey, that nice new girl you're friends with in Geometry is actually the Simurgh'?

With lots of screaming, I suspected.

I sighed, praying to any deity that might listen that this wasn't going to end in flames and screaming.

"You ready to go home?" I asked.

Sera nodded. "Yep!"

I gave her a small smile, the two of us wordlessly heading towards the school entrance and the bus station that would take us home.

And I realized, almost sadly, that even with everything I'd discovered and the worries I had, this had still been one of the best days of high school I'd ever had.

A/N: This chapter brought to you by This Gift by the Sons and Daughters, my Model F keyboard, and Sera's hilarious propensity for being a terrifying (cough eldritch abomination cough) teenage girl.