Carly's father taught her how to fight. She hoped she would never have to use his lessons...
iSuperwoman
Chapter Eight: iShift
Mon. August 20th, 2012: The brush gently stroked each hair, coursing through every follicle and pressing them down neatly. "Always be my baby girl?" a voice asked her daughter in the dark room. It was warm, gentle, and filled with bliss; whatever the household had become.
"Always," the young woman answered, her voice weak as she sat still in the chair, letting her mother brush her long, dark locks. Around her, silence loomed.
"Always love your mother?" the voice continued.
"Always, Mommy," replied the girl, staring straight ahead into the shadows. Closing her eyes, the teenager felt her mother's lips kiss her soft hair at the crown.
"I love you, my little Tareen," the woman recited, a smile forming on her face. "No matter who you are."
"I love you, Mom," Tareen responded, clenching at her knees. Two arms wrapped lovingly around the young woman.
"I need you to change for me, okay, honey?" Tareen's mother whispered in her daughter's ear. Swallowing hard, the teenager clenched up her face, held back the tears, and nodded.
Carly, Sam, and Nevel walked down the hallway, talking over ideas for the next iCarly webisode. "Hey, guys," Freddie Benson greeted the three friends. "Mind if I join in?" Sam let out an aggravated sigh.
"Sure," Carly answered, nudging her blond friend. "We were just talking about iCarly. You have any ideas?"
"Yeah, tons," the brunette boy happily answered, opening up a notebook. "I came up with this one sketch. It's called The Cowboy and the Idiot Farm Girl. It's really funny." Carly and Sam leaned closer to the young man, reading over the lines of dialogue written for them.
"Excuse me," a balding teacher interrupted the group. "Do you know if Tareen was in homeroom today?"
"No, I think she was out today," Nevel answered. With a nod, the man quickly walked down the hallway to his classroom. "Has Tareen been sick alot lately?"
"I know," Carly said. "This is like the fifth time this month. She never used to miss school."
"Maybe she's got mono," Sam suggested, pulling down on the sleeves of her BYU sweatshirt. "That knocks you out for weeks."
"I don't know," Carly replied. "Maybe we should go to her place after school; you know, bring her homework."
"I'm gonna have to pass," Nevel declared. "My dad needs me to help him with another project. I've gotta take off. Later, guys." Carly and Freddie waved to the boy as he walked away.
"Okay," Sam replied. "Fredward, how 'bout you?"
"AV Club meeting," Freddie answered. "Sorry."
"No, that's fine," Carly replied. "Sam and I can go. That sketch you wrote looks awesome, by the way." Freddie smiled, adjusting the strap on his back pack.
"Hey, guys," greeted a redheaded young woman.
"Hey, Wendy," Sam, Carly, and Freddie replied, their words harmonic. With a quick wave, the young woman continued down the hallway.
Walking down the sidewalk, Carly and Sam took a quick look around them, then went back to their relaxed style. "So, how's Supergirl doing?" Sam finally spoke up.
"Fine," Carly answered. "No sign of that gang. I think I got 'em all when I stopped the car."
"Anymore thought on losing the mask?" the blond replied.
"Definitely not," Carly answered. "The more Supergirl does, the more enemies I make. If they catch me, they find out about Spencer, you, and everything else."
"If you're playing it that way, aren't you putting alot of faith in a domino mask?" Sam responded.
"It's not just the mask," the brunette answered, realizing her logic was taking her in a circle. "It's the fact that I'm...me. Who'd believe Carly Shay was Supergirl? But with the mask and hood, no one gets the idea in the first place."
"What about your fanbase?" the blond added. "What do the people think?"
"They think I'm a savior or something," Carly responded. "They're putting way too much faith in me. I'm just, you know, the person who does the stuff the police can't."
"I think it's more than that," Sam replied, throwing her bag back over her shoulder. "You're saving people. Maybe you're what they need."
"But I'm not..." the brunette began.
"Look, Carly," Sam interrupted. "I know you don't think you're special. First of all, you're wrong. Second, you are what they need; you're not afraid to make things better...Look, I know you don't think people need you...but everyday, I hear people crying for someone like you; someone who, I don't know, makes themself more than average."
"I don't know if I can live up to that, though," Carly replied, her uncertainty showing in her voice.
"That's the point," Sam declared, accidentally raising her voice to a passionate cry. "You're what they need...not an act. Not something larger than life...just you. These powers just give you something more...you know?" Carly felt herself at a loss for words. Nodding, the young woman struggled to grasp the things her friend just told her.
At last, the two reached Tareen's home, rang the doorbell, and were met by silence. "Hello?" Sam called out, knocking on the door. The sound of footsteps broke the brief instance of silence, followed by the twisting of the door knob, and Tareen's mother pushing the door open. "Hi, girls," she greeted the two.
"Hello, Mrs. Evans," Carly replied with her usual smile and charm. "We brought Tareen's homework."
"Thank you girls so much," the woman warmly responded, taking the papers. "I'd ask if you wanted to step inside, but Tareen's been in bed all day."
"Oh, that's okay," Carly answered.
"Just tell her we stopped by," Sam added. "Later."
"Have a good night," Carly said, getting ready to turn away.
"You too, girls," Mrs. Evans happily replied.
"Poor Tareen," Carly said as she and Sam turned onto the road leading to Bushwell Plaza.
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "Hey, can I stay at your place tonight? Pam's been on the rampage lately."
"Sure," the brunette answered. "I'll ask Spencer when we get there."
"Tareen must really be sick," Sam said. "She never passes up on a chance to hear her own voice."
"Sam," Carly lightly scolded. "I just hope she's back soon, you know? She seemed really out of it the last time I saw her." Remembering several months back, the two remembered Tareen's happy-go-lucky, super up-beat attitude, her hyper conversations, and the smile she almost always wore on her face. What happened to you?
That night, Spencer lay on the couch, fast asleep. Quietly making their way down the stairs, Sam and Carly giggled about the aweful movie they had just sat through. Out of the corner of the brunette's eye, she spotted the name of her school on the local news. "Hang on," she whispered. Sam stopped, looking at her friend in a state of confusion. "My gosh... Someone broke into Ridgeway a couple of hours ago. They said the police showed up, but haven't found anything yet."
"How could you hear that?" Sam replied. "Do you have some kind of Spider-Sense now?"
"No, I can just...see and hear better than I used to," Carly answered.
"This a job for Supergirl?" the blond girl asked.
"I don't think so," Carly answered. "There's nothing I can do now...maybe once the police get a lead."
"Couldn't you just use your super senses to find clues?" Sam suggested. "I mean, you're not that crazy Batwoman from LA, but..."
"I'm not that great with looking for clues, Sam," the brunette gently responded. "I'll find out what happened. I just need some time." The truth is, I'm afraid of what I'm going to find...I just really hope I'm wrong.
Tues. August 21st, 2012: School had been canceled due to the break-in, leaving Carly and Sam to their own devices. Holding her cell phone up to her ear, Carly listened to Tareen's mother tell her Tareen was recovering slowly. "She should be up to visitors tomorrow, sweetie," the woman said.
"Thanks, Mrs. Evans," Carly warmly replied. "Tell Tareen Sam and I said 'hi', please. Bye."
"Still no words from speedy?" Sam asked, her voice monotone.
"Tomorrow," Carly answered, hanging up her phone. "Mrs. Evans hasn't heard about the break-in."
Sam grabbed a soda out of the refrigerator and shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, you wanna hang with Wendy today?" she asked. "She's gonna be at Groovy Smoothie most of the morning."
"Oh, she got that new job?" Carly replied.
"Part-time, but yeah," Sam answered. "I'll call her." Dialing her friend's cell, the blond listened to the beeps, only to wind up with voice mail. "Weird."
"What's up?" the brunette asked, taking a seat on the couch.
"Wendy's not answering her phone," Sam answered. "She always answers, even when we're in class...eh, let's just go down there and see her." Carly agreed, grabbed her purse, and called into Spencer's room, "Sam n' I are heading out. See you later, bro."
"Have fun," the young adult called back from his shower. With that, the two young women departed from the Shay apartment, and went down the block to the local smoothie bar. Wendy was working behind the counter, taking orders. "Hey, guys," she greeted her two friends, looking away from the register.
"Hey, Wendy," Sam and Carly replied.
"Hey, you didn't answer your phone," Sam said, an heir of levity in her voice. "I thought you died on your way to work or something."
Wendy giggled. "No, my battery died and I didn't get a chance to charge it this morning," she explained, stroking a long red lock out of her face. "You girls want anything? I get a discount."
"Awesome," Carly replied. "Can I get a blueberry cranberry blend, please?"
"And I'll take a Citrus Bomb," Sam added, pointing to the menu item behind Wendy's head.
"You've got it," the redhead quickly answered, gathering her ingredients. Running her hand across the counter, Wendy suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her finger. "Ow!" she cried out, clenching the wound as warm blood began to surface.
"Are you okay?" Carly asked, looking at the wound.
"Fine," the redhead answered. "I just need to clean this up." Wendy ran into the employee bathroom, locked the door, and ran cold water on her finger. Slowing her movements, the young woman looked at the gash, and forced tension into her hand. Slowly, tiny strings of flesh began to appear, filling in the cut and blocking the blood. Wincing, the young woman wrapped her hand in a paper towel, and returned to her station. "I'll walk it over to you guys in a sec. Get a table."
Sam and Carly walked over to a table in the center of the room. "She's pretty hyper," Carly said, taking out a napkin for herself and Sam.
"I noticed," Sam agreed, taking the napkin.
Wed. August 22nd, 2012: "Hey, sleepy head," Carly greeted her ill friend. Tareen sat up in her bed, wearing a weak smile.
"How you feeling?" Sam asked, sitting down on the corner of her friend's bed.
"Well,Idon'tknow,I'mnotfeelingthatwell,butI'mbetterthanIwas," Tareen raced through her sentence. Carly felt a smile form on her face. However, it soon faded.
"Whoah, Tareen," the brunette girl exclaimed. "What happened to your finger?" A cut, still fresh and bleeding wrought itself upon the young woman's finger; in the same spot Wendy cut herself the day before.
"Oh,Isliceditonmybedframe," the dark-haired girl answered, her words like flashes of lightning.
"Wow, Wendy got the same cut at work yesterday," Carly said, not taking her eyes off the injury.
"Really?" Tareen asked, slowing her speech. "Is she okay?"
"Yeah," Sam answered. "She's fine. How 'bout you? You need a band aide?"
"I'm fine," the young woman answered, her tone growing short. "Oh...I don'tmeantoberude,butIthinkI'mgonnabesick."
"Oh," Carly sighed for her friend. "Sorry, bud. We'll let you sleep. Come on, Sam. Hope you feel better, Tareen."
"Thanks," the young woman replied, laying back down and closing her eyes as the two young women departed. After several minutes, Mrs. Evans walked into her daughter's room.
"She knows," the woman said.
"Carly's my friend," the girl groaned. "And I'm not changing again."
"Mommy needs you just one more time," Mrs. Evans replied, her voice gentle and loving. "Then we can move away...have a good life." Sniffling back a tear, Tareen nodded, and got out of bed. Her face swelling and compressing, the young woman felt her hair grow longer. Then, everything seemed to fall into place, and Wendy stood before Tareen's mother.
"Once this is over," Tareen began, her voice adjusting to match Wendy's. "Can we let her go?"
"You know we can't angel," the girl's mother sadly answered. "But it'll all be okay...we'll be okay."
That night, Sam was at the youth center, practicing her archery, leaving Carly and Spencer in a near-empty house for the night. "I don't understand hwo," the young woman said, sounding flustered. "But I don't think it was Wendy...she stayed late the day the school was robbed, she said her phone died, but the voice mail picked up, and then the cut on her and Tareen's finger."
"I don't understand," Spencer replied. "Like, do you think she's a Star Baby? Like, switching bodies with people?"
"Or shapeshifting," Carly summarized. "I've gotta go over there."
"I'm coming with you," the girl's older brother declared, standing up behind his sister.
"It's too dangerous for you to be there," Carly answered. "I'm the one with superpowers. I can take care of this. I don't want anything to happen to you." Suddenly, a flash of light tore through the air, and Carly was gone. Letting out a disappointed sigh, Spencer grabbed his cell phone. "I'll give her ten minutes," he whispered, growing concerned for his sister.
Tareen doesn't need Supergirl...if I'm right, she needs a friend more than anything, Carly told herself as she charged through the town in the guise of her speed. At last, she reached her friend's home. Knocking on the door, the young woman found it was opened. Carefully taking several steps inside, Carly looked around, finding only darkness. "Hello?" she called out. "Is anyone here?" Suddenly, the sound of muffled cries emanated from the basement. Running down the stairs and throwing the door open, Carly found Wendy bound and gagged in a wooden chair. "Wendy," the brunette whispered, rushing over and undoing the bounds. "Who did this?" Carly asked, removing the tape from her friend's mouth. Then, the sound of footsteps behind her brought the girl her revelation. Not turning around, the brunette closed her eyes, let out a heartbroken sigh, and made her stand; "Tareen," she said.
"Not now," Tareen answered, forcing back tears. "Right now, I'm Shift." Lunging at her friend, Tareen threw punch after punch into Carly's cheek, doing no damage. "What the..."
"Wendy, run!" Carly cried.
"But what about you?" the redhead asked, unable to fathom what was happening.
"Call the police," Carly answered, her voice firm. "I'll keep her here until they show up. Go!" Turning back to Tareen, Carly thrust herself to the side, dodging another blow. "It doesn't have to be like this."
"Yes it does," Tareen cried, her tears nearly blinding her. "I didn't have a choice. Even from the beginning. When those rocks touched me...I turned into a freak." Sprinting around the room, Carly grabbed her friend's arms from behind, and held her tightly. "W-...what are you?"
"Your friend, Tareen," Carly answered. "I just want to help you...please. Who's making you do this?"
"I'll never tell you," Tareen cried, her will to fight draining. "She won't forgive me."
"But we will," Carly fought on. "Just give this up. We can be friends again."
"No..." the dark-haired girl sobbed. "No, we can't."
When the police arrived, they found Tareen clenching the money she stole under Wendy's name. Carly sat next to Wendy in the back of an ambulance, sipping coffee. Spencer showed up with Sam a couple of minutes later, putting his hand on his sister's shoulder while Sam hugged her redheaded friend. "Why'd she do it?" Spencer asked.
"...She couldn't be herself," Carly answered. "Because they gave her no choice...couldn't handle it, decided to run away."
"Thanks for saving me, Carly," Wendy said, holding the blanket close to her chest.
"That's what friends are for," Carly said, a smile forming on her face. When they can actually save their friends... Sam put her arms around her two friends, feeling Spencer shielding her as well.