Chapter 7-6

After everything that'd happened, going back to school just felt weird. I just didn't see how school life was supposed to mean anything to me when I was fighting for my life just twelve hours ago. The transition was jarring, to say the least. I wasn't even tired enough to ignore everything and slog through the day on autopilot. Even if I was, Sam wouldn't have let me. I think she's one of those people that's determined to live every day like it's their last. Lucky me.

Actually, I shouldn't be complaining. She wouldn't be putting this much effort in if she didn't genuinely mean well, and I couldn't help but enjoy the company. It was nice, being normal and doing normal girl things. It helped me find my center, especially after last night. I might even be able to pretend I'm still completely sane.

"…so then he shows up an hour late." Mellissa began. Even lunchtime wasn't dreadful anymore, thanks to my new friends. "'Was busy playing videogames' he said. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Then, when I ask him how the hell he could do that, he has the balls to tell me I should be more considerate. Why? Because he cares more about a ball of pixels than he does about me? Yeah, totally dumped his ass."

"Good riddance." Sam replied. "That guy was a total loser. Don't know what you saw in him anyway."

"Oh, you can talk. How did your last boyfriend turn out?"

Sam's cheeks immediately turned red. "No comment."

"Uh-huh."

"Yeah, I'm totally not going there." She turned to me and asked: "Taylor, please tell me you have a boyfriend." Did I say 'asked'? I meant 'begged'. "Or a girlfriend, that's okay too."

"Gotta disappoint you, Sam. Can't save you from embarrassment here." I couldn't stop myself from laughing as Sam's head hit the table. "What were you expecting? With all the horror stories you've been telling me, I think I'll stay single for now."

"Well, look at the bright side: more for the rest of us." Tracy joined in. "And we'll have more embarrassing stories to tell when Sam screws everything up again."

School…school was okay. At least I had that going for me. Even with my cape career being what it was, I had something to look forward to when I got up in the morning. Given the state of my life, that meant more to me than I could ever put into words. Even walking home with a friend at the end of the day made things better.

God, I sound corny as hell.

"It's not that Math's hard, it's just…"

"Mr. Graves doesn't know how to write a proper test." I replied. Even though I've only been here for a week or two, there was no escaping Mr. Graves and his dreadfully hard tests. Everyone had them. Everyone feared them. No exceptions. Even the supernerds had trouble handling them.

"I know. On the homework, it's like 'what's two plus two', and then the test is like 'a guy is buying 3.7 bottles of cooking oil and a Ming vase. What's the color of the bear?'."

We turned into a quiet street. A shortcut that took us past the docks to Sam's house. "Preaching to the choir, Sam." I replied.

"Well, at least someone's listening. Honestly, it's like that guy wants us to…" Suddenly, a grey, dinky, unmarked van came screeching towards us. I thought it would pass, but it slowed down as it got closer.

Oh crap, I've seen this movie. "Sam, I think we have to run."

"What? But…"

The van stopped right in front of us. "Now!"

I grabbed her arm and started running. The van opened up and armed men in ski masks got out of the vehicle. One of them pointed his gun at us just as we ran into an old building.

"No, don't shoot." Another said. The leader, I presume. "We need them alive."

Affirmatives followed and they started chasing us. They were gaining too. I wanted to go faster, but looking at Sam, it became clear that that wasn't an option. If we couldn't outrun them, we'd have to hide. As much as I would prefer to fight them, it's just too risky. Sam was almost completely hysterical by now and there was no way of telling what would happen if we fought her. Annoying, but that's the way it is. She's just a civilian and I can't expect her to hold herself together like I could. I'd have to find someplace to hide her while I dealt with these idiots.

The attackers fanned out. One of them got dangerously close to us and had to be eliminated before he could warn the others. As he turned a corner, I ambushed him, punching him in the throat so he couldn't scream before twisting his arm out of his socket. I forced him onto the ground and smashed his face into the floor, knocking him unconscious.

Okay, first things first: who are these people and what do they want from us? I removed the man's mask. White male, clean shave, swastika tattoo on his neck. Empire 88.

Well, fuck.

Why were they here? What the hell did I do to deserve this? It's not like I fought the Empire all that much. At least, not so much that I deserved a direct attack on my civilian identity. Unless…

I pushed the thoughts from my mind. I'd worry about that later. First, I'd have to get myself and Sam to safety and either lose or eliminate the Nazis hunting us.

"Oh. Oh god." Sam stammered, frantically pointing at the fallen Nazi. As expected for a girl her age, she was freaking out. Irritating. "Oh god. Oh god."

"Sam, Sam, please shut up." I hissed. I smacked her on the head to get her attention. "Sam, listen to me. We're going to get out of this. I just need you to trust me, okay?"

"They have guns. They have guns and they're going to kill us."

"They won't." I said, firmly, but it didn't seem to improve things. "Listen to me, Sam. They're not going to kill us, okay? I won't let them."

"B-b-but they have guns…"

I grabbed the Nazi's pistol and said: "Yeah, now I do to."

With Sam at least calm enough not to attract the other gangsters with her whimpering, I could take stock of the situation. I had a gun and enough ammo to keep myself going for a while. There were still three men surrounding me, versus myself and a hysterical teenager. The real problem is that I didn't have my armor on and couldn't transform here. Oh, I probably could, but that would leave me with two big issues. One, I'd be outing myself not just to Sam, but probably to Empire 88 as well. Banshee just happened to be in the neighborhood? Yeah, like they're going to buy that. While I didn't mind Sam knowing who I was, being outed to the Nazis would be problematic for obvious reasons. Even with the unwritten rules being a thing, I couldn't risk it. Two, there was the issue of time. Five minutes is way too long when you're being hunted. No, I'd have to do this the hard way.

Of course, I didn't have to deal with it myself. I had a phone on me. I could call the PRT for backup. In fact, I probably should. On the other hand, the PRT wasn't subtle. If I called them, the response would be overwhelming and it would probably be the opening shot of a massive gang war. Better call the mundane police instead. Besides, there were only three or so left and none of them had powers. The police could handle it.

Assuming I didn't wipe them out first.

I took out my cellphone and dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" The operator said, in a bored tone.

"Me and my friend are trapped in an abandoned warehouse on 23rd street. We're being chased by gangsters and need help immediately."

"I understand. We're dispatching policemen immediately. In the mean time, I need you to stay calm. Help is on its way."

Sam wasn't doing too well. I pulled her close. "Hey, hold it together." I said, before turning back to the phone. "There are three of them, armed with pistols, no capes. Way they're moving, I think they're trained, though."

"I'll pass the word." The operator answered, somewhat skeptically. "The boys will appreciate it."

"Well, the boys better hurry up. They're getting closer." I immediately regretted saying that out loud when Sam stated to cry. Even shushing her wasn't enough to get her to stay quiet. I closed my eyes and listened. Dammit, they were about to find our hiding place and I don't think I could resolve this peacefully when they did.

The door opened and the first Nazi stepped through. I held my breath and raised my stolen pistol. When he was mid-stride, I shot him in the knee. The man went down screaming and I immediately jumped on his weapon, ripping it from his grasp and throwing it out of his reach. Two down.

Then I heard a scream behind me. Fuck, I'd lost track of Sam. I turned around and saw her being dragged off by a large man with a gun. Not on my watch. "That's far enough." I said, raising my gun at his head. Great, another fucking hostage situation. Seriously, am I a magnet for this sort of thing?

"Put the gun down, girl." The gangster said, almost sounding like a father scolding his child. Didn't the idiot realize I just shot his friend? "We're here for the heeb, nothing more. You turn around, we go away, and no one has to get hurt."

I may be off-duty, but I'll be damned if I'm just going to sit by and let them take my friends without a fight. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Then, he saw what I've done and his eyes widened. "Shit, you're a real piece of work, aren't you? Look, kid, we're not even gonna hurt her. We're just gonna drive her around and scare her family a little, that's all. Now put the damn thing down before I have to murder this piece of shit."

Sam whimpered. Tears were flowing freely. She was practically begging me to do something. I could kill the guy, but I'd rather not do that unless I genuinely had no other choice. I could wound him, but there was always the chance of hitting Sam. Finally, I could force him to give up, either by myself or when the police finally shows up.

Stalling seemed like the best option right now. First things first: get that gun out of Sam's face. "Good god, you're really stupid, aren't you?"

"What did you say?" He growled, pointing the gun at me instead. Just as planned.

"I said you're stupid. If your brains were gunpowder, you wouldn't have enough to blow your own mind." The look on his face was priceless. "And yes, I would like to elaborate. You're threatening to shoot your hostage, who's also the only reason I haven't killed you yet. You see, I've got a problem: I'm a good shot, but not a perfect one. Right now, the only thing I can reliably hit without threatening Sam is your head." That wasn't entirely true: I could probably hit his knees and shoulders too. Big risk, though. Even if I didn't hit Sam, almost getting shot can't be good for her mental state. If I could threaten the guy into submission, all the better. "I can't disable you without killing you."

"Then we have an agreement: I take the heeb, you walk away without a guilty conscience."

"Except I can't let you walk away either. If I have to kill you to stop you…"

"You won't go that far."

"Yes, I will." I could with the Boxheads and I can't say I like Nazis any better. "Thing is, you're a Nazi. If I shoot you while trying to protect my friend, no jury will convict me, and that's assuming that there's a DA willing to take the case. I'd walk away, scott free. That said, it's still an annoyance and the last thing I need is my friends thinking I'm some sort of psycho. Here's what's going to happen." I took a step towards him, trying to appear a little more threatening and in control. "You're going to throw the gun away, let go of Sam, and sit quietly until the police get here. If you don't, you die."

"Or I could walk away because you won't risk hitting your heeb friend." In response, I fired the pistol a few inches over his head. "Or I could shoot you instead." He added, sounding slightly panicked.

"You'll be dead before you get your first shot off. I have very good reflexes." Besides, I could probably take the hit. My armor replaced my skin, but my inner workings are still altered, even in my normal state. One bullet from a small pistol wouldn't kill me.

Suddenly, he started smiling. "Really now? Let's put them to the test."

I heard footsteps on the other side of the room. It was the last guy, raising a pistol at me. I reacted, taking a step back and firing his way. The shots didn't find their mark, but the newcomer was forced behind cover. Good enough for me.

That's when I realized the guy was just a diversion. Sam's captor raised his gun, pulled the trigger, and my world exploded in pain. A scream tore into my head and shattered my thoughts. Then, just like that, it was gone.

A moment later, I recovered and… Why were those bullets floating in mid-air? Why did the air around the bullets shimmer like oil? What's going on?

The gangster seemed as surprised as I was, even loosening his grip on Sam. The shimmer was obviously some sort of power, but it wasn't mine, or that of anyone in the city that I knew off. Whatever it was, it had blocked the man's bullets. Unfortunately, it would probably work both ways.

That didn't explain where my massive headache came from, though. Honestly, it's like someone set of a grenade inside my skull.

Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the shimmer vanished and my mind clicked back into gear. Before the idiot could try anything else, I put two rounds in his shoulder. He fell to the ground and his weapon dropped out of reach. One left. "You, behind the door! Come out where I can see you." No response. "I already shot three of your friends. I've got a massive headache and I'm not in the fucking mood for games. Don't make me hunt you down like a dog."

A gun clattered on the floor and he slowly walked into view, whimpering as he went. Good. Message delivered and received. "Grab your buddies and pull them over there. Hands where I can see them." The man obeyed. I didn't like terrorizing people like that, but… Well, he's a fucking Nazi! I don't need to be nice.

I looked at Sam, who was sitting in a corner, shaking like a reed. There was an oily shimmer surrounding her.

Oh.

Oh, boy.

I just realized what happened. This was going to be a long day.