The Metahuman School Girl: a story of gunshots and resilience
By Iris West-Allen
A week ago, we all might have glanced over another news story of an armed robbery. If we didn't, we might have noticed the lack of causalities, and breathed a silent sigh of relief. The story might have mentioned the teenage girl shot in the leg, but I'm sure the story didn't mention that the schoolgirl was a metahuman.
Juliet's story began long before that day. It began, just like over two thousand citizens' in our city, when the particle accelerator exploded. Juliet became a telepath when she was just twelve.
"Unlike what some people think, I don't actually want to know what goes on inside everyone's heads. And I don't think you would if you could either." She says as I interview her in the hospital. And she has a point; just think about the things that run through our heads every day, and now imagine a young girl who is forced to listen.
"I only recently got control of my powers," Juliet says, explaining that before she did, crowds were especially difficult because she was forced to hear everyone's thoughts at once. She was pushed to extreme measures like wearing headphones 24/7, avoiding large gatherings and most people in general which, as I understand, left her feeling truly isolated from everyone.
After an accident at school exposed her to her school community, Juliet has been forced to deal with discrimination over the fallout. The high school has reluctantly agreed to keep her enrolled for the rest of the year, but refused to invite her back in the future, despite the clearly unintentional nature of the mistake. The lack of laws on metahuman discrimination preventing this is hugely concerning. Why aren't there provisions to stop innocents from being exposed to unfair prejudice?
Despite these setbacks, Juliet is determined to "be brave" in the face of adversity, and even in the face of a gun! Earlier this week, police positively identified the armed robber as Bronwyn Jones, who will soon be facing justice for charges of attempted armed robbery and assault. The reason Juliet is currently recovering in hospital is due to her bravery in distracting him while her sister ran to call 911. Though her powers are purely mental, she still put herself in harm's way for her loved ones. This is not the story of a villain, like some make metahumans out to be. This is the story of a courageous girl who has overcome her own fear and vulnerability.
Author's Note:
I wasn't quite sure how to write this 'epilogue'. I was going to do it as an inner monologue, a bit like the prologue, but I wasn't really sure if that would capture the narrative voice (if that's a thing). This feels a little too much like a recap, but I had to balance the fact that this is supposed to be a news article. You'll have to let me know what you think! If there's anything missing, or you want to know more about what happened/happens to a certain character, feel free to message me! I really love it and feel encouraged when you guys review. Seriously, if any of you write, you'll know I'm telling the truth.
Recently one of you guys expressed that they thought I could do more with this and had some really good suggestions to continue! So even though I'm going to *end* it here for now, I'm not going to mark it as completed, because as soon as I figure out what I want to do, I'm going to make a Part 2. And thus, the *almost* end to my first long fanfic!
Next, I had a few ideas for some different fics, but I'm still working on the endings. I plan on doing one long fic at a time, with a few one-shots along the way as the ideas come. I've started a Ranger's Apprentice fic, but I need a clear structure (and at least five chapters already written) before I post. As for one-shots, I've got a Fablehaven one in progress, but we'll have to see. If there's an idea or another fandom that you know I know about, please feel free to PM me and I'll see if I can write it
Until next time,
Trix