Society's Ghosts

by secretagentman1

In a hero-saturated society...why are there those that are left behind? The ones that cannot be saved, and are thus forgotten by the world and the so-called heroes sworn to protect. And what happens when those of us that have lived...decide to fight back, and show how dirty your heroes, your world, your society really is.

2. Chapter 2

Society's Ghosts

AN: Here's another chapter written while I should have been working…and I have another one coming too…I'm a hard worker I swear! The internship is over now anyway, so I don't have to feel guilty about it so there!

Ha-ha…

Enjoy…

Chapter 2: Heavy Mettle: Origin

It had been four days since the attack on the Superman statue unveiling in Metropolis by burgeoning villain Tomura Shigaraki. The new, young villain after one attack with only one casualty had launched into becoming public enemy no.1 for the authorities in the city and the local heroes Superman, Supergirl, and Steel, not to mention the Justice League itself keeping their eyes open for any sighting of the man.

Batman was the one that has kept his full attention on Shigaraki simply because the detective had to build a proper profile on the villain. The single encounter enlightened them to his childish personality that belied an intellect that leaned toward quick thinking and unexpected plans with a great thirst for anarchy and bloodshed. With as little as that was, Batman knew that he and the others needed to find this unknown before he could build a reputation in the darkness and be looked at like a beacon to the downtrodden that his 'ideology' spoke to…there was a great amount that supported them, a small amount that loathed them, but there had to be a large amount that felt wronged in the way Shigaraki talked about.

The problem was that the Dark Knight wasn't convinced that the man-child was able to construct this stance on his own…he wanted to find Shigaraki and interrogate him for confirmation, but he had reason to believe that the unhinged villain followed someone, and that same person trained him to use his powers to such efficiency.

The Bat had warned all the Justice League that if these two were allowed to prosper, then it wouldn't be long before they gained a following and became a sizeable threat to them and society. A lot of them scoffed, namely Flash and Green Lantern; Flash more from not taking Shigaraki seriously since he turned tail and ran once the 'Big Guy' showed up; and Green Lantern because Shigaraki didn't seem the type to work with anyone and would slip up because of his childishness.

Batman only needed to reference Ra's al Ghul for them to rethink that statement. The man had to build up the League of Shadows from nothing but what he'd had on hand and a simple goal.

Now he was one of the greatest threats the Justice League had after almost 600 years, something that most wouldn't have but the Lazarus Pits assist in keeping the 'dream' of Ra's alive and allowed him to build wealth and an army.

If these criminals were given time, the same thing could happen.

And so, Metropolis became the hotbed for the League to check over regularly if there weren't any pressing cases to deal with, which of course were few and far between.

Over these four days, Supergirl and Steel sightings were scarce as a small but vocal group of protestors had come to resent the Cousin of Steel and to a lesser extent the metal man. To them, the two heroes had failed the citizens of Metropolis by allowing Tomura to kill one person and then run rampant to cause damage to their streets, culminating in the collapse of two buildings.

Kara felt awful about it and wanted to head back out there immediately to find the creep that managed to trick her, but Clark was adamant that she should cool off and get back out there when her anger toward the villain wasn't dictating her actions. The impatient Argoan begrudgingly sat back but told her cousin that he should call her once they got a lead.

Unfortunately, leads were scarce since there was little to go on in terms of locating them. Superman, once the rubble had been removed, had flown through the sewers of Metropolis with X-ray vision active and had found nothing, no trace of Shigaraki or a hideout of any kind. This most likely meant that their base was outside of Metropolis, inside, or completely invisible to the Man of Steel.

And just like that, to the common people, the attack was quick to go out of their minds. Knowing that the real heroes were on the case, put them at ease and allowed Shigaraki to fade from the public eye.

However, a different threat would now be rising.

A High school in Metropolis was currently having an influx of students entering as they awaited the first bell to signal the beginning of the day. We zero in on a familiar black-haired teenaged girl that wore a bulky, blue, and periwinkle coat that hid her slightly chubby figure with a headband across her forehead that kept loose strands of her hair out of her eyes sans a lone bang over the left side of her face as the bulk of the dark hair was kept in a ponytail. She moved to her locker and had been preparing for her school day, keeping her head down and seeming to stay out of everyone's line of vision lest a hole open beneath her or she gets unwanted attention.

"Hello~ Enid!" a posh English voice said from behind her locker door before pushing it forward to reveal the owner of said voice.

The call of the newcomer caused the dark-haired girl to stumble in surprise, dropping her school supplies and textbook. While picking up her things, she saw the delicate smile of another girl the same age as her.

Her clothing was less reserved as she wore a big poofy skirt that showed off her long legs, with shorts beneath so no one would be able to sneak a peek. Her top consisted of a red vest that hugged her figure along with a white short-sleeved shirt beneath it. Her hair was blond and perfectly styled around her head, not touching her shoulders, and a poof in front topped off with a small red hat that held a pink feather.

This altogether painted the exact opposite picture that the now-named Enid did in her appearance.

This girl was confident, assertive, outspoken…and most importantly of all, popular. Even now as students walked past the two in the hallway, whispers and glances in the girl's direction could be noticed.

She was the center of attention.

"Oh, come now, Enid, I thought all that training was supposed to make you tougher. You haven't been skipping, have you?" the girl giggled at the blush that appeared on Enid's face.

"Hey, Elodie, nice to see you," she stacked her things up on the floor to make them easier to pick up and rested them on her lap. "And of course I haven't skipped…I train every day, you know that."

"Oh, yes, yes, I know," Elodie waved her hands as she smiled down at the girl, "Now, how was the event on Friday? I was so worried when I saw the attack since I knew you'd be there."

"Oh, uh, actually, I caught a lucky break," Enid said nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "I didn't go."

"Whyever not? You sounded so excited," Elodie seemed surprised.

"I didn't have anyone to go with, so I thought 'why bother', you know. I could just watch it on any news station anyway, and it's a good thing I didn't go…that was scary," Enid frowned, remembering watching the crazed villain do battle with Supergirl and Steel.

"Well, I do hope that ruffian gets what's coming to him. I'm sure that Supergirl and all the Justice League are looking for him as we speak, he might already be incarcerated," she giggled with a hand to her mouth.

"Pretty soon…that'll be us," Enid brushed her hair behind an ear. It was nice being able to talk to Elodie for once. "That is if someone has been keeping up with her training," Enid teased back.

"Oh, perish the thought, Enid. Of course, I am…can't be heroes without skill, now, can we?" Elodie held her hand out for her friend to take.

A smile on both their faces, Enid reached out to take her friend's hand when…

"Yo! Elodie," a rough girl strolled up with an abrasive shout. She had her hair styled in a cowlick with a bang covering her right eye and dyed a bright red to stand out. Her clothing consisted of a tank top that showed off her midriff, ignoring the school dress code, and jeans that hugged her legs and ass tightly to give it more bounce and draw the eye of everyone.

Following closely behind her, was another girl who had her eyes staring into her phone, offering a simple peace sign in greeting before going right back to the device; and a boy that seemed like the third wheel and completely uninterested in what was happening around him.

The girl wore a green dress that showed off her thick legs with her hair dyed a vibrant green, and the boy wore a light blue button-up shirt open with a white t-shirt underneath, his hair dyed white.

"Oh, uh, hello, Red! What brings you around?" Elodie appeared nervous, acting as if the three caught her doing something she wasn't supposed to.

In her haste to greet the three teens, she released Enid's hand causing the shy girl to fall back to the floor on her rump, groaning from the impact she wasn't expecting and dropping her supplies again.

"What do ya think? We're here to walk to class," 'Red' said and jabbed her thumb down the hall. It was then that the girl seemed to finally take notice of Enid on the floor as she was forced to gather her stuff again.

"You aren't, like, talking to this loser, are you?" Red rose her eyebrow with a suspicious glance between the two of them…a normal occurrence whenever she managed to see the two together.

"Don't joke, darling. The poor thing just jumped when I opened my locker and I was lending her a hand," Elodie lied flawlessly, used to making excuses on her interactions with Enid.

"We're just neighbors."

Enid bit her lip hearing that and gripped a textbook a little tighter but stifled herself. When she saw the quick, pleading look her popular friend gave her, darting back to the other popular kids to indicate to play along, the shy girl hung her head.

"Yeah…I was just being clumsy," Enid shrugged, her hair covered her eye as she frowned.

"Pfft, why don't you grow a backbone, dweeb?!" Red cackled at her cruelty, even if it wasn't at all clever her two drones laughed with her, and Elodie chuckled along quietly with a contrite look to the girl her hands clasped in front of her.

"Right then! Now, why don't you all shuffle along, and I'll finish up here and meet you in class," Elodie shooed them off politely.

"You better be careful, girl, if you aren't, she'll rub off on you," the green-haired girl sighed in disinterest and never looking up from her phone.

"Don't worry, I make it a point to disinfect," Elodie joked, pulling a bottle of hand sanitizer from her locker.

The popular kids howled in laughter at Enid's expense, retreating down the hall toward their shared classroom with the two girls. Red turned and gave a two-fingered salute.

"Don't keep us waitin' too long!"

Once the three had disappeared from view, swept away by the ever-changing tide of milling students, Elodie released a breath she'd been holding and brought a hand to her chest to calm the beating within it.

"That went as well as it could have," Elodie sighed and turned to the girl who was still on the floor with a slightly angered expression on her face as she glared in the direction the three teens had walked in.

"Speak for yourself," Enid grumbled, "Why are you friends with them, Elodie…you aren't like them," Enid asked, baffled, yet used to this and having this same conversation with her friend.

"Enid…you know how high school works…" Elodie rubbed her arm uncomfortably, looking to the side, "You're either popular or you aren't…and it's better to be popular."

Enid frowned at her reasoning, feeling lower than dirt since she was designated as the latter of the two. She was either constantly seen through by everyone around her or, like what had just happened, harassed for being a 'nerd' and not having 'bloomed' yet.

"Is it? Is it worth it if you just treat everyone else like dirt? Like nothing?" Enid looked her friend in the eye.

"Of course not," Elodie didn't hesitate to answer, "I'm only doing this for now, once we graduate this will all be behind us," she extended her hand again with a smile, waiting for Enid to take.

"Because by then, we'll be superheroes, Enid. Then the both of us will be the center of attention, no ones' eyes will be able to be taken off us!" Elodie grinned brightly.

The affirmation of their goal was contagious with Enid smiling just as brightly as she took her friend's offered hand, "Yeah!" she replied as she was pulled up.

The bell then rang loudly, making all the remaining students hurry to their homeroom class. The two girls were shaken from their moment by the rapid pattering of feet on the linoleum floor, making them realize that they too needed to hurry to class.

"Well, time to run, Enid! Don't want to tarnish that perfect record of yours," Elodie teased, skipping off daintily and drawing many eyes while doing it.

Enid ran after her like she always seemed to do. Her eyes glossed over as she watched her friend's back, growing farther and farther apart with each step, barely able to keep up.

Enid's mind began to wander as she ran.

There was always something about Elodie…something that she had, and I didn't.

As far back as I can remember, I've always been alone. Not alone in the sense that my parents didn't care about me, though. Both love me very much, but work keeps them from home for extended amounts of time.

My mom, Wilhamena Mettle, is a famous fashion designer. She's hands-on with anything her label does, so she is constantly traveling to whatever event, fashion show, or collaboration they have. You'd be hard-pressed to find any similarities between her and me, my mom is so beautiful that she has modeled her clothing on multiple occasions.

Bernard, my dad, is a great nature photographer, so it makes sense that he'd have to move around a lot. Metropolis isn't exactly a natural spectacle or anything, so whenever pictures are needed for whatever, he's working on, he books a flight, or cruise, or whatever will get him there the fastest.

As busy as they are, whenever they've got free time, they normally spend it with me, they're great parents. Despite how much money they make, they are humble and put a good amount of it into charities and a college fund for me, so we live in an everyday middle-class house that serves its purpose well.

But because of their jobs taking them away at random times, once I was in elementary school, I had to grow up pretty quickly. Walking into an empty home had become common and heating premade meals was routine.

In school, I was the outcast, the loner. I was too shy to talk to anyone and it made everyone think I was weird. They avoided me, and for a time I was completely alone both in school and out, spending my free time throwing myself into schoolwork, reading, and at recess alone in the sandbox.

No one around, no friends…

Until one day.

"Hello, there," a young Elodie walked right up to me at recess with a happy grin and wave.

She looked practically the same as she did now, her hair in pigtails and her skirt still poofy…heh, I used to tease her and call it a diaper because she hadn't been potty trained as a toddler, it was funny to see her scandalized blush thanks to her 'proper' upbringing.

"H-hi…" I answered back retreating into myself. No one ever talked to me. I vaguely recognized her as the new girl that had been introduced in class that day.

"I saw you way over here and noticed no one was playing with you," she sat down next to me in the sandbox.

"Yeah…I don't really have any friends…" I flinched, thinking that she'd ditch me after hearing that. I was surprised when she took my hand into hers and seemed to have stars shining in her eyes.

"Me too! It's so dreadfully hard for the new girl to talk to anyone," she overdramatically placed the back of her hand to her forehead, "Everyone already has a group of friends, so it's difficult for a pretty girl, such as myself, to have a fair chance," she flitted her eyelashes at me when she said 'pretty' as if wanting me to agree.

I think that was the first time that I had laughed without my parents being the cause.

She laughed with me.

"So…once I saw someone else all alone, I thought, that she could be my first friend here," she twisted a finger in her hair as her confidence faded a bit to make way for vulnerability, getting nervous that I'd reject her.

"You want to be friends?"

"Yes! I mean, it would be an honor, for you, to be my friend… oh sorry, how rude, I don't even know my new friend's name," she jokingly stated in a haughty attitude after covering up her overexuberant response.

"Oh, uh, I-I'm Enid," I brushed my hair behind my ear.

"Well, Enid, I, Elodie, shall be your first friend," she stood up and held her hand out for me to shake, "Be grateful, an opportunity like this doesn't come along often," she winked.

"Th-thanks!" I took her hand but was so overwhelmed that I brought her into a hug that she returned with a strained look, I was hugging too hard.

From then on, Elodie and I were practically inseparable. We spent as much time as we could together in school. I would help her with any subjects she was struggling with, and she would teach me how to be 'proper' as she put it and gave me makeovers, she's the reason my hair covers half my face rather than just hanging down.

She said it would give me an air of mystery.

It wasn't long before our friendship grew to the point that over a break from school, I had mustered up the courage to ask her to sleep over. I felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest it was beating so hard, waiting for her to say no…but she didn't.

"I'd love to. I wonder what the home of such a beautiful and kind girl would look like…but you can visit my house later," she chuckled and ran home to gather her things.

I stood there speechless for what had felt like hours before running home to clean up. My parents were actually home for that weekend too, so Elodie even got to meet them, and they loved her.

"Hello, you must be the famous Elodie. Enid has told us so much about you," my mom greeted Elodie at the door, dressed extravagantly of course.

"Only good things, I hope," Elodie gained a thoughtful look, "Wait, I'm flawless, so she can only say good things," she posed afterward, and mom clapped.

"Ooh, so confident, Enid needs a friend like you! Bernard come meet Enid's friend Elodie!"

"What this? The famous Elodie in our home? I've hardly prepared," dad was so embarrassing as he hammed it up.

"Dad~" I whined…that was probably a bad idea.

"You know what, pumpkin! I just got a great idea," he ran into the house and grabbed one of his many cameras, "An occasion like this has to be documented, and what better way than with a picture!"

I started running my hands down my hair, blushing at how embarrassing my parents were being in front of Elodie, who was giggling mirthfully.

"I-I don't think-"

"I'd love to! And make sure that I receive a copy, Mr. Mettle," Elodie hugged me close.

"I wouldn't dream of keeping this from you, and call me Bernard," he swiftly took the picture.

"As far as we're concerned, dear, you're already a part of the family!" mom scooped Elodie and strangled her with a hug.

"Oof, thank you…" she managed.

"I'm Wilhamena, and now that we're acquainted," my eyes widened when I saw mom pull out the family photo album, "How about I show you some of Enid's baby pictures!"

"Oooh-" before she could even think about agreeing I pulled Elodie away.

"We'regoingupstairsgottagobye!" I rushed out with a single breath, Elodie dragging behind me.

"It was nice meeting you!"

"Heh, heh, still got it," Wilhamena twirled the book in her hand.

"Honey, you're bad," Bernard laughed.

Once we were upstairs, I slammed my door closed and released a breath I'd been holding.

"Sorry about my parents, I…" it then occurred to me that I had just brought Elodie into my room!

"I like them, but I don't think as much as I love this room!" she gushed.

All around were posters of Wonder Woman strewn about and newspaper clipping detailing her exploits. In the far corner, there was a makeshift training space with martial arts books and a pillow that had seen better days.

"Enid, I didn't know you loved Wonder Woman so much! Why didn't you tell me?" Elodie hopped onto my bed drawing her knees to her chest and patted the space next to her expectantly.

"You never asked…and no one really cares about her like the other heroes," I sat cross-legged, turning toward her, "You aren't weirded out?" brushing my hair back and blushing.

"Enid, I adore Wonder Woman!" Elodie bounced and clapped.

"You do?!" I bounced with her.

"Yes, she spectacular, so gorgeous, so extravagant," Elodie sighed, then looked at me, "Why do you like her so much, even I can't say I have any posters."

"Uh, n-no reason, really," I started to stroke my hair and the speed increased when Elodie leaned forward.

"Come on, Enid~ I already know, you might as well tell me what has you so enraptured with her."

"It's kinda silly," I opened up with possibly the biggest secret that I could.

"I like her because she's everything that I want to be…strong, beautiful, and she helps people," I looked up to one of the posters on my wall, "She makes sure that no one is forgotten, everyone is important to her, and she saves them no matter what. I want to be able to do that, make people feel safe and matter, so…" I hesitated for all of a second before I laid my heart bare.

"That's why when I grow up…I want to be a superhero," I gripped my jacket, bit my lip, and shut my eyes tightly with a blush, waiting for Elodie to respond.

"A superhero…I never thought of that before," Elodie put a hand to her chin in contemplation, mulling over the idea.

"Wh-what?"

"It's just, it hadn't crossed my mind to become a superhero before…and why wouldn't you want to!" Elodie grinned.

"You aren't teasing me, are you?" I asked.

"Heaven's no, Enid. In fact, I think it's a smashing idea…and I want to join in!" Elodie beamed.

"You do…but why? You just heard about this…why would you want to be a hero, Elodie?"

She smiled somberly, "Believe it or not, I-I was very lonely even before moving here. I live with my aunt, my parents abandoned me as a baby, I don't even know what they look like," Elodie opened up to me and I was speechless.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. Auntie says they were low lives who wouldn't have been able to care for me anyway, she'd practically cut my mother out of her life before I came along. She's a doctor, so we're well-off, and she raised me well, but I don't know anything about the people that brought me into the world. With auntie being away for days at a time, I've been on my own, and then we moved here and that got worse," Elodie teared up a little.

"It may not be as altruistic as your aim, Enid, but I want to be a hero so that everyone will love me, and I won't be lonely again because people the world over will know I exist."

"So, you just want to be popular…" I rolled my eyes jokingly.

"You don't have to make it sound so base!" Elodie pushed me with a whine.

"No, I get it, I guess in a way, I want that too," we stared forward for a bit.

"Then are we in this together?" Elodie held her hand out.

"Definitely," I took her hand in mine, "But you're gonna have to work hard to catch up, I've been training for years!" I bragged.

"Oh, have you? Why don't you show me, then?" she giggled and hit me with a pillow.

I returned fire, resulting in our first pillow fight.

From there it was normal for Elodie to come over and train with me, and sleep over, her aunt and my parents were all for it. They were happy that each of us had found someone we connected with to the point they'd call us sisters.

I thought we'd stay like this forever.

But then we reached High School…middle school is where the crack started to form, but high school is when they really began to get noticed.

In high school, Elodie had finally filled out, she had gone from an adorable little girl to a beautiful young woman. The first ones to fall were the boys, of course, drooling over her like dogs, and then the girls who were jealous of her soon were swayed by her amicability. She became one of the queens of the school, able to associate with any clique she wanted and not lose any of her reputation, that is until Red and her gang had her hang out with them.

Once those three sunk their claws into Elodie, she stopped hanging out with other groups and I saw her less and less in school, she was always with those jerks. They started to dictate who she should associate herself with to keep her popularity and Elodie found that she had to or else they would ruin her.

And me, I was the same, or maybe even worse. I didn't change, I was the same pudgy girl I'd always been no matter how hard I trained I didn't gain muscle or lose weight. I still wore my jacket, tailored by mom to be baggy and not let people tell what I looked like underneath. She told me that I was just a late-bloomer and that the boys would be tripping over themselves for me to even glance at them.

That was four years ago…and I still hadn't blossomed.

Without Elodie around to help me, I retreated more into myself. High school was an entirely different beast, everyone was harsher. It used to be common for Elodie to swoop in and dissipate any bullies that bothered me, but now…I found that staying quiet was my best bet and I'd normally get through the day without anyone messing with me.

The most I would get from Elodie nowadays is a simple 'hello' before she had to run off as Red's gang would come and get her. They didn't even bother to remember me a lot of the time I was so beneath them.

But I grit my teeth and bore it because that was Elodie's dream…I didn't want to take it away from her.

What kind of friend would I be?

I knew that we were still going to be together after graduation, we talked about staying out of college and devoting more time to preparing to be heroes. Once that first step was done, we'd work on getting jobs to pay for equipment and living and hit the ground running.

We're still in this together.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day and knocking Enid out of her reminiscence. All students began to file out, talking to their friends as they left, laughing, and smiling. Enid turned to Elodie's desk and saw that she had already left, her hair shadowed her face as she too began to make her way out of class.

"Don't forget to bring you permission slips for the S.T.A.R Labs tour tomorrow, or else you'll be staying at school with a test for the grade, everyone!" the teacher called out in the hallway.

'Oh, yeah, I was in such a daze I forgot…' Enid stared at the slip of paper, "I'll fax it to mom, and she can send it back."

The teen walked back into her empty house, plopping her bookbag on the floor, planning to do her homework later. Picking up the phone, Enid dialed her mom's cellphone and leaned against the wall as the device started to ring.

"Hello, Enid! How are you? How was school?" Wilhamena said from her end.

"It was fine, mom, I'm fine," Enid said blankly.

"That's good to hear, dear, now what's this call about? I heard what happened over the weekend in Metropolis, did you end up going?"

"No, I didn't have anyone to go with."

"What about Elodie?"

"She was busy," she gripped the phone tightly and moved on from the subject, "Listen, mom, does the hotel have a fax? I have this permission slip here for a field trip, I need you to sign."

"Of course, dear, I'll get the number and sign it immediately," shuffling could be heard over the phone as Wilhamena made her way to the hotel's office.

"So, tell me, how is Elodie? It's been forever since she's been over."

Enid frowned… "She's fine, mom, just busy. She's in a lot of clubs now, we don't see each other as much as we want, and she doesn't have much free time."

'Are you two still planning to live together after graduation? I know that college isn't what you want, but-"

"Yeah, we are…college just isn't something I want to do, mom, but we're both smart…we'll make it," Enid sounded unsure, but about what her mother didn't know.

"Ok, your father and I will always support you, the both of you…no matter what, sweetheart," Wilhamena held her cell phone in both hands as she said that.

"Thanks, mom," Enid let a small smile appear on her face.

"Alright, then, now, let's fax this puppy!"

After a few minutes of walking her mother through the machine, she received the signed permission slip and put it on the counter so she wouldn't forget about it in the morning.

Enid did not know that her life would be changing forever tomorrow.

(S.T.A.R Labs)

"Welcome, everyone, to S.T.A.R Labs!" a middle-aged man in glasses and a goatee and beard greeted Enid's class as they entered the facility. "I am Professor Emil Hamilton and the director of this branch."

All around the students were the bustling workers of the wondrous scientific marvel. No one was left out of the goings-on as things were either moving, being studied, planned, or tested in different areas. It left them all in awe that such a place could exist in the world, and they got such a close look.

"I hope that with this field trip today you all will have a newfound appreciation for scientists, and perhaps, a future career to work towards. I wish I could stay and attend the tour but, as director, I am a very busy man. I wanted to make sure that I could, at the very least, greet you. I hope you all enjoy the tour," with that, Professor Hamilton waved goodbye to the teens and was immediately approached by several workers in need of his attention.

"All right everyone, I'll be your tour guide for your stay here, and I have to start with the ground rules. Pretty simple stuff, simply stay with your class, and behind these guidelines," he pointed to yellow and black striped lines on the floor. "We don't want to have any accidents, and other than that we're free to explore," the guide led them forward.

They saw many wondrous things that were going to revolutionize the world during the tour from medicine to technology that was in the testing phases and close to being used out in the world. This was a place that any nerd would want to work at and probably never want to leave once they'd gotten the chance to play with such complicated toys.

"Hey, sir, what's this?" a student asked, catching a glimpse of purplish goop within a large basin with a stirrer keeping it in motion.

"Ah, that's a great question, young man. This is a new kind of metal that we are developing for construction."

"Metal? Why's it a liquid, then?" Enid raised her hand, curious.

"Another great question, while it doesn't look spectacular in this form, we are developing this metal to be malleable yet retain its strength. By keeping it as molten slag, we churn the metal and form it into the appropriate shapes for use, and by doing this we hope to achieve a metal that retains its toughness but be malleable enough to bend with whatever extreme stress the building will be put under," he noticed a lot of confused expressions and so decided to elaborate with an example.

"Let's put it this way, I'm sure you are all aware of what happened at the Superman statue unveiling this past weekend," he received nods. "Well, then you know that a building had collapsed after the base had been rotted away. We believe that if the skyscraper had been built using this metal, then, rather than tipping over, the metal would have bent with the weight of the building and steadied. By no means would it be a complete solution without a proper base to keep it from slowly leaning, but a step in the right direction to keep such destruction from happening again. After all, Superman doesn't have the time to focus on keeping buildings intact with villains sprouting up," he joked.

As the tour continued, Enid lagged behind, taking in all the sights to the best of her ability. She was fascinated by all this, and thought ahead to her future, hoping that when she was a hero she could come to S.T.A.R Labs for better equipment.

"Thinking about gizmos, Enid?"

"Wah!" she jumped when she saw Elodie beside her, "Stop doing that…*sigh* But yeah, it's hard not to. This is stuff that we could only dream of using."

"It's only a dream until it happens, Enid. Then that's what we'd call reality," Elodie smiled.

"Shouldn't you…ya know…be…"

"Everyone is enthralled with the tour, so I thought I'd take the chance," Elodie grasped Enid's hand.

"It's hard to believe how close we are…" Enid blushed.

"Graduation, and then I've had my eye on this little place, nothing that we're used to but a good start," Elodie explained.

"Really?"

"Of course, and it's close to an empty lot that's perfect for training," Elodie grinned.

"Being superheroes…it never felt so close…"

"Superheroes?"

The two's blood ran cold, so wrapped up in talking they hadn't noticed Red's gang appear in front of them. The mean girl had her hands in her pockets, with her entourage not far behind, the green-haired girl with a derisive smirk and nose still in her phone, and the white-haired guy with his brow furrowed.

"Elodie, you wanna be a superhero? With this loser?" Red rose her eyebrow, noticing they were holding hands.

"Uh, well…" Elodie tried to explain.

"So, what if she does!?" Enid glared at them, sick of them interrupting.

"Pfft, what are you, like, five or something?" Red strolled up to them. "No way a shrimp like you could ever be a hero…you're worthless," Red smirked.

"I am not!" Enid got into her face. "I'm going to do it!"

"Oh, um, Enid…" Elodie tried to stop her.

"And how do you plan to do that? Ask the bad guys politely to put the money back? Cry, and hope they pity you?"

"Ugh, no, I've been training to fight!"

"Fight? You? That's a joke, right?!" Red pushed Enid back, making her stumble but she stayed on her feet. "Nobody would believe for a second that you could do anything to help anybody!"

"Elodie does!" Enid yelled.

"Seriously…wait, are you actually friends with this chick, Elodie?! You sure like to hang around her a lot," Red snickered.

"That's…" Elodie tried to salvage this.

"She is! She was my friend first! She doesn't even like you! She's trained with me, and she wants to be a hero with me!"

"Ha, ha, ha, this is rich! Looks like someone can't grow up!" Red laughed out loud. "Come on, Elodie, you don't seriously believe in this garbage, do you?!" she slapped a hand to her forehead and laughed, her entourage cackling too.

"W-well, of course, I-"

"Tell her!" Enid looked at her friend.

"If I could just…"

"I can't wait to tell everybody about this!" Red grinned.

"We don't care-!"

Enid was shoved down before she could finish. She was pushed by Elodie.

"What…Elodie…?" Enid had tears welling in her eyes.

"Enid…you need to stop," Elodie looked away from her.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean…this! Heroes…training…it…it was fun when we were kids, but it's gone on long enough!" Elodie grabbed her arm, still not looking at her.

"But…you-you said you were still training! You said you found a place!"

"I have…for gymnastics…I found out that I enjoyed doing it by middle school…and the place was for us, but I wanted to-to ease you out of this," Elodie had tears as well.

"You lied…" Enid's hair was over her face, eyes scrunched as she tried to keep the tears from falling.

"I didn't lie…not back then…but now…we have to be realistic, Enid," Elodie finally looked down at her.

"You can't be a hero."

Hearing that broke her, her eyes couldn't stop watering after hearing that. Her friend, her first friend, told her she couldn't be a hero.

That she couldn't achieve her dream.

"Elodie…you,"

"You have so much talent, Enid…don't waste it chasing a fantasy. You don't have to be a hero to help people," as she always did when Enid was down, Elodie held her hand out for Enid to take.

Enid stared at it with wide eyes…how…how could she expect her to take her hand!

"Girls, Gregg, what is going on here?!" their teacher arrived after doing a headcount and seeing they weren't with the group. "Enid? Are you alright?"

"She fell over," Red lied.

"Yes, we were just giving her a han-*Smack*"

Enid slapped Elodie's hand away from her.

"Enid?"

"I hate you!" without thinking Enid ran, she needed to run, get far, far away from her.

She ran out of the guidelines, dodging around the workers and disappearing into them. Her teacher yelled for her, but she didn't care, all she did was run, tears falling behind her.

"Enid, wait!" Elodie's voice was heard behind her, ignoring the rules to try and comfort her friend.

Hearing Elodie, Enid's brows knit in anger.

She needed someplace to be alone…to think!

It was then that such a haven opened for Enid, a doorway to who knows where was open. A scientist had just made his way out of the room, and she could see that there was nothing within the room he'd just come from, a perfect place for the distraught girl to gather herself.

Rushing in behind the scientist, Enid hid within the darkened room and leaned against a wall. She allowed her body to slide down the wall and drew her knees up to her chest, burying her face in them she freely let the tears fall from her eyes, so wrapped in her emotions that she never heard the door close behind her and lock.

On the outside of the door, clamps had secured the door in place, and it was sealed shut, made to keep whatever was going to be contained in the empty, round room within said room and let nothing out.

"Enid! Enid!" Elodie kept shouting for her friend, making her throat hoarse, her teacher behind her to watch over the girl and find the lost one.

"Ma'am, you two can't be on the research floor, you have to leave," one of the security guards walked over.

"We're trying to find one of my students. She ran off and disappeared," the teacher said, worried.

"Excuse me!?" Elodie walked up to a familiar scientist with tears at the corners of her eyes, "Have you seen my friend, she ran this way…but we can't find her!"

"I-I'm sorry…I haven't…wait, this way?!" the scientist had a terrifying thought…one place that sprang to mind that a teenager could easily hide in…

…and the danger that she'd be in for being there.

"No! Stop the cleanser!" he ran to the 'room' he'd just left which was, in fact, not a room at all but a basin…made to contain the new metal that S.T.A.R Labs had been making and clean out the unusable material within the slag.

"What's going on?!" one of them called.

"There's someone in the basin, shut it down!"

"What!" the process had already begun, the huge drum containing the hazardous material being moved above the basin ready to be dumped.

"We can't override it!" the colleague shouted down as both the original scientist and Elodie ran up to the door.

"I'm such an idiot…" Enid's eyes were red, wiping any remaining tears from them she stood with her hands in her jacket pockets, head down. "…I thought she was my friend…but she's just like everybody else," she started to make her way out of the room only to hear bangs against the door.

Enid looked through the small window the door had and saw a frantic Elodie slamming her hands against the door and the scientist she'd slipped in behind attempting to pry the door open.

"Enid?" Elodie noticed her, "Enid! You have to find a way out!"

"What?!" her surprise was cut short when the ceiling of the room started to open, her eyes widened when they saw the drum dangling above her, overflowing with the toxic soup, and giving her a glimpse of what would be falling on her when a drop spilled out. It sizzled against the floor, glowing its ominous purple, and jiggled showing its viscosity.

The danger was very real to the girl as her eyes started to dart around the room to find some way out. The most obvious would be the opening in the ceiling but the walls were too sheer to climb and much too high to jump, and of course, the door was shut tight even as she tried to pry it open with the scientist and Elodie.

"Get something to cut it!" the scientist shouted, by this point a crowd had gathered around the incident ready to help.

"But the metal will-"

"No time to worry about it! Just do it!"

A loud horn was heard as a warning.

The drum started to tip, a steady flow of the metal coming from the container that increased the further it went. Enid hugged the wall, trying to keep away from it for as long as she could, watching helplessly as the puddle grew in size and closer to her.

"Enid!" Elodie looked through the window with tears, watching in horror as time ran out.

"Out of the way!" one of the scientists arrived with a tool to cut through the door, starting immediately but the process was slow.

"Ah!" Enid felt the liquid heat reach her feet and burn her, painfully. She screamed in pain feeling her skin boiling and melting from it. Sweat poured from her brow, gritting her teeth, and trying even harder to pry the door open.

By the time the metal had reached her waist, Enid's strength began to leave her, hanging on by a small thread of hope that she'd be saved, a hero would save her. The stew reached her neck, and she couldn't scream anymore, she was losing consciousness, her body growing weaker and weaker.

Through the window, Enid could see the panicked faces of all those present, none more prevalent than Elodie's which was awash with tears. In a final bid for help, Enid placed her hand on the window as the goop consumed her fully, Elodie's hand going on top of hers before she fell to her knees in tears.

Enid Mettle had died.

Within the basin, the metal was treated, stirred, and then the unusable metal of the stew was filtered out through a drain in the bottom, taking Enid's body with it. The door's seal was released when safety was assured, and everyone rushed in to look for the girl in case she had somehow survived.

Elodie remained outside on her knees in total disbelief.

The authorities were called, and Enid's parents were informed of the incident. S.T.A.R Labs took full responsibility for the unfortunate accident and let it be known they would do anything to make amends with the family, but the one thing the two would want, the lab could not give. The two Mettle parents would be back in Metropolis within the day…to get to the bottom of everything and…set up the funeral.

Elodie and her class were taken by the paramedics and looked over, other than mental scars none of them were harmed. Elodie sat on a stretcher with tired eyes, wrapped in a blanket, and shaking slightly…all she could see when she closed her eyes was Enid's look of fear.

She was afraid to sleep.

"El," the voice made her jump, looking to her side she saw Red and her posse…looking just as distraught as her.

"What do you want?" she said harshly.

"I…I'm sorry for what happened with…" she realized that after all that teasing, she didn't know her name.

"Enid! Her name was Enid!"

"…Yeah, I didn't…want that to happen…"

"You're awful, we're awful…I was just like you! I was her friend…and I said all those awful things to her…and-and now that's the last thing I'll have ever said to her…I CAN'T EVEN APOLOGIZE!" Elodie's tears started again.

"Just leave me alone…"

Not wanting to step on her toes any more than they already had, the three left.

"Enid…I'm so sorry…"

Beneath Metropolis within the sewers, miraculously, unpredictably, Enid Mettle survived.

*Gasp*

She was thrown through the liquid sludge her body burning…and changing.

Her body was strengthened, becoming leaner and more powerful. Her pudgy form gave way to a body type like her mother's, with a small waist, wider hips, and a larger bust. Finally, her black hair, due to the purple stew, had gained the same hue and was burned to neck length.

For hours she was churned through the toxic slag, before being unceremoniously dumped out of a pipe and landing in the ocean. The liquid metal, once cooled, hardened, and was pushed back onshore by the waves.

"Agh!" a hand shot from the ocean and slammed onto the nearby rocks, pulling her body up once she'd gotten a grip. Crawling onto the rock, the female form sizzled as the water on her body evaporated and cooled her off. She kneeled and clutched her arms, shivering despite not feeling cold.

Opening her eyes, the girl's pupils glowed purple for a second before becoming clueless as she tried to find out where she was.

"What? Where?" she grabbed her head as a headache wracked her brain. She stood up and made her way toward the lights of…Metropolis? Yes, that's where she lived.

As she walked, still shivering, she realized that she was naked. With her sudden growth spurt and being doused in what was essentially lava, clothing wasn't something that would survive. Luckily the street was empty so no one would be getting an eyeful as the girl made her way down the street.

She passed a clothing store and saw something that caught her eye…a crop top and black shorts. Something simple that would cover her naked form…she never was one to care about style, but the problem was the store was closed.

Desperate and acting on instinct, she reached a hand out to the window of the store and, with an errant thought, melted the glass. She paid the occurrence no mind as she went into the store and took the clothing, ignoring the alarm.

Once dressed she admired herself in the mirror only to finally see the changes that happened to her. Looking at her hands, she grew confused and then afraid walking backward until her back hit a wall.

"No, no, no, this-this isn't right! This isn't me…what happened!?' she tried to remember and got flashes to earlier today.

"A field trip…S.T.A.R Labs…an-an accident and…" her eyes widened and went blank when she remembered one of the last faces she'd seen…and the argument she had with them.

"…Elodie…Elodie…Elodie…" she got up and seemed to unconsciously walk in a certain direction, leaving charred ground behind her as each step she took burned the ground.

(The next day)

The classroom was somber the following day…no one was feeling particularly rowdy thanks to the tragedy that had happened. None more than Elodie felt the absence in the room, she looked over to Enid's empty desk and felt a wave of sadness all over again…she planned to visit the Mettles' today and tell them what had happened, she couldn't lie to them. Red's group was noticeably reserved as well, keeping to themselves, and managing to avoid bullying.

A cold comfort.

"Alright, class…I know what happened yesterday is fresh in everyone's minds, but we have to continue. Before we start…I think it would be appropriate to have a moment of silence for Enid," the teacher hung their head.

Elodie took the time to reflect on how she'd treated her best friend and resolved to do better in life from now on.

Outside the school, the girl had finally arrived at the entrance, groaning, and swaying as she pushed the doors open and leaving a scorched handprint behind. As she made her way through the school, horrible memories sprouted in her mind of ridicule and ignorance…she was forgotten…ignored!

The hallway started to heat up considerably.

She made it to the door of her homeroom class, panting as her head throbbed more powerfully. She grabbed the doorknob and attempted to turn it only for the heat she was giving off to combust the door and leave the knob behind and making her fall forward onto her knees in front of the surprised class.

"What…who are-" the teacher sweat and not just from nervousness.

"Elodie!" she screamed.

"Huh? Wha- do I know you?" Elodie was confused.

"Help!" she looked up.

Elodie would always remember those large eyes and was immediately at her side, "Enid!? Enid! What happened to you?"

"I dunno…I woke up like this…can't remember what…" the new Enid grabbed her head in pain…the temperature of the room increased.

"Enid, I'll help *sizz* ouch!" the teen was forced to withdraw her hand when she rested it on Enid's shoulder.

She was burned.

"I'm a freak! This isn't what was supposed to happen!" Enid panicked, everyone was sweating as if they'd run a marathon in the hot sun and the temperature wasn't going to lower.

"Enid, you have to calm down," Elodie realized that the heat came from her friend, and her distress was raising it.

"Calm down! How can I be a hero like this! You don't understand…" unbidden the memory of their argument sprang forth. "Wait…you-you wanted this to happen…" Enid's eye eerily moved to Elodie.

"What?! Enid that's not…"

"You lied to me…" Enid stood up; her transformation made it so they were the same height.

The heat made Elodie back up into the teacher's desk.

"You said I couldn't be a hero…you're just like the rest of them!" Enid looked to her cowering class, specifically Red and her gang, making her anger grow.

"Enid, there was no way any of us could have guessed that this would happen!" Elodie brought her attention back to her. She wasn't in her right mind, she just needed to calm her down.

"No, this is your fault…you…you! I'm gonna make you pay!" Enid lifted her leg up and brought it down with force.

Elodie rolled out of the way to see her friend's foot break the desk in two before igniting it. "Enid…just listen to me…"

"No more lies!" Enid jumped at her and stomped, putting her foot through the floor because the popular girl ran out into the hallway. "Get back here!" she gave chase easily able to keep up with her improved body.

"Enid, no!" Elodie ducked under a punch that embedded itself into the lockers, the heat melted them and left Enid completely unharmed.

By this point, the school was being evacuated and the authorities called, the only people remaining were the two former friends in the middle of the hallway. Enid's now-purple hair shadowed her left eye with the right glowing purple, glaring at Elodie in hatred.

"Enid, please…this isn't you…you're just confused."

Enid gripped her head, "Stop talking!" she broke the floor and rushed Elodie who squeaked in surprise as she was tackled.

Elodie's skin burned from the heat that Enid's body was giving off, making her wince in pain as the two rolled around on the floor ending with Enid standing over the poor girl.

"You used me…I was just a toy for you to get popular…you attention hog…you never cared about me…I trusted you!" Enid growled; a sizzling sound was heard coming from somewhere.

"I do, Enid, I do care!" Elodie held her hands up, seeing Enid lift her leg to crush her.

"Only because you're about to-" Enid didn't finish when a mass crashed into her back and sent her through several walls.

"Wha-" Elodie didn't have time to ponder when a hand was in her face.

"Little sister, are you alright?"

Before Elodie's eyes, her savior, was Wonder Woman.

She happened to be in Metropolis searching for Shigaraki's hiding place while Superman took a shift up in the Watchtower when she'd heard the emergency alert of an attack in the high school. She quickly flew to the school and heard the situation from the students, teachers, and police. She never expected that a fellow student would go on a murderous rampage, but if she was going to walk this path, then she needed to be stopped.

"I'm fine."

"Then you have to escape, I'll handle her," Wonder Woman faced the rubble that Enid was under, awaiting her return.

"No, you can't," Elodie grabbed the hero's arm, "She's confused, she doesn't know what she's doing!"

"She was going to-"

"She'd never, I know her!"

"Very well, Little sister, I will try," Wonder Woman seemed apprehensive.

"Who did that!?" Enid shouted in rage, her eyes widening when she saw Wonder Woman standing in front of her target.

"Wo-Wonder Woman?!' Enid was awestruck…but why was she here?

Her eyes went to the side and saw that Elodie was positioned behind the heroine protectively.

'She's protecting her!? Why?/ Was I really going to…/ She deserves it!/Elodie's our friend, she wouldn't hurt us/ She did! She lied and used us, like the rest, she discarded us! And she's rescuing her! After all the terrible things she did…she gets rescued…where was she when I needed her!?' Enid grabbed her head as she argued with herself.

"Stand down!" Wonder Woman shouted.

"Why?" Enid asked an eye closed from her headache.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight, your friend wants you to get out of this without being harmed."

"She isn't my friend, she's nothing but a bully! Garbage!" Enid spat. "And you came in a second to save her…what about the people she's hurt…the ones that aren't popular or beautiful…or normal!"

"Enid…" Elodie cried.

"All you care about are the ones that fit in! I'm sick of it…so sick of it…and now that I can finally do something about it…you're trying to stop me!" Enid blitzed the hero.

Wonder Woman raised her arms and took the kick aimed at her chest, surprised that the newly powered girl was able to send her flying through the walls behind her. With her out of the way, Enid set her eyes back on Elodie and chased her once more plowing her fists and legs into the floor, lockers, and ceiling as Elodie used her gymnastic skills to avoid her.

"Come here!" Enid growled, running after the girl, heat increasing with her anger and making the lockers melt and surroundings warp.

"Enid! Stop before you do something you'll regret," Elodie panted, the heat making her exhausted.

This tripped her up and Enid pounced on it, jumping off a wall to reach the airborne girl. Her arm was glowing with the amount of heat she was giving off, leaving an ominous glow across Elodie's face as she planned to plunge the arm through her, like a hot knife through butter.

Wonder Woman made her reappearance at this time, wrapping her lasso around Enid's leg, and slamming her into the ground. Seeing that she was caught, Enid grabbed onto Elodie's leg and brought her down with her. Practically unharmed from the impact, Enid crawled her way to Elodie, her fingers melting into the floor for added grip as Wonder Woman pulled backward.

"Enid…didn't you want to be a hero?" Elodie pleaded, hoping to wake up her friend. "Protect the weak, make sure no one's forgotten, that everyone matters…you can't do that if you keep this up."

Elodie's word made her freeze for a second and Wonder Woman sent her through another wall. Elodie scurried behind Wonder Woman, catching her breath but her concern was still on Enid.

"I did want to be a hero…" the new Enid kneeled within her mind, hands between her knees and head down. "What am I doing?"

"What we've always wanted" the original Enid appeared behind her, hands behind her back, staring out into the darkness of their mind.

"What do you mean?" Enid asked, confused.

"Think Enid…we didn't want to be heroes just to save the masses that ignored us. We wanted to get stronger and more powerful so we could do the stomping for once," Original Enid smiled sweetly despite the morbid topic.

"No, I wanted to help people like me…no one deserves to be…" Enid denied.

"We told ourselves that to make us feel better. Those dark thoughts, we shoved them down every time we got bullied or ignored, until they boiled over into something else. We forgot our true selves," the Original Enid grinned, it slowly becoming more sinister.

"You're wrong…I'm not like that!"

"You don't think so? Why don't you think back to the weekend…remember? When we were watching the news story about the statue unveiling's attack…"

Enid awaited her double so she could hear what she was getting at.

"We stared blankly…in envy…because we want to be as free as him…that villain. He smiled so happily as he got to act out his desires…and we wanted to do the same, we just lacked the power," she stood in front of Enid and offered a hand.

Enid stared at it.

"But now we do have it…why save people…when we can do whatever we want!?"

"I-I want to…I want to do whatever I want…" Enid's hand raised slowly to take her double's.

"Then tell me Enid…what do you want to do?"

"I…"

Back in the real world, the time in the mindscape taking no more than a minute, Enid rose back up, similar but different. Her face was calm, and her breathing steady as the heat of her body lowered to regular levels. She saw the two that stood in her way…and looked down to her hands, clenching and unclenching them.

"I thought I knew myself…what I wanted out of life," Enid spoke only loud enough for them to hear. "I thought that I wanted to save people from the fate that I was dealt…ignored…forgotten…worthless, but I was just hiding behind that to shield myself from what I really wanted," Enid chuckled and dragged a hand through her bang.

"Even now…the voice in my head that I thought was something telling me not to do this…it was me. We were trying to come to terms with our true feelings, so hard that it felt like my brain was splitting," Enid walked forward, her eyes glowing and a cruel smirk.

"Now I'm whole, and I know what to do with my power!" the heat began to build again. "I'm going to make sure that everyone knows me! It doesn't matter if I'm famous or infamous! As long as people know I exist, and I matter, even if I have to beat them beneath me. I'll do what I want!" she spread her arms out and laughed.

The heat built more, but Enid discreetly moved the building power to her leg.

"And do you know what I want to do…" she slid her pupil to Elodie.

"…I want to kill Elodie."

Her calm voice as she said that caught the two off guard. All that was on Enid's face was a small smile, nothing else.

With that, Enid shot her foot up and sent a flaming ball in the shape of her foot at Wonder Woman who blocked it. Not giving the warrior a chance, Enid flew through the air thanks to her powerful legs and planted them into the hero's stomach and making her hit the melted lockers behind her.

"I'm getting the hang of this," Enid grinned, turning the heat up, approaching the downed hero, and melting the lockers around her body.

The melted metal burned the hero's skin, making her wince as she looked up to the cocky teen. It seemed she'd managed to gain a better understanding of her powers somehow as the heat she was giving off was localized to encompass her and Wonder Woman.

"I'll take care of you first…it'll be a nice start," Enid grabbed the trapped heroine by the neck and began to squeeze tightly, increasing her heat to exhaust the woman further.

Elodie had to do something, she looked around and her eyes caught the solution.

"Unh!" Wonder Woman gasped, sweating heavily, and grabbing at the younger girl's arms but her strength was leaving her and her vision fading.

"Ha, some hero! You can't even beat one girl! The madder I get the hotter I get, must be a pain to move around…exhausted!" Enid grinned evilly watching the light in the hero's eyes fade.

"I'm better than you!" a shoe bounced off the back of Enid's head. "Huh?!" she sneered at the only person that could have thrown it.

"Enid, enough! Leave her out of this! This is between you and me!" Elodie said, unafraid.

"Heh, I was saving you for last so you could suck down a few more breaths," Enid grinned, pushing the unconscious heroine back into the lockers. "But if you want to die first, then I have no problem!" Enid stalked forward, enjoying the power she had over the girl.

"E-Enid…this is all my fault," Elodie frowned, walking backward.

"Least you admit it…is this you repenting?" Enid footsteps kicked up small flames.

"I was a horrible friend…I ignored you…I treated you like everyone else…but you were my best friend…" Elodie cried.

"You don't have friends; you just want fans that drool all over you for existing."

"You're right…I should have been happy with the one person that cared before I grew up…but I didn't, and trampled all over your feelings," Elodie's back hit the wall and Enid stopped in front of her.

The two old friends stared into each other's eyes, Elodie with sadness and regret, Enid with indifference.

"I'm sorry," Elodie looked down.

Enid's flames moved to her foot, preparing for her final strike, ending both their friendship and Elodie's life.

"It's too late for sorry," Enid's foot rushed at Elodie.

"I know…" she rolled out of the way and let Enid's foot go through the wall.

"Such a little…" a sizzle was heard and when Enid turned her head back to where her foot was, she saw that the school's fire hose had been run through by it. The valve had been opened as well and the water pressure had been building with nowhere to go with the hose opening shut.

Water began to spew from the wall.

"No!" Enid cried before the floodgates opened and doused her body, weakening her and sapping her heat. Enid screamed in pain as the liquid flowed freely over her body, steam billowing from her as she was forcibly cooled.

When the water stopped flowing, Enid fell to her knees, hands catching her fall as she coughed. Groaning, Enid looked over her wet body and tried to muster heat only for her to fail.

"What did you do?" she said weakly, "My body…I can't…" she panted.

"Enid, I'm sorry, but I had to stop you," Elodie frowned.

"I-I'll kill you…" she punched the ground cracking it, super strength weakened but not gone. "I'm gonna kill-"

Enid stopped when a certain golden lasso wrapped around her body, stopping her from lunging at Elodie. Wonder Woman's foot found its way on her back, keeping the bound girl from moving too much not that she didn't keep trying.

"Let me go!" Enid roared.

"My lasso compels you to tell the truth," Wonder Woman looked to Elodie, "This may be your last time to talk freely with her…use it wisely, Little Sister."

Elodie kneeled in front of her growling former friend, tears dripping from her eyes.

"Enid, do…do you really hate me?"

"Yes!" she didn't hesitate to answer, the lasso having very little to bring to the surface. "I want you dead! You used me…and then forgot me…all for a bunch of nobodies! I want to kill you! I want to slow cook you from the inside out, so you feel every second of it and have you beg me to end it just so I can watch you suffer!" Enid seemed like a mad dog on a leash as she even went to bite Elodie, her eyes intense with hatred.

"I thought so…" Elodie couldn't contain herself and bawled her eyes out.

She'd lost her friend.

Enid sizzled, not from her body, but from her eyes, any tears she could cry were unable to leave as they evaporated, her teeth grit to keep from sobbing.

Within minutes, the battle finished, Wonder Woman escorted the tied-up teen out the front of the high school with Elodie close behind. The three of them were met with the flashing of cameras as the paparazzi wanted to get a shot of the hero, victim, and the culprit behind the attack. Wonder Woman was unfazed by the attention, continuing to walk toward the police to hand Enid over, while said purple-haired teen glared at the crowd,

"Why did you do it?!" one asked.

"Do you regret your attack!?"

"Who are you?!"

"Are you affiliated with the villain seen at the unveiling incident?!"

Enid just stared ahead, glaring at nothing in particular, but the sheer hatred in the look made the reporters flinch away.

"Do you know this girl?"

"Uh, y-yes…I do…" Elodie answered reluctantly.

"Why did she do this? Aren't you afraid to be around her? How does it feel to be targeted?"

"She…it wasn't her fault…it was much more than me…it was this school…how we all treated her," Elodie wanted to catch Enid's eye, but the girl refused to look at her.

"She wanted to help people…but we didn't believe in her…and all the pain we inflicted finally came back around," Elodie cried slightly.

'She just can't help herself…' Enid sneered, watching Elodie get all the attention yet again. 'Why?! Why!? WHY! It's her fault! She isn't a victim, she's the cause!'

Enid began to tense, making Wonder Woman do so as well in case she tried to escape.

"Enid!? Enid!"

"M-mom?" Enid calmed down when she saw her parents rush through the crowd.

"What's going on?! Why is my daughter tied up?!" Bernard was worried, relieved, and furious. After a plane ride that was a completely quiet and somber affair, believing his daughter had died in an accident, he arrives home with his wife and hears of an attack on her school and eyewitnesses saying it was their believed to be dead daughter.

"You are her parents?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Yes! My baby, Enid, what happened to you?!" Wilhamena rubbed her thumbs on Enid's cheeks, the teen unable to look her parents in the eyes after what she'd done.

"I'm sorry, but your daughter attempted to murder one of her classmates," Wonder Woman was blunt, but beating around the bush wouldn't make it hurt less to hear.

"That's preposterous! Not our Enid!" Bernard denied the claim.

"It's true…" Elodie looked at the ground as she approached the Mettles.

"Elodie?" Wilhamena was on the verge of tears…this couldn't have happened. These two were inseparable.

"It's my fault…I was a terrible friend to Enid. During the field trip, I hurt her, badly…and that caused the accident."

"Elodie, what are you saying?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Mettle, it's my fault that Enid is like this."

Enid wrested her face from her mother's grasp, turning away completely from them as the news broke. She couldn't bear to look them in the eye now…

"Your daughter will have to be put into custody…in a prison that is capable of housing her.

"Wa-wait, no this has to be a mistake. Enid, say something," Bernard hugged his wife.

"It's true…all of it," Enid said simply, moving away from them.

"I'm sorry," Elodie looked down.

"No, no, no, sweetie, don't be…we just need time. Friends have falling outs…we just…can't see you right now," Wilhamena bit her lip.

"I understand," Elodie turned to the police as they talked to Wonder Woman.

"Tread carefully with her. She has abilities similar to Volcana, so have her be put into her former cell for the time being. I'll follow to make sure she stays behaved," Wonder Woman handed the teen over to the police who nodded.

The incident was over.

And the news spread outward, every aspect of Enid Mettle was scrutinized over the course of a few hours. Her descent was chronicled as a consequence of bullying in schools and the importance of its prevention. Students spoke on how they had seen her around but never reached a hand out because of her status within the school, and were either indifferent, ignorant, or instigators to her. Enid's locker was cleared out showing a lot of Wonder Woman paraphernalia and photos, and illuminating darker aspects like a diary detailing what Enid would go through and the things she would like to do in retaliation.

A tragic popcorn tale to the masses, something that would cause an uproar in advocation for crackdowns on bullying within schools lest another student find themselves in the same situation. In the end, they didn't care about who Enid was or why she did what she did.

Society focused on making her a martyr for and poster child for bullying, forgetting the person that she was beneath it.

(In another location)

"Ah, Tomura! Come here!" the decrepit man called his charge over to him to see the news.

"Yes, Master?"

"I do believe we have found a potential ally," he pointed to the screen at the teen girl.

"Her? Why, Master?" Tomura asked.

"She is like us…wronged by the hero saturated world around her. She was an admirer of Wonder Woman, and that same woman she looked up to has put her away…and why?" he turned to the young man, "Because she was the nail that stuck out, she did not conform and was ostracized for not fitting within the pre-established mold the world has created. And she has been punished for it!"

"Is this what you meant, Master?" Tomura remembered what his master has said about their message reaching those who needed to hear it.

"Yes, exactly, not even a week after our debut and those like us are appearing!" the man grew excited at the prospect. "Tomura, I would like you to retrieve Ms. Mettle…I want to extend an invitation to join us."

"She doesn't seem like the type to agree," Tomura seemed skeptical, staring at the screen as the police drove away to the prison.

"That is her choice. I am merely giving her an invitation; she is free to decline it. I am no tyrant. I want her to have a chance to help us change the world," the man chuckled with a smile on his face.

"Very well, it will be done, Master," Tomura walked out.

"Be careful, Tomura."

(Metropolis Prison)

"Welcome to your new home," the guard escorting her said as they walked through.

"Gee, thanks, it's feeling cozy already," Enid sarcastically said, hearing catcalls from the male inmates and ignoring them.

She was escorted to a cell that was an empty white room with a bed and…facilities out in the open and a glass barrier that would separate her from everyone else. She was pushed into the cell harshly once her cuffs came off, and she immediately turned to get back at the man only for a warning beep to stay her.

"This cell was made for someone that could get a lot hotter, so it's more than enough to handle you," the guard smirked at a console just outside the cell.

"You try and use your powers, you get doused. Make any sudden moves, you get doused. You try to subtly raise your temperature…"

"I get doused?" she frowned.

"Now you're catching on. Hope you enjoy your stay," he turned to leave.

"I will, for now. And when I get out of here…I'm going to make sure I shove my foot through your chest," she said completely calmly as she walked to her bed and sat down.

"More powerful villains have said that, and they ain't done it yet."

"I'm not just anybody," Enid smiled.

The guard was slightly unnerved at the confidence she had when she said that and made his way out of the room. Once the guar had left, Enid let her smile fall as she glared at the walls she was trapped within, wanting nothing more than to break out. She'd bide her time and find her way out of this prison…she had so much more to do, but she would have to wait.

(Outside)

In the dark of night, within an alleyway, Tomura stood off to the side, peeking around the corner, and staring intently at the prison. His eye scanned over every inch of the entrance into the facility, forming a plan of action that would get him to his target.

'Perimeter cameras…only two…I should be able to slip beneath them when they turn,' his gaze went to the guard tower, 'One tower, two guards, stupid…I suppose they're lax because this is Superman's city,' he narrowed his eyes.

"Now where would she be held," he thought out loud, scratching at his neck. "As a super-powered criminal…it would be foolish to keep them front and center. Probably in the back, keep them away from the other inmates and each other so they don't socialize…" the villain reasoned.

"So she'll be secluded…all I have to do is get her and convince her to come with me," he perked up when he saw that his perfect chance had come as the guard watching the entrance had turned and the cameras had moved to another area of their rotation.

"Now!" he placed his hand-mask onto his face and dashed across the street with great speed, avoiding the cameras with ease as they oscillated back to their original position. Standing in front of the closed gate, Tomura smiled wickedly as he placed his fingers onto it and thus decaying the barrier.

"What is that!?" one of the guards looked down when he heard creaking metal as it slowly gave way to the villain.

"Oh my god…" the other whimpered when, through the smoke, he saw Tomura stroll into the perimeter without care. "It's him! The one from last weekend that destroyed those buildings and beat Supergirl!"

Tomura, glanced up at them, his red eye instilling fear into the guards as he regarded them as less than bugs.

"Sound the alarm!" the guard yelled, just as Tomura had touched the tower, bringing the structure down around them and crushing them beneath the tower roof.

The alarm started to blare right after, alerting the prison that something was amiss. Tomura clenched and unclenched his hands, readying himself to go on a massacre and complete the mission his Master had given him.

By the end of this, their organization would have the chance to expand.

(Inside Enid's cell)

The prison had been bathed in a blinking red light as the prison guards all mobilized to push back against whatever threat had landed on their doorstep. The inmates were all jeering at the men as they ran past them, screaming death threats to them all, and promising to take revenge on them if/when they were freed during the break-in.

"What's going on out there?" Enid had an eye narrowed, and a brow raised, hearing the commotion from within her cell. Within her hallway leading to her cell, the large door was closed, affording her no view of the destruction that was being wrought on the prison. It was when she heard the screams and thuds of bodies, that she stood up from her bed because it sounded as if the carnage was growing closer.

"Stop him!" one voice shouted only for a gurgled scream to be heard.

"He's only one person!" another cried and met the same fate.

"Pl-please…" the next voice seemed to give up, but it did not save him.

Enid perked up when she saw the large, metal door crumble before her eyes into so much dust. She stifled her surprise as best she could when the dust cloud gave way to the form of Tomura Shigaraki clad in his black clothing and disembodied hands all over his body.

He approached silently, the alarm and the cheers of inmates as they clamored for the villain to free them being heard through the destroyed doorway. He came to a stop in front of the glass and stared at the slightly taller girl behind the glass as she stared back.

"Well, well, what brings public enemy no. 1 to my home?" Enid placed a hand on her hip, "If I knew you were coming, I would have cleaned up a bit."

"I came to break you out," he answered simply.

"You don't know me…so why would you do that?"

"Because my Master asked me too. I don't see the point though…you don't seem like anything special," Tomura stared her down as he said this.

"I'll show you how special I can be," she threatened him and then registered what he said.

"You have a boss? You don't peg me as someone to take orders," Enid commented. "Why does he want me?"

"He wants to talk to you, and extend an offer to join us," Tomura replied and saw her face fall.

"Not interested," she turned her back on the villain. "I have no want to follow orders from anyone, I do what I want. Find someone else to join your club," she waved her hand dismissively.

"Seems like a stupid choice."

"What was that!" she growled at him, turning slightly.

"It seems foolish to disregard a get out of jail free card simply because you don't want to work with us. My Master only wants to invite you, he won't force you to follow us. To be honest, I would prefer you stay out of our business, but my Master believes you can sympathize with us," Tomura explained to the girl.

"The least you could do is hear my Master out since he had us go through all this trouble to get you, and if you don't like what he says, you can leave and still be free of prison."

Enid frowned, thinking over her options, and found no reason to deny this chance to leave so soon after arriving. She'd humor these two and listen to their sales pitch, and if they tried to force her into anything…she trusted her chance of killing them.

"Fine. I'll hear what you have to say, and when I leave, you better not follow me," Enid turned around, a deadly serious look on her face.

"Good, now stand back," Tomura waved his hand at her and placed his palms on the glass. Soon, as with all things he laid hands on, the glass decayed and became ash that piled onto the floor.

"Man, it's true what they say, prison really does change you…I think I'm even angrier than I was before," Enid stretched, "Now where are we going?"

A gun was then fired, interrupting the two villains' talk as the bullet rang through the air and hit Enid in the cheek. The bullet didn't even break the skin and soon melted as she heated her body up from anger, turning her gaze in the direction of the shot.

Standing at the end of the hallway, was the guard that had escorted Enid to her cell, shaking in fear as an evil grin stretched across the villainess's face, and the evil red eye of Shigaraki bore into his. Tomura raised a hand and took a step forward, getting ready to kill the guard when his temporary partner stopped him.

"Don't. I've got him," she stalked forward, burning the ground with each step, enjoying the guard scurrying back to get away from her. "Hey, I'm sure you remember me, right? Must've been a long time…no clocks, so it's hard to tell, but I have this feeling in the back of my mind…" she tapped her forehead in mock thought, leg heating up considerably, "…like something I forgot…what was it?" the guard got over his fear momentarily and fired more shots that all melted against her skin.

"Ah, I got it!" she snapped her fingers, stopping directly in front of the man once his gun clicked from running out of ammo.

The man didn't even get a chance to scream when the superheated leg was run through his chest. The pain was indescribable, the look of absolute agony was etched on his face as he was pushed off her leg and shook slightly in death throes.

"I promised you I'd shove my foot through your chest…what was that you said about other inmates promising that?" Enid grinned and walked past the man, Tomura following behind.

"Alright, let's go," Enid sighed.

"Not yet, I have a stop to make," Tomura veered off down a different hallway to her confusion.

"First you're all ready to leave and now you want to stay?"

"Are you stupid?"

"Say that again!"

"We have to deactivate the cameras. It's fine if they saw me entering, they wouldn't know where I came from since there's only one entrance, but if they see us leave, they'll know a general direction to look for us in," Tomura explained.

"Pretty smart of you," Enid walked next to him.

"I'm a man of many surprises. Master taught me well," Tomura said.

The two villains tore through any and all opposition as they made their way to the command center. Tomura made quick work of the cameras by deactivating them from the console and then destroying on the chance a surviving guard reactivated them once they left. Enid on the other hand got a wicked idea when she realized what they could do in this position.

"Done, let's go."

"Hang on, I've got a way to make this even easier on us," she smiled.

The guards were running all over trying to locate the intruders when the cells began to open and release all the inmates who pounced onto them without a moment's thought. It was pure chaos as the criminals set upon the limited guards, beating them, and taking their weapons for themselves. Even a few of Superman's captured rogues got a chance to partake in the fun such as Livewire once she juiced herself up and Parasite.

"Enjoy your freedom, you bastards! And don't forget who let you out," Enid saluted as she and Tomura strolled through the massacre calmly, making their way out of the prison and disappearing in the flood of escaping inmates.

Tonight, was an unmitigated disaster for the Metropolis prison as the mass breakout allowed more than 400 criminals back onto the streets along with a few supervillains.

(Watchtower- a few hours later)

Diana, Superman, and Batman watched the footage of the decimated prison as police, paramedics, firefighters, and reporters arrived on the scene.

"Hera…" Diana gasped softly.

"Who did this?" Superman gripped one of the chairs to the point of crunching the metal.

"From survivors…Tomura Shigaraki," Batman looked nonplussed, but his frown was ever so slightly lower.

"Him again? Why would he do this?" Superman asked, confused…this didn't seem to further his agenda.

"What's the only different thing that happened tonight?" Batman asked.

Diana and Clark both widened their eyes slightly, the bat-themed hero and Man of Steel having been told what had transpired at the high school by Diana when she arrived at the Watchtower.

"He released that girl?"

"That seems to be the case. Investigations have shown that the only cell to be decayed outright by Shigaraki was Enid Mettle's, the others were opened from the command center.

"I am sorry, Superman…I should have kept watch," Wonder Woman said.

"No…I should have been there…I would have heard the alarm," the powerful Kryptonian placed a hand to his head.

"It was your shift at the Watchtower, and you needed a break. You've been hunting for Shigaraki nonstop," Batman turned the chair around to look at his colleagues.

"You're telling me that I need a break?" Superman crossed his arms.

"You aren't me."

"But why would this…Tomura Shigaraki," the Amazon tested the name, "want to release Enid so soon into her incarceration. From what we know she was an average civilian until tonight."

"It's like I told, Superman, Shigaraki is the face but behind him is the mastermind," Batman rubbed his chin. "They must not have much of an organization yet, so they are looking to expand, and the fact they chose in Enid is distressing," Batman explained.

"She is new to this life…and she does not appear to want to take orders. She simply wants to act on her desires," the Amazonian Princess frowned.

"It's due to that that she is a prime target. Her past, she's malleable in this state. She was bullied, looked down upon, and ignored. All these things compiled to make her what she is now, but those feelings will still be present. If someone were to make her feel valued, they could manipulate her quite easily, and if this mastermind is the one doing it, the same one that gets a person like Shigaraki to dance to his tune, then we're looking at a serious problem."

The seriousness of the situation was palpable to the group of heroes, imagining the threat this new group could cause with Enid recruited. On her own, she was able to tangle with Wonder Woman albeit mainly from her mad strength and the amazon being unfamiliar with her power set but given time she could consistently do battle with Diana.

"Hera, help us…"

(Undisclosed location)

The grating sound of sliding metal resounded once more within the derelict hideout of Shigaraki and his master. Walking into the building, Enid scrunched her face up and vocalized her thoughts.

"Man, this place is a dump," she said without fear, seeing the lone monitor on in the darkness as a man stood and greeted her.

"Ah, welcome Ms. Mettle," he said amicably with a raspy voice, then reached a hand out, "Or would you prefer I call you Enid?"

"Cut the crap old man," Enid stood in front of the man. "I'm grateful for breaking me out of jail and all, but I'm not joining your little club, end of story," she shot the man down.

"Watch how you talk to Master," Tomura growled, moving his fingers in preparation to attack the girl.

"It's quite alright, Tomura," the man stopped the villain with a smooth voice.

Grumbling to himself, Tomura stood down, and made his way to the armchair behind his master, his hands still littering his body and hiding his face from the newcomer.

"I understand your reluctance…but at the very least could you allow me to speak?" the man never lost his smile even in the face of Enid's rudeness.

It unnerved her.

"Fine…"

"Let me start with a question, Ms. Mettle," he said, gaining her interest since he didn't immediately go into why he wanted her.

"What do you think of our hero-laden society?"

It was a simple question on the surface, one that she used to think she had the answer to, but then her accident happened. Everything she thought she believed in was a lie, and she was cast out once she'd decided to act on her power.

"It's a farce, filled with a bunch of hypocrites, the heroes being the biggest ones and the people they protect licking at their heels," she answered. "Those heroes make you think you're protected and that you matter, but that only works for normal people…the ones that fit the mold. The outcasts…they're swept under the rug and forgotten about," Enid remembered her bullying, the number of times someone would see and ignore it.

"I wanted to change things, I was different, the square peg that wouldn't fit in the circle, so they tried to force me down. They did it one too many times, and when I got the chance to get back…" she clenched her hands as the temperature in the room started to rise.

"A hero swoops in to save them!"

"Ms. Elodie?"

"She's a terrible person, she pretended to care about me and threw me away when she was done. She deserved what I was going to do to her, and Wonder Woman saved her when she was in danger…but not me!" Enid's eyes sizzled.

"Exactly!" the man hobbled over to Enid, cane in hand, and Tomura only inclined his head ever so to regard that he'd heard the girl's words. "In a world of heroes, why is there such a disparity, shouldn't we all be equal in their eyes, all worth protecting? And yet, there those like us that are tread underfoot by those that are sworn to protect, left behind as they move on to their next crisis and we are the ones forced to pick up the pieces," the man said, agreeing with her. "Wonder Woman, a role model to girls like you, Enid, and yet when faced with someone that she should be using her power to save, she beats you into submission and disregards your feelings."

Enid took a step back when the man was directly in front of her.

"We aren't different. We have similar goals even if our ways to reach them differ, our roads lead to the same destination, Enid. We were wronged by heroes, and we each have our story," the man gestured to the small group, all of them within their minds going to the moments that had brought them here. "We want heroes to be held responsible, laid bare, and shown the effects they do not see due to their existence."

"Then why do this? Couldn't you just be a better hero?"

"Heh, heh, we aren't fools, Enid. We all know that our stories aren't heroic, and we have and will commit many atrocities, but the world needs those like us. We may be hated by the world, but we shall drag the heroes down with us in the process!" his grin stretched.

"Why walk your path alone, Enid?" he reached his hand out, making her flinch in preparation to attack.

She kept her eye on the offending limb, noticing there was a hole within the palm as it approached her face.

"We can work together and change this world to one that will welcome those like us. One where heroes cannot get away with forgetting us, and leaving us in the wreckage," he rubbed his thumb across her cheek, freezing her in place.

Somehow the man's touch brought the newly powered girl, one that had fought on par with Wonder Woman and one that was awakened to her strength and confidence, a sense of fear. She felt like an ant staring at a dinosaur as it dwarfed her and filled her senses, an oppressive force exerting itself on her as the world seemed to fall away.

Yet even with these feelings, she felt a warmth run through her, the juxtaposition of these emotions not lost on the girl. This man was powerful, oh so powerful, yet he was gentle as well…that dark aura was no doubt evil but to someone like her it also acted as a blanket.

Without even realizing what she was doing, Enid leaned into the touch, blushing slightly with her eyes closed.

"Where do we start, Boss?"

Enid smiled; Tomura's eye was indifferent, but he respected his master's influence and welcome the new member into their ranks, if begrudgingly, as he sat in the armchair; and the Master cackled.

Their organization was growing.

AN: Hi, bet you guys didn't expect Enid from O.K K.O to be in here, and it shows how absolutely crazy I am because there's no real reason behind it outside of me going, "Heh, that'd be a weird combination of people, Tomura and Enid working together," I can't say whether or not the other choices will be as surprising but, I'm having fun writing villainy.

I want to just straight up say, that civilians are going to be a serious problem going forward, and I mean in the way of deaths as everyone I am picking are going to be very callous with human lives and are not afraid to kill regular people if they're in the way or can be used against heroes. Some of them will do it more actively than others but killing will be a thing. I also don't want it to come across as edgy but more as "they're just drones I don't care about and if killing them gets a hero to slip up or save an ally from them then, yeah, they can die" kind of thing.