Thunk. The arrow sank into the tree with a satisfying noise. It hit a couple of inches below the knot I was aiming for. My hand went to the tree next to me. Material flowed into my hand. I knocked the new arrow and pulled the string back. Adjusting my aim before letting go.
Thunk. The arrow sank into the knot on the tree and snapped. My hand went to the tree next to me. Material flowed into my hand. I knocked the new arrow and pulled the string back. Trying to match my previous aim.
Thunk. The arrow sank into the tree just above the knot. My hand went to the tree next to me. Material flowed into my hand. I knocked the new arrow and pulled the string back. Shifting my aim down before letting go.
Thunk. The arrow sank into the knot on the tree. My hand went to the tree next to me. It'd been an hour since I started this. An hour of repeating this single shot. Missing, adjusting my aim, hitting, missing the next one, over and over again.
Thunk. The entire time I wasn't focused on aiming, I was looking at the bow. I was looking at the arrows. Changing small things. Wider fletching. Different arrowhead shapes. The composition of the strings cells. Testing small changes.
Thunk. Usually, it was frustrating. I was getting better, but it was slow. This time it was fine. It kept my mind occupied. There wasn't room for anything else in my head. Just the bow, the arrow, my power, and the target.
Thunk. Not that there wasn't other stuff to think about. I was just trying to not think about it. To focus on practicing. Something I could control. I can't change what happened. I shouldn't. Vicky should feel guilty about what happened.
Thunk. She messed up. She dragged me into her mess. Put me at risk so I could cover for her mistake. She could be in Protectorate custody right now, with me right alongside her. That man could be dead right now and she'd be a murderer.
Thunk. So what if she felt helpless? That she felt similarly to how I feel in the hospital? Even if she felt that way, it didn't change the fact that she messed up. It didn't change the fact she couldn't control herself.
Thunk. So what if I understand where she's coming from? The struggle to do the right thing constantly, day in and day out, when it feels pointless? If this was anyone else I'd not bat an eye. It was just because I love her.
Thunk. I love her. I still love her. I can't help but love her. Despite my best efforts. Despite the fact that I can forget about it for a while. Despite being out here in the middle of the park at midnight shooting a bow. I can't stop myself. I still love her more than anything.
Thunk. A loud groan escaped me. I didn't reach for another arrow, instead just bringing one hand up to press against the mask. Covering my face as I realized I had done exactly what I had been trying to avoid doing. Thinking too much about the situation with Vicky. It wasn't like I could fix it!
Apologizing wouldn't change the way Vicky felt. I couldn't fix the city. Even if I doubled up on my hours at the hospital, it'd do nothing. I'd have to be Alexandria to even have a hope of fixing Brockton Bay. How the hell could I hope to do that when I couldn't even…
I pulled my hand back and blinked. I'd been so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't been paying attention to whether the arrows were hitting or not. At least consciously. Eight arrows were sticking out of the knot. I'd shot twelve arrows since I last reset. That meant I was hitting two out of three times now.
"What do you know?" A voice sounded out from behind me. I jumped, spinning around. The bow in my hand followed the motion. It was going right at Shadow Stalker's head. She flickered out into a hazy shadow. The bow went right through her. She phased back. "You can hit something. Just not me."
"Oh fuck off." The last person I wanted to see right now was her. The person who made me feel completely useless. Turning away from her, I stomped over toward my arrows. She followed after me, watching as I pressed a hand against the tree. The parts of the arrows inside of the tree merged with it, and the shafts fell out.
"What the hell are you even doing? You can make your shit whenever. Why're you collecting them?" She asked me as I bent down to grab all the shafts. I just turned to give her an unimpressed look. Not that she could tell through the mask.
"I don't want anyone to know I was here. Someone finds random arrows in the park, they tell the police, and we have to find a new meeting spot." Walking back over to the tree I was getting the arrows from, I merged the shafts back into it. A little mass lost overall but it would be fine.
"A new meeting spot isn't a bad idea." She leaned against the tree I took the arrows from. "Sticking to one place makes it easy for someone to find us. All it takes is the wrong person noticing us, and the Empire or ABB might wind up setting an ambush."
"... Where else would you want to meet?" As much as I didn't want to have to travel even further, I couldn't argue against the point. It was risky to just come here every time. I didn't do it every day, but I still did it fairly regularly.
"Shady Oaks." She said and I frowned. Shady Oaks Park was a fair bit farther than Joseph Memorial. It'd be double the travel time. Maybe that was a good thing though. I could also head over to Willford Park to practice on my own with no risk of her interrupting.
"Fine. What're you doing here anyway? I didn't ask to meet. You haven't shown up the last few times I was here." She just shrugged at that. Reaching down into one of her pockets and pulling out the knife I gave her.
"Need this fixed back up. Also, need three new bolts." Grabbing the knife from her, my power made it obvious how much damage was done to it.
The edge had dulled considerably from the razor it used to have. It was able to survive, just like my orb did, but micro-fractures were running through it. There was something more important though.
"Why is there blood on it?" It was easy to repair the fractures and restore the edge. I didn't give it back right away though, as I stared at her.
"I used it to shave and nicked myself. Why the fuck do you think the knife has blood on it? How the hell can you even tell that, I washed it…" She reached out to take it and I moved it to my other hand, holding it away from her.
"The blood soaked into the wood. Who the hell did you stab?" A small huff escaped her and she shook her head.
"Some ABB Gangster. Give me the knife." She held her hand out, and I continued to stare at her. A slightly horrified feeling grew in the back of my head.
"Did you murder someone with the knife I gave you?!" The panic growing in my voice must have been apparent. She let out a chuckle of amusement and shook her head again.
"No, I didn't murder anyone. The asshole had a gun. I stabbed him in the hand so he couldn't use the gun. Now give me the damn knife." A few moments passed as we stared at each other. Finally, I moved the knife to where she could take it from me.
"I made that knife for you. I could take it away." That just earned another laugh from her.
"You don't own the money you used to pay for a soda. This was payment for me teaching you. So it's mine now. If you tried to take it, I'd kick your ass. Now, bolts." She demanded, sliding the other knife into its sheath as she reached out with her other hand.
"I'm not sure I want to give you any more gear. I'd rather not get implicated in a murder." I put my hand on the tree and stared at her. She let out another huff of frustration.
"You're starting to piss me off, Woody. One, I'm not going to fucking murder anyone. Two, do you want my help or not? I could just fuckin leave. Stop this deal, let you go out and get yourself fuckin murdered by Hookwolf or Oni Lee." Another few moments passed with us staring at each other. Then I formed the bolts from the tree.
"If I find out you murdered someone, I'm dragging you to jail." That got another laugh out of her, even as she took the bolts from me.
"Not happening. Remember Woody. Even as you get better, so do I. You're not going to ever get better than me." She walked past me, giving a small shrug of her shoulders as she went. "Not that I'm gonna murder anyone. So that's two reasons why it ain't gonna happen, Woody."
"Shut up Kitty." I shot back, feeling a visceral joy at seeing her stop for a moment. Before continuing to walk. I followed. "So what now? I gave you more gear. What're you gonna teach me now?"
"How to fight." We stopped in a clearing in the park, an open area of dead grass. Turning on her heel, she looked at me for a moment before gesturing. "Make your stick."
The bow in my hand shifted with my power, straightening out as the string merged back into it. It took a second at the most for me to have the spear in hand. "I've been wanting to hit you for a while now."
"You're going to try. And you're going to fail. I'm gonna pretend to be some guy with a gun. Your goal is to get to me before I manage to shoot you." She walked a distance away from me, pulling out one of her crossbows.
"... You're going to shoot me, aren't you?" I could swear she was grinning behind her mask as she nodded back at me.
"Yep. Thugs with pipes and whatever random shit they can get their hands on aren't going to be your problem. What's going to be your problem is the thugs with guns. Even if you managed to make bulletproof armor, it's gonna hurt. So, let's see if you can avoid getting your ass shot." It was annoying that she was right.
"Fine. You better not actually hurt me though!" That got another laugh out of her. I was starting to hate the sound of her laughter.
"If your armor's worth any kind of shit, this shouldn't do a damn thing to you. Like I told you ages ago. These don't get a ton of power in them. Gotta use my power to get past any kind of armor. So get over it. Unless you're a coward?" I gritted my teeth and shifted my stance.
I might be a coward when I was Panacea. Running away from guilt. Not being able to handle my responsibility. Being out here showed I was a coward. When I was out here though, in the mask… "I'm not a fucking coward. Let's do this."
This time, I could hear the grin in her voice as she took her stance. "Good. Now, come at me."
There was no hesitating. Holding the spear in both hands, I ran at her as fast as I could. The distance didn't seem that wide, I should be able to-
The bolt hit me dead in the chest. It didn't hurt, feeling more like someone had shoved me. I stopped, a small huff escaping me as I turned back to the place I started. Reaching what I thought was the spot, I turned. Okay, running directly at her didn't work. Maybe if I zig zag?
The bolt stuck into my thigh armor. Zigzagging didn't work. If anything I didn't even make it as far as I did when I charged directly at her. Returning to my starting point, I pressed a hand against my forehead. Okay, maybe running perpendicular?
The bolt struck my shoulder. I returned to the starting point. When was I going to be in this situation? Some random thug with a gun ready to shoot me in an open space without any cover? If there were anyone with a gun I'd take them out with my bow or a grenade. Grenade. Maybe I shouldn't charge?
The bolt caught my new grenade in mid-air. It broke the outer shell, allowing the sticky goop to go flying everywhere. Getting me covered in it. The outermost layer of cells fell away, taking the goop with it. Shadow Stalker just laughed. "Haven't seen that before, but stick with charging."
The bolt hit me in the stomach. My hand went to yank it out. A surprise charge as soon as she finished talking didn't work either. She just pulled out her other crossbow. It was at least the closest I'd gotten to her. I could feel her smirk. "You getting mad?"
The bolt went into the other shoulder. Another attempt at zig-zagging didn't work. What else could I do to get close? It wasn't like I had a… shield I could use… I was a complete idiot. The spear transformed in my hand, spreading out into a shield. "Oh, you actually got a clue."
The bolt stuck into the armor of my calf. I reached her this time though. She couldn't just shoot me on the approach. Instead, she just dodged as I got to her and shot me as I ran past. "Congratulations, you actually reached me. Now you just gotta actually hit me."
The bolt got me in the back. Shadow Stalker just danced to the side again. I was done. I was tired, I was sweaty, I was frustrated. She had pissed me off. Even though she had gotten me, it wasn't the end.
I swung the shield. She phased into her shadow form and it went through her. She came out and punched me. Her fist struck me in the cheek and I stumbled back. It hurt. Not enough though. A step forward let me swing at her with the shield again.
She stepped back out of the way. Her leg snapped up in a kick, hitting me in the gut. I stumbled back again with a grunt. That one didn't hurt. Getting my footing again let me charge her. Shield raised and shoulder braced.
I passed through a cloud of shadows and felt a foot connect with my back. It was enough to put me off balance, falling forward. My shield hit the ground and I slid on it. Coming to a stop, I panted. Turning where I lay to glare up at Shadow Stalker. Who was just staring at me with one hand on her hip? "Congratulations, you figured out what the fuck to do in that situation."
"... What?!" I couldn't help but shout as I heard her talk. Another laugh escaped her as she walked off to grab the bolts that I had dropped off the ground. Picking myself up, I could feel the mud caked into my armor. It sloughed off with another layer or two of cells, the armor warping to clean itself with my power.
"Do you know why cops don't just shoot once if they shoot at all?" I looked at her like a crazy person. Plenty of people had come into the hospital full of lead from an officer. It was easy to recite the reason. It was something Carol had insisted I learn.
"When someone's full of adrenaline, a single bullet might not be enough to bring them down. Two or three might not be. When you add the possibility of drugs into the mix, the chance of it just increases." A moment passed before I remembered to add the last part. "Also if they're shooting, they're aiming to kill. It's life and death at that point."
"The second part's bullshit they tell people, but the first part's true at least." I frowned but she continued. "Some bastards are tougher than others. When you put a bullet in them they just keep coming. Imagine if they were a cape who's gone through shit, and had armor. You think they're gonna stop?"
A few moments passed as that sunk in. I took a breath to calm down. "So you didn't tell me to just keep coming because…?"
"Well, it was fun to shoot you." I'm going to beat the shit out of her one day. "That's one reason. The other is just because I wanted to see how long it'd take before you finally took it seriously."
"What, me sprinting at you full speed wasn't taking it seriously?" The sarcasm practically dripped from my voice as I crossed my arms at her. She just shook her head at me.
"Nope. You were playing by the rules. Sure you got more creative, but you still played by the rules. In a real fight, there are no rules. There's no honor, there's no heroism, there's none of that shit you hear the Protectorate talking about. We don't get the same treatment as them." My eyes narrowed at her behind my mask.
"We're heroes. Just because we're not official heroes doesn't mean we get to play by different rules." She laughed louder this time, a mocking laugh that made me want to punch her in the jaw.
"Oh sure, so we pull our punches while they try to murder us. Grow the fuck up, Woody. Do you think some thug isn't gonna shoot you in the back the first chance he gets? That they won't rip your helmet off and bash your head in if they get the chance? Or kidnap you and do far worse to you?" One of my hands curled into a fist. I'd seen what the gangs could do. Plenty of times in the hospital.
"There's a system in place, there's courts, we can't just become the law. It's not right." That made her cross her arms, leaning in to look at me. I could see her brown eyes through her mask, a strange gleam to them.
"The law is shit. Police are corrupt as shit. PRT is only interested in looking good. Any damn gangbanger can get out of jail in a few days on bail and never go to trial. No one knows who we are. No one's gonna care if we die. The only we survive is by not letting ourselves be held back. It's predator or prey." We stared at each other for a few moments. I wasn't backing down on this. I couldn't let myself back down on this.
Even if I knew parts of it were true. That there were plenty of people who got out on bail and deserved to be put away for decades. That there were plenty of moles and sympathizers in the police department. That I sometimes healed the same patient multiple times, despite each time they'd go out and commit more crimes.
"That isn't what a hero does. We need to follow rules, or we're not any better than them." That got another laugh from her as she turned around. Starting to walk away with a shrug.
"I guess I'm not a hero then. That's probably a good thing. I don't have to follow the rules that are just trying to get me killed. I don't have a big public persona for people to target. I'm not gonna get shot in the back like Fleur and have my murderer get away with it." My heart stopped as she spoke.
For a moment I panicked, thinking that she had figured out who I was. Then it faded as I realized it just made sense. Fleur was the best example of a cape getting murdered in the city. Which made me angry, even angrier than I was before. How dare she use Aunt Jess as a fucking example to win an argument?
"That was a fucking tragedy, and that guy deserved life." She turned to look back at me, her expression impossible to read behind her mask.
"Probably. But like I said, the system's shit. She played by the rules. She got a grave. Her killer got to join the Nazis. If that's the system you want me to follow, then you're a bigger idiot than I thought Woody." I couldn't let her have the last word in this argument. I had to prove her wrong.
"Do you think you're making a difference?" Her head tilted to one side. "Stabbing people in their hands, shooting them, leaving them bleeding out in an alley? Does that make you feel like you're making the city a better place?"
She seemed to think for a moment. Before shrugging again at me. "I think I'm doing more for the city than the fucking Protectorate or Wards. And, here's a little secret Woody. I don't give a shit."
Then she left, leaving me feeling exhausted out in the cold. A few moments passed and I just stared after her. Trying to come up with something I could have said to prove her wrong. A feeling built up in my chest, a pressure that grew until I had to let it out.
A wordless scream of frustration and rage up at the cold November sky. Grabbing the shield by its edge, I hurled it with all my might at the nearest tree. Feeling completely helpless as it flew until it smashed edge first into it.
Thunk.
A/N: Two days later than the last update, but that's because I took a bit of extra time going over this. Trying something a bit different with the repetition, not sure if it's too much or not. As for the actual plot, Shadow Stalker had to show up again at some point. She provides too good a foil to the New Wave ideals that Vicky and Amy were raised on.