Chloe wasted no time in dragging back the suddenly shy Max to the American Rust.
"Alright Max, you need start explaining just what that was back there. I tried to pull the railing and it didn't even budge, you pull it and all of sudden it's like tinfoil?! What the Hell is going on?!" Chloe demanded.
"Uh…I don't know?" Max said with a mouse-like voice since it was the only answer she could think of.
"Max!" Chloe said with annoyance, really not in the mood.
"I honestly don't know how to explain this, Chloe! I went to class like any other day, went to the bathroom afterwards where I saw you and Nathan, and I'm all of sudden I'm bulletproof!" Max frantically explained.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Bulletproof?" Chloe asked, making sure she heard that right.
Max sighed tiredly, knowing there was no reason to hide it anymore. She reached into the pocket of her sweater and took the flatten bullet out. She held it out for Chloe to see, whose eyes widen in shock.
"Turns out Nathan wasn't keeping blanks in that gun." Max said in a somewhat joking matter, trying to lighten the mood.
Chloe took the bullet from Max's hand and examined it thoroughly, seeing if it was a fake of some sorts.
It wasn't.
"…Max…is this real? …You're not bullshitting me?" Chloe asked with trepidation, a part of her wondering if this was some sort of elaborate prank.
Max stared at her for a moment, wondering just how to prove her case. She turned her head around and saw the worn down and rusted junk-car close by.
"Well, in for a penny. In for a pound." Max thought to herself.
She walked over to the back of the car, reached underneath to get a good grip, and lifted.
She didn't even strain herself when she held it over her head, she turned her head and saw Chloe looking at her with wide eyes and slack-jawed.
"H-HOLY SHIT!" Chloe exclaimed as she took a couple of steps backs in astonishment.
Max put the car back down with a loud "THUD" and look at Chloe solemnly.
"I would never bullshit you, Chloe. Never." Max told her.
It took Chloe a moment to get over the shock, but eventually she calmed down and looked at Max with intrigue and excitement.
"Tell me everything!"
…
As they went inside an old rusted bus that Chloe called her Secret Lair, Max regaled her story of how she now had the capability of pulling doors off their hinges, catch speeding footballs, and poking holes into wall insulation.
Chloe just looked at her in awe.
"Holy shit. You realize what this means right?!" Chloe asked excitedly.
"Uh…" Was all Max could think to say.
"YOU'RE A SUPERHERO! A BONAFIDE WONDER WOMAN, DUDE!" Chloe said ecstatically as she shook her friend back and forth.
"Yeah, I guess it is, pretty awesome…" Max said as she wasn't sure what to think.
"It's hella awesome is what it is! I can see the headlines now! 'Super Max to the Rescue!' 'It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a flying hipster!'" Chloe teased wholeheartedly.
"Chloe, come on!" Max laughed nervously.
"No, you come on, Max-a-Million! How are you not literally jumping over the moon about this?!" Chloe asked excitedly as she shook Max's shoulders back and forth.
"I'm still trying to process this whole thing. It's all sudden!" Max told her. "Plus I don't even know if I could jump over the moon." She said sheepishly.
"Won't hurt to try." Chloe said with a smirk.
Max could only groan as she stood up and went outside.
"I don't even understand why this is happening to me of all people?! I don't go looking for trouble! I'm just a shy nobody who's trying to get through the school year!" Max vented a bit.
"Max, take a breath, would you?" Chloe told her calmly. "I can't explain why the universe or the galactic cosmos decided to bestow this gift upon you, but you are not a nobody. You're a hero! You saved me from Nathan at Blackwell, you saved me just now on those train tracks! You're worthy of this, believe that shit!" She told her passionately.
Max looked at her with surprise before smiling a small, blush-filled, grateful smile at her.
"Thanks Chloe." Max said.
"Besides, now I have some actual ammunition to use against Nathan in case he tries to screw with me again." Chloe said with a cheeky grin.
"Wha-NO! No, no, no! I am not some hired superpowered-muscle! This is something I want the least amount of people to figure out!" Max emphasized.
"Oh come on! You would be an overnight celebrity! We could rule this entire town!" Chloe encouraged.
"I rather just be a shy cliched-geek." Max said dismissively.
"For a shy cliched-geek, you certainly hang with an interesting crowd." A voice called out to them as he made himself known to them.
He was wearing a black jacket with a loose hanging red shirt underneath, bleached blue jeans with black boots on his feet. Messy dirty blonde hair with a tattoo of a bord on his neck.
"So what is this, Thelma and Louise? Or is it Bonnie and Clyde?" He asked playfully.
"What do you want, Frank?" Chloe asked with a sour tone.
"I heard the commotion and I thought I check up on my favorite borrower. Last I checked, you still owe me a shitload, don't you?" The man, apparently known as Frank, asked.
"This is the guy that Chloe burrowed money from?" Max to herself as she stared at Frank, seeing if he would try anything.
"You'll get your money Frank." Chloe said bitterly.
"Don't they all say that? Even when they're broke and acting tough?" Frank asked Max as he pointed at Chloe.
That let her notice the bracelet he was wearing on his right wrist.
"Where did you get that bracelet?" Chloe asked angrily as she tried to get a better look at it, only for Frank to move it away from her.
"A friend. And it's your none of your damn business." Frank told her dismissively.
"That's Rachel's bracelet! Why the fuck are you wearing her bracelet?!" Chloe asked viciously.
"Calm yourself! She gave it to me, it was a gift." Frank told her.
"Bullshit! You stole that shit!" Chloe said accusingly. "Give it to me right now, asshole!" She said as she tried to snatch it off of him.
To which he pulled out a knife.
"You need to step back before you get hurt. I mean it." Frank threatened. "You want to get cut, bitch?" He asked as he brought the knife to her face.
Only for a hand to land on his wrist in a tight grip. He looked to his left and saw Max looking at him with a glare.
"Please step away from my friend." Max said politely, though her tone indicated anything but.
"You got some nerve, kid. Let go of me!" Frank said angrily.
Max responded by pushing him away, the way she did Nathan earlier, and sent him tumbling into a junk car.
"Argh! Son of a bitch!" Frank groaned in pain as he tried to regain his footing.
"Get the Hell out of here, Frank!" Chloe told him.
"This isn't over! I'll remember you kid, and you'll wish I had no memory, because I never forget!" Frank told Max as he pointed his knife at her, Max wasn't intimidated though. "You have until Friday to pay me, Chloe. You pull crap like this again, I swear it'll be the last thing you ever do!" He told her threateningly before making his out of there while trying to mask a limp.
After he was gone, Chloe went over to Max with a bear hug.
"Holy shit, Super Max! That was so badass!" Chloe told her, amazement in her voice.
"I didn't mean to push him that hard, I just wanted him to get away from you." Max said ruefully.
"Ah, who cares! Now Frank is going to think twice about messing with us!" Chloe said encouragingly.
"Yeah, I guess…" Max said, not sure how to feel about it.
She didn't want to use her newfound abilities to hurt people after all.
"Come on. My secret lair doesn't feel so secret today, how about we hang at my place like we used to." Chloe suggested.
"Sounds good, it would be nice to see Joyce again." Max said optimistically.
"Hopefully step-douche has a night shift at Blackwell and we don't have to deal with him." Chloe said begrudgingly as she walked past Max. Buy she could see that Chloe had a little pep in her step. "A superhero for a best friend, so fucking awesome." She said with an excited whisper.
Max couldn't help but grin at that.
"I guess it is awesome…"
To Be Continued…
There's another chapter under my belt. I've been focusing on my other story: Do Something, Do It Stupid, so don't expect too many chapters in the upcoming months. I'll try to make one here and there when I can but I hope you stick with it.
So Chloe finally got a taste of Max's powers and of course she's both ecstatic and mischievous about it! How it will affect their friendship and the investigation into Rachel's disappearance will remain to be seen. Until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Until next time, comment and tell me what you think!