Saturday, February 5th, 2011, this was the day I, Taylor Hebert, snuck out of my home dressed head in dark layers of clothes and decided to start fighting crime and injustice as a hero. It had just been over a month that I gained powers, and I couldn't hold myself back anymore.

I would claim, adamantly so, that I was a patient person, that my temper though intense had never overpowered my conscious mind. But I was angry, unbelievably angry. If I had to spend a single more day taking any shit from my bullies, I was pretty sure I wouldn't stop smashing their fucking faces in until the cops pulled me off.

My temper, rage, anger, it grew with every second I wasn't doing anything about it. My nerves itched, my muscles twitched, the simmering and boiling emotions in my mind were threatening to overwhelm me. I've taken to cussing, charging expletives with as much anger as I could muster, though it was mostly to myself, I didn't really hold back when I was talking to my classmates either, bullies or not.

I was running over a rooftop and as I leapt over an alleyway to reach another roof, my body broke apart. My flesh and blood, along with my clothes, turned into a sandy smoky haze. In this state, I was practically weightless and I also kept my momentum, so I easily cleared the gap. My feet solidified as I landed, and I only stumbled a bit as I resumed running.

Last month, after I gained powers and deliberated over my choices, I decided to become a hero. I hadn't ever worshiped heroes, aside from admiring Alexandria and Armsmaster as a child, but I didn't want to be a villain. There was always the choice to not be either, I could just be a rogue or simply not use my powers, but that wouldn't fly with me.

Being a rogue wouldn't do me any good, as I had no marketable ability, and if I didn't have an outlet, somewhere to focus my power towards, I was sure I'd take advantage of it to get revenge on my bullies.

My growing rage was new, at first it was hardly noticeable, I just had a bit more energy than usual, but as the days passed and my troubles piled up, my temper was about to explode. It wasn't settling down, all I could do was distract myself from it, so I had already started running. After a week or so, I started running with a fierce energy, pushing past my exhaustion.

It still wasn't enough, I couldn't focus and my body was restless. I spent hours testing my power, it appeared identical to the power of a Ward, Shadow Stalker. Though I wasn't sure if she also was left in a crippled state after trying to pass through electricity. I didn't know why my powers were just a copied version of hers, but I didn't dwell on it. Mostly because I wouldn't get any answers without asking her or an expert.

Yesterday, Friday, I had been restless in class and shifted my focus on writing out loose thoughts I could structure into an outline later. A handful of pencil shavings landing on my desk broke me out of my scribbling, I looked up in time to barely see a passing smirk.

I jumped out my chair, sending it flying and toppling my desk, and I was a hair's breadth away from swinging my book-filled backpack against the back of their head. Fortunately, I managed to change gears and instead I stormed out of the classroom without harming anyone.

I couldn't relax, and I couldn't handle another incident, as even the smallest spark would be enough to ignite my fuse and set me off. When I got home, I looked over my notebook and checked my outline. I hadn't even started properly training yet, I had been mostly focusing on discovering the limits of my power and running to build up stamina. I still didn't know how to fight, and yet I did not care.

I needed to let off some steam, and if I timed using my power right then I wouldn't even be hit. Looking up the Ward with the same power, and her history, had provided me with a pre-prepared guideline. Shadow Stalker used her Breaker form to parkour over buildings and launch herself around. She also used it to dodge strikes and to position herself over her opponents before she turned normal, using her weight to drop them.

She also used a crossbow, but that just wouldn't work for me. Mainly because I did not know how to use one, but also because I wasn't sure I would be able to aim, fire and reload in the midst of combat.

The rooftops of Brockton Bay weren't uniform, old buildings were shorter than the newer ones, history was clashing with progress, which made hopping from roof to roof a bit of a chore. My stamina wasn't too bad, but calculating every jump caused stress to build up. I wanted to keep my momentum up so I was partially to blame for not slowing down.

As I was scanning the building wall across from the current rooftop I was running across, my eyes darting form ledge to ledge, my ears picked something up.

"Just take my money and leave! I don't want any trouble!"

"Heh heh, too bad, sweetcheeks. Trouble is exactly why I'm here. I'll make a deal, you don't scream and I don't cut you. Think about it, is your life really worth resisting me? Just go limp for all I care, I'll be done before you know it."

I barely heard a whimper in response, I had slowed down considerably to hear the conversation, and the contents just pissed me off. I broke into my shadow state and jumped off the rooftop. I was about five stories up, this height should have given me pause, but honestly it hardly mattered to me.

As an effect of my near weightlessness, air resistance had buffered my descent and I glided downwards about as light as a feather. Unfortunately, I hadn't exactly had any experience doing this, so I missed the man holding a knife against woman's throat, probably for the best that I didn't land on him and cause the blade to bite through flesh.

I landed a few feet on front of them, in my shadow form I was hardly visible in the dark, and in daylight I was just a puff of sandy smoke vaguely human shaped.

The man's free hand was stretching the fabric of the woman's dress, likely trying to tear it off, his eyes were hungry as he looked down at his trembling victim. And the woman had her hands by her side as tears rolled down her cheeks, her eyes were squeezed shut and her jaw was clenched tightly.

Neither of them were in the right mind to notice a patch of smoke moving through the darkness. I would prefer it if I took my time and selected the most optimal route and takedown, but the sight in front of me had caused my temper to reach its boiling point.

I kicked off the ground, and my gloved hand shot out to grab the blade. The instant after I touched it, it broke apart just like me and I snatched it as it was falling. I used my other hand to grab the woman's shoulders as I twisted my body upwards.

My shadow state was a bit odd when it came to friction and my strength. I wasn't certain of the physics and math, but basically unless I willed traction to exist between what I touched, I would just pass through it. And my strength when exerted control over my traction wasn't that strong, but it was more than enough to swing around my weightless body.

As the two were alarmed by the knife vanishing, I reached my apex and let go of the woman as I used a bit of inertia to spin a bit before I rematerialised. My swinging boot-covered heel slammed down on the man's head, and as he stumbled back with a shout, and gravity started pulling me down, I broke apart again.

My strike didn't have too much force, as I hadn't allowed gravity to lend a proper hand, but it was enough for the man to back off swearing. The woman stumbled forth behind me, I glanced at her to make sure she was safe. She had collapsed and was still crying.

What a dumbass, she should be using this time to run off instead of lying on the ground sobbing. I was almost disgusted, though I wasn't sure if this emotion was aimed at the would-be rapist, the sobbing woman, or myself. Though my temper and the recovery of the rapist had shoved down my disgust.

"Fucking bitch!" A hand swiped out as if trying to cut the air, then on his next swing he remembered he didn't have a knife anymore and he used a fist instead.

The rational part of my mind was asking me: what next? Unless I completely took down this man, or the woman ran away, the situation wouldn't be resolved. Though on second thought, perhaps it was for the best that the woman didn't run away, there needed to be a victim if this man was arrested.

So I had to take down this guy, and since he was scum anyway it wouldn't matter if he got a bit roughed up in the process. I did have zip ties in my back pocket, so I just needed a moment to restrain him.

As the man realized he couldn't touch me, since his fist had swam through me, his eyes went wide and he took a step back, he was about to bolt. It probably would've been better if I allowed him to turn around before I tackled him, but the thought of him running away and police allowing him to remain free if he didn't leave any evidence behind had caused my body to react without thinking.

I solidified and charged towards him, if he was backing off my additional shove should send him toppling backwards. If that was the case, but unfortunately it wasn't. It had been a feint, the man's body rocked as his back step straightened, granting extra momentum to his body as he swung out with another fist. This time an uppercut that smashed into my chin.

The world spun around me and my vision had flickered on and off faster than I could blink. I didn't have time to process the amount of pain my jaw was in, not before more pain exploded through my body. I was in the ground and being kicked in the gut. For a single moment, no new pain came, though my blurry eyes and my swimmer goggles with glasses lens inside, I saw a shoe above my head.

I wasn't fast enough to completely evade it, I had broken a moment too late or just in time depending on the outcome. All I knew at the moment was that my face hurt and my shadow was swimming through the ground. Surrounded by matter pushing against my body, I was sure which way was up.

In my shadow form, breathing and seeing was just a bit foggy and hazy. If not, then I was sure I would be able to fly by forcefully exhaling, and that I wouldn't be able to see. What exactly constituted my body wasn't clear, it wasn't transformed as I was pretty sure I didn't change, but rather my compositions shifted into something new.

My senses were muted to varying degrees, and breathing caused the air particles to shift with as it exited and entered me. I still needed to breathe, sure I didn't need to as much as I didn't use too much energy in my shifted state, but I still required it to live. In my panic, I hadn't held my breath after it was kicked out of me before I shifted.

In my broken state, blind underground, I was running out of air. Exerting traction while inside matter stung like a bitch, but I would rather not die, so I focused on my feet and kicked off. When I only found darkness after a few seconds, I used my hands to stop myself and carefully spun around so I could kick off in the opposite direction. I would have to wait twice as long before I tried another direction, but fortunately I didn't need to.

I breached the surface of the interior of a building, and I solidified. Which wasn't the best choice, pain re-exploded through me and I heaved as I my lungs cried out for oxygen. I yanked up my mask, and took in deep unrestricted breaths. I wanted to curse and punch a wall to get rid of my frustration, but it wasn't over yet. The rapist was still out there, and so was the collapsed woman, if neither had run away yet anyway.

Looking around I noticed I was in a basement, so I broke apart and leapt out vertically. Fortunately, I had chosen the right direction, as I spotted the man sitting atop the woman with his knife back in hand. I had taken it, but the punch to my chin had probably caused me to drop it.

What a fucking moron. Me for allowing the man to get his weapon back, and the man for not running away. The woman was still sobbing quietly, and the man was now grunting heavily. Mostly in frustration as he tried to unbuckle his pants with one hand, his other hand holding his knife pressed against soft flesh. He was missing a shoe, it had probably shifted as he stomped on my face and was now lost underground.

My emotions had turned cold, mostly because I had to gather myself so I didn't drown underground, otherwise I was sure I would've entered a raging frenzy. Instead it was a freezing fury that guided my actions, I silently solidified and picked something up before shifting and sneaking over.

"AH!" The rapist screamed as a glass bottle materialized inside the back of his left thigh, he jerked upright in pain. I grabbed his hair and swung his head further back as I brought my knee up to meet it. I was pretty sure my knee pad for biking did most of the work. I wasn't exactly muscular.

As the rapist screamed some obscenities, I broke apart and walked around him to re-shift his knife. Then I spun and solidified as I kicked the guy in the face. And again, I wished I was stronger, I barely had enough force to set him off balance and I had to shove him again to get him off the woman.

Thanks to the bottle inside his leg, he was in no state to put up any major resistance as I walked around him. When something materialized inside of something else, it displaced the solid matter of the something that is inside, so it doesn't stop the shifted matter from reforming.

I had been careful with my placement, making sure I didn't hit any major artery or bone, but I was working with a C in biology, and it was dark out, so I couldn't be sure I didn't hit anything. I had entered the bottleneck deep and stopped after an inch of the base was inside flesh. The bottle had been uncapped, so as it reformed it had separated most of the flesh, while leaving a finger thin connection to the rest trapped inside the bottle.

I jostled the bottle, causing the man to scream some more. "Roll over on your stomach and put your arms behind you, or else I'll add more junk to your body." My voice had been cold, my tone flat.

The man continued to scream, but his words didn't have any substance, so I loudly walked over to a pile of trash, and he relented. As I was zip tying him, I didn't really feel all that better, so as I stood up, I decided to kick him in the balls. He had been planning on raping someone, and he didn't exactly act like it was his first time, so really who would care?

I kept kicking him in the balls, each hit caused him to scream and his legs tensed up as they simultaneously went limp, he couldn't really defend himself so I just kept hitting until he was a sobbing mess that matched the woman.

"This is unexpected." A dark snarky voice that was barely muffled spoke out, the tone was uncaring about the man tied up and sobbing, or the sobbing woman with ripped clothes. I jerked my head up, and standing inside a fire escape was a cloaked girl with a mask over her face, unmistakably, this was Shadow Stalker.