Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I stared up at two massive creatures twisting around one another in an infinite helix. The vast starscape behind them managing to keep my attention slightly more than the creatures themselves.

[Destination]

[Agreement]

"Hold on just a second."

I heard a voice from everywhere as the stars and creatures disappeared but the darkness remained. I was afraid I was back in the Locker before realizing the absence of the rotting smell and stickiness or the feeling of bugs crawling all over me. I looked around the vast darkness, wondering where I was or what had happened.

"Over here."

My head snapped behind me to find a teenage boy slightly shorter than me wearing a long sleeve black shirt, red pants with a black belt hanging from the right straps, black shoes, and a black cape. He had short blue hair and a dull look in his blue eyes. He was wearing headphones that had wires that stuck up behind his head like ears and a black mp3 player clipped to his collar.

"Uh… Hi?" I asked. "Who… who are you?" I was confused about a few things, like where I was and what those giant star things were, but I couldn't shake the thought I might be dead.

"You aren't dead, Taylor," He said with a smirk.

"Uh…" I stared at him dumbly. Really not the best look, but I couldn't help it.

"Humans don't come here when they die. 'Here' being The Expanse, or, as you humans would call it, the demon world. I brought you here. Kind of. I brought your consciousness here."

"I'm so confused…" I finally managed to get out. I couldn't begin to think over his words because I didn't understand what he was talking about. Demons? What?

"I imagine so," He smiled wide and toothy, revealing razor sharp teeth. "So why don't you join me for a cup of tea? It should calm your nerves and give me a chance to explain what's going on."

"Okay, but where are we going to get tea?" I asked, gesturing to the vast darkness around us. "This doesn't really seem like the place to-."

He snapped and we were suddenly in a cafe that looked to be in… Tokyo? I couldn't read the words on the signs, but they looked more Japanese than anything else.

"Don't worry about the signs. I'm originally from Japan, so this feels more at home for me. I would take you to my castle, but… Well, we'll get to that." He pulled a seat out for me and I sat as he made his way to his seat. Once he was settled in a blonde woman with white wings in black vaguely BDSM looking clothing floated over to us and I noticed she was also blindfolded. She sat two cups of tea on the table before floating off. I shot him an odd look. "That's an Angel. They all look like that, I don't actually control how they look."

"Okay… Why would you control how an Angel looks?" I asked, deciding this would be easier if I just went with the flow. Last thing I needed was a headache. I started to take a sip of tea when he spoke.

"Oh, I'm the King of Demons," He said casually.

I stopped, glad I hadn't actually taken a sip yet.

"What?"

"I'm the King of Demons. I do have a human name, but I go by Abel these days."

"Like, Abel from the bible?"

"The very same!" He smiled.

"I don't… That doesn't make any sense. Why would Abel from the bible be a teenager with blue hair? From Tokyo no less?"

"Because I'm a descendant of the original Abel. You know about the… I think it was called the "Many worlds theory" on my earth."

"Yeah. We have proof of other universes. We trade movies and entertainment with Earth Aleph."

"That makes this so much easier then. So it's not "Many worlds" per say, but "Many multiverses". Each universe has infinite versions of itself, but each set of universes exists outside of another set of universes. My multiverse was called… The Amala-verse I believe."

"You expect me to believe there are more universes besides the one I'm from?"

"Technically that's already true. And if there can be parallel universes, why can't there be more sets of entirely different universes?"

"Okay…" I say, taking sip of my tea. I stared down at it for a few seconds. It tasted like mom used to make. Exactly so, in fact. I looked up at him, but he was simply looking down at his cup.

"Anyway, I go by Abel because where I'm from the original Abel, after being killed by his brother, ended up becoming a powerful demon as a result of his hatred. So powerful in fact that [YHVH] was scared of him."

I winced at whatever he said. From context it sounded like a name, but I couldn't hear it. Whatever he said sounded like a high pitched record scratch or something like that.

"Ah, right," He said, noticing my reaction. "You can't actually hear that name yet." The fact he said 'yet' caught my attention, but he was already moving on. "He's essentially the God of my universe. He's kind of a dick, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, "God" was so terrified that Abel could match his power that he had him ripped into several other demons. Any demon that has "Bel" in their name was likely apart of him before he was ripped apart."

"So this… God… was so worried about a single demon he made more demons out of it to not worry about him?" That idea seemed ridiculous. It would be like if she turned The Trio into a bunch of other people to get rid of them. She couldn't see it working.

"Kind of. He separated Abel's power into different demons. The problem with this was that eventually the demons all started fighting and devouring each other for power. This event is called the "Bel War". All the Bel demons get into a big arena and start fighting until one of them wins and becomes the new Abel, King of Demons."

"But weren't you originally from Tokyo…" I trailed off as I realized what he was saying. "Being a descendant of Abel, you could also participate despite being human, since the rules don't specify only a Demon can become Abel." I said.

"Exactly! You pick up quick. Really making me not regret this choice."

"Huh?"

"Normally I'd just be Abel forever, but I've kind of grown tired of the title. Everything's gotten stale. So, I've decided to pass the hat, so to speak." He smiled.

"Wait, hold on, you want to give me-?"

"That's right. I want you to be the new Abel."

"Are you crazy?!" I shouted, standing up. "You want to just… You want to just make me some all powerful demon?!"

"Yes. Of course, normally I'd just split apart and you'd have to go through a Bel War for this, but… Well, seeing as how I stopped an interdimensional parasite from attaching to you, I think you can see I'm serious about this pick."

"Interdimensional- what? And why me? What made you want to pick me?!"

"Sit down and I'll explain." He said coolly. I noticed through our entire conversation he was calm and collected, in control all the time. I followed his instructions. "Good. Now, I wasn't originally planning on traveling this far for a successor, but I wasn't exactly spoiled for choice back home. Most of the people who could take up the mantle were already dead, or were devil summoners already. So I decided to do some searching around. I went through hundreds of candidates, but I didn't like any of them. They'd either make the same mistakes I did, or make the mistake I almost did. That's boring and I don't want to push others to that. That's when I found you. You're interesting. While I won't be around for it, I know you'll use this power for something interesting, which is why I'm skipping the Bel War and just handing you the power directly. Not to mention Bel Wars are messy and lots of people would die and your world is already enough of a crap hole without all that. Seriously, Earth Bet is basically where hope goes to die."

I couldn't refute that point. Earth Bet, and Brockton Bay in particular were the worst. Gangs everywhere, real life Kaiju, "people" like the Slaughterhouse Nine, Ash Beast, Sleeper, the Three Blasphemies. Earth Bet was probably as bad as it got. The only thing I could think of that would be worse was literal Hell and she couldn't even say it was bad because of what she'd seen so far.

"Can you explain about the parasite thing?"

"Yeah, those giant worm things you saw? Parasites that attach to a species and give them powers before killing their hosts for information."

"That's where powers come from?!"

"Far as I can tell. I've been watching your universe for a while. Long enough to know that every person who gets a power sees those things before their mind is wiped of it. Only a few ever remember it and they're the ones whose powers make it so they can't forget."

"So I almost had an interdimensional parasite attached to me?"

"Yup. Basically brain worms."

"Jesus Christ!"

"Try not to say that name too much in The Expanse. Holy stuff doesn't affect demons, but they tend to get pissy about anything even tangentially related to [YHVH]. Sorry. Once you agree to the transfer you'll understand what I'm saying."

"Transfer?" I had to admit the prospect was tempting. Powers in any form was tempting. Maybe it would finally offer an escape from the way my life had been going.

"Yes. It's pretty simple. You just agree to it, we shake, and boom, you're the Queen of Demons. You'll probably want to take a few days or weeks to get used to the new info and powers before you start using them. Practice a bit. I had a week to get used to my gradual increase in power, but it will all be instant for you. So, what do you say?" He held out his hand.

I stared at him. He seemed genuine, but I still couldn't wrap my head around the situation. Taking a breath, I decided to take the deal. Either this was some fucked up dream or it was real. Either way I was sure I would wake up a different person than I was before. I reached for his hand and he took it back slightly, keeping me from reaching him. I almost didn't feel the despair that twinged in my heart, so used to situations turning out like this.

"Hold on, before we shake, I've got a piece of advice."

"Okay?"

"You're going to want to express your dominance as soon as you get used to your powers. Maybe find yourself a demon you like hanging out with. Meet up with Lucy when you can too. He's kind of an asshole, he's definitely a drama queen, but he respects power and he won't try to take your throne if you just walk into his castle and throw a black hole at him. And finally…" He smirked as he grabbed my hand. "This world has no God what so ever. You're free to go wild."

Light flashed, blinding me for a few seconds.

I opened my eyes to find myself in a hospital bed.

Chapter Text

Learning I had been in the hospital for ten whole days was a bit of a shock. Even more of a shock was the sudden influx of new information I had at my disposal. It wasn't anything dramatic like a headache or spacing out while sorting through all the new information, it was a lot more subtle than that. I would liken it more to just suddenly knowing something you didn't before. A bit like transferring data from one computer to another. Go to sleep one day not knowing how to fix a car and the next day the information is just there like it had always been there. Except in this case "knowing how to fix a car" was "knowledge of demons and how to use magic" in addition to a few thousands of years worth of memories. Honestly, it was probably how Tinkers and maybe a few types of Thinkers felt. Just waking up with new knowledge.

Stories try to make that more dramatic than it is. I was still functionally me, the same as I'd ever been, but I had a new outlook on things. New information and paths I didn't have open before that shaped how I viewed things and how I made my plans. I realized, the day after I was discharged, that while I was still me, there were parts of my thoughts that had changed. I realized I had stopped thinking about other people the same as before. Instead of thinking "I hope I don't run into any gangs" I would instead think things like "I dare one of those humans to try something. See what happens". That, along with my new powers and body, took my week off school to get used to.

Waking up with a new mind was one thing, but waking up and suddenly being able to fly or toss a car like ball of paper was something entirely different. Luckily the mental rework had made getting used to my new power easier, but it was still a process. The first time I looked in the mirror after getting home from the hospital was… interesting. Where before I just saw too tall, lanky, beanpole, too-wide mouthed, belly paunch, lackluster Taylor Hebert, I now saw potential. Of course, I could shapeshift, all demons could, but this body was one that I could build into something. I found that, after getting rid of all the self esteem issues forced upon me by The Trio, I actually wasn't all that bad looking. I could work out and get some muscle and really own my height. Add some power to this form, maybe alter my curves a bit to not seem so boyish, and I'd be good.

I started working out that weekend. My regimen was a lot tougher than most, but higher physical stamina meant I need to do more to change. Over all I had a brighter outlook on life. But there were some complications. I spent most of my time thinking. Pondering over my memories from the past Abel and all the Bel's that made him up. I understood what he meant about making a mistake and almost making a different one. Being the Demon King was a nice gig, but it was stagnant. Being the Messiah would have been worse. So that left me at and impasse. I wanted to do something with my powers. I wanted to be a force, but a force for what exactly? I could be a hero, but then what? It was a purely reactive job. Heroes don't prevent crime, they stop crime. Meaning I'd have to spend most of my time just waiting for something to happen. Even worse, since I was technically fifteen I'd be put on the Wards, which was mostly support. They rarely were allowed to actually handle things unless it was a dire situation. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck getting reprimanded for not following orders and wasting her time. I was far too important for the former and just plain didn't like the latter.

Which made me consider the opposite. I could be a villain. But what then? I wouldn't just sit in my own little slice of the city forever. I wanted to do things, go big and really make a major change to the world. I also hadn't considered how I wanted to change the world. Depending on what my answer was being a villain could be the way to go. Of course there was always the option to just not do either. Rogues often became notable capes simply for trying to sell their powers. It ran risks of being forced into a gang or getting killed, but I was strong enough that I doubted even The Triumvirate could force me to do anything.

This contemplative mood followed me even as I started back at school. What a joke. I get pushed into a locker full of toxic waste and instead of actually doing anything the school bribes us with medical bills and a week off to recover. I knew who did it, I'm sure lots of people did since there were others in the hall, but that's how it went at Winslow. If you were up against Emma or Sophia or Madison then no one saw a thing. Ever. The thought alone was enough to make me consider killing everyone involved or even just blowing up the school. But I couldn't do that. Not yet. I couldn't truly out myself if I wanted to get anything meaningful done in the future.

"Watch it, Hebert." Sophia said, shoulder checking me from behind. She'd tried to slam me into the lockers, but my new body didn't budge an inch. Instead, she bounced off of me and stumbled. I kept walking like I hadn't heard or felt a thing. Probably not good, since that would qualify me as a cape in some capacity, but I just didn't care.

Walking into my first period class I took a seat toward the back of the room to avoid most others looking at what I was doing. I only half listened as Mrs. Knott explained what the assignment was. I had it done in fifteen minutes. The rest of the time I used for information gathering. If I was going to be making moves in the future I needed to know my competition. There were the capes I already knew about, the heavy hitters like Lung, Oni Lee, Kaiser, and Hookwolf, but I needed more. I needed info on not only every cape in the city, but every organization that acted as a player, major or minor. Scrolling through Parahumans Online, of PHO for short, I spent the better part of class meticulously looking over every bit of information I could find. I learned a lot, but not everything I wanted, by the time class ended.

After that it was off to, ugh, Gladly's World issues class. I hadn't liked Gladly before getting my powers, but I liked him even less now. It was an odd mix of my predisposed dislike of the "popular" kids and my newly gained indifference of humans. Gladly tried so hard to be liked, especially by the popular kids. He tried to play fun teacher, giving group work as often as he could so kids could chat with their friends, telling people to call him "Mr. G", and other inanities that made sure half the student body didn't respect him very much. He reminded me a lot of those people who peaked in high school and now he was doing everything he could to hold on to that as a teacher because the rest of his life was just so hollow.

I was hardly listening to what he was prattling on about this time. It wasn't anything I was interested in and if I felt like doing the work I could just read the book.

"Alright, now get into groups. I want all of you to discuss which villains you think have had the biggest impact on society. Whichever team I think does the best will get a treat."

Interesting topic. I knew enough about villains from my hour looking through PHO and general knowledge. Despite that, I still scoffed at his incentive. My negative opinion of him made me cynical of all his actions. It just felt like he was trying to buy his students favor.

I got up from my desk and made my way over to my usual group, the outcast kids. I didn't have friends and no one wanted to be paired up with Greg or Sparky so they were the only group I could join. Greg was shorter than me, though I was tall for a girl my age, and had blue eyes and a blond bowl cut. Sparky was tall and lanky and he didn't seem to have much going on in his head. I considered that he was just a burnout stoner, but he didn't seem the type to go looking for drugs. The last member, since we always had groups of four, was one of Madison's friends, she usually spent the whole time talking to Madison. Not that I minded.

I sat down and Greg was already talking about something inane. I wasn't listening and I don't think he cared. He just liked to talk. Sparky, on the other hand, hadn't said a word. I don't think I'd ever heard him speak. I didn't bother even looking at them, opting to stare out the window instead.

"So who do you think we should talk about, Taylor?"

"I'm not sure. There's a lot people we could pick," I said.

"Well, how about we talk about Lung?"

"No. At least three other people want to do Lung." I knew because I could hear them. "We need to go a bit deeper. So none of the capes from the Bay. I'm sure someone already has Nilbog too."

"Then who should we pick?"

I looked through my knowledge of capes, both old and recently acquired. I stopped on one in particular. I turned to face him for the first time.

"You just go back to talking about your shows. I've picked someone."

"Oh, alright." And he did.

When it was finally time to call on groups I was a little disappointed in how basic most of the answers had been. One group said Kaiser, another said Lung, one even said the Blasphemies. One group said Jack Slash, which wasn't surprising, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear a group say Heartbreaker. They and the Nilbog group were the only groups I thought deserved to win because they gave an actually influential Cape and good reasons why. Then it was our turn.

"Okay, Taylor, why don't you tell us which villain your group picked," Gladly said.

I stood up and turned to face the room, then sat back down on top of a desk.

"King," I said. Gladly's face scrunched up a bit.

"King? Okay, how so?"

"King was the founder and original leader of the Nine. I believe he had the biggest impact on society simply for existing. He had the charisma and power to pull together monsters like Psychosoma, Gray Boy, and Jack Slash. Hell, without King around Jack Slash wouldn't be what he is today. Even long after he's dead the Nine are still running around because Jack took a page out of Kings book and started trying to make other people serial killers. Not to mention the use of his powers helped create the stigma against Masters. He was charismatic to the point where people think he had something similar to Heartbreaker's powers. He was just some killer who was good at talking to people and used that to fuel what he needed for his powers to work. Because of King we have bigger monsters like Bonesaw and The Siberian running around. There are thousands of people trapped in torturous time loops because he convinced Gray Boy it would be fun. Same with Jack Slash. One Monster created a cult of bigger Monsters and the world never really recovered from one asshole with powers finding fun in causing suffering."

The room was silent at my rather deadpan explanation.

"Right. Well, I'd ask you to tone down the language next time, but overall that was a well thought out answer. I think your team deserves the win," Gladly said.

I nodded. We were done with class for the day, and lunch was next so Gladly spent the last ten minutes just talking with students. When the bell rang Gladly asked my group to stay back so he could give us our treats. Turns out it was a pack or Oreo's. I was pretty hype for them. I hadn't had Oreo's in forever, so that was nice. Didn't make me like him any more than I did but at least the man knew good cookies.

I ate them idly as I wandered around campus for a few minutes. I hadn't brought lunch and I wasn't looking forward to whatever abominations they'd cooked up in the cafeteria, even if I did feel I could handle whatever abuse they'd throw without flipping my lid and dragging the entire school into the Expanse. So I decided I'd try something different. I left school to get lunch, not like any of the teachers cared enough to try to stop me, and decided to head down to the Boardwalk. It was too far to walk, but the bus would be able to get me to and from the Boardwalk in a believable amount of time. If I were human I could catch the bus from a few blocks over get to the Boardwalk within twenty minutes, grab lunch, and be back to Winslow by a little after class starts.

Of course, that was just how others saw it. I could easily teleport there, but I felt like flying a bit. I walked into a nearby alley, shape shifted into a purple outfit that looked similar to a hero costume and a domino mask. I changed my appearance so I looked a bit older and turned my hair red. After being sure I was alone and different enough looking I took off into the air.

—

Flying was odd. I had memories of doing it before, and knew how to control it, but it was a first for this body. Feeling weightless was nice and I was tempted to enjoy the feeling longer, but decided to just get over to the Boardwalk. It was as I landed in an alley that I realized I didn't have cash. I sighed but left the alley. The Merchants like to operate near here, so I could look around for a bit and hope I found one to knock over. Luckily I didn't have to wait long since I'd dropped a few blocks from the Boardwalk, intent on walking the rest of the way.

"Hey, gimme all you got and I'll consider not hurting you," A thin white guy said, holding a knife up to me. He'd jumped out of an alley I was walking past to hold me up. He looked pretty well kept for being a druggie. Aside from being far too thin, mostly skin and bone, his hair wasn't falling out, he seemed to have all his teeth, he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a dress shirt I guess he'd stolen off someone because they were far too big for him, and he didn't seem tweaked out.

"You been sticking people up all day?" I asked, not at all bothered by his sudden appearance.

"What's it to ya? You got a problem? I have to take you with me or you gonna gimme ya money?"

Maybe he was drunk. From the way he spoke he wasn't that far gone, certainly sober enough to be steady, but there was a slight slur in his words.

"Just asking. You keep all your money on you?"

"That's it, I'm taking you, and your money."

Patience this man had not. He dashed forward, well, he stumbled forward thrusting his knife at my chest. I side stepped him and tripped him, grabbing his knife hand and twisting it behind him as he fell forward. He had a bit too much momentum and not enough balance to stop himself and I felt his arm go limp with the sound of the pop. He screamed in pain but I didn't so much as blink. I didn't mean to break his arm but at least he didn't fall on his knife. I quickly shoved him into the alley and knocked him out. I looked through his pockets and came up with a bag of drugs, tossed, some needles, tossed and glad I couldn't get poked, a spoon, tossed, a rubber tube, tossed, and some cash. I counted it out and nodded at the decent haul. A little short of a grand in mostly twenties was a good amount. I pocketed it and took off toward the boardwalk.

The Boardwalk was one of the few areas in the Bay that still got a lot of foot traffic. Good business, good food, nice view of the bay, and a good chance for a cape to show up. Parian often did shows on the Boardwalk for boutiques and toy stores. I hoped I'd run into her to see her at work.

I walked down the aisle of stores trying to decide what to get. There were plenty of Mom & Pop places and a few chains to pick from. I had a new body, technically, so I wasn't sure what I'd like and dislike. New pallet and all that. I settled on Fugly Bob's. It looked like your average hole in the wall grease trap. Part bar, part shack, it was the kind of local eatery any native will have eaten at once and anyone with a good head on their shoulders would wait a year to return to so they'd give their heart a chance to recuperate from all the grease.

That said, I'd probably end up eating here a lot.

The line was surprisingly short for lunch on the Boardwalk, but I didn't mind. I'd gone over the menu during the short wait and decided on what I wanted.

"What can I get you miss?" The cashier asked.

"I want the challenger," I said dully.

"I— Are you sure?"

"Yup." I said with a pop.

"Alright." She turned to the back, "We've got a challenger!" She yelled out. She turned back to me, almost gravely. "Take a seat and it will be with you in a bit."

I nodded and took an empty table. My food was out surprisingly quickly. I only had to wait twenty minutes.

"Alright, rules are simple. You get an hour, you can't share, if you finish you don't have to pay. Time starts now."

I looked down at my massive burger that was probably twice the side of my head. It was two three pound patties each covered in a layer of cheese and bacon along with all the regular burger toppings. I licked my lips and started digging in. I moaned, probably a little suggestively, as I bit into the burger. It was so good. I grabbed some fries and stuffed them in my mouth. I was definitely going to be eating here more often.

I sort of zoned out as I tore through my food, eating like a starving man. I didn't really notice the stares or the cheers. All I knew was meat and grease as I ate. When I was out of food, I noticed I didn't really feel full. I wasn't hungry, but I wasn't bloated with food. I could've kept eating if I really felt like it.

"Holy shit, she finished it! It's been less than thirty minutes!" Someone in the crowd said.

"Hey, you feeling alright?" One of the workers asked. It was a boy this time.

"Yeah," I said as I looked down at my empty plate. I kinda wanted something sweet. "You guys have milkshakes?"

He stared at me blankly, as if trying to comprehend that I would want more food after that. Eventually he nodded slowly.

"What flavor?"

"Strawberry."

"You'll have to pay for it, since it's not part of the challenge."

"That's fine."

Chapter Text

Fridays were the best.

Monday was alright. Mr. Quinlann tried to say something about me being late for math class, but I brushed him off. Tuesday through Thursday was more of the same. I spent all my time thinking, barely paying attention to what was going on around me. Of course I could tell, but I looked spaced out to everyone else. If my dad had noticed my more thoughtful or distracted mood he hadn't said anything. Today though, was the last day of the week, which gave me two whole days to wander around and figure out what I wanted to do with myself.

A whole two weeks with powers and I hadn't figured out what to do yet. Hadn't even gone into the Expanse yet. I was putting that particular visit off until I had an idea of what I wanted to do with my abilities. I had spent all of my time in Computer Science learning all I could about capes in the Bay and out of it. I had a good idea of what to expect in the underworld, save for a few people. There was basically nothing on Coil and only a little more on the Undersiders. I got the feeling both were bigger players than they let the public see. Or at least Coil was. The Undersiders seemed to just be a bunch of teenagers, so it was possible they were exactly as advertised, small time thieves who mostly hit the other gangs.

It was the tail end of lunch and I hadn't left campus to get food. I walked around, mostly observing people and thinking about my plans. Teenagers really were odd. The way they divided themselves up by archetype. There was a clique for everything and then there were just groups of friends. Winslow being the crap hole it was, the cliques usually boiled down to gangs. Empire 88 members sat together and had parts of the school they went to, ABB or Azn Bad Boy members had their own places. Sports members usually sat with their teammates and the like. The popular girls were the exception. Sophia, despite being on the track team, sat with Emma and Madison, who surrounded themselves with social vultures.

I noticed a non-vandalized vending machine and decided to get something to drink. I noticed, but ignored The Trio coming towards me.

"Oh wow, I didn't think people actually bought things from the vending machines here. Are you sure you can afford that?" Emma asked.

"She probably got the money turning tricks for Merchants," Another girl said.

"That wouldn't surprise me, she's always been a slut," Another said.

I popped the top on my canned coffee and took a sip, grimacing at the taste.

"Ugh, the coffee here is fucking awful," I said to myself, looking at the can.

"Maybe if she was smarter she'd know not to eat the trash here," A girl said.

"Well, they say you are what you eat," Madison said.

"Like, canned coffee is supposed to be cold, right?" I wondered aloud.

"Trash is a complement for someone like her," Emma said.

"More like pond scum," Another laughed.

"This coffee isn't cold, but it isn't hot either. It's just lukewarm," I said, examining the can.

"Maybe she's on drugs," Madison suggested.

"Oh? Is that where you've been Taylor? Went to go shoot up with your junkie marks?" Emma asked.

I looked up from my coffee to see the group of girls staring at me.

"Have… Have you been talking to me this whole time? Because I'll be honest, I haven't heard a thing you were saying." Which was true. I knew they were there, knew they were talking, but none of it registered. The coffee was just that bad. My lack of reaction also seemed to get a rise out of Sophia and Emma.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised with how out of it you've been all week. Are you on uppers or downers?"

"It's called thinking. I'd say you should try to do more of it, but we both know you don't have the capacity for that." I took a sip of coffee and fought the grimace that threatened to appear. I'd definitely not be buying anything from the vending machines here again.

"Oh? You think you can stand up to us now?" Emma asked.

"There's nothing to stand up to. We certainly aren't on the same level."

"Of course we aren't," One of the girls said, only to be silenced by a glare from Sophia.

"So you think you can just start talking back, huh, Hebert?"

"I do what I want."

"You mean like cry non stop for a week?" Emma asked.

"Wow. Using my moms death against me huh? Certainly a new low, Emma. Do your new friends know you'll sell them out the second they stop bing convenient for you to have around?" I asked. She looked actually shocked at that point, and the other girls looked just as surprised.

"Shut your mouth, Hebert! You should show respect to your betters."

"I will if I meet any," I replied coolly. I almost smirked at the rage in her face.

"Like the Nine?" Madison asked, trying to get some momentum back. "You gave a pretty impassioned speech about them on Monday."

"She so did." One of the groupies said.

"It makes sense the loner outcast would admire a bunch of killers."

"I don't admire hu-Capes. Though if anyone here belongs in the Nine it'd be Emma, Sophia and… Well, not you Madison. I'm sure you know by now you're just a groupie." I said.

Sophia slammed me against the vending machine, though I barely felt it.

"What was that?"

"Are you deaf now too? You and Emma would be perfectly at home in the Nine. Hell, if you weren't black I'm sure the Empire would love someone like you. Though right now they probably just see you as a perfect example of their view point."

"You bitch!" She slammed me against the vending machine again, but I just casually sipped my terrible coffee.

"Sophia!" Emma shouted. Sophia stopped and looked at her. I could easily read the silent conversation between the two of them.

"Wow, Emma certainly has you wrapped around her finger. And here I thought you wore the pants, Sophia. Does she make you wear a collar to bed, too?"

That seemed to be the last straw. With a frustrated cry she swung at me, trying to hit me square in the jaw. I side stepped the attack and watched in mild amusement as her hand went right through the glass of the vending machine. The cry of pain following the one of anger must have been enough to draw attention because a teacher suddenly came rushing up. Mrs. Shorthouse, the art teacher, I recalled. She had elbow length shiny black hair and a thin form. She was rather short for a woman of her age, standing somewhere on the cusp of 5 feet. She was second generation Japanese, as she liked to tell us during art class whenever she got the chance, so her size wasn't all that surprising.

"What happened here?" She asked.

I wouldn't have been able to get a word in edgewise if I tried. Emma, Madison, and the groupies immediately started in on how it was all my fault. After a few seconds she stopped them.

"One of you take Sophia to the infirmary. The rest of you are coming with me to the office."

—

I was sitting in the office with Blackwell, Sophia, and some blonde lady that had shown up. Sophia's arm was wrapped in bandages and she was grinding her teeth like she was still in pain.

"I have a question," I said, raising my hand.

"What?" Blackwell asked. Her narrow frame did nothing to intimidate me, but she had harsh eyes, which probably scared a lot of people.

"Who's that blonde lady?"

"That's Sophia's case worker, here in place of her mother. Now—."

"I have another question," I raised my hand again.

"What?" Her voice was more harsh this time.

"If Sophia's guardian is here, why isn't my dad?"

"I didn't feel it prudent to call him—."

"You didn't even call him? Wow, top notch professionalism right there." I held back a smirk at the glare leveled at me.

"I didn't feel it necessary."

"But you felt it necessary to call Sophia's guardian. I don't know. Something isn't adding up here." I took a sip of my coffee and grimaced at the taste. Even after warming it with some fire magic it still tasted like ground up dirt.

"Can we get this going? I've got things I need to be doing." The blonde lady said, also shooting me a look.

"Of course. Nearly half an hour ago Mrs. Shorthouse brought Taylor, Emma, Madison, Julia, Sarah, Kim, and Angel to my office while Sophia was sent to the infirmary. I had all the students explain to me what happened except for these two. The other girls said Taylor started it."

I scoffed and took a sip of coffee.

"She did." Sophia said. "Started going off on us and pushed me into the vending machine when we tried to walk away."

"Is that really the best you could come up with?" I asked.

"I take it you have a different set of events to tell us, Ms. Hebert?"

"I do," I said, taking a sip of coffee and grimacing. "So, I was walking around and saw a vending machine that was actually working. I figure I'd grab a drink just cause. Emma and her friends roll up and start talking but I'm not paying attention because I'm too focused on the fucking awful coffee." I say holding up the can. "Seriously, it's so bad. Canned coffee is supposed to be cold, or at the very least hot, but this is lukewarm. Who sells lukewarm coffee? I know the school is kind of a dumpster but why sell drinks if there's no refrigeration unit so that the drinks are actually cold like they're supposed—."

"Get to the point, Ms. Hebert." Blackwell interrupted.

"Huh? Oh, right, so long story short, they roll up, start talking trash, I talk trash back, Sophia doesn't like what I have to say and tries to punch me. I dodge and boom, broken vending machine."

"You expect me to believe this?" Blackwell asked.

"I don't care enough to lie to you about a damn thing."

"You've certainly told me some tall tales before."

"I've never lied to you about a damn thing." I said.

"So you really expect me to believe you when six other girls all support what Sophia has said?"

"Well, let's look at the evidence." I said.

"What evidence?" She scowled.

"Exhibit A would be the fact that I have nothing to lie about, but since you seem to be out to get me—."

"I'm not out to get anyone."

"Certainly could have fooled me. Anyway, since you seem out to get me we can skip that and move on to the physical evidence. Exhibit B, Me."

"You?"

"Me. Look at me." I said gesturing to myself. "I'm built like a fucking pool noodle. I'm underweight and have no muscle mass to speak of. I don't work out and can barely do a quarter of the track before getting winded. Sophia is one of the top track runners and is mostly muscle. Do you really think I would be capable of pushing her with enough force to break the glass on a vending machine? I'm pretty sure if I tried to push her I'd bounce off her like ball."

Blackwell didn't seem to have anything to say to that. Instead she just looked perplexed. Like she wasn't used to people using logic against her.

"Exhibit C," I continued, "would be that only Sophia's arm went through the glass. So, assuming I actually was capable of pushing her hard enough to break that glass, why would only her hand be hurt? Why would only her arm go through the glass if I pushed her? Do you not know how getting pushed works or something? If I were, in fact, capable of pushing Sophia that hard then she would have gone through shoulder or back first and ended up slumped against the cans inside the vending machine, not with some cuts on her hand and arm."

The room was silent as I took another sip of my terrible coffee. I probably should have just thrown it out, but I paid for it so I would finish it. I'd just have to skip the rest of the day to get something good.

"And what do you expect me to do, assuming I believe you?" Blackwell asks.

"Nothing."

Even Sophia looks confused by my answer.

"What?"

"I don't expect you to do anything about it. What I want, however, is for you to stop trying to punish me for random bullshit."

"Ms. Hebert you can't—."

"No, what you can't do is throw the fucking book at me for any random story they try to pin on me. If they can't be punished without proof, neither can I, and proof doesn't include half assed word of mouth. I'm sick of their shit and I'm most definitely sick of yours. What I expect you to do is be a fucking professional in how you handle these things but since we're a few light years past that option the least you can do is be consistent in your standards." I down the rest of my coffee and stand up. "And if you 'feel it necessary' to call my father for this, don't leave out the part about you intentionally not calling him about the initial issue. I'm sure he'd love to hear about that." I dropped the can in trash next to her desk and left.

I didn't need to slam the door, as I wasn't all that angry and felt I'd made my point. The secretary side eyed me as I walked from the office. She thought me a trouble maker for all my complaints. I flipped her off as I passed by, feeling just a bit petty. After that I was definitely done with school for the day, so I just went home.