《Intelegant And The Hero Hunt》 1.1 AAAEEH says the blaring alarm, over and over again. Fed up with the repeated sound, the robber, a pink and red, spandex clad super villain, silences it by shooting it with one of the spring-like projectiles loading her homemade gun. With a clang the spring hits the alarm. It stops blaring as the spring falls, hits the ground and rolls towards the front counter. After a moment of quiet, the female bad guy vocalizes her success. ¡°That¡¯s better.¡± She makes eye contact with one of her hostages and smiles. ¡°It was starting to give me a headache.¡± The hostage quickly puts their head back down. The only sound in the bank, other than it¡¯s occupants'' breaths, is Intelegant, the villain¡¯s footsteps as they walk to where the spring projectile fell. The youngest of her hostages, a five year old girl, looks up at her as she walks by. Again, the villain makes eye contact and smiles, but the girl doesn¡¯t back down. ¡°You on news.¡± The little girl¡¯s mother moves to stop her, but stops when Intelegant glares at her. ¡°Sit up, I want to get a look at you,¡± she says to the child. ¡°You cool,¡± the child informs the villain. ¡°Why thank you.¡± Intelegant fakes pushing hair behind her ear. Her hair is hidden in her costume, it¡¯s under a cap and a hood. ¡°Mom says I can¡¯t be you ¡®cause you bad. Why you bad?¡± Intelegant puts a hand to her chin. ¡°I¡¯ve never really thought about it. Why do you think?¡± The little girl is confused. The villain answers her own question. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m evil. Mwahahaha!¡± The little girl laughs. A couple of the other hostages snicker at the same time. Intelegant smiles. ¡°Truly evil!¡± She jumps over to her weapon¡¯s projectile, still lying on the ground, and scoops it up as more of the hostages join in the laughter. She leans on the counter as she puts the spring back into her gun. ¡°You, at the counter, can I have some money?¡± The worker behind the counter seems much too calm. ¡°Do you have something to put it in?¡± ¡°Nope. You got anything?¡± Intelegant¡¯s looking over the counter at what¡¯s on the other side. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Not used to bank robbers?¡± ¡°We prefer not to help them when they do come.¡± The seasoned worker isn¡¯t at all worried, he¡¯s just interested in seeing how this will end. ¡°Probably smart, but-¡± the villain is cut off by the door slamming open. In bursts a second spandex-clad super, this one a hero. ¡°Naturalist!¡± One of the hostages shouts happily. The hero, apparently named Naturalist, lands in the center of the bank in a heroic pose. ¡°Stop right there, Intelegant!¡± The supervillain laughs, strikes her own pose and points the gun at him. ¡°You actually think you can stop me?!¡± ¡°I have before,¡± the hunky-looking, brown-haired hero says snarkily. ¡°That was a long time ago, Naturalist!¡± ¡°It was three weeks ago.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure three weeks is a long time for you. You know, since you obviously can¡¯t keep a job or relationship with your hero schedule,¡± she says with a smirk.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. From under his branch themed mask, he raises an eyebrow. ¡°And you think your villain schedule is better? You must spend hours every day coming up with your awful plans to defeat me.¡± ¡°At least I can control when I work instead of running around getting cats out of trees twenty-four seven.¡± ¡°I get to help people every day; I couldn¡¯t be happier!¡± ¡°I get to do what I love every day, I make money from it and I don¡¯t look like shit.¡± His costume is a brown onesie while hers is intricate, armored, and customized. ¡°Is this normal?¡± one of the people that happened to be in the bank when the villain attacked whispers just a little too loudly. The guy is very old and spends most of his days inside his house doing who knows what, so he¡¯s rather disconnected from the world and does not know the unique way these two weirdos function, specifically Intelegant; she insists on chatting with her opponent. ¡°Is what normal?¡± the hero asks. The civilian blushes. ¡°I-I just meant that police and the people they are trying to catch don¡¯t usually¡­ talk the way you guys do.¡± The person lying beside him, a college student with a roommate that¡¯s a huge fan of the two, gives him a deadpan look as if to say, ¡°How could you not know this?¡± which makes his blush deepen. ¡°The banter is the best part of being a supervillain,¡± Intelegant says. ¡°The police don¡¯t let me do this, but this guy is fun to mess with, especially since he always shows up to ¡®stop me¡¯.¡± She mimes air quotes. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Naturalist ignores Intelegant and speaks directly to the citizen. ¡°But I do this to get her to reveal all her plans, so I can catch her easier.¡± In reality, he just enjoys talking to her. ¡°Good job!¡± the villain claps. ¡°You finally learned how to use your brain when dealing with me!¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have said anything,¡± the person lying beside the man mutters to him. ¡°Put down the weapon right now and I¡¯ll try to get you a reduced sentence.¡± ¡°Ha! You¡¯ve never been able to catch me before! What makes you think this time is any different? ¡®Cause there¡¯s no way in heck that I¡¯m going down.¡± She starts boxing the air with the hand not holding her gun. ¡°What does that gun even do?¡± he asks. ¡°Attack me and you¡¯ll find out.¡± She has a huge smile under her gas mask like face covering. Naturalist rushes towards the villain. BZZZZZTT! A metal spring shoots out of the gun. Naturalist dodges it. ¡°No fair! You have super speed,¡± the childish girl says with a pout as the hero gets closer to her. ¡°If that¡¯s not fair then your mystery guns aren¡¯t either.¡± He punches her in the gut, throwing her into the counter behind her. ¡°That¡¯s different! I had to work for my weapons and you got yours just ¡®cause you were born,¡± she says as she gets up, seemingly unaffected by the punch. ¡°You know, I¡¯m always going to show up and defeat you.¡± He picks her up by her black hood. She takes the chance to shoot him square in the chest. Naturalist goes limp. The second he¡¯s down the supervillain smiles and leaves with a ¡°Tata!¡±. The hero gets up within less than a minute, looking rather annoyed. ¡°She made a taser,¡± he mutters as he starts running after her. ¡°A really strong taser!¡± she shouts from outside of the bank. Naturalist finds Intelegant as soon as he leaves the building; she¡¯s at the top of a ladder on the side of the building beside the bank. ¡°Get back here!¡± ¡°No way!¡± She climbs on top of the building. He flies up to her and followers after her as she runs across the roof of the fast food place next to the bank. ¡°Why are you running up here? It¡¯s slower and more dangerous than just running normally.¡± He sounds annoyed. She turns and blows a raspberry at him. ¡°I like it this way.¡± She emphasizes the thought by jumping to another roof. He flies over and starts catching up to her. ¡°You¡¯re going to get yourself killed,¡± he states. She doesn¡¯t respond. He floats over beside her and reaches for her hand to stop her so he can bring her to the cops. She has been waiting for this second and uses it to shoot him with her homemade taser again which results in him faceplanting in the roof. ¡°See you later!¡± she yells as she keeps running. Once Naturalist¡¯s recovered, Intelegant¡¯s nowhere to be found. She simply vanished. That¡¯s how these interactions always end: Intelegant disappears but she always shows up in a few weeks so no one tries too hard to find her. While Naturalist¡¯s arch nemesis is gone, he has to deal with more boring things like regular criminals and his day-to-day life. Intelegant is the only person brave enough to be a supervillain in Naturalist¡¯s city. He has super speed, super strength, and he can fly. After his first sighting, the public named him Naturalist because of his color scheme. They later learned that his powers had nothing to do with nature, but the name still stuck. The hero has an impressive reputation due to never being defeated, yet his nemesis is seen as easy to defeat. The reason that she¡¯s such a formidable opponent has a lot to do with the girl''s intelligence, and his ability to never stop underestimating her, but the public says it¡¯s because he likes her. He does like her, but that doesn¡¯t affect their fights¡­ much. He thinks they¡¯re destined to be together, but they¡¯re not, they can¡¯t be. Why? Because one of them has never and will never be attracted to a member of the opposite sex. 1.2 I turn on my house lights as I walk though its doorway. I fling my purse to the side as I close the door. I pull off my oversized sweatpants before turning the lock. Under the sweatpants is another layer, my super suit. The super suit is for when I''m Intelegant. It comes with a mask too, but I took that off earlier; it''s in my purse. The costume, even though it was made to fit me perfectly, is uncomfortable. It''s not the material that''s making it crappy, it''s the swelling bruises from Naturalist. On the bright side, I''m not breaking bones anymore. That used to happen a lot. Over the years I''ve armored myself up enough to withstand gunshots, attacked and super powered punches. I start the process of taking the costume off in the corridor. I live alone in the middle of the forest so I¡¯m sure no one will see. I just don¡¯t feel like walking all the way to my room. It''s like removing a layer of rock. Sometimes, I wish I had superpowers. If I did I wouldn''t have to bury myself in all the supplies I''ve stuffed into the bulky costume. With the costume laying on the floor I stroll to my purse. Every step aggravates the bruise blooming in my stomach. The purse is on the floor. I need it. I can''t get it without tensing the muscles under the bruise. What do I do now? All I need from it is my contact holder. I might be able to find something else that works in the bathroom, but that''s not a guarantee and I''ll have to walk to get there. At least if I take my chances here, it''ll be over quickly. I lean down, ow, and grab the contact¡¯s box. I pluck the brown pieces of plastic from my eyes and stick them where they belong. I don¡¯t have to wear them, but as my alter-ego, I like to. It¡¯s hard to see my eyes through the costume''s goggles, but if someone were to look close enough, I don¡¯t want them noticing that my eyes are pink. Aif they did they might realize who I am, after all my family is the only one with the condition that causes pink eyes. Albinism runs in my family. It usually comes with a superpower that makes you a genius, but in my case, it didn¡¯t. Maybe that¡¯s why I go out galavanting as Intelegant? If that¡¯s the reason, I really wish I had a superpower because if I did I wouldn¡¯t have the ugly purple bruise decorating my abdomen. It¡¯s worse than what I usually get, but at least I didn¡¯t break anything. It was very common when I first started fighting him. He was the first person I had to do hand to hand combat with and I was unprepared. I¡¯m prepared now. I have giant ice packs and a plan to take the rest of the day off. I walk over to my kitchen and grab one of them. I consider grabbing a second for the yellowing bruise on my back from our last fight but I decide against it. Doing that would make me feel like a baby and I¡¯m not a baby. Babies don¡¯t ignore being shot so they can look cool. I¡¯ve been shot a couple times as Intelegant, but most of them were towards the beginning of my career. I¡¯ve never been seriously injured, but about a year into doing this, a police man shot me in the leg. At the time only my chest was armored so it made me bleed. Luckily, I was running away at the time so they didn¡¯t see my injury or check into whether I¡¯d left trace evidence. I still can¡¯t believe I got away with that. I thought, at the very least, it¡¯d lead to people figuring out that I¡¯m not a super, but nope, that didn¡¯t happen. Everyone still believes that I¡¯m some mythical villain who can¡¯t be defeated rather than a scared little rich girl. Ice pack in hand, I go to my living room. The couch is calling my name. I wrap myself in the blanket laying across it and turn on the TV. What do watch? Right now, a man at a desk is spewing news at me and I don¡¯t want to listen to that. I switch to my go-to show, a corny, romance anime. Bundled with my favorite show, I let my exhaustion overwhelm me. ¡°... I¡¯ll never leave you!¡± the protagonist''s love interest declares. I snicker at the redundant sentiment. Everyone leaves, whether it be through choice or circumstance. Maybe it¡¯s thoughts like that that made me choose being a villain over being a hero? Now that I think about it, that¡¯s a great reason to act as the villain. As the bad guy I¡¯m never the victim. I am the terrifying villain that never gives up or backs down. I¡¯m the fun loving Intelegant and as her, I don¡¯t have to worry about everything. I love being my version of the villain and I don¡¯t think I¡¯d give it up for anything. She makes my life interesting and because of that I will never change her or anything about her. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I chose this life. I choose to keep going out there in that ridiculous costume and acting silly to make people happy. The villain in this show does it for the money, but not me. I don¡¯t need money; after my parents died they left me money and a legacy that leaves me with no time to want anything. The money¡¯s great but the legacy is stressful. Everyone has these expectations of me because of it. The worst part is being forced to take over my mother''s business. One good thing about being in charge of Smalls Industries is that I do most of my work from home. My mom worked from home the entire time she made and ran the company, but it¡¯s still anxiety inducing; Intelegant is my solution for that. I do whatever I want, and then I ¡°forget¡± to do whatever evil plan I made up. Because of that, I¡¯ve become more of a running joke than a villain and honestly, I love it. I love hearing the silly impressions of Intelegant my employees like to pull out when they¡¯re trying to get on my good side and that one guy¡¯s videos where he voices over me and Naturalist. I¡¯m her because she¡¯s not perfect, she has flaws. She¡¯s funny, allowed to make mistakes and most importantly her reputation doesn¡¯t matter. After all, Intelegant isn¡¯t me. As her, I¡¯m silly and I don''t have to worry about everything. People might not take me seriously as her, but it would be so much worse if people didn¡¯t respect the real me. As her, my flaws have bright sides like the built-in surprise attack that comes with dealing with the people who think I¡¯m not a real villain. The people who hate my alter ego like to say I¡¯m a fake villain. I think they¡¯re looking at it wrong. I¡¯m not a fake villain, I¡¯m just a cartoon villain who doesn¡¯t want to hurt people. The villains are much more interesting anyway. Take the Little Mermaid as an example. Its villain is a cool sea witch. She lives alone and supports herself because everyone else doesn¡¯t like her. Heck, her movie design is based off a drag queen. Who wouldn¡¯t want to be like that, especially when you consider your other options. There¡¯s a dull prince who marries someone because they sound nice, and a naive girl that gives up everything for a man she just met. Now I¡¯m in the mood to watch The Little Mermaid. While looking for that movie, I end up scrolling though several other modern adaptations of my favorite fairy tales. Cinderella is another good example of a story where the villain is much more interesting than its hero. In all the adaptations Cinderella¡¯s characterization stays the same, a pretty, young girl who is unable to make mistakes, act out or do anything out of line with societal expectations. Her step mother, on the other hand, defies every expectation. She started out as a single mother of two kids before marrying into a different family. Complex motivations drive her to treat her step daughter badly while striving to give her biological daughters the best life they could hope for. She¡¯s harsh and mean, but unlike Cinderella, she feels human. I find the movie I was originally looking for but, once I click on it, an ad opens. ¡°This winter! Meet the real Snow White,¡± the announcer declares. I guess they¡¯re making another Snow White remake. She¡¯s another example of a boring hero, but rather than diving into why I hate her, I should do something. I¡¯ve already laid here for ten minutes. I need to take a shower and eat before I let myself sleep. Maybe before that, I¡¯ll- The thought is cut off by my rumbling stomach. Fine, fine, I¡¯ll get up. I can¡¯t help but groan as I roll off the comfortable couch and step away from my warm blanket. What should I eat? Looking around my kitchen, I don¡¯t have much. I¡¯ll have to hit the grocery store soon, actually, I might do that later today, if I¡¯m feeling up to it. Checking the fridge, I¡¯ve got milk and butter which means I can make Mac and cheese. If I really wanted to I could start the water boiling while I took a shower, but that¡¯s a fire hazard so I won¡¯t do that. I know where the pots are, but I can¡¯t seem to remember where I put the strainer. It¡¯s not under the usual counter. Not by the oven either. Maybe beside the fridge? No, it¡¯s not there, but something else is. Once I see it my heart starts pounding. What¡¯s it doing here? I thought I threw it away. With shaking fingers, I reach into the drawer and touch the apron that¡¯s spawned my anxiety. It¡¯s merely clothes, cheap cloth sewn together, but it feels like so much more. I want to put it back and forget I ever saw it, but for some reason, I¡¯m not doing that. I grab the neck hole and let the rest of it fall. It¡¯s tan, other than the small red splotches along the seams. They hand-sewed it. They had never done anything like this before and kept pricking their fingers. They were embarrassed that they didn¡¯t have a better gift. Part of me misses them, but only a small part. The rest of me hates them, almost as much as I hate myself for turning the kid that made this apron into the person who almost ruined both of us. Thinking about it, a bitter laugh bubbles out of me. They started changing the day they gave me this. It was my fault, but I still hate them. I know they can¡¯t hear me, but I say it anyway. ¡°I hate you so much.¡± 1.3 Imagine living in a world with superheroes. Imagine being a powerless human, knowing at anypoint one of these immensely powerful beings could completely change your life. You don¡¯t even have the security of living somewhere under the ¡®fake villain¡¯s¡¯ domain. Actually, at the moment, it¡¯s years before Intelegant made her appearance. You know who you are, but right now you¡¯re not you. Right now you''re someone that lives in this super world. You¡¯re someone who¡¯s been late to school because a supervillain blocked the road you usually take. As of right now, you¡¯re Avery Brown, and you¡¯re stuck in the center of everything. Before now, Avery was bland and boring, but with you to spark them, their life is about to get a lot more interesting. Take the day when they met Jackie as an example. It¡¯s the first time you and Avery are together and because you¡¯re there, so¡¯s a kid version of Intelegant. Avery¡¯s mother left you in the park so she could have coffee with her friends at a shop. The coffee shop is directly beside the playground and the two are sitting outside, where you can see them, so you don¡¯t feel worried about them leaving. At first you didn¡¯t notice the other child playing on the swings, but once you did you were shocked. She looks different. Her hair is white and her skin extremely pale. Those things alone didn¡¯t make her too strange, what really stood out about her was her eyes; they¡¯re a milky pink. You walked up to her and said hi. Part of you thought she was the tooth fairy, but you didn¡¯t say that, you just said hi. She didn¡¯t respond. She didn¡¯t even look at you. She kept swinging like you weren''t there. You wanted her to stop. You wanted her to acknowledge you. You yelled that she was mean, but again, she didn''t react. You thought about stepping in front of the swing and forcing it to stop, but your mother told you not to do that. She said it was dangerous. You huffed and left the girl to her swinging. You thought you could have more fun by yourself anyway, so you tried to. You had a lot of fun playing all by yourself. You had a great time until you fell off the monkey bars. You skinned your hands and knees. It hurt. You were bleeding. Not knowing what else to do, you started crying. You yelled for your mom, but she was buying another cup of coffee. She didn¡¯t hear you, but someone else did. The little girl from the swing walked up to you with a first aid kit. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You don¡¯t have to cry.¡± You were surprised by her so your sobs stopped. The tears kept falling. She knelt down and hugged you. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she whispered gently. ¡°I can help.¡± She opened her first aid kit and started fidgeting through it. You stared at her as she cleaned your stinging wounds. It didn¡¯t hurt as much as you thought it should. You remember thinking she might be magic. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Your mother came over. She was worried. She said she saw the first aid kid and wanted to make sure no one was hurt. She took over. The girl waited till she was done to grab her things and run. From then on every time you¡¯d see her you¡¯d think, she¡¯s weird. The next time you speak to her. The next time you two interact is today. It¡¯s because your dog ran away. Imagine a rainy day, the kind of day where it feels like it will never stop pouring. That¡¯s what it¡¯s like today. You know her name is Jackie. Your mom told you that after your first interaction. You know she¡¯s a member of the Smalls family, the equivalent of town royalty. You know that since her dad died in the bombing, her mom hasn¡¯t left the house. You know that even though she¡¯s sixteen, two years older than you, she¡¯s about to start her senior year. You know that she¡¯s kind, so kind that after finding your dog she walked to your house to return him. About a week ago your dog bolted out the door and disappeared. After a few days of looking you and your family were starting to think he died. It¡¯s a rainy saturday. Your parents are working. They run their own restaurant. It¡¯s right by all the new buildings that are being built. Ms. Smalls commissioned many of them. She said that she was going to turn our little town into a destination city. Few people like her idea, but no one can stop her. You were home alone, watching some TV, when your doorbell rang. You jumped up and ran to it, thinking that maybe someone found your dog. Maybe they saw the address on his tag and brought him home. When you swung open the door there your dog was, in the arms of Jackie Smalls. That¡¯s where you stand now, at your doorway, Jackie directly in front of you. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± you ask, very impolitely. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± you try to retract your rude statement. ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect to see you.¡± She chooses to ignore what you said. ¡°Is this your dog?¡± You look at the shaking terrier. ¡°Yeah.¡± You feel awkward. ¡°He¡¯s been lost for a week. How did you find him?¡± ¡°There are lots of animals in the woods around my house, but no dogs.¡± She puts him down and he runs inside. ¡°When I heard him I thought someone had strayed from the path. That happens sometimes. I figured I¡¯d help and headed out, that¡¯s when I found him.¡± ¡°Sorry if he was a pain. He hates most people.¡± She smiles. ¡°I could tell. He hid for an hour before I found him.¡± ¡°How¡¯d you know he was there?¡± You realize that she might not understand the question. ¡°I mean, if he was hiding for so long?¡± ¡°I went back inside and there was more barking.¡± You chuckle. ¡°That sounds about right.¡± ¡°I lured him out with food and pet him a couple times, that¡¯s when I saw his collar. It took me some time, but eventually I got a close enough look to see the address and decided to take him back home.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had a car.¡± you say like a creep. You kind of are. You stalk all her appearances in news papers and such, that¡¯s why you know that she doesn¡¯t or at least shouldn¡¯t have a car. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Luckily, she doesn¡¯t seem to notice how creepy you¡¯re being. ¡°Then how¡¯d you get here?¡± You really don¡¯t know when to shut up, do you? ¡°I walked.¡± ¡°In the rain!¡± you shout before you think better of it. She nods. ¡°It¡¯s pretty out.¡± You¡¯re too shocked to speak. She walked over a mile, with your stubborn dog, in the rain, to return said dog. ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Why did you just ask that? She turns from the rain to you. Her pink eyes glare at you. She doesn¡¯t yell at you, instead she turns back around and walks away. You messed up. 2.1 ¡°Breaking news,¡± the television host says to the camera: ¡°Intelegant is currently threatening to destroy the whole city.¡± The camera clips to Intelegant on a roof with a massive lazer-like destructive weapon. ¡°We now take you to our top reporter, Micheal Smith, our eyes on the situation.¡± The feed cuts to a trans man standing in a street surrounded by a crowd of people. ¡°Intelegant is waiting for someone to agree to her terms. Naturalist would usually take care of this situation, but today, he¡¯s late.¡± There¡¯s a click like something being plugged into a speaker. ¡°Hello, New Baru!¡± Intelegant says over every device she could get control of. (New Baru is what the city was named after it changed from a small town to the destination city it is now considered to be). The camera swivels her. As always she¡¯s wearing her black, pink, and red costume, but unlike always, she has a doomsday device. ¡°I¡¯m getting bored of waiting so either give me the money or I¡¯ll nuke these gawkers.¡± There are approximately one hundred or so people gathered to watch the villains antics. WOOSH ¡°Stop right there!¡± Naturalist says as he lands on the ground in front of the people she just threatened. ¡°I¡¯m not moving,¡± she says sassily. ¡°Hand over the weapon,¡± he says, his finger pointing dramatically in her direction. ¡°Oh, this little thing?¡± She shifts it so it points at him. ¡°Yes. Put it down and give yourself up.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the fun in that!?¡± ¡°Nothing about this is fun. You¡¯ve crossed a line this time. That could really hurt someone,¡± Naturalist declares with the voice of an anime protagonist. ¡°Chill out. I just made this to get you here,¡± Intelegant says evilly. ¡°What? Why would you do that?¡± Naturalist furrows his brows in confusion. ¡°I wanted to see if this worked.¡± Before Naturalist can respond, or react, she shoots him with the doomsday device. The crowd gasps, along with everyone watching the live news. The pulsing beam of blue light that connects the hero and device lasts for almost a minute, and in that time the onlookers book it out of there. They seemed to have jumped the gun because when the beam does taper off, Naturalist still stands, completely unaffected. ¡°What was that supposed to do?¡± the hero asks. The villain snaps her fingers. ¡°Gosh darn it! I thought it would work this time.¡± Intelegant pulls a screwdriver from her costume¡¯s belt and starts messing with her device. ¡°What are you doing now?¡± Naturalist sounds amused. ¡°Just give me a sec,¡± Inetelgant says as she sets the machine down and dips underneath the brim of the roof. The hero flies to her. He takes his time because the public isn¡¯t watching this fight, for once. He¡¯s been hoping for a chance to talk to Intelegant and convince her to become his sidekick, and this seems like the perfect chance.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The villain is too engrossed in the now exposed wires of her machine to notice. He walks over to her, and she still doesn¡¯t notice. She does notice when he taps her on the shoulder. At that point she jumps, turns, and waves a hand at him in a dismissive manner with a quick, ¡°Go away.¡± Naturalist thinks it¡¯s cute. ¡°Where¡¯s the fun in that,¡± he says, quoting her earlier words. ¡°Shh, shh. I¡¯m busy.¡± ¡°What are you busy doing?¡± Rather than responding she closes the hatch showing the exposed wires. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± She sounds the same as she did right before she shot him the first time. Naturalist recognizes the similarities and dodges. A beam of blue light flies into the sky. ¡°Stay still,¡± she says as she shifts the machine, moving the beam towards him. He floats away from the beam at the same slow pace it follows him. ¡°Tell me what it¡¯s supposed to do first.¡± ¡°Stay still and maybe I¡¯ll tell you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it works.¡± ¡°Says who?¡± She swings the beam wildly. It doesn¡¯t hit him, but it convinces him to destroy the device. He flies to its side and picks it up. ¡°Hey! Give that back!¡± She reaches for the device. He holds it over the edge of the building so she can¡¯t get it. ¡°Tell me what it does and maybe I will.¡± ¡°Fine¡­¡± He lowers his guard slightly as he waits for the explanation. She draws the taser gun from last time out of her fanny pack and shoots him. Naturalist goes down. As the hero goes limp, he loses his grip on the device, so it tumbles off the building toward its destruction. ¡°Well that¡¯s just great.¡± Intelegant pouts. ¡°I worked really hard on that too.¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s broken, will you tell me what it does?¡± the hero says as he starts to get back up. ¡°No.¡± She zaps him with the taser again and starts running away. She¡¯s added a sting and a winder so after the projectile is shot, all she has to do is press a button and it shoots back into the gun, ready to be shot again. ¡°Why are you like this?¡± Naturalist groans as he gets up. He doesn¡¯t expect her to have stayed close to him, but he didn¡¯t expect her to have managed to travel across three buildings in the time it took him to recover. He stands up, shoots off the roof and flies over to her. Her response is to shout, ¡°How are you always so fast???¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just slow,¡± he suggests with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m not! Well, I¡¯m not until you compare me to a superspeed-having freak!¡± She turns to him as she speaks. She planned to stick out her tongue once she was done talking but before she could, she trips. Intelegant¡¯s momentum carries her the rest of the way to the edge of the building and from there she falls. Naturalist, acting on instinct, speeds up and grabs her before she can crash into the ground. ¡°I told you doing this would get you killed.¡± He¡¯s holding her by one foot. ¡°I could survive the fall,¡± she says confidently. ¡°Then maybe I¡¯ll drop you,¡± he lets go for half a second. The instantaneous fear that takes over Intelegant is palpable, but Naturalist doesn¡¯t pick up on it, in fact he mocks her. ¡°Is someone scared?¡± He looks down at the villain, ready for one of her snappy quips. Instead of seeing the girl he knows, he sees terror. Intelegant has grabbed onto an alley wall and is clinging to it, like a scared cat. Just as quickly as the glint of fear appeared, it vanishes. She lets go of the building once she sees Naturalist looking at her and declares, ¡°Nothing scares me!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡± Naturalist gently sets her on the roof that she was trying to jump to as he backpedals. ¡°Wasn¡¯t scared, but thanks for the chance to escape.¡± She tazes him again. He falls onto the roof as she starts running away. He probably could have gotten up sooner than he does, but he is too consumed by his thoughts. He wonders why she was only scared then and not at any other time. He wonders how she so quickly erased all signs of that fear. He ponders how this will affect his plan to confess to her. Maybe she¡¯ll run away to a different city and he¡¯ll never see her again? Maybe she won¡¯t act the same after this because she¡¯s scared of what he can do? He can understand that because he thinks this is what will make her realize that he¡¯s dangerous. As he goes back to his apartment, he decides that the next time he sees her he¡¯ll get her alone, somewhere that the media can¡¯t see them, and he¡¯ll tell her everything. He¡¯ll tell her how he wants to date her, how special he thinks she is, and ask her to be his sidekick. As he returns home that day he swears to himself that he¡¯ll go through with his plan. 2.2 I almost died. I¡¯m sitting with my back to the disgusting wall of the alley where I left my stuff. I¡¯m trying to stop myself from hyperventilating. I managed to shove on my civilian clothes and stuff my mask in my purse before what happened sunk in, so I don¡¯t have to worry about people catching me as Intelegant. I was careless and I fell off a freaking three-story building! If Naturalist hadn¡¯t been there, I would be dead, or worse I could have gotten hurt in a way where I wouldn¡¯t be able to move and then they would have taken me to a hospital and everyone would know that Intelegant¡¯s really me, and- I have to calm down. Someone can still find me here and then the media will have a field day. Just imagine the headlines: ¡°Jackie Smalls Caves to the Stress¡± ¡°Smalls Can¡¯t Take it Anymore¡± ¡°The Chairman of Smalls Industries: No Longer Fit For Her Position?¡± ¡°Jackie Smalls: The Disappointment of Her Family¡± And then everyone would know that I don¡¯t live up to my parents. They¡¯d all realize how much of a failure I am and-and¡­ Calm down. Just calm down! I need to stop that. Yelling at myself won¡¯t help. I need to take a deep breath. In. And out. In. Out. In. Out. It¡¯s going to be okay. Everything¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t die. I¡¯m going to walk out of here, go to my car, and drive home. Then I¡¯m going to lay on the couch with popcorn and a horror movie and forget everything that happened today. The horror movie will make me forget everything else, so by the time it¡¯s done I¡¯ll feel better. Something tickles my neck. I turn and- Oh my freaking god! There¡¯s a huge beetle staring at me. It¡¯s so close that my breath moves it¡¯s antennas. I jerk away from it. It doesn¡¯t fall in my shirt, but it¡¯s still really close to me! I smack it with my hand. The first hit doesn¡¯t do anything, but the second sends it flying into the opposite wall. It hits with a thud, falls and then it slowly starts walking away. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. It crawls out of the alley, to where people are walking. All of them are too engrossed in what they are doing and where they¡¯re going to notice me or the bug. The step, step, stepping of people and the whooshing of cars as they pass by. Mumbles of the people on their phones and crinkles of whatever is in this alley with me. It¡¯s too loud to think, but that¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t have time to think, I don¡¯t have time to freak out. I put myself on autopilot as I stand. I swing my purse over my shoulder and join the wave of people. It¡¯s easy not to think. What¡¯s hard is keeping my breathing steady. I¡¯m surrounded. There are so many people. They bump into each other and me, but none of them seem to care. I hate crowds. They¡¯re too loud and they make me feel like I¡¯m suffocating; like the waves of people are really saltwater rushing into my lungs and- I need to calm down. I press my palm to my other wrist and feel my pulse through a vein. BUM-BUM BUM-BUM BUM-BUM It¡¯s very calming. BUM-BUM Just another block and then I¡¯ll get into my car and I won¡¯t have to deal with everyone being everywhere anymore. BUM-BUM Always good to remember that I¡¯m alive. BUM-BUM BUM-BUM BUM-BUM BUM-BUM Someone grabs my arm as they walk past. BUM-BUM BUM-BUM She''s a tall, well-dressed girl. BUM-BUM ¡°You¡¯re Jackie Smalls, aren¡¯t you?¡± she asks. BUM-BUM ¡°Yes.¡± I slip into the persona I present to the public. It''s a carbon copy of my mom. The persona is who I become when I¡¯m dealing with business and since the real me is too busy freaking out to deal with this person I¡¯ll be my other self. This stern buisness self is confident enough to ask, ¡°What do you want?¡± BUM-BUM ¡°I¡¯m a reporter for Breaking News and I¡¯d like a private interview with you.¡± BUM-BUM A reporter. This isn¡¯t good. She could find out everything if I mess up. ¡°I don¡¯t do private interviews.¡± I try to shrug her off but she doesn¡¯t let go of my arm. BUM-BUM ¡°I know that, but this is special,¡± she says. BUM-BUM I raise an eyebrow at her. ¡°And how is that?¡± BUM-BUM She leans closer and whispers into my ear: ¡°I know your secret.¡± BUM-BUM BUM-BUM BUM-BUM BUM-BUM BUM-BUM BUM-BUM ¡°...What?¡± BUM-BUM ¡°I know that you are Intelegant.¡± 2.3 ¡°How is Todo doing?¡± Jackie asks as she scratches Todo¡¯s chin. This can¡¯t be real. After weeks of agonizing over what you said, you this morning you made up your mind to approach her and now here she is, like magic. When you first met her, as a kid, you thought she was magic, you¡¯ve since dismissed the idea, but now. She looks up at you and tilts her head slightly to avoid the sun''s glare. ¡°A few months ago the dog got lost and I was the one who found him.¡± She stands up; she¡¯s a few inches taller than you. ¡°When I saw him, he started wagging, so I came over to pet him.¡± She looks at the dog with love, but when she looks at you, she¡¯s glaring. You want her to look at you, to care about you, the same way she cares about your dog. ¡°N-no problem at all! Todo hasn¡¯t been able to get out again so I¡¯d say he¡¯s been doing pretty good. Thanks again for bringing him home, though.¡± You should apologize before she realizes she doesn¡¯t have to keep talking to you. As the thought crosses her mind she turns and takes a step. You panic as she starts to leave. This can¡¯t be the end of this. You¡¯ve finally got the chance to talk to her, and you just blew it so, on instinct you reach out and grab her arm. She turns to you, but says nothing so you blush and let go of her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. About what I said last time and everything else.¡± She¡¯s still glaring. ¡°I know you¡¯ve got places to be but I need you to know I didn¡¯t mean it.¡± You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying, because the real reason you did what you did is too pathetic to tell her. ¡°...¡± She keeps staring at you. You blush, look away from her, and keep rambling. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just meant that I love my dog and I¡¯m really thankful. Is there anything you want as a thank you.¡± ¡°Do I make you uncomfortable?¡± You look up in surprise. ¡°What?¡± You¡¯re the one who insulted her, why¡¯s she apologizing? ¡°You have been acting strangely ever since I came over here.¡± ¡°No, no.¡± You shake your head. ¡°You don¡¯t make me uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Then why have you been acting so odd?¡± Another blush. ¡°I-uh¡­¡± What do you say? ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me, I was just curious.¡± She stays directly in front of you, still staring at you, but now there seems to be some kindness in her eyes. ¡°I was wondering if maybe you wanted to have dinner at my place?¡± You did say you wanted to thank her in some way and your parents had berated you for not inviting her in after she brought the dog home. Your mom is making dinner and she always makes way too much. You¡¯re sure she and your dad won¡¯t mind if you bring Jackie with you. She looks at you for a long moment before saying, ¡°That sounds nice.¡± ¡°We can do it now. We¡¯re having spaghetti tonight, that is, if you don¡¯t have any other plans.¡± Again, she pauses before speaking: ¡°Are you sure your parents won¡¯t mind?¡± ¡°No, of course. Wait, I mean they¡¯ll love to have you¡­ I¡¯m sorry, the term ¡®won¡¯t mind¡¯ has always confused me.¡± You laugh awkwardly. ¡°Have you invited random people to dinner with no warning before?¡± she asks. ¡°You¡¯re not random.¡± You manage to stop yourself before you say something to make you sound even more like a stalker. ¡°I mean, you brought our dog home. We owe you.¡± ¡°Do all forms of appreciation in your family include food?¡± She smiles slightly as your cheeks grow hotter. ¡°No,¡± you mutter. ¡°Then I¡¯m glad I get to experience such special circumstances.¡± Her smile is not like the ones on the news, the ones from interviews that the newspaper got by bothering her as she walked around the town. There have been many of those stories, asking her why her mother has opened up her father''s unfinished inventions to the world and in the process brought both scholars and tourists to the town. Interviews about how awful it is that Baru is becoming just another big city instead of the unique little town it was. The smiles on the covers of those papers show how annoyed and sad she was when they were taken. Those smiles were fake, just put there to be polite. This smile feels real.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Looking at the smile on her round face and seeing the slight dimples in her cheeks, it changes something. Tangible, everything¡¯s the same, but something¡¯s still different. It¡¯s like when you finally find a comfy way to sit after shifting around for several minutes. That change is that in your mind now that she¡¯s smiling, she¡¯s safe, trustworthy and not someone you have to be nervous around. ¡°... Aren¡¯t we going to go now?¡± she asks after a minute of you staring at her like a psycho. You shake yourself out of your¡­ bi panic? That is the best way you can describe what just happened. ¡°Yeah, my house is right this way.¡± You point in the direction of the Brown house. The house is actually blue, but that doesn¡¯t matter. The house shares your last name, it was your dad¡¯s idea of a joke. The two of you (three if you include Todo), begin walking in that direction. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you ended up getting sick because you walked in the rain,¡± you say awkwardly. She missed a couple school days because of it, so a news article labeled her a slacker. ¡°It was worth it.¡± She has an almost wistful look on her face. Her eyes close as she continues walking. ¡°I love the smell of rain, the sound of thunder, the soft feel of droplets on my face, the way lightning arcs across the sky, all the unique wildlife that comes out to enjoy it with me. Rain¡¯s one of my favorite things.¡± ¡°But, why?¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®why¡¯? I just told you why.¡± ¡°I mean, how can you like it so much? I hate it; it¡¯s just wet, cold and overall unbearable.¡± ¡°You should give it another try.¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± ¡°Seriously, you should. Next time there¡¯s a nice storm, take your friends and go dancing in the rain, it¡¯s freeing and fun.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think my friends would go for that sort of thing.¡± Thinking of your video game playing, nerdy friends you can¡¯t even imagine it. Again she pauses, ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll show you myself.¡± ¡°What?¡± Is she asking you to hang out? Maybe she¡¯s asking you out in a different way, like on a date? ¡°I haven¡¯t done rain activities with someone else before, but if you need me to show you I can. Oh. That¡¯s what she meant. Luckily, instead of trying to find a way to continue the conversation, your house comes into view and Todo starts pulling you towards it. You get to the door before Jackie and take out your key as Todo sniffs at the bottom of it. Once you open the door, Todo bolts inside. ¡°Where have you been?¡± Mom yells from the kitchen. ¡°I ran into a friend,¡± you yell to her as you let Jackie inside. She seems hesitant. ¡°I told you to make it quick, the dinner¡¯s been getting cold!¡± Mom yells again. ¡°It¡¯s Jackie, the girl who brought Todo back.¡± At his name you can hear the jingling of the dog''s collar as he runs back over to you. ¡°Really?¡± Dad says from the dining room. ¡°Did you tell her to stop by our place sometime?¡± ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s actually here with me. I said we¡¯d feed her.¡± You unhook Todo¡¯s leash as you speak. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say something sooner?¡± Mom asks before popping her head out of the kitchen. ¡°You two head into the dining room. What do you want, Jackie? We made spaghetti, but we¡¯ve also got leftover pizza in the fridge if you¡¯d prefer that.¡± ¡°Spaghetti would be great,¡± she says in a significantly quieter voice than the rest of the people yelling across the house. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°She said spaghetti¡¯s fine,¡± you repeat so your mom can hear. Jackie stays close to you as you walk to the dining room, almost like her being here makes her as nervous as it¡¯s making you. By the time you get there, your dad¡¯s already sitting at the head of the table. ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you, Jackie,¡± he says with a kind smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry we haven¡¯t gotten to thank you in person before now.¡± He gives you the stink eye. ¡°I was the one who refused to stick around after bringing Todo back, it wasn¡¯t Avery¡¯s fault.¡± She defended you even though you insulted her that first day. That is so sweet. ¡°He didn¡¯t mean anything by it,¡± you say as you pull out her chair for her. Your parents always taught you to be a gentleman and to take care of people, especially romantic partners, which you have no reason to be thinking about now! Jackie isn¡¯t your partner, you might be starting to wish she was but she isn¡¯t, so that¡¯s that. ¡°Yeah, I just like giving them a hard time,¡± Dad says. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they get me back for it.¡± He chuckles. ¡°The other day we were working in the restaurant together and I forgot to lock the door and they spent the whole walk back teasing me.¡± ¡°Is that normal for families to do?¡± Jackie asks as she sits down. ¡°Do what?¡± You ask back. ¡°Tease each other like this.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Every family is different, but we¡¯ve always been like this,¡± You answer. ¡°My parents were the same way with me,¡± Dad says. ¡°Me, too,¡± Mom agrees as she walks into the room with another plate for Jackie. She sets it down as she walks to her seat. ¡°Thank you,¡± Jackie says. ¡°It smells delicious.¡± ¡°It most certainly is! I am the head chef in our restaurant after all,¡± Mom brags. ¡°But on a more important note, how long has my child been hiding such a polite, well-mannered friend from us?¡± ¡°Mom! I wasn¡¯t hiding her. I literally just ran into her earlier.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± she gives you a look only moms and best friends know, it¡¯s coded and it means ¡®you like them¡¯. ¡°Mom!!!¡± 3.1 The usual interval between Intelegant sightings has passed. Most people haven¡¯t even noticed, but Naturalist has and it¡¯s stressing him out. The last time the hero and villain met, Intelegant fell off a building, and because of that Naturalist saw her scared for the first time. He decided that she¡¯d blame him and become scared of him if he didn¡¯t do something so, the next time he sees her he plans to confess. The only problem, that Naturalist sees, is her lack of recent appearances. This has prompted him to start looking for her, both in and outside of his superhero facade. At the moment he¡¯s in his civilian form. As a civilian he¡¯s Billy Thompson, the truck driver. He never stayed in one place for very long until he met Intelegant. Before meeting her there wasn¡¯t a fun part about being a hero. To him all being a hero was, was running around trying to save everyone and blaming himself for every horror story he heard. He first time he ran into Intelegant he was just passing through. She¡¯d been a villain for about two years or so and had fought and beaten most of the villains and the heroes in the area. ¡°My town!¡± she would declare, though she never hurt anyone the way a villain typically would. In her early days the only notable things she did, other than her theatrics, were the territory fights she¡¯d force all the other heroes and villains in the area into. Because of her, two heroes were put in jail. In her banter she made them reveal evil things they had done in the past. Most people think that she planted evidence, but both times the court sided with her. When Naturalist met Intelegant he was in town dropping off a refrigerated food truck. He heard she¡¯d taken an entire plaza hostage and went to help. It was a charity event. Everyone was dressed fancily and it was decorated like a high school prom. All the people were laying on the ground. Most looked bored, and some were complaining about their situation, though Intelegant, deaf to them, was standing on a table with a small gun in her hand, ranting away. ¡°I¡¯m going to turn you all into living bananas!¡± she proclaimed with an evil laugh. ¡°Stop right there,¡± Billy said as he always did when he first approached a villain. She gave him a once over, before dismissing him with a quick. ¡°Go away.¡± That threw Naturalist for a loop. ¡°What, no!¡± ¡°Why not?¡± she whined. ¡°You don¡¯t get anything out of this. If you leave, I¡¯ll give you¡­¡± She scans the area. Her eyes land on a table covered in food and she yells, ¡°That pizza!¡± After she said that he burst into a loud laugh. ¡°Why are you laughing? I¡¯m being serious.¡± She pouted at him but he just kept laughing. All he could think at the time was, ¡®This can¡¯t be real!¡¯ That¡¯s all he¡¯s been able to think about her ever since, except for when he saved her from falling off a building and saw the terror in her eyes. That scared look turned their comic-like interactions to reality. Billy is walking through the streets looking for ruffians and other dangerous people. He¡¯s doing so in the hopes that he¡¯ll find someone who¡¯ll be able to help him, or at least connect him to someone that can help him. He wants to find Intelegant¡¯s real identity. To most people, his plan would seem idiotic, which it probably will end up being, but Billy does have some logic behind his actions. In the past, he ran into a street vendor who claimed to be able to get anyone¡¯s secrets. He¡¯s already gone to the place where he found her but she wasn¡¯t there, so he¡¯s wandering through the city looking for her, or for anyone that can do what she claimed to be able to. So far he¡¯s had no luck.Stolen novel; please report. He notices a guy leaning against a wall in an alley; he looks like he¡¯s waiting for someone, anyone to approach him. Billy walks over to him. The man, who is there for a reason that has more to do with who just walked up to him than what he can offer, turns toward the newcomer. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not selling something?¡± ¡°... Depends. What are you looking for?¡± ¡°Some information.¡± He pulls out a cigarette and lighter from his coat. He lights it and takes a puff before saying, ¡°Name?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why you need to know what my name is.¡± He pushes off the wall and walks towards him. ¡°Look, you want info, but how am I gonna tell you anything if I can¡¯t find you?¡± ¡°... Billy Thompson.¡± ¡°Billy Thompson?¡± The man smiles to himself as he thinks about how lucky he is. ¡°Have you heard my name before?¡± Billy can tell something¡¯s off, but he¡¯s not prepared to leave yet. This man might still be able to help him. ¡°Nah, it just sounds like it¡¯s made up.¡± The guys is playing a part. ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± Billy assures. ¡°Got any proof of that?¡± He doesn¡¯t want to scare off the hero, but he knows that if he acts abnormally the hero will pick up on it. ¡°I can just give you my number instead.¡± Billy¡¯s hesitant. ¡°I¡¯ll still need your real name.¡± The man has decided that while playing his part, he¡¯s going to confirm the hero¡¯s identity. ¡°Why?¡± Billy raises an eyebrow. ¡°None of your concern.¡± He drops the cigarette and stomps on it. ¡°If I don¡¯t know why you need my name I won¡¯t show you proof.¡± ¡°Then you aren¡¯t getting any information.¡± The man is starting to get tense, but refuses to give in. Billy sighs and pulls his wallet out of his pants. The other man has won. He takes out his ID. At the moment he isn¡¯t worried, but he is uncomfortable. ¡°Satisfied?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± the man from the alley says with a smile thinking about how stupid this ¡®hero¡¯ is. That¡¯s when alarm bells start ringing in Billy¡¯s head, but it¡¯s already too late. In less time than it takes to blink, things go wrong. A needle pierces Billy¡¯s neck. The man with the syringe had snuck up behind him. ¡°What the-¡± Billy grabs the second man and throws him across the alley. As the mHis hand flies to his mouth as he swallows vomit. ¡°I was ordered to figure out who you are, Naturalist,¡± the first man says. He¡¯s caught up in the moment and decides that it¡¯s a good decision to tell a very powerful super that he alone is responsible for what¡¯s about to happen to the hero. ¡°N-no.¡± Naturalist tries to crawl away. The man walks over and steps on his leg. To Billy¡¯s surprise, it hurts. It shouldn¡¯t, but it does. ¡°Superhero extraordinaire. You are going to make me a lot of money,¡± the man says while leaning over him as he passes out.an flies into the wall all he can think is, ¡®I should have called in sick today.¡¯ As quick as Billy can, he grabs the needle still sticking out of his neck and throws it aside. He is naturally more resistant to harm, so that shouldn¡¯t have been able to get through his skin, but he can feel something inside him. Whatever they shot him up with, it¡¯s in his bloodstream and it¡¯s making him dizzy. He tries to fly out of the alley, but it doesn¡¯t work. He can¡¯t even activate his powers. He falls forward onto his hands. The world is spinning around him; it¡¯s nauseating. ¡°Wh-what did you do to me?¡± he mutters as he tries not to puke. ¡°I told you. I get info,¡± the man says with a smile as a third person walks up beside him. Her face is somber. Billy looks up at his attackers. ¡°What does that have to do wi-¡± Before finishing his sentence, he passes out. 3.2 In-out-in-out-in-out-in-out. How does this random girl know that I am both Intelegant and Jackie Smalls? In-out-in-out-in-out-in-out. I¡¯m hyperventilating. She¡¯s still standing there, staring at me. What do I do? What do I do! ¡°H-how did you¡­?¡± I can¡¯t even talk properly, I¡¯m too scared. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come with me so we can have a more private conversation,¡± she suggests. I don¡¯t respond. I can¡¯t. It¡¯s like every muscle in my body is frozen. She takes my hand and leads me through the crowd. She pulls me into a parking garage; it¡¯s the same one I parked my car in. How¡¯d she know? She keeps walking and I follow her into an elevator. She clicks the button for the top floor. She waits for the doors to close before she talks. ¡°Here¡¯s the deal,¡± she says: ¡°You are going to do whatever I say and if you don¡¯t, the world is going to find out who you really are.¡± In-out-in-out-in-out. I¡¯m getting light-headed. I have to do what she says, but what does she want me to do? The world can¡¯t find out what I really am, but I can¡¯t do something for her that will hurt someone else. What should I do? I have to calm down if I want to deal with this properly. Just ignore her for a second. I¡¯ve got to close my eyes, and breathe. In; And out; In; And out until I have a plan. Her chuckles pull me out of my attempt to become calm. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re the Jackie Smalls? The CEO so intimidating that a look is all it takes to make the target of her stare sell everything they own? You¡¯re not acting like Intelegant either. Maybe it¡¯s like this.¡± She spins a finger around her ear. ¡°All those personalities are locked in the same brain, rattling around, taking turns seeing who gets to be in charge?¡± I try to make my voice cut through her confidence, but the single word makes me sound even more pathetic than I must look: ¡°Y-e-s.¡± How did my voice break twice while saying a one syllable word? ¡°Ha!¡± She gets closer and grabs my face. I can¡¯t help but look away from her and when I do she says, ¡°The one and only Jackie Smalls shaking like a leaf because of me.¡± She lets go of my face. ¡°It¡¯s freaking hilarious.¡± She knows. She knows that I¡¯m a failure and that I¡¯m just pretending to be everything the world thinks I am. She knows. She knows everything I did wrong and all I can say in response is, ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± in that same, broken, scared voice.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡­ ¡°What?¡± she sounds confused. She¡¯s confused! That means she doesn¡¯t know everything. If she knew everything she wouldn¡¯t be confused, but she¡¯s confused. That means I have a chance to get out of this! I probably just blew things out of proportion. She probably doesn¡¯t know anything! I can still save this, I just have to be smart. Deep breath. In¡­ Out¡­ Put on the mask called Jackie Smalls, with it I¡¯m going to make her back off. I straighten myself up and give her my best death glare. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to see that.¡± I put my hair up in the classic girl-boss bun. ¡°I almost died earlier today and you happened to catch me in the middle of a panic attack. I had to take a second to recover and process what you were saying before I could act appropriately.¡± It looks like she¡¯s buying it. ¡°Earlier you mentioned that you think I am Intelegant. Do you have any proof?¡± She stares at me like I¡¯ve grown a second head. To keep from letting the panic surface again, I look at the watch that isn¡¯t on my wrist and say, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, could we hurry this up? I¡¯m a busy woman. I¡¯ve got places to be.¡± ¡°How did you do that?¡± Without missing a beat I say, ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°Like a second ago you were too busy cowering to talk and now you¡¯re acting like this is some business transaction.¡± ¡°Like I said, I needed a second to compose myself. You did surprise me in the streets after all. Now, do you have proof?¡± Please fall for my act. If I play this awful hand right, I just might turn things around and keep this from turning into something that will destroy everything. ¡°... Yeah.¡± She doesn¡¯t believe me but she¡¯s not asking about my sudden personality change anymore. ¡°I have a video of you from the alley changing out of your Intelegant costume.¡± ¡°Show me.¡± Demanding things puts me in control of the situation. She takes a second to mess with her phone before she flips it around so I can see it. On the screen, there¡¯s a paused video with the mask in my hands and a clear view of my face. Okay. She¡¯s got proof. I can still do this. I grab my purse and pull out my wallet, ¡°How much money do you want?¡± She narrows her eyes. The eyes, they¡¯re brown, like melted chocolate. ¡°Look, bud. I get that you¡¯re usually in control, but that¡¯s not how this is going to work.¡± ¡°Then how will this work?¡± I ask in a calm and controlled manner. I step away from the wall of the elevator that she pushed me into and get in her face, at least as close to her face as I can; she¡¯s more than a couple of inches taller than me. ¡°I tell you what to do and you do it unless you want everywhere that can, publishing the identity of Intelegant.¡± My heartbeat speeds up again, but I ignore it. I have my cool and I¡¯m not going to lose it again. ¡°What do you want then?¡± She smiles, smugly. ¡°To start, you¡¯re going to have an interview with the Breaking Times.¡± That¡¯s not too bad. ¡°After that you¡¯re going to wait for my call.¡± ¡°Why do you want me to do an interview?¡± I can¡¯t agree quickly, it makes it look like I¡¯ll agree to anything. ¡°They hired me to get info on you so they could blackmail you into an interview.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just give them the info?¡± No time to stress about how tedious my situation has become. ¡°This is too good to hand over. Plus, it¡¯s more fun this way,¡± she smiles down at me in a way that shouts I¡¯m better than you. It¡¯s the same look you see on TV when the plucky underdog is finally about to stand up to their bully, a bully called¡­ I have no idea what her name is. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re going to be doing business I should at least know your name.¡± ¡°You can call me Ash.¡± ¡°Pleasure to meet you, Ash. I would introduce myself but you already know me, you know, since you¡¯ve been digging around my life and all.¡± She probably knows a lot more than just my name. ¡°Hehe, yeah.¡± She looks like a cat holding a dead goldfish in front of its brother. The elevator makes a dinging sound as it stops moving. The door opens revealing a small family. They¡¯re ready to join us in the elevator. Ash moves to leave and says over her shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ve got your number, so I¡¯ll text you with the details later.¡± I say nothing as I glare at her back. She reminds me of someone¡­ I laugh and the family looks at me like I¡¯m insane. Legs for days, a perfectly curvy body, she¡¯s even got a doll-like face! She¡¯s a real-life Barbie! I let out a sigh as she finally got out of view. That went better than I expected, but now I¡¯m going to go home and freak out for the next twenty-four hours. 3.3 ¡®I like you¡¯ is the text to Jackie you have repeatedly written and deleted because you can¡¯t muster up the courage to send it. You¡¯ve done this more than ten times. When she came to dinner, Mom prompted her to give you her number. She said that she thought the two of you would make a cute couple; it was so embarrassing. I¡¯ve imagined it several times and I¡¯ve fallen in love with the idea of dating her. Other than how popular her family is, there really wouldn¡¯t be any problems. No one would blink at a non-binary person and a girl dating, not in this town. Especially since its founders were gay. The founders were related to Jackie and the family has been in control of the place ever since. They¡¯ve always made it very inclusive. You and Jackie have been hanging out in person and texting ever since that dinner. It¡¯s been over a month, and you still don¡¯t have the balls to ask her out. You don¡¯t want to get rejected, but not telling her is killing you! Your mom says you should just tell her. She says, after, if you get rejected you can play video games with her, Dad and eat ice cream until you feel better. You stare at the message for a long second as you decide whether or not you¡¯re going to send it. It takes you several minutes to conclude that sending it won¡¯t end well. You are finally in Jackie¡¯s life and you want to stay in it, and confessing might mess things up. You move to delete the message but something goes wrong. ¡°Avery!¡± Mom yells. ¡°Come down, Todo needs his walk.¡± At the sudden voice you jump and your finger moves in just the right way. Your phone dings as it sends the message. ¡­ You just told Jackie that you like her!!!!!! What do you do now? ¡°Avery!?¡± Mom yells again. You open your mouth to respond but, instead of words, this weird whimper comes out.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Honey, are you okay?¡± You can hear her footsteps coming up the stairs. ¡°Mom¡­¡± Your voice comes out scared and disoriented. Her footsteps speed up and she opens the door to see you sitting on your bed with your phone in your hand. She relaxes slightly and walks over. ¡°Do you feel sick?¡± Instead of trying to respond, you just turn the phone around. She looks at it. You can see what she¡¯s thinking by the look on her face. At first she relaxes, then she gets happy, and finally she gets mad. ¡°Don¡¯t do that! I thought something was wrong!¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± you say in that same anxious voice. She sighs. ¡°I¡¯m glad you finally told her.¡± Like that, the floodgates break. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to! I decided not to and then you surprised me and the message ended up being sent! Now she¡¯s going to reject me all because of you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t yell at me,¡± she says in the classic mom voice. ¡°You may not have meant to tell her, but this is for the best.¡± ¡°How is this for the best?!!¡± ¡°I know this feels like the end of the world, but in a year you¡¯ll barely remember this.¡± ¡°Ugh, you just don¡¯t get it, Mom.¡± You get out of bed and walk to the door. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± ¡°To walk the dog like you told me to!¡± You slam the door on your way out. Stomping through the house, you grab the stuff for Todo and storm outside. This is not just some crush! You make it about a block before you find yourself checking your phone. She hasn¡¯t responded yet. What will she think? What will she say? Ding A notification! You check it. It isn¡¯t Jackie. You delete the notification before you look up. You¡¯re surprised at what you see. In the corner of your eye, it¡¯s her. She¡¯s here, in town, in front of you. Jackie Smalls is walking towards you with her phone in her hand. Your heart jumps into your throat as she stops in front of you. You aren¡¯t ready to deal with this in person! ¡°J-Jackie-¡± She stops you. ¡°You like me,¡± she states. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I-I¡­ What?¡± Why would she ask that? ¡°Why do you like me?¡± She looks into your soul. You blush and turn away. ¡°You¡¯re so kind and caring a-and everything you do is just so cute. How could I not like you?¡± She is quiet for a long time and you find yourself stealing a glance at her. She¡¯s still staring at you; your cheeks grow hotter. ¡°I like you, too,¡± she says calmly. You look at her in surprise. She¡¯s still staring at you, but now she''s getting closer. She¡¯s about to kiss you. Your eyes flutter shut. Her lips touch yours. You are internally screaming. 4.1 BLAM!!! That was the sound of Intelegant setting off an explosion. ¡°Listen up,¡± she broadcasts. ¡°You all know me, Intelegant, the best supervillain ever. Today, I¡¯m in a little trouble. You see, I¡¯m running low on money so if you all would be so kind, I¡¯d like five thousand dollars. If you give that to me, I promise I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± Intelegant is sitting on the edge of a popular coffee shop with a mic in her hand and a small gun. A crowd has already gathered to watch her. ¡°We all know you¡¯re bluffing,¡± one of the civilians calls out, a teen on a date. The rest of the crowd backs away from the person in question; it¡¯s an automatic response, even though Intelegant would never do anything to harm him. ¡°What! Me? Never!¡± she scoffs at him. ¡°But say something like that again and I¡¯ll have to show you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re all talk,¡± the date calls. ¡°You don¡¯t even steal anything!¡± She hops off the building. Most would break their legs doing this but there are a lot of adaptations to her costumes and one of these are the powerful fans on the bottoms of her feet. She added them after she almost died last month, during her last exploit as Intelegant. She walks through the crowd. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fake. If I wanted to, I could take you down myself,¡± the second teen declares. ¡°Try it.¡± She leans forward with her hands up and to the side in a pose that¡¯s saying ¡®please hit me¡¯. He pauses, but eventually swallows his fear and walks forward. Hesitantly, looking around, he winds up to punch her in the shoulder. At the last second, she dodges the punch, sucker punches him, and brings her face to his ear so she can whisper, ¡°I may try to be nice, but I am still a super villain and I can easily kill anyone I wanted to, including you,¡± without anyone else hearing. She backs up and lets the teen fall to the ground.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. He clutches his stomach and groans. ¡°Anyone else think I¡¯m all talk?¡± she asks with a smile. No one dares to say anything. ¡°Good,¡± she says as she walks back over to the building. ¡°Now, where is Naturalist? He¡¯s usually here by now.¡± She hops back onto the building, using the fans in her shows to help her. Police run to the scene. The police hold their guns at the ready, though they won¡¯t shoot. They think Intelegant is immune to bullets. ¡°Get out of here,¡± one of them demands. ¡°No way,¡± Intelegant says. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to come out here for a whole month and I¡¯ve been looking forward to super banter, so unless you feel witty enough, I¡¯m waiting till Naturalist gets here.¡± She sits on the edge of the building with crossed arms. ¡°This is your last warning,¡± a female officer says. ¡°Leave now, give up, or we will shoot.¡± ¡°Like that¡¯ll do anything. I¡¯m a supervillain.¡± She rolls her eyes. ¡°A shot to the neck will still kill you,¡± the officer says. ¡°Maybe, but it¡¯ll also get a lot of people angry with you. I am quite famous after all.¡± She mimes flipping her hair. ¡°Plus it¡¯ll be a tough shot. You may be a cop, but I don¡¯t think you can make it.¡± BANG! The bullet hits Intelegant in the chest. She doesn¡¯t react other than to say, ¡°Now that wasn¡¯t very nice.¡± A senior officer turns to the one that just shot Intelegant and hisses, ¡°No shooting, Newbie!¡± The officer isn¡¯t really a fan of Intelegant, but has met her before. ¡°Newbie?¡± Intelegant scoffs, ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so full of yourself. Let me guess, you joined the police force to ¡®change the world¡¯ and you know you¡¯ll be able to do it just because you¡¯re you.¡± The villain hit the nail on the head but the officer isn¡¯t planning to let her know that. ¡°I¡¯m doing good, unlike you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good, too. Good at beating all of you!¡± The newbie shoots at her again. This time it hits the building. ¡°Stop,¡± the older guy barks again, worried that the younger officer will get in trouble for this. ¡°Trigger happy, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°At least I¡¯m dealing with you, unlike all these cowards.¡± She glares at the officers around her. ¡°Stop or you¡¯ll get suspended,¡± a third officer says. ¡°Ooh, I like you. Nice and spunky,¡± Intelegant says as she smiles at the one who just shot at her. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Bailey Smeen.¡± ¡°Well, Mx. Smeen, I hope to meet you in the future.¡± She gets up from where she was sitting on the building''s edge. ¡°I gotta go meet someone now so, toodles.¡± She waves before stepping out of view. ¡°Get back here.¡± Bailey tries to run after her but quickly loses track of the supervillain. Intelegant runs quickly because she¡¯s got an interview at Breaking Times she has to be at in under an hour. 4.2 ¡°Why have you refused to be interviewed until now?¡± Ollie Gibings of Breaking News asks. She has a smug smile on her face. I could still demand that someone else interview me, but if I don¡¯t let her interview me she might try to break into my house again. I wish I could reposition in the uncomfortable mess of a desk chair they sat me in, but since they¡¯re recording the interview, everyone would see that as a sign of weakness. I have to keep the calm exterior that is the world¡¯s version of Jackie Smalls. All I agreed to do was show up to this interview, meaning I don¡¯t have to reveal anything I don¡¯t want to. Refusing to answer a question would be too small of an offense for Ash to tell the world what she¡¯s using to blackmail me. If she does, she¡¯ll have me as an enemy, and no control over me. All I¡¯ve done in this interview is state my name, but it already feels like I¡¯ve been here for hours. ¡°A friend convinced me to.¡± She smiles. ¡°Isn¡¯t that nice of them?¡± I think she¡¯s the one who hired Ash. ¡°Now, please tell me about Smalls Industries?¡± ¡°What about it?¡± I¡¯m going to make this difficult for her. ¡°You¡¯ve been the CEO since your mother¡¯s death but you¡¯ve kept most things the same. Other than your new product line, I don¡¯t think anything¡¯s changed.¡± I don¡¯t see why that matters, but she¡¯s right. All I¡¯ve really done is shift our invertor¡¯s focus. I think I¡¯ve lead as best I can, but if I say that, Gibings will dig for more so instead I say nothing in a sentence. ¡°It hasn¡¯t.¡± Gibings moves onto her next question. ¡°Is your research team still working off of what your father left in his lab?¡± ¡°Tangentially.¡± My father was a genius; it was a real superpower, like the kind that Naturalist has. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We take parts of his original designs and turn them into something new.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Small things.¡± My father would probably hate what I¡¯m making. My mother would too. ¡°What are you working on now?¡± Gibings asks. ¡°A bunch of things.¡± ¡°What kinds of things?¡± I think she¡¯s getting annoyed. That means she should let me leave soon. ¡°Things similar to the controlled temperature jacket we released last year.¡± My parents wanted my dad¡¯s research to change the world. Instead it made a bomb that destroyed half the city. Despite everything, my kept chasing their dream. The company and the city renovations were both attempts to do that. No matter what she did, the world didn¡¯t change. My mother was a much better woman than I am, and she failed to change the world, so I¡¯m not trying to. I¡¯m just trying to keep her company going. ¡°When your mother was CEO she made industrial things,¡± Gibings states. ¡°Are you sure your parents would have wanted you to shift from making those products to making things for the masses?¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. I stare Ollie Gibings down as the interview turns into a standoff, like the kind in movies where the hero and antagonist are finally fighting one-on-one. ¡°I¡¯m sure, they wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± She doesn¡¯t need to know the truth. ¡°Really? Didn¡¯t your mother say, and I quote ¡®If this factory ever turns into another big corporation, shoot me¡¯?¡± She¡¯s more like an interrogator than an interviewer. ¡°She may have said that, but she was not referring to what we produce. She was talking about the things our company cares about. She was saying she wanted us to care more about the world we live in than the money we make.¡± ¡°Do you do that?¡± ¡°Yes. Smalls Industries has never put money before the wellbeing of our customers, employees, or before the quality of our products.¡± ¡°Then why change what you¡¯re making?¡± ¡°...¡± She¡¯s got me boxed in here. ¡°Changing our client base does not change the moral standard of our company.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you are no longer strictly necessary to the corporation?¡± She¡¯s just trying to push my buttons. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°A former employee revealed that you work from home five days out of seven. That employee also said that you have no control over what the full-time higher-ups do. Your response?¡± ¡°While it is true that I tend to work from home, My mother did the same. She worked from home full-time and still had complete control of the company.¡± ¡°But you aren¡¯t your mother.¡± Ow. ¡°No, I am not my mother and I never will be, but I am as fierce and as capable as her.¡± I glare at Gibings. ¡°You seem angry. Do you hate your mother?¡± She¡¯s trying to throw me off. ¡°No. I would never hate my mother. I simply know that she, as both a single mom and CEO of a company she built from the ground up, worked a lot harder than I¡¯ve had too and deserves all the respect in the world.¡± ¡°Do you think you deserve less respect?¡± ¡°No, that is not what I said. I just think that my mother had it harder and deserves credit for what she did.¡± ¡°What about your father?¡± ¡°My father died before I reached puberty, but he was a strong and intelligent man.¡± ¡°It is said that you are smarter than your father; do you think that is true?¡± I take a second to think; she¡¯s gotten me to respond on instinct several times. I can¡¯t let that continue. ¡°Not really. I am smart in my own right, but my father was someone you¡¯d be stupid not to fear.¡± ¡°You don''t seem to think you live up to your parents'' reputation?¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± I pause after forcing out that sentence so she doesn¡¯t think I was hesitating. ¡°My parents would be proud of me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad that you had such good parents.¡± She smiles fakely. ¡°Let¡¯s move on to a different part of your life.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± I don¡¯t want to talk about my parents anymore. ¡°Are you romantically involved with anyone?¡± I raise my eyebrow. ¡°I am not.¡± Why is she talking about this? ¡°Do you ever plan to date again?¡± I need to change the subject. ¡°I¡¯m too busy for any of that.¡± ¡°Really? Or are you waiting for your former partner, Avery Brown, to take you back?¡± I¡¯m starting to hyperventilate. Deep breath. In. Out. Clear the mind and attack this logically. ¡°No.¡± Is all I manage to say. ¡°That was nothing special.¡± ¡°On the contrary, it is believed that Avery was the only person you ever had an actual relationship with, romantic or otherwise. You were seen with them for years. Why were they so special to you?¡± I can¡¯t just tell her not to talk about this, but I can¡¯t face those memories again. I have to pretend it was nothing. I shrug. ¡°First loves are always special.¡± ¡°That is true, but this feels different.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want me to tell you. Avery is just an ex, nothing more.¡± It hurts to say that, to diminish everything we¡¯d been through to that. 4.3 You type up a text that says, ¡®Do you really like me?¡¯ and send it to Jackie. After she kissed you, you were too dazed to say anything. She left before you got your bearings back. You have been hanging out with her a lot, but that kiss came out of nowhere. You went home yesterday and then spent the whole night trying to decide what to do and not being able to, you asked your friends about it. They told you that you should ask her out, but that¡¯s too much for you. One of them suggested just talking to Jackie, so you¡¯re doing a variation of that. Texting her in class seems like the way to go because now you can have your friends look it over. Most of them agree that the ¡®Do you really like me?¡¯ is a good way to start the conversation. The bell rings for the end of class so you pack up your stuff. ¡°Good luck,¡± the friend that sits next to you, Olivia, says as she leaves. You follow her out before heading to your next class. You don¡¯t have many friends in this class. Once you are in your seat you pull your phone out and check to see if she saw your text; she did and she responded. ¡®Of course I like you¡¯ Your friends were right, but she already said that. You were hoping that the text would make her go into more detail. A second message comes in before you can text back. ¡®I noticed how you acted around me and I did a little research. From there I figured out that you liked me and the more I considered it, the more attractive you and the idea of dating you became. I was actually considering asking you out myself.¡¯ You blush. Of course she would know that you liked her; from the way you¡¯ve been acting around her it was obvious, but this is still a surprise. A third message lights up your phone. ¡®So what do you say? Want to go out on a date sometime?¡¯ Cue the love-struck smile spreading from ear to ear that you wouldn¡¯t take off your face even if you could. ¡®That sounds amazing¡¯ ¡°Avery!¡± the teacher says. ¡°Put that phone up right now!¡± ¡°Of course, Mx.¡± You send a quick ¡®bye¡¯ as you shove the phone back into your backpack. Beep. You hear the notification as the teacher enters their algebra lecture. All you want to do is check it, but you know you¡¯ll be able to check it and spend all lunch texting her back as long as you can wait. You manage till the bell rings, then you grab your phone. You¡¯re sure no one will notice you staying for an extra second.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡®We¡¯ll talk more at lunch¡¯ There is also a second message. ¡®I¡¯ll wait for you by the cafeteria entrance¡¯ You shove all your stuff into your backpack and rush out of class. When you get there, she¡¯s already waiting. She¡¯s standing there, leaning against the wall. She looks amazing. You walk over to her. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful.¡± She smiles. ¡°Thank you.¡± Her don¡¯t know how to respond so you just stand there like an idiot, blushing. ¡°So where do you want to sit?¡± she asks. You¡¯re supposed to sit with your friends today like you always do, but now you can¡¯t. You¡¯re sure they¡¯ll understand. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know; where do you want to sit?¡± ¡°I usually sit outside in the shade.¡± ¡°That sounds good.¡± ¡°Follow me.¡± She starts walking away. It takes a couple seconds before you realize you aren¡¯t following her. She comes back and grabs your hand: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t bite.¡± Your heart skips a beat you sit beside her, your backs to the school and the trees blocking people from noticing you. This spot is nice and private. No wonder she sits here. After a beat of awkward silence, you stutter out, ¡°S-so what¡¯s up with you?¡± To top it off, you point at her with finger guns. Oh gosh, you are so weird! How do you deal with romance? She laughs. ¡°I¡¯m doing great. I just got a cute partner after all.¡± Cue giggles and intense blushing. She¡¯s so smooth! You were not expecting this. ¡°You have a beautiful laugh,¡± she says. Your cheeks grow hotter. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Have you dated someone before?¡± She¡¯s teasing you. ¡°You haven¡¯t either! At least, I thought you hadn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I may be new to dating, but I am a romance expert.¡± ¡°Really?¡± She nods. ¡°I have watched over a hundred romance animes and read just as many romance books.¡± You can¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± she asks. ¡°N-nothing.¡± You try to hide your giggles. She pokes you in the side. ¡°Come on. Enlighten your crush!¡± You blush harder. ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Tell me what¡¯s so funny and maybe I will.¡± She pokes you again. ¡°It¡¯s just-¡± You pause to think through your words. ¡°The world isn¡¯t fiction.¡± ¡°Yeah, so what?¡± ¡°Real-life romance is nothing isn¡¯t how it¡¯s portrayed.¡± ¡°I mean, I know that, but I can still learn from it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Well¡­ ¡± She rubs her neck with a hand. ¡°You know that I haven¡¯t had any friends. I guess¡­ after being alone with all my privilege, reality and everything I learned from fiction kind of blurred. I¡¯m sorry if you don¡¯t like that.¡± ¡°No, no, no!¡± You wave your hands around to make your point. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I just thought it was a little weird that you¡¯re, right out of the gate, so¡­ good at dating I mean! It¡¯s really cute!¡± ¡°You think so¡­?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± You smile at her. She leans forward and plants a kiss on you. You stare at her. Just like the last time, you¡¯re too dazed to react. ¡°Sorry,¡± she says. ¡°You were just being so cute.¡± You¡¯re still too engrossed with the fact that she kissed you to say anything. ¡°I¡¯ll ask before I kiss you in the future¡­ Unless you don¡¯t want me to kiss you at all?¡± Instead of responding you do something very, very surprising for you. You kiss her. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no. You like my kisses, don¡¯t you?¡± She smiles brightly at you as you nod excitedly. 5.1 ¡°One million dollars or the school becomes a sinkhole,¡± a spandex-clad villain says. This one wears mainly black. The only exceptions are his white cape. The supervillain goes by the mantra, Pitfall, and is currently standing on a raised platform of dirt next to an elementary school. Surrounding the school is a fence of dirt. Pitfall is a traveling supervillain, so no given hero learns much about him. No one knows the full extent of his powers. They know he can control the elevation of ground, rock, dirt, gravel, and pretty much everything else, but that¡¯s it. He has been a villain for over two decades. He¡¯s physically weak, but his abilities make him a pretty powerful villain. He¡¯s more disliked than most villains because of the large number of people he chooses to kill. The villain and the police have been in a standoff for over an hour now, but Naturalist still hasn¡¯t shown up. Pitfall only decided to come to New Baru because Naturalist has been missing for the last six weeks. He¡¯s too scared of him to come any other time. A second person shows up on the roof of the elementary school. ¡°Hey!¡± Intelegant shouts, getting the attention of everyone. ¡°This is my city!¡± She points at Pitfall in a stance similar to a kid calling someone a butthead. The second villain dismisses her: ¡°Go away and let the real villain do his work.¡± ¡°¡®Real villain!!!?¡± She laughs. ¡°Who do you think you are? Challenging me like this is a big mistake, but I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t mean it. Because I¡¯m nice, I¡¯ll give you a chance to leave. If you do, there¡¯ll be no hard feelings.¡± The black and white villain turns to her and laughs. ¡°You don¡¯t stand a chance in a fight with me.¡± ¡°I routinely take on a hero you¡¯re scared of. If that¡¯s not proof that you should take me seriously, I don¡¯t know what is,¡± she sasses back. ¡°You are an arrogant one,¡± he says. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that the only reason you are allowed to work as a villain in this city is because you¡¯re sleeping with Naturalist.¡± All Intelegant can do is stare at him, her face contorted with disgust. Though Pitfall is generally too oblivious to notice such things as others'' complete and total hatred and/or disgust for him or his actions, the awkward silence gives him the sudden need to justify himself. ¡°You never do any damage, or take anything. It¡¯s obvious this villain act is just some weird role-play.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. She opens her mouth to say something before deciding it would be useless to contradict this idiot. She sighs at him with a hand over the eyes of her mask. She needs to calm herself. If she goes at him now the kids will hear her curse and she doesn¡¯t want that. Pitfall doesn¡¯t see the danger. He sees her posture as an admission that he is right. ¡°Just get out of here. I¡¯m tired of dealing with you.¡± Rather than a verbal response, Intelegant hops over to him and wraps an arm around his neck. ¡°Just because I¡¯m not constantly an ass doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not a villain,¡± she whispers into his ear as he lifts parts of the ground in an attempt to get her off of him. Frantically, he claws at the arm around his neck. ¡°Still think I¡¯m just here ¡®cause some guy has a soft spot for me¡¯?¡± ¡°S-sorry,¡± he croaks out. ¡°Too bad,¡± she says just a little too cheerily, ¡°cause you threatened kids and challenged me. Now I¡¯m going to send you to life in jail. Maybe if you¡¯re lucky you won¡¯t get the death penalty!¡± He tries to say something else, but he is too oxygen-deprived to manage it. His eyes close. At the same time, the fence collapses. Intelegant keeps her cool and gets him to the ground safely. She checks Pitfall¡¯s pulse before turning to the police with a smile and saying, ¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡± She then takes a few quick steps to jump to the school¡¯s roof so she can make her escape. Before she can make the jump, a little kid runs to her. The little boy smiles up at her from where he¡¯s hugging her leg. ¡°That was so cool!¡± ¡°Awww!¡± Intelegant squeals. ¡°Thank you!¡± She pats him on the head. ¡°But you¡¯re the cool one. You were so calm and didn¡¯t freak out! You and all your classmates were so brave!¡± The villainess hears footsteps and looks over to find a crowd of little kids running toward her; their teacher following them. She looks back to make sure none of the police are after her before deciding she can have a quick conversation with the children. ¡°What¡¯s your superpower?¡± a little girl asks as she catches her breath. ¡°Do you love Naturalist?¡± another kid demands. ¡°I want to be like you when I grow up,¡± a child''s voice says from behind her. ¡°I, um¡­¡± Intelegant tries to collect her thoughts. ¡°Children,¡± the teacher says, ¡°Back up and remember, if you have a question, you have to raise your hands.¡± Twenty hands pop into the air. The villain can¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Sorry about them,¡± the teacher says sheepishly. ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± Intelegant says with a smile. All the kids, though overwhelming, are too cute for Intelegant to refuse. ¡°Max, why don¡¯t you ask your question first,¡± the teacher decides. ¡°Thank you for saving us,¡± Max, a little girl with pigtails says. ¡°Why don¡¯t all of us thank Mx. Intelegant?¡± the teacher suggests. ¡°Thank you,¡± they all say. Intelegant smiles as she tries not to die from the cuteness overload. ¡°You¡¯re all very welcome.¡± ¡°Intelegant!¡± Smeen shouts as she runs over. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go now so bye!¡± Intelegant says as she scoots her way out of the crowd. Quickly, she jumps up onto the building and runs away. 5.2 Where is she? Ash texted me after the interview and demanded that I come to meet her for lunch. I¡¯m waiting where she told me to go, a small, family owned restaurant, in the oldest part of town. Fun fact about that: the city¡¯s layout is pretty weird. There¡¯s the original town, it¡¯s cutest, filled with little, family-owned, single-story businesses and tight-nit neighborhoods. There¡¯s a forest, one I own, surrounding half of it. The rest of the original town is surrounded by downtown. It¡¯s a sudden change, but once you get to the city part of town all there is is skyscrapers and businesses with apartment complexes. Nothing downtown, predates thirty years. Outside of downtown it kind of sprawls out into the cookie-cutter suburbs I hate. Fun fact number two: the only reason I went into so much detail about the city is because I don¡¯t want to start worrying about why Ash blackmailed me into coming here!!! The interview was last week, but she still told me to meet her now and I don¡¯t know why. The last time we talked, she was waiting in my car. I had just finished a long day of work and she told me when and where my interview would be. She also said that I had to meet her here, today. When she popped out of the backseat she scared the crap out of me. What does she want now? I wish she would have just told me when she was in my car. I¡¯ve got better stuff to be doing than this; I am a CEO after all. Why didn¡¯t she just tell me then? Is it because she¡¯s got demands she doesn¡¯t think I¡¯ll agree to, or maybe- Creak The front door opens. Once Ash walks in, I relax. She finally made it to the meeting she set up! How kind of her. She scans the restaurant, sees me, and then walks over. She slides into the booth across from me. She¡¯s too pretty. Her face is perfect, better than any sculpture or painting I¡¯ve seen, and she has the kind of body only models do. I don¡¯t have a problem with curvy people. I don¡¯t have a problem with any body type, they¡¯re all beautiful and perfect just the way they are, but I do have problems with people like her who smirk like they know they¡¯re hotter than everyone else. That, along with the blackmailing, makes me really, and I mean really, dislike her. ¡°You¡¯re late,¡± I inform her. ¡°Yeah, sorry,¡± she says as she pulls something out of her purse. ¡°Got caught up in something.¡± She apologized? ¡°Why did you bring me here?¡± The quicker this is over with, the better. ¡°Geez, you don¡¯t cut corners, do you?¡± She taps my leg with something. I kick her, totally just because that¡¯s my automatic response, and not because I¡¯ve wanted to do that ever since I first met her. ¡°Ow,¡± she exclaims, ¡°I was just trying to hand you something.¡± I take the thing from her hand still under the table. I lift it and take a look at it. A burner phone. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Just in case someone gets their hands on your phone. They¡¯d have nothing on me.¡± She pulls a receipt from her purse. ¡°It¡¯s under my name and my number¡¯s the only one you¡¯ll use.¡± She puts the receipt back. ¡°If someone asks about it, tell them you found a lost phone.¡± She leans closer. ¡°Once it gets back to me, I¡¯ll say I use it to call my normal phone when I lose it.¡± She smiles. ¡°Then I¡¯ll get a new burner for you.¡± ¡°... Thank you,¡± I say, hearing the reluctance in my own voice. ¡°Expecting some dumb floozy?¡± she says with a smile. Her head is tilted to one side, like a confused dog. It makes the smile cute. I wasn¡¯t expecting a dumb floozy, but I wasn¡¯t expecting someone this sharp either. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t-¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± She waves it off. ¡°Everyone underestimates people like us.¡± ¡°People like us?¡± ¡°Pretty girls in positions of power,¡± she explains, head still tilted, still smiling. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s why you act so differently all the time.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The first time I was talking to you, in the middle of our conversation, you switched personalities.¡± She chuckles. ¡°Am I wrong when I say that you learned to do that because you want people to take you seriously?¡± ¡­ Really? The waiter comes over. ¡°What can I get you ladies?¡± he asks politely. ¡°A burger with all the fixings.¡± Ash sends him a big smile. ¡°And you?¡± He turns towards me. I didn¡¯t have anything in mind, so I order the same thing. ¡°What do you want on it?¡± ¡°Just cheese.¡± ¡°The burgers will be brought over in no time.¡± He walks away. ¡°He was cute,¡± Ash says as the waiter walks away. ¡°Um, okay.¡± How am I supposed to respond to that? After my one word response we lapse into an uncomfortable silence. It is only broken when Ash starts laughing like a hyena ¡°You don¡¯t hang out with a lot of people, do you?¡± ¡°... I suppose not.¡± How¡¯d she know that? ¡°It¡¯s so obvious.¡± She gestures to me as a whole. ¡°You¡¯ve got no idea how to make small talk.¡± I bristle. ¡°I do!¡± ¡°Oh really. Why don¡¯t you prove it?¡± She puts her elbows on the table and rests her head in her hands. I may not talk to people a lot, but I can¡¯t back down now; I know the basics of casual interactions.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°¡­What¡¯s your favorite color?¡± She snorts. ¡°That is the most obvious icebreaker.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still small talk!¡± ¡°Barely.¡± ¡°If you know so much about it, let¡¯s see how good you are at it.¡± ¡°Ha! In comparison to you, anything I do will seem amazing.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that. I might be really good at making small talk with people who aren¡¯t blackmailing me. You know nothing about me.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± She raises an eyebrow with a smirk. ¡°Well-¡± I have no choice but to cut her off, because she might be about to shout that I¡¯m a supervillain. ¡°That doesn¡¯t count!¡± ¡°What doesn¡¯t count?¡± I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s confused or just rubbing it in my face that she knows my secret identity. ¡°The reason that I agreed to be here,¡± I hiss. ¡°Relax, that¡¯s not what I was talking about.¡± ¡°Then what is it you think you know about me?¡± I cross my arms over my chest. ¡°I know that you¡¯re scared of commitment.¡± She¡¯s smiling like she¡¯s the mobster in an action movie. ¡°You¡¯re scared of letting people down, that you have no faith in humanity, and that you don¡¯t remember what it¡¯s like to not be alone.¡± ¡°...¡± I look down as I try to deny what she¡¯s said, but I can¡¯t. She''s right about almost everything. I don¡¯t even want to admit most of those things. ¡°I¡¯m spot on,¡± she states. Maybe my poker face isn¡¯t as good as I thought it was. ¡°How did you figure all that out so quickly?¡± ¡°While I was in college, I was a psychology major.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°The best-¡± She pauses to decide what to say. ¡°Private investigators know when people are lying and hiding stuff. That knowledge gives me-¡± I cut her off with, ¡°Shh, there¡¯s a waiter.¡± I think the waiter is going to walk by us, since it¡¯s a different waiter than the one that took our orders, but no, this waiter pulls up to us with a passive aggressive smile. ¡°Here¡¯s your food.¡± She says as she sets a burger in front of each of us before leaning towards Ash and whispering. ¡°If you hit on my boyfriend again, I¡¯ll find you and I¡¯ll kill you.¡± The waiter then turns and leaves. Once the waitress is out of view Ash bursts into laughter. ¡°Oh-oh my god,¡± she says through her giggles. Her laugh is as loud as her, but unlike her, it is accompanied with the occasional snort. After the second snort, I start laughing too. I can¡¯t stop myself, not when I imagine her with a pig hidden under the table. ¡°Okay, okay,¡± Ash says through the last of her giggles, ¡°What were we talking about?¡± It takes a second, but eventually I come back to my senses. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure, but I remember wanting to ask why you¡¯re a private investigator even though you¡¯ve got a psychology degree.¡± She deflects. ¡°Why do you ask? Trying to figure out if I¡¯m your type?¡± A blush runs across my face. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I was just curious.¡± ¡°Chill out,¡± she says with the cute tilt-head smile. ¡°I¡¯m just messing with you.¡± She takes a bite of her burger with both hands on the bun, stuffing as much into one bite as possible. ¡°I know a lot about you, too.¡± ¡°What?¡± she asks, a hand over her mouth. ¡°You¡¯re scared of what people think of you.¡± She guffaws, like I just told her the funniest thing she¡¯s ever heard before saying in a serious tone. ¡°I think you¡¯re projecting.¡± I shake my head. ¡°You said, ¡®everyone always underestimates people like us¡¯.¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t care what people think, it¡¯s just better for business if they treat me as a threat¡± ¡°I do the opposite.¡± I think of Intelegant. ¡°I like to use it against them.¡± I look at her as I say the next bit, ¡°Regardless of how we deal with it, everyone cares about what people think.¡± ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve been in a couple psych classes too.¡± ¡°Not really. I just watched a documentary about stuff like that.¡± She leans back and a little too loudly, says, ¡°The Jackie Smalls likes documentaries?¡± ¡°Quiet.¡± I glare at her. ¡°Fine, fine.¡± She raises her hands in defeat. ¡°To answer your question.¡± I continue instead of picking a fight. ¡°A couple of months ago I got really into a documentary about the human mind and was obsessed for a few weeks.¡± ¡°What¡¯s it called? Maybe I¡¯ll check it out.¡± ¡°A Guide to Psychology.¡± She leans closer. ¡°I¡¯ve actually watched that one before.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, it was pretty cool.¡± I can¡¯t help myself. I start ranting about how good it is. ¡°Do you remember the parts where they would show you a situation and then give you time to think about it before explaining their reasoning in detail. Those were awesome!¡± ¡°You are a giant nerd,¡± she states. I blush and look down. This is why I don¡¯t talk to people. ¡°It¡¯s pretty cute.¡± She probably only tacks that on because of how sad I must look. Still, even if she only said it to make me feel better, it''s nice to hear someone say something kind to me. ¡°So.¡± She draws out the word. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, but how do you get the stuff you fight with?¡± It¡¯s nice of her to not mention any details. If people overhear us they¡¯ll just think I¡¯m in a self-defense class or something. ¡°I make them myself.¡± ¡°No way! I thought you didn¡¯t have-¡± She stops herself before mentioning my father¡¯s superpower. ¡°I don¡¯t. What I have is a lot of resources and an army of research.¡± ¡°Still,¡± she says, ¡°those things are straight out of comics. How do you make them in such a short time?¡± Before I can respond, she asks some more questions. ¡°Where do you test them and how do you know they¡¯ll work?¡± ¡°Um¡­ One question at a time please.¡± She¡¯s reminding me of those kids I met after stopping Pitfall. ¡°How do you manage to make such unrealistic things?¡± ¡°Each one is different.¡± I think about stopping there, but she looks so curious that I decide to add more details. ¡°I do a lot of research, look at my dad¡¯s private research, and/or ask my scientists a theoretical question about it.¡± She looks confused, so I elaborate. ¡°Asking questions like, ¡®How would you make a freeze gun?¡¯ is something the company does regularly. We want our employees to think outside the box.¡± ¡°Okay, but how do you make them?¡± She points at me. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I¡¯m buying myself time to come up with a response, but she doesn¡¯t call me on it. ¡°How do you, a regular human being, make such fantastic creations?¡± ¡°... I¡¯ve been exposed to high-level science all my life.¡± I couldn¡¯t think of a lie. ¡°My dad loved to explain his research and I was the only one that would listen so by the time he died I knew things about science and mechanics that no one else in the world did.¡± Remembering the way my dad would wave his hands and jump around while explaining things makes me smile. I bring myself back to reality before I add, ¡°It helps that I can still look back on his research and understand his scribbles.¡± ¡°It must have been hard losing him so early in life.¡± ¡°It was.¡± I close my eyes as I remember that day. He went into town to get us takeout. Mom and I were sick. He was taking care of us. I was asleep when he left. woke up to my mom¡¯s sobs. The news was on. It was July first. The town was having the fifth ¡®We¡¯re still gay¡¯ parade. After it finished there was supposed to be a festival in town. I remember being sad that I couldn¡¯t go. Dad had picked up the food but stopped on his way home to pick up something when the bomb hit. The funny thing is, the bomb was made from his work. It was small, in the trunk of a car, but because of my dad, it still did a lot of damage. He had worked on nuclear reactors before and he published his research. Whatever homophobic, transphobic person put it together, used that. It was essentially a mini nuclear bomb. Whoever it was that made it, they managed to get all the supplies necessary to do it and blew everyone up. That¡¯s why Mom was so crazy about making it impossible to use the stuff our company produces. The bomb took out a large amount of the town. We stayed up all night waiting to hear if he was alive or not; he died in the explosion. For years I hoped that he would come back. They never found his body, after all, and in the movies when a body isn¡¯t found, the character usually comes back eventually. He never came back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that happened to you,¡± Ash says. 5.3 ¡°I love you,¡± you tell Jackie. It¡¯s not the first time you have said that, but this, this is the perfect time for those words. It¡¯s the anniversary of your first date together and she made it special. She set up a picnic for the two of you with all your favorite foods. She¡¯s been planning this for weeks, but until now all she¡¯s told you is that you needed to keep your schedule clear. You made her an apron for your anniversary because she loves to bake. She always shows up at your house with cakes or cookies. She started doing it to get on your parents'' good side, but since she¡¯s still doing it, you think she must enjoy it. Even if she doesn¡¯t like baking, you know that she loves your present. When you gave it to her, the way her face lit up told you that much. You sewed on the word ¡°Taken¡±. You made the mistake of hand-sewing it so it took forever and is awful, but a gift that was a lot of money would be nothing in comparison to everything she has whereas a homemade present full of effort and time? She can¡¯t buy that. After exchanging anniversary gifts, you sat in the passenger''s seat of her car while she drove here. Then she opened your door and led you along a candle-lit path. The candles were fake and sparse, but she put them there herself so it was really sweet. At the end of the path was a picnic. That brings you to now. You''re staring at the checkered blanket and the wicker basket in the center of this beautiful clearing. She smiles at you and says, ¡°I love you too.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯ve been planning this for weeks, but¡­¡± You trail off. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter.¡± She takes your hand and leads you into the clearing. ¡°Just take a seat and let me feed you.¡± You laugh. ¡°You sound like my mom.¡± She snorts, opens her mouth, and then closes it.. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± She¡¯s avoiding eye contact. ¡°Come on.¡± You pout at her. ¡°I want to hear the joke.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no joke, just a fact.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± I¡¯m curious now. Jackie nods, but doesn¡¯t explain further. ¡°You have to tell me!¡± I grab you arm. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. She blushes slightly. ¡°I laughed because you¡¯re adorable.¡± You giggle. ¡°Oh my god!¡± She rubs the back of her head sheepishly as she takes a seat on the picnic blanket. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°So smart yet so cheesy.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t deny being cheesy.¡± She shrugs. ¡°But I¡¯m not really smart.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± She¡¯s avoiding eye contact again. Looks like she needs a confidence boost! ¡°If you¡¯re not smart then how are you already working as a scientist and supervisor at one of the best businesses around!¡± ¡°It¡¯s because my mom runs it. She created the company, of course she gave me a job.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve met your mom; she would never put someone in a position they didn¡¯t deserve, not even her own daughter.¡± Ms. Smalls is scary. ¡°Even if she thinks I deserve it, she is a little biased.¡± ¡°Stop underestimating yourself. Everyone who knows you, knows you deserve everything you have.¡± She changes the topic. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± ¡°Depends on what¡¯s in the basket?¡± It doesn¡¯t really matter what she brought. She¡¯s an amazing cook. She smiles. ¡°You¡¯ll like it.¡± She opens the basket and you are hit with the smell of freshly baked bread and perfectly seasoned chicken. ¡°That smells amazing,¡± you say. ¡°Thank you,¡± she says, ¡°but it¡¯s just sandwiches.¡± ¡°You made the bread yourself!¡± She always does, but it¡¯s still impressive. ¡°I guess so,¡± she admits before changing the subject. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure what you wanted to drink, so I brought a little surprise.¡± The way she said that was very suspicious. ¡°What?¡± She pulls a bottle of wine from the basket. Your mouth drops. She looks away sheepishly. ¡°Back when I was in school I overheard people talking about the parties they went to. They all seemed to enjoy it and when I heard about you going to one, I felt kind of left out.¡± She goes into more detail, but she¡¯s not looking at you anymore. ¡°I never went to those things; they were too crowded and Mom said that I couldn¡¯t because it¡¯d make her look bad.¡± She looks back at you with a smile. ¡°I thought we could maybe have our own party here, today, but if you aren¡¯t comfortable, I completely understand! I¡¯ll just put it away and we¡¯ll pretend this never happened!¡± A little over a week ago your friends dragged you to a party. You would have invited Jackie, but you didn¡¯t realize you were going until your mom insisted you have some teenage normality and forced you to go. You didn¡¯t drink anything at the party, but Jackie seems so excited about it now, so, ¡°Why not?¡± She smiles and takes out two plastic cups from the seemingly endless picnic basket. You laugh. ¡°Did you get those because they¡¯re the classic party cups?¡± The Smalls don¡¯t own plastic cups; Ms. Amilia thinks they¡¯re too wasteful. ¡°... Maybe.¡± You chuckle some more, Jackie joining you eventually. Once she¡¯s recovered, she pours the wine and hands you a cup. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to cheer, right?¡± she asks as she holds up her cup. You giggle. ¡°Sure.¡± You bump your cup into hers before bringing it up to your lips. 6.1 ¡°Intelegant, come fight me, you coward!¡± shouts the leader of the skeleton army filling New Baru¡¯s streets. The debuting villain, self-named Death Raiser, has been standing there for about an hour now. Despite his army of a hundred, he hasn¡¯t attacked or asked for anything beyond Intelegant. Up until this point Intelegant had been working, coming up with an excuse, going home, getting all her stuff ready, and driving into the city. Only now is she ready to deal with this wanna-be villain. ¡°I¡¯m no coward,¡± Intelegant says from under the parapet, the raised edges of the roof, as she says it she pops up. She originally planned to do a surprise attack, but this felt more like her villainous persona. ¡°Get her,¡± Death Raiser tells his minions. ¡°Hey!¡± she says. ¡°That¡¯s not how this goes. You can¡¯t just attack me. We have to talk for a little bit. That is the fun part, after all.¡± ¡°I have no desire to entertain your insanity,¡± he says dismissively as his army begins to ascend the building she¡¯s standing on. ¡°Your minions aren¡¯t alive, right?¡± He gives Intelegant a face that shouts, ¡®Of course they aren¡¯t alive, you idiot.¡¯ ¡°Geez,¡± she mutters. ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± ¡°Nothing about this is funny. I¡¯m going to kill you like I killed this town¡¯s hero.¡± She pauses. She doesn¡¯t have time to formulate a response before the first skeleton soldier makes it to the top of the building. Intelegant kicks it off, easily taking care of it, but after she¡¯s done that to a tenth one they start to get onto the roof. As she is fighting, Death Raiser leaves. He doesn¡¯t even announce it! Intelegant pulls a group of daggers from her pockets. She continues to kick skeletons as she throws the knives at the rest. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. It doesn¡¯t take her long to realize that the knives are useless. Even if she manages to embed them in the bones, they don¡¯t react. She takes out her freeze ray and begins using that to keep them at bay, and she doesn¡¯t stop kicking but it¡¯s futile. Even though the ones she knocks off the building hit the ground, break, and disappear, there are too many. The freeze ray won¡¯t work forever. It barely carries what it needs to freeze Naturalist! Surrounded by an army that does not know pain or fatigue, she chooses to retreat. She deploys a grappling hook, latches onto an adjacent building, and pulls herself over. She doesn¡¯t normally use this tool because it damages the buildings, but she doesn¡¯t have a lot of choice right now. Intelegant runs after Death Raiser. This time she¡¯ll get the drop on her opponent. She runs, jumps, and grapples across two miles before reaching the other villain. When she finds him he¡¯s on the ground, surrounded by the skeletons. Again, she hides under a parapet and takes a second to come up with a plan. She pulls something from her pocket. It¡¯s a small package full of tranquilizer darts. She always carries those, even when she¡¯s not a villain. She pulls a single dart from the package before putting it back. She hides the dart in the palm of her hand before grabbing the grappling hook again and aiming it at the ground beside Death Raiser. Boom! The end of the hook flies towards the ground. Crack! The hook latches into the street beside where the other villain stands. Intelegant jumps off the parapet, and is pulled toward the hook. She hits the ground rolling. Rolling toward Death Raiser. She knocks him down. She tries to stick him with the dart, but he¡¯s a little too fast. He grabs her wrist as the skeletons begin to react. As the first skeleton hand grazes her, Intelegant kicks and hits what¡¯s between his legs. He freezes, eyes crossing. The skeletons pause too. She seizes the moment and slips the tranquilizer under Death Raiser¡¯s skin. Once she¡¯s done that, she aims her grappling hook to a different roof. Before shooting it, she gets a better grip on the other villain and then: Boom! She¡¯s out of there, running across roofs and swinging across streets. All with a passed-out villain in her arms. As Intelegant makes her escape, Death Raiser¡¯s skeleton army dissipates, vanishing in the absence of their creator. 6.2 I just drove home with a villain passed out in the back seat. What am I doing?! I kidnapped a villain and took him to my house. What am I going to do now? After I kidnapped him I got to the alley where my clothes were, and then had to come up with a way to get him to the car without being suspicious. Luckily for me, I¡¯m lazy; a while back I planned on going out as Intelegant, but ended up changing my mind. I left my extra change of clothes in the bottom of my purse. I completely forgot about it until I was frantically searching for something to disguise him with. Since I live alone, I was able to transfer him to my barren basement without anyone seeing. From there I tied him up, and now I have to get info out of him. I don¡¯t have a truth serum or lie detector. Intelegant does not need such things and Jackie Smalls doesn¡¯t either. One simply hasn¡¯t had the need for such a thing and the other other is too obsessed with looks to take it beyond a thought. Now, because I was too proud to think I¡¯d need it, I need to figure out how to get information out of people, and how to keep a villain from creating an army when you don¡¯t know what he needs to do to make the freaking armada of skeletons he almost overwhelmed you with just an hour ago!? As I¡¯m worrying over what I should do, I see movement. Looks like Death Raiser is waking up. I back up into the wall of the basement so I can see if he summons his army while he gets his bearings back. I watch his head dart side-to-side as he gives a frantic scan of his surroundings. ¡°Where am I?¡± he demands. ¡°Let me out of here!¡± He reminds me of a spoiled rich kid demanding the impossible because they already have everything else. I might be lulling myself by comparing him to a child, but I see no signs of danger. Even if he keeps acting like a child, he probably won¡¯t tell me anything, but I have to ask, ¡°How do you make the skeletons?¡± He looks at me for a second before laughing. ¡°You are a child!¡± My immediate thought is that it¡¯s ironic, but I gloss over that, channel my mom and ask in a serious tone, ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± I even give him the imitation of my mother¡¯s death glare. He probably can¡¯t see it because of my costume goggles, but I didn¡¯t realize that until now, and I¡¯m not gonna stop in case he can see me. ¡°You have no experience in interrogation. Admit it, you have no idea what to do.¡± He¡¯s smirking at me. He¡¯s definitely a proud teen. He was probably just spouting whatever he thought would make people take him seriously. To his credit, it worked, but now I¡¯m a little annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m sure your mom would ground you if she-¡± he cuts me off. ¡°Shut up.¡± I know he¡¯s just a kid, squeaky puberty voice and all, but there¡¯s something scary about the words. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I look at him again. I heard anger, but looking at him, I see determination. He¡¯s still a kid, but I don¡¯t think I should underestimate him. ¡°What do you know?¡± He raises an eyebrow and smirks again, the determination disappearing behind it. ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you.¡± ¡°You are.¡± I try to sound sure of myself. ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± he¡¯s still smiling. ¡°I don¡¯t have to.¡± The smile grows. ¡°And you won¡¯t do anything about it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to know what I¡¯d do.¡± I try to sound scary. ¡°You never hurt anyone, you don¡¯t even steal! You¡¯re just in it for the fun. You don¡¯t have the guts to be a real villain.¡± ¡°What makes a villain ¡®real¡¯?¡± By the time the question leaves my mouth, I know it''s a mistake. ¡°You have to be willing to kill.¡± I know it¡¯s impossible, but with that look on his face, I¡¯m starting to believe he might not be lying. I know it can¡¯t be true. I know that, but¡­ I think I need to take a break. I¡¯m starting to believe obvious lies and fear him. I take a single step before he snips, ¡°Scaredy cat.¡± He¡¯s right, I am a scaredy cat, but I¡¯m a smart kitty so I¡¯m going to knock him out before I leave. I mimic his smirk before walking over. ¡°What are you?¡± I grab the dart gun from behind him and stab him with a tranquiliser dart. As soon as he¡¯s down, I bolt up the stairs. What to do, what to do? As I pace around my house my eyes catch on the burner phone Ash gave me. She probably knows something about this stuff and since she already knows who I am¡­ I don¡¯t have a lot of options here to begin with and she¡¯s been meeting up with me so much lately. At first I thought it might be because she liked me, but then I remembered that I¡¯m dealing with a manipulative blackmailer. She sucks, but calling can¡¯t hurt. After picking up the phone, all I have to do is hit one number and, Bring Bring Beep. ¡°You kidnapped someone!¡± Ash sounds angry. ¡°Yeah, but-¡± She cuts me off. ¡°I know you¡¯re used to doing whatever you want, but you can''t kidnap people!¡± ¡°I-¡±Again, I¡¯m interrupted before I can get out anything useful. ¡°How do you plan to deal with him?¡± I think she pauses to give me time to answer, but then she hikes up the volume. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re calling? Do you need my help with getting rid of someone.¡± She¡¯s outraged. ¡°I thought you were a little smarter than this.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I kidnapped someone, but-¡± She cuts me off once again. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to call you ever since you kidnapped a supervillain on TV! What were you thinking? Don¡¯t you know-¡± ¡°Ash.¡± I¡¯m the one to interrupt her this time. ¡°I took him because he said he killed Naturalist.¡± I pause to see if she¡¯s going to cut me off again, but she doesn¡¯t so I continue. ¡°He came into my house knocked out so he has no idea where he is, and I¡¯m only going to see him while in costume so he won¡¯t be able to recognize me.¡± She makes a sound of agreement, but says nothing. ¡°The reason I called you is because I need your help with interrogating him.¡± I almost said, I need you. ¡°Whether you help or not, I¡¯ll make sure this doesn¡¯t blow up on you.¡± ¡°... I¡¯ll be there in ten,¡± she says in a slightly calmer voice. ¡°Thank you. Now why were you so-¡± Beep. She hung up on me. 6.3 ¡°Avery.¡± Mom¡¯s angry. ¡°What is this?¡± You jump when you hear her voice. If she found the wrong thing, she might kill you. You look under your bed to make sure she didn¡¯t find your stash; it¡¯s just a couple of bottles of wine, not drugs. It¡¯s not horrible, but your mom acts like having a single drop in the house will get us all killed. You¡¯ve always had trouble sleeping and drinking helps. You fall asleep better and wake up more rested, though if you overdo it, you get a headache the next day. You are technically an adult so your parents can¡¯t do much in the way of punishment, but you know they¡¯ll yell at you. They might even make you live at home during college if they¡¯re really mad. Even if they don¡¯t, you still have to live here a few months till school is out. ¡°Avery! Get down here!¡± If she doesn¡¯t know about the alcohol, what¡¯s she mad about? When you get downstairs, you are faced with a furious mother. ¡°What is this!?¡± She turns her phone so it faces towards you. On it is a picture of you with Jackie; well, not just with Jackie. In the picture the two of you are in the middle of a very intense kiss. ¡°I was on a date with my girlfriend. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± She comes closer and you make out the title of the article attached to the picture: Jackie Smalls¡¯ Partner Skipping School to See Her. Oh no¡­ ¡°You told me it was the school¡¯s fault that you were marked absent that day!¡± You told her that you had a club thing and were supposed to be excused. You were really just craving a bottle. You get your alcohol from Jackie¡¯s wine cellar so that¡¯s where you went. You were about to get out of there when Jackie caught you. ¡°What are you doing!?¡± she said once she realized it was you taking a swig from one of her mother¡¯s wine bottles. ¡°Oh, sorry Jackie.¡± You put the cork back on the bottle and set it down. ¡°I had a really bad day and needed to unwind.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. She looked so concerned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± You walk over to her. ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back later.¡± ¡°Avery¡­¡± She sounded so worried. ¡°Hey,¡± you said gently, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°... Are you sure?¡± She was still worried, but she trusted you enough not to push it. ¡°Yeah.¡± You wrapped an arm around her. ¡°Okay,¡± she said as she leaned into you. ¡°How about you and I have some fun?¡± You winked at her as you began leading her out of the cellar. ¡°Maybe later; right now I would just like to talk, if that¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Sure, what about?¡± ¡°Earlier you said you had a bad day; what happened?¡± She¡¯s so caring. ¡°Just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Everything was getting on my nerves.¡± ¡°Is that why you didn¡¯t ask me to hang out with you?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You just came to my house. You knew I was right upstairs, but instead, you went to the basement without telling me you were coming. Did you think I would just annoy you right now? If that is the truth-¡± You cut her off: ¡°You could never annoy me.¡± You kissed her. ¡°But-¡± You cut her off again with another kiss. One thing led to another, but before it got too inappropriate, someone got a picture. ¡°Explain now!¡± Mom¡¯s words snap you back to the present. ¡°Sorry, Mom,¡± you say. ¡°I was just having a rough day and wanted a break. I know I should have just told you, but I didn¡¯t know if you¡¯d make me stay at school or not.¡± ¡°This is not okay,¡± she says in a stern tone. ¡°Calm down. It was a one-time thing, Mom.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just this! You¡¯ve been acting differently, hiding things, you¡¯re failing half your classes and now this! Something is going on and I want an explanation.¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong!¡± ¡°Just tell me. I won¡¯t get angry, I¡¯m just worried.¡± ¡°So I messed up a couple of times, and something has to be wrong with me, but when anyone else does it, it¡¯s just a mistake!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I-¡± ¡°Sorry I¡¯m not living up to your expectations,¡± I sneer. ¡°I don¡¯t have a better excuse than that bad days exist and they affect me more than my perfect parents!¡± You stomp off to your room. ¡°Avery,¡± She follows you. ¡°Ave-¡± She doesn¡¯t even finish the name before you slam the door in her face. You lock the door. Mom sighs. ¡°This conversation isn¡¯t over.¡± Despite the declaration she walks away. Your vision clouds as you try not to cry. On instinct, you reach under your bed to pour yourself another drink. 7.1 Ash, dressed as Intelligent, and Death Raiser are facing off in Intelegant¡¯s basement. ¡°You are going to tell me everything I want to know. Got it?¡± ¡°Why would I do that?¡± He smirks, ¡°It¡¯s not like you will do anything to me.¡± ¡°Why won''t I?¡± The way she says it makes the question sound like a threat. Death Raiser doesn''t back down. ¡°You''re nothing but talk.¡± When Ash doesn''t react he goes on, saying, ¡°You''re a coward looking for their time in the spotlight.¡± ¡°Am I really?¡± He nods. ¡°Then I guess you must be really weak, because even a coward isn¡¯t afraid of you,¡± Ash strikes back. ¡°You never would have caught me if you hadn''t used that dirty trick.¡± ¡°Suuure,¡± she says doubtfully. ¡°If you let me out, I''ll show you,¡± he''s smiling again. ¡°Nah.¡± She leans against the wall and checks her nails. ¡°I already outsmarted you once. I don''t feel like doing it again.¡± He loses his cool and starts yelling. ¡°You never would have caught me if I hadn¡¯t let you!¡± Ash laughs haughtily. ¡°Why would you let me catch you?¡± Death Raiser must have taken too long to think of a response because the next word spoken came from Ash. ¡°Now you''re denying the truth.¡± The two meet gazes and she smiles. ¡°How sad?¡± Again, Death Raiser¡¯s anger sparks. This time he doesn¡¯t yell, he grits his teeth. ¡°I¡¯m not sad.¡± Ash continues the taunting. ¡°You¡¯ve probably never even fought before.¡± ¡°Wron-¡± His response is instantaneous, but he¡¯s still cut off before he can finish the word. Ash walks over to him and leans down so she¡¯s at Death Raiser¡¯s eye level. ¡°Someone probably heard about your powers and sought you out to take advantage of you.¡± She pats his head. ¡°Poor thing. Too naive to walk away from a chance at ¡®fame¡¯.¡± Having his words repeated back to him irks him, but for the most part he keeps his cool. ¡°I¡¯m not some attention-seeking idiot. I just take advantage of what I¡¯m given.¡± He does. ¡°So I was right.¡± She matters as she backs away. ¡°You¡¯re just a manipulated little kid,¡± the words are matter-of-fact. Death Raiser¡¯s calm when he provides his counterpoint. ¡°I can¡¯t be manipulated.¡± ¡°¡®I can¡¯t be manipulated,¡¯¡± she repeats in a whine. ¡°Of course you can.¡± Ash laughs. ¡°Or is that above you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I-¡± Ash interrupts: ¡°Yes it is. You either didn''t think of the possibility until now, or your ego made you dismiss it.¡± She loses the harsh tone. ¡°Just think about it. If not to use you, why would someone convince you to attack a city known for its very powerful hero.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Because-¡± Ash ignores Death Raiser¡¯s quiet voice and starts speaking. ¡°Look.¡± She sounds so compassionate. ¡°Those people are the reason you¡¯re here. I¡¯m giving you the chance to bring them down. All you have to do is tell me everything you know and they¡¯ll be blamed for everything. Is that really such a bad thing?¡± ¡°I don''t need your help.¡± He''s full of conviction. ¡°I¡¯m going to take care of them myself.¡± Ash raises an eyebrow. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re trapped in a basement with no hope of getting out and you''re going to stay here until I find them. It¡¯s best that you just tell me.¡± Without a sigh, or a deflation, he says, ¡°Fine.¡± Ash doesn¡¯t pick up on the suddenness of his change in attitude. ¡°Good choice; now tell me everything.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know that much,¡± Death Raiser lies. ¡°I was waiting to find a place to start my world takeover when people showed up at my house.¡± It¡¯s like he¡¯s reading from a script. He¡¯s a good actor, but if you look closer you can tell that everything is a facade. ¡°They told me that I could have this city in return for capturing Intelegant and turning her over to them. I originally said no because I didn¡¯t want to face Naturalist, but they convinced me. ¡°How?¡± ¡°They showed me a picture of Naturalist¡¯s dead body.¡± There¡¯s a moment of silence before Ash gathers herself enough to respond. ¡°How did you know he was dead?¡± ¡°Why else would the most powerful hero be on the floor in a pool of his own blood?¡± Death Raiser¡¯s back to sassy. The phone Ash brought with her starts vibrating, but she ignores it and keeps asking questions. ¡°Did you see any visible wounds?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then the blood might not have been his.¡± The phone stops vibrating. ¡°Tell me everything you remember about the photo.¡± ¡°Why? He¡¯s dead. That won¡¯t help him.¡± ¡°Because I said so.¡± Death Raiser sighs. ¡°It was torso up. He was on a concrete floor. He was pale and laying in a bool of blood out of costume.¡± The phone buzzes again, this time just once. Ash keeps going. ¡°What about the people that brought you the photo? Tell me everything you remember about them and the interaction.¡± ¡°They were in full riot gear, so I couldn¡¯t tell much about them. I didn¡¯t even hear their voices. All they did was hand me the picture and a letter. Then they stood there until I finished reading the letter. At that point they took both in and the picture back. Then they left.¡± Again, he¡¯s reciting the story, but this time, Ash picks up on it. ¡°There¡¯s more you know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°You do.¡± Ash glares at the villain. ¡°Even if I did,¡± he starts diplomatically, ¡°It¡¯s not something you want to know. You just want to know everything I do about your super boyfriend.¡± This time, it¡¯s Ash that loses her cool. ¡°He¡¯s not my boyfriend!¡± Death Raiser looks at her doubtfully. He doesn¡¯t say it, but everything about his expression and body language is shouting, ¡°Really?¡± Ash takes a deep breath, calms down and changes the subject. ¡°What did the letter say?¡± ¡°It said that if they needed something from me in the future they would find me.¡± ¡°Why did something so simple convince you?¡± Death Raiser glares at her. ¡°There were already rumors of Naturalist¡¯s disappearance and they just gave me proof!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I was saying.¡± She puts a hand to her forehead, annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m just asking if there was anything in the letter that made you trust them.¡± ¡°Not really, no.¡± ¡°There must have been something that made such a smart young man trust a total stranger? Were there any threats in the writing?¡± ¡°Not that I remember.¡± Ash gives him a once over, trying to determine if he¡¯s lying, but what she sees sparks a different question. ¡°... How old are you?¡± Death Raiser¡¯s scrawny body, and acne-ridden face, with a cracking voice make her think he¡¯s just a kid. ¡°What does that matter?¡± He seems offended by the question. She puts her hand to her forehead. ¡°You¡¯re underage, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m eighteen!¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not,¡±she says assuredly. ¡°I¡¯m out of high school, I live alone, and I¡¯ve got superpowers.¡± Ash sighs. ¡°What¡¯s your name, kid?¡± ¡°Brandon, Brandon Leafton.¡± She sighs again. ¡°Look, Brandon, you¡¯ve got to stop this villain stick, ¡®cause it ain¡¯t gonna end well.¡± Ash¡¯s southern roots make themself apparent in the statement. ¡°How do you know?¡± He¡¯s looking for a fight. ¡°I just do,¡± she says as she heads up the basement stairs to talk to the real Intelegant. 7.2 I have a camera in the basement so I¡¯ve been keeping an eye on the interrogation. It went better than I thought it would, although at one point I started spamming Ash, because Brandon said that he saw proof that the hero I¡¯ve been fighting for years is dead. ¡°How do you fit in this uncomfortable thing?¡± Ash asks from the doorway. Once I¡¯ve recovered from the initial shock of her appearing, I turn over from my desk and receive another shock. Ash is stripping and I¡¯m staring. I can¡¯t stop. Her body is like a work of art. She notices me staring, strikes a pose and asks, ¡°Enjoying the show?¡± I manage to look away. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean-¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Ash brushes it off. ¡°I mean I am the one that got naked in your house. Without warning. I know some guys that would do a lot more than stare.¡± ¡°I um¡­¡± I have no idea how to respond to that. She walks over and leans over my shoulder to see what I¡¯m looking at. I¡¯m currently doing a little research on the boy in the basement. ¡°He telling the truth?¡± Ash asks. ¡°I-I-¡± Her chest is touching me! ¡°What?¡± She looks down and then laughs before pulling away. ¡°You¡¯re cute.¡± I look down and mutter something like, ¡°Sorry.¡± She laughs again and pats my head. ¡°You¡¯re very cute, but try to get your head back in the game so we can resolve this.¡± I just nod instead of saying anything. ¡°So what¡¯d you find on Mr. Brandon Leafton?¡± ¡°Nothing yet.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± ¡°Huh? How does that make sense?¡± ¡°Something really bad must have happened to make him decide to take over the world. He probably doesn¡¯t want us to figure out whatever that is so we¡¯ll treat him like a threat instead of a victim.¡± ¡°What would make someone turn into a villain?¡± I have a few ideas, but I¡¯m curious what Ash will answer with. She stares at me, trying to determine if I''m being serious or not.¡°I don¡¯t know, you¡¯re the villain; what made you?¡± Not the response I was expecting. It¡¯s not one I was prepared for either. While trying to think of a response, Ash provides one. ¡°Didn¡¯t your mother die when you were about the same age he is?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I was nineteen when my mother passed on. In a single moment, all the responsibility in the world was placed on my shoulders. I had to maintain the business, plan a funeral, deal with the press, and deal with the police investigation of her death. That moment. The anniversary of the bombing. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. We were both home. I was in my room. I heard a, THUD. I went upstairs and there she was, trapped under a bookcase. There was so much blood; it was pooling on the floor, drenching a letter with my name written on it, in her hair, over her broken face- ¡°Jackie?¡± Ash says gently with a hand to my shoulder. I shake my head and push that day to the back of my mind. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Liar.¡± She doesn¡¯t say it like an accusation, more with the kind of concern you hear in the voice of someone when you reveal the worst thing that¡¯s ever happened to you. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± The words are meant to reassure both of us, but I don¡¯t feel any better. ¡°Want to talk about it¡­?¡± The last time I truly talked to someone about anything like this was Avery, they used it to hurt me. ¡°There¡¯s no time.¡± I turn my attention back to the computer. ¡°There is no record of anyone matching his description with the name Brandon Leafton.¡± ¡°Yeah, that makes sense.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°If you were that kid, trapped in a supervillain''s basement, would you tell her your real name?¡± ¡°Yeah, but what if it¡¯s for some other reason? He could be lying because he really did kill Naturalist and is scared now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve done this a bazillion times so I think I know when someone is hiding something.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve interrogated a lot of people?¡± I¡¯m surprised. I just brought her in because she talks to people a lot more than I do. ¡°Kinda, I mean, it is a big part of my job.¡± I must look confused because she goes on to explain: ¡°Remember when I first approached you? I used a similar tactic with you that I used down there.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± That hurts a little. I thought she liked me, you know, as a person. Guess she was just trying to use me. ¡°My interrogation strategies didn¡¯t really work on you though.¡± I look up at her before deciding she¡¯s only saying that to make me trust her. ¡°I was in the middle of my routine when you apologized! It completely threw me off. When you changed your attitude after that, it threw me off even more. Because of you, I had to change my plan on the spot. That hasn''t happened to me in a long time.¡± I want to know more about this, but at the same time I don¡¯t. I want to know how she¡¯s using me so I can stop her, but if she tells the truth I have to face the fact that the first person in years to know my secrets is using me. I look back to my computer. ¡°I¡¯m looking into a couple of potential people that might have told him to come here. So far, I¡¯m mainly looking into the big groups Naturalist has taken down.¡± ¡°Any of them look like they did it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯m just starting. And I have to make a list of all the groups with the motive and the resources to do this before I can eliminate candidates.¡± ¡°How¡¯s that going?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already got seventeen.¡± ¡°Oof. Looks like we have a lot of work to do.¡± ¡°Not ¡®we¡¯, ¡®me¡¯.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. I¡¯m already here, so I¡¯m gonna help.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve already bothered you enough. You can leave.¡± ¡°Come on. You have no idea what you¡¯re doing; I can¡¯t just leave you.¡± ¡®You need me,¡¯... words from the past. ¡°Get out.¡± I don¡¯t-can¡¯t need anyone. ¡°I already said no.¡± I stand up and grab her shoulder, snatch her clothes off the floor, and start leading her out. ¡°Thank you for your help so far, but you are leaving now.¡± ¡°Hey! That hurts, loosen up your grip.¡± I try to do so, but with half of me stuck in a horrible memory it''s hard. ¡°Why are you being so hostile?¡± She starts struggling a little. ¡°What¡¯d I say?¡± ¡®You can¡¯t live without me,¡¯ the memory sneers. I bristle again as I reach the front door and swing it open. ¡°Goodbye,¡± I say as I shove her out. ¡°Thank you for your help, and have a nice day.¡± I slam the door shut after shoving the clothes in her arms. ¡®You really think you can do everything alone? Ha! You¡¯ve never had to do anything for yourself.¡¯ It''s just a memory I repeat to myself while trying to ignore the awful words said by someone I once loved. 7.3 Today is your high school graduation. You are currently in the back with the rest of the seniors, getting ready. Everyone else is excited. You were nervous and ended up having a drink before coming so you¡¯re not really in the same boat as them. Everyone starts lining up in alphabetical order. You find your spot; it¡¯s between an annoying boy who was in your math class this year and an old friend of yours. They start walking and you follow them. They know where they¡¯re going and what they¡¯re doing, you don¡¯t but going along with the crowd isn¡¯t hard. After he rambles for a couple minutes, the principal starts listing the graduates¡¯ names. You sit in boredom as your classmates are rewarded with their flimsy pieces of paper waiting for your own. ¡­ ¡°Max Borne.¡± He¡¯s the boy before you. Looks like it¡¯s showtime. ¡°Olivia Byfeild.¡± ¡­ They skipped you!? You look around as Olivia gets up and walks past you; as she does this she gives you a look of pity. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± You grab her robe as you ask the question. ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°What don¡¯t I know?¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting held back a year.¡± ¡°...What?¡± You remember now. That¡¯s why you were nervous. A couple weeks ago your counselor called you to her office and told you you wouldn¡¯t be graduating. You got mad, told them to fix it and stormed out. They¡¯ve tried to contact you since, but you were too scared to see what they had to say. They probably emailed your mom too, but she hasn¡¯t blown up at you, so she must not know. You know you had a drink hoping to forget about it, but you can¡¯t believe you actually forgot. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for you, but I have to go.¡± Olivia walks past you to the podium. You¡¯re not graduating today. You fall back into your seat. This¡­ Wow. Just wow. How dare they hold you back?! You might have failed a couple of classes, but that wasn¡¯t enough for this! Now you have to stay in this cruddy town with your cruddy parents for another year! This is so unfair! The crowd erupts into cheers. You look around. People are beginning to file out. Darn it! Now your parents are going to scream at you, and since Jackie¡¯s here, she¡¯ll look at you like you¡¯re the saddest thing ever. That¡¯s what she always does, but you love each other. She¡¯s caring, but her worrying gets annoying. She treats you like you¡¯ll break if she moves wrong. Back before her mom died she was a lot more fun; she¡¯d drink with you and get in trouble with you, but now she¡¯s so fragile. At first it was cute, the way she¡¯d call asking for cuddles in the middle of the night and say the sweetest things out of nowhere, but now it just feels clingy. You miss the Jackie who didn¡¯t care what anyone else thought. The one who did whatever she felt like, whenever she felt like it. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. You make your way through the crowd, but stop when your eyes catch on a very distinct albino girl. Jackie is standing in front of your parents with her head down as they yell at her. You can practically see the tears she¡¯s trying not to shed. White hot anger fills you and you stomp over to them. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Jackie says, in a voice filled with cracks. You turn to her. ¡°No it¡¯s not! My parents are blaming you for some mix-up in the school system. I should have graduated; it¡¯s not like it¡¯s your fault I didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°Avery,¡± Mom says in a gentle voice. ¡°Shut up!¡± you bark at her. The other people leaving the ceremony move around your group. ¡°You do not speak to your mother like that!¡± Dad scolds. ¡°Then don¡¯t attack my girlfriend!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what we were-¡± You cut off your mother. ¡°Bull! You think it¡¯s her fault! Spoiler alert, it¡¯s not. I¡¯m not some little kid anymore, you can¡¯t blame my friends for my actions!¡± ¡°If you would just let us explain-¡± Dad says. ¡°No! I-¡± ¡°Please stop.¡± This time you¡¯re the one who gets cut off by Jackie¡¯s soft voice. ¡°They were just trying to help.¡± ¡°Help? How the heck would making my girlfriend cry help anyone!¡± ¡°Avery,¡± Mom says, ¡°we know about your drinking.¡± Your stomach falls. ¡°I can explain! I-I was just¡­ um¡­ ¡± Your mind blanks, so you change the subject. ¡°That has nothing to do with this! Why were you making my girlfriend cry?¡± They ignore your question. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask us for help?¡± Dad asks, sounding hurt. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you because I don¡¯t need help; I don¡¯t have a problem.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been held back because of it!¡± Mom shouts. ¡°How did you even find out about it?¡± ¡°...¡± Your parents don¡¯t say anything, but they do look at Jackie. You turn to your girlfriend. ¡°You told them!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry-¡± ¡°How dare you! I trusted you!¡± She knows about your drinking, how could she not when you¡¯ve almost drunk everything in her wine cellar. She¡¯s known, but she¡¯s never done anything to stop you from stealing the drinks other than asking you to stop and now she just up and tells on you because the school¡¯s requirements are crap! ¡°Avery.¡± Her voice is so quiet and soft, like the gentle way she hugs you, as if being too harsh would make you shatter. ¡°Stop it!¡± you bark at her. ¡°I came over to protect you, only to find that you betrayed me! I have fun sometimes. So what? You ruined everything! I hate you¡­¡± As that last, foul sentence slips out of your lips, you can already tell it was a mistake. Jackie looks so hurt. In that moment, staring into her red eyes, you feel like you just kicked a puppy. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! I didn¡¯t mean it!¡± The tears in her eyes make their way down her cheeks, but she says nothing. She does nothing. She just stands there with that look on her face. It¡¯s like she¡¯s finally seeing that you aren¡¯t the breakable one in this relationship. You take a few steps forward to hug her, but when you do, she starts moving. She takes a step back, that horrified look still frozen on her pale face. ¡°You hate me¡­?¡± ¡°Jackie, I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± You want to approach her, but she looks so scared. That¡¯s not what you want. You don¡¯t want her to be afraid of you. ¡°You-you didn¡¯t deny it,¡± she says in the same voice she used when she called you, police sirens in the background, and told you that her mom was dead. You take a couple of steps forward and grab her hands. ¡°I do deny it. Jackie, I love you, I just lost my temper. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± She doesn¡¯t react to your words; instead, she glances back at your parents before looking at her feet. ¡°I have to go now,¡± she says in an almost whisper. ¡°Please don¡¯t-¡± She interrupts you with another quiet, but forceful whisper. ¡°I hope things get better for you.¡± She pulls her hands out of yours and turns away. You are too shocked to say anything as she walks off. You watch as her walk turns into a run before you can even process what just happened. You reach for her. Mom lovingly touches your shoulder. ¡°She¡¯ll forgive you, just give her time.¡± You shrug her off. ¡°This is all your fault!¡± You run after Jackie.