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Chapter 41 – Playing The Saviour

Part 5 – Celestial

Watching Rachel patch herself up, it occurred to me how severely I’d underestimated her. When Miss Murder had appeared and they’d both blinked out of the fight, I was half convinced it was the last time I’d see her alive. She was already exhausted, and she’d used all of her weapons. I’d seen her in a fight, and outside of a very durable skeleton, there wasn’t anything superpowered about her.

Zoe and I had been left with a couple dozen armed thugs, and for the first time, I’d seen her fight. It was terrifying. She moved like a wild animal, literally tearing the gangsters apart like they were toys. I only saw her get hurt once, a single cut that sprayed a tiny splatter of her blood against a wall. A second later, the gangster was dead, and the wound had already healed.

Rachel had dragged herself back in shortly after, bleeding but mostly intact. When I asked her about Miss Murder, she just grunted and said the assassin was ‘handled’. She staggered into her workshop, and the sounds of grunting and banging followed.

We began cleaning up immediately. There wasn’t a lot of stuff outside of the rooms of salvaged tech we’d really collected, and Rachel and Zoe had been pretty good at disposing of waste. What was left we managed to quickly transfer into a shipping container, which Zoe and I were capable of carrying between us. Perhaps not the most subtle, but in the middle of the night, in a largely abandoned city, we managed. Rachel stayed behind longer, and met up with us later.

All three of us laid low for a while. Zoe and Rachel more or less had everything they needed, at least for a while, so I spent my time trying to get the hang of switching between Zoe’s and Ami’s powers.

Ami’s power was a lot more difficult to get a grasp on than Zoe’s. Whenever I took her form, I gained an incredible situational awareness, as far around me as maybe three metres. It was an overwhelming sensation, like my body had expanded and was pressing up against everything nearby. I tried to visualise it like I’d grown dozens of new arms, extending out in every direction, and I had to manage sensory input from all of them, and learn to control them. It was like that, only much more complicated.

On the other hand, switching between the forms was pretty simple to grasp. In both cases, my body changed physically to someone with a physical resemblance to the person I was copying, but nobody would ever confuse me for them.

I kept Zoe’s as my main form, the sort of secret identity I claimed as the vigilante that protected the city. Considering it changed my race, build and even perceived gender, it was a pretty solid disguise. Ami’s form was more useful for utility than any sort of combat application, and I had a feeling my telekinesis wasn’t as potent as hers. It was possible I just didn’t have the same degree of control, though.

Only Zoe knew I could take more than one form. Rachel knew I could shift between my natural form and Zoe’s, obviously, but I deliberately kept my second transformation from her. I still didn’t entirely trust her. So far as I was aware, nobody else knew I could shapeshift at all, or ‘steal’ powers. There was that one boy who’d seen me shapeshift on the rooftop that one time, but I wasn’t particularly worried about him. Oh, and Charlie had insinuated something, before her declaration on TV…

Without much to do, I found myself wandering the city, enjoying the freedom of moving unhindered. With Zoe’s power it felt amazing, like I could do anything. Running as fast as a car, jumping over buildings, and hardly anyone in the city to hide from.

Then I saw Veronica. I wasn’t at all prepared to find her in the city, and I was immediately petrified for her. She didn’t have any superpowers, and there was a reason everyone was evacuated from the city.

She was slumped against a wall on a rooftop, and I probably would have missed her if I hadn’t smelled her from a block away. That was another weird side to Zoe’s power, her senses were ridiculously heightened, and though I didn’t immediately know that what I smelled was Veronica, I did know it was familiar.

She stirred when she saw me, giving me a curious sort of look, almost like she didn’t quite believe I was there.

“A rooftop is an odd place to take a rest,” I said, hoping my voice was different enough that she wouldn’t know it was me.

“Stay away from me,” she threatened. “I’m contagious.”

I could feel my heart drop down to my feet. Contagious? She’d been infected? Of course, the chances of her avoiding that were next to none. The damn virus, or whatever it was, was airborne, and there were plenty of infected around spreading it.

I did my best to keep my face neutral. She didn’t know we had any connection, and I wanted to keep it that way.

“I’m immune, it’s fine,” I said. “What are you doing up here? The city’s been evacuated.”

She shifted uncomfortably.

“Probably. Doesn’t matter. I can’t leave,” she said.

She couldn’t leave? Oh, she was infected. Of course-

No, that didn’t make sense.

“Because you’re infected? That can only be recent,” I pointed out. It only took a day or so to turn, from what I’d seen. “The evacuation was weeks ago.”

“I’m looking for someone,” she said, surprising me.

“You are? Who?”

“I…” She hesitated, and we locked eyes. She took a breath, and nodded. “My best friend.”

Her best… Me? She was looking for me? Oh, no, of course. I’d basically just disappeared once the evacuation was ordered. I hadn’t explained anything to anyone.

It was my fault she was here. Which meant it was my fault she was infected.

“They’re missing?” I asked, trying not to give away how I was feeling. It wouldn’t make sense to her.

“Yes. She should have been evacuated, but she wasn’t. I need to find her.”

I seriously considered dropping the disguise. I could just reveal myself to her, tell her it was okay, tell her she needed to be safe.

But it was too late. She was infected, and there was no coming back from that. If she knew who I was, what I’d been up to…

She’d blame me. It would be fair, but it would kill me. She’d blame me, she’d hate me, and I didn’t want her to feel like her sacrifice was in vain. She needed what little hope she could hold on to.

“How do you know she’s not dead?” I asked.

“I don’t,” she confessed. “But until I know that she is dead, I’m not giving up on her.”

Present tense. She was still looking, still fighting, even though she was infected. Still as tenacious as ever.

What a waste.

“If she was infected, you’d never know,” I pointed out to her, not entirely sure why.

“Yeah,” she agreed, coldly. “Thanks for the pep talk.”

Idiot.

“Sorry. I just… think you should get somewhere safe,” I said, knowing there was no point, to me saying it or her doing it.

“Too late for that. Infected, remember?”

She let that sit over my head for a while, unable to know just how much it was tearing me up inside.

“Yeah. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, what do you care?” she snapped. “You don’t even know me.”

I want to hug you so badly right now.

“I don’t need to know you to feel empathy. I wish I could help you.”

“Yeah, well, you can’t,” she said.

“I’m sorry.”

Another pained silence. What else could I say?

“Ah, hey,” she said, her hostility melting away. “I’m sorry. I’m a little crabby right now. Maybe you can understand.”

“Of course.”

“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to live,” she said, sounding a little distant. “But I did want to say. You’re… you’re an inspiration. It seems like you’re the only person trying to make the city safer, and not just working to some secretive personal agenda. So, thank you.”

Don’t do this to me, Veronica. God, you’re gonna make me cry.

“Making the city safe is my agenda. But thank you. I appreciate hearing that.”

Great, what a genuine response. You don’t sound like an asshole at all.

“Well, isn’t this touching,” a third voice said, surprising me. I knew that voice. She’d snuck up on me. How? I hadn’t heard or smelled anything…

“What are you doing here?” I demanded.

“Playing the saviour,” Charlie said, smirking. “I keep telling you, I’m not the villain here.”

“Says the person who threatened to kill someone on national TV,” I retorted. I’d seen what Rachel had looked like, too. Without Zoe, she’d still be a broken husk. Charlie had done that.

“How is Rachel doing, anyway?” Charlie asked, infuriatingly smug.

“You stay away from her,” I warned her. I might not have trusted Rachel, but she certainly didn’t deserve whatever Charlie was gonna do to her.

Charlie sighed, taking a threatening step towards me. My body stepped back before I realised.

“I wish I could,” Charlie said wistfully. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option.”

“I’ll stop you,” I said instinctively. Apparently being protective was in my nature.

“You can try,” she said lazily. “But right now, I need to take care of Veronica, here. Or would you prefer to let the infection take her?”

The way she said it, it was almost like she was threatening me. She knew how important Veronica was to me, if she knew who I was. Did she know who I was? I had to assume so.

Wait. What did she mean by ‘take care’ of Veronica? Surely not…

“You have a cure?” I asked, desperately hopeful. “That’s impossible.”

“No, not a cure. Nothing quite that impressive. But…” She tossed a bottle to me. I caught it before I even realised my hand had moved. “Still fairly impressive, if I do say so myself.”

“What is it?” I asked, feeling stupid. I looked at the bottle, but it was just a bottle, unmarked. It sounded like it had pills inside of it.

“Resistance,” Charlie said. “You and I, we’re immune. And we’re not the only ones. There’s just enough of me in these pills to keep the infection at bay. One every eight hours. See if you can’t do something similar.”

You’re okay giving this to me? If I gave it to Zoe, or Rachel, and it really does have your genetic material in it…

“Since when are you a chemist?” I asked. She was still a girl my own age. Unless her super strength came with some kind of super intellect as well…

“Oh, I didn’t do the heavy lifting here,” she said. “I just bled for them. Now take them and go.”

She obviously wasn’t giving me a choice. That was fine. Being around Veronica was difficult enough, and Charlie did not make for good company. Even still, she’d given me some small glimmer of hope. If she really could keep Veronica from succumbing to the infection, I owed her more than I’d ever be able to express.

“Fine,” I said, before jumping off the roof. It was the biggest mistake of my life.

The very next day, Rachel approached me, a haunted look in her eye.

“Veronica’s dead,” she told me.

Bonus – Status Report 02

Currently known entities…

Miss Melbourne

Real name Sabrina Labelle. Origin: Human, local. Source of powers unknown, presumed to be from the rift.

Known abilities include shifting into multiple forms. She seems to be adding to them, and each makes her stronger. Bears further investigation.

Specimen Z

Refers to herself as Zoe. Continues to be reclusive. Working on a device, probably transdimensional travel. Is she planning on bringing an army over?

Known abilities included superhuman speed, strength and resilience, including greatly accelerated healing. These abilities depend on vast amounts of energy. Where is she getting that from?

Specimen G

Seems to have abandoned his Archangel moniker, and simply goes by Gabriel. Focused on Specimen Z. More active, mobile. Extremely dangerous.

Known abilities included superhuman speed, strength and resilience, including greatly accelerated healing. These abilities depend on vast amounts of energy. Where is he getting that from?

The Vigilante

AKA Charlotte Farrow. She has a base of operations somewhere, and she’s collaborating with someone to try and cure the infection. Why?

Known abilities include immortality, superhuman strength and speed, and something we’re unable to categorise. Far too dangerous to be allowed to run loose.

Miss Murder

Getting uncomfortably close to one of the invaders. Need to keep a closer eye on that. She might be planning to turn on me.

Known abilities include teleportation and minor regeneration.

Specimen W

MIA. Investigation suspended.

Ami

Miss Murder knows more than she’s letting on. Definitely telekinetic, motives uncertain. Only dangerous when provoked. We’ve formed a tenuous ceasefire, but I don’t trust her.

Rachel

Tinker abilities, uncertain how powerful. A valuable asset but too dangerous as an enemy. Terminate with extreme prejudice.

Veronica

KIA. No noted abilities. Only aberration is that her corpse disappeared. Worth investigating, low priority.

Haylie

I know her name now. We’re so close to bringing her back, to waking her up. And once we do…

Chapter 40 – So That’s It, Then

“She’s Death,” Charlie said coldly. “I’m so sorry. I can’t fight her, not again.”

Again?

She moved, almost too fast for me to see. A blur of motion, and then…

Nothing changed. Charlie stepped back, her face set in grim stoicism. Except I couldn’t feel anything. No more wind, no more cold. There was no sound.

I looked down at my feet, and saw myself. Dead. Charlie had made it quick, at least. Painless.

“You can go,” the blue-haired girl said. Charlie nodded, almost as if she could hear. She leapt off the roof.

The blue-haired girl approached me, a gentle smile on her face. She reached out towards nothing, and then she was holding a scythe.

“Hello, Veronica.”

“You look ridiculous,” I blurted out. She looked surprised, then laughed.

“The scythe is a bit much, isn’t it?” she said. “I wanted to look the part, but I think it just ends up being silly.”

“You’re really Death?” I asked, feeling like it was the stupidest question in the world.

I’d never really thought much about death. I didn’t believe in any God, or the idea of having a soul. I didn’t believe in an afterlife. I figured, when you’re dead, you’re dead. That’s the end. That’s what makes like so precious.

Apparently, I was wrong.

“Kind of,” she said. “I’m a Reaper. Not the only one. We collect souls, mostly.”

“For what?”

“To take you to Hell,” she said.

So that’s it? Just like that, I’m going to Hell? Some asshole decides I’m important, a psychopathic teenager with superpowers decides I need to die, and that’s that.

“Why?” I asked. “Is it the not believing thing? Did I break any rules? I mean, I wasn’t that bad of a person, was I?”

She smiled indulgently.

“Ah. I get this a lot. Look, it doesn’t work the way you think it does. The quick version is this: there’s no Heaven, Hell isn’t a punishment, everyone goes there.”

“So that’s it, then,” I said, staring at her in disbelief.

“Pretty much,” she replied with a shrug. “Look, it’s not as bad as you think. You just need a little perspective.”

Perspective? I wanted to wrestle that stupid scythe from her and beat her over the head with it. Instead, I took a deep breath.

“Then by all means, enlighten me. Can I still save my best friend?”

“Your best friend doesn’t need you to save her,” she said, dodging the question.

“So, no, then.”

“No,” she conceded. “Your time in this world is over. Time to move on.”

Time to move on? That was the line that was going to take me out of my mortal life, and into whatever comes next?

“And if I’m not ready?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, almost sounding sincere. “This is just how it goes.”

Just how it goes? I’m supposed to accept that?

No.

No, fuck you.

Behind her, a young girl materialised. Deep purple eyes, long lilac hair, the sort of insufferable grin that only ever looks normal on a child’s face. Clothing that could have been from a sci-fi show with a moderate budget.

“Not necessarily,” the girl interjected.

“What?” the Reaper said, turning around. She tensed up immediately when she saw the child. “Oh, no. Not you.”

“Always a pleasure, Roxie,” the child said, unfazed. I decided not to comment on the fact that Roxie was a disappointingly common name for a Reaper.

“Friend of yours?” I asked, my eyes darting between the two of them. Blue hair, purple hair, it was like something out of an anime. Except for the part where I was literally dead.

Wait, no, there was probably an anime about that.

“Something like that,” Roxie muttered. “Meet the very definition of cheating death.”

“You’re being overdramatic,” the girl accused her.

“Can you blame me?” Roxie retorted.

“Somebody please explain what is going on here,” I begged, “because this is starting to get ridiculous.”

The two of them stopped to look at me, then at each other. Roxie rolled her eyes.

She can handle that, I think.”

“That’s probably for the best,” the child agreed.

“So explain, then,” I prompted.

The child smiled, sliding her hands into her pockets. The way she spoke, her body language, none of it seemed particularly childlike. After everything I’d seen, that didn’t surprise me in the slightest. She was probably the oldest of the lot.

“How about I put it this way instead,” she began. “Are you done with your life? Are you ready to leave it all behind? Are you satisfied with the impact you’ve made?”

What is this, a sales pitch?

“Of course not,” I said.

“That’s just the way things go,” Roxie interrupted, repeating herself.

“No, it isn’t,” the child said, calmly but assertively.

“Come on, don’t pretend you care about mortal lives,” Roxie snapped.

“I don’t,” the child agreed readily. “I care about the bigger picture. And I think she does too,” she added, gesturing towards me.

“She can’t even fathom the bigger picture,” Roxie argued.

“She will.”

“I’m still waiting for any of this to make sense,” I said sharply. The two of them could stand and bicker on their own time.

“Look,” the girl said, her expression suddenly very serious. “There’s a lot more going on than this pathetic little turf war.” She gestured around her.

“And there are already plenty of players on the board,” Roxie countered. “You don’t need more, Alice.”

What an appropriate name, I thought idly. Much better than Roxie.

“That’s not my name anymore,” the child said, bristling.

“It was when I came to collect your soul,” Roxie said, almost taunting the girl.

“Except you didn’t collect it.”

There was clearly a lot of tension between the two of them. A collector of souls and someone who apparently wasn’t all the way dead when they were supposed to be? Like it mattered. The only thing I was interested in was my own fate.

“Can we move this along?” I asked.

“Fine,” the girl said sharply. “I want to give you a chance to return to the world, and make a difference. In return, you need to make sure of a few things for me. Can you still do that?”

“Can I still save Sabrina?” I asked. It was the only thing I was capable of caring about. It was what had gotten me into this situation in the first place.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Then I’m in.”

“She’s lying,” Roxie said, and the girl glared at her.

“That’s enough out of you,” she said coldly. “You’re not needed here anymore.”

“No, I want to hear this,” I said. I was desperate, but I wasn’t stupid. If I was being tricked, I wanted to know.

“There’s not a damn thing you can do about your friend, Veronica,” Roxie said. “She’s beyond your influence. She’s beyond their influence.” She gestured towards the child.

“We don’t know that for sure, yet,” the girl replied, but didn’t deny it entirely.

“Explain,” I demanded.

“Veronica,” the girl began, “Sabrina isn’t… human, anymore. She’s…”

“This should be good,” Roxie muttered. The girl glared at her.

“Right now, she’s fighting a battle, with a power from another reality, and it’s going to consume her. There won’t be anything left of her.”

“No,” I said, my mouth moving before the thought had even formed in my head.

“No?” Roxie repeated, surprised.

“I’ll save her,” I said. “Somehow, I will save her.”

“Well, you can’t do that if you’re dead,” the girl said bluntly.

“Then I accept your offer, whatever conditions come with it.”

“You’ll regret this,” Roxie said.

“That’s fine,” I replied.

“You can leave us now, Roxie,” the girl said, her voice rich with condescension. “Veronica and I have a lot to talk about.”

Bonus – There Are Plenty Of Dangerous People In The World

“Well, that was unexpected,” the Celestial said, breaking the silence between them. “I really had hoped she’d survive.”

Miss Murder looked up from her phone, looking up at him with a curious expression on her face. He shook his head.

“Veronica’s dead,” he explained.

Miss Murder’s spirit fell at the news. She’d never been close with Veronica, but she remembered her well enough. Before everything changed, Veronica had been a spirited, enthusiastic girl, passionate and loud. It hadn’t surprised Miss Murder at all to learn Veronica was still in the city, surviving against all odds. It also wasn’t surprising to learn she was dead, but it was disappointing.

No surprises there, she typed into her phone, showing her partner. He nodded.

“Charlie killed her,” he said.

That was surprising. Charlie was a lot of things, but a murderer? Without reason? That was something she hadn’t been prepared for. Had she really misjudged her old friend that much?

What? Why?

“No idea,” he said. “They were talking, and then Charlie just… attacked her. Poor girl never stood a chance.”

That made even less sense. Charlie was calculating, almost insidious in her scheming. She planned things ahead of time, and there was always a reason for everything she did.

What were they talking about?

“Couldn’t pick up the audio,” the Celestial said. “The only camera that caught them is too low resolution to lip-read. Dammit, this is going to bug me all night.”

She knew it was curiosity, and not compassion, that was eating at him. It was part of what made him so effective at what he did, and why her trust in him was slowly eroding.

Does this change anything?

“Nothing significant,” he said, looking wistfully out the window. She knew he was using his power, comparing possibilities and glimpses of the future. “If Sabrina finds out, it’ll push up her conflict with Charlie. That’s… hmm. That’s actually something we should try to prevent. If Sabrina isn’t strong enough when she faces Charlie, she might not get another chance, and there isn’t anyone else who can.”

That was a frightening notion. She had first-hand experience of just how dangerous Charlie was, but the idea that Sabrina was the only person with the potential to actually challenge Charlie, to be able to truly stop her?

Miss Murder couldn’t think of anyone less qualified to carry the fate of the city.

How do we keep her from finding out?

The Celestial thought for a moment, quietly brooding. When he looked up, she knew she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

“We’ll claim credit. She’ll be furious, and come after us instead. We can set up some challenges for her, make sure she’s ready for Charlie.”

And if she gets all the way to us you?

“I suppose I’ll deal with that if it happens,” he said calmly. “For now, I need you to go to the body. It needs to look like you killed her.”

Her hunch was right. She didn’t like his plan. Not one bit.

You want me to mangle a dead body?

“It’s either that or tell Sabrina to her face that you murdered her best friend.” He paused, reading her expression. “I’m sorry.”

Shaking her head, Miss Murder stood, and began to dress for the outing. It was pointless arguing with him, and even if she didn’t like his plans, she knew there was merit to them, at least to his end game. He had the potential, and the resources, to make a real difference in the city, and she didn’t belief he was so morally bankrupt as to turn into the cartoonish supervillain he gave the impression of being.

Fully dressed, she looked out the window, staring at a nearby rooftop. An instant later, she was standing on the rooftop. She blinked again, and she was on the ground.

It took her only a few minutes to cross the city and find the rooftop where her partner had spotted Veronica’s corpse. It was a pitiful sight.

It annoyed her that Charlie had just left the body lying here. Nobody deserved that indignity.

She crouched down, inspecting the body. There was no visible damage, just a lack of vitality. If she hadn’t seen the footage, she’d easily have believed the girl had just suddenly stopped living. If only.

“You’re out late,” a familiar voice said, surprising her. She looked up to see Ami standing in the doorway that led back into the building. Ami saw the corpse, and frowned. “Oh. Oh, dear. What happened here?”

Miss Murder said nothing as Ami approached, also crouching beside the corpse. She didn’t touch the body, but Miss Murder knew all too well Ami didn’t need touch to maintain a physical awareness of what was happening around her.

“Neck broken. It was a quick death, that’s no accident. Probably a mercy killing.”

That surprised her. A mercy killing? That implied Veronica was in pain, or suffering in some way. What did Ami know that she didn’t?

Mercy killing? she typed into her phone.

“Oh, you didn’t know? She was infected,” Ami explained, and Miss Murder recoiled. “This is probably better than what was going to happen to her.”

It shouldn’t have surprised her that Veronica had gotten infected. The probability of it was extraordinarily high. It just seemed wrong, somehow.

It didn’t matter. She was here for a reason, a rather unpleasant one.

She looked at Ami, and hesitated. Even though it shouldn’t have made a difference, she felt self-conscious with Ami present. After a moment’s reflection, she typed out another message.

You probably don’t want to be here for this.

Ami read the message, and shrugged.

“Whatever you’re going to do, I’m sure I’ve seen worse.”

Left with no other option, she sighed, and gently gripped the hair at the back of Veronica’s head. She pulled out her knife, and ran it across Veronica’s throat, using enough pressure to cut through the trachea. It felt awful.

Ami frowned.

“Now why would you do a thing like that? Did this girl slight you in some way?”

More than ever, Miss Murder was frustrated with her inability to speak. She was slowly learning sign language, but it was difficult, and still relied on other people to be able to understand it. Typing or writing was stilted and inefficient, and it made her feel disconnected from the flow of dialogue.

Instead of the pages of explanation she wanted to offer, her response to Ami was a single word.

No.

“You… didn’t enjoy that, did you?” Ami asked, her tone unexpectedly tender. It caught Miss Murder off guard. “I’m sorry.”

Perhaps there was a chance Ami could understand more than just what was said. Was that possible? The woman was decades older, and literally came from another world. Miss Murder hadn’t seriously considered the possibility of a deeper emotional connection.

We weren’t close, but she didn’t deserve death.

Ami considered the message for several seconds before saying anything.

“You’re taking the blame for someone.”

Yes.

“I won’t ask why,” Ami said, and Miss Murder felt her shoulders sag with relief. She was too exhausted to even attempt answering that question.

Thank you.

The silence dragged out between them. Despite her job being done, she wasn’t in a hurry to return, and Ami didn’t seem to be in a rush to go anywhere either. In a weird way, it was almost pleasant.

“Are you recovering okay? After your fight with Rachel?” Ami asked, with genuine concern.

Miss Murder lifted up her shirt, revealing the ugly wound on her stomach, still raw and very painful. The memory of Rachel impaling her with a shard of glass was still very fresh. She’d recovered enough to move around without too much pain, but she was far from being ready for another fight.

“Brutal,” Ami muttered and Miss Murder noticed the way she almost instinctively reached out to touch it, before pulling her hand back. “She doesn’t hold back, does she? I’m rather hoping I never have to fight her, I’m half convinced she would kill me.”

Pulling her shirt down again, Miss Murder withdrew her phone and typed out another message.

The longer she has to create, the more dangerous she becomes.

Her partner seemed to have dismissed Rachel as a potential threat. He’d wanted to work with her, use her to help with Haylie, but she’d known Rachel would reject that offer. Now the Celestial seemed convinced he could just ignore the tinker, or kill her at a later date. Miss Murder was fairly certain Rachel was going to be the one that killed him.

“There are plenty of dangerous people in this world,” Ami said. “I’m honestly more worried about your partner.”

She really would have liked to agree with that. He was dangerous, and far too ambitious for her liking, and his ethics were questionable at best.

He’s manageable.

“I suppose,” Ami said, sounding a little annoyed. Another silence stretched out, and she wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what. She felt like she’d upset Ami, and for some reason, that bothered her.

Ami broke the silence, and when she spoke, it was with less confidence, less surety than was usual for her.

“I meant to say, I’m… I’m worried about you.”

Well that felt like a slap in the face. Miss Murder had made peace with the fact that she was perceived as a villain. It was just part of the price of working with the Celestial, and his Stars. It was the only way for her to achieve what she wanted, and there wasn’t anyone left whose opinion mattered to her. It took her by surprise that she cared about Ami’s perception of her.

You think I’m dangerous?

Ami looked at the message, confused. She didn’t say anything for several long seconds, clearly trying to compose her response. Miss Murder’s heart felt like it was made of lead.

“No,” Ami said eventually. “I meant that I’m… I’m worried for you.”

She… what? Miss Murder shook her head, trying to process that. Worried for her? As in, concerned for her safety?

She began typing out a response, thought better of it, and deleted it. After silent deliberation, she tried again, but changed her mind, and deleted that too. Several attempts later, she finally had a response she was comfortable with.

Me too.

“Why stay with him, then?” Ami asked, not even trying to disguise her disdain.

Because I need to know what he’s doing.

Also because if she ever left him, she knew he’d turn his resources towards destroying her. She knew far too much about what he was planning, what he could do, what he’d already done. There was no chance he’d let her live, and she didn’t quite have faith in her ability to survive his wrath.

She didn’t say that, though. She suspected that if she did, Ami would challenge it, would offer to protect her. She suspected that she’d probably accept that offer. She knew that she’d want to. She knew it woudn’t be enough.

“You know what his planning?” Ami asked.

Yes, she typed out in response, praying that Ami wouldn’t ask her to say it. She knew the Celestial couldn’t tell what she was saying, but she still knew better than to say anything out loud. One way or another, he’d find out.

“Be careful,” Ami said.

Always.

The two of them stood there, almost close enough to touch. Part of her wanted to, wanted to know what would happen, wanted to feel that connection.

“I…” Ami began, and Miss Murder’s nerve broke.

She blinked away, and didn’t stop blinking until she was back home, back where she was safe.

Back where she was alone.

Bonus – It Was The Same One

“I’m so sorry,” Charlie whispered, standing over Veronica’s body. She looked around, scanning the area, but saw nothing. Even still, she knew she wasn’t alone.

Part of her wanted to pick up Veronica’s corpse, to take it back with her. Maybe she could give it a proper burial, at the very least. It was infected, so she couldn’t send it back to Veronica’s family, but if she could preserve it for long enough for the infection to die out…

Part of her might have wanted that, but a bigger part of her just wanted to hit something. She and Veronica might never have been close, but they were friends. Veronica was someone she respected, someone who deserved better than she’d gotten. Her death was unfair, and there was nobody Charlie could punch in response. It sucked.

You can go. The words floated through her head, half whisper, half thought. Not her words. Nothing she could do about it. She left, walked off the side of the building, enjoying the rush of gravity as the ground raced up to meet her.

For nearly eighteen months, she’d dedicated her entire life to saving her city. First it was just the gangs, and she’d paid dearly for her efforts. Captured, tortured, punished over and over again for her naivety. She’d had to take more drastic measures, had needed more power, and she’d never forgive herself for the damage she’d caused in the pursuit of that.

It wasn’t enough. Instead of granting her the power to save the city, things had only gotten worse. Horrors from a whole other reality, people even more powerful than she was. Somehow, the gangs had gotten stronger. The military had moved in to clean up the mess, and they only made things worse. Nothing had worked out.

Still, she kept fighting. What else could she do? Giving up wasn’t in her nature, and too many people were relying on her, even if they didn’t realise it. Nobody else could do the things she did.

Eighteen months, and nothing had been as hard as killing Veronica. She hadn’t been ready for it, hadn’t expected it, and Veronica was innocent, so undeserving of death.

You didn’t have a choice, she tried to remind herself. The description Veronica had given her, she knew exactly who it was. The poor girl had seen a Reaper, she was already marked for death. It was the least Charlie could do to make it painless.

Doesn’t make it any easier.

Too angry to patrol the streets, she opted to return home instead. It wasn’t far, but she had to be careful, had to make sure she wasn’t being followed. Even the Celestial didn’t know where she disappeared to.

She stormed into the living area, a large space barely filled by the two couches and four bookshelves it contained. The younger girl on the couch looked up, concerned but not surprised.

“You’re home early,” she commented.

“Not in the mood, Sadie,” Charlie replied shortly.

“You weren’t watching Rachel again, were you? You know that’s kind of creepy, even for you.”

“It wasn’t Rachel,” Charlie snapped.

“Good,” Sadie replied. “You’re still way too obsessed with that girl. You broke up. Get over it.”

“We didn’t just break up- ugh, why am I talking to you about this?”

“Because you don’t have anyone else,” Sadie replied. “You’re stuck with me, just like I’m stuck with you. So tell me, why are you in such a foul mood?”

Charlie glared at the younger girl, but couldn’t maintain it. She let out a ragged breath, and slumped onto the other couch.

“I killed somebody.”

“You’ve killed before,” Sadie pointed out.

“Only when I had to,” Charlie argued.

“Did you have to this time?”

“No,” Charlie confessed. “But…”

“But?”

“The Reaper was there,” Charlie said. “Veronica saw her. It was the same one.”

“Since when can Veronica see- oh. Oh. You killed Veronica. Fuck, Charlie. You killed her because she saw a Reaper? Seriously?”

“What was I supposed to do? Fight her again?”

“You beat her once,” Sadie said.

“No, I didn’t,” Charlie argued. “It wasn’t me. That thing isn’t me.”

“Probably for the best, anyway. Wouldn’t want poor Veronica getting stuck like me, eh?”

Charlie ignored the barb, staring up at the concrete ceiling. She loved Sadie with all her heart, but she didn’t like her one bit, these days. They were always at odds, always disagreeing, and Sadie had literally nothing better to do than to argue with her.

Just another in a long list of failures. Another reminder of a time she’d tried to make things better, and only fucked up worse.

Enough unproductive thinking, she scolded herself. She had a lot of work to do, and her mood wasn’t going to improve while she sank into the couch and sulked.

She hauled herself to her feet, making her way out of the room. To her surprise, Sadie followed her. The two of them walked in silence, navigating the maze of concrete corridors. Neither of them felt the cold, but it was impossible to feel warm in that environment.

Charlie opened a heavy metal door, tensing before walking through it. Sadie stood in the doorway, her mouth agape.

“Charlie, you can’t be serious,” she said, as the door slammed shut beside her. “This is barbaric.”

“It’s necessary,” Charlie replied coldly.

She approached the infected chained to the back wall of the room. It snarled at her, but lacked the energy to move much.

“Hey, buddy,” she said softly. “How’s it going? You feeling any better yet?”

Only another snarl in response. She shook her head, disappointed. It had been several weeks, and daily infusions of the chemical synthesised from her blood hadn’t changed anything.

“What are we doing wrong?” she asked, reaching out to them. They lashed out at her, weak and pathetic.

“What are you doing to it?” Sadie asked.

“Trying to save them,” Charlie said. “Using my immunity to try and undo the damage the infection has done. So far, it hasn’t achieved anything.”

“But… how? You’re not a scientist. You don’t know the first thing about this stuff.”

“No, I don’t,” Charlie agreed. “That’s why I made a deal.”

“With who?” Sadie asked. “What deal?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Charlie said. “They get to study my blood, and in return, they use that information to create something that can help people.”

“People have tried to study your blood before, remember? They didn’t find anything different about it.”

“I found someone who knew what to look for,” Charlie said. “They already helped create something which retards the process. Now we’re working on reversing it.”

“And what else are they going to find out about you, Charlie?” Sadie demanded. “What if they discover weaknesses? What if they figure out how to hurt you?”

Charlie laughed, startling the infected. It actually scurried a bit further away from her.

“God, I wish. Do you have any idea how boring it is, being like this? Nothing can kill me. Pain barely registers. It’s like everything is pointless. How am I supposed to get stronger if nothing ever challenges me? If there’s never any risk?”

“Why do you need to get stronger?” Sadie asked, with uncharacteristic aggression. “Why are you obsessed with being strong and powerful? Why can’t you use all that power to actually do something productive, instead of thinking about fighting all of the time?”

Charlie felt her jaw clench, and her hand curled into a fist, the nails digging into the skin of her palm. She took several seconds before she responded, breathing with forced patience.

“Because,” she said, her voice low, “this is the only thing I can do. Everything that’s happening out there is my fault, Sadie. I let monsters into the world, and for all my strength, all of my goddamned immortality, I can’t stop them. I can’t save everyone. This is all I have.”

The angrier she got, the more agitated the infected became. It began to roar alongside her, struggling against its chains.

“You’re wrong,” Sadie said, pressed up against the wall, as far away from both Charlie and the infected as she could get.

“No. Not wrong. Not this time.” Charlie stared at the infected, and once again, it cowered away from her. “I’m going to keep getting stronger, and I’m going to destroy everything that threatens this city.”

“Even Sabrina?”

Charlie hesitated. It was only for a second, but Sadie’s face made it clear she noticed.

“Even Sabrina,” Charlie said. Sadie’s disappointed expression cut, but she knew better than to try and explain anything to her sister.

Charlie’s phone rang, a distraction she was incredibly grateful for. Sadie left the room, making a disgusted noise. Charlie rolled her eyes and answered the phone.

“What?”

“Having a bad day?” a male voice asked.

“Is there any other kind?” she replied, coldly. “What do you want?”

“I was hoping for an update,” he said. “I think I can infer, though.”

“So try something else,” she snapped. “We had a deal, Gabriel.”

“I promised my best effort, nothing more,” he replied.

“And if you want what I promised, you’ll step your best effort up,” she threatened.

“I don’t take orders.”

“I don’t care,” she said, and hung up on him.

Alone save for the infected, she slumped against the wall, sliding down to the floor. She willed the fury that was building up inside of her away, but as always, she was at its mercy. It took all of her self-control to keep from lashing out at anything nearby at times like this.

When she’d had Rachel around, everything had felt so much easier. Rachel stabilised her, grounded her, soothed the rage she was constantly at war with.

“I miss you,” she whispered, knowing nobody could hear.

Bonus – There’s Something I Need To Tell You

Six Months Before Impact Day

Sabrina sat down opposite Veronica, fidgeting nervously. For her part, Veronica pretended not to notice, something Sabrina was extremely grateful for. She’d been working up the courage to have this conversation for weeks, maybe longer.

There was nobody she trusted more than Veronica. Veronica was her best friend, her moral support, her confidant. Despite that, she was terrified. What if it came out wrong? What if Veronica was disgusted, or worse, what if she just dismissed it?

What if she refused to accept it?

Sabrina shook the doubts out of her head. Veronica was a good person, and nothing would change their friendship. She was even sure, pretty sure, that Veronica had been dropping hints, like she already knew, and wanted to make sure Sabrina could feel comfortable talking about it.

The café owner approached them, an exceedingly attractive woman who seemed to go out of her way to look frazzled and disorganised. She tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear as she smiled at the two girls.

“What can I get for you?”

“A mocha for me,” Veronica said, not missing a beat. “Thanks, Wendy.”

“Just a hot chocolate,” Sabrina said shyly, conscious of the way her voice sounded. Wendy just kept smiling, nodding cheerfully.

“Won’t be long.”

Sabrina watched Wendy leave, observing the strange way that Wendy gave the impression of being clumsy whilst maintaining an enviable grace.

“So that’s why you always insist on coming here,” Veronica said, a teasing note in her voice.

“Huh?”

“You have a crush on Wendy,” she said, grinning. Sabrina blushed.

“I do not,” she replied, flustered.

“So you don’t think she’s attractive?”

Everyone thinks she’s attractive,” Sabrina said, trying to dodge the question. “She’s like, a real life version of the nerdy girl who gets a makeover and is suddenly the prettiest girl in school, except it was obvious all along how pretty she was because the actress was so pretty anyway and I’m really not helping my case here, am I?”

“Not one bit, but I’m enjoying it immensely,” Veronica said, grinning.

“She’s not my type,” Sabrina insisted. “And probably too old for me. Anyway, it’s super inappropriate to flirt with people whose job it is to be nice to you.”

“Fine, fine, you don’t have a crush on Wendy,” Veronica conceded. “You just think she’s attractive and you get flustered whenever she talks to you.”

“Hot chocolate?” Wendy said, placing it gently on the table in front of Sabrina, who made a tiny squeaking noise and shrank into her chair. Veronica laughed.

Once Wendy had placed down Veronica’s coffee and left again, Sabrina sat up straight, and glared at Veronica as fiercely as she could. Veronica only laughed harder.

Over Veronica’s shoulder, Sabrina caught someone staring. For a moment, she thought they were staring at her, but quickly realised it was Veronica, not her.

They seemed young, a kid of maybe ten or twelve, with deep purple eyes and long, lilac hair. She had soft white skin and a satisfied smile that seemed out of place on her young face.

Veronica followed Sabrina’s gaze, but the girl had already vanished. Confused, she turned back to Sabrina.

“You’re spacing out there, buddy. Something the matter?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Sabrina said, completely forgetting about the girl. “Well, I mean, there is…” She took a deep breath. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Oh! Well, sure, what’s up?”

Sabrina looked across the table at her best friend, feeling panic and peace wage war in her stomach. She’d rehearsed her next lines countless times, and she still wasn’t sure what to say.

“I, uh…”

There were so many ways she could begin. I’m a girl. I’m trans. I’m not the person you think I am. Hey, you know how I’ve never been any good at being a boy? For a long time, something in my life has felt wrong…

No matter what she said, it sounded wrong in her head. It was such a big thing, so important, yet so mundane at the same time. After all, nothing was really changing. Her name, her pronouns, maybe one day, the way that she looked. Nothing important, not to the friendship.

Veronica smiled at her, the sort of smile that’s mean to reassure you that everything’s okay. Sabrina smiled back.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” she said, and once she started, it was easy to keep going. “About who I am, and what I want. What makes me happy. And I realised something. My whole life, people have been expecting me to be someone I’m not. Someone I can never be. And I’ve tried, Veronica. I tried so hard to be that person, for so long.”

Another pause, another deep breath. Veronica didn’t say anything, didn’t stop smiling.

“There’s a lot that doesn’t feel right. The way that I look, it doesn’t match up with the way that I feel. The way people look at me, talk to me, if feels like they think I’m somebody else. The name that they use, it doesn’t feel like mine. It feels like an anchor, or a noose.”

Still no reaction from Veronica.

“You’re the first person I’ve talked to about this. The first person I’ve trusted. I mean, I’ve talked to people online, people with more experience, people who’ve been here before, but not like this. This is different, and I knew I had to tell you first. You’re my best friend, and I need you to know that I’m…”

She choked up, unable to say the last words, the most important words. Veronica hadn’t moved, hadn’t stopped smiling. She had no reason to be afraid, no reason to stop, but…

“It’s okay,” Veronica said. “You’re my best friend too, and I’m here for you, no matter what. I promise.”

“I… I think I’m a girl, Veronica,” Sabrina said, then immediately shook her head emphatically. “No, scratch that. I know I’m a girl.”

Veronica didn’t let the silence drag on. She reached across the table, taking Sabrina’s hand and squeezing it.

“Makes perfect sense to me,” she said warmly. “I do have one question for you, though.”

“Y-yeah?”

“What do I call you?” Veronica asked. Sabrina let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.

“Sabrina,” she said.

“I’m already changing it in my phone,” Veronica said. “And if you need any backup, telling anybody else, I will happily be there for you. In your own time, of course.”

“I wanna tell Ash,” Sabrina said. “I don’t know how she’ll take it, but she’s like family. And I could really use your help on that one.”

“Aw, you know she loves you,” Veronica reassured her. “But of course, I’ll help you however I can. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, though. She’s a smart kid.”

They both looked up as the café entrance chime rang. Three teenagers walked in, and Sabrina recognised two of them, though she couldn’t recall their names. Friends of Charlies, maybe.

Wendy intercepted them, making it look like she was just casually walking past them on her way to another table. They zeroed in on her.

“You’re Wendy, right?” a boy with fair skin, short blonde hair and quick grey eyes asked. Sabrina couldn’t see Wendy’s facial expression, but she noticed the woman’s body language tense up.

“That’s me,” she said, with flawless charm and warmth.

“We need your help,” the boy said, looking around conspiratorially. Sabrina very quickly stared down at her mug, hoping he wouldn’t notice her attention.

“You need help from a barista?” Wendy asked, cocking her head.

“Not exactly.”

“We’re looking for a different sort of help,” one of the girls added, beautiful and athletic with striking green eyes and soft Eurasian features.

The other girl, a sullen looking Latina girl, had distanced herself from the other two, but watched them carefully.

“Well, I only have the one kind available,” Wendy said patiently.

The boy drew an envelope out of his pocket, handing it to her.

“You might change your mind when you see this,” he said.

“What’s this?” Wendy asked, not taking it from him.

“Open it, and find out.”

“Okay…” She took the envelope, and extracted the letter deftly. If her body language was tense before, she was practically shaking with anger as she read it. “Ah. Oh, that clever little…”

“So?” the closer of the two girls asked.

“Back room,” Wendy replied sharply.

The four of them shuffled off together, and Sabrina and Veronica looked at each other. Veronica shrugged, and Sabrina nodded in a sort of vague agreement.

They paid their bill, and left the café. Veronica linked her arm through Sabrina’s, and the two of them began to walk, with no particular destination in mind.

Ahead of them, a young girl caught Sabrina’s eye. She was sitting atop a streetlamp, swinging her legs idly, her lilac hair fluttering gently in a breeze Sabrina couldn’t feel.

She stopped in her tracks, staring up at the girl. Veronica looked up at the same spot, but the girl was gone.

“What’s up?” Veronica asked. “You see something?”

“Huh? No,” Sabrina said. “Not sure why I stopped, sorry.”

“All good. Probably just your brain remembering something important, then forgetting it again. Happens to me all the time.”

“You’re probably right,” Sabrina said, smiling comfortably.

Chapter 36 – I Can’t Fight Her

“So, what’re you still doing in the city, anyway?” Charlie asked, after making sure I swallowed her pill.

I debated whether it was worth telling her. Could I trust her? Probably not. Would it hurt? It was difficult to tell. I doubted she would care, and I couldn’t see how she’d use the information against me, but I wouldn’t put it past her.

On the other hand, she knew Sabrina. They’d been friends once, too. Kind of, anyway. Maybe she’d be sympathetic. Maybe she’d even help. She certainly had a better chance of helping than anyone else, since she actually knew who Sabrina was.

I decided it was worth the risk. Only barely, but Charlie had just saved my life. Probably. If I couldn’t trust her after that, well, I didn’t like what that said about me as a person.

“I’m looking for Sabrina,” I told her. “She’s… missing. Didn’t get evacuated with everyone else. Can’t help but feel like she’s gotten involved, somehow.”

“You’re sure she’s still alive?”

It was an honest question, not designed to discourage or hurt me. If anything, it felt almost hopeful. Was she looking for Sabrina too? Had she at least thought about her?

“Honestly? No, I’m not sure. But until I know for sure, I can’t give up.”

“I admire that,” Charlie said, smiling. “Seriously. I mean, you’re going about it in completely the wrong way, and look what’s happened to you. Still, you’re brave. Sabrina’s lucky to have your loyalty.”

The wrong way? What did she think was the right way? She was aware I didn’t have super strength or anything like that, right? What else could I possibly have been doing?

I’d spoken to five of the most powerful individuals in the city. I’d survived speaking to five people who could kill me as easily as crossing the street. I’d evaded gangs and gathered data about their movements, made predictions and calculations and assessments, and found my way to the heart of the city. What more could I possibly have done?

But I knew the answer to that. Plenty. I didn’t know what, but I was no closer to finding Sabrina than when I started. I could pat myself on the back all I wanted, but it didn’t change the facts. I had no idea what I was doing.

“I need help,” I mumbled, before I could stop myself.

“Well now, that is an interesting idea,” Charlie said. “Help you find Sabrina? Sure. I can do that. And why not? I’d love to see her safe and sound, and as far away from this city as she can get.”

Just like that? No, there was more to what she was saying. I waited for the other shoe to drop.

“On the other hand, it’s risky. I already have plenty occupying my attention, and if I let myself get distracted, people could get hurt. Is Sabrina really worth that?”

“Yes,” I said, immediately.

“Then let me make you a deal,” she said. “I know exactly where Sabrina is. I can tell you that she’s alive, even. And I do believe you can save her.”

“So what do you want from me?”

“Let me tell you what I think,” she said, not answering my question. “I think you’re important. I don’t know how, or why, but I have a feeling. I mean, you’ve come this far, survived this long, that’s gotta mean something, right? You keep finding yourself in the right place at the right time, or at least, the most dramatic place.”

She began to pace, walking to and fro in front of me.

“Do you believe in destiny, Veronica?”

What?

Of all the things I’d expected her to ask, that certainly wasn’t one of them. Destiny? Her, of all people, asking me about destiny?

I had a horrible image of her, as the Vigilante, leading a vengeful crusade against the world, believing it to be her destiny. That was how dictators and supervillains began, right?

“No,” I said, almost choking on the word. “No, I don’t believe in destiny.”

She smiled, surprising me.

“Me either. Stupid notion, honestly. Depressing, too. My achievements are my own, and so are my failures. Anyway. That’s good. Next question, do you believe in coincidence?”

“Um, yes?”

“Guess you gotta fall on one side or the other,” she agreed, nodding. “Not me, though. I mean, I’m sure some things are coincidence, but not this. Not you.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just stood there silently, waiting for her to continue.

“So, Veronica. If your being here isn’t because of destiny, and it isn’t because of chance, then what is it? What are we left with?”

I stayed silent.

“Come on, you’re smarter than this,” she said impatiently. “But alright. Fine. Someone’s behind this. All of this. Someone wants you for something.”

“Why?” I asked, without thinking. “Why me?”

“Who knows?” She smiled, but it was a grim, humourless smile. “Veronica. How much do you know about the Celestial?”

“Not much,” I confessed.

“Did you know he’s superhuman?”

“No, but it doesn’t surprise me,” I said.

“He can see the future,” Charlie said. “Or rather, he can see the futures. Possibilities, branches, chances and coincidence. He can see which insignificant elements can become world-changing.”

As a power, that seemed overwhelming, and more than a little terrifying. What could you do against a power like that? It could see everything coming, plan for every attack. No wonder the Stars seemed unbeatable.

But how could you use a power like that? How could a human mind process that much information? How far ahead could he see? To what degree of detail? What did it look like? Could he control it, focus on specific events or people?

“You think he’s using me?” I asked, my mouth suddenly dry. “You think he knows I’m going to be important, somehow?”

Charlie just nodded. I took a step back. The look on her face scared me.

Over her shoulder, I saw someone else appear. It was completely silent. One second there was nothing, the next, she was just there, leaning against the wall.

She looked kind young, maybe the same age as me, with electric blue hair, a long black trench coat, and skin as pale as a full moon. Most eerily, the wind didn’t seem to affect her at all. She was completely static.

You’re not who I was expecting, I thought to myself, without understanding why.

Charlie noticed me staring, and whirled around, guard up. The blue-haired girl didn’t move, didn’t react. Charlie stared at her, right through her, then turned back to me.

“What’re you looking at?” she demanded.

Should I say anything?

“There’s someone there,” I said softly.

“Describe them to me.”

No hesitation, no scepticism. She believes me completely. Why?

“Young woman, blue hair, black coat,” I said. “You can’t see her?”

Charlie’s expression went completely blank. She took a deep breath, not bothering to turn around and try to look again.

“Fuck,” she said, almost too quietly for me to hear. “I didn’t want to do that. I really, really didn’t.”

“Charlie, what’s going on?” I asked, still watching the blue-haired girl, who hadn’t moved at all. Was she smiling at me?

“The Celestial’s predictions get disrupted around people like me,” Charlie said. “And if he thinks you’re important, worth preserving, then…”

The pieces fell into place in my head. If the Celestial wanted me alive, then she wanted me dead. And if she wanted me dead, there was nothing I could do about that. I couldn’t run from her.

“And the girl?” I asked, failing utterly to hide my growing terror.

“She can explain it better than I can,” Charlie said. “I really am sorry. I didn’t think killing you was going to be necessary, but if she’s here, the choice has already been made. Fuck.”

Who is she?” I asked again, panicking. I was looking around for somewhere to run, even knowing it was pointless.

“She’s Death,” Charlie said coldly. “I’m so sorry. I can’t fight her, not again.”

Again?

She moved, almost too fast for me to see. A blur of motion, and then…

Chapter 35 – I’m Not The Villain Here

There was something oddly comforting in seeing Miss Melbourne in the flesh. She was awe-inspiring, to be sure, but there was an approachable, almost friendly element to her, too. She was giving me an odd look, like she couldn’t figure out something. Well, a random girl on a roof would raise questions for me.

“A rooftop is an odd place to take a rest,” she said, her voice surprising me. It sounded like it was being run through a filter, yet somehow completely natural. Like talking with someone else’s voice, maybe?

“Stay away from me,” I cautioned. “I’m contagious.”

I didn’t know if that would be an issue for her, but it didn’t seem fair not to warn her. She was one of the good ones, at least as far as I could tell.

“I’m immune, it’s fine. What are you doing up here? The city’s been evacuated.”

She sounded genuinely concerned, and I was almost overcome by the desire to hug her. Any friendly face in the midst of this chaos.

“Probably,” I said. “Doesn’t matter. I can’t leave.”

She cocked her head, like a dog or a bird might.

“Because you’re infected? That can only be recent. The evacuation was weeks ago.”

“I’m looking for someone,” I said, with far fewer reservations than I’d had telling anyone else. She, at least, I felt like I could trust.

“You are?” she asked, sounding surprised. “Who?”

“I… My best friend.”

“They’re missing?” she asked, still sounding concerned.

“Yes. She should have been evacuated, but she wasn’t. I need to find her.”

A grim expression crossed her face. She looked almost… hurt? Was that it?

“How do you know she’s not dead?” she asked.

“I don’t,” I confessed, shaking my head. “But until I know that she is dead, I’m not giving up on her.”

She didn’t like that. Her expression soured, her body language becoming more defensive.

“If she was infected, you’d never know,” she told me.

You’re not helping, lady.

“Yeah. Thanks for the pep talk.”

A flicker of something, on her face. Regret?

“Sorry. I just… think you should get somewhere safe.”

“Too late for that,” I pointed out. “Infected, remember?” I wouldn’t ever be able to leave.

A horrible thought occurred to me. Even if I did find Sabrina, I couldn’t get close to her, or I’d infect her. If she was stuck somewhere, or if I accidentally got too close…

How far was the infection range, anyway? Gabriel said it was airborne, but it had to have a limited range. The bacteria, or whatever it was, would die outside of the body. Otherwise the whole city would be infected already. I made a mental note to try to figure that out.

“Yeah,” she said, too softly. It roused me from my introspection. “I’m so sorry.”

She sounded so sincere, it was almost upsetting.

“Oh, what do you care?” I snapped, still feeling uncharacteristically aggressive. “You don’t even know me.”

“I don’t need to know you to feel empathy,” she retorted, almost too quickly. “I wish I could help you.”

“Yeah, well, you can’t.”

That expression again. Almost certainly regret. But why?

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

You’re being an ass, Veronica.

Miss Melbourne didn’t look quite as intimidating as she first had. Honestly, she looked almost vulnerable, though I knew physically, she was tougher than she looked.

I had to guess that didn’t extend to her emotional well-being. Whoever she was, getting superpowers couldn’t be an easy process, and she’d suffered the same losses as the rest of us. Being safe from harm didn’t mean those she cared about were safe.

“Ah, hey. I’m sorry,” I said, feeling guilty. “I’m a little crabby right now. Maybe you can understand.”

“Of course,” she said, smiling gratefully, but without mirth.

Just say it, Veronica. You might not get another chance.

“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to live,” I began, and her focus became laser sharp. “But I did want to say. You’re… you’re an inspiration. It seems like you’re the only person trying to make the city safer, and not just working to some secretive personal agenda. So, thank you.”

“Making the city safe is my agenda,” she said, nodding. “But thank you. I appreciate hearing that.”

A perfect comic book hero response. Almost like she was just playing a role.

It struck me that with this meeting here, I’d spoken to five of the most powerful people in the city in the space of two weeks. Silver, Ami, Gabriel, Charlie and now Miss Melbourne.

What the hell makes me so special?

An ordinary human, stuck in the middle of a city that should have killed me a long time ago. How had I managed to not just stay alive, but wind up in these situations, over and over again? Was there something special about me?

No. Definitely not.

“Well, isn’t this touching,” Charlie said. I hadn’t realised she’d returned.

Miss Melbourne whirled around, suddenly tense and ready for a fight. Looked like she was caught by surprise too.

Charlie, for her part, seemed completely unfazed. Was that part of her persona, or was she actually more dangerous than Miss Melbourne? If they did fight, could I help Miss Melbourne in some way?

No, Charlie still had the antidote, or whatever the hell it was. The thing that would give me more time.

“What are you doing here?” Miss Melbourne said, immediately hostile. It seemed like they had some history. That was interesting.

“Playing the saviour,” Charlie said, smirking. “I keep telling you, I’m not the villain here.”

“Says the person who threatened to kill someone on national TV,” Miss Melbourne retorted. Charlie didn’t even blink.

“How is Rachel doing, anyway?”

Miss Melbourne knew Rachel? Was that significant? Too many pieces of the puzzle still missing.

“You stay away from her,” Miss Melbourne said, defiantly.

Charlie sighed, taking a lazy step forward. Miss Melbourne took an unconscious step back. Definitely afraid.

“I wish I could,” Charlie said. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option.”

“I’ll stop you.”

“You can try. But right now, I need to take care of Veronica, here. Or would you prefer to let the infection take her?” Charlie asked, flashing me a smile.

Miss Melbourne faltered, looking over her shoulder at me, then back at Charlie.

“You have a cure? That’s impossible.”

“No, not a cure,” Charlie said, shaking her head. “Nothing quite that impressive. But…” She tossed a bottle to Miss Melbourne, who caught it easily. “Still fairly impressive, if I do say so myself.”

“What is it?” Miss Melbourne asked, turning the bottle over in her hand. I heard the rattle of pills.

“Resistance. You and I, we’re immune. And we’re not the only ones. There’s just enough of me in these pills to keep the infection at bay. One every eight hours. See if you can’t do something similar.”

“Since when are you a chemist?” Miss Melbourne asked, vaguely accusatory.

“Oh, I didn’t do the heavy lifting here,” Charlie said. “I just bled for them. Now take them and go.”

Miss Melbourne hesitated, but only for a second.

“Fine.”

She turned, and jumped off the side of the roof.

Charlie walked up to me, another bottle of pills in her hand. She held it out to me, but I didn’t take it. Not just yet.

“I have so many questions,” I said.

“And I’ll answer none of them. Here, take one. I mean, take the whole bottle, but swallow one now.”

I made a face.

“Your blood is in these?”

Charlie rolled her eyes, exasperated. Or maybe it was just performance. Everything she did felt a little bit like that.

“Not literally,” she said. “They’re synthesised from something in my blood. And they are literally your only choice.”

I had so many more questions. Would there be side effects? What if I missed a pill? What if you gave one of the pills to someone fully lost to the infection? Was I still contagious?

What was it that made Charlie different, or Miss Melbourne? Or any of the others? I had to assume none of the Independents were vulnerable to it. The amount of power they had, it just made sense. Plus, if someone that powerful did lose their mind to aggression…

I shuddered to think of it.

In the end, none of those questions mattered. I had one goal, and one goal only. To find Sabrina. These pills, if what Charlie said was true, would give me the time I needed.

There were dozens of other ways I could fail, most of them involving death. Somehow, that didn’t scare me as much as it used to.

I had a chance to save Sabrina. I had to take it.

For the briefest of moments, across the road, on another roof, I thought I saw a flash of purple, but there was nothing there.

“Alright,” I said, taking the bottle. I screwed off the lid, placed a pill on my tongue, and swallowed.

Chapter 34 – There’s Still Time

A few days. Three days at the most, before I turned into a mindless pack hunter, inhuman and ugly and pointless. My impossible task had just become even more impossible.

How the hell was I supposed to manage this? Should I waste time looking for a cure? Gabriel had said that was impossible, but my brain refused to believe it. It had to be possible, even if he didn’t know how. Maybe he just didn’t care enough.

The problem was, even if a cure was possible, would I find it within three days? Almost certainly not. The chances were tiny. Infinitesimal. And if I wasted time on that, it was that much less time I had to dedicate to finding Sabrina.

There had to be another way. Something, anything, that could get me out of this situation. There was no way it was hopeless already.

You’re such an idiot, Veronica. Such a fucking idiot. ‘Oh, I know the risks. Sure, I might get shot or captured or infected, but that’s okay! I don’t mind!’ Fuck you, past me. This is not okay. I mind.

Had to think. Had to come up with a solution. Could someone help me?

Nobody outside the city. Hunter, my sister, Sabrina’s family? Not a chance. Someone in the city? Who did I even know?

Charlie wouldn’t help me, even if I did know how to get in touch with her still. Did I have her number? Didn’t matter. If she knew I was infected, she’d probably carry me off with the rest of them.

Desperately, I tried calling Sabrina again, but just like always, it rang out.

It was weird. Her phone should have run out of battery by now, if something had happened to her. So she probably was okay, right? Keeping her phone charged? So why wasn’t she taking my calls? Did someone else have her phone?

Another name showed up in my contacts. Ami. It was a chance. A slim one, but I’d take what I could get. She knew Gabriel, seemed to not want me dead. Maybe she could help. Maybe she could at least give me a clue. Anything, please.

Please.

I hit dial. The phone rang. On the third ring, she picked up.

“I met Gabriel,” I said, before she could say anything. My voice was still croaky from before. “I’m infected.”

A moment’s pause.

“I’m sorry.”

“Tell me there’s something I can do about this. Please.”

“There isn’t.”

Two words, and the last of my resolve broke.

Not fair. Not fucking fair.

“No,” I whispered. “That’s not fair.”

I hadn’t meant to say that. It didn’t matter. I didn’t care if she thought I was weak. I just wanted to live.

“Now that you’re infected, you’re a carrier too.” Her voice was hard, cold. “If you can, avoid others. I’m sorry, Veronica.”

She hung up.

I screamed.

I screamed until my body was physically incapable of screaming anymore, then threw my phone against the wall. It shattered. I didn’t care.

I ran. I needed to feel in motion, feel like I was moving towards something, even if I didn’t know what that something was.

Everything else felt cold. My body felt hot. My thoughts were distant, distracted, unable to focus. That was fine. I didn’t need to focus. I didn’t want to focus.

Straight ahead. Turn left. Turn right. No point to any of it. No idea where I was going.

If I kept running, I’d eventually run into the middle of a fight. Gangsters, soldiers, more infected. I didn’t care. There wasn’t anyone left in this city who deserved to be safe, and even if I wasn’t strong, now I was dangerous. They wouldn’t know, and then it would be too late.

The whole damned city could get infected for all I cared. Sabrina didn’t deserve it, Sabrina would be a tragedy, but who was I kidding, thinking she was still alive? Of course she was dead. She wasn’t strong, wasn’t resilient, wasn’t even clever. She didn’t stand a chance, never did.

So fine, let the whole city get infected. Then maybe the rest of the country, the rest of the world would give up on it, and nuke the whole lot of us. No more infection. Probably no more superhumans. Even they couldn’t survive a nuke, surely.

Something distracted me. A face, a reflection in a window. A young girl with lilac hair.

I ran headfirst into something, bouncing backwards. Pain shout through my chest and shoulder where I’d collided with it, and then in my butt and hands as I landed on them. Snarling, I looked up, and felt my blood run cold.

A long, flowing coat. Short brown hair. Piercing blue-green eyes. A look of surprise on her face, harder than when I last saw it.

“Veronica?” Charlie asked, reaching down to help me up. I slapped her hand away, scrabbling backwards.

“You,” I snarled. “No, not now. I cannot deal with you right now.”

I got to my feet, glaring at her. My thoughts were more present, more focussed, but they all revolved around violence. That wasn’t helpful. I knew better than to think I could win a fight against her.

“Veronica, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she said, as if that was what I cared about. Couldn’t be less important, not anymore.

“Fine. Apology accepted. Now leave me alone.”

She looked concerned, and moved to stay close to me as I began to walk away. Her movements were fluid, controlled. She didn’t move like a human anymore. She moved like him, the asshole that did this to me.

“Veronica, you just screamed loud enough to stir a city block. You’re in danger.”

Stop saying my name.

“I’m already dead, Charlie. It doesn’t matter.”

Her expression softened. For just a moment, she looked like my friend, a little bit odd, the quiet nerd. It wasn’t her, though. That Charlie was gone. This one was just a pretender, a monster, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and the mask was slipping.

“You’re infected,” she said.

“Yep.”

“How long?”

How long what? Until I turned into a monster? No, how long since it had happened.

“I don’t know,” I said. “A few hours, maybe.” I’d lost track of the time.

“Then there’s still time,” Charlie said.

My heart skipped a beat, and every thought process in my head ground to a halt.

Don’t get your hopes up, Veronica.

“What? Time for what?”

She didn’t have a cure. There was no way she had a cure.

“To keep you the same,” Charlie said.

This is a trick. She’s playing you. Manipulating you. Don’t trust her.

“There’s a cure?” I asked, despite my doubts. My brain was so desperate it was clinging to any chance of hope.

“No, no cure. At least, not that I’ve seen. But we can delay the symptoms.”

Delay? Time? That was all I needed. Could she really do that for me?

Could I trust her?

“Seriously?” I asked, trying to sound sceptical, instead of hopelessly hopeful. “How? And how do you know?”

“It’s a long story,” she said dismissively. “What matters is that I can help you.”

My resolve hardened. My feelings didn’t matter. Only Sabrina did.

Sabrina, who was definitely not dead. I refused to believe it.

“Well, I’ve got nothing left to lose,” I said. “Why not?”

“I don’t have anything on me,” Charlie said. “I need to…. You’re not safe here, and I can’t bring you with me.”

“I can look after myself,” I insisted, knowing full well it was a lie. It had been a reflex response, and I regretted it immediately.

“Not here, you can’t,” she said, irritating me and filling me with relief in the same sentence. “Hmm. Rooftop.”

“Fine. I’ll head to a-“

I was cut off as she wrapped an arm around my chest, bent her legs, and jumped. With only one free hand, she scaled the side of the building, driven by supernatural strength and agility. When we reached the top, she placed me down gently.

“What the fuck,” I said, a little out of breath.

“Stay here,” she instructed.

“Like I have a choice,” I complained.

She stepped off the side of the roof, disappearing into the growing darkness. Was it evening already? How long had my little breakdown taken? How much time had it cost me?

As the sky continued to darken, I listened to the sounds of the street below me. I heard infected snarling, snapping, but they didn’t seem to be able to find me. Or maybe they just couldn’t get up. It didn’t matter, really. So long as they didn’t try to take a bite out of me.

Would I stop seeming like food to them at some point? Would they realise I was infected, just like them, and lost interest? Would it happen before I changed, or after?

A soft thud alerted me to someone’s presence. I twisted, ready to complain to Charlie about leaving me alone on a rooftop, but a part of me already knew it wasn’t her.

They stepped out of the shadows, their gait somewhere between the supernatural elegance of Gabriel and a clumsy teenager who just went through a growth spurt.

A uniform? No, a costume. White and purple, with gold trim. Her face revealed, white skin and blonde hair. Bright blue eyes, long silver nails. She was tall, beautiful, just slightly unnatural looking.

What was she doing here?

How had Miss Melbourne found me?

Chapter 33 – I’m Very Easy To Talk To

Another week passed, and I found myself no closer to finding Sabrina. I had two leads, neither of which was at all easy to follow up on.

Miss Melbourne apparently hadn’t been seen in almost two weeks. Admittedly my information network was limited at best, and it wasn’t that long to go under the radar. Still, without anything to go on, it was basically a dead end.

The Stars were my other option. Not that I could work with them, but they clearly had the biggest information network across the city. If I could find a way to tap into that…

Risky, sure, but so was just being in the city. So was holding a conversation with two of the most dangerous people in the city. Danger wasn’t really an issue for me. I just needed to find Sabrina, and if could, find answers.

Obviously, I’d already checked the obvious places. Sabrina’s house, my house, Hunter’s house. All abandoned. Our school, establishments we used to haunt. Not a damn thing.

On a whim, I tried Charlie’s house. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. The lair of a supervillain, hidden beneath the basement? A garage full of evil schemes pinned to the walls?

It was as abandoned as the rest of the city. There was a brief moment when I thought I’d caught someone hiding in there, a kid with purple hair, but she ran when I saw her, and disappeared before I could catch her, leaving me doubting whether she’d ever been there at all.

I found myself gravitating towards conflict. It wasn’t exactly in short supply, really. Couldn’t go more than a few hours without hearing something in the distance. From what I managed to gather, there were three remaining gangs in the city, including the Stars. There was a military presence, though it was dwindling. The infected were growing in number, and they seemed to be grouping up, almost like packs. The lot of them seemed to be engaged in a perpetual turf war.

Then there were what I’d come to thinking of as the Independants.

Zoe was missing, so far as I could tell. Nobody knew where she was. Same with Miss Melbourne.

Silver was around, but nobody seemed to have any idea what she was up to. She seemed to be collecting electronic components, mostly.

Ami was searching for Haylie, I knew. Haylie was nowhere to be seen, but there was a good chance the Celestial knew more about that.

Charlie seemed to be hunting the infected. I rarely saw her from close up, but I’d witnessed her from a distance a few times, disabling groups at a time, then carrying them off, too fast for me to follow. Not that I wanted to get too close to them anyway, just in case.

Then there was Gabriel, who seemed to just leave a trail of corpses in his week. If anyone had survived an encounter with him, they weren’t talking about it. Was that necessary, in his apparently single-minded quest to recapture Zoe?

Once, I was nearly captured by a bunch of gangsters. Couldn’t tell who they were with, but they caught me watching them from a window, and made a beeline for me. I ran, and they would have caught me if not for the sudden appearance of a pack of infected. Luckily, the infected seemed more interested in tearing apart the people shooting them, not the teenage girl running from them. Still, it was a terrifyingly close call.

Undeterred, I kept pushing and searching. Every day I survived felt like another victory, another step closer, even if that wasn’t quantifiably true. For all I knew, whatever clues or evidence remained could disappear, and I was actually getting further from my goal. I tried not to think about that, as best I could.

My food supplies were running low. Thankfully, the gangs seemed to have their own food supplies, so despite the vaguely apocalyptic feeling the city gave off, none of the supermarkets I’d encountered had been looted.

I slipped into one, listening out for any signs of infected. It had been long enough that some things with shorter shelf lives were expiring, so I made my way right to the long life and non-perishable items were. Not as tasty, but better than dealing with food poisoning.

As I was grabbing cans of food, a voice behind me caused my entire body to seize up.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

I hadn’t heard him approach at all. The supermarket was empty, how had he managed to move so silently?

I turned to face him, a man every bit as beautiful as his velvet voice. Tall, fair skin, dark hair, warm amber eyes. A shirt and slacks, just loose enough to look sensual. An amused smirk playing on his lips.

“You.” I choked out the word. “Gabriel?”

“You know my name? I’m flattered,” he said. I couldn’t help but notice how unnaturally still his body was. “Sadly, I’ve not yet had the pleasure of hearing yours.”

What did he want with me? He’d clearly followed me here, but why? Did I somehow release a pheromone that attracted all of the superhumans in the city to me?

Was I going to die?

“Maybe let’s keep it that way,” I said, feigning a confidence I certainly didn’t feel.

“Your confidence is refreshing, even if it is just a mask,” he said, chilling me. Another mind reader? Or just really perceptive? “Might I ask what you’re doing here, in the middle of what seems to have become a battlefield?”

No chance of escaping, not even a sliver of hope. It was difficult to even breathe.

“Trying to stay alive.”

“And you’ve done a remarkable job of that so far, considering your physical limitations,” he said, too gently.

“How do you know I’m not a superhuman?” I demanded, as if there was the slightest hope of deceiving him.

“The way you move. The way you smell. The way you speak.”

“I could be very good at hiding it,” I offered, and he smiled.

“No.”

Great. So much for that approach. Switch tracks, find another angle.

“Well, then you know I’m no threat to you, at least.”

Please don’t kill me.

“The thought never even occurred to me,” he said, still smiling. The way he looked at me, it was distant, indulgent. What did he see me as, a child? Less than that?

“Then what do you want with me?” I demanded.

“Curiosity, of course,” he said, as if that were obvious. “How have you managed to stay alive this long? What are you even still doing here?”

If I could keep his interest, would that save my life? Would it only delay the inevitable?

“I’m resourceful,” I said simply. “And curious,” I added, almost as an afterthought.

“A girl after my own heart.” Another indulgent smile. “I congratulate you on all you’ve achieved.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“Tell me, how did you hear my name?”

There was just a trace of urgency to that question, like it was actually important. Could it be?

I’d heard his name from Ami. They were on the same side, more or less. Would that save me?

No, I had to play this cooler than that. He’d see right through something that obvious.

“From what I hear, you haven’t exactly been keeping it a secret,” I pointed out. I didn’t actually know if that was true, but Ami had implied it.

Gabriel nodded in agreement. I didn’t understand him at all.

“No, but there’s another name that seems to have taken preferential position in people’s minds. I’m curious as to why you didn’t use that one.”

Fine, have it your way.

“It’s what Ami told me your name was,” I said.

His expression was unreadable. Not quite a blank slate, but nothing recognisable.

“So, you’ve spoken to Ami? And survived? That alone speaks volumes. What else did she tell you about me?”

I really hoped I wasn’t getting her into trouble. A quiet corner of my brain began to wonder who would win in a fight between the two of them, but I had no way of knowing that. Not important. Focus on Gabriel, Veronica.

“Not a lot. You’re trying to recapture Zoe, she’s looking for your other teammates.”

“And why would she tell you that?” he asked.

Good question.

“I’m very easy to talk to.”

“Evidently.” There was that smile again, but it was tempered this time. Disappointment? Regret? “It’s a shame we had to meet like this. I apologise deeply.”

What?

A mental image flashed through my mind, of him killing me by simply reaching out and breaking my neck. I was a witness, and he didn’t leave witnesses.

“What for?” I asked, barely bothering to hide the lump in my throat.

“Have you not heard?” he asked, sounding genuinely surprised. Well, almost genuine.

“Clearly not.”

“The infection,” he said. “I’m a carrier. You’re almost certainly infected by now.”

What? Fucking what?

The lump in my throat expanded as a piece fell into place. He was the source of the infection? A Typhoid Mary for this plague of zombies?

It would explain why he killed everyone he met, to avoid it spreading. It seemed almost merciful.

Except I didn’t want to die. Being infected sounded worse, but a part of my brain was denying it, telling me it wasn’t true. It wanted a chance of survival, at the risk of turning into one of them.

“What?” It was all I was able to manage. The world was spinning, my chest tight, almost too tight to breathe.

“I’m so very sorry,” he said, and that did sound genuine.

“You didn’t touch me,” I said, grasping for any hope.

“It’s airborne.”

I could feel rage building in the back of my head. Was that a reasonable response, or was that the infection, already taking hold?

“What are you doing out here, then?” I shouted. “Why would you come talk to me?”

He was unruffled by my sudden outburst.

“It would be impossible to explain to you, child. Capturing Zoe is the most important thing. If I don’t, your lives would all be forfeit anyway.”

No. No, no, no. Fuck!

“You’ve… you’ve killed me,” I snarled.

Why me? What made him think talking to me would have anything to do with his stupid sister?

“I’m sorry,” was all he said.

“Sorry? Fuck you!

“You have a few days,” he said softly. “I suggest you make the most of them.”

I staggered back, my shoulders bumping against the shelves.

“There’s no cure? No way to stop it?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Believe me, I’ve tried.”

That’s not fair.

“Well, fuck. Fuck you,” I snapped.

He just shook his head, turned on his heel, and began to walk off. He didn’t care at all.

“Again, I’m sorry,” he lied, calling back over his shoulder. “There’s nothing that can be done.”

I screamed at him, threw cans at him, knocked food off shelves onto the floor when he was out of sight. When my throat was hoarse and raw, my chest aching, I dropped to my knees, sobbing.

It wasn’t fair. I still had so much to do. I had to find Sabrina, had to figure out what was going on.

A few days? Not nearly enough.

Didn’t matter.

If I had to find Sabrina in the next three days, I would find a way.

Fuck you, Gabriel.