“99… 100… 101…”

  I grunted with exertion, working through my sit-up set and throwing a pair of punches each time I reached my peak. The burn in my abdomen flared in time with my efforts and I focused on it, picturing myself getting stronger and letting those feelings of satisfaction flow through my bloodstream and push me further. I couldn’t let myself slip and grow weaker, or Father might pull me out of the Union. It had already been a month and a half, and I’d fully recovered from my encounter with Mr. Beaumond. There were no more excuses for lacking performance, and Father only had so much mercy in him.

  That conversation I had with Steve hadn’t once left my mind since we spoke. I kept rolling it around in my head, trying to make sense of his words and match them with my admittedly limited experience of the world. Obviously, I knew the way Father treated me was wrong. It was beginning to become clearer to me that he didn’t really see me as a daughter either, despite his occasional gentleness. Steve said I was like a weapon to him, and I just couldn’t shake the idea that he was right. For my entire life, my only purpose had been to grow stronger so that I could enact Father’s will more effectively. As much as it felt like a knife in the gut to admit it to myself, that sounded like a weapon to me. Was it like this before the accident as well? Was the accident even… real? It wasn’t like Father made a habit of being honest with me.

  Who was I, really? Supposedly, I was Jordyn de Vygon; a superhero who recovered from losing all her memories in a monster attack. Except, no one at the Union recognised me. And Father never said anything about being from a different city. More and more these days, I’d been wondering about the girl I was before; the girl who died along with all of my memories of the past. I had to have come from somewhere, and that meant that even if Father was lying about the accident and who I was, there was a person out there that I used to be. Was she anything like me at all? Did she want to be a superhero, and that was why Father was trying so hard to make me be one?

  She may have been the previous holder of my body, but she wasn’t me. It wasn’t fair that I had to live out her dreams. That girl was dead, and the dead should be allowed to rest. I should be free to live my own life.

  But, that was just one theory of a dozen. If Father wasn’t going to tell me the truth, there was really no way of ever knowing. I had to just let it go.

  Speaking of things I didn’t understand about Father, his plans were confusing me. I thought that the whole idea for letting me join the Union was to get them to trust me then attempt a hostile takeover, but… Well, they already trusted me, and nothing was happening. Thank god nothing was happening, because frankly I didn’t want Father anywhere near my friends after learning how horrible he could be, but it was still weird.

  Instead, he’d been giving me one of these odd, sticky little boxes every two weeks or so, and ordering me to place them around the edges of the door to the Godling’s prison. He said it was a method to ‘increase the door’s defenses’, but I wasn’t entirely sure I believed that. I also couldn’t see how it could be harmful though, so I decided it would be safer to just not bring it up to anybody.

  All of a sudden, an alarm sounded, ringing throughout the building. Someone slammed their fist on my door over and over.

  “Jordyn!” I heard Vivienne call. “Are you in here?”

  “Yeah. What’s going on?”

  I pulled shadows around my face a second before Vivienne teleported through the door. She was dressed in her hero costume, and her expression was wide-eyed and urgent. “Get your armour on. It’s a code red, we’re calling all available combat and support heroes.”

  “Code red? What does that mean?” I asked, doing as she said and donning my armour.

  “An entire building got transformed. We’ve gotta kill it and save the people trapped inside.”

  I froze, absorbing her words. It was a monster attack. Somehow, despite knowing that this was the whole point of the Union, it never occurred to me that I’d actually have to help out in one. I wasn’t trained for this.

  “Jordyn?” Vivienne asked, noticing my hesitation.

  “I… I wouldn’t know what to do. I’d just get in the way.”

  Vivienne grit her teeth, sighing. “Don’t underestimate yourself, Jordyn. You are probably the single most powerful hero in the entire Union. Even without taking into account your power, your skill alone is incredible. And your power is one of the strongest I’ve ever seen. We need you. You’re a fast learner; you’ll figure it out.”

  She really… thought of me like that? My body buzzed with warmth, though uncertainty still lingered. “How am I supposed to kill it?”

  “Monsters can seem like a random blob of senseless flesh, but they do have fairly consistent anatomy with one another. There’s usually a vital organ cluster hidden in a defensible position. If we can destroy that, the monster will die. If we can’t find it, cutting bits off is usually sufficient in getting it to bleed out, though it can take longer. Even… Even if you aren’t feeling up to fighting, I could really use some help getting people out.”

  The way she said it indicated that she really hoped I would be up for fighting. This must be pretty bad. I nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll do my best.”

  I finished putting my armour on. Vivienne looked at me, an odd expression on her face. Then, she ran up and embraced me. “Thank you so much. I know it’s scary.”

  I hugged her back, trying to calm my racing heart. Oh, how I longed to not be wearing my armour at that moment.

  Vivienne pulled away, keeping a hand on my shoulder. “You ready?”

  Steeling myself with a breath, I nodded. “Yeah.”

  In an instant, the enclosed space of my room and the loud blaring of the alarm was replaced by open street and the sound of screaming. A little ways away, there was a huge mass of pink, pulsating flesh in the shape of a building; concrete and glass and metal remnants from the thing it used to be sticking to it like armour. That same old fear gripped my guts like a vice, but I clenched my fists and forced it down. Fear had no place in a fight.

  People were already out there fighting. I could see Madeline, hopping around and throwing small icicles at the tentacles forming out of the flesh to try and hit her. Rishta was there, speeding through the mayhem and delivering sharp jabs accompanied by sparks of electricity. It didn’t look like they were able to go all out just yet, no doubt because of the people still inside. They could use my help.

  Vivienne quickly surveyed the situation, then turned to me. “I’m gonna get started. You call out to me if you need any help, and I’ll keep an eye out to support you.”

  Just like that, she disappeared into thin air and I watched her reappear near Madeline, down the road.

  For a short while, I sort of just… stood there, watching the scene unfold. It felt like my legs were glued to the ground. Vivienne kept teleporting in and out of the writhing building, each time with a person on each arm. She was teleporting out of the way of attacks, and trying to help the others do the same, but clearly she hadn’t been able to keep up with everything. There was blood on her face after she came out of the building. Whether it was hers or someone else’s, I didn’t know, but my gut clenched at the sight regardless.

  Move, you useless ass. Vivienne brought you here to help. Are you just going to stand there and watch? What if your indecision causes her death? Just like what she said happened with Rosalyn, only there would be no exhaustion to blame it on this time. Just cowardice.

  “Move, Seven. I did not raise you to be a bystander.”

  Father’s voice rang through my earpiece and my body moved on its own, speeding towards the chaos with the full force of my shadow-empowered legs. Every step sent a shockwave of fear shooting through my system, wrapping around my throat and choking me. I would be surprised if I hadn’t wet myself by the time this was over; that was how hard I could feel my body quivering beneath my forced confidence.

  I was only a few steps away now. Vivienne was facing Madeline, looking away from the mass of flesh and eyes and teeth. She had no way of seeing the rebar-tipped tentacle forming behind her, preparing for a fatal strike. A pang of familiarity shot through me, but it was quickly overwhelmed by protective rage.

  I launched off the ground so hard I left a dent in the concrete, flinging myself at the tendril and forming my armour’s shadows into a blade. Right before impact, I twisted myself in midair, pulling my body into a frontflip and holding the sword out above me. The monster screeched as I made contact – slicing the tentacle clean off before it could even have a chance to hurt my Vivi- my friend. Friend – and I landed back on my feet, doing a somersault to disperse my momentum.

  Vivienne turned around at the noise, and a shaky smile lit up her blood-stained features. From this close, I could see it was coming from a cut on her forehead. If I had to guess, a shard of broken glass sticking out of the monster probably did it. She threw me a thumbs-up, and I returned the gesture. It didn’t really seem sufficient to express the true meaning of what I was thinking deep down, which was oh god please be more careful I don’t want you to die like-

  Vivienne’s face dropped, and I just about saw her mouth form the beginning syllable of my name when the world disappeared from under me and I was suddenly flying upside down through the air.

  My stomach plummeted as my vision wildly oscillated between earth and sky, my body being flung around by some unknown force, centred around my ankle. Blood rushed to my head and I managed to glance down, catching a glimpse of a pink, fleshy tendril wrapped around my leg.

  It whipped upwards, throwing me into the sky, and for a moment, everything stopped. The wind stopped rushing past my head. My lunch stopped feeling like it was about to fly out of me. For an instant, I was frozen in midair, floating silently at the peak of my arch and staring out over the city at a height only birds could achieve.

  And then the monster flung me right back down again.

  I summoned a barrier of darkness right at the last moment before I crashed into the ground, but it could only do so much at the speed I was plummeting. My vision flashed white as my head made contact with the road, my armour shuddering as it attempted to compensate for the impact. It sounded like a bomb going off right in my eardrums.

  The shockwave rattled through my bones, reverberating around my system long after I’d settled in the crater my landing formed. I was pretty sure my armour protected me from anything worse than a nasty full-body bruise, but it was hard to be sure with all this adrenaline coursing through my bloodstream. One thing I was sure about, was that I was about to throw up.

  I forced myself up on shaking arms, ripping the mouthpiece of my helmet off just in time to hurl my guts onto the pavement.

  “Jordyn! Holy fuck, are you okay?!”

  Vivienne’s voice pierced the ringing in my ears as she ran up to me. Madeline suddenly appeared at my side, helping me to my feet.

  “I’ve got you, soldier. You alive?”

  I looked at her, staring into those pale blue irises that sparkled in the sunlight behind her mask. Another pang of recognition shot through me, sourced from some unknown place. I’d seen this sight before, though perhaps a little differently. Madeline’s hair used to be longer.

  She bit her bottom lip, looking away. “I think she has a concussion. She’s not saying anything,” she said to someone out of my vision. Probably Vivienne.

  “N-no,” I said, stumbling out of her hold. “No concussion. Just… Just a little dazed.”

  In truth, I had no way to verify that claim. The concussion monitor in my helmet wasn’t doing anything when I tried to get it to check. It must’ve been damaged in the fall.

  Vivienne watched me, concern sitting heavy in her brown eyes. “If you can walk straight to me, I’ll let you continue fighting. Otherwise, I’m taking you to the- WATCH OUT!”

  I didn’t need to turn to sense the tentacle that was now going for Madeline. I threw my hand out without looking, sending a spear of shadow through it and halting it in its tracks. With a clench of my fist, the shadow flexed, ripping the tentacle apart.

  “Holy fuck, thanks,” Madeline said. “This fucker’s aggressive. We need to get these people out so we can cut loose.”

  “The only floor left to clear is the top,” Vivienne explained. “Only problem is, this thing’s got intelligence. It’s started tracking my teleports, slapping me out of the building any time I try to enter.”

  “I’ll do it,” I said, turning and walking – in a straight line – towards the building. I could do extraction, easy peasy. Somehow, being thrown into the ground at Mach speed had eliminated any fear I had left. If that couldn’t kill me in my armour, nothing could.

  Or, I had a brain bleed that was affecting my emotional state, and I was about to drop dead.

  …

  Nope, I was fine.

  “Be careful!” Vivienne called after me.

  I jumped, reaching the top floor in a single bound and smashing through the few intact windows left. The inside was a mess of pulsating flesh, bone, and building material, but it was still clear that it used to be an office just a few minutes ago. As for signs of life, though, they were minimal. Blood splattered the floor, ceiling, and cubical dividers, providing clear trails to the bodies of those unlucky enough to bring attention to themselves. People were skewered in their chairs, strung up like torturous effigies with their guts spilling across the floor, ripped apart and discarded like broken dinnerware. Despite having just lost my lunch, I dry-heaved, almost puked at the sight and smell alone; affecting me more now that I didn’t have my mouthpiece on. This monster wasn’t just wreaking havoc randomly. It had intention, and that intention was horribly malicious. How did Vivienne handle seeing this stuff all the time?

  Thankfully, it was dim in here, giving me more shadows to work with. As such, I had no problem defending myself when a series of tendrils burst out of the ground and lunged at me. Darkness condensed into physical weight and became weaponry, slicing apart the tentacles before they could even get close. I took a deep breath, letting the adrenaline fill me. I was never more powerful than when I was in the dark. So long as I stayed in here, this monster didn’t stand a chance.

  “H-hello?”

  A voice called out across the scattered cubicles. A survivor. I rushed over, finding two people huddled under a desk; a man and a woman. They stared up at me with terrified eyes.

  “Don’t worry, I’m gonna get you out. Come on.”

  I held my arms out to them, and the woman crawled out, stumbling over. “Are you injured?” I asked the man.

  He nodded. “My leg. I… It’s broken.”

  “Alright.”

  I walked over, carefully pulling him out and scooping him up, holding him over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry. He whimpered a bit, but didn’t say much else.

  The building shook. The monster was getting angry.

  I frantically looked at the woman. “Can you run?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  I grabbed her hand. “Let’s run.”

  We burst into a sprint right as the room began collapsing all around us. The walls and ceiling came rushing in like the building itself was trying to swallow us whole. We made it to the window and jumped just in time for everything behind us to be crushed.

  “Maddie!” I cried out as we fell, something deep in my chest prompting me to call for her. Madeline looked up and understood her assignment immediately. A ramp of ice formed under my feet, and the three of us slid down it to the safety of the road.

  Vivienne ran up to us as soon as I landed, taking the two civilians out of my hands and disappearing in a blink, no doubt taking them to the hospital.

  I turned to Madeline, shaking off the adrenaline from the close call. “The building’s clear. They were the only two survivors I could find.”

  She nodded. “Cool. Hey, uh… that was a nice callout. How’d you know to do that?”

  I shrugged. “I dunno. I guess it just… felt right?”

  Madeline stared at me oddly, her eyes lingering around the visible skin of my jaw. She blinked, seemingly coming back to herself. “Huh. Well, good job, regardless. Now, let’s kill this thing before anyone else gets hurt.”

  It was as I was turning back to the building that it happened. The tendril shot at me faster than my eyes could track, slamming into my chest hard enough that I could see bits of my armour flying off as if in slow motion. This thing really had it out for me.

  Everything went white.

  I’d seen this scene before. Only, in my memory, the monster wasn’t just in a building; it was everywhere. And the tendril was coming out of my chest instead of into it. The flame pouring from my hands sputtered out. I could see Vivienne, five years younger with a frozen expression of horror on her face. Where was Maddie? I needed to see her. One last time.

  Everything hurt. My limbs shook with exhaustion and injury. It was almost a relief when the numbness started to spread along with the blackness in my vision. I knew with cold certainty that I was dead. There was no coming back from this. All my dreams of future; of family, they’d all amount to nothing. We’d been talking about having kids, but that didn’t matter anymore. Maddie would be alone again. I hoped she would be able to come back from this someday. Survive. Move on. As much as it pained me to imagine her with another girl.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  At least I’d get to find out the answer to the Big Question, right? Where do we go when we die? Which religion had it right? My curiosity was the only silver lining in this shithole situation. At least I’d get to know…

  I opened my eyes.

  I was in a dim, concrete room, staring up at the ceiling. The chill on my skin told me I was naked. Where had my armour gone?

  Sitting up, I was hit with a strong scent of mildew, rust, and blood. Chains rattled nearby, but I couldn’t see anything looking around. The room was too dark, illuminated only by a candle in a holder on the wall, and the light didn’t stretch to the opposite wall; hiding the source of the sound. The shadows didn’t respond when I tried to call out to them. …Where the hell was I? How did I get here?

  The chains shifted again, and with them, I heard the sound of a person, lifting themself to their feet. I did the same.

  “Hello?” I called out to the darkness.

  When she stepped out of the shadows, I could barely hold in my gasp. It was a woman, naked just like myself, only with rusty chains shackled around her wrists and ankles, trailing off into the blackness behind her. There was a hole through her chest. She looked exactly like me, aside from her longer hair cascading down her shoulders, and the lack of a scar on her face.

  Her brows furrowed as she examined me. Apparently, she was on a similar line of thought. “Huh. That’s weird.”

  She had an accent I hadn’t heard before. “Wh-who are you?” I asked, voice shaking.

  She tilted her head. “I’m _______. Who are you?”

  The name ran through my brain like water through fingers, slipping away before I could properly absorb it. “M-my name’s Jordyn. Where are we? Why do you look like me?”

  The woman looked around at our meagre accommodations. It was only then I realised there was no door, or any other way for air to get in.

  “Well, to answer your first question, the best I can guess is Hell. We’re dead.”

  My heart dropped out of my chest. “What?”

  “Let me guess. A monster killed you?”

  I frowned, trying to remember. I supposed that sounded correct. “I… I think so.”

  She nodded. “As far as I can tell, we’re supposed to cease existing when we die. Our souls linger for a little bit, then poof, we’re gone. Back into the great Nothing, to cycle around until our energy inhabits another being. Only, when a monster kills you, your soul gets trapped.” She took a deep breath, and I could hear the sadness in it. The sorrow. “We’re the Godling’s playthings now. It feeds off of our pain and suffering both in life and in death, slowly refueling Itself until It can escape.”

  I tentatively stepped closer to her. From this distance I could see it was the truth. The woman looked exhausted; heavy bags hanging under her eyes. The skin under her manacles was red and blistered. The hole in her chest pulsated; torn muscle clenching itself as if it was still throbbing in pain. How long had she suffered here? What awful things had she been subjected to in the name of that horrible creature?

  “What about my second question?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “No idea. Might just be a coincidence. Though… You’re the first visitor I’ve had since… well, since I got here. Maybe there’s something else going on. Or, maybe you’re just an illusion summoned up by the Godling to torment me. Wouldn’t be the first time. Actually… I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you before. I was looking through a mirror, and you were there. I recognise the scar. Sorry. Everything gets kinda… muddled up, down here.” She winced, vaguely gesturing to her head, before pausing. A frown crept across her face. “And… you’re not the only one. There were other girls with my face. One with wings. And a child. I don’t… Who are you?”

  Something cold passed through me. Was she talking about Maggie? She’d been wearing a mask when we met, but her body looked just like mine. Did we have the same face as well? What did it all mean?

  “I… don’t know,” I answered truthfully. “I just woke up a little over a year ago. I don’t remember anything before that. Father says I used to be a hero before as well, but… I’m not sure how much I believe that. He lies to me a lot.”

  “Well, I never knew any other hero who looked like me, so I can’t confirm that. Are you with the Union now?”

  I nodded, hugging myself. I hoped everyone else made it out okay. “I just joined about two months ago.”

  “And no one’s said anything about your face?”

  “No. I wear a helmet all the time. No one’s allowed to see what I look like.”

  She frowned. “Because of your father?”

  I nodded again.

  The woman stared past me for a moment, before realisation flashed across her face. “Oh. Are you…?”

  She examined me closely, but apparently, didn’t find what she was looking for in my face. “I guess you probably wouldn’t know if you were.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. Why did I always feel like there was a joke everyone was in on apart from me?

  “Do you know anyone named Madeline?” she asked, changing the subject.

  I sighed, accepting I wasn’t gonna get any answers here. People always thought I was better off not knowing stuff. It was frustrating. “Yeah, actually. She was next to me when I got hit.”

  The woman smiled, relief flooding her tired features. “Good. That’s good. She’s still fighting to protect people.”

  Something flashed through my brain; an understanding of who this woman was. I remembered the story Vivienne told me about five years ago. About Madeline’s wife.

  But… If this was her, what did that mean for me? Why did I look like her?

  A lingering tingle travelled up my body, starting from my toes all the way to the crown of my head. Glancing down, I noticed my body… disappearing? I could almost see through myself.

  The woman noticed it, too. Her eyes widened. “Huh. Maybe you’re not dead after all. I… I think you’re going back.”

  As much as I was curious to stay and keep talking with this woman, the idea of being stuck here forever didn’t sound great, so that was wonderful news.

  The woman grabbed my arms, a sudden intensity filling her expression.

  “You need to keep fighting, Jordyn. Kill that fucking thing before it can subject anyone else to this torture.”

  Her hands became blisteringly hot, steam rising up from where she was grabbing my skin. Yet, it didn’t hurt.

  “Avenge me. Avenge us. And keep asking questions. You’ll figure everything out, and when you do, kill the bastard that did this to you. To your sisters. To me.”

  Fire spread up my arms like a comforting embrace. The woman’s irises were glowing a brilliant orange.

  I could feel her. Every particle of her being. Her pain. Her loneliness. Her sorrow. Her rage. It felt like being boiled alive; suffocating and melting at the same time. This woman had been delivered a divine injustice, violated and disrespected in every imaginable way. And there would be hell to pay for the ones that subjected her to it.

  “Fight, Jordyn. Fight.”

  Fight.

  Wake up.

  —

  Vivienne panted, tearing Jordyn’s ruined chestplate off and cursing like a sailor. She was totally still.

  “Fuck, Jordyn. Fuck. Don’t do this to me. I can’t lose another fucking friend.”

  In the centre of her chest was a massive purple bruise. Vivienne leaned down and pressed an ear to her left breast.

  There was no heartbeat.

  The sounds of heated combat around her quieted down to a dull ring. Vivienne sat back up to her knees, tears filling her eyes.

  No.

  Vivienne refused.

  She threaded her fingers together, placing them in the centre of Jordyn’s ribcage, and began compressions.

  “Come on, Jordyn,” she gasped, pumping up and down, ignoring the occasional pop of a rib breaking. “You’re not dead. You can’t be dead. You’ve come too far and you have too much yet to see. Wake. The fuck. Up!”

  All of a sudden, Jordyn’s skin became scaldingly hot. Vivienne yelped, letting go before her hands burned. Jordyn twitched, her back arching, fingers grasping at nothing. A pained, almost animalistic growl rumbled out of her throat. Vivienne wanted to go back and check on her, but some instinct inside of her was telling her that she needed to get away now.

  She scrambled backwards just in time for a massive pillar of fire to engulf Jordyn’s body, shooting up into the sky. The entire battlefield froze, staring at the explosion of unexplainable power. Even the monster stopped attacking; it’s dozens of bulging eyes turning towards the display with something akin to… fear?

  Vivienne didn’t need to be able to see Maddie’s eyes behind her mask to know what the look on her face meant. She was thinking it, too.

  Rosalyn.

  Jordyn was screaming. It was just barely audible over the roaring of flame. But, it didn’t sound pained. It pierced right through Vivienne’s chest, tugging at her heart. It was furious rage and bottomless sorrow. A primal, pure thing, straight from the core of Jordyn’s being, ripped out into the open.

  The fire turned black, the pillar tightening. It pulled in until it was too small to cover Jordyn’s body, and it cut off.

  She was on her feet now, hunched over, panting. Black steam rose from her shoulders and seeped from her legs, spreading along the ground like dry ice smoke. Tendrils of it creeped towards her discarded chestplate, picking it up and re-equipping it on Jordyn’s chest without so much as a twitch of her hands.

  “J-Jordyn…” Vivienne called out. “Are you okay?”

  Jordyn’s head snapped in her direction and Vivienne resisted the urge to flinch back. The shadows around her thickened, turning into a foggy haze. Through it, Vivienne could see Jordyn’s jaw shuddering with every heaving breath. She… she looked like a wild animal.

  They were all distracted. The monster took the opportunity, summoning half a dozen tentacles aimed at everyone on the field. Vivienne didn’t even see Jordyn move. One second she was there, and the next… She was gone.

  The tentacles were ripped to shreds in an instant, blowing apart in Jordyn’s wake as she darted from one to another, using their own dying bodies as springboards as her shadows sliced them to pieces. She didn’t bother rolling when she landed, cracking the concrete as she slammed to the ground in a squat, only to launch back up again, straight into the heart of the building.

  Vivienne teleported over to Madeline’s side, both of them watching as the entire building shook from the force of whatever the fuck Jordyn was doing inside.

  “What the hell just happened?” Maddie asked, sounding breathless.

  “I don’t know,” Vivienne replied.

  “That… That fire, th-that was-”

  “I know.”

  Smoke and monster blood spilled from the windows, Jordyn’s animalistic shriek emanating from inside. All Vivienne could do was pray she didn’t damage the bodies too much.

  No one in recorded history had ever had two powers at the same time. Hell, no two people had ever had the same power at one time. They were a limited resource, for whatever reason. She supposed it might have been possible for Rosie’s fire to have transferred to Jordyn now that she was dead, but that still didn’t explain how Jordyn could have both that, and the shadows at once. Well, to be fair, what did she know? She was a nurse in training, not a Godling scholar.

  The building heaved like it was trying to throw up, all the fleshy parts quivering violently. It was the final throes of rage before the monster fell limp, succumbing to Jordyn’s onslaught. The ground beneath their feet rumbled; the building continuing to blow out smoke until finally the wall in front of them exploded and Jordyn came stumbling out.

  Her armour was totally ruined; dented, scratched, whole chunks of it straight-up missing – including a part of her helmet, leaving her right eye exposed. The shadowy haze had cleared up, and it seemed like Jordyn’s strength had left with it. Whatever possessed her to go berserk like that, it was gone.

  Vivienne predicted the moment Jordyn’s legs would buckle out from under her, and teleported over just in time, catching her before she could hit the ground.

  “Jordyn? Jordyn, are you alright?” she asked, trying to support Jordyn’s dead weight.

  Jordyn groaned, getting her feet under her and lifting herself a little, looking up. Vivienne noticed that her iris was totally black; not a hint of colour to be seen. It was like looking into the bottom of a well, or into a cave. Like she could wander in and get lost forever.

  “Jordyn?”

  “Vi… Vivi…” she mumbled.

  “Yeah?” Vivienne asked, encouraged by her speech. Her heart had properly stopped for a minute there; brain damage was a distinct possibility.

  “I… I think I wet myself.”

  Well. That wasn’t too surprising. “That’s okay. We’ll get you cleaned up, alright? You did a good job.”

  The answer seemed to placate Jordyn. She let her head fall forward, passing out on the spot and leaning her full weight against Vivienne. Viv sighed, looking up at the monster’s looming corpse.

  What a fucking day. Her lecturer better give her a pass for missing class, considering the circumstances.

  —

  “You just stay here and rest, okay? I’ll be back in a few hours. Oh, and don’t be afraid to take your armour off and nap. If I come in and you’re still asleep, I promise I won’t look at your face. Is that fine?”

  I sluggishly nodded to Vivienne, sitting on the end of her bed. She was in the doorway, getting ready to teleport out to help with recovery efforts and pick up some dinner for us later. I, on the other hand, could barely keep my head up. A quick medical examination at the hospital confirmed I somehow hadn’t suffered anything more than a couple cracked ribs and a sternum fracture, which was nothing I wasn’t familiar with. It would mean more medical leave from patrol, which I would never complain about. However, apparently almost dying and going absolutely berserk really took it out of a gal. Not that I could remember any of that. I remembered getting hit, having… a strange dream about a woman who looked like me, I think? Then waking up in Vivienne’s arms and informing her of my accident. Then passing out again. I remember feeling… angry.

  Also, another odd thing; my canine teeth had grown, sharpening into small fangs. I didn’t really know how to feel about it other than slightly annoyed, because I kept biting my tongue and now it hurt way worse. Vivienne didn’t have an explanation for it, either.

  When we got back here, Vivienne helped me clean myself in the bath, which… whoaowhwaow… It was probably a good thing I was barely conscious, or I might have embarrassed myself. Naked, in front of Vivienne, and she was touching me everywhere! It was just typical of the universe to tease me like that. Gentle intimate touch like that was still so rare for me, so to be borderline knocked-out while Vivienne of all people was providing it was a truly cruel twist of fate.

  She also let me borrow a pair of her underwear, since mine were ruined. They were a sort of orangey red, with a cute floral pattern. This was my first time getting to wear anything ‘girly’ like this, and for some reason, it made my heart flutter in my chest. Or, that might have been a minor arrhythmia. The doctor said that was a possibility after my experience.

  Vivienne gave me a tired smile, before gently closing the door and leaving me alone. I looked around the space. Vivienne’s room was a lot bigger than mine, on account of being her own place and not a Union dorm, but it was also a lot more decorated. The walls were covered in posters and she had bookshelves filled with what looked like a mix of fiction and medical textbooks. I’d have liked to look around some more, but in truth, all I could think about was sleep. Vivienne’s suggestion sounded real good right now.

  I probably should’ve reported to Father first, but with my helmet totally broken, the only way I was doing that was in person, which wasn’t happening right now. I could tell him I’d been asleep the whole time, and he’d have no choice but to believe it. It would only be fair, for how much he lied to me in the past.

  I stripped what was left of my armour off and crawled under the warm covers of Vivienne’s bed. My eyelids fell like anvils and sleep took hold almost immediately.

  —

  I cracked my eyes open, groaning at the pain in my chest. The painkillers must have worn off, tearing me from what was an incredibly good nap. Orange light seeped in through the windows, telling me it was almost sunset. According to the clock, I’d been out for about two hours. Vivienne would probably be coming back soon. The thought of going back to sleep called to me, but… something else came into my head.

  Popping some more painkillers, I rolled out of bed. There was a full-length mirror against one wall. I walked over to it and examined myself.

  I was only dressed in my sports bra and the borrowed underwear; the sight of which still made me oddly giddy, though I couldn’t really understand why. Was it the fact that they were Vivienne’s? Was I imagining her in them? Well, I was now, but that wasn’t it. Maybe it really was just… getting to finally wear something that made me actually feel like a girl. Because, despite Father’s best efforts to the contrary – the shaved hair, the simple clothing, hiding my entire form under a thick suit of armour – I was a girl, and he couldn’t change that. And here, in Vivienne’s room, with no one watching me or judging me… Maybe I’d finally get to explore those feelings.

  The thought made excitement bubble up in my chest. This was it. All that time I spent staring longingly through shop windows at the cute clothing on display wasn’t for nothing. Father couldn’t hold me back from happiness forever, no matter how huge my debt to him was.

  And Vivienne wasn’t here yet.

  For the next however-long, I ran around Vivienne’s room, pulling open her drawers and closet and looking for the cutest things I could find. I went from outfit to outfit, trying things on and looking at myself in the mirror, my heart soaring more each time. Dresses and skirts and blouses and sweaters and tights and then heels which made me trip over and after that I slowed down a bit. I also found this weird purple thing in the bottom of Vivienne’s sock drawer that vibrated when I pressed a button on it. I wasn’t sure what it was, so I put it back.

  I’d gotten so caught up in my dress-up that I totally forgot Vivienne was supposed to be coming back soon. It happened when I was staring at myself in this yellow sundress I’d found in the closet, gingerly spinning around enough to get the skirt flowing while also being mindful of my injuries. A giddy laugh bubbled up from my chest right as Vivienne teleported into the room, holding a big, flat box of something.

  She was looking at the bed when she came in, which gave me just enough time to pull a cloud of shadows over my face before she turned in my direction. Thank god I’d had the foresight to put the clothes I was done with back where I found them, or she’d have come in on a complete mess.

  “Uh…”

  I swallowed, heat burning in my cheeks and ears. “H-hi.”

  She looked at me for a few more moments before a smile cracked across her tired face. She put the box down on the bed, walking over. “Jordyn, if you wanted to borrow my clothes, all you had to do was ask.”

  I wrung my hands together, staring at the carpeted floor. “I, um… I just wanted to feel girly for a change.”

  She tilted her head, putting a hand on my shoulder. Her brown eyes looked deep into me. “I get it. Hey, maybe I can help out a bit?”

  “How?”

  She reached up, gently tussling my fringe. “Your hair’s getting longer. I might be able to style it more femininely. Also, I could do your makeup. Though, it might be hard with your shadows in the way.”

  The thought made my heart race in my chest. Though, again, arrhythmia. I nodded frantically.

  For the next half-hour, we snacked on the ‘pizza’ that she brought while Vivienne gave me a side-parting and painstakingly did my makeup; my shadows moving out of the way for her whenever she needed.

  “All done! I’ll turn around so you can take a proper look at yourself.”

  Vivienne turned and looked at the wall, leaving me free to drop my shadows and examine my reflection. What I saw felt like it ripped something open inside of me. There was an actual girl in the mirror, and she was me. This wasn’t Seven, the bulky, androgynous hero. This was Jordyn. And she was pretty. The scar parting her features didn’t change that. Her eyes looked so big and dark. Her hair wasn’t just a fuzzy attempt at growth; it looked soft. Cute. Girly.

  Something raw and unfamiliar boiled over inside of me.I dropped to my knees and couldn’t hold back the sobs forcing their way out of my throat, even as they sent spikes of pain shooting through my ribs.

  My shadows dutifully hid my face as Vivienne came over and embraced me, whispering “I know” over and over in my ear. I didn’t know what she knew, or how, but I knew she understood.

  “You can stay here tonight if you want,” she whispered to me once my tears dried up. “You can borrow some pyjamas.”

  I nodded against her chest, sniffling. I wanted nothing more than that.

  We slowly got back up to the bed, and Vivienne pulled some soft, comfy clothes out of the drawer, laying them out for me.

  “You get changed. I’ll be right back,” she said, then disappeared in a blink.

  As much as I liked the dress, it was getting a little cold. I swapped it for the grey hoodie and sweatpants she left me. They smelled like her; nutmeg and cinnamon and oak. Comforting warmth settled deep in my gut.

  Vivienne popped back in, holding something dark in her hands, fiddling with it nervously. “Uh, I’ve been working on this thing on the side for a while, cuz I noticed you were always wearing your armour, even when relaxing. I get it if you wanna hide your face, but you don’t have to be in that uncomfortable suit to do it, or be focusing on your power all the time. Here.”

  She handed it to me, and I took it, looking it over. It was a mask that would cover the top half of my face, made of black, polished wood. My hands shook. This was so much.

  I slipped the mask on my face, glancing back up at her. She was grinning, those soft, pink lips stretching into a self-satisfied smirk. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to kiss her so bad. I wanted to grab those round, freckled cheeks and smash our faces together until I could get all of this burning emotion out of my body and into hers.

  In the midst of all of that, there was but one thought that was both coherent and able to be voiced out loud, so I voiced it.

  “Thank you so much, Vivienne,” I whispered, afraid that if I raised my voice anymore, everything would come spilling out uncontrollably.

  The smile turned soft. She sat next to me on the bed, gently taking my hand. I was going to ignite. “No worries. I just… I don’t know. I guess I wanted to do something nice for you. And, well, it wasn’t entirely altruistic. Now I get to look at those cute eyes of yours.”

  Her cheeks turned a pale shade of pink. My entire internal organ system did somersaults over and over each other.

  Kiss her kiss her kiss her kiss her.

  What would Father think?

  The thought sent me crashing to a stop, right before I was about to give in and do it. I needed to clear this mask with him before I could accept it.

  Fuck. It was like a punch in the gut. And now the mood was ruined.

  Vivienne let go of my hand. “I’m glad you like it. Uh, do you… wanna watch a movie or something?”

  The excuse was easy to jump on. In the end, I never summed up the courage to try and kiss her again, but I did end the evening cuddled up to her side, my head on her shoulder with her arm around me, watching some silly movie about a rat controlling a chef by pulling his hair. It was enough for me. Just for now.

  —

  Vivienne failed. She’d been too scared of breaking Jordyn’s brief, fragile, and honestly adorable happiness to try and bring up the fire power she exhibited earlier. It had been her one goal ever since parting ways with Madeline at the battlefield, and she failed. Now Jordyn was fast asleep on her shoulder, snoring endearingly. Vivienne ran a hand through her hair, swallowing nervously at the way her body tingled with pleasure from the close contact. There was no way she’d be able to get to sleep next to her if her heart didn’t stop pounding like this, even despite her never-ending exhaustion.

  Oh boy. This was going to be a problem.

  will be writing a bonus scene of Viv's perspective of the implied bathing scene that was skimmed over in Jordyn's section. That should be out at some point within the next week, executive dysfunction willing.