Now…
The
darkness swallowed her whole, leaving her in a void of fear and anxiety.
Laura’s mouth was dry from screaming and she laid in the dark whimpering, both
cursing the light from leaving her and praying for it to return. Around her,
despite the darkness, she could have sworn she saw shapes of people. A glimpse
of a police uniform or the whirl of a siren made her heart race, and she would
try to curl up into an even tighter ball to escape the officers. She had no idea
how long she’d been stuck in this fearful place, but every once in a while she
would see the image of Teleka, laughing and pointing at her with red glowing
eyes. Laura was now absolutely certain if the police or Frontier ever caught
her, they would lock her in a tiny dark cell and leave her there alone forever.
No human contact, no chance for redemption; Laura would be locked away and left
to the darkness for all eternity.
Slowly,
Laura felt a calming presence next to her. She risked a glance and saw a bald
man sitting there. He wore a long trench coat and sunglasses, and on the back
of his head were two serpent tattoos. Seeing him did not make her afraid; in
fact, her heart jumped to see anyone that wasn’t a shadowy form.
“They
won’t stop until they find you, Laura,” he said in a smooth voice that calmed
her fears. “You know deep down that’s true, right?”
Laura
couldn’t speak, but nodded her head vigorously. The man held out his hand
before continuing. “I can help you. I can show you how to make them fear you as
much as you fear them. We can make them suffer for trying to hurt you.” He
smiled, and Laura could see two small fangs in his row of pearly white teeth. “Just
take my hand, Laura. Together we can show them what it’s like to truly fear
death.”
Laura
looked around at the dark forms all around her. Quickly she extended her hand
to the stranger. “Please, help me,” she croaked out.
The
man took her hand and smiled once more. This time, a red glow appeared from
behind his sunglasses. “You’ve made the right choice, Laura,” he hissed as he
lowered his sunglasses and Laura’s world exploded in a bright red light. The
last thing she clearly remembers was the rush of adrenaline and an overwhelming
fear of what was to come.
Two Days Ago…
Laura
slammed her door shut and willed herself to calm down. Of all the people to
bump into after a kill, it had to be the psychic from Frontier! Laura had no
idea what she could do. She remembered watching her move stuff with her mind on
TV during the big battle against those super villains, but who knows what else
she could do. For all Laura knew she could read her mind, and the cops could be
on their way here now.
Laura
quickly packed up the few belongings she had and needed. The apartment was
pathetic and had been disgusting before she moved in a few months ago, but a
little cleaning went a long way to making this the first place she truly felt
was her own private sanctuary. But she was no stranger to leaving quickly and
quietly. Ever since her powers first manifested, she had been on the run,
moving from town to town, city to city, trying to find somewhere she could
settle down. She choose Hopling, not because of the positives, but because of
the negatives. There was too much underground crime that the police weren’t taking
care of, and Laura took it upon herself to clean the streets using her unique
talents.
Yet
now she was forced to run again. The chance encounter with the superhero Teleka
has forced Laura to abandon her mission and find a new place to stay. As Laura
finished packing she took one last look at her apartment before leaving
quietly. She had hoped to not see anyone in the halls, but of course her
neighbors were out. After a quick conversation and a few lies, Laura finally
got out on the street and started heading towards the bus station. She was
taking a risk, but she knew what she was doing. Any sign of the police or
superheroes in the area and she would vanish like a ghost and find another way
out. By this point in her life, Laura was a master at disappearing into a
crowd.
This
was not good. Laura was pretending to read a flyer on a storefront window, all
the while scanning the bus stop. There were two police officers standing there
on the lookout for her, just like there were at every bus stop she had visited
in the past day. Teleka must have given her description, because Laura saw a
rough sketch of herself on the evening news while she ate at a diner last
night. The manhunt was extensive, but then again Laura had never killed so many
in the same area. This was the first time she had to flee a city after having
her face recognized, and it was no walk in the park. She had considering just
walking, but that would take some time, and her funds were running low as it
was.
She
jumped when someone tapped her shoulder. “Excuse me miss, can I help you with
something?”
Slowly
Laura turned around and breathed a sigh of relief when it wasn’t a cop behind
her, but a teenage boy. He was wearing a shirt that matched the store’s logo.
“You’ve been staring at the flyer for a while now. If you have any questions
I’ll be happy to help!”
He was smiling, and Laura could
tell he had some pride in his little part-time job. Suddenly she had a glimpse
of herself at his age, which was right around when her powers first manifested.
Her innocence and youth was stolen from her in that moment, and since then she
had to grow up fast into a hard, cynical adult who could take care of herself.
She quickly shook off the
feeling of envy and smiled back politely. “No thank you, I’m kinda just staring
off into space waiting for a friend.” She tactically avoided eye contact in
case her powers flared up due to her stress.
“Oh, no problem!” The young man
turned to go back inside but paused. “Hey you look familiar. Do I know you from
somewhere?”
Laura looked back towards the
flyer, “Oh, I don’t think so. I’m new to this part of the city.”
“Alrighty then, have a good day
miss!” The young man went back inside the store and Laura breathed another sigh
of relief. After another minute though, someone else tapped her shoulder. Laura
was going to turn around but stopped when she saw the police officer’s
reflection in the store window.
“Excuse me, but do you have a
moment?”
Laura gulped, not sure what to
do. Though the light was fading as the day wore on, it was still plenty bright
out for many bystanders to see her face. It would be crazy to try to run, but
what was the alternative?
Laura took a deep breath and
turned around, smiling as she did. A pretty smile always threw the opposition
off guard for a split second, which was all Laura needed.
“I just have a few…” The officer
couldn’t finish his sentence. With a groan he fell to the ground. Before his
body hit the pavement Laura was running. As she slipped into the nearest
alleyway, she heard the other officer yelling into the crowd and shouts of
confusion. She knew the officer she attacked would live, but she hoped she had
bought herself enough time to get away.
Unfortunately, she was no longer
in the run-down portions of Hopling. All the building’s doors were sealed shut,
and there were very few nooks and crannies she could squeeze into to hide.
Frantically she ran towards the opposite street and skidded to a stop before
exiting the alley, hoping to create a casual look to her. However as she
stepped out she saw a police car slowly creep by. The lights flicked on and
Laura took off once again, running for her very life.
Multiple times during the chase,
Laura reflected on how many lucky breaks she was having. There is no reason she
should have been able to evade the police for so long. Yet here she was,
huddled in a closed warehouse, waiting for the distant sirens to finally fade
away so she could come out and plan her next action. She was reminded that she
hadn’t eaten in many hours by her growling stomach, but food wasn’t the first
thing on her mind. She needed a safe place to stay and sleep.
“You look a little lost.” A
man’s voice made Laura jump, and she spun around ready to fight. However the
man in the sunglasses and trench coat just stood leaning against some crates
with his arms crossed. “I’m not here to fight you,” he said holding his hands
up to show his passive intentions. “I’m
here to help you.”
Laura quickly looked around
warily, making sure they were alone. “How did you find me? Who are you?”
The man opened his coat and
patted what looked like a high-tech radio. “I listen to the police scanner.
Heard they were chasing a dangerous metahuman killer. I was intrigued, and
since I know a thing or two about avoiding detection, it wasn’t hard to find you.
You’re pretty good, but you can learn a lot from a guy like me.”
“Who are you?” Laura repeated
her question more forcefully, inching back away from the man.
“You can call me Snake Eyes, and
I am a freelance criminal, my dear.” He took a few steps towards Laura, who
backed up more. “There’s no reason to fear me. In fact,” Snake Eyes lowered his
sunglasses, revealing his glowing red eyes, “I’m going to show you exactly who
you do need to fear.”
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