Something smelled very rich, and savory, it danced in her nostrils. Stuck to the air warm and moist, with an overzealous amount of pepper and salt. Heated tomato, something Italian perhaps? Like heated bread, but in abundance.
She had a ridiculous thought.
Laughter bellowed before she could step inside. Euphemia darted around a dazed Remy, they were locked in some absurd game of couch tag. Call it tower-defense if you will.
She skimmed over the battlefield they had left. One of Effy’s shoes lay abandoned at the door, the other in a distant corner. Remy’s sweater lay draped over a couch, like a makeshift flag. There were piles of paper, napkins, and a crumpled mess of who-knows-what-that-is on the floor. She’d only been gone for eleven hours or so.
And yet, It looked like a week’s worth of trouble during her absence. Until she saw the real catastrophe or rather, household atrocity.
Pizza boxes stacked. Not one. Not two. But a mountain of them. Like a fortress– balanced like a failed toy tower. There were some retail, heavy retail bags, brands that looked expensive, lined up on the counter.
She didn’t even want to know what they had bought. She’d rather not be stiff about it, on the eve of her homecoming.
Euphemia turned at the sound of Juniper entering, her eyes wide, a half-eaten slice of pizza dangling from her mouth. She froze like a deer caught on the road, staring at headlights. Except, Juniper was the headlights.
Remy scratched the back of his head, looking guilty. “I, uh… wanted to spoil her a bit,” He said, uncomfortable. “I kinda let her get to my head.”
She blinked at both of them sternly, then at the mess, the greasy scent of fast food mixed with the stale undertone of unwashed laundry. The humming television, unchanged like it was always on. The tower of unnecessary dishes, the furniture, moved abruptly to accommodate Effy’s whims. Her siblings, staring at her, unscathed, unharmed.
Remy shifted again. “Juno, are you… mad?”
Mad? No. She was absolutely appalled, that she missed out on this.
She started laughing, the kind of laughter that bubbled up without a sign, pure and unrestrained. They gave her weirder looks, Effy stepped away slightly, fearing coming danger, lining up for danger.
Then, she lunged at him before he could react–crashing into him, giving him a strangling hug. He let out a startled nose, then became stiff as he squirmed. His hands awkwardly found her back. He started patting her like she was some kind of exotic animal that he didn’t quite know what to do with.
“A-are you okay?”
Effy peeked out from behind her pizza box fortress, watching her with an expression Jun couldn’t quite place. Like she was staring into the unknown, something strange and anomalous, like they had met for the first time.
“Hey, uh…” Remy cleared his throat. “I was gonna tell you… Effy may have, uh… spent close to a thousand dollars. I hope that’s not a big deal?”
Juniper arched a brow.
Right now? It wasn’t. What she would get from her ‘work’ would outweigh this by multitudes. It was nothing.
Effy’s survival instincts kicked in a second too late. She bolted.
Juniper stretched her aching limbs, then gave pursuit. Her body started protesting, but she caught up to Effy in time, grabbing the girl before she could run away. Effy let out a wounded yelp before dissolving into wild giggles as Juniper threw her into the air, making her kick her feet madly. Planting it several times in Juniper’s stomach, before she restrained her.
They twirled like two objects caught in orbit, a black hole of laughter and spindly limbs, then she collapsed on the couch in a breathless heap. Tickling Effy until she gasped for her air, then stopped.
Time past.
And she just sat there with them, feeling the weight of what she still had to fight for. When was the last time she’d felt this sudden lightness and warmth?
She shoved all her pain away. And let herself be happy for once.
They’d settle down, all three of them sprawled in front of the couch, limbs tangled in exhaustion. The TV flickered, and some dumb comedy was actively airing on the network. She didn’t particularly care for the content, but the bad jokes and rehearsed laughter were comforting.
She didn’t realize how hungry she was until she started eating–no, inhaling– absurd amounts of pizza. Biting and slurping, barely chewing, and not tasting it at all, just shoveling it down her throat like a processing machine.
She was long overdue for maintenance. The sauce was overpowering, but she didn’t care. Fuel was fuel, she needed to run an engine of a body.
The duo stared at her with silent awe and outright disbelief.
Effy didn’t enjoy it for long, before she opened a can of badly preserved worms.
“Juniper, where were you all day, and where’d you get that tracksuit?”
She choked on the pizza. Washing it down with some soda, before coughing into her sleeves.
Her mind raced. She could lie. She should lie. It wasn’t about whether she was allowed to tell the truth—she was. But what Effy might do with that truth? That was the real problem. She’d make it a public event.
“I, uh… a friend bought it for me?”
Effy squinted, her face full of suspicion. She didn’t want the girl to speculate where she could have been. Remy, sensing danger, started fidgeting.
“Then why are you back so late?” Effy pressed. “You don’t usually go anywhere but the kitchen and the toilet. Did you leave with Ms. Kanako?”
Juniper hesitated, head dipping slightly.
The truth dangled on the tip of her tongue, heavy, dangerous. If Effy started talking—if she told her friends, if she mentioned it to some passing adult—questions would spread like wildfire. One turned into two. Two turned into ten. And before she knew it, people would start piecing things together. Then everyone would know a Cape lives in District 76, apartment complex B, on the second floor.
She sighed.
“I… I got a job, Effy,” she said, forcing the words out. “Office job. Kinda thing.”
Effy studied her face for a long moment. She could tell Juniper was holding something back, but—mercifully—she let it drop.
“Okay, then,” she muttered, crossing her arms. “If you want to lie about.”
Juniper became relieved. The fewer questions she asked, the better. Dumb as Euphemia pretended to be, she was overly perceptive.
Effy wasn’t finished with her, however. She moved closer, scooting near her face. Her eyes narrowed and she looked close. Then she reached out, her fingers grazing the small scar below her collarbone.
Juniper jerked back instantly.
Effy frowned.
Juniper stood abruptly, brushing imaginary dust off her sleeves. “Right! Shower. I need a shower.”
Then, turning on her heel, she dramatically pointed at Effy. “And before you go to bed tonight, you’re cleaning all this up. Every last box.”
Effy gawked at her. “What?! But you ate some of it too!”
Juniper fled, already halfway to the bathroom, simply waved over her shoulder, and disappeared down the hall.
Tomorrow, the scar would be gone. What will she say then? Hopefully nothing.
Remy stopped her at the door before she could step inside. Standing behind her. He looked nervous. More so than normal. “What was it like out there?” he asked, his head bowed… “The fires. I watched everything I could.”
Juniper exhaled, resting her forehead against the door frame. “It was hell,” she murmured. “And I’m just… . Do we to talk about it?”
Stolen story; please report.
“I’m just wondering if you’re okay,” Remy hesitated, shifting his weight. “Do you want to? You never want to.”
“No, it isn’t pleasant to speak about, not ever.” She shook her head. “And not tonight. I need sleep.”
But a part of her did want to talk. To unload everything. To ask the questions burning at the edges of her mind.
The words never left her lips. Instead, she asked something else. “Am I a bad sister?”
Remy didn’t even blink. “We’ve been over this, Juniper. No.”
An awkward pause.
“The money will help,” he admitted.
Juniper glanced at him.
“I’ve been looking into a few treatment options,” he continued, his voice carefully neutral. “Some surgical. Some experimental. Some might —or they might cut open my brain and poke around for nothing.” He huffed out a dry laugh. “But at least I have options now.”
Juniper swallowed. The risk per job paycheck she was getting… was good. Too good. But she wouldn’t be able to access most of it for a while. Things had gotten complicated. With her abduction. She didn’t want him to be hasty with the process
She shifted her weight. “Remy…” she started. “Have you thought about moving? Somewhere safer?”
“That’s… sudden,” he said, blinking in surprise.
“You could,” she pressed. “You could join a therapy club for people with your condition, we could get Effy into a new school. I hate that she has to drive around in an armored every day.”
Remy sighed, rubbing his face. “Yeah,” he muttered. “It’s… a nice idea. But, how do you feel about it, can you afford it?”
The tension shifted just a little.
“If we do leave,” he added, a small spark of excitement creeping into his voice, “can we move to Elysium Avenue? That’d be cool.”
Juniper let out a chuckle. “Maybe,” she said. “Depends. I have to consult someone first.”
Silence stretched between them. Then, softer, Remy asked, “The thing in your head… is it still there?”
Juniper hesitated. Oh, it was here all right.
Then, instead of answering, she reached out and touched his shoulder. Sys-chan hummed.
Remy startled slightly, but his expression stayed neutral. “You gotta warn me when you do that.”
Juniper cracked a tired smile. “Perhaps keep Sys-chan’s existence quiet, okay? I already have the SCRA watching me. Don’t want to give them an excuse to, you know… .”
Remy snorted, fanning his brows… “Dissection? You’re being little dramatic.”
Juniper’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Am I?” She barely had the energy to joke about it.
Apparently, she was dangerous now, If Caldera was being truthful.
[A deranged individual, hardly someone I’d put trust in.]
Inside the bathroom, hot water hit her skin, burning, but she didn’t flinch, not after today. Not after being inside several defacto ovens.
She thought to herself, watching it all swirl down the drain. And yet, somehow, she still felt dirty. Staring at her reflection in the fogged-up mirror. She was different now. Leaner. Much more toned, in a place she has never been.
When did that happen.? Where was the 5’6 round-faced but bubbly and awkwardly depressed girl who spent days playing visual novels to feel something? When did she turn into this?
[Juniper, it’s been like a day since you touched a console. Let’s not be ridiculous.]
[You’re still you. You just lost a little fat. Burned yourself out. Literally.]
She sighed. Sys-chan was right, she was being overly stingy, like she was wired to nitpick, and tear herself down. She wanted to hurt herself slightly, it was an addictive feeling. She was so used to wallowing in her own misery, everything that's happened in the past week, had turned her life on it's head.
A small screen flickered into existence in the corner of her vision.
[Stats:]
Power: 12 (+2)
Endurance: 8 (+1)
Dexterity: 10
Reflex: 17 (+2)
Durability: 18
Energy: 11 (+1)
Charisma: 5
[Active Skills:]
- Mimicry
- Observation
[Passive Skills:]
- Slow Regeneration
- Enhanced Hearing
- Power Emulation [Lvl 2]
- Heightened Reflexes
- Synchronicity
- Motivational Hyperdrive
- Enhanced Hearing
[Superpowers:]
- Super Audition [Lvl 5]
- Solar-Powered Sentinel [Lvl 10]
- Gravitational Distortion [Lvl 5]
- Iron Drive [Lvl 3]
- Solar-Powered Sentinel [Lvl 10]
[Enhancements:]
- Combat Stimulant Active
Her hands went all over her bruises and the cuts that hadn’t been healed yet. The place where she had gotten shot, didn’t hurt as much anymore, but it felt like there was a gaping hole behind the closed skin.
The persistent aching reminded her that she was indeed still alive. In a few hours, she would crash, and the stimulant would wear off. Even without the stimulant, her durability had changed her ostensibly different. She was becoming…something else.
A screen blinked over her vision.
[Passive Upgrade Pending]
She groaned.
“Sys-chan,” she muttered, tilting her head up toward the shower head. “I could use your advice.”
[]
She rolled her eyes. “Please. I swear, I don’t have some kind of against you. You just bully me too much.”
[Not enough, honestly.][But for the sake of your fragile little human feelings, I’ll try to be less teasing. Now! Pay attention: You’re an anomaly in the cape world. I bet they already gave you a threat rating. But compared to what’s out there? You’re an ant in an elephant's yard. So we should focus on keeping you alive.]
Juniper frowned, tilting her head back against the tile. “And what’s out there, exactly?”
[Horrors beyond man-made comprehension.][I promise you, the way you perceive all this? Like it’s a video game? That’s just a convenient simulation. If you saw what I saw, you’d tear your own eyes out. Oh, by the way—when that guy had a gun to your head? Guess whose head was also at gunpoint? Mine. So! Focus on survival.]
Juniper swallowed hard.
Sys-chan continued.
[So that means Iron Drive and Technic-Pyrokinetism are off the table, too. Due to the originals being your past enemies. You’re hardly a tinkerer, and for the amping just stuff you just start sleighing trucks around.]
Juniper nodded slowly. “So that leaves… regeneration or power emulation. Maybe heightened hearing or reflexes?”
[Hyper Hearing and Reflexes? Nah.]Power Emulation, though? You’d be able to juggle three abilities at once. Maybe even merge them into something new. Could be a game-changer.]
“Or,” Juniper muttered, touching a sore spot on her side, “I could just… feel like I’ve been hit by a truck every time I fight someone.”
[So, regeneration, then.]
Her fingers hovered over the upgrade.
Power Emulation was tempting. She had many abilities already—being able to combine them? That was terrifyingly useful. But… pain. The last few hours had taught her something. She was going to get hurt. A lot. And if she couldn’t it… what was the point?
She wanted to survive.
“System upgrade: Slow Regeneration.”
[Confirm Selection? Y/N]
“Y.”
[Slow Regeneration → Enhanced Regeneration]
A notification flashed across her vision.
[Enhanced Regeneration: Drastically improves the user’s ability to recover, allowing the body to mend wounds far faster while resisting infections and blood loss. Pain fades quicker, and injuries that would take days now heal in hours. However, this regeneration comes at a cost—burning through stamina and energy at an accelerated rate. If the user takes too much damage too quickly or is already weakened, the body may be unable to keep up, leaving them vulnerable for worse.]
Juniper let out a slow breath. “…Feels like an Achilles’ heel.”
[No, it means eat your veggies and carbs, or you’ll turn into a husk. And maybe your organs will start eating themselves]
She huffed. “Great.”
[Now tell me, ] [how does it feel to be stronger, faster, and tougher than the average human?]
Juniper let her head fall back against the shower tile with a .
“Like shit, honestly.”
Sys-chan made a noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
[Good to hear. Now that we’re clear on that, you’re gonna have to start training and scheming to get more powers. You didn’t forget, did you? There’s an alien invasion on the horizon. And you, my dear Juniper, are light-years away from being ready.]
She blinked, rubbing her eyes. “Yeah, about that—I’m still skeptical. No one else seems worried. The local guardian just straight-up bounced. There’s no threat I can feel.”
[And you have every right to be skeptical, but all will reveal itself in good time][Now, shutting down for the night. Your brain’s lagging. Goodnight, Juniper.]
Juniper forced the words from her mouth. “Goodnight, my sweet chatterbox.”
[?(?? ? ?)??]
Juniper stood there in the shower for a while longer, silent, listening to the water run. Then slowly left it, playing with her wet wavy hair. She lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, letting the noise of the news cycle wash over her. Just waiting.
A report had come in from the local news.
The worst tragedy in Pacifica history.
Fire-worshiping cult.
200 individuals were confirmed dead.
Pacifica City Center is in a state of disorder.
She felt .
? No. That title still belonged to the Revolution—the day the government rounded up her parents and sent them to a concentration camp. worst? Purple Pulse. That disaster had rewritten her life.
She shut her thoughts off before they spiraled.
The crisis earlier—it should have been a 47%
And from here on out… things were only going to get harder. She had never cared about power before. But now? The pursuit of it didn’t seem so pathetic anymore. She needed it.
Juniper exhaled, sitting up abruptly. She couldn’t just lie here and think about it. That was a straight shot to self-destruction.
Booting up her PC, she navigated straight to her backlog of immersive visual novels—something to pull her out of herself, even if just for a few hours. But before she could launch anything, her screen pinged.
An email.
[From Kanako.
Her stomach twisted before she even clicked it open.
Subject: No Title
Dear Juniper,
I assume something went wrong with your phone. It dropped dead one moment—I tried to call.
You’ve been honest in an unexpected way. You kept your promise… in the worst way possible.
I suppose I need to be truthful too. Give me some time. I’ll get back to you.
You may not like me when we meet again. I’m sorry.
I’m sorry again. Please don’t contact this email—it’ll be gone by dawn.
Stay safe, ]
Juniper read it once. Then twice. Then a third time.
For good measure, she read it again. Analytically and critically.
It wasn’t a big deal, right?
Then why was she making it one?
So what if she was a cape? So what?
Why was Kanako reacting like this?
… So what?
Her fingers curled around her phone, gripping it tighter than necessary.
The screen blurred.
She didn’t cry.
She tried typing a response.
Her fingers hovered.
She left it blank.
Instead, she just sat there, staring at the message, overthinking.
Then slumped in her chair, she fell asleep.