This seems a lot like my usual lifestyle, except I have studies.

Finally, I can hear the voices clearly. You never realize how noisy the world is until you’re comforted with beautiful silence.

Who shall speak to me today?

Tiffany? A voice so faint that it could be a whisper. The last time I heard her she was singing me to sleep the day of my mother’s funeral. I remember desperately trying to find her for comfort. I tried everything but noise cancelling headphones only go so far. It’ll be nice to hear from Tiffany again.

Maybe if I close my eyes…

A faint scream fills the room.

“hi Marcus, still falling?”

Marcus’s voice is an echo, he’s been falling for years. I respond to the echos of his screams from the abyss. The last time I got angry I could hear his echo “you should slap the shit outta him.”

I have no clue who they are or why they chose me, but I can provide them with a home in me and in return, I feel less alone.

There’s an excitement in the air, I think a new voice is coming in. The other voices are screaming in unison. I have to bang my head to shut them up.

I can hear the desperation in the new voice as it’s reaching out. I have to press my head against the walls to hear it clearly.

It’s suddenly quiet.

All I can hear is a hum. It’ll probably take a while for this new voice -Beth- to get comfortable with me.

Luckily, I have the time.

The final day of Constantine XI before the fall of Constantinople.

Interesting idea. Thanks for writing! :)

Actually driving off into the sunset instead of going home after work.

Interesting. Thanks for writing! :)

“Well, well, you wandered quite far, haven’t you, boy?”

“Please sir, I’m lost and I just want to get home.”

He was a tall man, dressed in a clean black suit, with a black tie and top hat. He carried a cane with a bird skull head, which, when the boy looked at, had made him feel like he could look into its eye sockets forever. The man checked his rusted watch.

“Sheesh, sorry, I must have missed you. You know what, I’ll make it up to you,” The boy looked confused.

“I’ll help you get home, but I have to pick some people up along the way, ok?” The boy nodded and took the mysterious man’s hand.

“It’s so… cold” the boy shuddered, walking next to the man. The boy looked down at his feet for but a moment.

“First stop!” said the man. They were suddenly standing in a narrow alleyway. The boy could see there was a van at the end of the alleyway, with an interesting code of paint. Green, except for a red splash at the front. The boy wanted to get a better view, but the man stopped him.

“My acquaintance should be just by that van. I’ll go talk to him for a minute, stay here,” he turned around, and made eye contact, “and don’t move,” he said with an expression that erased the boy’s curiosity.

A few minutes later, he returned, bringing with him another man who was holding his stomach as if in pain. “It should go away in a minute. This is the boy I was talking about.” He said, pointing. The other man waved.

“Kid, this is Jake. You two should get to know each other,” he said, followed by an awkward silence.

“Ok, two more to go,” the man said when they were all together.

Both men walked past the boy, and when the boy turned around, they were in a different place again. This time, they were in front of what seemed like a normal house, but the boy could hear a couple arguing inside.

“Ugh, it should’ve been him,” said the man in black, walking towards the house. “Wait,” said the boy, but received no reaction.

“What’s your name?” said Jake.

“Alex.”

“Pleasure to meet you Alex, I’m Jake, though… I guess you already knew that heh.” he said, scratching the back of his head, smiling. “I hope we can get to know each other better.” Alex remembered his dad, who shared these goofy mannerisms.

“Do you know what’s going on?” asked Alex. It’s not as if he did not notice the teleportations, but it just seemed to… make sense somehow, like it would in a dream.

“It will make sense soon enough.”

The duo waited for a few more minutes until the sound of a woman interrupted the silence. “Ah, that must be Alex!” said the woman, walking out of the alongside the man. She had her hands on her throat, as if massaging it.

“You seem eager to get out of here!” said the man.

“Can you blame me?”

“With a husband like that? Ha! No.” The two laughed and joined Alex and Jake. Her laugh reminded Alex of his mother.

“I’m Cassandra, pleasure to meet you Alex!”

Alex had never told the woman or the man his name, and he did not understand why these strangers were being so nice, but he would soon.

“Ok, last stop, that’s your house, young man.” The man stamped the ground with his cane, and a shadow engulfed the group for a moment. When it receded again, they were standing in front of Alex’s house.

“Walk with me,” said the man.

Once inside, the Alex finally understood. He was dead, and that was his body on the bed. His parents hadn’t noticed yet.

“Do you think mom and dad will be ok?”

“Y... yea” said the man, but Alex could tell he was lying, and started to tear up.

“This never gets easier…” grumbled death. He stood for a moment, then hugged the crying boy. “You will meet them again, Alex. Until then, Cassandra and Jake will take care of you. They’re good people.” he paused. “You have a long death ahead of you, boy,” he said, smiling, as he could not cry.

They spent a few minutes in the embrace, then started making their way out. Outside, Cassandra and Jake were waiting. Death struck the ground with his cane again, sending everyone away. He checked his watch, and left to guide the next soul, just as Alex’s mother saw her son.

I love this! My heartstrings, they have been pulled.

She is beautiful. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and I have seen everything. I want to tell her, but when I do, she stops speaking to me for weeks, months, even years before. Just an object on the wall, easily ignored.

So I lie. I tell her, when she asks me, that there is one more beautiful than her.

"Who?"

"The girl who plays, just out there, orphaned and left in your care."

"Impossible! She is a child."

"A child once, but now grown, and so grew a beauty of her own."

She storms from the room. I don't know what she'll do, but this was longer than our past conversations.

~*~

It's three days since, and here she is before me, holding something red and wet and squishy. I don't want to know, but I know. I don't want to tell her, but I want to talk to her, and she calls out to me.

"Do you know what this is? It's her heart. Now who is fairest?"

"She is fairest, as before. What you hold came from a boar."

She growls, and I try to think of what to say to keep her with me.

"Where is she?"

"Deep in the woods, a home she's found, with little men from underground."

"I'll find her," she spits out before leaving once more.

I am worried for her, but I feel needed. It's a good feeling.

~*~

It's only been a day, and she is down here, but not to talk with me. She is back with her poisons and potions, concoctions and decoctions, alembic and mortar and pestle.

"What plan do you have in your head? I suspect you wish to make one dead."

"You know who I want dead. There's only one before me. Tell me, would she want meat or fruit?" She holds out a bit of jerky and an apple.

"She's friend to the beasts of wood and field. The latter, your desired result would yield."

"Good, good. And now, since she won't trust my face, a change is in order."

She drinks down a potion and crumples to the ground. At first, I fear she confused the vials. Then I realize it is far worse. The hag before me is hideous. All her beauty has been inverted. She cackles and leaves me, alone with my guilt.

I am waiting her for her return, knowing I will never see her the same. Blinded by my love of a pretty face, I allowed an ugly heart to grow. I can't blame her. I was the guardian of her self love. I was a receptacle to store away her doubts. Now, I am the instigator of her great evil.

I close myself off, shut off my senses. I cannot watch her kill a child. I cannot face her when she returns. From here, I am only a mirror, showing people nothing more than who they are.

Well done. Thanks for writing! :)

“Not one more step! Another step and the floor is lava! Can’t walk on lava can you?” Mr Matter screamed at us through a purple mist.

Some of us can, I thought. But we better not broach that subject in his current state.

I’m The Intervener.

It’s not a good name. I know that. The name doesn’t matter. Only the process. I know the process because I’ve been there and spent my life learning it. Now I needed to make Mr Matter learn it, too.

Moonlight made its way through the broken windows lining the walls. I raised my hands, showing that we would yield. “Matter, we’re not here to hurt you. I’m sorry if it seems that way.”

“It seems like you want me dead. Seems like you all hate me!”

The others around me looked nervously at one another. Crystal Ball spoke up, “Mr. Matter, we don’t hate you. Not at all.” She stepped forward, “if you could see what I see, you could reflect on all the good you’ve done.”

“The good? I don’t do any good.” The mist fell around him, growing thicker. “I’ve hurt people! I’ve just hurt all of you.” Purple haze turned into a green smoke, covering the concrete floor of an abandoned steel mill.

I needed him to see that this wasn’t his fault. “Matter, you didn’t create the storm in Austin. In fact, you’re the one who helped rebuild after Tidal Wave disappeared.”

“But I could have stopped him years ago! Their blood is on my hands!” Matter screamed, tears in his eyes.

The old equipment started to come to life. A blast furnace cried from within. Where iron and oxygen would once mix, a fungus rapidly grew, with screams coming from their caps.

This was going to get out of hand if he didn’t come down. “Dimitri, listen to me.” We didn’t need alter egos here. This was a place where the ego should have been left at the door. “You are not responsible for the pain caused by someone else. You can’t control everyone. Even if you can control the very atoms we are made of, you do not have control.”

“I.. I know that. But I need to.”

“But you can’t. Especially not like this. Dimitri, look around you.” I motioned to a furnace behind him. A hot, bubbling mess released noxious fumes into the air. This wasn’t metallurgy, it was decay. “If you can’t stop that,” I pointed to the source of the stench, “can you at least let us help?”

Mr. Matter, no, it’s Dimitri right now, looked to the furnace. Feeling ashamed, he lowered his panicked gaze. “Okay, I- you can help.”

“Will," I asked, "can you calm that down?” Will, better known to the rest of the world as The Voice, spoke like an aural massage.

The smooth baritone of his Texan drawl called through the noise of this once deserted factory “Why don’t you calm down with the bubbling?” He didn’t speak to Dimitri, but to the roiling metal in that great cauldron. No sooner did he end his question, did the bubbling calm.

We stood in silence for a few moments. Dimitri’s anger had stopped but his confusion and tears were still coming. “Why did you come here?” He asked the three of us.

He needed honesty. “It’s two-fold. One, because we were asked to by The Committee, but-” he cut me off.

“So I’m just another civilian to save?!” His insecurity in the moment paved a way for his anger to come back.

“No, Dimitri.” I kept calm. If I matched his tone, he wouldn’t see what he needed to see. “One, because we were asked to. Two, because we care about you.Even with all of this… all of the lashing out, we still deeply care about you.” The emphasis was my own. I didn’t know how Crystal and Will felt about him, but this was the man who I had known for 10 years. 5 years as a team in SeaTac and 5 years keeping in touch through mutual friends and the occasional meet-and-greet with the press.

I continued, “We care about you. But we also need you to care. And take better care of yourself. This wasn’t the first time you lashed out, D. I don’t know what you expect to find by trying every manner of escape but there is no running from the demons that are following you. You can only confront them. But you don’t have to confront them alone. You can talk to us. You can talk to me.” I paused, holding back tears that started to form. “Think about what we went through in Tacoma. I would not be here today if not for you. So, will you let me be there for you? When you need it?”

“I… I don’t know. You don’t understand, Josef. It’s not just me. It’s not just the lives lost. It’s the whole damned system. What part do I play in all of this? How can I live with myself if I stand by and do nothing about it? Do I just stay quiet? Do I ignore the thoughts that are pressing in my head, calling me to change everything?” His anger was gone now. This was bargaining.

“No, D. You don’t ignore it. But you can choose how you react. You can choose when to react. There is a time and place for the right action.” Will shot a skeptical look towards me, but I ignored it. “Everything that happens to you isn’t a choice. But how you react, that’s up to you.”

His eyes darted between Will and Crystal, then back to me. Calmly, “You’re right. It is up to me.”

Crystal’s hands shot forward as she spoke “Josef, something is wrong.” Her hands began to glow with a bright white light.

“Crystal, NO!” I screamed as a bright white light was reduced to a harmless blue glow. Her hands, now an icy blue, were frozen in the air as the rest of her body began to melt away from the glowing heat of the fire behind her.

Before Will could run to her, his feet sank into a floor made of tar. The air from around him had vanished. He existed in a shell of a vacuum, unable to make a whisper, nevermind the scream I could see him trying to release.

“Dimitri, please do not do this. We have to be better than this.”

“Josef, if you could see what I see then you would know. I don’t need an intervention. You do.” The fire from the puddle that was once Crystal Ball turned her to steam as it met with the tar, climbing up The Voice’s legs and into his airless mouth.

With a wave of his hand, the air between us shimmered and moved towards me. I braced myself for the end.

I remembered watching soft rains while sitting on the top of the Space Needle.

I remembered Dimitri and I, in our early twenties, bringing down what felt like a criminal empire.

I remembered Violet and our final days together…

The shimmering air hit me and moved around me. I closed my eyes.

Silence. Peace. Finally.

I opened my eyes and found myself standing on wet rock, soft tides coming in and out. The noise here was nothing compared to the busy sounds of machinery, humming with unnatural life back east.

I had never been here at night, but I still recognized this place. Point Defiance. And unless this was my own personal heaven, Dimitri transported me back to Washington.

I looked around for Crystal, Will, and Dimitri but it was just me and the moonlight. I knew the way out of the park, but didn’t move.

I failed my friend and I had to think of a way to make it right.

Introducing the new iPhone.

“Sorry, kid, there’s monsters roaming around out there. You should stay here in town where it’s safe.”

Alvin thanked the town guard for his service and went to roam the town some more. It was a pretty small town, just a couple shops, an inn, a church with six pews, and a few houses. And a well. Alvin looked down the well. There didn’t seem to be much water in it.

There were a couple kids chasing each other in circles around the well. He took a moment to talk to them.

“Mommy says I need to stay in town because there’s scary monsters out there. But I’m not scared of any stinky monsters!”

“They say there’s a dragon hiding in the hollow east of town. He sounds scary.”

Alvin let them get back to playing. There was another girl standing nearby, so he went to see what she had to say.

“My friend Tom went to explore the hollow east of town and he hasn’t come back yet. Will you go look for him?”

“No.”

He went back to exploring the town. The shop didn’t have much, but he picked up a few healing herbs, those were always good to have around. He tried to leave town but the guard stopped him again. After some more wandering he found himself talking to the young girl again.

“Will you go look for him?”

“No.”

There was a man wearing a cloak sitting in one of the rooms of the inn.

“Hey, you want to buy something awesome? It’ll only run you 300 gold pieces.”

“Okay, okay, 200.”

“Wow, you done a hard bargain, how does 100 sound?”

“Geez, you’re quite the cheapskate. 50 gold pieces and that’s my final offer.”

Alvin paid the 50 gold and took the sword. It was a pretty nice sword, and cheaper than the store had been selling it for.

By this point he’d talked to everyone town at least twice and there wasn’t anything else left to do. So with a sigh he went back to the little girl.

“Will you go look for him?”

“Yes.”

On his way out of town the guard gave him a wave. “Be careful out there. The store has plenty of herbs if you need!”

He hasn’t made it very far outside of town when he heard a voice calling him.

”Alvin, it’s supper time!”

”Just a minute Mom!”

He raced back to the church in town, saved his game and logged out. The hollow would have to wait—he could smell tacos.

Thank you, it was a good prompt, and the TV remote was fixed!

have a good one

An average routine for a 9-5 office job worker.

Thank you, it was a nice prompt.

Have a good one!

Fucking Kyuubey.

A tired barista working in a coffee shop 5 minutes after opening

"Im sorry, but were gonna have to let you go. We are a conservative company. We got an image to keep. So we cant keey your kind employed if you start looking like you lot usually do

"Ah, good. You're here. I was wondering if you'd arrive."

The woman was maybe in her 40s or 50s - it was hard to tell with way aging went here. She eyed me with the tired yet observant most mothers were known for.

"You don't look much like the mages around here." She said. There was a note of suspicion in her voice.

"I'm not much like them, either." I said, putting my bag down. "I was told this was urgent?"

She gave me a nod, and put away her sewing kit. She then got up, dusted off her apron from loose threads, and gestured for me to follow.

"I first noticed it ten moons ago." She said, leading me further into the house. "The shaman called it the Black Curse. Said this area is influenced by the Great Evil... He said to call a mage, since he didn't have the resources to get rid of it. But I'm not made of money. So he recommended you..." She glanced back at me with the doubtful look I was very much used to now. "...Anyway. We're here."

She moved to the side and pointed to the wall. I crouched down by the cool stone and observed the little, black clusters on it. I sniffed the air. Musty.

"What happened that you noticed it?" I asked, getting up.

"My kids started sneezing and coughing any time they were in this room. I thought it was the work of an evil spirit, so I got some ground up Unicorn horn to sprinkle around. That's when I saw it."

I looked around the room as she spoke. I quickly spotted what I was looking for.

"Where's that coming from?" I asked, pointing to the ceiling. The heavy wooden blocks soaked through on the side of the inflicted wall.

The woman glanced up thoughtfully. "Just the roof over us." She said. "It's been raining a lot. Probably the straw needs changing."

I nodded and faced her. "Okay. I can give you the solution. But it's going to require work from you, too."

She gave me the doubtful look again. "Alright. What is it?"

I pointed to the wood above us. "Get the roof changed. Or cover it up for now at least. I was told you have some fire magic?"

"Just enough for cooking or starting a fire. Nothing much, as magic goes."

"It'll do. Use it to heat up the roof and wood to get rid of the water. After I get done with this, it won't disappear on it's own. You'll have to scrub it off and then put vinegar that I'll give you on the area. I'd also recommend checking if it isn't anywhere else in the house."

I could see her doubtful look turning into one of confusion with each next word I spoke.

"Aren't you going to use your powers to get rid of it?" She finally said. "What is this, vinegar and fire? That's it?"

I went back out to fetch the things I'd need from my bag. The woman followed me. "What sort of ruddy mage are you?"

"I never called myself one." I said. "Everyone else does, but all my rituals and things are basically science."

"Science?"

"Back in my wor... I mean, back in my country, we call mages 'scientists'." I took out the vinegar from by bag. In ideal conditions, I'd use stronger agents, but these people haven't discovered them yet. Thankfully, vinegar will work here too. "What you're dealing with is a fungus. It grows in places where it's damp, cold and dark, like the room where you found it in. And it can be defeated by removing everything that's keeping it there in the first place."

I was already back in the room by the time I finished explaining. The woman had been following me around all this time.

"And I'm supposed to believe you?" She said. "I don't know your country, or your mages. How will I know this'll work? No mage I know of uses this sort of method."

"The methods they use have the same principle, just far too overcomplicated for the issue." I said. "Knowing them, they'd probably put fire runes over the fungus and use a cleansing spell, which I'm guessing from observation, simply strips down all living things down to molecular level, and then charge you a hefty sum for it. None of that is necessary."

The woman watched me as I applied the vinegar to the affected wall, and then listened intently as I gave her a step by step instruction to eliminating it for good.

"You'll know it worked if after scrubbing it off, it doesn't reappear." I finished. She gave me one last uncertain look.

"And how much do I owe you?" She said.

"How much did you pay the shaman?" I asked.

"Three silvers."

"Then two silvers. And the promise to recommend me to anyone who needs household help."

"I still don't trust you." She said. "Especially for this price. No mage takes anything under one gold coin."

"But someone recommended me to you, didn't they?" I said. "Don't worry. Give this two wee- I mean, fourteen moons. You'll trust me then. Pay me when you do."

Two weeks passed. I recieved a small package at my door - two silvers and an empty vinegar bottle.

me too!!!

I think I want to see about doing something like this for a D&D character

I want to say that I found Nayyina, but the truth was, she found me. She found me amongst the shitheads who had attempted to ransack her village that was said to be rolling in cash and just choosing to live modestly.

Imagine our surprise when we started laying waste and found... nothing.

Nothing we could sell.

Nothing we SHOULD sell.

When the villagers had been gathered together, questioned, and some even beaten, Nayyina kept especially calm for a woman who looked so potentially frail. She just looked at us all with pity, like there was something she could see we couldn't.

Even when she took the butt of a gun to her face, she didn't glare or curse at us. She just looked so... disappointed. It was worse than being shot somehow. None of us liked it. Still, there was something about her I couldn't place... so when one of the other mercs took his gun and aimed it at her, I punched him right on the jaw. "Lay off."

"Bitch's looking at me you ass!"

"Only bitch here is you, I said to fucking lay off!" I looked at her. "What's your name?"

"Nayyina," she said, voice quiet but welcoming.

"Nayyina, then. Where are the goods?"

"We have none."

The villagers glanced at each other and spoke another language, which none of us mercs understood. I pointed at Nayyina. "Translate. Now."

"The only good we have is me," she said in response. "They are discussing whether they should offer me in return for being left alone."

"What are they, animals? Throwing one of their own to keep the peace?... yeah, I'll bite it. What's so special about you?"

She nodded her chin in my direction. "Your leg."

"... what about my leg?"

"It's broken, is it not?"

I felt uncomfortable being called out like that, and I wasn't sure how she did it in the first place. Nobody knew that my leg had once been broken, or else the mercs wouldn't rely on me as much. "... what of it?"

"Come here, and I'll heal you."

"Yeah right, what are you going to do, lay on hands and speak tongues and God will heal it?"

"I didn't say God would heal it, I said I would heal it. I don't speak tongues aside from this disgusting language. Now come here, and I'll care for you."

The other mercs egged me on. "Go on, then."

"Let's see if she can heal you, eh?"

"You aren't scared of some woman, are you?"

"Shut up, shut up," I mumbled as I approached her. "Magic isn't real, everyone knows that. This is a waste. Your hands are too small and your arms too weak to rebreak my leg. If you hurt me, Nayyina, I will hit you."

She placed her hands on my shin, and a bright, white light began to glow from her hands. I could feel years of pain alleviating, and I could see the other mercs staring on in awe. Before they had a chance to react, my guns were out, and I was shooting at each of them. Nayyina recoiled from the gunshots, but her work was done - my leg was healed.

"Thank you for your healing. How about we get out of here and take everything by storm, eh? Just the two of us."

Nayyina looked from me to her fellow villagers.

"Or I could make an example-"

"I'll go."

"That's what I like to hear, Nayyina. Call me Reto." I put my pistols in their holsters and offered her my gloved hand. "Let's show the world what we're made of."

I stared at the woman on the other side of the door, wondering why she was there.

"Hello? Edgelord? Anyone there?" Viper waved her hand in front of my face.

"It's Blademaster." The words sounded dull coming out of my mouth. For the first time, I couldn't summon the anger her usual taunt roused in me.

"Same difference." Viper crossed her arms and looked me up and down. "Back up. I'm coming in."

"Viper, I'm really not in the moo-." I was not given a choice when she got tired of waiting and shouldered past me, stepping into my apartment for the first time. "-d." I shuffled back to the couch in defeat and flopped onto it, barely able to muster the energy to tuck my feet back under the blanket and readjust the pillow behind my head.

"This - right." Viper pulled out a phone and dialed. I vaguely watched her, my eyes drooping, really not able to care that my nemesis was in my apartment, apparently calling someone.

"Yes, hi Dr. Tamlin!" Viper sounded way too cheerful to me. And Dr. Tamlin? Why would she call him.

"No, it's not for me, it's for Amanda."

Viper knew my normal name. Did I know Viper knew my normal name?

"Yes, Blademaster."

I mean, I knew her normal name.

"Well, you see, I'm literally in her apartment, and she's not trying to kill me, and there's what looks like a month of trash piled up around here, and it smells like something died in here. Honestly, I'm really worried about her."

It doesn't smell that bad. I almost wanted to argue with her, but I couldn't dredge up the energy, and she was right about the garbage.

"Yeah. Do you want me to bring her to you, or do you want to come here?"

I don't need Dr. Tamlin, but I can't care enough to argue.

"Yeah, I can stay with her. Can I clean some of this shit up, or do you want to see it first?"

What, she's going to clean my house now? That's not what a nemesis does.

"Yeah, I can take pictures for you, though," she kicked at a pile of takeout boxes, "honestly this place might be a biohazard at this point."

Really over-stating things there, aren't you. It's not that bad.

"I can stay with her, yeah. Might want to get one of the emergency apartments prepped though."

I think I would be offended if I could bring myself to care. Instead, I was almost drifting to sleep, at this point perfectly willing to leave everything in Viper's hands.

"Yeah, I'll pack a bag for her. Hopefully she's got some clean stuff tucked away, but if not it's not too difficult to run a load of laundry. Might even get a rise out of her if I ruin her favorite shirt with the wrong heat setting."

"Jokes on you, I don't deal with that bullsh*t." I muttered.

"She speaks." Viper retorted in amusement. "Are you telling me you don't wash your clothes?"

I just waved my hand at her.

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her while I pack her stuff. Alright. See you soon." Viper hung up the phone and looked over me. I vaguely met her eyes.

"Do you have a bankie you want me to pack for you?" She asked. There was a surprising amount of compassion in her voice for all the snark of the statement.

"Whatever." I closed my eyes.

"Have it your way." I heard her go into the bedroom and start rummaging around, muttering about the smell.

I'm not sure how long I drifted before Dr. Tamlin arrived. Viper had both my big duffel bags stuffed and waiting by the front door along with shopping bag full of stuff from my bathroom. He and Viper discussed by the door, and then I was wrapped in a blanket from my closet and walked out to a car. Viper rode with me, and took me up to one of the emergency apartments usually used by civilians whose homes were destroyed by people like Viper.

In the apartment, Viper took me straight to the bathroom and handed me the bag of cleaning products.

"You can clean yourself, or I can clean you." With those words, she left me alone.

I managed to get the water on and hot and step into it. Somehow it helped, and I was able to fish out my soap, shampoo, and conditioner.

I got halfway through washing when I ran out of energy and just sat down in the tub.

"I heard that. You okay?" Viper poked her head in, and I looked towards the door through the frosted, steamy glass. A moment later, Viper slid the door back and looked down at me, then sighed.

I can't remember ever being bathed by someone else, though my parents must have when I was very young. Viper's hands were gentle on me as she helped me get clean and detangle my hair. There was none of the venom she usually spat in my direction, none of the sarcasm, or ire, or disgust.

Viper bundled me out of the bathroom when I was clean and into the bedroom, where she'd already put out some clothes for me to pick from. One outfit was the kind I usually wore out, and the other was a much comfier outfit. I went with the comfy one, and she stayed with me to make sure I got changed and didn't space out.

In the living room, Dr. Tamlin and I talked for a while while Viper waited in the lobby of the building. Before leaving, Dr. Tamlin gave me a prescription bottle with antidepressants in it, and set up an appointment for two weeks. I wasn't surprised that he'd come already prepared - I've been seeing him at least once a year since I was put on the superhero register.

A few minutes after Dr. Tamlin left, Viper walked back in carrying a bag full of takeout. She poked me until I sat back up on the couch, and pulled two folding tables out of a tall cupboard near the tv. She put one in front of me and dropped a box and a soda on it, then put the next table right next to it and put another box and soda on that. Then she flopped onto the couch next to me and grabbed the remote.

"You can pick what we're watching."

"Viper -"

"Victoria." Viper turned towards me, catching me off guard with the compassion in her eyes. "Here, I'm Victoria, and you're Amanda. We can go back to Viper and Blademaster when you're feeling better."

"You really don't have to do this." I said.

"Apparently I get really bored when you're not around." Victoria shrugged. "Besides, if I annoy you too much, maybe you'll get better faster to get me away from you."

I sighed and reached for the box in front of me. It had everything nachos - my favorite comfort food.

I looked back at Victoria. "Thank you."

"Here you are. Your new assignment." I stared down at the small white sheet of paper. The only thing on it was the name, age and location of my next assignment.

"Maggie, age 7, New Orleans. Is this a joke?" I slammed the paper down on the assistants desk. She jumped back, freight clear on her face as she immediately got to work typing away on her computer.

"I'm sorry sir. There seems to be a mix up with the paperwork. I can submit a corrections form, but it would be months before it even gets looked at. Then you'd be looking at another few months before your new assignment." She fixed the large rimmed glasses and stared at me. Her face had gone from fearful to apologetic.

"Damnit!" I slammed the chair behind me into the floor. "What am I supposed to do with a child?!

"I-I guess whatever the child wishes?" She stammered out.

"Fine. But I want that request submitted. I don't care how long it takes." I stormed out the small office, making sure to slam the door behind me with such force it caused the building to shake.

What am I supposed to do with a child? I sigh and continue on to the portal. The best thing to do would be to get the introductions over with and hope she is too scared to summon me again.

A farmer talks about his problems to his horse because everyone needs to vent sometimes and the horse is a good listener.