She had woken several times after a breakdown. The sensations she felt waking each time, left her lips tingling, and there was a faint static buzzing around her ears, a touch of zapping electricity lingering in her fingers.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5YSCxLYZD
Her leg hurt like hell, but the fact that it was moved a bit higher, by her doctors, did not go unnoticed, the other was no longer a paralyzed lump of flesh, and she felt movement returning slowly. There was a trace of something burning or frying, filling her nostrils—a detail she couldn’t place.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXgCOLaRTy
The hospital corridor had become lively throughout the time she was out, her memory was hazy but she knew acted irrationally when she started hearing everything within a mile. Her head hurt. Was it a dream? She could hear perfectly fine now.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugwSoOFEDF
No, it was very real!
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhAAqtbWxg
[Intent detected]
[Super Audition leveled up 1>2
[Activate power Super Audition ?]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyryMPSKsSV
No! Nononononono! It can’t happen again. She frantically waved to the transparent screen that appeared in front of her face.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDhsIr2lY7
A person wearing a dark blue scrub marched abruptly inside her room as she waved frantically for the menu to disappear, a pen and a pad in his slender hands. Immediately frowned upon seeing her.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7j4zOgtUz
“Ms. Pinewell?” the doctor started, readjusting his thick glasses with a frown. "Are you alright?”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsgag7kZpQ
He was an attractive older man, in the archaic sense. Chiseled jawline, trimmed beard, sharp eyes, and tall. A bit too old for her taste, Though she wouldn't mind exploring her options. Uhh, what was she thinking?
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CXD0O15lS
“Hello…I’m fine, I-I’m just testing hands, yeah?” she twitch her fingers.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZzueNfnTD
“Yeah? Perhaps you need to test those legs as well.” He joked, giving her a side eye and a wide smile. She blushed. Was that an inappropriate joke or her imagination?
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMJNv1qa5G
“I’m Doctor Baier. And you Ms. Juniper Pinewell, caused quite the ruckus this morning, or so I heard.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsgft90hEQ
“I apologize I–”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecih404FpR
“Yes, you had a mental breakdown and so on and so forth, it happens.” He nodded something off on his list, and she stared at the man like a child did a teacher. "Something more anomalous occurred during the last few hours, though we expect some third party to be involved.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJR3MeFZn6
“I’m sorry… I don’t understand,” she whispered, her voice cracking.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSsA6MlRSC
“You don’t possess any latent or untapped superpowered abilities Ms.Pinewell?” he raised a brow.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ByN3dHZDa
“Not that I know of.” she gulped sweating. There were complications with being a known super, law enforcement and agencies will be all over you. She didn’t need that right now.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsI8KHWFat
“It appears, that either some kind of individual may have ‘touched’ you before the ambulance came, or you have a dormant power which correlates with super regeneration. As your leg seemingly recovered partially overnight. You might not even need crutches. You'll probably be discharged tomorrow. ”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgRN7M4lmT
That was surprisingly good news.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByAfCqOfso
She put on her best expression of acting shocked. After what occurred so far she just felt numb. How to circumvent detection, the last thing she needed was the government-appointed social worker, to try and take her siblings from her. Capes were dangerous, capes were unpredictable, and families with capes were dysfunctional typically.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXa7wf4fDo
Remy! She still needed to contact her brother.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5ZJr18ytL
“We can discuss most of it later, I have other appointments at the moment. There was a power outage earlier, We’re not sure it was supernatural in origin, however, it could have been the source of this ‘anomaly' of yours, perhaps a super samaritan. But more importantly, gaining your consent to run a few tests, is Vital. Of course, the hospital will pay for any unnecessary expenses. So what do you say…”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6qFwjPHDj
She felt uneasy, it was so sudden. What could she even say here, without being exposed? She was not some lab rat, she also didn’t want to be reported for anomalous phenomena. Big Brother was always watching.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HtlNTWxwF
“Can…we discuss this later, please?”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl96zGSa9eQ
Disappointment was visible on his face. “Of course. I’ll be back in a few hours. A nurse should check up on you soon.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWw4VO0hRtU
She stopped him before he left.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrKir9paIi
“Um…the bag on the ground, could you pass it along?” he complied, His piercing eyes met hers, it felt predatory.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTp3P0e77Pr
“Of course, get well. Juniper.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsuxl6JPBBg
Shivers, she felt a bit creeped out by the doc but chalked it down to her overly active imagination. The rationalist would say it’s her brain jumping to conclusions after several traumatic events. Paranoia. or maybe some pent-up and twisted frustration she had felt.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0T73s6fqkO
She rummaged through the bag as he left, some of her groceries still present, a lot of them wholly missing. The hospital must have confiscated it. Her phone was indeed inside. There was a large crack on the screen, she’d need a proper replacement soon. She could barely afford the rent. Pressing her thumb on the finger scanner, it refused to acknowledge her as Juniper Pinewell. Sighing, she manually opened it, a 12-digit password that read )P$5'M0E(i^(.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0sM1Xo0Gi
AN annoyance but a necessity these days. Hacking had been done by malicious SLM (Super language models), and other rogue AI. Being hacked by a scammer was a tragedy, being hacked by the machine could mean the end of your existence.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMzQwMs3L2
Her fingers immediately swiped up and down left and right, small pieces of phone glass, frolicked against her skin of thumb. Tapping on a profile that read out Remy’s name, she waited for an answer.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQfKK62RC9
Nothing came up, ringing and ringing and more ringing. She dialed again, desperate, anxiety started eating her heart out. What if something bad happened? She needed some kind of closure. Electronic static buzzed out.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFMDfHporL
“Hello, Jun?” Her brother’s voice left the phone. Instant relief, a weight off her shoulders.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkHjqd0x0J
“Remy! Are you okay? I–” she paused, her throat choking.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfH607EFIJX
“We’re fine, perfectly…” he said something else, She couldn’t hear him. Her phone-buffered, inconsistent network channels were becoming way too common in Core Pacifica, the results of capes battling it out in the cityscape. Damaging the internet infrastructure.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2bD0euz8S
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that, but listen…I got into an accident, I can’t come home right now, my leg is injured.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4xDhk78Nd
“We know, we were there yesterday.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zcXbj7bQ6
“What, with who?” Stranger danger came to mind, she didn’t trust anyone near her siblings. Not even the parents of friends of her little sister.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWMG41pqEb
“One of our neighbors, it’s…not important. We’ll be coming by soon–” he coughed through the phone. Her motherly instincts kicked in immediately.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelpvolZygO
“Have taken medicine rem?”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡye8tvyb6FV
“Yes, yes of course sis,” she heard a malicious shrill in the background. A little girl screaming, something crashing onto the floor, that sounded very much like a cooking pan. It was definitely Effy causing some chaos. "What's that?"
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4FTWIMoyG
“Uh, I have put off, don’t worry we’ll be there soon.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJxDCBYoky
“Wait!”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjZBsUyWTa
Beep, beep, beep.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSqaHuPkii
At Least they were safe, that was one issue she could cross off her mind. She stared at the blank monitor that hung over her head, there were more things to worry about such as the hospital bills her strange powers, and the fox thing that visited her earlier. It dumped a lot of things on her, superpowers, aliens, Elysium. It didn’t let her know much if only there was some kind of way to let her communicate with her powers.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDEr5cFPhn
[The system is always ready to offer assistance to its users.]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNclDgTyq27
There was, and It could read her thoughts!
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCsmASu8M5
[Not exactly, The System, is personally tailored to the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious of the user’s mind. The system can change to fit new parameters.]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBytQwekn5V
There was a fucking AI in her head.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgrHs1TbUc
[System prefers Synthetic Intelligence. Artificial implies a human-made construct. The earth-based Systems were made and constructed by Elysium for chronically online individuals, humans with an unhealthy obsession with video games, and other ‘nerd’ media.]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroVPMawvs8
It was cheeky too. Another thing she didn’t need right now.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvt76nIKeDn
[System chan is always happy to help Jun-sama. (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) Kawaii! kawaii]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5FSp8cgkQ
That’s too much. Please shut up, please shut up. The voice went from robotic to the voice of an annoyingly high-pitched anime girl. She was sure it broke the embarrassment parameter in her brain.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Jjq7AMiVF
[System Chan starts giggling cutely]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡois4PzKw5q
Just can it, I don’t wanna make people think I'm crazy.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJAlf023OKW
[...]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBsFhNHh6c
Like summoning a devil out of a well. A nurse appeared out of nowhere, a different one this time, she probably traumatized the poor woman who had been caring for her before. The shadow of a second person tailing her stood in the doorway.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zfPTLJz1F
“Ms. Juniper, someone here to see you,” she said firmly.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQ6kmnMnjo
Caught off guard. She forced herself up, who other than her family. She doubted they learned how to travel at the speed of light while she was gone.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMssIpDM20S
A green-eyed, blond-haired girl peeked inside her room, waving to her, two bags slung around her arms. A get-well sticker, attached to every bag. She wore a simple cotton shirt, frayed shorts, a pair of flip-flops, and a cap on her head. Though they were about the same age, she’d recognized the alluring face anywhere. The poster child of Core Pacifica, every girl wanted to be her, and every boy wanted to do stuff that should not be mentioned…
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz7KahHnne
She herself had a crush on her once before she learned how corrupt ‘heroes’ really were and the cabalistic corporations that controlled them.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4IdpXgc4Q
What the actual fuck was she doing here! Helio girl, in casual clothing? Well, she hasn’t been a girl in ages.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABonNE1tPD
The nurse left, and the room became instantly awkward. She swallowed, her nerves wreaking havoc inside of her. Was she in trouble, did the hospital know something about her, did they out her to the gendarmerie?
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwJrsE4Rwn
“Hi, Juniper right.” she went to sit on a chair next to her, bags set on the ground, an unnatural glow radiating from her skin.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHP1rH2mS5
“Hi…”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmO46MRUIb
From afar she really held the appearance of a goddess, but from up close she really looked kind of ordinary. Beautiful but…a human being. There were smaller faint circles under her eye, hidden by makeup. Her eyes though jubilant held something akin to a lie.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjddym8cVPb
Both of them stared at the other for a while, stammering not knowing what to say. A hero coming to personally visit was the least surprising thing for Juniper. Helio girl lowered her head.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhRXC1dK2r
“Ah…you’re probably wondering what I’m doing here.” she giggled nervously. “Truth is I feel bad about what happened.” she struggled to bring other words out. She looked like she was on the verge of breaking down.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8UEAOMPOk
“Um…you didn’t hit me with that pimped-up car did you?” she teased, cringing at her dumb joke.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0NpQnRPGw
“No, But I may as well have. I lured those villains to the other side of town, precisely to avoid any critical damage. But it still happened. Someone got hurt.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKlFFbfPEi
Juniper didn’t know what to say, she had barely processed the event. What was she here for comforting, closure? How was she supposed to help the person who was supposed to be in control of the situation? A realization dawned on her, the cape that was slammed into the roof was Helio girl. The chaos happened shortly after. If she was honest with herself, some part of her was angry, the other in a state of awe.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnURSFxmKd
“There were a handful of victims injured, but…someone died. I have to live with that.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mog8b4uSR
"Oh,"
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYZiQ3j1QO
[Comfort her, you baka O_O!!!]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUejI7rOa4b
What. Not now, AI!
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4LRt7k5xq
[Comfort her, preferably in a warm embrace.]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYe1Xt0fA1g
It was hard to concentrate on the thing in her head and the girl in front of her.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTl0ezVE8Nb
“It’s okay, you’re not responsible for what happened. If you had done nothing how many more people would die.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kyCYKcPm3
“You say that but…” The girl stood up. Shaking her head. Staring at her broken leg. “ I–don’t know how to deal with this stuff. ”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWBprV3STN
“I don’t either,” she paused. “but you came and that means a lot.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Z6sJ9RJlg
She turned her face away biting her lips, hiding something, her face obscured by her cap.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyBVHjcwb0
“I'm sorry, this was a mistake,” she motioned to leave. “Your medical bills, I took care of them if you need anything at all from me. Feel free to call me." She handed her a card, with a scribbled-down personal number.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhStFuwt57
Taking it reluctantly. Very briefly their fingers brushed against the other, and she felt a sharp jolt of energy discharging from the girl’s finger. Her own finger was heating and Recharging, the faint feeling of electricity going through her veins.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQniJtgJYYS
[Mimicry skill activated. ]
[Mimicry Analysis ]
[Solar Powered Sentinel Level 1 - Draw and convert sunlight into raw power]
[Charge equivalent to 2000 watt maximum]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVJ0oRC8gO
She jerked her hand away, frightening the cape.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSqlUshyll
“I’m sorry, did I do something wrong.” she pleaded. Did she not feel the spark of electricity?
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJnVfcmgSi
“No, it’s my fault, I’m sensitive to touch. “ she lied, hoping to get this awkward situation away asap.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMKbjHbY9h
[Activate power?]
[Y/N?]
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeUS82cnVS
No, no, no.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQccx2HdZBD
“Well, I’ll be taking my leave now, I’m sorry for everything…” Heliogirl left, Making Juniper let go of a heavy breath.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PAwJtzKlT
That was so awkward
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI23rVv6Vv7
Was her feelings genuine, what was she hiding? There was something off about her too, something more than guilt. Juno honestly couldn’t worry about it at the moment. She diverted her attention to what just happened briefly.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2ypLHkF0N
Her skills/system had subconsciously activated her power and nearly outed her. She needed to have a long discussion with this ‘system’.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwFGFbf0x6
Something was clear, her ability allowed her to steal others' powers. The nurse she touched definitely had super hearing, awakened or dormant it didn’t matter. A thousand possibilities raced through her head. If she could touch a healing cape and refine her abilities, could she free her brother from his illness?23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JKwmRzwJs
