Juniper stretched her legs; her thighs ached with soreness. Her brain

  was thrashing, and her face felt swollen. She had thought Kanako would

  be giving her good news—a shining light in the sea of superpowered gloom

  and glum. She wanted to be held by her, to be caressed in Kanako’s soft

  arms, hoping whatever glue held her brain together didn’t start

  melting.

  Instead, it looked like she was about to be dragged into familial

  drama. Kanako had withdrawn for a few days. She’d said yes to being

  together, but Juniper hadn’t realized it came with strings—strings she

  wasn’t sure she knew how to dance with.

  She pressed her face into the pillow, smothering herself with her

  heated breath. Juniper kicked her legs wildly in the bed in utter

  frustration and irritation, her feet drumming against the mattress.

  Every impact barely satisfied the itchy feelings bubbling inside of her.

  Her fingers twitched involuntarily, her muscles refitting themselves.

  “Why couldn’t everything just be perfect?” Juniper said to herself. "Sugarcoated sweet dreams, and raining rainbows."

  [I know, right?I ask myself that sometimes. You know what

  would be perfect? Legs! Two of them, sturdy, ready to carry you across

  the world! And maybe a face? I sure could use a face.]

  Juniper groaned. Somehow, Sys-chan had made it about herself. Or was she telling her not to be petty, to accept things as they were?

  “You don’t get it. It’s one thing after another. This was a pleasant surprise, until it wasn’t, hmmm.”

  [Oh, come on. Aren’t you excited to see Kanako again? You’ll

  be all snuggly and awkward, and then cry because every other thing feels

  like it's falling apart. Classic Juniper. But hey, at least you’ve got

  that "end of the world" thing in the bag. Granted, it will end in seven years if you don’t work that cute wiggling behind of yours.]

  Juniper rolled over. She didn’t even want to think about world-ending prophecies right now.

  Fuck the Ahnu-whatever the fuck and the bitch that keeps giving her jumpscares.

  Fatigue was horrible to recover from, especially because of the way her [Enhanced Regeneration]

  worked. It took too much out of her too quickly, which meant she needed

  more sleep and food, and she loved munching now. She needed that

  energy.

  The fight with Aegysthos had drained her internally, not just

  externally. She was in a permanent state of exhaustion, and the only

  reason she was drifting off to sleep was that she wanted to wallow in

  her own pity.

  Juniper heard the door creak in the distance.

  The door to her room opened. Effy stood at the entrance, staring from

  afar. She was just staring. Juniper pretended to be asleep so the girl

  wouldn’t bother her. Effy giggled, shut the door, and a rush of

  footsteps followed.

  Oh no, no, no, no.

  She ran toward the bed and started bouncing on Juniper’s back as if she were a human trampoline.

  Juniper jerked awake. “Hey, get off of me! Can’t you see I’m sleeping?”

  “You weren’t sleeping, liar. You don’t sleep on your face.” Effy

  shoved her little fists into Juniper’s back, hammering her like a manic

  chiropractor. “Oi! What’s wrong? Why are you making that face?”

  Effy grabbed a pillow and smacked Juniper across the face with

  it—ruthless and relentless. Juniper refused to move. She wouldn’t. Her

  body was too tired. Everything was heavy. It was better to let Effy tire

  herself out.

  “Come on, come on, react, please.”

  No.

  Juniper was not going to give her the satisfaction. Effy stopped

  after a while and started playing with her hair. “Come on, tell me

  what’s wrong. I can try and fix it. Was it Kanako? Did she say something

  mean?”

  Juniper wanted to push Effy off. She wanted to groan and tell her to

  quit it. But her body refused to move. Everything was heavy, her limbs

  sinking into the mattress like dead weight. Even her thoughts felt slow

  and sluggish. So she did nothing.

  “Go to bed,” Juniper slurred, letting the fatigue speak.

  Effy kept talking, her voice a constant buzz in the background.

  Juniper barely registered the words, too heavy with exhaustion.

  Eventually, Effy must have grown tired too—she grabbed Juniper’s phone

  without asking, then went still, curling up beside her like a content

  goblin.

  Strange dreams took her again, and she drifted away. Sweet dreams as

  she had hoped. dreams, she dreamed alot, until she didn't, the sensation

  of falling through a void made her shook.

  Juniper woke up again. Something felt wrong.

  Very wrong.

  Her body was weightless, drifting. A slow, creeping sense of

  disorientation spread through her before she noticed—her face was inches

  from the ceiling. Her breath hitched, heart hammering as she looked

  down. Effy was still below her, sound asleep, buried under pillows. Her

  little chest rose and fell steadily.

  She was suspended in the air.

  Her reflexes kicked in—her heart started pounding. She immediately

  searched for a threat as she attempted to break loose from the

  levitation spell. Adrenaline kicked in, and she activated her

  gravitational power, slowly lowering herself to the ground. She made sure the room was safe and that Effy was okay. She rushed out of the room, darting into Remy’s.

  He lay asleep at his computer desk, terminal open on the screen,

  hands on his keyboard. She rushed outside his room and ran straight into

  the living room.

  There, perched near the kitchen table, sat a little white-haired boy,

  kicking his legs about, sipping something, tea, probably—and drinking

  out of Effy’s cup.

  The bastard!

  It was none other than the Traveler.

  The second night in a row.

  Was she in a dream?

  She pinched herself.

  No, no, she was not.

  She eased herself. He wouldn’t harm her directly. He would start

  another game. It would take her somewhere else, probably. Hopefully, he

  wouldn’t harm her siblings.

  Juniper frowned, approaching slowly. “Are you serious?”

  “Don’t scream,” he started prematurely. “And don’t hit me, either.”

  Juniper had almost done just that.

  She realized something was different from her previous encounter.

  Effy was breathing, and so was Remy. Time wasn’t slowed. She could hear

  passing traffic outside. Her window was open, and cool air was breezing

  in.

  “Rough day?” he asked.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Oh, I know. I know.”

  Juniper didn’t have the energy for this. If he wanted something, he

  needed to get it over with. She was willing to comprise, but only for

  her siblings.

  He laughed as if he were hearing her thoughts. “I wouldn’t say I

  want something—not yet, at least, but I hate to see a fellow player

  struggle in Elysium’s game.”

  Why would see believe that her high dimensional 'benefactor's had it out for over this weirdo. He only grinded her gears.

  “Just stop. Get to the point already. I’m tired. I want to sleep. I

  don’t want to deal with you. You’re an overaged delinquent, a literal

  man-baby.”

  He looked amused. “I’ve never been called a man-baby before. How rude of you, Juniper. How rude.”

  “How long do you think it’ll take Quixis to get here?” she asked.

  It was a threat, not even subtle.

  “That depends on how much he cares for you. I’d say not as much as

  you think, or else he’d be here already.” He stirred the tea with the

  spoon, clinking the cup and taking a small sip from the spoon.

  “I could fix it for you,” he offered.

  “Fix what, demon?” she hissed.

  “Reality.” His voice was smooth, lowered to make it more suggestive.

  “I could give you a little boost. A little tweak here and there. A new

  skill that would make you queen of the city tomorrow. Maybe some extra

  luck with Kanako. And I mean extra luck., maybe something more

  with others. Fuffill you're wildest fantasies, the cravings, human

  cravings you'd like to believe you don't have. ”

  Revulsion.

  Disgust.

  Annoyance.

  And yet, she felt a pull. She could find satisfaction, gratification,

  instant success. He reminded her of her desires. She was supposed to

  say no, to tell him to get lost, but... her mind whispered different

  things. She could imagine the possibilities, sensual possibilities,

  power trips, authority, godhood, a cure for her brother.

  “Something more?”

  [Juniper! No. This is a bad idea. This dude was not too

  different from you at the start. Human, normal. He’s obviously twisted

  and sick. Don’t deal with him. ]

  Sys-chan snapped her out of her daze.

  “No.” She gripped the edge of the table, sickness rolling through her. “Leave, or I’ll summon Quixis.”

  He started laughing, genuinely amused, as if she were a child waving around a plastic knife as a weapon.

  “I refuse. I’m not a puppet to be used.”

  A shiver passed over her skin as he stared at her. “Sooner or later,

  you’ll come begging me for help. And when that time comes, I will help you.”

  Juniper clenched her fists as he vanished. It was a wonder he even

  had enough manners to put down the cup. She collapsed into the chair he

  had been sitting on, checking for any strange occurrences or phenomena.

  She checked the cup, rinsing it with water just in case he had left

  something nasty on it. He was gone. All seemed normal. She guessed she

  could do nothing else but go to sleep.

  Her life was in chaos. She needed to stabilize it

  The next morning

  Juniper swore to herself that everything would be normal. She

  wouldn’t use her powers. She wouldn’t even think about them. Everything

  would be normal.

  As the day passed, nothing happened. Three o’clock this morning, and

  no one made her float yet. And there was no traveler. No Quixis.And

  Syschan was like a tulpa or some weird figment of her imagination.

  Totally normal.

  She turned off her black phone just in case. Evelyn started calling.

  Tomorrow was her big day—her first run, as Morrigan had put it.

  Afterwards, she would be put out on more patrols, ordered to act and

  respond to a job.

  Right now...

  Tart.

  Her goal at the moment. Milk tart. Something her mother used to make. Lots of milk, some butter, and sugar.

  She had tied an apron around her waist as she cracked and whisked

  eggs, sifting flour into a mixture. Afterward, she formed a nice base.

  The motions of whisking, cutting, kneading, and baking eased her mind.

  It was meditative, even if the result came out wrong.

  Her thoughts drifted. She imagined herself working for Kanako’s family.

  A submissive fantasy.

  Kanako was from a rich family, which meant they had servants. Juniper

  could imagine herself in that position. It was a humiliating but oddly

  weird thought, being pushed around by someone weaker than her on a

  quantitative scale of 1000 if you factored in her powers. Ordered wipe

  dirt off her desk, bending over to dust—

  "That's smells nice, lots of cinnamon?"

  Remy strolled inside, staring at the desert in the oven. He was

  overly happy. Suspiciously happy after seeing all the mess she made last

  night. It looked like he was determined to make her forget about it,

  needlessly rattling off strings of information, cracking jokes to make

  her laugh, and offering to help.

  What she found most suspicious was that he wasn’t coughing as

  frequently. She noticed he may have used more pills than usual. Perhaps

  that was why he displayed a healthy amount of human athleticism. But

  there would be drawbacks.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Dude, what is up with you?”

  Staring at him, she slapped him on the back. He looked at her with

  confusion. Usually, he would have crumpled to the ground by now.

  “Uhh, nothing. Why are you so persistent? If it’s about the alcohol, I

  guess I just wanted to let loose for once. You know, I never get to do

  anything.”

  She couldn't tell if it was some kind of jest, or if he was pulling at her feelings.

  “Remy, don’t say it like that.”

  He perked, finger raised to the light bulb. “Ah, I think it is it the

  medicine? Yeah, I bought some more expensive stuff with the money you

  gave me. Nothing weird. Seems to have done the trick. I think I feel

  great.”

  Bullshit. He was hiding something. But she let it slide. No nonsense for the remainder of the day. A calm day, she told herself.

  Yes. very calm. Serene. Quiet.

  The doorbell buzzed.

  Or not.

  walked toward the window next to the door, the afternoon light

  peeking inside. It was Annemarie. The girl waved at her, smiling like

  she wasn’t a maniac half the time—looking way too cutesy for someone who

  should be in a clinical institution.

  [Oh, look. It’s sidepiece number one.]

  Oh no, no, no. No cape stuff. Please no cape stuff.

  Juniper opened the door, hoping she'll chase her away very quickly. She stared at her in the face.

  “Hi, Juniper,” she said, waving excessively. “I haven’t–”

  “No capes for today!” Juniper slammed the door shut in her face.

  Remy was busy chugging milk, choked, as he saw the scene unfold. They

  exchanged looks but quickly looked away. Juniper sighed in annoyance as

  Annemarie called through the door, overly sweet.

  “But Juniper~”

  Juniper cursed, then opened the door. Staring at Annemarie’s attire, she

  had gone for a gothic look today—high-heeled boots, a frilly black

  dress, and black knee-high socks. Juniper scrutinized her hard.

  She was cute. Very cute. And this was very wrong to think. very very wrong. unfaithfully wrong.

  Annemarie peeked inside, spotted Remy, and called out to him. She

  slipped past Juniper as she did so. “Remy, I’ve heard so much about you.

  Is this our second meeting?”

  Juniper gritted her teeth, cringing at her acting—It was horrendous. A

  half disguted Juniper sneered. This was not who Annemarie was. Not even

  close.

  [Oh, come on. Let her have her moment. Everyone deserves to be sweet as cinnamon and milk tart as once in your life. ]

  Only annemarie is a poison Ivy.

  “Ooh, I forgot.”

  Juniper ran toward the oven to check if the first batch of the tarts

  were okay. She opened it with kitchen gloves, took it out of the oven,

  and placed it on the stove. Effy ran into the kitchen the moment the

  smell left it. Her scream was high-pitched, and she nearly tripped over the ground.

  “Juniper, I want tart, I want tart, I want~” Little Effy, spotted Annemarie, then froze like a moose on the road.

  “You must be Effy,” Annemarie said, waltzing over to her after she

  was done terrorizing her brother. Her voice was high-pitched. “I heard

  you’re as kind as an angel and as cunning as a devil. Is that true?”

  Effy squared her arms. “Juniper, are you spreading propaganda?”

  Propaganda, big words to teach a nine year old or was this the internet?

  [Hey she might me smarter than you.]

  Juniper frowned and cut Annemarie a piece of the tart, plating another for Effy. Or else hell would break loose.

  “Are you her friend?” Effy asked.

  “I am.”

  Effy raised her brow skeptically. “She doesn’t have many friends. I suppose I should thank you for being kind to her.”

  Juniper bit her tongue.

  Just who the hell does Effy think she is?

  “Oh, it’s no problem. Say, what do you like, Effy?”

  Effy started spinning and jumping about. “I like fun! Any kind of fun. And making my sister's life a little more exciting!”

  Annemarie smirked. “I guess we both have that in common.” Her eyes smiled at Juniper.

  Juniper gave them both a stare of disappointment, then Juniper

  grabbed Annemarie, like she was a piece of papier-maché, dragging her

  out the door, leaving her siblings in shock.

  "Juniper!?" Effy shouted.

  Juniper closed the door. Turned to her 'friend.'

  “Alright, what do you want?”

  Annemarie broke her smile. “I need a partner for tonight. Patrol

  stuff. Evelyn said so. Gang activity is on the rise, villains are overly

  busy. I’d rather not go with the others. Francesca is busy. I need a

  plus one.”

  “You know I have a big day tomorrow, and it’s my off day today.”

  “I know, I’ll make it up to you.” She leaned forward. Fingers trailing to place it should't. “Anyway, you’d like it.”

  Juniper straigntend up. Pressed her forehead against Annemarie’s.

  “Sis, listen very carefully. I’m committed now, which means you need to

  stop. You’re—never mind, cut the chatter. We aren’t a thing, and we

  won’t be a thing. You want a patrol, go to the police station. I’m sure

  they’ll help you.”

  Annemarie grabbed juniper's arm, nails raking into her skin. She

  clutched hard. Her eyes sparkled, full of puppy-dog procedure. “Please,

  please, I really need this.”

  Juniper exhaled. It was beyond weird. But there were opportunities she needed to start looking out for.

  "Yeah, well I need some me time."

  Juniper pushed her away, anne took a step backward and her lip

  flopped over the bigone. They stood in silence for awhile neither doing

  a thing. Juniper caught Efyy staring from the window, head pressed

  against it.

  Oh god no.

  Juniper gave in to shrinking annemarie.

  “Fine. No weird antics. No weird games.”

  Annemarie grinned like she won the lotto. Eyes wide as sharks.

  “Can I still come inside?”

  “Only if you behave. And don't be weird next to my siblings, please.”

  "No promises."