***

“TAXI! TAXI~? I NEED A TAXI--!” Tracy tried to flag down one of the roaming cars in her tan, white fluff-trimmed fall coat.

And if it wasn’t for her enhanced senses, she wouldn’t have gotten out of the way so easily, as one of the taxis simply sped away, and veered on the sidewalks, as if they were in some videogame.

As the woman clutched at her chest, freaking out because holy shit—she nearly got killed, she looked around, seeing her fellow populace wasn’t doing better.

In short, people were panicking on the dark streets, as in any crisis situation. But this is a new, much stranger situation that no human has properly established a reaction to.

A middle-aged woman was rocking on the pavement, as her family at wits end trying to convince her that she has to keep running in these growing worse emergencies that can happen anytime. A man is jumping car to car because he fears that whatever’s coming, it’s tunneling through the ground. And a refined-looking elder was screaming atop of his lungs, “FUUUUUUCK THIS! FUCK THIS! I AIN’T GETTING’ GOT AGAIN!”

Looking at these various displays as she bit on her lipstick-coated bottom lip, she couldn’t judge at all. If she were them, she’d do worse.

Hell, she isn’t them and is a thing that adds more chance in surviving Noumena-related things. And she could end up reacting worse than them.

She glanced down into one of her coat’s pockets, looking at her circle phone. She wanted to call back in, but she sensed how mad the girl was at her.

She had to do anything, to keep this gig going. Or else, she’ll be back on that lonely square one. But she has to think of something—a way to not only get there, but be impressive while doing it. There was so much to think about.

But maybe she can think and run.

As she continues to softly but speedily chew on her lip, Tracy managed to do both.

***

What once was a public bus station with a tunnel-like design embedded into the structure turned into a battlefield where everything was tipping towards the edge of insanity.

The random colors and hues Jackie saw wizz by not moments ago—or felt like not moments ago—didn’t just create lights anymore. They created moats of energy melting midair, slime emerging from any and all cracks, surfaces springing forward and turning into drills.

And those were the things that Jackie glanced at. Only able to glance at.

This is the insanity of a world where now supernatural powers exist. Reality itself, is broken.

Her and Maddie were busy, shifting in and out, going in opposite directions, completely out of the range of the Arm-Monger. He could only twist and turn in rage, hoping that they’ll come close to him, slip up.

“We’re all melee guys—” Maddie said in a huff, “This is going to get draaaagged out—”

“OR YOU STOP BEING THE PRILVIGED COWARDS YOU ARE AND FAAAAAAAAAACE MEEEEEEEE!” the Arm Monger roared.

He swing and lunged forward towards Maddie, causing her to dart back with her nimble legs.

Jackie watched the display, so tempted to rush in and land a hit… But she played it safe, only slowing down her actions, reverting to simply step-siding around in a circle, clearly making herself bait.

The man, after angrily returning into the center again, took it---starting to chase after Jackie despite his lurching movement speeds—and as Jackie sped back up at the last second, Jackie knew she had him.

But it wasn’t like Jackie and Maddie were savants, in any better shape.

They were using siVis to lean to their respective sides, darting away, and even shifted into doing cartwheels that were easy to disengage out of.

But for every flip, Jackie was tumbling—trying not to fall over but the sudden effort caused her to scrape her track pants anyways, quickly darting away when the Arm Monger dove in. Maddie had a moment of no matter what, she could not get her movement starting as she tripped, got up, wincing in pain, and jumped around while grabbing her thigh. Even little mistakes like not keeping patterns and over pacing themselves—stuff like that.

One could tell that they only had their siVis for a few months, at best.

But what was the difference, Jackie wondered, between these people who only got it recently, then she and her friends?

There wasn’t time. Anything could happen. She had to move in and end this before it becomes a problem.

Being proven instantly right not seconds later, Maddie jumped out of her skin, turning around as something literally landed right behind her.

Using her enhanced vision, she looked past her frenemy and saw that… It was. Some coral-coated… sea… Meteorite.

That soon cracked open and started to gush scolding hot water out of itself, causing Maddie to move in.

The Arm-Monger couldn’t have been happier, as he rushed in.

“No nono no no no nono NO--!” Jackie growled at the top of her lungs.

She dove down, slid on the already ruined leg of her pants, and focused everything into her outstretched leg—siVis enhancing it as the pieces and parts worked together to create a makeshift battery ram.

Her leg connected with the Arm-Mongers, causing him to scream out in pain and bend over onto his exaggerated side, only mere feet away from a paralyzed Maddie.

Jackie quickly got up and then hunched over in pain as everything caught up to her. Struggling upwards once more, she looked down at her opponent.

He wore less of a plain white shirt and more of a sheet of cloth that was draped and tied upon his body. His jeans looked lived in, and were falling at the seams. Worse, due to the weird zigs and zags of the patterns on them, his constant siVis use was ruining them further—a recently discovered side-effect and new way to see siVictims when they’re coming. The arm, like shattered glass shards that lingered at the corners of a broken mirror, but only in 3D, and swollen, deformed.

The worse part was the cracks running down his skin. Because it reminded Jackie of her own cracks that only just cleared up weeks ago.

She accepted her fate, then. Wanted to go out as she was, what she always wanted to do… And she lived after doing those things. Now that she’s lived, she understood just how fucking lucky she and the girls were.

This whole reflection, this whole thing, gripped her body as she stood still, looking at a fellow victim as he got up.

“JACKSON, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING; MOVE!”

The Arm Monger rose his arm and smashed it at where she stood.

***

River wasn’t sure about a situation being as awkward as she feels. Weird sense of pride? Some meta-humor? She was soon thinking over the fact that only someone like her would find this remotely interesting.

She was stuck on a train cart with many, sweating normal people around her. Made worse with the fact that there’s an siVictim out there prowling around them, someone like her but would surely beat her up without the ability.

And she HAS an ability that makes this whole thing moot, but would end up spooking both parties and make this situation worse.

Only her.

Close your eyes and remember to breathe. While you are currently in a distressing scenario, there is always hope on the horizon. It exists. And it’s worth it. Remember, you are only human.

Even the anti-socialite like her knows the worse move that anyone could make, the absolute worse phrase that isn’t derogatory-charged, is telling someone to “calm down” when they’re upset. She never got why people say it. Even in shows, where writers tell their characters what to do, it doesn’t work.

As those words reverberated throughout the cart, River looked around. The emergency lights created a teal shade above everyone, who in turn was looking at each other. Waiting for another shoe to drop.

She looked down at her worn-to-bit ones. She sighed.

She looked to her right. Clearly, an intern at an office, his black slick-back hair, sweating out the grease.

…River WAS getting better at small-talk… Rather, simple talk.

“Hey uh…” her monotone voice took a while to tune beyond a mumble. “You… Have any idea when this’ll be all over--?”

“I—just—No talking, please.”

River gapped her mouth open before closing it, then nodded. Shrinking in her spot, her head back low.

It really was going to take a while.

***

Jackie forced herself to leap backwards, stumbling and bumbling across the asphalt as she landed on her ass.

“Really grateful for the save, my ass would be splattered if you didn’t step in—so when I say this, don’t take it the wrong way—BUT SPORTS GIRL, GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME--!” Maddie zipped over, joining her.

“Iiii’m…” the tall girl buckled and stumbled a bit as she stood up. “So surprised that you’re thankful…”

“Grateful.”

“Whatever, I’m getting good at Maddie-ese—”

“And while we’re on that subject,” Maddie cut off. “No silent heroic moves right now; this is a fight—you tell me what we’re doing and we’ll do it. The job you bitch about not doing.”

Jackie nodded while looking down. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

The freckled youth looked up at her.

“Are we using it or what?”

Jackie gritted her teeth. She saw the dust clearing and the broken man more so in rage. She looked around her beyond this fight, and saw the insanity only getting worse. Even while doing good, using their abilities will only add to the carnage.

She wanted this to just be over, done in a certain way that didn’t cause more harm than good.

But expediency outweighs originality.

Jackie nodded. “I’ll stagger him, make him bend on his side. You sneak around and dive in for the ki—shot.”

Maddie cracked her fingers by intertwining them. “Gotcha.”

As she darted away from Jackie, the latter stood her ground. Watching, and waiting, for the man to make another desperate move.

He rushed forward, his arm outstretched regardless if his body has to contort forward as well.

Jackie, focused on his jutted-out side, simply swooped down and extended her own arm forward—aiming for the gut.

It began to hum and charge with a baby blue aura, all of her available energy within her body, all stockpiling into her arm. She cursed herself mentality, not wanting all of it to flow in and only managed to negotiate the half. Regardless. Jackie Jackson exploded forward as the energy not only escaped, but became a explosion.

INNATE DRIVE!

The broken man didn’t understand what happened, as his vision blurred before him.

All he knew, was that the girl was right across from him, and is now buried her fist into his side—another explosion of energy making him skid away a few feet.

“He moved back!” Maddie continued to stay on her feet, dancing around. “Do I go in or what?!”

Jackie, panting, as her hand was a pale white and entire arm slumped at her side. “Keep watching! I’m—guh—gonna keep attacking his core! If not now, it’s going to happen later—you’ll know!”

***

As she slammed against the rushing crush of people, Tracy quickly used her siVis to get out of the crowds, none of her pushing through barely working.

She tugged at her hair, she was chomping down onto her lip. There wasn’t any angle to cheat this, there wasn’t any angle to even more forward in.

She’s only a ways away from the Mall, but living within the well-to-do part of this city caused her obstacles to not only be desperate, but a vain desperate as well. Everyone on this street felt so self-important in wanting—needing—deserving to escape unharmed, it created a mob of crabs that dragged, kicked and broke anything that gets in their way.

Tracy tugged and tugged at her red locks, squirming in her skin. To somehow overpower all of them, she needed the strength of some Trend to do it.

Then it hit her. She hit herself on the forehead, for not letting something so easy hit her.

Her ability is enough.

She enhanced her legs with siVis, and started to run. Making such sharp turns, and instantly jumps as she ran on the streets, climbing over the abandoned or crashing cars beyond her.

She kept her now-keen eyes on the crowd, gaining on them as she was opposite. She hated herself—more than usual—but she pushed further so she could get enough speed boosts to finally overtake them.

It paid off.

As soon as she gained some feet over the crowd, she zagged onto the sidewalk, standing there out of breath, knowing that they’re going to catch up.

She took a big gulp, spun around on her boot’s heels, and rose her hands.

“I would like to thank everyone for the grand escape~!” Tracy said in an attention-grabbing, hammy tone.

She felt enough stares to pull it off.

PERSPECTIVE FLIP!

Tracy’s hands mimed an action. Putting themselves down, using her fingers to dig—or grip at something, and she then acted as if she was lifting something.

Soon, the part of the sidewalk that she stood on, lifted into the air—causing all manner of shouts and gasps. Black pipes were turned into support beams or the like, as Tracy suspended herself in the air.

Tracy panted, “Okay… I just keep doing this until I see the Mall, I’ll constantly get looks so the ability doesn’t cancel… Too bad that I’m going to lift up, like, 50 pieces of sidewalk until I get there, though.”

With a heavy sigh, she got to work, ripping up the sidewalk as they gently collapsed back as she forged her path.

***

Okay. River knew as this whole thing continued to go on and on, that she was going to have to bust out ol’ reliable.

Make a huge and depressing scene so that she could get away from an unconformable subject.

“F-for those who, um, can hear me—” she stumbled through her words. “I’m not—related to this guy, I’m my own mess—I really need to uh—I just need to go and what I’m about to do isn’t uh, harmful—”

She gestured, but her arms just kept slapping to her sides after.

“I—uh—yeah, gotta go,”

She took a deep breath, and held it in.

SLIPSTREAM

As the screams of terror picked up, River released jets of steam coming out of her pores—until the point that she too became steam.

Drifting forward through the steam, her shape retained itself, as she looked about at the now shadows that reacted to this. If she could, she would sigh.

She soon slipped through the conductor’s room, and was outside—within the tunnels.

The goblin men, who tilted their hands in confusion, just swiped at the smoky visage of River—if she could, she would sweat—even though she knows she’s semi-invincible in this state.

She just pressed forward, leaving a trail of steam, as the goblin men hollered and screeched.

River hoped whatever mess the others found themselves—threw themselves in; that it was something more manageable than this…