by Furlough.
Before the incident, no one had heard of Lizzie Starkey.
She had just been a boring, ordinary high school student; the sort you???d find no matter what sort of schools you looked in. An otherwise unremarkable girl whose only outstanding traits were her reliability in obtaining straight-A grades, and her cuteness, which was decidedly more accidental than deliberate. Outside of her rather reduced circle of friends, no one knew much about her, nor did they care to. If anything, those who had not bothered to get to know her better were occasionally put off by her excessively prim and proper do-gooder attitude, which she touted with a sense of slightly misguided pride whenever the opportunity came up. With that kind of performance and attitude, there was little doubt that she would do decently well in life, but nobody ever suspected that she would amount to anything more than an unassuming professionist who would never break out of her little bubble.
The incident, however, changed everything, not just for her, but for all of the world around her as well.
Of course, even after it happened, the amount of people who knew her as Lizzie was still a comparatively meagre one. Rather, the one everyone was interested in was Omnigal.
The one everyone was clamouring for was quite unlike anything anyone who had known Lizzie would ever say when describing her: A veritable bombshell of unearthly beauty, with powers and abilities so amazing they would put every olympic athlete and circus freak in history to shame. She was strong enough to lift a whole fleet of trucks, she could fly through the air as easily as one could wag a finger, her skin had the resistance to take on a rain of bullets for hours on end without yielding so much as a millimetre??? in short, a truly mythical superwoman, a complete fantasy, the stuff of trashy pulp fiction and comic books.
Except, this one was real, and it was not long after her ascension that there was not one person left in the world who had not heard the name of Omnigal, the super-powered heroine who had risen to save the world from crime and wickedness.
That was precisely an entire world???s worth of people more than had ever heard the name of Vivian. Or Cindy, for that matter.
Every single time she heard of Omnigal, Vivian could not explain to herself how in the devil???s name it had happened. She had known the old Lizzie. She had been there too, on the day of that bizarre lightning storm, when one of the bolts struck the school and everything went dark. Like many of her classmates, she had woken up several minutes later with a bizarre tingling feeling all over her that took several more minutes to subside. The same could be said of Cindy, and of basically every other person on campus grounds; and yet, of all who had been there, Lizzie was the only one who had been blessed with all the powers of a comic book superhero. Not a single other person who had been there that day had had received powers as incredible as those, or, if they had, they were certainly not showing it.
That made no sense to Vivian. The way she saw it, Lizzie had basically had the entire world handed to her on a silver platter the moment she got her powers. If she so desired, she could take the entire planet over and turn it into a unified empire under her, to worship her as queen and empress until the day she died??? which, considering the extraordinary nature of her powers, might not be a day anybody should be planning for in a hurry. Granted, it would have been more than a little weird to see the prissy, well-to-do little girl turn from a model student into a power-mad conqueror in the blink of an eye, but perhaps Vivian was projecting. After all, Vivian???s own attitude lay in a stark contrast to Lizzie???s prior to her ascension??? where Lizzie???s personality displayed a few saving graces, Vivian was not nearly as approachable, being a bit of a tomboy, sporting a quick temper which made her quick to turn aggressive towards anyone who disagreed with her.
In fact, Vivian???s only true friend at school for as long as she could remember had been Cindy. The smaller, nerdier girl was not nearly as strong nor eager to stand up for herself, but she sympathised with Vivian???s difficulty in being comprehended, and legitimately understood her friend???s philosophy. It was for this reason that, after the bizarre incident that had made Omnigal, the two had confided in each other that they, too, had not come out entirely unaffected.
Vivian???s combative nature meant that she had been in her share of fights, few of which she had lost. However, she had made a point of avoiding those after the incident, as they might have led her to give away the fact that she had somehow gained a tremendous strength that far belied her short and slender frame. She had discovered it after accidentally partially demolishing a few walls in frustrating, fortunately while no one had been around. Still, it bothered her deeply to know that even her amazing strength was nothing compared to that of Omnigal, whose amazing feats of strength far outstripped the limits of what Vivian herself had been able to accomplish.
Cindy???s deal was a different one. She had been a veritable bookworm before the incident, her well of personal knowledge outclassing even Lizzie???s, though she had never achieved even the modest amount of popularity Lizzie had enjoyed. After the lightning struck, however, she had begun to see the world through different eyes, her powers of perception and analysis having been amplified to a degree that even she could not begin to measure. However, her new abilities had never led her to accomplish anything that had any effect on the physical world, leading Vivian to silently believe that she had gotten the short end of the stick.
When the two girls learned of each other???s new powers, they grew excited, for though they could not deny that they could not even compare to Omnigal in terms of raw power, it raised the possibility that the lightning strike had had far greater and much less obvious effects than the creation of a single super-powered girl. That idea did not remain a possibility for long, as Cindy began to run a secret survey of the school grounds, and quickly observed that there were several other girls ???strangely enough, the boys all seemed to have remained unaffected??? that displayed extraordinary abilities unbecoming of any normal human. Vivian, who had never quite gotten over her frustration at how undeservingly lucky Lizzie had been to be the only one blessed with the powers of a god, quickly agreed to become a sort of assistant to Cindy???s efforts, eager to learn as much about this bizarre, super-empowering phenomenon as she possibly could.
Before long, Cindy had succeeded in compiling a dossier of numerous girls from around campus, and the extraordinary abilities they seemed to possess. A common trait among all of them, she observed, was that they had gone through some efforts to keep their new abilities secret, although they were no match for her newly enhanced powers of perception, or her tendency to go by unnoticed, which she had been exceptionally good at throughout her entire life. Even at the end of that particular day, as she and Vivian sat beside each other at the back of Miss Harper???s class, Cindy quietly observed the peculiar drop in temperature that surrounded Madeline, the goth girl who was not bothered by her loneliness in the slightest, or the way in which Josie, the star track runner, flicked her pen between her fingers unconsciously, and yet with such deftness that it momentarily became a visible blur for several seconds at a time. Though it was all very subtle, Cindy was determined to let none of it escape her notice.
???Don???t forget about your assignment for next week!??? Miss Harper???s voice weakly rang through the classroom just after the bell rang, betraying a certain lack of confidence on the teacher???s part. The middle-aged woman was thin as a rake, with mousy, greying hair and no figure to speak of. As both girls went out of the classroom, Cindy thought their teacher???s face bore an expression of melancholy, and yet there was some mysterious purpose behind it she could not quite read, while Vivian thought she was just a weakling to be dismissed. As they made their way from the classroom and towards a quieter spot outside, Cindy turned to Vivian, telling her of the next step in her research towards the strange phenomenon that had spread such an odd pool of powers among the school???s girls.
???The roof???? Vivian asked her friend.
???That???s right,??? Cindy replied. ???It???s where the lightning struck, after all, where this whole mess started. I don???t believe anyone has so much as examined it after the incident, even the building inspectors were content just to confirm the whole school wasn???t in danger of collapsing on itself. Who knows what we could find there????
???Well, aight then,??? Vivian conceded. ???But how d???ya propose we get up there? Not like they let students like us just waltz up there whenever we please.???
???Well, that shouldn???t be a problem, should it???? Cindy offered, eyeing her friend slyly. ???After all??? you???re REALLY strong??? aren???t you????
Vivian stared in slight confusion for a couple of moments before letting a knowing ???Ooooh??? escape her lips, changing her expression to a smirk.
???So that???s it, then????
???If it???s not too much trouble.???
???You???ve not seen anything yet. C???mon, let???s find a better spot for this.???
Going together, the two girls paced around the school building???s perimeter until they found a quieter place, one where they had no fear of anyone suddenly turning up. In a few more moments, Vivian gingerly surrounded Cindy with her arm, holding her firmly while being careful not to hurt her, then crouched down slightly before extending her legs and jumping upwards. Vivian???s prodigious new strength let her jump much higher than any human could under normal circumstances, and a few moments later the two girls landed up on the school building???s roof, above its two storeys. As that feat was not really something Vivian did very often, the landing was not perfect, but it only took the girls a few moments to pick themselves up off the roof???s surface, with Vivian hoping nobody noticed the series of hairline cracks that had just appeared on the concrete.
???Just a little tumble,??? Cindy said, dusting herself off from their little adventure. ???But more importantly, let???s have a look around, shall we????
Vivian quietly assented, and the two girls started pacing around the roof. Cindy went off and started fussing around, but Vivian took a minute to walk up to the edge and look down on the world around her. She imagined that???s what it had to be like for Omnigal, constantly flying around, looking down on all that surrounded her, who were nothing more than tiny insects to her. For just a moment, she revelled in that sensation, thinking what it would be like if it had been her who had claimed that incredible power. The world would be a different place indeed; it would all belong to her ???and Cindy too, of course???with all that inhabited it forced to either serve Vivian???s will or be trodden underfoot. Vivian???s confrontational attitude had gotten her in all sorts of trouble throughout her life, but what if she was strong enough that absolutely no one could ever hope to stand up to her? Now that would be the way to achieve true peace, she thought, true order, if everyone followed the absolute law that was her word. After all, if she had that kind of power, the very idea of anyone opposing her became impossible to take seriously. What could anyone do against a tyrannical supergirl who had the ability to crush entire fortresses with her bare hands, or withstand the might of a nuclear explosion without so much as a singed hair on her head?
As Vivian found herself daydreaming, she was startled as Cindy suddenly called out to her, saying she had found something. Shaking her head, Vivian quickly turned around and raced to join her friend, being terribly curious as to what her discovery had been. When she came up to her, she saw Cindy holding a small, blue object in her hand, similar to a crystal, though radiating a faint light. As Vivian leaned in to look at it more closely, it seemed to her that the object was making a very faint buzzing sound.
???What is it???? Vivian finally asked.
???Dunno,??? said Cindy, causing a slight groan of disappointment from her friend. ???Never seen anything like it, is the thing. That???s good news, though, it pretty much leaves no other explanation for why it???s here. It has to be somehow connected to the lightning!???
???Is that so???? said Vivian, offering the object one more inquisitive look. ???Can I look at it????
???Sure, go ahead,??? said Cindy, handing the object over to her friend. Vivian turned the small shard over in her hands, her face shooting a hundred questions at the strange artefact. As she held it, it felt odd, as though it carried a slight electrical current, but otherwise it made her feel no different. It certainly didn???t feel like it could grant her powers that rivalled those of Omnigal, or even boost the lesser power she already possessed.
??????well, I???d like to hold on to it for a while,??? Vivian finally said, not knowing what to think of the object, but being oddly certain that it would turn out to be important.
???Be my guest,??? Cindy said, ???but I need you to come with me someplace tonight.???
???Where???s that???? Vivian asked, quietly pocketing the shard.
???The party at Ali???s.???
???A party???? Vivian groaned, much more noticeably than before. She hated gatherings of that ilk. ???Why do we gotta go someplace like that????
???Believe me, I take no pleasure in this, but it might be an opportunity to try and add to my compendium of the lesser supers on campus. All those girls like keeping their secrets, you know. This might be the only way to catch some of them red-handed.???
???Fine,??? Vivian said, trying to convince herself that it was worth it for the sake of knowing more about how those powers worked. ???But you better have lots of good news for me tomorrow.???
???Here???s hoping,??? said Cindy.
The two friends went their own way, preparing to meet up later in the evening. As they left the school grounds, Vivian felt around the pocket she was carrying the shard in, being unable to shake the feeling that things were about to change in a big way.
* * *
The evening only served to remind Vivian of why she hated parties.
In a completely expected way, she and Cindy had been relegated to a proverbial corner, away from the commotion that pervaded the rest of the dwelling, It was certainly not going anywhere if they decided they wanted to take one step into it, but they did not. The strange, mindless comingling of all the humanity that made up that chaos was utterly incomprehensible to the both of them.
???So what do you see???? Vivian asked her friend, struggling to be heard above the commotion.
???Nothing yet,??? Cindy said, her expression a sour one, only second to Vivian???s. ???I have to admit, having all these people in the same place makes it just a little harder to focus than I thought.???
???Forget about that,??? Vivian said, ???you haven???t been drinking the punch, have you????
???I may have taken a few cups. I mean, they said it was non-alcoholic, weren???t they????
???For fuck???s sake, Cindy,??? Vivian said, surprised at the na??vet?? her friend had retained even with her monstrous intellect. At that point, Vivian was at least partly inclined to declare the evening a bust so she could get out of there.
???Wait,??? Cindy said, tugging on her friend???s sleeve all of a sudden. ???Look over there. That one.???
???Hm???? Vivian turned to look where Cindy was motioning. There was a small crowd of men gathered a round a single figure, a figure that filled Vivian with even more bitterness. In the midst of that small gathering of humanity, there danced a lone woman, a woman quite different from anyone Vivian had ever seen on campus??? and she certainly would have been able to tell if she had seen her before, for she was one of the most obnoxiously beautiful women she had ever seen. Her hourglass figure and outrageous proportions were only accentuated by her outfit, which tightly hugged what little of her body it covered, leaving very little to the imagination. It seemed to Vivian that the woman???s incredible beauty could only be second to that of Omnigal, and only because the latter had hers enhanced by her godlike aura.
???What about her???? Vivian retorted towards Cindy, feeling annoyed for even having looked at the mystery woman.
???There???s something off about her.???
???How could that be? She???s not from around the school. I???m pretty sure we???d know if she had ever so much as set foot there.???
???Regardless, there???s something really off about her. She has to have a power.???
???Hmph. So what is it????
???I??? I don???t know. There???s just something about the way she looks, though??????
???Are you sure you???re not just seeing things from getting buzzed????
???No, I???m serious. If only there was a way to make her use her power??????
As the two girls looked on, the ultra-beautiful woman suddenly excused herself and retreated to a quieter part of the house, seemingly to use the restroom. The sight of her swaying her hips back and forth even as she did this annoyed Vivian even more, and momentarily a wicked idea brewed in her head.
???If someone was going to beat the crap out of you and you had a power, you???d use it to defend yourself, right????
???Vivian, what??????
???Exactly what I said. You want to know what Miss Sluttypants???s power is? Don???t fall behind.???
Vivian set off at a powerwalk to catch up with her newly acquired mark, calling out to her on an empty hallway. Cindy followed close behind, resigned to her inability to stop her friend, but wanting to know how the encounter would turn out.
The unknown beauty turned to look at Vivian, giving her a look of haughty dismissal and defiance.
???What do you want????
???To see what your face looks like when you???re done scraping it off the ground!???
The other woman turned to face Vivian, walking up to her slowly and deliberately. As she approached, Vivian saw that she was quite a bit taller, at least one head, which accentuated her statuesque frame, though Vivian knew her own strength was much greater than that of the bimbo before her.
???Go play elsewhere, little girl,??? the woman said in a venomous tone, ???and don???t get in the way of a real woman.???
As she finished saying this, the bigger woman put her arms forward and shoved Vivian, who forcefully staggered back a single step. Even though she was still interested as an observer, Cindy covered her mouth with a gasp. Whatever was about to happen, she was not entirely sure the other woman would survive her friend???s wrath.
Vivian herself, however, had other things in mind. She could easily give the woman the beating of a lifetime, leaving others to puzzle over what her face could have looked like before it met with the business end of a steamroller. But after what she had just done, that seemed too simple. Vivian had to do something a bit more imaginative, something that could not be dismissed as a simple product of impulse. Something more interesting, she thought, and perhaps even destined to happen, as her hand began wandering into the interior of her pocket, which still held the shard Cindy had taken from the roof.
The other woman smiled one more wicked smile, then began turning her back on Vivian to carry on her way. However, the instant her head turned the other way, Vivian flew at the woman in a rage, taking the shard from her pocket and plunging it into the woman???s side, shanking her like a street thug.
Cindy was in a silent panic, expecting the woman to let loose with a piercing scream that would give away what was happening, but strangely enough, the woman???s voice became choked up, and it seemed she was unable to produce any kind of sound as she collapsed to the ground. At the same time, Cindy noticed Vivian stumbling back as if she had just been struck, only stopping once she bumped into her friend, then shooting her a momentary glance that revealed a bewilderment far greater than Cindy thought her friend ought to have, even after what had just happened.
However, the attention of both girls became fixated on what was happening the other woman. Just after being struck, she had collapsed to the ground, but even then, she trashed in a series of odd convulsions. As she began to settle down, it seemed to the girls that her frame had somehow shrunk, appearing decidedly less spectacular than it had been when they had first caught sight of her, even in the dim lighting. As she shuffled around and collected herself, it even looked as though the skimpy clothes that had hugged her figure so tightly were sagging, struggling to hold on to her frame, causing her to grip them haphazardly as she got up. As she finished collecting herself and lifted her face up, the two girls could not help but stare in amazement at the sight with which they were now faced.
???Miss??? Harper????
Cindy???s suspicions were indeed correct, as the two girls were now staring at the frame of their frumpy, middle-aged teacher, who looked pathetic enveloped in clothes that were obviously meant for a much better endowed woman. Without saying a word, the two girls turned and ran out of the hallway in a panic, abandoning the party in short order. Behind them, the vulnerable middle-aged teacher tried to do the same as best she could, left completely embarrassed by her unexpected transformation.
* * *
On an empty street several blocks away, the two girls stopped to catch their breath, still filled with confusion and disbelief as to what they had witnessed at the party.
???What?????? Vivian was the first to break the relative silence that accompanied the huffing and puffing, ???what was that????
???That?????? Cindy struggled to regain her composure, ???That was Miss Harper.???
???That was, wasn???t it????
???But that woman we saw before wasn???t her?????? Cindy said in between gasps, ???or was it????
???Wha????
???I perceived something weird about that woman,??? Cindy continued, ???I knew she had to have a power. What if that was her power????
???What power????
???Turning into someone else,??? Cindy said, not quite finished processing the implications herself. ???But then, that shard.???
Vivian paused and produced the shard, which she had hastily stuffed back into her pocket during their getaway.
???This thing???????
???Maybe??? maybe it can erase people???s powers????
Vivian stared at the shard in disbelief. Of all the things she could have learned that night, that was certainly something unexpected. So that strange object could take away powers? She wasn???t sure she wanted that. Her unspoken ambition was to increase her powers, not to take them away, even if it was other people???s powers on the line. She wasn???t even sure she could bring herself to sap Omnigal???s powers if that meant that such an incredible, godlike might would be lost forever.
???I just?????? Vivian stammered, ???what??? what the fuck?!??? Her mind raced with the implications of the strange object she now held, thinking of the strange storm, the lesser supers, Omnigal, until her thoughts came to be directed at the transformed Miss Harper. The bewitchingly beautiful woman whose incredible body and snooty attitude had riled her up to the point of stabbing her. Vivian???s thoughts revolved entirely around that indescribable bitch and how she had provoked her into such a brash course of action.
???Um??? Viv????
Vivian was momentarily brought out of her daze by Cindy???s voice, as the other girl briefly tried to get her attention.
???What is it????
Rather than reply with words, Cindy made a quick gesture towards her chest, as if to suggest that Vivian had something on hers that she should check out.
Vivian complied by looking down toward her chest, then became stunned at what she encountered. Riding high on her chest were a pair of breasts far larger than anything she had ever laid eyes upon in the flesh. Anything that is, except for that weird woman who had transformed into Miss Harper.
It was then that Vivian noticed her clothes. They were the same as those Miss Harper had been wearing, having replaced her regular outfit. A quick and mildly panicked glance at the rest of her betrayed the truth momentarily: She had been transformed into the same, incredibly beautiful woman Miss Harper had been posing as.
???What the??? fuck??????? Vivian began to blurt out, stopped only by the fact that she noticed her voice had changed as well.
???It looks like?????? Cindy began speaking, ???I think??? could it be???????
???What???? Vivian said, hoping Cindy???s insight could bring her out of her intense confusion.
???Is it possible that you?????? Cindy paused, seeming reluctant to finish her thought. ???That you??? you took Miss Harper???s power????
That remark made Vivian???s world slow down to a crawl. If what Cindy was implying was true, then the possibilities were positively staggering. The shard in her hand, which her attention momentarily wandered back to, could allow her to take the superhuman abilities of anyone she could get her hands on. Her previous belief as to the shard???s function was completely turned on its head??? there was no need for the shard to reduce the total amount of powers in existence; instead, it could redistribute them, move them from one place to another. And Vivian knew the perfect place for each and every one of them to make their home.
???Viv???? Cindy???s voice snapped Vivian out of her momentary daydream again.
???Yeah???? Vivian said, wanting to share her thoughts with her friend, but not yet having figured out a way to do so coherently.
???Can you??? turn back into yourself? Or are you stuck like that????
Vivian realised that was a question to which she also wanted to know the answer. She did not know exactly how the power worked, but she tried imagining her old self, the one she saw in the mirror every day, and put all of her concentration on that image. In her concentration, she could actually feel her body changing, molding itself back into its old shape. As she looked down to see the results, she noticed with relief her clothes were back to normal too.
???Wow?????? Cindy said, having no more words to offer for the moment.
However, Vivian looked at Cindy and immediately knew what her next course of action would be. Looking intently at her friend, she willed herself to change once more, and in moments was transformed into a perfectly replica of the bookish girl in front of her.
???Wha??????? Cindy said, taken aback by the spontaneous development.
???Looks like this really works, huh???? Vivian said with Cindy???s voice.
???Can you, um?????? Cindy began saying with a reluctance similar to the one she displayed before, ???I mean, are you??? Do you??? see things the way I do????
Though her words were cryptic, Vivian knew what she meant. The transformed girl looked around for a bit, trying to figure out if she could perceive anything more than she could before; if anything jumped out at her that she would have missed prior to her latest transformation. However, nothing of the sort came to mind.
???No dice,??? Vivian said.
???Hmm,??? Cindy replied, ???guess that means the shapeshifting can???t copy powers.???
???Don???t need to,??? Vivian said, changing back into her normal self, ???not now that we have this,??? she said as she brandished the shard before Cindy.
???What do you mean????
???Didn???t you say it yourself? I can use this to take more powers. Powers that are better off in me than in the simpletons who have them right now. And it just so happens you???ve been putting together a list of all the suckers who???re lugging all those powers around, ripe for the taking. Cindy, don???t you see what this means? The world is as good as ours!???
???I??? think you might be getting a head of yourself, Viv??????
???That???s because you???re forgetting the biggest prize of all??????
Once again, Vivian???s thoughts turned to Omnigal. The ordinary, unassuming high school girl who had been suddenly transformed into a god-like superwoman through no virtue of her own. The holder of such a tremendous power, a power she had done nothing to earn. A power that, Vivian realised with a mad glee, could now be hers.
???All I need to do now is find a way to take Omnigal???s powers. When I do, the whole world will be in the palm of my hand.???
???Are you sure??????? Cindy could not help but take her friend???s attitude and apparent plans with a bit of disbelief. However, even she could not deny that the prospect of being the personal friend of the most powerful being in existence was an exciting one. Even while looking at the mad glint in Vivian???s eye, Cindy had little doubt that even if her friend came to command that kind of absolute power, she would not forget about her.
???Do I sound like I???m joking???? Vivian offered with an evil smile. ???Don???t you want to know what the world is gonna be like with me as its goddess, and you as my second in command, holding the highest position a mortal could ever hope for? I???m telling you, as soon as that power is mine, all of the world???s armies combined won???t stand a chance??????
Vivian bit her lip, allowing herself to become lost in her fantasies for a few moments more. Why not, she reasoned, when it was not long before her wildest dreams became reality?
???But first,??? she suddenly brought herself to say, ???we???re going to need a plan. I???m going to need your help, Cindy. Are you with me????
Cindy looked her friend over once more. The past few minutes had made it evident that she was dead serious about the whole affair. Her enthusiasm had proved to be contagious, as even Cindy herself could not deny how alluring the idea of ruling over the entire world by the side of her invincible friend had become. A simple, impish smile and a nod of her head was her response, and the two girls took each other???s hand and went off into the night, eager to begin concocting their plot to dethrone Omnigal and turn Vivian into the undisputed goddess of the planet.
* * *
Valerie was not happy with who she was. Before the incident, she had been no more than an ineffectual she-rake, whose only talent of any sort was gathering gossip and sowing chaos among the school, which more often than not came back to bite her and made her immensely unpopular. After the mysterious lightning strike, the strange ability she had developed ???the power of voluntary invisibility??? had done little to change that. She was far too timid to attempt to use it for anything else than gathering even more dirt, and so her attitude and the way she was perceived by everyone else had not changed in the slightest.
However, the party changed everything for her. She had snuck in there to gather even more rumours, being particularly intent on finding out who that alluring new bombshell that had shown up out of nowhere was, but instead had been treated to an inexplicable scene as that tomboy Vivian had stabbed the woman with some kind of strange crystal, causing her to transform into Miss Harper. Valerie was suddenly very thankful for her power, as it allowed her to not only witness the whole scene unnoticed, but also tail the two girls who had ran away from the bizarre scene. The things she had heard them discuss between themselves after settling down had been very interesting indeed.
Valerie knew that, even holding a power with as many potential devious applications as invisibility, she would never have the guts to use it for anything truly significant, as she would be petrified at the notion of how vulnerable she would be if she were ever caught. However, if she had more strength at her disposal, like say, all the powers of Omnigal, then the situation would certainly be a different one. With those kinds of powers, she could finally come out of the shadows and claim the glory she had craved her entire life. With that kind of power, she could force everyone to worship her, be her slaves, serve her every whim. And by the sound of it, all she needed to do to claim that power was crash the party those two were planning, and seize the opportunity when the moment was just right. And then, just like that, in the blink of an eye, the world would be changed forever, and the age of Valerie the all-powerful would finally begin.
Vivian and Cindy had spent the entire night throwing ideas around, drawing up daring plans and coming up with all sorts of theories. After a whole night of scheming, the two teenagers had managed to come up with a general course of action, one that involved hunting down three particular powers from Cindy???s compendium in preparation for their final encounter with Omnigal. For the purpose of their project, however, Cindy decided to err on the side of caution and present the theory that someone???s powers could only be stolen while they were in the process of using them. The only case they had witnessed so far could hardly be treated as conclusive, after all, so there was no reason to make their risky endeavour even moreso.
However, on all other fronts, Cindy???s genius had shone through, and the two had managed to concoct a series of elaborate plans to light their road to supremacy. The girls that carried the powers Vivian would need for her last stand all fell into the general tendency of trying to keep them secret, so a particular approach would be needed in each case. But at last, their efforts had borne fruit, and when the morning came, the two set out on an excitement-fuelled crusade that would end with their mastery of all.
* * *
The reddish-violet sun was lazily making its way to the top of the sky as the school grounds slowly filled up with sleepy students. Of those who were already present, there were probably none more energetic than Josie, who was in the process of running her fifth lap around the jogging track. She had been running track for as long as she cared to remember, and everything about her appearance seemed to reflect that; her tall, lanky frame was nevertheless toned, particularly where her legs were concerned, and despite her modest frame anyone would have a hard time labelling her as weak.
As she took a quick break to have a drink and recover her energies, Josie was approached by another girl, someone she had seen before but had never expected to see on the jogging track outside of gym class. The girl, whose name was Cindy if her memory did not fail her, was the small, nerdish type, certainly not someone you???d expect to take an interest in sports on a regular day.
???Hi there,??? the nerdier girl spoke nevertheless, ???could I have a moment of your time????
Taking a few more big gulps, Josie capped off her water bottle and turned to look at the unusual presence that had appeared before her. ???Yeah????
???Sorry to bother you, but I???m doing a kind of physics project, and I could really use your help if you could work with me for a bit. Are you gonna run around the track a bit more????
???Yeah, sure,??? Josie replied. ???What do you need????
???Oh, I???d just like to observe and take some notes on how quickly you can do a full lap. However, you really look like you know what you???re doing, if you don???t mind me saying so, and I gotta mention that the data would be a lot more valuable if you ran as fast as possible.???
The sly compliment had perked up Josie???s spirits, and she offered the small girl a smirk as she got up. She confidently swaggered back to the track, eager to let that geeky girl have what she wanted, and perhaps surprising her a little in the process.
Josie was the best runner she had ever known, but ever since the incident, things had taken a twist for the interesting, and she hadn???t been left out. Running as she normally did prior to the lightning strike demanded very little effort from her, and when she actually decided to strain herself while running, something far more colourful took place. Something she would now deign herself to show off to the girl watching her, and leave her slack-jawed.
Positioning herself at the starting line, Josie took a deep breath, then set off at a run. She could feel the other girl???s eyes on her as, even with her usual pace, Josie made her way across the track with remarkable swiftness, her powerful legs cutting through the air with supreme ease. However, as she got done clearing the first quarter of the track, her pace tightened, and she started moving at an even greater speed. Though she was already going faster than the top speed most humans could achieve, her acceleration did not stop, and she only grew more speedy. By the time she finished a full lap, she was moving in such powerful strides that her movement appeared as a blur. Even after she conquered the track once more, she kept going.
The feeling was exhilarating to her. Josie had spent her entire life running because of the freedom it brought her, both while feeling the wind on her face and the burn on her body, and the strength and agility she had developed as a result felt immensely rewarding. The incident had made it even better for her, but even then she did not treat her improvement lightly, feeling she had earned it through her continued effort. Her display of that power felt like nothing more than an extension of that, showing off the results of her hard work and dedication as a natural consequence.
However, Josie???s enjoyment did not last for much longer. As she continued running at incredible speeds, she felt something nick the side of her leg, making her lose her balance and sending her careening to the ground. The fall scraped her skin pretty badly, but at least left her bones and muscles intact, and so she picked herself up off the ground in just a few moments. However, she felt somehow heavier, more burdened by her own self than she had just a minute ago. She felt it odd, but could not really explain it, just as she could not have explained the change that had come over her after the incident. However, as she got up, she noticed the source of her pain: A small cut had appeared on her leg; nothing serious, but it immediately led her to question how it had gotten there. There was nothing around she could see that could have caused it, and as she looked around, Josie couldn???t help but notice that even the girl who had asked her to run so quickly had vanished. The area around the track was fairly open, so she couldn???t imagine anyone could have gone out of sight as quickly as that girl apparently had, not unless they had the kind of speed Josie herself had come to command after the incident.
Unbeknownst to her, that is precisely what had happened; the one who had nicked her leg had used her newly acquired prodigious speed to grab Cindy and make a quick getaway. The plan that incorporated Cindy???s theory had been a success, and phase 1 of the preparation project had been completed successfully.
* * *
The rest of the school day went by quietly, with Vivian and Cindy nowhere to be found, much to Josie???s puzzlement. However, another student who was far less perceptive to their absence was Madeline, the goth girl who sat in their class. For as far as anyone could remember, she had been around, but had never really bothered to get to know anyone. Any friends she might have had seemed to have stayed in the earliest years of her life, then vanished into the ??ther, leaving her a loner through and through. Her eternal show of individuality did not seem to bother her, however, and she went through life without needing anyone???s help.
Once the bell rang and the students made their exit from the building, Madeline was quick to set out on her usual route back home, unwilling to let herself be distracted by anything or anyone; and yet, something that flew under the notice of most everyone else caught her attention. She noticed something coming from behind the school building, first with her nose, which was exceptionally sensitive, then felt it as a slight irritation in her eyes. Smoke.
Taking a slight detour to check out where the sensation was coming form, Madeline was faced with a rather unexpected sight: Behind the building, a pile of garbage which bunched up against the wall appeared to have caught on fire, a fire which was quickly spreading to engulf the entire pile, from which it threatened to spread further. Madeline approached quietly, making sure nobody else was around, drawn to try and put out the fire more out of a desire to no longer have to put up with how unpleasant the smoke was than because of concern with the integrity of the building, or the safety of the people therein.
Once she was right up next to the garbage pile, Madeline pointed her arms down toward the fire, her palms open, and momentarily began to produce a stream of ice and frost from them. In a mere few moments, the stream of chilly air encased the entire pile, dousing the fire and cooling the entire thing to the degree that no more smoke was produced from it, the heat being drained completely with a faint hissing sound.
However, Madeline became so fixated on her handiwork that she did not notice that one person had, in fact, managed to sneak up on her??? though, to be fair, that person used the incredible speed she had acquired just a few hours ago to appear behind her in an instant. Faster than Madeline could react, the mystery person took a swipe at her hand with a sharp object, leaving a cut on it, then hit her on the head with far more force than she would have expected from someone???s bare fist, knocking her out in an instant.
As Madeline lay on the ground, Vivian looked down at her newest victim, with Cindy quickly coming out of her hiding place to join her friend.
???Is she gonna be alright???? Cindy asked.
???She???ll be fine, she???s just gonna sleep for a few hours,??? Vivian retorted. ???You really shouldn???t worry about her anyway. In less time than you think, she and everyone else around here will be our slaves for eternity.???
???Yeah, I know,