When Heroes Fall

Chapter 15

Lien stared at Matt's retreating figure, his backpack hanging off his shoulders. Scowling, she crossed her arms. If she glared hard enough, maybe he would combust into flames.

"Lien!" If she was a meta-human, it was not the day her powers would emerge, as she heard her name shouted down the stairs. Turning her gaze upwards, Lien spotted Ross leaning over the rails of the stairs and waving their arms. The corner of her lips curled upward—a smile she couldn't help as Ross rushed down the stairs. They took the steps two at a time. By the time they reached Lien in the alcove, Ross panted to catch their breath. "Why are you sulking under the stairs?"

Lien huffed, blowing her black bangs out of her eyes. Ross tilted their head, standing taller as they inspected Lien. Ross looked good; their injuries from Gea's attack on the school practically invisible, though Lien knew they still had nightmares about it. With time they would fade though; Lien had confidence in that. She had seen Ross survive so much already; she couldn't imagine a world where Ross' curious mind stopped racing. Lien could see the question forming on the tip of Ross' tongue. Before they had the chance to ask anything, Lien punched them in the shoulder—a little harder than she intended by the way Ross yelped and rubbed their arm.

"What were you doing on the second floor—your homeroom is down here," Lien asked instead of answering Ross' question.

Taking the bait, Ross perked up. "SAT prep. Miss. Mallard is helping me out."

Lien groaned in exaggeration, throwing her head back. "SATs? The whole town is falling apart, and your worried about college?"

"Yeah," Ross shoved Lien's shoulder, the two of them moving into the stream of students, following the flow toward Ross' homeroom, "Graduation is only two years out. Meta-biology programs are hard-core. I have to have top marks if I'm going to make it in."

"Standardized testing is B.S." Lien shot back, speaking louder to be heard over the other students.

Ross rolled their eyes, "I know that. Unfortunately, Ivy leagues don't care."

"They'd be crazy not to accept you," Lien replied. They stopped in front of Ross' homeroom door in the middle of the hall, fitting themselves into a crook in front of a few lockers.

"Thanks," Ross shifted, re-adjusting their backpack. Lien forced herself to smile, encouraging her friend, but Ross doesn't match her expression. Instead, Ross wrapped their arms around Lien, pulling her in close and resting their chin on her forehead. Lien squawked, arms flailing. Ross squeezed her tighter. Lien settled, not quite leaning into the embrace, but not running away either.

"Uh, you good?" Lien asked.

"You look like you needed it," Ross mumbled.

"Okay?" Lien drawled, more a question than a statement.

Sighing, Ross let her go, taking a step back but leaving a hand on her shoulder. "You know I'm here for you, right? You can tell me anything?"

Lien swallowed, smiling sweetly, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah, of course," she chuckled. Her stomach twisted, a sick, acidy feeling rising in her throat. "Now come on, the bell is about to ring, and I have to get to class."

Ross scrunched their brow. Their nose crinkled. Lien drummed her fingers across her backpack strap, shifting from one leg to the other. Unable to find whatever they were looking for, Ross let it go. They placed a hand on Lien's head, ruffling her hair.

"See you at lunch, kay?" Ross said. Hand falling to Lien's shoulder, Ross patted her shoulder and walked past her to the classroom.

Lien threw up a peace sign, "See you at lunch."

Walking away from Ross, Lien let her smile fall. Ross hadn't been wrong. She was tired. She stayed up until two a.m. searching for Nightstar's identity, and it all turned out to be for nothing. Not to mention everything before that. Her leg throbbed at the thought, more of a phantom pain now than the actual injury. There were plenty of fresh cuts and bruises to be bothering her.

Turning down the hall, Lien trekked to her homeroom with a few minutes to spare before first bell. Most of the class was still up and chatting, congregating around a few desks in different pods. Marching up to her desk, she threw her bag on top of the desk.

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket, the vibrations alerting her. Taking out her phone, Lien tapped in her passcode. It was a news alert. The local station sent out an alert. Lien clicked on the app.

Carl Kennedy appeared on the screen, microphone in hand. Behind him stood city hall. Or what used to be city hall. The left half of the colonial style building had caved in. The road heaved in front of the city hall. The cars once sitting on the street were flipped over. Whatever people who had been on the scene had cleared out. Clicking the volume button, Lien leaned in to listen to the middle-aged reporter.

"—reporting live from City Hall where Gea has attacked. Police are now arriving on the scene, but—" Lien stared at her bag sitting on her desk. The police hadn't been able to stop Gea yet. There was no reason to think they could stop her now. If Gea took city hall, the rest of the city would fall quickly.

Grabbing her bag, Lien thanked the universe that she took a page out of the hero's book and stuffed her uniform in her backpack that morning.