Shades of Gray

Maggi

Maggi was panicking. She needed to get to Henry and fast. She didn't know if he'd be able to calm Dan down, but she needed to try something. He knew her power too well. She rushed up the ramp and threw off the mask and voice changer. She pressed a button and the suit slipped off and folded itself into a pencil case. When she was finally ready, she ran to Norma. 
"Get me to Henry as fast as you can!" Her voice was shrill and her eyes were wide. Norma, clearly sensing something was wrong grabbed her arm and they were in Henry's living room. He jolted up at the sight of her and Norma, still in her costume. 
"You need to get to Dan, now." He must have seen something in her eyes, because he nodded and raced for the door. Grabbing his shoes and coat.
She raced after him. "Get Sabrina and meet me at the Clock Tower. Bring my suit, please." She nodded and was gone. Maggi raced after Henry and caught up to him, even if he was the star of the soccer team. "Can't you fly us?" He smacked himself. 
"My head is really on backwards." He scooped her into his arms and they burst into the air. They were at the Clock Tower in minutes. Norma was there and so was Sabrina. She could see Henry piecing thoughts together in his mind before realization dawned on his face. 
"You're Echo, aren't you." Maggi turned to face him, jumping out of his arms. She held her hand out and she opened the suit back up. She stepped into it and threw the mask and voice changer on. 
"Never been righter. Now, shut that pretty mouth and get me a camera." His face hardened and he pulled out his phone. She smiled sarcastically and opened up the video. She went live on his phone and addressed the crowd. "People of Koral City, I am Echo! The 'Villain' you all have been chasing for quite awhile. And with me we have Henry, or should I say Exodus!! Dan, I know you're out there, so come on out and face me, or your pretty little boyfriend will face the severe consequences." She smiled as she shut off the live stream. She pushed Henry towards Sabrina and he fell into her portal. She closed it around his arms like in their last battle. She whipped around as the ground began to shake. She realized at that moment that she should have prepared better. He had clearly been practicing. She smiled as Dan came like a raging tornado. If he was going to play like that, then she could too. She felt his thoughts get stronger as he came closer and she prodded until she found what she was looking for. She began twisting every memory of Henry into something worse. Much, much worse. She watched as the changes began to effect the way Dan stormed up to Henry, Maggi, Sabrina, and Norma. He stopped a foot away from Henry and smiled sadistically at Henry's scared and relieved face. If she changed one more thing...She watched the snap happen in an instant. He slapped Henry and smiled as blood sprayed from his nose. Maggi's eyes widened. Sabrina, luckily, saw a lapse in Dan's guard and dropped him into a portal. Maggi cheered and ran up to them. Switching Dan's memories back to how they actually were, at least how she found them. Keeping the memory of him slapping Henry, but not why. She watched as the realization of what he'd done dawned on his face. He didn't look remorseful, exactly. He looked more like he was finally seeing what he could become. He turned his head to take in who was before him. He took in Maggi's slightly worn down suit and Sabrina. He glanced briefly at Norma and his eyes softened for an instant. Maggi caught it though. Henry was sobbing, quite pathetically actually. She knew Sabrina hit harder than Dan did, but it was most likely the betrayal of having Dan be the one to do it. She circled around them and stood up straighter as she took in the suspended bodies of her two enemies. She couldn't explain the joy it brought her to be back where her arc began. She gestured to Sabrina and she let Henry go. Maggi grabbed him by the shirt and threw him to the ground. She kicked him in the side and he curled in. His moans of pain music in her ears. She stepped on his throat, rolling him over. She knelt over and smiled. 
"Is getting your boyfriend back everything you ever wanted?" She could hear how cold and venomous her voice was, and she loved it. She pressed harder with her foot and watched as his face turned red. He clawed at her foot but the extra height they gave her also gave her extra protection. She stopped when he was almost passed out and pulled him up by the collar of his shirt. Her smile softened and she placed a soft kiss on his cheek before throwing him to the ground. His head bouncing off of a rock. She watched satisfied as the blood pooled underneath him. She turned to face Dan and beamed at his outraged face. She approached slowly, not because she was scare, but because she knew it would make her seem the opposite. Crouching by his face, she whispered in his ear. "It was always going to end this way." She stood back up and backed up slowly. The pressure in the air was suddenly unbearable, and her ears popped. She could feel the ground shaking again and felt her face scrunch up in worry. As if by divine intervention, Dan burst from the hole keeping him prison. Maggi, knocked down from the force, fell down. She watched as Dan stalked towards her. His steps each precise and slow. He was mocking her. She rose to her feet, shakily as the ground was still shaking. She knew he outmatched her and she knew what she had to do. In order to survive another day, she needed to retreat. It wasn't giving up, not in the slightest. It was pausing a game until she had an advantage. She glanced at Norma and she nodded slightly, getting the message. 
"You need to learn when to stop." His tone was the same one she had used on Henry. Dark, menacing, and full of bite. "If you play with fire, you're going to get burned." He had nothing like the victorious smile Maggi had on. His face was a grimace and a sneer. He hated her. Loathed her. She knew it and it gave her the advantage. She smirked. 
"The thing about fire, it always dies in the end." She bolted for Norma and they were both gone in an instant, it wasn't until they were both in the shadow world that Maggi realized that they had left Sabrina behind. 

She turned to the opening where they just were. The sun was setting and its fire lit everything in a ghastly orange. It made Dan towering over Sabrina all the more menacing. She saw the exact moment Dan flung a boulder at her head. The exact moment Sabrina died. The exact moment everything she had worked towards died. She didn't feel like she would have a month ago. She felt victorious. She didn't have her weighing her down anymore. Maggi felt free. She didn't have to worry about if she was doing everything Sabrina wanted. She didn't have to worry about her breathing down her neck and questioning her choices. Not always the right choices, but the necessary ones. She turned back to Norma and smiled. She led Norma to the portal of her room. Maggi embraced the familiarity of her own bedroom and slumped into her bed. Norma hesitated. 
"You really killed him." Maggi sat up slowly. 
"Yes." She answered equally slow. "Now, you can stick with me, or you can leave. No matter what you choose, this is a crossroads. This choice will effect what happens from here on out. She tapped the voice changer and threw her mask off once again. She rubbed the back of her neck. 
"Honestly, I'd really like you to stay." That seemed to do it for Norma. She sank into the spot next to Maggi and wrapped her arms around her waist. 
"I really need you to just hold me for a second. I can't believe I just watched two people be murdered." Maggi nodded and stroked her hand down the length of Norma's hair, holding onto her like she asked. 
"I know. And you'll be alright. You are strong. We will be alright, but we need to find a new lair, a new place to lurk. He will be looking for us. For you specifically. Your costume is good for short notice, but it doesn't hide the important things. If he ever saw you again, he'd know." She thought it over. "There's an abandoned missile silo just outside of town. Literally no one knows about it." Norma nodded but it was clear she wasn't listening. Maggi needed to plan for what she was facing now. She hadn't known Dan had powers, but it wouldn't slow her down for long. She would regroup and come back bigger and stronger. She would need to find others like her. Others to rise to oppose Dan. He would be a bigger threat than Henry ever was, but she would be ready. Because even when all the other colors ran out, there were always the shades of gray.

Thank you for reading! This has been a roller coaster of a book and I really hope you enjoyed it! I will be writing a book 2 to this soon. Probably later this week. Until then, I really hope you recommend this to your friends and have a great day/night/noon!