THE DIFFERS : THE UPRISING

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• ＲＡＩＤＥＮ •

The moment still, frozen by shock. The glass still hovered, suspended by her will, but in that moment, Alicia saw it. She saw what Willow was capable of.

We all saw it.

The crowd gasped, eyes widening as they realized what was happening. All attention turned to Willow, the girl who had always been quiet, who had always tried to hide. But now, she couldn't.

Willow took a deep breath, then redirected the glass, sending it flying past them harmlessly. She didn't want to hurt anyone, not the students, not the teachers. She just wanted to protect them.

The leader of the unit, a woman with cold, calculating eyes, pointed her gun at her, her lips curling into a sneer. "Surrender now," she hissed. "You're all monsters and we'll hunt you down to the last one."

Willow's patience snapped. She clenched her fist, the rest of shards of glass stopped midair. The woman's eyes flicked nervously as Willow took a step forward.

"So, who's the scared one now?" Willow's voice was cold, dangerous, like I had never heard before. "Listen intently. Go back to your superiors. I have a message for them : they can stop searching for us, because we're coming for you."

The woman faltered, but she didn't lower her gun. "You're just monsters. All of you."

Willow's expression softened, just for a moment. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she sent the glass flying harmlessly into a trash can again. "We're not monsters," she said quietly, her eyes locking onto the woman's. "We're just trying to survive."

She stepped closer, her voice steady but dangerously low and commanding as she articulated each words. "Put. The. Gun. Down."

For a second, it looked like the woman might comply. But then, with a snarl, she tightened her grip on the trigger. "You're all better off dead. All of you."

Someone screamed, "Lydia, no! They want them alive!" But it was too late. The shot rang out, echoing across the courtyard. Everything slowed, but Willow was faster. She caught the bullet in midair, her telekinesis freezing it just inches from her face.

The crowd gasped, the woman's eyes went wide with fear. Willow's anger flared, but she forced herself to calm down. I was blown away, I bet we all were.

She looked at the woman, her voice cold and unwavering. "Leave. Now."

The woman didn't move, ordering her men to aim at her. All the gun we're pointed at Willow now, I was on a verge of breaking. Ramiel and Maya were trying to intervene but something seemed to hold them back. Suddenly, all the guns turned to the woman, her men's all trying to resist it but to no avail. She stumbled back, fear overriding her hatred.

Willow was controlling all the damn guns. She was doing all that, looking like an alter ego I had never seen before. As much as it was fascinating, it was scary. But that worked, with a final glare, the woman turned and fled, her minions following in her wake.

"This is just the beginning," she said as she stepped away, glaring at Willow who didn't faltered and held her position, looking almost unaffected.

The courtyard was silent, every eye on Willow. Then Ramiel and Maya moved quickly, their powers surging back as they erased the memories of everyone who had witnessed the fight. The students, the teachers, even Alicia. All of them would forget what they'd seen.

Willow snapped back from a trance and her eyes filled with tears as she realized what this meant. Alicia, her best friend... would forget everything.

When the courtyard was clear and the students and teachers were all in a daze, Willow pulled Alicia aside. She held her friend's hand tightly, her voice breaking as she talked to her.