9 New discoveries

The soft glow of the moon cast over Zena's bedroom window, illuminating her room in soft light. The now eight-year-old lie on her bed, eyes almost glowing in the dark as she blankly stared up at the stars adorning her ceiling. She had woken in the dead of night, the clock alerting her to the time and a sigh displaying her frustration. Three in the morning and sleep could not find her. It's unusual for her to be awake at this hour for she had grown used to her bedtime, always following her parents' words. She did not know why she was awake, she could not remember her dream, she could not feel comfortable in her bed. An hour went by with her staring at her decorated ceiling before she sat up with an exaggerated and wild motion. She huffed out in agony as she scrambled out of her bed, struggling not to get caught in her blanket and face planting into her floor. The cold air hit her body, sending a shiver down her spine, dampening her mood even more. Her steps were almost soundless as she left her room in search of some water or warm milk. The soft buzz of invading thoughts kept her company in the apparent empty house. It was dark and silent, feeling as if she were the only one present. Perhaps she was, after all, both her mother and father had something important to take care of on this fateful night. She was still clueless when it came to their work. All she knows is that they work for the heroes and that this work makes them just as susceptible to attacks as the heroes themselves. This very reason is what kept at least one of them home with their daughter. It is only after Zena reassured them that she'd be perfectly fine that they both left for their urgent matter.

She would be fine.

She had the kind butler that was supervising her. He's always nearby, always prominent in her mind. Even now as she traversed the halls of her house there's the feeling of being watched, a feeling that at first had her feeling uneasy. Now, used to it as she is, it brought calm. The butler was a nice man. He's always there, but she hardly ever saw or heard him. She never saw him do the duties he's apparently supposed to do.

"I'm fine"

There's a neatly dressed man at her side, eyes cast on her small form with a look of worry. The words were the answer to a question he did not get the chance to ask. Even if this child said she was okay it is unusual for her to be awake at this hour.

Their walk to the kitchen was filled with silence, no words following those of Zena. Her head filled with the thoughts of those unable to sleep, listening to their rants, worries and useless chatter.

A glass of milk was placed before her as she climbed onto a bar stool. Opposite her sat the man who always lingered in the shadows and barely showed himself to those he works for. It's the first time Zena got the chance to take in his appearance, truly take in his appearance. The man seems younger than she had originally suspected, appearing to be in his late twenties. His hair was a mess of tiny curls on his head, barely contained by the hair gel glinting in the low light. Tan skin appeared almost golden as grey eyes reflected. He had high cheekbones, she noted, downturned eyes and a sharp nose. The suit he wore fit nicely on his body, not body fit but tight enough to display the muscles underneath. She absently wondered if she'll see him again after she returns to her room.

"Got a good look?" He asks with a friendly smile after noting Zena's stare. The child made a faint noise and nodded, not at all embarrassed by being caught. She had not been trying to be discreet anyway.

"I've seen you exactly three times, at least from what I can remember" she says. "It's the first I get to actually look at you"

"Oh?" He puffs out his chest and wears a faux serious expression. "And what do you think? Am I fit to be your protector?"

"Well, you're strong" she shrugs and says nothing more. Her milk is warm and soothing as it goes down her throat, slowly bringing back the need for sleep as she had hoped. "That counts for something"

"That's all?"

"I don't know anything about you"

That would be a cue to rectify this situation, but he did no such thing. He simply shrugged and said nothing more. She knew little of him but he knew much of her.

Well, he could at least give her his name

Before words could leave his mouth he takes notice of the way the eight-year-old tenses in her spot. Her brow creases in a look caught between surprise, worry and disbelief as she clutches the glass before her. The butler was on his feet within moments, a questioning brow raised and senses already on high alert.

"What's wrong Zena?"

"There are people here" she's sliding off her seat with her words. She speaks surprisingly calm despite the obvious concern on her brow. She's staring past her protector with glazed eyes before she blinks and starts moving. "They're trying to break in"

Before she could get very far she was being picked up and carefully cradled. She was still in his arms, knowing not to question it for this man's job was to protect her when her parents could not.

"How many?"

"Three"

"Where?"

"I'm not sure, but they're definitely on the property" she shifts in his arm until she's comfortable and just lets him do whatever it is he was trained to do. He's carrying her to the stairs. Why? Zena didn't know and didn't need to ask because he hesitates at the very last moment and decides not to.

"I'm keeping you with me," he says almost to himself than to her. "It's better than just leaving you somewhere and I'm confident in your abilities"

Zena couldn't agree more and she would most likely be of help in the long run.

~~~~~~~

We locate the degenerates trying to access my house within little time and before I even know what's happening I'm sent flying and the butler has his fist planted in some guy's face. I expect to come crashing to the ground, already prepared for the pain that's sure to come but none of that happens. I'm drifting ever so delicately above the floor, slowly, but surely coming down and gently landing on the floor. Well, that explains why he so casually threw the child he was supposed to protect. I have to wonder what exactly these men want at my place. There are many things they could want. Money and my parents are the first.

So when one of them separates from the others and comes for me I'm not surprised at all. I'm even less surprised to hear him shout something about getting the kid and getting out. Why do the bad guys always let others know of their plans? What is the reason? Could they not keep their mouths shut and just do what they came to do? Did he have to tell them he was gonna get me? By doing that he not only revealed his plans but alerted Leon - the butler - who most likely would not have immediately noticed him breaking off from the rest. Truly idiotic.

I have no doubt that Leon will be at my side before this guy can get to me but it does not mean I'm just going to stand here and let him get closer. I haven't been working on my quirk and learning martial arts just for the fun of it.

Besides, this will be a perfect chance to see what I can do with my abilities, won't it?

I should really be terrified in this situation, shouldn't I? This man might have some powerful quirk that could seriously hurt me and I'm not scared enough to run away.

How could I though? Why would I be afraid of a single person when I've already faced what many truly fear?

From the smirk on his face, he truly believes he's got this in the bag. Let me guess; they're gonna kidnap me and use me to get some good money out of my parents. Why is this such a cliche?

Man, what boring villains.

~~~~~~~

A look of confusion crosses the man's face as Zena's starts jumping from foot to foot with a determined and somewhat unimpressed expression on her face. He had expected many things, tears, screams, everything a child would do in this situation and Zena was not fitting into anything he had expected. She did not seem afraid, she did not seem the least bit apprehensive. She was calm, determined, and....smiling?

Then she looks at him, meeting his eyes directly and it brings an indescribable feeling to him. It's gone as soon as it had appeared leaving him slightly disoriented. A hand goes to his head as it suddenly throbs very painfully as if someone was knocking against his skull repeatedly with every passing second. The throb becomes a piercing pain that has a grunt leaving him as he stumbles, unable to keep himself upright.

Zena is left looking at him in confusion, guard lowered just slightly and her bouncing coming to a stop. She watches him stumble right into the wall and crumble into a pathetic pile on the floor before her.

That's weird.

She stares at him dumbly for a moment, debating what to do when he stops his pained groans. He's slumped on the floor, confusion also on his face until it hardens and he's suddenly reaching for her, intending to grab her by the collar.

~~~~~~

Okay, what?

Was this man not a pile of limbs on the floor just a second ago? How did he go from a man in pain to an angry kidnapper? He reaches for me but does not get me for I'm out of his reach. I don't even try to move away from him and watch as he crumbles again. This time it is not of pain, but exhaustion apparently. I don't stay close, though and take multiple steps away from him. Good thing I did because he's on his feet and angrily stomping towards me with all kinds of words that are not supposed to be said to a child.

Huh?

Are we just going to ignore your complete breakdown a second ago?

Wait wait wait wait

Just wait a moment.

He stops approaching me, again confusing the hell out of me. He stands as still as a statue, his anger colouring his face red. He groans and shouts but does not move a single muscle.

"Why are you in my head!" He's screaming at me, eyes full of fury and directed right at me, the child who looks dumbfounded.

I'm in his head? He's in my head. His thoughts are nothing but angered shouts that are quickly giving me a headache. He's cursing me, his friends, everything that led to this moment. He wants to go home and wishes he never agreed to this. He wants to move, but he can't and most of all he wants me out of his head.

How am I in his head?

"So you can't move?" I wonder and he glares harder.

Well damn, just move your body, it's that easy.

It was just a joke and definitely not said out loud, but this man stumbles, suddenly broken out of whatever was keeping him still.

Oh.

"Well, this is cool"

"Stop"

He doesn't stop at all and for a moment I worry everything was just some dumb fluke, but then I mentally repeat the word and he's frozen to the spot again

I thought I knew everything I needed to know about my quirk, I really did, but boy was I wrong.

Alright, big guy, why don't you just fall face-first onto the floor

I watch in pure amusement as he does exactly that. The sound of his body meeting the floor is almost cartoonish and has me wanting to laugh my ass off but I stop myself from doing so.

In front of me, Leon is dragging the two fools he had knocked out, an impressed look on his face.

"I knew you could handle yourself well enough, but I am not sure what just happened"

"I am almost as confused as you"

After tying them all up, Leon calls the authorities and my parents to come deal with the situation. The fact that my parents get here before the officials is an impressive feat considering they were further away than the local cops. I barely get to say anything to them before I'm in a bone-crushing hug that almost steals my breath away. My mother was fussing over me, scanning my body for any injuries while my father questioned Leon intensely, demanding every detail of the night. I try to still their worry by telling and showing them that I'm perfectly fine, but it does very little. They refuse to leave my side even when they dealt with the officials, a process that takes a good hour and a half. By that point, I'm half asleep on the couch too tired to even pay attention to what's going on around me.

I had always known that something like this would happen at some point and maybe that's why I was not too bothered by the entire ordeal. At first, I was concerned about the development. There was no telling what they wanted or what type of quirk they possessed. There was no telling what could've happened to me, but for some reason, all of that concern faded to nothing when I came face to face with those men. They just seemed.....well, I don't know. It just felt as if they were not worth worrying about and obviously they weren't, despite them getting past the men guarding the house. Still, I don't think I should have been that calm.

Then again, why must I fear man when I've already encountered death?