13 Welcome to the Team

It was the second time Waze had blacked out after using her power. It was also the second time she had used her power at all. Damn, she really needed to figure out another way to win fights.

"Hey! Hey! Can you hear me?" Flaming red hair hung over her face. Duke waved his hand in front of Waze's eyes as they fluttered open. She groaned, sitting up on the mat. It seemed as if it had only been a few minutes since she had blacked out. Cassidy was sitting hunched at the table with an ice pack pressed to her face. Waze groaned. She really wanted to go home and take a nap. Her body felt even worse than the last time. She probably shouldn't have used her power again, but when she had felt Cassidy's snakes coiling around her she couldn't help it. Waze thought back on the voice she had heard earlier when she had reached out to her power. Was that... the god? Before Waze could ruminate on it anymore, Duke spoke again.

"You okay, wonder girl?" Wonder girl? Oh right, her explosion of power was probably pretty unexpected coming from a gift-less.

"Yeah, I'll survive. Really shouldn't do this twice in two days."

"So this is what going 'a little overboard' meant?" Marco gave her an expectant look from his position at the table next to Cassidy.

"Haha yeah..." Waze looked down and sighed. Here come the questions.

"So what I'm confused about," Marco started with a sarcastic tone, "is how a gift-less used an ability. That's certainly something thats very confusing."

"Well... haha... you see..." Waze looked to Norris for confirmation that she could continue. Norris merely took a sip of tea. She took that as a yes. Everyone now turned to her, though Duke and Michelle were already crowded around her. Sable observed with concerned eyes from a distance.

"According to multiple sources, including Norris, I seem to have been possessed by some sort of... god?" Waze was't quite sure why she ended with more of a question. It felt strange to just straight up say she had been possessed by a god. Not exactly strange, just completely ridiculous.

"A god...?" Marco looked at her with a doubtful look, as if waiting for her to say 'just kidding!'.

"A god? Damn! I knew you had something up your sleeve Norris! Thats pretty damn cool though." Duke seemed more excited than anything as he plopped down on the mat from his crouching position above her, clearly waiting to hear more.

"That's pretty outlandish, but considering what I just saw I don't doubt it. You did look pretty godlike, after all." Michelle sat down next to Duke and Sable crept forward before gently taking a seat.

"Yeah, I thought it was crazy when I first heard too, but I suppose having an outburst of power after living my life gift-less was even more surprising." Waze paused to think for a minute. Might as well tell them about how she came to Norris, right? It seemed like they deserved to know. "I took down a high-step the other day, and it was pretty wild. After I was able to walk again, I went down to see an old friend of mine. He told me that I was probably possessed by a god, and told me to come here if I wanted more answers and to learn how to control my power."

"You were told to come here." Sable looked at her with a straight face.

"Y-yeah..." Waze could guess that the others had all come to find Norris in different ways, maybe they weren't referred to her by someone else like Waze had been. It seemed to be Sable's only comment on the situation.

"I've lived really long as a gift-less, and I have to say it hasn't exactly been easy. Low-steps may get bad discrimination, but it's even worse for someone like me who doesn't have an ability. A friend of mine said it might be because I've seen first hand the mistreatment that low-steps and gift-less's get that I got this power. Then again, I don't really know." Wade's expression deepened, dark with determination. "All I do know is that I want to learn more about this power and how to use it and control it. As of now, whenever I use it I'm practically immobilized. But that's not all, I want to get stronger in other ways too. Like you guys are. I want to learn how to fight even without using my ability. I just... want to be stronger. I want to show those around me that I can put up a fight. I want them to see me for who I am, and not as nothing more than a cripple."

Marco let out a laugh, surprising Waze. The others gave her soft smiles. Needless to say, she was fairly confused by their reaction. Even Cassidy seemed to have softened.

"That's all, right? You want to go to those who put you down and say 'Look, I'm strong now'. We've all been there. In fact, that's pretty much the reason we all got here in the first place. I was a little apprehensive of you at first, I thought that someone without a gift wouldn't be able to keep up with our training. And that you'd be bitter and that you'd wallow in self pity because of your past. But in the end, you seem alright." Marco shot her a smile. Was that... all? Waze thought that maybe he wasn't a bad guy after all. Did Cassidy share the same thoughts?

"We've all been there, Waze," Duke said.

"Yeah, but now that you're here you can -and will- get stronger." Michelle reached over and patted her head. Waze was a bit caught off guard by all the encouragement.

"You seem determined and motivated. I think you can do it." Sable gave her a small smile and nod. Waze thought about how nice Sable really was, despite her cold exterior.

"You better keep up. It's not easy working with us." Cassidy glanced over her shoulder before looking back down. She then set down her ice pack and walked over to Waze. The others all stood up and gathered behind Cassidy, who offered her a hand. Waze took it and slowly rose to her feet.

"Welcome to the team." Cassidy gave her a smile and Waze thought once again, she really was cute.