Chapter 11

"You are a barbarian."

"You'll thank me when you can karate chop bitches."

"Why the fuck would I ever do that?"

"Oh, it's absolutely hilarious! People never expect the girls to beat their ass."

"I hate you."

Taylor watched in amusement, as Lisa and Jaya bickered with each other in the aftermath of their first Krav Maga class. The older girl had arrived to the class with the blonde in tow, literally, as if she had dragged Lisa there kicking and screaming. Taylor found it hilarious at the time, but now that her entire body was a bruise, she was beginning to understand Lisa's reluctance.

The class itself was hands-on and brutal. Jaya picked it up almost instantly, and beat the crap out of Taylor and Lisa with the same sardonic mirth she brought to everything else in life. Taylor, for her part, found herself to be surprisingly capable of violence. The viciousness of the style made her uncomfortable, but was an excellent outlet for the barely repressed anger she had carried around for over a year.

Lisa spent most of the class being tossed about like a rag-doll.

"Taylor, you agree with me right? Tell this savage I don't need to spend my afternoons getting my ass kicked." Lisa looked to her for support, unleashing the kind of pout that only the criminally beautiful could possess.

Taylor snorted, "Better yours than mine." 

Lisa squawked in outrage as Jaya snickered unsympathetically. The shorter girl looped an arm around Lisa's waist and pulled her into a hug, glancing at Taylor with undisguised mirth, "Ah Lisa, you poor girl. It takes a special kind of stupid to believe you can talk a person out of hurting you, when they're willing to do it in the first place."

Lisa harrumphed, pinching Jaya's side, and wriggled out of her grip, "Fine. I'm going home to take a shower. You guys want to meet up after and hang out?" Lisa motioned between the three of them for emphasis.

In that moment, Taylor, her anger cooled by time and sweat, and surrounded by her friends, made a decision.

"Do you guys want to come over to my house? I- uh, I have something I want to show you." Taylor barely managed to squeak out her offer, her voice fleeing alongside her confidence.

Lisa raised an eyebrow, while Jaya grinned hugely. The blonde nodded after a moment, "Yeah that sounds great Taylor. Text us your address?"

Taylor opened her mouth, ready for the always-awkward cell phone conversation, but Jaya interrupted her, "Oh! Sorry Taylor! Totally forgot, I got you a phone." The older girl lobbed an incredibly expensive looking mobile at Taylor, who shrieked as she fumbled to catch it. Taylor barely managed to avoid dropping the thing, and could only gape in disbelief as Jaya explained the various functions.

"Oh, my and Lisa's numbers are already programmed in there." Jaya finished cheerfully, pulling up the phone's contact list and pointing out her information.

"Jaya- what...? This is a phone! How can you just- Why did you buy me a phone?" Taylor asked, her confusion warring with exasperation, while a tiny part of her brain screamed at her to just accept the gift idiot.

"Uh, because you don't have one?" Jaya replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Now I don't have to wait for you to get home if I want to talk at you."

"Um," Taylor said intelligently.

"So yeah," Jaya continued unabated, "Text us your address and we'll head over in a bit. I live in the same apartment complex as Lisa, so I'm going back with her." The tiny terror waved goodbye to Taylor, as she dragged a protesting Lisa out the door with her.

Taylor stared blankly as they left, her mind still spinning, despite its inoculation to Jaya's normal brand of insanity. She glanced down at the phone in her hands, the smartphone in her hands. It was not cheap. It was, in fact, one of the more expensive products on the market and, if she understood Jaya properly, came with an unlimited data plan. Taylor was holding roughly a thousand dollars worth of technology in her palm.

It occurred then, to Taylor, that she had perhaps misinterpreted Jaya's earlier comments about robbing a super-villain.

---

"...I'm a cape." Taylor stared at her reflection as she engaged in the frustratingly cliche act of practicing her lines. "I have powers." she intoned dramatically, "I have powers. I have powers!" Taylor groaned in aggravation. No matter how she said it, it still sounded like bragging. 

Both Jaya and Lisa had powers. Or, at least, Taylor was, like, 90% sure they did. There was always a chance that she had grossly misunderstood their earlier conversation. Since she couldn't be sure, but she still wanted to share this with her friends, she wanted to break it to them in an appropriate manner. That is to say, Taylor didn't want to come across as an ass. Frankly, it was a constant concern in her life. Her social skills were in a rather dire state of disrepair.

It didn't help that she was starting to second-guess her impulsive decision. She did want to share this part of her life with her friends, it was an almost integral part of herself after all, but... she also realized just how quickly she was moving on this friendship ride. Jaya was one thing, but Taylor had known Lisa for all of two days. She was making the jump from 'oh hey, let's go shopping' to 'woo beat down bad guys with me' and that was enough to make anyone uncomfortable.

But what could she say now, realistically? I wanted to show you mom's lasagna recipe? No. Taylor was stuck.

Really, it was all Jaya's fault, Taylor concluded. She was caught up in the older girl's orbit, dragged along in her current, as she made Taylor's problems look so very trivial. You need to get in shape? You need to make friends? You need to deal with your bullies? Here, let me come along fix everything without even meaning to.

The doorbell rang, and Taylor let loose another groan. Of course they managed to avoid her bugs. Because giving her advance warning was way too much to ask.

She stomped downstairs and opened the door, and was nearly bowled over by an enthusiastic hug from Jaya. Lisa flounced past them, laughing at Taylor's flailing attempt to right herself, and glanced around the house.

"Nice place. Very cozy." Lisa remarked kindly, her eyes roaming over the ancient home. Taylor loved her house, but she wouldn't call it luxurious by any measure. Most of her appreciation was wrapped up in the nostalgia of younger days and happier times.

Taylor led the pair to the kitchen, and started boiling water for tea. They all sat at the small breakfast table, as Taylor awkwardly braced herself for the coming conversation. Lisa watched her, smiling gently, as Taylor nervously nibbled at her lip. Jaya seemed completely oblivious to Taylor's tension, and the older girl drummed her fingers idly on the table as she looked around the kitchen.

Finally, Lisa let out a short cough, "Uhh... Taylor? You said you wanted to tell us something?"

Taylor froze, doing her best impression of a deer caught in headlights, as she struggled for anyplausible topic to discuss. She briefly considered upturning her boiling kettle as a distraction, but giving someone second degree burns was not a great way to keep a friend.

The silence stretched on, as Taylor frantically worked to find her voice. She opened her mouth slightly, "I..." I'm a cape, but the words would not come.

Lisa leaned forward, moving slowly, like Taylor was a caged animal, "Would it be easier to show us?"

Show? Taylor nodded, and stood forcefully, her chair tipping over behind her. Jaya blinked in surprise at her movement, seeming to finally realize that something was wrong.

Taylor left the kitchen in a hurry, and her two friends followed. She led them to the basement, idly switching on the dim light, and reached out with her power. The swarm answered, crawling from the woodwork and the earth, falling from the ceiling, flowing along the ground like a wave of undulating black. She filled it with her anxiety, her anger, her helplessness. She pushed out her worries, her constant concern that she just wasn't worth it, all of the negativity she carted around with her day by day. All that remained was warmth, the burning joy she felt to finally be acknowledged, to fierce pride of working towards her dreams, the pulsing heat that lingered still, from hearing her friends defend her.

The swarm crawled over her clothes, her skin, her hair, surrounded her like armor. Lisa stood across the room, examining the spectacle with almost clinical interest. Jaya practically vibrated with glee, bouncing silently up and down, seemingly not at all disturbed by the thousands of spiders. Taylor took a deep breath, safe, shielded by her swarm. She paused moment to look at her friends, meeting their eyes with confidence.

"Jaya, Lisa... I'm a cape."