Nikki Biyung: A Story of Spiders and Strangers

Decided to drop the choose your own adventure bullshit and just wrote a good old story.

Hello, welcome to this little story thing I came up with recently. It's a story about Nikki Biyung, a superhuman with the power to control all arthropods, along with several other people of the class (Plenty of my characters I RP'd as will be making appearances), dealing with a little conflict that will engulf her. Just to iterate, this has nothing to do with the 218, COG, and so on. This is my personal project.


This time around, I'm going to focus a bit more on high quality writing rather than the usual; half ass my way through it.

Make sure to post your thoughts!

Table of Contents

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - Our Hero(ine) Awakes!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - First Party Ever?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - Exposition of Blackfall

For the love of God, what the hell is that noise… Oh, It’s my phone’s alarm loudly blaring. Telling me to get ready for the worst part of the day. Getting the hell out of bed.

I sure as hell didn’t want to leave bed today, but I didn’t have too much of a choice.

Today I planned to meet someone. Today was still… just another day. In my life, I barely did anything interesting. While the other kids my age went out to parties and dates, I spent my time reading books, or just living in the background. People always saw me as a nobody, so they never paid me any mind, even when I tried to make a friend. Which is why I just love to spice up my life by going out every night to use my power for some vigilante work. It was just the rush of making a mugger or a rapist regret praying on the wrong person. I never did anything big, though… It… was just my fear of screwing something up that scared me into sticking to the small stuff and honing my skills. There was that ONE incident where I got into a fight with another Meta-human. Even then, I played it cool and left soon as I got an opportunity. I… am rambling again. I need to get out of this damn bed, instead of mulling about old stuff.

Okay, so, sneaking out every night made mornings awkward as hell. Since I barely get any time to sleep, and wake up tired. Thank god it’s Summer instead of the middle of the School year, or else I’d be f*cked… But I need this. Fortunately I can take naps throughout the day to keep myself going.

But, yeah, today, I had to go meet someone; one of my cousins, Amanda Blackmore, wanted me for some reason. So I figured that I take a break from my jogs I do every morning and just walk there. Since we aren’t going to meet too far from my house. I crawl out of the bed, taking a look at my pet Black Widow spider I keep in the corner of my room. The flies that I gave him have been eaten… I should get him some more later. I let out a very unladylike yawn that reminded me to get ready for the day. I opened my window, and let in a few dozen bees, which idly rest on my shoulder until I need them. Some of them brought some ants from the ground. I have been forcing a bee hive to grow outside my window. Manipulating a little bit of their biology so that they’re all recognized as apart of the same hive, and seeing nothing wrong with having multiple queens so that they would reach the size I want them to faster.

While that was happening, I was digging through my drawer for an outfit. I like to wear light clothings, not in the name of looking slutty, more for comfort and mobility. I pick a pair of grey athletic shorts, a short sleeved hoodie and a white t-shirt, whipping around towards the exit. I stepped out my door to see my father walking down the hall, thankfully away from the bathroom. He turned to look at me, completely unperturbed by the mass of bugs on my shoulder.

"Hi Dad," I say in the same way I always do; like someone actually happy to see their father daily. He was among the few people I was close to in this world and I loove him for that.

"Hey Nikki, going for a walk today?” Dad says to me, very tired. He had to work his back off every day so me and my family could afford to live in comfort. Just another thing I love about him. So, he was tired every morning, just like me, but we have different reasons for being tired.

"No, not today." I said, before I realized I have to tell him about my change of plan, "I’m going to meet Amanda at the coffee shop not too far away. I’ll just go there, talk to her, and come right back."

Giving each other a reassuring nod, we go our separate ways. I walked into the bathroom, and didn’t waste any time in taking off my clothes and stepping into the shower. This time, I made my swarm wait on the sink until I was done. I was never the one to take long showers since I was always a small girl. Never like I have too much to clean. I turned the nob and pull the shower curtain aside and stepped out, with every step, my wet body got water on the floor. I did the usual, dried myself off, put some underwear, and walked to the mirror to take a look at myself. Heh, everyone always tells me how much of a tomboy I look. Especially in the facial area, but I always knew I was pretty. My body was lithe and very slim, but slightly muscular, especially in the leg area, from all the running I do. I felt great, comfortable with myself, like I would look great in a bikini whenever we hit the beaches.

Okay, okay, enough checking yourself out. I am not a narcissistic. The bees resting in the sink picked up as many ants as they could, and flew up into my hair. Together, they helped me do my raven-black hair. Styling it from a messy morning hair do to a more respectable ear-length hairdo. When they were finished, I put the rest of my clothes on athletic shorts, a short sleeved hoodie, and a T-shirt underneath the hoodie. Looks like I’m ready for my day, eh?

I managed to quickly run down the stairs and take one short trip to the kitchen. I wanted to eat a quick meal before I left. I walk into my kitchen, I see my brother, Micheal, sitting at the table, eating cereal, and my mother cleaning the dishes that… I was supposed to be cleaning last night. God damn, I’m sogonna get it.

I tried to sneak into the refrigerator, but like she had some precognition, my mother immediately stopped what she was doing, whipped towards me, and started yelling at me in Korean, “Nikki, it is the eighth time I had to wash the dishes YOU were supposed to! Little lady; what are you SO busy doing that you can’t spend ten minutes washing the dishes!?”

Going out at night, beating up rapists and drug dealers. You know, the usual. I was almost tempted to respond with, knowing that I would get my ass handed to me and put under a surveillance so tight I wouldn’t be able to scratch myself without getting into even more trouble. I replied to her, in our native language of course, ”I’m just…” I tried to come up with an excuse, but I could only half ass it, "… Forgetting, I guess. I promise to do them from now on." I’ll just put it on my to-do light above not getting murdered when I fight crime.

Before I could just walk up, get my cereal, then leave, my mother had put her hand on my shoulder and stopped me. “Nikki, look, me and your father do so much for you, and all we want is for you to do things around the house for us. Is that so much to ask?” Mom said to me, in English this time.

"I…" I was personally unsure of how to respond. I had to juggle being a vigilante, and home life. I knew at some point in my life I would have to choose one or the other. I hope whatever I choose will be the one that makes me happy. “… Okay Mom.” I hoped that sufficed as an answer. I needed to get away from this for a moment or two. I reached into my refrigerator and grabbed some milk. I reached into the cabinets and drawers to get a bowl and a spoon. I sit next to Micheal on the table and put everything together. I was eating fast as I could.

"Hmph, mom giving you trouble?" Micheal asked, electing a curious look from me. He was finished eating his cereal, he even drunk the milk. Meaning that he was ready to commentate.

I answered with a rather nervous, “Yeah… But it’s nothing. I just need to remember to do the small stuff, you know?”

"Going on your morning run?" Micheal asked, just like he was trying to keep the conversation going.

Even though I go on this run every morning, and everyone asked me that, today I could tell them something different. “Not today, Amanda wants to meet me. I don’t know what she wants. But I’m going to find out.” I almost sounded proud of myself there.

Micheal stopped and looked at me like I was crazy… Well, he probably wasn’t wrong. “Amanda, really…?”

"Yep." I was quick to say. Her and Micheal weren’t seeing eye to eye after a few things happened awhile ago. "I just want to see what she wants. Besides, it’s a little break from my usual routine."

"… Just leave that girl when she tries to do something stupid, okay?" Micheal was quick to reply. Speaking to me like he was my Dad, a little annoying habit he does. But, he does have a little bit of a point. Though, I usually knew when enough was enough and left.

I didn’t reply to Micheal, I just kept eating my cereal until the bowl was empty. I put all my dishes in the sink, getting Mother even more disgruntled. Giving that our business was over, I said goodbye to my family, grabbed my water and I walked out the door. The bees and ants that helped me do my hair flew off my body and went back to their respective nests. I lived in Black Fall, Pennsylvania. The city of freaks. Heh. That’s what they called it. This one city has more Meta-humans than anywhere else on Earth, including me and my family. They even named an effect after it. Other than the occasional maniac that thought they were Superman, and the occasional super powered asshole, life here was great.

I took the steps away from my house and started a steady walk towards my little rendezvous. The good thing about where I lived is that I lived in the nice suburbs, where everyone is chill, except for a few angry neighbors. We all gave ourselves space and rarely pried into each other’s business. I was ignored by these people while they went about their morning routines. Some were leaving for work, others were cleaning their property, there were even kids playing in their yards at this hour. I don’t blame them for ignoring me, really, I’m not out here to get some attention.

My residence wasn’t too far away from an avenue, which was a storefront. Had some locations. Like a coffee shop, restaurant, or small clothing store. All small time. All the great places are downtown, mostly occupied by tourists. But if you’re a local who doesn’t like to go far for some quick take out, this is place for you. I usually just run by these stores, using them as a simple point of reference when I ran thirty minutes. My stop was a coffee shop named Mean Bean Machine. I choose the place since I didn’t want to go far when I go meet Amanda. This is usually the place I stop when I go running. I came walking on the place, and…

… The next thing I knew, I was falling face forward towards the hard concrete. Confused as all hell. I didn’t know what happened, but I felt something tug my legs off balance. Like, my pant legs were pulled to the side to make me lose balance. Thank god good old karate taught me how to fall correctly. I bent my elbows and put my hands out forward, and landed on them. I tried to spread my legs out, but my feet were tied together somehow, which meant I had to prepare for the worse. I felt a sting travel through my arms, but that was preferable to breaking my face open on the concrete sidewalk.

I didn't even think twice, I had gathered a swarm together of any insects that were close. Fortunately there was a mature hornet’s nest not too far away from me. They quickly came to my aid, at the exact moment some cockroaches gathered at my belly.

There wasn't any immediate attackers. Which was good in my eyes. My swarm would act as my extra sense, I didn't have to worry too much about getting caught off guard. Even if I was attacked in this state, I would be able to fight back well. Not well enough on all fours. But first I have to get out of whatever bind my shoes were in. I quickly flipped over onto my butt and curl my legs up, I take a look at my sneakers and they’re tied together into a knot. An immature prank, but someone with a power definitely did this. A telekinetic, maybe? The more I tried to undo the knot, the more I realized it’d be quite impossible. It was like they weren’t tied together, but more of fused.

My swarm detected some movement. Two people heading towards me rather leisurely, both of them were definitely girls. Well, they could be civilians. Insect’s vision isn’t as good as my two eyes, so I figure that it would have been better if I just lift my head up and look for myself.

I see two girls for myself. One was red haired, in fact, that red hair was one of her most defining features. It was long, free, and wavy. Um… The girl was kinda good looking, but looked rather nerdy, it had to be those glasses she was wearing, and had an unhealthy pale color, like the kinda girl who does nothing but play on the computer all day, which is why I was glad that I went out and got exercise. If I had to say what her second most defining feature was, it had to be her outfit. It looked very unique, it appeared to be custom made, made out of materials you would find in a Walmart, but so excellently put together that she might as well be a profession. It was a red blouse and shorts that barely went past her thighs, with a unique heart pattern weaved into the design that gave away that her clothes were custom.

The other girl was definitely African-American going off her smooth brown skin. She was slender, but rather muscular, more muscular than me, and that kinda put my more lithe body to shame. Like her friend, she was good looking, except more like an Amazon than nerdy chick. There was quite the contrast between the two. One’s a pale nerd, and the other’s an African-American sports star. Actually, looking at her a little bit, she was definitely someone I’ve seen before… I think she’s on my track team? Deborah? Deborah, I think her name is?

The red haired girl stopped suddenly, like she saw the hornets that were buzzing over me and took caution. Then a pleased smile etched it’s way onto her face, in the way that a theory was confirmed, which was even more concerning. “You are the girl I’m looking for… Let me get that for you,” The girl pointed her hand at my sneakers and the knot untied itself like it was nothing when it was impossible for me to do it. This was definitely the girl that tripped me, and she was definitely a meta. “I have business with you, if you’re interested.” Her friend was oddly quiet, while her ‘friend’ did all the talking. Which blatantly gave away who was the leader and the follower in their relationship.

But the question running through my head was who the high hell did I get the attention of. I was ignored for God’s sake! Nobody knew me.

My swarm was ready, taking a position between myself and these girls, I was ready. I look up at this girl, with a look on my face that said 'do your damn worse'.

I was ready for a fight, but wasn't going to instigate one.

As a Meta-human I have a great power in my hands. Which comes with an even greater responsibility. What these girls wanted was probably something petty, but in any case, I kept them at a distance. That way I can find out what I want. The insane buzzing of my hornets was loud enough to impair our ability to communicate. I calmed them down a bit, taking the buzzing levels down a few notches. I asked them, "W-ho are you? What do you want?"

The girls were clearly threatened by the display, but weren't going away. The red haired girl took two steps back, throwing her hands up like she wanted me to calm down. I was unsure if this was a gesture of sarcasm, or legitimate intimidation.

"Look, look, calm down," The Red haired girl said, in a way that was trying to calm me down. Well, she wasn't doing a good job at that. "I'm Shannon Balore and I came to talk to you about a certain resource you have, that's all." That name... I have heard it before, yeah... I think one of my cousins brought it up once. They called her a real snooty awesome person, one that likes to step on other people's toes, and tries too hard to look clever. Well, I haven't seen much of her yet, but I can say their sentiments about her aren't unjustified. "Call off the bugs please. Yellow jackets are simply Satan incarnate. I really, really, don't want to be stung."

Hmph, I realized that this girl knows I'm in a position of power, and I should keep what she in mind next time. But, what Shannon didn't realize was that I wasn't one to put down my guns. What appeared to me calling off my bugs, was me stashing them out of her sight. Just in case she tries something, she's going to get to know an entire hornet's nest real well. However, I wasn't going to let this off without a warning, "Trip me like that again, and maybe I'll let them go to town on you for a minute or two."

Acting like she had succeeded, Shannon smirked in a way like she accomplished something. Either this awesome person must have a super inflatable ego, or something else must be working here.

"I knew you'd see reason." Shannon said, she crossed her arms and put her weight on her hip. "Now, we can get down to business." This girl was certainly curious. She just made the questions pile up. Was she a friend or a foe? How did she know so much about me? What was this 'resource' she wants from me? Right when I thought she was finished, she continued, "Don't take my little stunt to heart. I had to get your attention somehow."

The other girl finally said something, she was silent the whole time I almost forgot she was here, "Hey, before you two get started, I'm Deborah." That confirmed my theory on her being the Deborah from my school's track team. "Nice to meet you." She was surprisingly calm and friendly, it was completely legitimate. Perhaps they're trying to pull a good-cop bad-cop thing on me?

"C'mon, deebs, at least tell her your last name," Shannon playfully says, giving away that they're friends. "We're all formal here."

"... Termellio." Deborah said.

I was honestly getting tired of this small talk nonsense, and I really wanted them to get to the point before I just go and meet Amanda. "Nice to meet you... But I want to know what you two want from me so badly."

"Oh, I almost forgot, really...." Shannon paused for a second, I knew she was collecting her thoughts on what she was going to ask me. "Going off that demonstration, you control all insects and arachnids, am I correct? Including maybe spiders?"

"... Yes." I bluntly replied. I'm really hoping she wasn't going to ask me to kill someone....

"Oh great. In case you really are daft-" I was going to ignore that snide comment, for her sake. "-I  myself am a Meta-human too. I, in simple terms, have the ability to manipulate clothing. Weave the perfect clothes. Fabrics, wool, cloth... Silk. You may know where I am going with this, Ms. Biyung?"

Actually, I did. This girl probably wants me to get a lot of spiders together and get her some web. "You want spider silk?"

"Spot on. I want you to get me some so I can get some practice in with it. Maybe someday I'll make myself a dress made out of the stuff." Shannon says... So, it's just practice?

I honestly didn't see the appeal in working my ass off getting spiders together for some upstart awesome person who will cut all ties with me the second she gets what she wants. "Sorry, Shannon," I started, saying her name in such a way it was like an insult. "I don't see what I get out of this, so I'll be getting a move on." I started walking by them, I knew this girl would try to convince me to change my mind.

I saw Shannon plant her face into the palm of her hand, shaking it slightly. She blurted out something in an exasperated tone that caught my attention, "Oh, yeah, I was hoping you wouldn't ask for money, and just do this favor out of the kindness of your heart-" Yeah, this girl didn't want to pay me to begin with. "-But I'll pay you." She pulled a few wads of twenties out of her clothes - The odd thing was that there was not a pocket on her outfit.

I guess she has changed my mind with the power of money. I wasn't in desperate need of cash, but my only source of income was a bi-weekly allowance. So maybe using this power I have to earn a few bucks wouldn't be too bad. Though, I wasn't stupid enough to get overexcited and get ripped off. I wanted to know the price, "How much?"

"Twenty dollars for every square foot of web you give me. Sound fair?" Shannon told me the price of my labor. She still sounded exasperated at the fact she had to pay me. Well, looks like you just realized you get nothing free, Shannon.

I sensed that our business here was over. I politely nodded, and said, "Sounds good, are you going to give me your number or...?"

Shannon decided to demonstrate her amazing power yet again instead of doing the normal thing and just telling me. She reached for the sleeve of her blouse and pulled a piece of cloth, with her name and phone number weaved into patterns, it also had Deborah's in case I couldn't reach her. Show off. She handed it to me, and I grabbed it. Stuffing it into my pocket. "Call me when you got the goods, Nikki."

"I will." I started to walk by, and the two girls went their way... Before the question popped in the back of my head; how the hell does this girl know so much about me? I stopped dead in my tracks, pounding my foot on the concrete to get their attention, "Wait, how do you two know so much about me?" I called down the sidewalk to them.

They stopped, and turned back to me. With the ebony girl looking rather nervous, "Oh, that was my fault..." Deborah said, getting cut off by her friend.

"How about this?" Shannon interrupted us, "We'll meet at a little party that's going on tonight? It's down by the Old World Public Beach. I'll give you an address." The red-haired dame made another cloth with the exact address of the place. "We'll be there, and we'll answer all your little questions, deal?"

I... Well, I didn't have a good idea of what to even say. I've never been to a party before. I'm such a no-name that nobody bothered to invite me. But I heard some of the stories. Lots of underage drinking, drugs, and sex... And plenty of date-rape and other horror stories.... I wasn't sure if I was ready for it. I knew my cousins, The Blackmores, frequented the party scene. Maybe, I should ask one of them for advice... And I'm supposed to meet one right now.

"And how about this; I'm going to think about it, and I'll text you if I decide to come?" I said to the pair.

"Whatever floats your boat, Miss Biyung. But remember, this will be your only chance to get your questions answered...." Shannon said, walking away as she spoke, probably as a way to pressure me into coming. I wasn't going to fall for such methods.

I stood there as they disappeared in this concrete jungle. Watching them. I brought the cloth closer to my face to take a look at it, before realizing I was staring at this like an idiot. My business with those girls is over.

Time to meet Amanda.

___________________________________________________


I take a step inside the Mean Bean Machine. A small cafe-like place that tries too hard to be a local version of Starbucks. It was small, I only needed to take six steps to get to the counter, so there wasn't a lot of places to sit. It wasn't a good coffee shop, but it wasn't bad either. It found an acceptable balance between the two. Good thing I wasn't here to drink coffee. I saw Amanda sitting at a table, with a coffee. The second she saw me, she grinned ear to ear, and waved her hand in the air to get my attention. Like, this was actually a large place. This girl made me snicker at times.

I make my approach, examining Amanda in the process. It's been months since I seen the girl, and she looks different. She was a year older than me, being eighteen. Like the rest of the Blackmore siblings, she was mixed. One half Korean, and one half British. It was hard to tell from just looking at her skin tone, but if you look at her eyes, you'd definitely see that she's part-Asian. She had a lean, slender frame, very thin, without muscles or body fat, and was a inch or two above average female height. Amanda has straight, deep-black, hair styled in a neck-length ponytail. Amanda was definitely the wild-type, she had plenty of new tattoos and scars all over her body - In places I don't even want to know. The more notable tattoo scar combo was the red-heart tattoo on one cheek, and a knife scar on the other. Amanda always had a Mad-Maxian get-up. Dressing like a Biker chick... Except more like a wannabe. Leather jacket, aviator sunglasses, and ripped black jeans. The one thing that Amanda always has is a stupid amount of jewelry on at all times. Rings, bracelets, ear-rings, and so on. They jingled with every moment she made. It had something to do with her power.

With that assessment dealt with, I grab a seat and sit down next to Amanda.

"It's about time you came!" That was the first thing my lovely cousin said to me, "We were supposed to meet six minutes ago!"

I had no choice but to put a dumb smile on and awkwardly chuckle, "Yeah I got sidetracked by this red-haired chick with a pole up her ass named, Shannon, and her friend."

Amanda raised an eyebrow and gave me a look that just screamed 'Are you crazy?'. She spoke, "... You hangin' with the dykers now? Don't tell me they decided to start a fuckin' love triangle...." She topped off that statement with a roll of her eyes.

"Umm..." I was at a loss for words, I really didn't know what Amanda was talking about, "What?"

"Carrot-top and the chocolate bunny are carpet munchers, you didn't know that? Everyone knows that."

"I'm just doing work for them..." I reply,

"... And that's what they all say..." Amanda replied... She was pretty much just saying this to screw with me. Like she did with everyone.

Amanda seemed to have forgotten I don't do the social thing too well, and that I wouldn't know that about them without someone telling me, or by being an obsessive stalker. Not that it was a bad thing they were into that. My own sexuality is... well, I'll save that for another day. So, I tried to change the subject fast as I could, "What do you need from me?"  

"Oh! We need your help." It seems like everyone wants something from me today. "Me and your cousins have been looking into this mystery weirdo that keeps showing up at our parties. Looks real weird, looks like she's in her late twenties, but not old enough to have a kid our age, has blue skin, has this fake-ass cowboy get up like she in some damn movie, I think I saw a revolver on her once, and does nothing but watch. She shows up at a party...." Amanda paused to put empathizes on the next part, "uninvited, looks around, then leaves. Never talks to anyone. Like she's searching for someone, but never finds them. It's really getting creepy. We think she's a serial killer."

Yep, seems like a grade-A mystery right here. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. This is the big thing Amanda wanted to talk to me about? It's probably just a mother looking for her kid or something. Nothing worth my time... "So, what do you want me to do about this...?"

"You can tag her with a bug and we can follow her. Some real Double-O Seven CENSORED right here." Amanda told me my part in her plan pain and simple. "Just come to the party with me tonight, and I'll point her out for you...."

Another invite to this party? Whoo, I'm starting to feel more popular already. "... I'm already invited there." I point out to her, deadpan.

"By the lezzies? Ew." Amanda guessed very correctly. "Well, just hang with them for a little bit and see if this weirdo pops up, then I'll tell you." Hmm... Actually, I could have my talk with Shannon, and indulge Amanda in whatever stupid plan she has today. Long as they're not at the same time. There were plenty of questions to ask about this party, but...

"I think we're done here, I got shopping to you. And make sure you don't get too close to Shannon. You're not popular yet, but don't let your first impression be with those dykes. Buh-bye!" Amanda skipped out the door to the coffee shop. Free as a whistle as her excessive jewelry jingled with every step.

... I guess they're going to go unanswered.

Amanda... A bit of a moron, yes, but she was really the only friend I have in this city. Everyone else ignored me. Well, she ignores me too, but sometimes she doesn't! Our little chit-chat made me come to a decision. I pulled out my cellphone and carefully input Shannon's number by reading the cloth. I sent her a text the moment I was done:

See you at the party!

I went straight home after both of my meetings. I spent the rest of my day thinking about. While doing the usual; practicing with my power, reading books, working out, or playing around on the internet.

Until the sunset, that was when this party was going to go down. Usually I go out on my vigilante work at this hour, but the city could take a break or two from it's hero! I had my outfit neatly laid out on my bed before me. A professional-looking white dress shirt, along with jeans, and some purple Converses. I didn't have a good idea of what to wear, so I decided to look dress good. Next to my clothes was my arsenal of self-defense weapons. Peppy spray, a switch blade, a stun gun, and a combat knife. I knew that I would need something in order to defend myself against anyone should they cause me any trouble. I had my own self-defense training, but I wonder how far that'd get me.

I got dressed up, I didn't look too bad in this outfit, honestly. I had a black leather purse over my shoulder. I wasn't the type of girl who'd walk around wearing purses, but I had to put my items somewhere. I had put my combat knife and taser in the purse. I just hope I can grab it in time. I could keep the pepper spray and switch blade. I also had to put my phone in my purse. So, I was pretty much ready for this party, right?

If I was going to sneak out, the first thing I had to do was track my family members. I already had deployed some bugs around the house. House flies I let in earlier today. Let's see... Micheal was in his room. Dad and Mom were watching TV in the living room. So I could avoid that room entirely and just sneak out the back door. I slowly made my way down the stairs, I was moving very slowly and steadily, I needed to be as quiet as physically possible. Which honestly wasn't a challenge anymore since I was sneaking out the house every night for months and never got caught once. So why should today be any different?

I made it to the kitchen, and use my keys to unlock the back door, slowly stepping back out, and locking it again.


___________________________________________________


Shannon had sent me a text with the address, and I walked all the way there. My swarm acted as a omnipresent eye over me and my surroundings. I passed through a large parking lot, just like Shannon said I would. There were plenty of cars here, I even saw the cars that my cousins owned. Some people were out here in the lot with me, talking, making out, or more risque activities I won't even mention. I quietly snickered, with this many cars and people in plain view, someone will know what's up. I walked passed them all without a soul looking. Eventually, I came across a wooded area, I was walking down a path. At that point, I didn't have a hard time tracking my way to the party since I heard the booming bass that guided me straight to the party.

I saw a fence in the horizon, and at the end of my path was a gate. A normally locked gate that was busted open. Yeah, this is supposed to be a public beach that is locked down every night. Technically speaking, I'm about to be trespassing. Just wonderful. Maybe I'll do the smart thing and just talk to Shannon and leave as fast as possible. I'm old enough to be sent to juvie, and I have to keep a perfect record.

I stepped in and saw the party. There was a lot of people here. From one glance I saw there was a lot of drinking, dancing, and people having a good time. It wasn't my intent to enjoy the same things they were. The party had plenty of lights illuminating the beach, otherwise the place would be pitch black. It wasn't a large beach, it was bordered by cliffs and large rocks. It might have been larger, the waves probably submerged a bit of the beach. But not enough for everyone to throw a wild party on.

Black Fall was always separated by a large river that ran into the ocean. Each side had a different niche they fulfilled. One side of Black Fall was dubbed the 'Old World' where the city was started, had all the residential areas, while the other half is the 'New World' was where all the clubs and casinos were. Between those two zones and the river were the fantastic beaches Black Fall was known for. There were plenty of public beaches for the tourists and 'commoners', while the wealthy could buy their own private beach. I guess this beach had to be a public beach, and not too good of one at that if a horde of teenagers could just sneak inside this easily and throw themselves a big party.

So far I didn't see a person I knew. Probably because it was hard to pick out a individual in a crowd this large and active. It would be impossible. Nor did I want to stumble around like a fool. Fortunately for me, there are plenty of sand flies in the area for me to use. I focused a bit, channeling my mind through them. Searching for a target. Shannon or Amanda.

A fly's vision isn't as good as a human's, but they can pick up movement far better than any human. We might as well be moving in slow motion for them. I hoped that I could find Shannon, so we can have that talk she promised me.

Bingo. I saw Shannon and Deborah sitting by a light not too far away from the rocks.


___________________________________________________


I wasn't going to lie when I said that I was determined to make sure that me and Shannon had that talk.

I walked up to them. Getting a half-grin from Shannon.

"You kept us waiting." Shannon said, in a feigned disappointed tone. "We almost thought you were going to be a no show." It was a little hard to hear her over the music, but since we were far away from the furthest speaker, it wasn't going to be that much of a challenge.

I rolled my eyes as I sat down on the free third chair they had.  "I had to get ready, and get all my stuff together. You know, girl stuff." I said almost sarcastic. I rested my purse on the sand. I wasn't too concerned about it having sand on it.

Shannon was wearing the same outfit as she was when I first earlier. Deborah was wearing a black cocktail dress.

I couldn't help but note the can of beer in Shannon's hand, and it made me think. When I came here, I definitely didn't want to drink one drop of alcohol. I didn't know my own tolerance, which I guessed would have been pretty low because I was so small and scrawny. The last thing I wanted to do was get drunk off my ass around these strangers. I needed to keep a clear head at all times, stay in tip top shape. I probably wouldn't have liked the taste to begin with.

A awkward moment came when I realized I was unintentionally staring at Shannon's beer, and she noticed. Giving me a curious aside glance, smirking. "What has you so curious, Ms. Biyung?" She asked in a teasing tone.

"Ummmm..." I say, rather awkwardly, I knew that it was best that I avoid this conversation, "Nothing." I paused for a moment, realizing that this girl is throwing me off track yet again. "I want to know how you two know so much about me."

I saw Shannon blatantly roll her eyes. This was something she didn't want to talk about. She turned to her friend, Deborah, saying, "Deebs, this is better explained by you."

All eyes went on Deborah, since she clearly had something to do with this breach of information.

"Ummm... Yeah, the three of us are supers, right?" Deborah started off, giving away the obvious; this girl is a Meta-human too. "You know of the twelve classes of Meta-humans, right?"

Super System, Elemental, Chemical, Cosmic, Cerebral, Energy, Bestial/Plant, Extra-Sensory, Anatomical/Biological, Spatial, Power, and Other. I was quite well informed about the classes. I actually fell under the Bestial class because of my control over insects, and the Biological class because of my ability to alter their biology. "Yeah. I understand all the classes."

Deborah nodded her head, and explained, "I'm an extra-sensory type. It's hard to explain, but I can gain information about my surroundings, and make connections between two different events." That explained a little bit, I had one theory about how they found out about me. But Deborah continued, demonstrating her power, "Like, you don't care about that purse right there, and it has your weapons in it because you're worried you might get attacked here, and you're not supposed to be here." Well, I didn't know that she was that good.

I didn't like getting read like a card. But, the fact remains that I live in a city full of people who can do that with a flick of their wrist. "I... see..." I said in a blunt, matter-of-fact way.

"... And now you're uncomfortable." Deborah didn't help by saying, "Look, I'm sorry about that... I can't control it. Things just pop into my head. It just..." Deborah shrugged, "Happens. I don't even want to know half the stuff I get from people." Maybe there might be a little bit of credence behind this. Like, would I want to know everything about people just by being near them?

"It's okay," I said to Deborah. "We... all didn't get a choice in what power we get." But that explanation of her power didn't explain how they know so much about me. Did they stalk me, or...? "Yeah, but your explain doesn't answer my question."

Shannon finally decided to step in and speak, "It's simple, really. We were scouring the city for spider webs, a few days back, when we saw some weird activity go on. As in all the spiders being called to one spot-" She's probably referring to the time I was doing some practice a few days ago. "- and Deebs here made the connection that you were behind it and you have control over the taxonomic rank Arthropods. So, we decided to track you down and employ you." Shannon took another sip of her beer, "That answer your question?"

"Yeah, in fact, it does." I was quick to answer. Everything started to make sense now. I wish that I could be more discrete with my power, but like I said before; in this city, there's plenty of people who can do what Deborah could do. Privacy is a scarce resource these days. I think I should leave now, because honestly, I'm not the partying type and I want to get back before someone realizes I'm gone. "I think we're done here." I was getting up from off the chair mid-sentence.

"... You're leaving so soon?" Shannon put on fake puppy dog eyes and spoke in a sigh, "I was hoping we could talk, get to know each other, be 'friends'." Shannon finger quoted friends, once again I was unsure of whether or not she was being sarcastic, "I don't just want you for your web you know."

That made me sit back down. I honestly didn't expect she wanted to be my friend. Maybe this might be a little trick, but if she only wanted me for the web I could produce, she would have let me go. I wasn't gullible, perhaps
I should see if we can really be friends. "Okay you got my attention." Shannon gave me that pleased smirk of her, "What do you want to talk about, then?"

Deborah quickly perked up, smiling, "I know you have trouble with not knowing people. Perhaps me and Shannon can give you a few pointers on the who's who's?"

Actually that would have been nice, since I barely have any idea who half the people here are. "Sure." I was hoping they weren't the malicious type that trash talked people behind their backs, and I was hoping they were more of the type that gave the honest facts about people.

I was also hoping they wouldn't point....

Shannon pointed at one group of people not too far away from us. A small group of people. A boy around my age, he was Hispanic, I had to guess South American, good looking and formally dressed, looked kinda girly, especially with those glasses. He was sitting in a beach chair, with a oriental girl, also in a similar age group to me, and pretty good looking, wearing a white Qipao, wrapped around his arms. It was clear they were in a relationship. They were talking to someone who looked quite familiar to me. He was tall, African-American, muscular, and had plenty of bird and fire themed tattoos, dressed pretty causally. He had a similar body shape to a boy in my Karate class, named Samson Jeross, but I never seen him outside of the dojo. I probably would have recognized him if I was looking at him from a different angle, since his back to me.

Shannon explained who these people are, "See the fancy looking kid with the girl in his arms? That's Jake Valos, and Lin Baozai, they're in a relationship, they say that Lin's lucky because all the girls want Jake. He's one of the big names around town. Not just because his last name is Valos. He has plenty of friends and is in on the action that goes around town." Shannon sighed, "You can tell from the girl he has a taste for the... oriental." She said that in a suggestive tone. What she was insinuating almost went over my head until I realized I was Korean. I gave her a look, and she and Deborah laughed.

Yeah, Valos. I heard that name plenty of times. They were a rich family that had a high status around Black Fall. They had a hand in the New World side of Black Fall and owned clubs here and there, but they ran the occasional charity drive here in Black Fall. People talked about them every now and then, but I was sure I would never see one in the flesh. Hm. He didn't look as haughty and stuck up as I thought they would be.

"Who's the guy they're talking to?" I asked hoping to get a confirmation on my suspicion it's Samson.

Both Shannon and Deborah shrugged, "Beats me." They both said at the same time. It was almost funny...

The next Deborah they pointed at was a girl who was sitting on a rock large, watching Jake and Lin. The girl had similar features to Jake, in fact it was almost like they were brother and sister. Except where Jake had a rich-boy class and effeminate charm about him, this girl had a aura of roughness and masculinity. She looked like she clawed her way straight out of Mexico. Heavily battle scarred. She was missing an eye, with a large burn scar encompassing that missing eye, I can tell from the eyepatch with a heart on it. She wore a black denim jacket, with matching jeans, and combat boots. I wondered what the hell this girl has gone through. She looks like a warrior.

"That..." Deborah hesitated for a moment, "... That is Gabriela Valos, Jake's twin sister. Not the most pleasant person on the planet. She'll punch your face in at a moment's notice, or if you really get her fired up, she'll set you on fire..." Deborah rolled her eyes, at the same time she looked away, "You should avoid her, for your own sake."

"I'll take your word for it." I said with a giggle in my voice.

"There's a lot more of the Valos running around here in Black Fall. There might even be a few more in this party - But yeah, I told we about the two that are the most known."

We continued with our little game. Deborah pointed out group of people, six people sitting together talking to each other, drinking bear. They all had similar features. They all had the same shade of blond hair, facial features that looked European, and skin tones. Which gave me the idea that like Jake and Gabriela, they were all siblings. I had to examine them each one by one. Easily the most notable one was the one with slender frame, but I literally had no idea what gender this one was. This one had both feminine and male traits mashed together into a confusing person - A feminine face, with some masculine features, and a largely androgynous body-type. I didn't know if she was transgendered or just looked like that, so I would refer to this person as a she until told otherwise.

When I asked who the androgynous one was, Deborah answered, "The boy-girl looking one is Sage Pimm. And don't bother asking me, not even I know what their sex is. They aren't exactly the person you'd imagine when you think of the name 'Pimm'. They usually stay out of the spotlight, so it's surprising that they're even here. But, they're pretty nice overall."

Then I worked my way to the other ones. There was a pair of sisters, each with very similar facial features, to the point where I would get the idea that they were twins. Though they had such a contrasting demeanor, and clothing style, I got the idea they were trying hard to appear distinct from each other. One looked like a mousy, child-like, girl, had to be a few years younger than me girl. She had her hair tied into a short braid, and wore a striped light-green blouse, with a long tan skirt that went down to her heels. The other girl tried to look more mature and professional, hm, probably was the oldest one in their group. With her hair in a bobcut, wearing sunglasses, looking like a seedy woman you'd see in a movie. Like Pulp Fiction. She had a cigarette in her hand, taking occasional puffs of it. She wore tight-jeans, high-heels, a black tank top shirt, with a black denim jacket thrown over that.

I asked who those two are, I was answered. "The one in the green shirt Lindsay, and the shady lookin' girl May, they're both Pimms. Lindsay's a pretty nice girl, she's a good conversation. May is the complete opposite of Lindsay. A total awesome person, she's a real bully that'll do all she can to ruin your life the second she sees you as inferior to you."

"... You can say that all of them are a bunch of arrogant pricks." Shannon injected. "Your best bet is to stay clear from them, but, I guess you want to know about the rest."

Shannon was correct, I did want to know about the rest of them. There was one really big and boisterous one, and I mean he was really big. Had to be a few inches higher than seven feet tall, and was very muscular at that. He had more body mass than six of me put together. And that wasn't an overstatement. I bet he weighed as much as a truck. He had shaved his head, cut it low, but you can still see the blond hair he has if you look close. This guy wasn't too good looking, more like plain leaning on the ugly side. He wore a large white hoodie and sweat pants. Had to be custom made for him

Deborah explained who he was, "Genesis Pimm. A self-proclaimed football superstar. Is really just a bully that wants to prove that he's the biggest baddest there is. Usually gets put in his place pretty fast. I would avoid him, he goes a little far with the ladies..." I hope that didn't mean what I think it meant....

The next member of the Pimm family that caught my eye was a pretty boy, a little like Jake, but no where near as effeminate. He was very lithe, and had a tight stomach and a behind that look more in place on a girl. He looked like he was an explorer or an adventurer type, with his goggles, flight jacket, and quite frankly, goofy spikey hair like he was an anime protagonist. The guy looked fake, and looked like such a tool that I didn't even have to ask.

When Deborah came around to explaining who he was, she giggled and said, "Him? The gentleman adventurer? That's Sam Pimm, the self-proclaimed fastest man in Black Fall. He's just your average big ego, tiny name, jackass. Nothing special about him." Well, I got the idea he was a tool.

Last but not least, was the least notable notable one out of all of them. He looked plain and generic. Was thin, kinda muscular, but nothing like the monster that was Genesis. He was kinda tall, slightly taller than Sage, but definitely no where near Genesis. He had shaggy blond hair in no particular style. He wore a white V-neck shirt, with his collar popped, and jeans. He had a smug look on his face.

"Hank Pimm," Deborah started off, "Nothing interesting about him other than the fact he thinks he's cool. You're better off worrying about May or Genesis, but he's no slacker in the douchebaggery."

Finally, we were done with the Pimm Family. Like the Valos, the Pimm were rich and had a high status. Instead of clubs, they owned a large import/export company that operated out of Black Fall, shipping goods in and out. They were notorious for being, putting it simple, assholes. They respected no one who wasn't rich, and any act of goodwill they perform is merely self-serving. One thing that was known was that the Pimms and the Valos were 'rivals'. I could see how the two groups are far away from each other. Their children probably don't want anything to do with each other and their parent's silly rivalry.

With all these rich kids at an illegal party, it brought up a question. "I wonder what their parents would think if they saw their kids here."

"Probably be mad they're mingling with commoners." Shannon answered my question. "I should probably tell you about all the Blackmores that are at this party... Even if you live under a mountain-" Once again, glossing over this comment. "- you have to know about the Blackmore kids."

I felt proud of myself when I could say I knew someone in this party. "Yeah, they're my cousins." I answered, very proudly, "Mother's side. I knew them all my life... But, I never really got close to them."

"Well, I guess you don't need our opinions on them, then." Deborah giggled. "They're all over the place." Deborah took the time to point them all out.

I spotted what had to be Drake, the second oldest out of all of them and the holder of the esteemed title of 'First Son of Blackmore'. He was lying down on the beach wearing black swimming trunks, who was next to him was a somewhat pudgy African-American girl. Probably his date, he was on the team basketball team and got plenty of girls. But he never could hold on to one for more than a week. I knew it was him because he was biggest and most athletic one out of all of them. He had deep black hair and rugged good looks. Like Amanda and the rest of his siblings, he was part Korean, and had slanted eyes - Otherwise he was fully Caucasian. Also like Amanda, he usually had a Madmaxian get-up, wearing leather jackets boots, and goggles. But like I noted before, he was wearing nothing but swim trunks. He was a good guy, kind, honorable, but a massive jackass most of the time. Playing around, making smartass comments, the usual. Though, there's worse people out there.

It wasn't too hard finding Victoria, his sister, and was the oldest out of all of them. She was sitting down on a lounge chair, wearing a striped purple shirt and jeans, out of the way of everyone else, reading a book - It was pretty much her way to avoid social interaction. She was overweight, and short. Not morbidly obese, but she had put on the pounds from all the sweets she eats. Still, she was good looking in the facial area, but most boys didn't get past. She also leans more on Asian than her brothers and sister, probably because she looks more like her Mother, my Aunt. Huh, it was surprising that she was even here. She was easily in her early twenties, and the most mature and intelligent member of the Blackmores. I did know that she did watch over her younger siblings, to make sure they don't get into trouble. So I can guess she would come to make sure they don't do anything she wouldn't do.

My favorite lovely cousin, Amanda was taking the 'center stage' as you would say. She was in the middle of the party, wearing a small bikini, playing on her acoustic guitar. She was actually pretty talented with a guitar, she dreamed of starting a band. The boys were just ready to fight for her attention... Not that it's something she wouldn't enjoy. Amanda always loved to screw with people and say idiotic things to get a rise out of people. Getting a horde of drunk, horny boys to beat each other's faces in wouldn't be too bad of an outcome.
 
Charles, who was the same age as me, was at the DJ's both with a interesting looking girl with silver hair, and a revealing punk-ish outfit. He was clearly trying to chat her up. Charles wasn't as large and imposing as Drake, but was definitely more slender and short. He has a waify frame and the muscular legs of a runner - In fact, he used to be on my track team. Charles distinctly looked like his father, Adam, more than his brothers and sisters. One thing he had was a ridiculously large forehead. He was wearing a plain outfit of a plaid T-shirt and some jeans.

There was another Blackmore, Daniel, but he was rather young, and they definitely wouldn't let him come to a party like this. Perhaps I'll see him later.

The Blackmore Family were well-known in Black Fall, and has reached an elevated status. Not in the way of money, they were a very powerful Meta-human family that came from a long line, and were famous among the Meta-human community. They had an extremely powerful hereditary ability: Power Replication. Each blood member of the Blackmores, had the ability, except each one had a different form of the ability. All passed down from their father, Adam Blackmore, easily the most powerful Blackmore, and their patriarch. I didn't remember it off the top of my head, but I knew Drake and Amanda sort of 'became' the power they copied, while Victoria, Charles and Daniel used it the traditional way. The one thing that set them apart was the way they copied a power. I didn't know what powers they had right now, but I knew from the get go that Drake was generally the most powerful one out of all of them.

There were so many people here... I had to know how many of them were like me, Meta-humans. I knew of an effect that subconscious draws Meta-humans to one another. The Black Fall Effect. Which is the real reason why I'm here instead of sitting around at home. If I'm a Meta, Deborah, Shannon, and the Blackmores are Metas... That could mean there's far more people here that have powers than I think.

"Deborah, do you know how many people here have powers?" I asked the track star.

Despite the question being directed towards Deborah, Shannon looked at me like I was an idiot. "... You don't get it yet?" She said in a very amused tone, following it up with a little joke, "I'm a Meta-human. You're a Meta-human. We're all Meta-humans. Everyone's a Meta-human!"

... I get the feeling that my question will go unanswered. I also felt the urge to punch Shannon in the face hard as I can. However, I was done picking out the notable people in the crowd, and also done with my talk with Shannon. I felt like I was being drawn towards the boy who could be Samson, he was still talking to, what were their names? Jake and Lin? Whoever they are, I want to see. Just walk by for a second, if it's really Samson, maybe I'll go talk to him. Jake and Lin seem like nice people.

"Yeah, I'm going to go see if that guy over there is someone I know. I'll be back in a second." I say, finally getting off the chair and taking a few steps ahead.

"Make sure to bring your bag of fun!" Shannon said in a tone so cheery it must have been sarcastic. She was holding the purse that had my taser and combat knife. I came back to grab it, I realized how stupid it was for me to leave it in the sand now. It's absolutely covered.

I walked towards the trio... Hoping to avoid rejection...