I don't know how long I ran, not because I was running long. But after tripping for the umpteenth time, I realized superspeed without super perception, that's what I'm calling it, Is NOT a bright idea. After I ran through the store, literally, I followed the road to a highway and head north on the I93 I think. I ran for what honestly felt like half an hour with my enhanced perception before I felt the energy start to wear out. My power works similar to Assault, in that I manipulate energy, but whereas he can stand in front of a truck and have it stop dead on him, while I won't get knocked back, the truck won't stop, it'll just act as though it hit a hydrant. I can then use the force of the energy to augment myself. To my knowledge Assault can't store the energy, only redirect it in the form of motion.
Looking at the sky I see the sun hasn't moved much at all so it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Oh, look a Wendys! Might as well. I don't really like Wendys more of a Hardees guy myself.
'Guy? Gal? Fuck it might as well roll with the punches, gal it is.' Anyway, it's nice to see something familiar and recognizable after everything.
"OH MY GOD! ARE YOU OKAY!" oh and people.
Snapping out of my thoughts I look up to see a tall, from my perspective, brown hair woman in blue blazer and dress pants.
"WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"SOMEONE CALL 911!"
"WHERE ARE HER PARENTS?!"
It seems I am now the center of attention, then again I'm covered in blood, both my own and not. My clothes are shredded to the point they wouldn't even make for decent torniquets. All this on top of being a little girl alone in the middle of a Wendys parking lot. Oh, she pulled out her phone.
"Hello 911! There's a little girl with a Fox hair band, covered in blood! No, she's not unconscious. I don't know." She's looks at me,
'Hair band? I'm not wearing a hairband.'
"Excuse me little one, a-are you hurt?" She asks, at this point she looks like she might have a panic attack.
"No, I don' think I can be hurt." I say honestly, I can feel pain but I can't actually be harmed, nothing short of being thrown into a black hole can truly harm me, even then that's a maybe.
"She says she's not hurt. Sweetie where are your parents?" Oh, I have no way of answering that.
"I don't know"
"Where do you live?"
"I don't think I live anywhere?"
"Why are you covered in blood?" Time to test out the acting skills.
"The mean man wanted to play tag with the tiger lady and big lizard." What? I'm supposed to be a small child, can't really come out and just say, 'Hey yeah, about that, kinda had a run in with slaughterhouse 9 and got forced to play the most demented game of tag ever, yeah also I'm a parahuman now.' I could say that if I was older, but as it stands hearing a small child talk like an adult raises suspicion in some people and right now, I'm going for sympathy.
"What?"
'Okay maybe I need to rethink my strategy.' As I think that an ambulance and cop car roll up into the parking lot. As the cop comes out, he says something into his radio and makes some gesture to the ambulance driver who nods and starts talking to someone I can't seen in the ambulance.
"Got a report of an injured child, I assume this is her?" the Officer said to the woman almost disregarding me as he faces the woman, there's a bit of a crowd gathering at this point.
Why am I upset that he is ignoring me?
"HEY SHE'S GOT A TAIL!" 'Huh?' Looking behind me I see a sleek fluffy golden fox tail. 'How did I miss that?'
"Shit, Dispatch this is Officer McGuire reporting a code Omega. I repeat code Omega, possible parahuman. Requesting immediate PRT backup. Ma'am, please step away from her you don't know what she could do to you!" The lady backs away fearfully as the newly dubbed Officer McGuire moves to put himself between me and her. With one hand in front of him and the other on his holster he regards me with apprehension.
"Now, listen here, some nice people are on the way, they can help you, just stay right there, okay?" Credit where it's due, Guys staring down someone who could kill him with a thought for all he knows and he still chooses to put himself at center attention, respect.
"OKAY!" I saw cheerfully, and start swaying in place. I intend to play fully into the little girl role I've been cast and take advantage of all the liberties children are given.
"Okay, that's good. Can you tell me your name?" He calms down considerably at my cooperation. 'at least I didn't get a cop with anxiety and an itchy trigger finger. Wait he asked a question, what IS my name?'
"I, I dunno." I stop as I realise this. That's, I think I figured out what happened to me as a pit forms in my stomach. 'I did a CYOA didn't I? Oh god that explains too much, and I'm an Idiot and chose a bunch of drawbacks to min max my power. Knowing me I also chose to be girl for the sheer hell of it, AND I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT I LOOK LIKE!'
"Okay then. Do you know where you are?" He asks, looking more relaxed by the minute. He even lowered his hand.
I look over to the red Wendys sign and point. "Wendys."
"That's not-" He Is cut off as I hear the sound of helicopters and three vans bearing the winged shield PRT symbol.
'Wait I'm supposed to be avoiding capes, right? I need to get out of here before I encounter a cape with a particularly important shard. I only know of three I need to avoid, maybe five, Jack Slash, Coil, Taylor Hebert, and maybe Panacea and Tattletale.'
As the PRT officers hop out of their vehicles I can't help but notice there aren't any capes. 'Oh right, Leviathan is attacking Newfoundland at this very moment'
One of the officers holds a bullhorn in one hand and makes a bunch of gestures to the others and they start creating a perimeter around me keeping civilians back, and holding what look like modified leaf blowers at me. I can't help but think this is overkill but then I remember I'm bloodstained and clearly parahuman
"Alright, I will only say this once." Officer bullhorn announces through the Bullhorn. And I feel something rush in me. 'Huh, I can absorb sound if it's loud enough, NEAT!' It's honestly not a lot, like a teaspoon of energy, but it's still good to know. "You will be given ONE! Chance to cooperate, if at any point you resist you will be detained! Understood?!" Time to do something stupid again.
"What's detrained? Are we going to the train station?" Yeah. I got nothing so I'm doubling down on the innocent act.
"It means we will lock you away while we take you somewhere else." He says with a sigh, I must have a master or stranger effect at this point, because every time I put on the cutesy act people start relaxing.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere safe, will you be good and follow us?" At this point I have no real options. I have almost nothing in the tank and while I get stronger the more I get hit, these guys have detainment foam. That won't do anything other than solidify on me.
'Honestly getting shot or tazed would do me better. Great now I sound like a masochist' "Okay" I say aloud. I honestly wanna be done with today.
Oh hey! It's almost sundown, so I guess I won!
[Affirmation]
'Oh right, you're here. Kinda forgot about you.' I say in my head. With everything that happened my mind was running a mile a minute trying to just figure out a way to get away from the 9. Plan A was to find the electrical closet, before I realized the tv displays were just hooked into a bunch of extension cords and a basic outlet. Plan B was to find a knife in the break room stick it in an outlet, and they just had plastic cutlery. Plan C was to see if Bonesaw had a knife but I panicked and threw the toaster in a microwave in an attempt to scare her away. It worked! And I learned I can only absorb energy within one inch of my body, kinda lame. But still! All according to plan!
[Apprehension; correction, - Doubt]
'I GOT AWAY!' I mentally whine. It shouldn't matter if plan A through Z all fail if the goal is achieved.'
[Concession]
'Damn straight!'
"Very well, I will open the door to the van and you get in." Right, still in this shit show.
"Okay!" I start walking towards the van and stop as I get next to the officer. "Can I play with your loud voice thingy?"
"No." He said firmly.
"Please?" I whine.
"No, now get in the backseat."
"Pretty please?" At this point I'm just being a brat for the fun of it.
"I said no. Now go!" Ooh big man getting upset. Just one more.
"Pretty please with a cherry on top!?" I whine, with what I can only hope are puppy dog eyes.
"FINE! Here!" Wait, that actually worked? Do I actually have some sort of master power over people based around the power of cute? "I swear this is why I don't want kids."
Oh, I just annoyed him to the point. Now I have a bullhorn, I don't even know what to do with this, I was genuinely just being a little shit.
'Oh well might as well use it' I raise it up and turn it to the lowest setting. "THANK YOU MISTER."
"Just get in the car kid."
"OKAY." 'I think turning back into a child effected more than I thought. Cuz this is fun!' As I walk to the van, I finally see a reflection of myself. 'Holy shit! I'm adorable!" With short dandelion blonde hair, fair skin and blue-green eyes, I look like a cross between Irida from Legends Arceus, and Senko-san, what with the fox ears. 'Oooh, that's what she meant by fox hair band, Oh god I'm a Case 53! There goes any chance of me being able to hide in public!
Though that's fairly obvious at this point.'
Sighing inwardly, I climb up into the car. Huh, it's actually pretty comfy in here. I reach up to buckle myself only to regret it as the seat belt digs into my neck. 'This sucks.'
Now I have a bullhorn, a belt digging into my neck, and an annoyed PRT officer driving me to who knows where. And I'm sitting on my tail, that is both uncomfortable and unusual.
'Well, that could have gone worse'