Emily Shinichi was just an average seven-year-old girl. Wearing a loose, plain black shirt that hadn't been cleaned in about a few weeks. Stains and other disgusting stuff cling to her shirt. She sat at her desk alone, it was indoor recess due to the rain outside. Some kids ignore her, but some walk past her, plugging their noses in a dramatic fake way or pretending to die near her presence.
Emily clenched her tiny fist to the point that his knuckles turned white. Still, she kept her poker face, but it was slowly breaking apart.
"She's so gross, dude. Does she even shower?"
"I heard her parents can't even afford a shower."
A kid snorted. "Seriously, that's really gross and weird!"
"Well, she's always been a weirdo. Like she's so quiet. And she doesn't even smile or laugh!"
Each second, their words start to become toxic and harsher, and Emily couldn't take it anymore. She got up and calmly walked away and into the washroom out of everybody's sight. And only then did the tears of anger and sadness come. Emily didn't ask to be born in poverty. Emily didn't ask to be so poor; she had to wear her Dad's work clothes because her other school clothes got taken by freaking rats.
The lights of the washroom shook, the mirror cracked.
And she didn't ask to be born a freak.
—
Emily grits her teeth as she gets back up to her two feet. She glared at the person who had just tackled while being above fifty feet off the ground. She instinctively fired up her barrier power when that thing jumped at her. Well, not a thing, a man, or at least what's left of a person. Crimson eyes bored at her as Droid got back up.
Emily's poker face was still there, but a bead of sweat dropped from her cheek. She got here at short notice, so Gavin hadn't had the chance to tell her everything, but what little info she got is that this guy is one of the leader's top soldiers. A cyborg that even Ben struggled to beat.
She took a deep breath to calm her beating heart. Emily had to stay calm and focus; the cyborg Droid was still very much hurt and injured. Emily might still get a chance, not to mention Gavin will come back to her for backup. Her eyes glanced to the side, seeing Ben fighting that huge machine. He needs her, quick.
She turned her eyes to Droid, who was ready to fight.
"An Esper, huh? I've killed lots already. What makes someone as young as you think they could stand a chance?"
Emily's heart pounded harder at her words, but she must stay focused. Emily brought her arm up to lift Droid's power with her powers and was about to slam him down to the ground when he detached his arm and fired it at her. Her eyes widen, bringing a barrier up just in time before she gets hit. But that also means Droid was free from her grip and started to rush at her.\fcxaokaoc Emily panicked, putting both arms in front of her to reinforce her barrier.
It was successfully blocked, the blue invisible forcefield cracked, and a pang of pain came from her head. But she ignored it, grabbing Droid's metal body with her telekinesis and power so he could have a chance to counter-smack him to the ground. The rocky surface is cracking from the immense weight. But somehow, Droid gets up, grunting, trying to resist her telekinesis. He glared at her hatefully, and Emily matched him with her own, before shouting as she put on more weight, making him sink to the ground lower.
She could feel a trickle of blood come out of her nose, and her brain feels like it needs to be stabbed. But she pushed on. Emily had to end this, so she could help Ben! But unfortunately, her efforts are for naught as Droid pushes himself off the ground, flying straight into the air and out of range.
"You're strong for someone so young, but it doesn't matter!" Droid drops from the air, flying straight to Emily, who is forced to create a forcefield.
But it might be enough, she pushed herself too much earlier and cannot reinforce the barrier enough to block the attack.
"I'll bury you along with that red brat!!" Droid roars, pulling back his fist to launch a haymaker, only for two feet, to plant themselves at the side of his head.
The blow launched the cyborg into the air, rolling around the snow, before facing up to glare at the new arrival.
"GAVIN!!" Droid shouts.
Gavin panted as he narrowed his eyes at the enemy, before briefly glancing at Emily, who too was trying to regain her breath.
"Are you okay, Kinetic?"
She coughed, but nodded. Emily disliked her name Kinetic. To her, it's nothing more than a reminder of when she was a villain. She could end up worse; accidentally killing a person hadn't been for Ben's stubbornness. While hating the name, she recognized its importance; with her new SEE Goggles and code name, she could hide her true identity.
Making Emily Shinichi and her family safe. Her Mother is most likely in the hospital now, giving birth to her new sister, while her Dad is most likely freaking out. She can't wait to meet her sister, but right now she needs to focus because Ben and Gavin need her. People who made all this happen, she couldn't afford to let them down.
Despite the aching pain in her head, she got back up, ready to fight. Meanwhile, Gavin frowns, another child in another war, he wanted to curse himself for being weak, but now is not the time. Red Justice needs their help; to do this, they must beat Droid. Speaking of the cyborg menace, he was struggling to move, no doubt still injured from his fight with Red Justice. The problem was that he was too.
His wounds have closed more, but it doesn't change the fact that it still hurts a lot moving around like a soldier. Gavin was hurt, too injured to even use Flame Impact. Still, he's got an Esper backing him up, even if it's an experienced one and doesn't have a third ability.
"Kinetic, stay behind me. You'll act as my support, using your barrier and telekinesis to move me out of the way."
Emily pauses, seeing the bandage through his ripped black shirt. "Are you sure?"
"...Just leave it to me."
Gavin took a deep breath and started to stomp towards Droid, who did the same. Both soldiers are glaring at one another. They roared as they threw against each other. The fight was brutal and heavy. Gavin has the skill advantage, able to connect more hits to Droid and can parry or dodge most of Droid's attacks. The problem was that Droid had everything else, stronger, faster and durable. Each blow that collided with Gavin's flesh felt like a grenade hitting him, and he would know too, not the very time an explosive detonated in front of him.
Emily did her best to help, sometimes moving Gavin with her telekinesis to evade attacks or even using her barrier to shield him, but it wasn't enough. Each time something collided with her forcefield, a sharp pain hit her brain. Eventually, Emily was on her knees, panting, leaving Gavin, whose head was bleeding from the hits.
"Come, Fang, that 's all you could do!" A hook to the jaw stuns Gavin, which leads to him not being able to block a sidekick that collided with his abdomen, sending the Ex-soldier to tumble to the ground, wheezing.
Droid looked down at the old man; if he had a proper face, he would have sneered.
"This was what you wanted, Fang. Don't try to deny it. You hated them almost as much as I. What happened?"
Gavin didn't do anything, only trying to regain his breath while getting up. The droid didn't allow him to shove him back down.
"WHAT HAPPENED!" Droid demands, his red eyes embodying fury.
"Is it because of Red Justice, he's but a naive brat who thinks that this world can be fixed through kindness when all of us know it's all just empty promises!!"
Emily looked on in horror, struggling to get back up, but couldn't. She bit her lip. Hating that she felt so helpless despite having these powers. She could hear Ben fighting against the machine, damn, why is she so useless! Her thoughts of despair were cut off when she heard Gavin laughing while struggling to get up.
"That's right, that brat is definitely a dumb, naive kid," Gavin says.
"But, I know he could accomplish it, a better world for everyone, without force. You don't know like I do. I've seen save someone who hated him, I've seen him risk his life despite knowing he might die."
Gavin got back and glared at Droid. "Red Justice is a hero. And I'll do everything I can to support him."
Droid clenched his metal fist. "Then die."
They both clash again, Gavin giving it his all but still being overwhelmed. As for Emily, Gavin's words made her realize Ben's kindness. He was the first one who didn't judge her for her clothes and even saved her from going down a dark path. She could remember the pure joy of her Dad's happiness once he finally got a job to support them, how happy she felt having finally worn some normal girly clothes. Because Ben believed in her, believed that she could be better.
He exposed his identity in front of her, risking his secret to empathize with her; it's time she also risked something. Emily gritted her teeth, forcing her body to stand up. Emily reaches for Gavin to form a force field around him just as Droid is about to hit him with a powerful haymaker. Droid's punch hit the barrier, resulting in another jab of pain, but this time her barrier held, and for some reason, Droid suddenly flew back, crashing hard to the ground, groaning.
Gavin looked at her with wide eyes, and Emily was no different, looking at her hands like it was an alien. What did she just do? Droid roars, charging at her. Emily formed another barrier, and once Droid hits it, again he stumbles back; this time, his robotic arm became even more damaged. He looked shocked for a moment before fury took over and unleashed a barrage of punches, hitting her barrier.
Emily grunts, feeling a massive amount of pain coming from her head. She could feel her nose droop with more blood. But with each attack Droid threw, he was getting damaged too. Emily's leg buckled; she couldn't last much longer! Thankfully, Gavin came to the rescue, launching a powerful punch which resulted in Droid being sent flying again. They both panted; they've reached their limit.
Both of Emily's knees dropped to the floor, heaving heavily, while Gavi remained standing but looked ready to fall over. They both glare at Droid's body, which didn't move an inch for several moments. Had they beaten him? Only for their hopes to be dashed as Droid gets back up, walking toward them menacingly.
This was bad, they could barely move, how are they supposed to continue fighting!? But then Droid stops and collapses face-first to the ground, unmoving. Still, they remained tense for several more moments, waiting for any sudden movement before Gavin released a huge sigh, letting his body hit the floor, breathing heavily. The two just lay down, regaining their deep breath after such a difficult battle.
"Congrats." Murmured Gavin.
Emily, who didn't bother looking at him, asked. "What?"
"You unlocked your third ability. It seems your fields allow you to reflect damage back at a moment. Not my first guess, but I'm not complaining, saved my butt, thanks."
"It's all good."
They both remained there for several more moments just listening to the shockwaves. They both sat up and looked at Ben. Who dodged a punch from the SV4 before slamming his entire body at its chest, making it stumble. Emily frowned and tried to get back.
"Wait, we're too injured to do anything."
Emily clicked her tongue, knowing the old man was right but still wanting to help Ben regardless. She sees Ben being swatted away through a mountain, but getting back up quickly to dodge several white laser beams from hitting him.
"I know you're worried about him, and I am too."
Emily looks at Gavin, who was watching the fight. There was a hint of fear in his eyes, but his expression remained proud.
"Let's have faith in him, yeah?"