Sarah was tapping her heels on the floor of the airplane. Much like most intracontinental flights, this was a normal plane. Different from the sub-orbital ramjet one would take from North America to Europe. This one was a more conventional and far posher. She was in business class. Her apparent discomfort drew the attention of a flight attendant. The woman had a kind face. She wasn’t much older than Sarah, maybe eighteen or nineteen. She leaned down. The plane was from a Russian airline, so she addressed Sarah in Russian.
“Are you alright? Would you like a beer, or a glass of wine to calm your nerves?”
Sarah quirked her head to the side and her legs stopped moving. This was the first time in her life someone assumed she was older than she was. She was tempted. The sun streaming through the airplane window had robbed her of her new vampiric powers and confidence. If what Maria had said was true and she had done this to herself, why would she make it so the sun weakened her? It made little sense. She realized the attendant was still waiting for her answer. She closed her eyes and opened them, then looked up to the woman.
“No, thank you ma’am. I’m only fourteen.”
The woman laughed softly.
“I’m sorry, you look so, put together. Do you need anything?”
Sarah shook her head.
“No, ma’am, I’m just nervous about the trip.”
The attendant looked around the cabin, seeing none of her other VIPs were trying to get her attention. She leaned on the empty seat across from Sarah’s, folding her hands.
“Going to see family?”
Sarah shook her head again.
“No, I’m going to meet the President of Russia. And the women’s Olympic hockey team.
The attendant’s eyes went wide, but she recovered.
“You must be very special.”
Sarah shrugged.
“Just a girl who can make plants grow, that’s all.”
The attendant’s face betrayed sudden recognition.
“You’re… Sarah MacCloud. The Aurelius Academy student that fought Goliath in Munich!”
Sarah’s ears turned a bright red her cheeks followed as she nodded very slightly. Her actions had drawn far more attention that she’d expected. Even more embarrassing was the fact she felt like an impostor because the heavy lifting had been done by her silent passenger.
“My baby sister printed out a picture of you projecting that barrier. She’s a fan. Says she wants to be like you when she gets big. She’s a PL 8 as well.”
Sarah nodded still very embarrassed by the conversation. She felt unjustified pride welling up in her at the thought of little girls seeing her as an inspiration. She also felt like she should do something kind for the attendant.
“If you want, we can take a selfie together and you can send it to her. I’d even be willing to see if I can meet her… while I’m in Russia. I’m not sure if they’ll let me… but…”
The young flight attendant shook her head.
“I couldn’t, it’s against policy. I shouldn’t even be bothering you as much as I have.”
Sarah shook her head.
“I don’t mind. I needed the company. It is taking my mind of the nerves.”
The attendant looked around and pulled out her cell phone and leaned in beside Sarah and snapped a picture. Sarah had her hand up in a wave and was smiling. The attendant quickly sent it with inflight wifi.
“Thank you, that will make her year. She is really nervous about going to the academy. She’s never been away from home. And now she thinks it’s full of full-grown superheroes like the Siberian Petroleum protectors.”
Sarah shook her head and tapped her wrist. She swept her finger over her contact info and swept it towards the attendant who quickly reached for her phone and accepted the data.
“Please tell her to email or text any time. I will be happy to talk to her about what it’s like.”
The attendant noticed a call button demanding her attention.
“Excuse me, need to get back to work. Thank you, and if you need anything please let me know Sarah. And thanks for being so brave. Us normal humans depend on people like you.”
Sarah looked back down at the clouds below. Leaning her head on the cabin of the plane. Her mind drifted back to the nibble of Amee’s ear. The mental command that sent Porscha licking a toilet seat in one of the shared bathrooms in the Magic studies building. The passionate kiss and groping with Amee that followed as they rolled along the bathroom wall. She’d messed around with Richard but those few minutes with Amee would never leave her. She shifted uncomfortably at the memory of the passion. Her new vampire teeth sinking to Amee’s neck. The rush as her blood seeped into her mouth. Amee’s hand under her uniform’s skirt and down her underwear. Her nervous fingers finding places on Sarah that made her head swim. The pair had parted when Amee’s alarm had told her it was time to get to the gateway for her trip. There was no conversation, no embrace. Just awkward almost whispered good-byes. They couldn’t even look directly at each other. She shook her head and whispered.
“Stupid. Stupid.”
Sarah would love to blame the dreams, or her recent physical changes. In the end it was her fault. She’d given in to the temptation. She couldn’t even blame her ADHD. She was fully medicated today. Her mind drifted to a song from her home universe. Gasoline by Halsey. She wished she could wake up from this dream and go back to Arizona. Back to the illusion her parents were the best parents in the world. Back to a world where she was a normal girl who hadn’t really filled in. Back to a time where she hadn’t killed anyone. Back to skating on their backyard rink in Minnesota, cold wind in her hair as it flowed behind her. Back to when the biggest care in her world was her slapshot. And now, back to a world where her and Amee where just friends.
Her last stand against Goliath had gone viral. The video was compelling. A teenage girl standing between a giant in power armor protecting a bunch of children. The world was hungry for genuine heroes not tainted by corporate sponsorships, or governments. Sarah was that hero. No sponsorship, no conscription pay, just an untrained teenage girl against what the world saw as a manifestation of all their fears of things that go bump in the night. It had ended with her on the ground on her knees gasping for breath. MANA couldn’t let the world see that they attempted to kill her, or that she disabled a whole squad of their elite. MANA were the good guys… Sarah was starting to see the truth. She also pondered what her fate would have been had Isis not stepped in.
Her mind drifted to the alabaster goddess with golden eyes. She know she should be frightened of such a being, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be scared of her. It would be like being scared to speak to a trusted friend and confidant.
Sarah was pulled out of her musings when her food arrived. She had picked the vegetarian meal. It had been the healthiest option. Barring her rare off days, she tried to keep her diet as nutritious as possible. She was an athlete first and foremost and she treated her body like a temple. She took a few bites. It was very good but her appetite wasn’t what it would usually be. The food couldn’t compare to the taste of the blood flowing over her tongue from Amee’s neck. As delicious as the food was, it may as well have been cardboard. She spun her folk in her hand as she stared down at it. She heard the flight attendant from earlier speak to her.
“Sarah, is the food alright?”
Sarah who had been spaced out put a fake smile on her face and nodded.
“It’s fine ma’am.”
“You can call me Alina. Ma’am is my mother.”
Sarah smiled and nodded.
“Thank you, Alina, everything is fine.”
Alina nodded and wandered off to tend the needs of other passengers. Sarah pushed herself to eat the food. It wasn’t making her sick, so she assumed her body needed it. She finished and pushed the tray away.
Sarah glanced out the window. They flying east and Moscow was two hours ahead of Munich so the sun was starting to set. As dusk gave way to twilight and eventually night she felt the familiar power and confidence that came with her new strange vampiric hybrid form. The world came into a sharp focus around her as every detail around her became crisp. She smelled the remnants of her dinner and she wrinkled her nose. She glanced at her holo-tablet. They were only an hour from their destination. Sarah shifted in her seat. She felt right like this. Like it was the part of her that had been missing.
Sarah was in the midst of looking around the cabin. She was pondering what the blood from each of the passengers around her would taste like. She’d tasted Amee’s desire and passion. Her attention was drawn when she heard a gunshot. Her time at the range during her test had taught her the sound well. She looked around and saw Alina stumbling towards the front of the cabin with her hands up.
Sarah’s newfound confidence brought on by her current transformation meant that she didn’t even think twice before standing up to block the man’s progress towards the cabin. There had been no 9/11 on this world so flight security wasn’t what it was on her native Earth. She did not feel like being involved in a crash into a building. The man waved his pistol at Sarah. She knew enough that any hit on the outer shell of the plane would cause a loss of air pressure. As she was, it would mean nothing to her to be without air, the other passengers and Alina would not be so lucky. She looked the man in the eyes as Eyre had done to her on a few occasions now.
“You want to put down your gun gently, get on your knees, slide the weapon to me and surrender. You recognize me from the news, you do not want to fight a PL 8 super.”
He resisted briefly but he kneeled and was about to put his gun down when a woman’s voice cried out breaking Sarah’s spell. The woman was speaking in Chechen. Sarah recognized it and understood it without effort.
“Illyas what are you doing, stop!”
The woman noticed Sarah and leveled her gun at her. The man who she’d called Illyas shook off Sarah’s attempt of mental influence. They both fired at her. She wasn’t sure how she could even perceive the bullets but she could see the moving in slow motion towards her. In fact everyone had seemed to pause in time. Alina had tripped on her heels and was midfall. It reminded her of Matrix time from the old movie she’d watched with her father. She held up her hand and blue veins marred her pale skin. Her eyes glowed a brilliant blue. She felt no pain. The powers her mortal body struggled to control and channel seemed easy in this new form. The bullets froze in mid air and the pistols shattered into their component parts falling to the ground harmlessly. Time seemed to resume its natural flow. She lifted her hand, and the two would-be hijackers were pressed against the ceiling of the cabin. She spoke in Chechen.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“I tried to do this the easy way.”
She flicked her wrist downwards and the pair slammed into the aisle floor. She then flicked her wrist towards the back of the plane slamming them into the hardened sound proof divider that would have the economy class passengers behind it. She lifted her hand one last time slamming them into the cabin’s roof again. She closed her fist. Becoming tired of using them as human basketballs she decided to use a tried-and-true tactic of one of her favorite villains. Both of the hijackers with lifted up by their necks and began struggling to breath as they clutched their throats. When they lost consciousness she opened her hand and waved it. The pair fell to the aisle bruised and unconscious, but very much alive. Soon after a pair of Russian soldiers from economy class arrived. Sarah could tell because they were travelling in their uniforms. The pair had somehow found zip ties and restrained the two terrorists. The passengers in the first class cabin started cheering and clapping. Sarah sat back down and decided now was a good time to get busy with something else, so she pulled out one of her hard copy text books and began to do one of the assigned readings.
Sarah was fairly sure that this had nothing to do with her presence. Chechnya and Russia had been at odds for three decades here, and were often accused of acts of terrorism by Russia. Chechnya accused Russia of an illegal annexation of their land. In many ways, Chechnya was in the position Ukraine was in her world, only the national community here left the country and its people to their own devices. Chechnya was a hot bed for super terrorist activity and all things considered she was lucky it wasn’t one of them on the plane.
Sarah’s actions had caused a bit of a shock to the crew and other passengers. Alina seemed more hesitant to approach her. Seeing a video was far different then watching a fourteen year old girl who had seemed lost and alone suddenly stand up and suppress two active armed attackers with a few waves of her hand. Sarah hadn’t really thought ahead, she hadn’t really thought at all. For all the power this new form gave her she still suffered from the underdeveloped brain of a teenage girl that sometimes didn’t consider the end consequences of her actions.
If she were her old self, before this change to vampirism, or it was daylight around her she would normally be panicking right now. Her nails would be chewed to the point of bleeding. She’d very publicly flaunted her power use which was very much against the law for a student under most normal circumstances. In this case there could be a defense raised that she had no choice, that it was this or she would die. Self-defense. There was a certain arrogance about this new form. It was like Lucius had told her: ‘You shouldn’t be afraid of them; They should be afraid of you.’ All that power locked up behind her fear before was now at her beck and call. She was no PL 8. She was a living nuclear weapon, no, she was a living anti-matter weapon, and she could feel that power at her fingertips. She could raise the fucking dead. What could MANA do to stop her? What hubris would make them think they could tell her, a goddess, when and how she should use her powers?
******
Eyre, Carly and Helen were gathered in Eyre’s office. Their topic of discussion was a broken record lately. Sarah had been involved in another incident. Eyre was staring at her holographic screen.
“How the hell did it get out so fast? And how did MANA not detect her power use?”
Helen motioned towards the holo-screen.
“Apple Blossom.”
Eyre raised one of her red eyebrows at her sister.
“Am I supposed to know who this is?”
“Social Media influencer. She was on the plane. Posted the video right afterwards. She put it on blast to her thirty million followers. Went so far and wide so fast, MANA couldn’t intercept or stop it. Apparently, HQ is in a panic. But that isn’t what should concern you sis. I analyzed the video. That wasn’t her alter ego, that was Sarah. In full control of her abilities. I suspect by the way she stood up she knows exactly what she can do now. Fourteen years old or not, she is a PL 20, and she knows it. She knows you’ve been concealing the truth from her.”
Eyre glared at Helen and Carly.
“I told you that telling her the truth was a mistake. She was under control.”
Carly looked at Helen. Helen shook her head. Carly frowned.
“Neither of us told her anything yet, Eyre. She must have found out on her own.”
Eyre slammed the desk with her fist.
“That bitch Isis. She must have done it when Sarah went to see her. Get Maria in here right away. She might know what’s going on.”
Carly glanced at Helen who threw up her hands and stormed out. Carly slid down into one of the office chairs and put her face in her palms. She had warned Eyre about this. A several minutes of Eyre reviewing various news sources later Maria and Helen arrived. Eyre looked up at Maria.
“Maria, what is going on with Sarah? How is she evading MANA’s power detectors?”
Maria’s hand went to her crucifix and she started to stroke it. She took several moments to break the silence that fell over the office.
“I cannot say. What she told to me was shared in confidence. I will not break Sarah’s trust, niece.”
Eyre’s fingers slowly curled up. She had not expected resistance from her Aunt. Maria so far had been rule following, respectful and never defiant to her authority. Carly had wrapped her arm around Maria’s shoulder to escort her out of the office but Eyre held up her hand.
“Stop Carly.”
Carly shook her head.
“You heard her, she won’t tell you want you’re asking.”
Eyre took a deep breath before speaking again.
“Maria, she is in trouble and anything you can share will be helpful.”
Maria stroked her crucifix. Her mind reviewing all the permutations and nuances of her relationship with her room mates. She had not promised to say nothing of Sarah’s transformation. She had promised to keep the tryst the pair shared in the bathroom quiet. Her black-lipstick covered lips pursed slightly and she spoke evenly.
“Sarah has turned herself into a semblance of a vampire. I would suspect that since they cannot track our power use, so long as she is not in sunlight they can not track hers. I am concerned for her. The change in her mannerism and behavior when she is out of sunlight is profound. I suspect at night, if MANA tries to take her in, she will resist, and as a vampire, there will be casualties. You know as well as I do, how little damage mortal weapons can do to us, even ones designed to combat supers. If she has the power to raise the dead, then she has the power to snuff life out with a thought. Her new form has created an arrogance in her, a disregard for authority, a disregard for the law.”
Eyre closed her eyes leaned back. This new information made her scared for Sarah in a way she didn’t think possible. Carly didn’t seem to understand. Helen was already looking at the arrival time for the flight. Eyre looked at Helen and spoke quietly.
“What are you doing?”
“MANA is going to want to make a big show of arresting her so other students don’t get ideas. I’m finding out how long we have to call them off before there is a blood bath.”
Eyre nodded. Carly looked between them.
“How did she make herself a vampire?”
Maria was the one that answered.
“Ms. Sheppard, I suspect much like my sister said of herself in her journals: Sarah can be whatever she wants to be.”
Carly looked between the three.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Eyre frowned and spoke in a very calm voice.
“It means if we don’t stop MANA from trying to bring her in, the world is about to see the first recorded human PL 21 in history. We should be glad she likely hasn’t had her fill of blood. Because if she runs out there is a good chance that they can subdue her.”
Maria shook her head.
“She has three blood stones and she drained at least one of them already. In addition, she drank from Amee and the nanites did not reject her as I expected. I believe it is worse than you realize, niece.”
Eyre’s eyes went wide as Maria finished speaking.
******
Sarah had expected MANA agents when she disembarked. She was instead greeted by a swarm of reporters. She silently cursed the existence of the internet and inflight wifi. Any event of note would quickly find it onto the internet so the poster could get their ten minutes of fame. It was worse here, supers who used their powers publicly were rarely anonymous. If Superman existed here, there would be no Clark Kent. His life would be Superman twenty-four seven. He would be tabloid fodder. His romantic life would be open for all to see. He would be a very public figure. She looked past the gaggle of reporters and spotted several MANA agents. Two of them were supers, they were wearing the special black bodysuits issued to super powered MANA agents. The same kind worn by Lea, Helen and Eyre.
The group of agents started to push their way through the crowd of reporters. The lead one paused and held up her arm. She motioned them backwards and they retreated. Sarah quirked her head to the side. Her newfound arrogance assumed they saw the futility of attempting to arrest her. Smart choice she thought to herself. Soon three men and a woman in black suits started to push past the reporters, then firmly started to push them backwards. Another woman appeared out of the crowd. She was wearing a power suit. She was pale, had dark hair, and grey eyes. She exuded an aura of authority. Sarah could smell death on her. She smelled different then Maria. As if something were off about her. The woman spoke.
“Please, a statement will be released soon, and should Ms. MacCloud wish to speak to you she will at that time. For now, please let her recover from her ordeal. Power use is extremely exhausting, especially for inexperienced students.”
One of the reporters held out a microphone.
“She is a student and used her powers against n-mags, will MANA be pressing charges for a violation of Earth Gov laws?”
“MANA has declined to take her into custody at this time. The individuals in question were powered and in this case Class Sigma protocol applied. As she was the only superpowered individual on the plane with combat training her response was justified.”
“Why didn’t her limiter stop her? Are they no longer effective? This is the second time she’s used her powers while off school grounds.”
The woman frowned.
“As you well know limiters limit powers, they do not preclude their use.”
Another reporter spoke.
“A lot of posts online are saying she used too much force. Why will there be no repercussions?”
The woman was about to speak. Sarah interrupted her. She was getting tired of the food questioning her actions. How short the time was between her change and her seeing humans as bags of blood to be drained…
“I asked them to surrender, they refused and discharged their weapons on a plane full of people. They could have killed everyone if one of those bullets had hit the fuselage. They’re still alive, a courtesy they weren’t willing to give rest of us. They were super terrorists, why is their safety more important to you then innocent civilians? Are you a supporter of the Chechen liberation army? Does your news organization support terrorism? Flaunting of Earth Gov laws? Are you enemies of Russia?”
Sarah wasn’t sure where that all came from, but she liked it. With a few simple words she’d turned the crowd against the reporter. She sure didn’t feel like a teenage girl tonight. She felt like a Queen... no, an Empress. The woman who’d been trying to speak for Sarah looked at the girl up and down. Sarah spoke again.
“My statement is: I acted in accordance with the laws and rules laid out for me as a duel citizen of Scotland, the United States, and a student of Aurelius Academy. I saved two hundred lives and the only thing I would change is I would not ask for their surrender and would have just disarmed them immediately. Giving them a chance to discharge their weapons was careless and shows me why still need to be in school. To answer another question that I’m sure will be asked, yes, I am considering Russia as my country of residence when I graduate from the Academy. Anything more you will need to speak to the Headmistress, or MANA’s press department. Thank you for your interest and concern but I am expected at the President’s residence, and I am already late.”
Sarah looked to the woman who nodded to her. Several reporters tried to ask her questions. Ones that got to pushy found themselves under arrest and bound in zip ties courtesy of the Russian President’s security detail. Sarah and the woman were led to an unmarked SUV. It had the same sheen as the armored vehicles used by MANA VIPs. After the SUV started moving the woman leaned forward and closed the privacy barrier. She looked over at Sarah.
“I thought you were human.”
Sarah glanced over at her.
“I am.”
“You smell like a vampire to me.”
“My roommate is a vampire. Perhaps you smell her.”
The woman’s lips dripped into a slight frown.
“That must be it. You seem rather well spoken for a teenage girl.”
Sarah shrugged.
“I started thinking very hard about how to deal with the press after the video of me in Munich went viral.”
“Your Russian is also very good. I am Abigail Muskovich, I go by Abby, I am the press secretary and social media assistant for the vampire Lord of Moscow. The Imperial Council requested we assist with your security while you’re here. The Lord sent me to assist you in dealing with the press. The men in the front seat are both vampires as am I. You are safe with us. The president has agreed to our assistance.”
Abby reached into a refrigerator and pulled out a blood bag and began to drink it. She glanced at Sarah. Sarah licked her lips reflexively. Somehow, she managed to not reach for a bag herself. After using the second bloodstone she had come to realize that it was almost as if her body would never be satisfied with the amount of blood she could acquire. She also realized revealing that secret to anyone would be detrimental to her future, so she looked away from the woman and out to the passing buildings of Moscow. Abby closed the refrigerator door. Sarah waited until Abby was finished her blood before looking back at her.
“How did the Lord convince MANA to back off?”
Abby smiled.
“My Lord is quite powerful and influential, but he has no influence over MANA, that was someone else, someone with a lot more pull. Those agents were there to make a very public example of you, they were far more heavily armed then I would expect for some grade 9 academy student. You likely made some enemies in MANA and Earth Gov today. People in power do not like to look like fools. All their talk of redoubling enforcement on supers using their power out of turn, then you go viral using yours and apparently they cannot touch you.”
Sarah smiled, not her usual happy go lucky smile, this one had a vicious edge to it.
“They would have failed. It would have been very public. It’s too bad someone intervened. It was a lesson I was eager to teach MANA.”
Abby’s face betrayed her shock at Sarah’s words.
“Our intelligence on you is all wrong. You aren’t some frightened teenager.”
Sarah smiled a knowing smile and nodded.