The rain fell heavily as she ran through the trees. Even though she was fast, the shadows that followed her were still on her heels. She ducked avoiding a dagger thrown at her from the right. An arrow flew from the front forcing her to change direction. 

They sealed off all exits apart from the one that led to a clearing. She stopped  in the middle of it.

“Vivi, you have nowhere to go.” An old man wearing a hakama came out of the trees in front of her.

“Do you really think you can beat me?” She taunted him.

“No, we don't but we have to stop you one way or another.” He said regret lacing his voice.

“Oh, please! You're talking like I'm some kind of monster.”

“You are. You lied and learned every secret techniques existing on the planet.”

There was an implicit rule. A martial artist could only learn secret techniques from one master. Vivi went around and learned from every last one of them. When they learned what she did, they put a hit on her head.  

“I didn't lie. No one bothered to ask.”

The masters only met once every ten years. They weren't ones who loved to interact with each other. Vivi took advantage of it and apprenticed under every one of them. When the ten-year meeting happened, they all learned that the genius apprentice they had was the same person. 

“You're too dangerous to be left alone.”

“Master, I don't want to fight you but you don't leave me a choice... I am  the strongest. All shall bow down in front of me. My beauty is out of this world. All shall love me. My mind is the sharpest. All shall fear me. Superbia!”

The drenched clothes she wore transformed into another outfit. Where before she wore pants and a shirt, now she had a red skirt on, with a black long coat, a white shirt and a tie. It was a school uniform but the boots at her feet and the aura of power coming out of it showed that it was more than what it looked like. 

Her master took a step back. His eyes grew big as a ball of fire appeared at the tip of her fingers.

“Do you still want to fight?” She asked with a smirk on her face. 

The stupefaction of her pursuers was palpable. Magic didn't exist but their eyes didn't deceive them. A ball of fire appeared out of nowhere, her clothes changed after she said an incantation.

“How?” Trepidation laced his voice as he asked.

“This planet isn't the only one who can support life.” She announced with a smirk.

“Stop your nonsense and your tricks. I know you. You can't be trusted.”

“Well, if you think so.” 

The ball of fire vanished  like it never existed. A full blown smile blossomed on her face. Everyone present held their breath. She raised her hand. They readied themselves for a fight. She snapped her fingers. A bright light and a loud sound spread outward. They shielded their eyes and covered her ears. When it all ended, she wasn't there anymore. The master swore loudly.

“What are we going to do?” A young man asked coming out of the trees.

“If we had attacked immediately, we'd have beaten her.” A woman said as she jumped down from a tree. 

The old man didn't say anything. He didn't let out the sigh of relief that wanted to get out. She was stronger than anyone of them. She was an unparalleled genius proved by the fact that she only took ten years to master hundreds of secret techniques. He knew only one and it took him twenty years to master. There was no way they could have won. 

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****

She sat down heavily on a chair. Her maid, Dorota, put a steaming cup of coffee on the table in front of her. 

“We'll have to leave this planet.” She said not looking at her maid.

“I'll prepare the luggage immediately.” Dorota left the room.

She sipped her tea, thinking about her next move. She couldn't stay on this planet as they wouldn't let her in peace.  She was reluctant to use what they taught her against them. In her own way, she respected them. 

They thought she was a genius fighter but that was only part of the truth. The thing she was the best at was magic. She used different spells to learn their technique faster. They thought she spent ten years to learn everything but she used a dilatation spell to create a barrier in which time went 10 times faster.  

To avoid a situation where she had to fight, she prepared herself to leave. She changed her clothes and left her hidden cabin. 

****

The diner was empty. The waitress busied herself cleaning a table with an old dishrag. The owner sat behind the counter looking at something interesting on his phone. He laughed out loud breaking the silence dominating the place. 

The door banged open. A gorgeous woman with long blond hair came though the door. She was wearing black hiphuggers with a loose over-sized tank top under a leather jacket. She had black glasses on her eyes and red lipstick on her lips.

“Oi, Asshole! I need a ride out of the planet.” She leaned down over the counter and dragged the owner out of where he had hidden when he saw her enter. 

“Vivi! Long time no see!” He greeted her with the fakest smile she ever saw.

“Don't let your joy smother you. So the ride, I need it now.”

“Hmm, you see. There isn't any interstellar trip planned for a few weeks.”

“Do I look like I care? I want to leave now.” Her voice grew colder and a dark aura emanated from her body.

His body grew cold. She was the scariest person he had ever met and if he didn't find a way for her to get out, she would torture him, he was sure of it. 

The waitress shook as she kept on cleaning the same table over an over again. She didn't move away in case the woman hadn't notice she was there. 

“I...I...” The man lost his capacity to talk with the fear taking over his body.

“Tsk. Find me a ride now.” She shook him, then released him. 

He fell to the ground and scrambled away keeping Vivi in sight for as long as he could before getting back on his feet and running away.

“Bring me a milkshake.” She ordered like she owned the place.

The waitress ran to get her command. In record time, she was back with the milkshake in hand. A few minutes later, the owner ran back in. He fidgeted, eyes downcast.

“Hmm...Hmm. There isn't a ship leaving before two weeks.”

She finished her milkshake before she got up and leveled a death glare to the shaking man in front of her.

He cringed. She stretched her neck from left to right, her eyes still fixed on him. 

“You can take my ship.”