The next day when I got to work, we talked for a few minutes in the staff room, then went to the gym. I was going to learn how to fight.

“We're going to take it in turns teaching you, we'll see how you do, and discuss it at the end,” Pablo said.

“Oh no, I don't want to mess up.”

I didn't like the thought of having them all talk about me at the end, that would put extra pressure on me.

“It's fine if you mess up. Don't worry about it,” Sam replied.

“Yeah, there's no pressure.” Pablo nodded.

“Alright, I'll try my best.”

I was a bit nervous about this training, but also excited, and I hoped I'd be able to use what I learned. Hopefully, no one would be able to kidnap after this training.

“So, here's the plan, Alex is going to train you first in fighting and self-defence. Then you'll go with Sofia, you'll be learning distractions, stealth attacks and how to get away. Next, you'll go with Sam, he'll show you how to use things, like a bag to attack your opponent. Last, you'll train with me, I'll teach you how to use different weapons,” Pablo said.

“Thanks, I'm sure it'll be useful.” I smiled.

It was good to know the training plan, I liked it when things were organised and I knew what I was doing.

“Right, let's go,” Alex said.

“Okay.” I followed her to the punching bag.

“First, we'll go over punches and blocks,” Alex said.

“Oh, that sounds scary.”

I didn't want to get punched by Alex, she was so strong and powerful.

“Don't worry, you'll be fine.” She smiled. “I'm going to show you what to do now.”

“Uh, okay.”

She did a punch out in front of her, then blocked with her left arm, going straight in front of her, with her palm facing upwards.

“Now, you try.”

“Alright.” I did the same thing she'd shown me.

“That was good.”

“Oh, thanks.” I smiled.

Next, she did a punch, then a block up high with her left arm. I copied her once again, so far, this was very easy.

“You're doing really well.”

Alex showed me the next one, she blocked up high, making an X with her arms. I did the same movement.

“There's one last basic block to learn.”

Alex made another x that was low, so I did it after her. We went through them a few times, and they weren't hard to remember.

She got boxing gloves and pads.

“Here, you take the gloves.” Alex handed them to me.

“Thanks.” I put the first one on and did the strap. “Uh, I need help with the other one.”

“Sure,” Alex replied. She got the other glove on for me and did the strap. Then, Alex put the boxing pads on. “First, you're going to punch with your right hand, then duck, then punch with your left hand.”

“Alright, I'll try. Please don't hit me.”

“I won't, I'll go slow so that it would be like a tap if you don't duck,” Alex said.

“Thank you.”

I punched with my right hand, then ducked, and finished off with a left punch.

“That was good.” She smiled. “We'll go over it a few times, then I'll give you different ones to go through.”

“Sounds good,” I replied.

I did different punches, dodges and blocks with Alex; it was quite tiring, I was out of breath and sweaty.

“You did really well, you can have a break, then you're with Sofia,” Alex said.

“Oh good, I'm tired.” I sighed.

I went and sat at the side of the room, and took a big drink from my water bottle. Alex came over and sat beside me.

“I think we need to do this about twice a week, you need to learn to defend yourself, and get fitter.”

“Yeah, I haven't exercised this much in years.”

“We'll get you in shape in no time.” Alex smiled.

“I hope so.”

“Anyway, you did well, and I'm sure you'll keep improving.”

“Thank you.”

I rested for a few minutes, then joined Sofia on the small track for the next part of my training.

“Sometimes it's better to just run away, so that's what we'll start with.”

“Okay, but I haven't run in years.”

“It's alright, just try your best. You go first, I'll go three seconds after you, and we'll do a few races.”

“Okay, but I think you'll win them all.” I laughed.

I wasn't fit at all, I probably hadn't done any exercise since P.E. in school.

“It doesn't matter who wins. You can start running when you're ready,” Sofia said.

“Alright.” I got into position, then started running as fast as I could.

Sofia was catching up, I could hear her fast footsteps behind me. I kept going fast, but she overtook me, and beat me by a couple of seconds. I stopped, hunched over and out of breath.

“You did well, I'm sure with more practice you could speed up,” Sofia said.

“I hope so, you easily beat me, even with a head start.”

I really needed to get more fit and strong, then maybe, I could beat a normal person — taking on a villain would likely be suicide.

“I've been practicing for years, I'm sure a regular person wouldn't be this fast. You could possibly get away from a robber or killer.”

“I think I'd run even faster in a situation like that,” I replied.

“Then you just have to run long enough to get away, or until one of us sees that you're in trouble.”

“Thankfully, the last time, Pablo noticed quickly that I was in trouble.”

He'd been out to save me in less than a minute, probably because of his super hearing, or sight.

“Yeah, he heard you shouting. That's another thing, if you're ever in trouble, make as much noise as you can,” Sofia said.

“I will.” I nodded.

“Let's run a few more times, then we'll move on.”

I did a few more races with Sofia, and she beat me every time.

“We can move on to distractions now.”

“Sure.”

“So, say someone is after you, you could throw something in their direction, or behind them, just make sure it's away from you. Then, when they're distracted, you run away,” Sofia said.

“Okay, I'll give it a go.”

Sofia got her red bag and handed it to me.

“Uh, what if I break something?” I asked.

“Well, try not to, if you do, I'll just replace whatever gets broken,” she replied. “Anyway, I put in some extra things that shouldn't break.”

I looked inside and there was a soft teddy bear, that could easily be thrown without breaking.

“Are you ready?” Sofia asked.

“Yep.” I nodded.

I got the teddy out, then threw it behind Sofia, which distracted her and she turned round. Then, I ran away from her.

“That was really good. There's a heavier ball in there, try throwing that this time.”

“Alright.” I got the ball out, and managed to throw it behind her. She turned again, so I ran once more.

We did it a few more times with different items.

“You did well, let's move on to sneak attacks. I'll stand with my back to you, you have to sneak up on me,” Sofia said.

“Okay.”

I sneaked as quietly as a mouse, and managed to get right behind Sofia.

“I did it,” I said.

“Well done, I didn't hear you at all.” She smiled.

It was probably because I'd had to sneak around the house when Randall lived with me, so I was used to doing it. We did sneak attacks a bit more, and I was really good at them.

“I think you're excellent at sneak attacks,” Sofia said.

“Thank you.”

Since, Sofia and I were finished, I went over to Sam.

“How had your training been going?” Sam asked.

“It's good, but very tiring,” I replied.

Alex and Sofia's training had both been physically draining; I'd sleep for many hours.

“Well, what we'll be doing shouldn't be too tiring. We're just going to see what things might be handy to use as weapons. Like, your bag, or high heels if you're wearing them.”

“Alright, it doesn't sound too tiring.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Sam gave me a bag and black high heels, as well as car keys.

“So if you're holding your bag and someone tries to attack you, hurt them with it.”

I swung the bag and almost hit Sam in the head, but he stopped it with his telekinesis. “That's perfect.” He smiled.

“Oh good.”

I tried it a few more times, and it went well.

“With high heels, you could stamp the pointy heel into their foot,” Sam said.

“Sounds easy.” I stamped the heel into the ground a few times.

“Yep, that's it.” He nodded. “Now, with the keys, you could stab them.”

I held the keys and stabbed them towards Sam a few times.

“That's good, I think you've got the hang of it.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“One last training session,” Sam said.

“Yeah, I've enjoyed it, but I'm pretty tired.” I giggled.

“Don't worry, you can rest soon.” He patted my back.

“Thanks.”

I walked over to Pablo, and there were knives, bows and axes. The weapons looked really cool.

“You can try using the knife first, you'll do stabbing motions first, then you can stab a watermelon,” Pablo said.

“Oh, that sounds fun.” I smiled.

I'd never stabbed anything, only cut things with knives; it would be cool to see what it was like. Pablo gave me a large, sharp knife, and he took one for himself.

“Just try to follow what I do.”

“Sure.” I nodded.

Pablo swung the knife left and right, so I copied him, then he did stabbing motions, which I did as well. We did it a few more times.

“Can I stab the watermelon now?” I asked.

“Yep, you can give it a go.” He got the watermelon out from his black, gym bag that was at the side of the room.

Pablo brought the watermelon over, and held it in front of me.

“Do I go now?”

“Yeah, when you're ready.” He nodded.

I plunged the knife into the fruit and some juice came out. When pulling the knife to get it out, I had to use some more effort because it was stuck in deep. I managed to get the knife out eventually.

“Well done,” Pablo said.

“Thanks, that was definitely fun.”

I stabbed the watermelon a few more times; by the end, the fruit looked completely messed up.

“We'll move on to a bow and arrow.” He gave me one and I held it in my right hand.

Pablo put a guard over his fingers, then clicked an arrow into his bow, after, he shot at the target ahead of us — he got a bullseye.

“Wow, that was amazing,” I said.

“Thanks, I've had a lot of practice. You try now, here's the finger guard.” Pablo helped me put it over my left index and middle finger.

“Thanks.”

“So, now, stand sideways, with your right foot forward.” I did as Pablo said. “You put your arrow in here.” He pointed to a part on the string between two black lines on the white string. One finger goes above the arrow and one goes below. Then you pull your elbow back and release.”

I took an arrow, and with some effort clicked it into the bow. Using my left hand, I pulled back the string, while looking at the target, then released the arrow. It hit the black part of the target, so at least it had gone into the right place.

“That was good for your first try. I'm sure if you keep practicing, you'll get it in the middle,” Pablo said.

“Oh, that would be amazing.” I smiled.

Archery was fun, I definitely liked it so far. I got another arrow, and shot it towards the target; it went into the black part again.

“Well done.”

I shot a few more arrows, and it finally went into the blue area, I was improving already.

“That's good, if you practice once a week or more, you'll improve.”

“Thanks, I like archery. Using these weapons has been the most fun part of this training,” I said.

Stabbing watermelons was weird, but fun, and the archery had been great.

“I'm glad, the last weapon you'll use is an axe.” Pablo lifted one and handed it to me.

The axe was quite heavy, it would be difficult to swing it to attack someone, or throw it. I'd probably only be able to use it properly once I was stronger.

Pablo got an axe for himself as well.

“We'll just do the same as we did with the knife,” he said.

“Okay.”

I copied Pablo's motions, but it was more difficult, since the axe was much heavier than the knife. My arms were starting to burn and tire out — I really needed to lift weights or something.

“This time, I have a pineapple for you to smash.”

“Oh no, we're destroying SpongeBob's home.” I laughed.

“That's funny.” He chuckled. “Don't worry, it isn't SpongeBob's house, just a normal pineapple.” Pablo went and got a pineapple, then held it in front of himself.

I chopped downwards and got the axe about halfway through the pineapple, so I hit it once again, and it went into two halves.

“Well done.”

“Thanks.”

I cut a few more pineapples, and it was enjoyable, but not as fun as stabbing the watermelons.

“That's your training finished, take a rest, you deserve it,” Pablo said.

“Oh good, I'm exhausted!” I exclaimed.

I'd never done this much exercise in my life — I'd been doing it for two hours, it was crazy. It amazed me that we hadn't been called out to deal with anything in all that time. I sat at the side of the room and took a few large gulps of my water.

After a few minutes, the others came over to me.

“We all agree that you did really well, especially with Sofia and Sam. You'll train with them once a week, and you'll train with Alex and me twice a week, since you have less fighting experience,” Pablo said.

“Thanks, that sounds good.” I smiled.

It was good that I'd be training often, then I could learn how to properly defend myself.

****

After work, I was walking home on my own, as usual. It was starting to get dark, since it was a cool autumn evening; I always hated that it got dark so early in the autumn and winter. It made me miss the long summer nights, when it didn't get dark until about 10pm.

A man jumped out of a side street in front of me, making me scream. He stormed over to me, looking menacing.

“Give me your bag!” He shouted.

I was about to distract the man, like I'd been shown earlier, but he went flying away from me. He seemed in shock, then got up and ran away. An attractive woman walked over to me, she was white, with luscious, long, blonde hair, and she was slim.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, I'm assuming you were the one who did that.”

“I did, I have super speed, so I ran over and pushed him away.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” I said.

If she hadn't been here, that guy might've stolen my bag, since I couldn't be sure that my techniques would've worked.

“It's no problem, I'm Violet.”

“Nice to meet you, I'm Cara.”

“Where are you going?” Violet asked.

“Home, it's a ten-minute walk away.”

“I'll walk you home, just in case anyone else tries to hurt you.”

“Thanks, that would be great,” I replied with a smile.

I'd definitely feel safer having Violet with me, she was so fast, she'd get rid of anyone who tried to mess with us. I started walking again, with Violet by my side.

“Have you ever thought about joining a superhero group?” I asked.

“Oh no, I could never do that.” Violet laughed.

“Why not? You'd be great at it.” I frowned.

She'd saved me, her powers would be useful when going up against villains, or regular criminals.

“I couldn't follow all the rules, and I wouldn't like having to answer to people. I'm happy just helping out when I see people in danger,” Violet replied.

“Well, I hope you change your mind, I think you'd be an amazing hero.”

“Thank you.”

It was hard to believe that anyone with powers, who helped people didn't want to be a hero. It had always been my dream to be a superhero — I literally got paid to help people!

“So, you're not a hero, what job do you do?”

“Uh, I have a business. I run it with a few friends,” she replied.

“Wow, that's so cool, what's the business?”

“We work with banks.”

“Oh cool.”

“What about you? What's your job?”

“Believe it or not, I'm a superhero.” I giggled.

It was slightly embarrassing that I needed to be saved, since I was a superhero. You didn't hear about them needing saved very often.

“Really? What powers do you have?” Violet asked.

“Healing and reviving people.”

“That's really useful.”

“Thanks, I love my powers, but I wish I could defend myself better.” I sighed.

Hopefully, my training would enable me to fight off anyone who was a danger.

“I'm around this area a lot, so I'll help if I ever see you in trouble.”

“Thank you.”

“So, how long have you been a hero for?” Violet asked.

“Oh, not long, only a couple of weeks. I love working with heroes who I've looked up to for years, but it can be tough. Since, I heal people, I end up sleeping a lot, it feels like I waste my life sleeping. I obviously don't regret healing all those people, it's just a shame that I have to nap after doing so. But, my coworkers are great, and I'm amazed that I get paid to help people.”

“That would be very annoying. I'm glad I never get tired from running fast. But, don't you get stressed when you're around villains?”

“I definitely do.” I nodded. “It can be really scary going up against villains, or even normal criminals. I nearly got kidnapped yesterday because the robbers wanted me for my powers. And that Bloodlust is absolutely terrifying!”

“Wow, that's crazy, I'm glad they didn't get you. Bloodlust is creepy, I wouldn't want to meet him,” Violet replied.

“When I saw him, I'm glad he didn't go near me, he's the worst. He could literally hypnotise me to do anything.”

“Yeah, I'd hate that.”

The large, beige building that my apartment was in was across the street, we were nearly there.

“My apartment is just across the street,” I said.

“Wow, you live in a fancy area.”

“I know, I love it here. But, I used to live in a rougher area, I only got this place because of my job.”

“That's really cool.”

“Yeah, I got it for free. I was amazed.” I smiled.

“I'm amazed, too. I'd be jealous if I didn't live in a great house,” she replied.

“Your business must be doing well, then.”

“It is.” Violet nodded.

We crossed the road, and went into the building.

“Thank you so much for all your help,” I said.

“You're welcome, I'm glad you're home safely. Maybe, I'll see you around.”

“I hope so. Bye, then.”

“Goodbye,” Violet replied.

I used the stairs to get up to my apartment, since it was good exercise, and I didn't really like elevators. Violet seemed helpful and friendly, as well as being gorgeous, I really hoped I'd see her again.

****

As soon as I got into work, I went to the staff room where everyone was sitting around and talking.

“Oh my, I have news,” I said, as I walked over and sat beside Sam.

“What is it?” Pablo asked.

“Is it good or bad news?” Alex asked.

“A bit of both. I'll start with the bad news. On my way home yesterday, a guy tried to mug me,” I said.

“That's awful, are you okay?” Sofia asked.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” I nodded.

“Oh good, that sounds terrifying,” Sam replied.

“Anyway, the good news is that a woman called Violet was nearby, and she saved me by pushing the guy. She has super speed. She walked me home, and made sure that I was okay. Unfortunately, she's not interested in being a hero.”

“Wow, that sounds like an eventful evening,” Alex said.

“It certainly was.” I nodded.

“I swear, you have some sort of attack me magnet.” Sam chuckled.

“I know, it's ridiculous.” I laughed.

“I think one of us should walk you home from now on. I don't want you getting hurt or abducted,” Pablo said.

“That's a good idea, I'd feel much safer as well if I didn't have to walk home alone.”

“I'm happy to do it,” Sofia said.

“Same.” Sam nodded.

“I'm happy to do it as well,” Alex said.

“We can take it in turns, since we all want to help,” Pablo said.

“Oh, that'd be nice, it'll give me a chance to get to know all of you better.” I smiled.

I got to know them all within group settings, but I found it easier to talk to people one-to-one.

“I want to go first!” Alex exclaimed.

It was sweet that she was so enthusiastic to go first; I was excited to walk home with all of them, since I loved them all so much. They were such lovely people, it was a joy to work with them.

“Sure, that's fine, I'll make a rota so that everyone knows when they're walking home with Cara,” Pablo replied.

“Normally, I don't like being on a rota for things because they're like chores, but this is one that I definitely want to be on. I'm sure it'll be fun.” Sam smiled.

“What rotas have you been put on that you didn't like?” I frowned.

“Not in this job, but when I was a teenager, working in retail, they had cleaning rotas. I hated them.”

“Oh, they are annoying.” I nodded.

“I don't think any of us will find it a chore to walk home with you. It just means we get to spend more time together,” Sofia said.

“Yeah, I think we'll all like it. The only bad thing is that all of you have to go out of your way,” I replied.

None of them lived in the same building as me, they were all in opposite directions.

“We don't mind that.” Pablo smiled.

“Yeah, your safety us our priority.” Sam nodded.

It was great that they were all so sweet and caring, it made me love them all even more. I really was living the dream life, surrounded by amazing friends, who I was lucky enough to work with.

“Thank you so much. I really love working here, you're all so kind and friendly,” I said and smiled.

“Aww, I'm glad, we love having you here,” Pablo replied.

“Definitely.” Sofia nodded.

After a while, we were called out to deal with a fight between two men, which was dealt with quickly. We didn't have to deal with anything major for the rest of the day, just a minor crash, and we went on a patrol and dealt with small issues. Days like these were much less stressful.

Once work was over, I left with Alex. I felt super safe with her — she was the strongest person ever.

“I hope we don't run into any assholes tonight, but if we do, you're safe with me,” Alex said.

“Oh, I know. Your strength is incredible.”

“Thank you.” She smiled.

“I'm curious, since you can shape-shift, is this how you were born?”

“It is. As far as I'm aware, I'm the only person in the world who looks like this… in school, I was bullied for looking so scary and different, so I made myself look like a regular human. But, when I got older, I didn't give a shit, if people didn't like me for the way I looked, then that's their problem, not mine. I like being my true self, unless I'm out in public, then I change my appearance so that people don't recognise me,” Alex said.

It was sad that people had been so horrible to Alex, but I knew what it was like, I'd been bullied in school as well.

“Well, I think you're beautiful, inside and out. If someone doesn't like you because of your looks, then they're a blind idiot. People really shouldn't judge others based on the way they look.”

“I completely agree.”

“I bet we would've been friends in school. I was always very shy, and didn't have many friends. I was bullied as well,” I said.

“Oh, I'm sure we would've been.” She smiled.

“At least we've met each other now, and no one bullies us.”

“That's very true. We have a great team, we all stick together.”

“Yeah, I'm so lucky to be part of it all,” I replied.

They all accepted me, and weren't mean or rude at all, which I'd been a bit worried about. I really couldn't ask for a better job, or better colleagues.

“You know, I really wouldn't have expected you to be bullied, you seem so strong and confident,” I said.

“I am now, but I was an outcast throughout kindergarten and middle school. It was only in high school that I thought to change my appearance, then I became really popular. That helped me to become more confident and outgoing. As an adult, I just started not really giving a shit what people thought of me. The only opinions I care about are ones from family and friends.”

“That's a good way to be. Although, I can't say that I know what age kindergarten and middle school is. I only know about primary school.” I laughed.

“We start kindergarten at five, then move to middle school at eleven, then high school at fourteen.”

“Oh, we just have primary school, then secondary school, which can also be called high school. I think primary school starts at about four or five, then secondary school is about eleven,” I said.

“That's interesting,” she replied.

“Yeah, it's interesting for me as well. I've never even been to America.”

“I'll take you sometime, you can see where I grew up. The scenery is great, but some of the people aren't so nice.”

“I'd love that.” I smiled.

I'd always wanted to visit different countries, but there'd never been a chance. It would be great to travel more, now that I was free to do what I wanted.

We got to my apartment, so it was the end of our pleasant, insightful walk. It made me realise that I had more in common with Alex than I'd thought. She seemed like the complete opposite to me, since she was so confident and outgoing, but we weren't so different to each other.

“Thanks for walking with me, I'll see you tomorrow,” I said.

“See you tomorrow.” Alex smiled.