Rubi Nilsen was worried about her little brother, Roald. Actually, she was worried about herself and their little sister too. Not to mention Murphy, since the girl was living with them after the death of her brother. Yes, with their parents stuck in prison, the nineteen-year-old was in charge of two younger teenagers and a girl who was still in elementary school. Which wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. She made it work as well as she could, doing her night job housekeeping for a law firm that she hoped to one day actually be a real part of, before making sure the others made it to school in the morning so she could sleep for a few hours.
The point was, she had plenty of reason to be anxious. But her worry for both Roald and Murphy went beyond that. She was afraid of the money they were bringing back. Yes, they had those jobs in a little pawnshop or whatever it was, but that didn't seem to account for them being able to help provide as much as they did. That little shop should give them some pocket change, not allow them to actually help pay the rent and all that. Rubi had taken a walk through the shop at one point, and she couldn't understand how they could afford to pay several employees plus their own overhead, on what appeared to be a junk shop.
So, she had started to look into that further, in the very little free time she could set aside. She saw a lot of deliveries coming and going from the place. And she also saw Murphy and Roald come and go at very strange intervals.
Drugs. She was afraid those two had gotten into delivering drugs, just like their parents. It was a thought that made her want to scream and shake both of them, considering that was exactly why said parents were locked up. Yes, they clearly thought they were helping, they had seen how wiped and lost Rubi was. But running drugs wasn't the answer. Crime wasn't the answer. She had to find a way to talk to them about it in a way that wouldn't drive them off, a way to get them to come clean so they could sort all of it out. But she was afraid that anything she said would come off wrong. Not to mention the worry that she might just start choking both of them over being stupid enough to get involved in that sort of thing to begin with. Not that she didn't understand and appreciate that they wanted to help, but…
She had to find a way to talk to them about it. But, for the moment, she was still sorting it all out in her head. Plus, she didn't want to talk about it until she knew some more details. And part of finding out those details was talking to their coworkers at the shop. If the place really was a front for some sort of drug operation, maybe one of them would know something.
So far, the only one she'd managed to track down an address for was the red-haired girl her brother and Murphy worked with. She had followed the girl home one night, trying to work up the nerve to talk to her and fill out what she knew or if she'd be willing to say anything. But she’d never managed to find the right words, or the courage to speak up.
Still, it did mean that she knew where the girl lived. Now, with all the rising gang violence, Rubi was terrified that her brother and Murphy were going to be pulled into that. And she didn't think the girl she had followed should be involved in it either.
No, she had to have the first of several hard discussions. Which meant that she needed to see if that girl would tell her anything. She didn't want to narc to the girl's parents, so she’d just have to make up an excuse about why she wanted to talk to her.
Rubi was still working on the details of that in her head while she walked into the apartment building and headed up the stairs. It was her day off, and Emilee was playing at her friend's place, so she had some time right now. Time to try to get to the bottom of all this, without ruining her relationship with her brother and the girl who was like another sister to her. That was the hardest part of all this. She really thought they were trying to help, and she couldn't blame them for wanting some actual money after everything they’d been through. Maybe Murphy even thought that playing gofers carrying the stuff around the city was safe compared to getting hooked on it like her brother had been. But still, whatever was going on, it had to stop.
Climbing the stairs while rehearsing what she might say to the girl she had seen working with those two, Rubi almost missed the sound of someone walking up the stairs behind her. They were clearly doing their best to be quiet. But after spending so many years living in a part of town that wasn't exactly crime-free (or even crime-light when you got down to it) while being an attractive young blonde woman, her sense of danger when someone was following behind her was finely tuned.
Immediately turning off the stairs to enter the next floor even though it wasn't the one she wanted, Rubi used the motion of going through the doorway to cover the fact that she had reached into her pocket to find the mace that she kept there. She had it out and cupped the canister in her palm as she turned to catch the door with her other hand. Ostensibly, she did so to hold it open in case the person behind her was also coming through. But it also gave her control of the door so she could use it as a barrier between them if need be.
At the sight of the person who had been following her, Rubi’s breath caught in her throat. It was an anthropomorphic porcupine, a man who stood about five feet, eight inches tall, with soft gray-black fur, a blatantly rodent-like face, and long dagger-like quills extending from his back. Some might have mistaken him for some sort of TONI with growth powers. But Rubi knew better. Everyone who knew anything about the Scions knew better, especially these days.
This was Fork, one of those psychopaths. And he was right behind her, raising a hand as she met his gaze. His mouth opened, probably to taunt her.
But whatever he intended to do or say, Rubi didn't give him the chance. She slammed the door almost all the way shut save for a crack, then pointed the canister of mace through that crack before hitting the button. The Touched man’s words turned into an outraged squeal as his face was completely engulfed in the chemical spray.
Without wasting a second, Rubi slammed the door shut the rest of the way and spun around quickly. Seeing nothing in this empty hallway, she yanked the belt out of her own pants, tied it around the doorknob, and then hooked it around the nearby metal banister. Even as she turned and started to sprint down the hall, she could hear the porcupine-man screaming louder as he slammed into the locked door. Apparently he really didn't appreciate being sprayed in the face with mace. Which was fair, considering Rubi was pretty sure she wouldn’t appreciate anything Fork had in mind for her. Especially not now.
As she ran down the hallway, Rubi pounded on every door she could reach, alternating sides while continuing to race as quickly as she could. She raised her voice to scream at the top of her lungs that the Scions were there. Which was bound to ensure that no one opened their doors for her, but she was more concerned with making certain nobody was taken by surprise.
Was it just Fork? Or was it the whole group? Please just be him. If their psychotic piece of shit leader was here… But why would he be? What could they possibly want in this place? Ruby had no idea, and she really didn’t want to find out. She was going to run screaming to the end of the hall, then use the window there to get out onto the fire escape. All thought of investigating what Murphy and Roald were up to had completely fled her mind at that moment. The only thing that mattered was survival.
Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be that easy. Even as Rubi neared the end of the hall and saw the window looming in front of her, with Fork still bellowing inarticulately as he slammed against the belted-shut door at the other end, the door leading into one of the apartments ahead opened. She was about to shout for whoever it was to get back inside, but the person who emerged wasn't a potential helpless victim. It was Pencil himself, complete with the sack cloth mask. Seeing him turn her way, Rubi felt renewed terror slam into her chest. It made it harder to breathe. Running into Fork had been bad enough, but seeing Pencil looming in front of her made the young woman certain that she was going to die horrifically.
But like hell was she just going to cower in a corner, lay down, and let it happen. If she was going to be murdered, Rubi was damn sure going to do everything in her power to make the man in front of her fucking earn it. To that end, rather than slow down or stumble, she poured on every ounce of speed she could. She wasn't exactly a particularly tall or muscular girl, though she had at least become a little stronger by carrying all those garbage cans and cleaning supplies all over the law office. But no matter how unimpressive her physical stature, she had a ton of adrenaline on her side as she slammed full tilt into the masked man.
It seemed like he had expected her to stop or something, because he let out a surprised gasp as she crashed into him. The man fell backwards against the nearby wall with a satisfying thud, not that she was under any illusions that he would be in the least bit hurt. Nor did she pay any attention. While he was still reacting to being knocked down, she heard the door at the opposite end finally slam open as her belt broke under Fork’s repeated attacks. And before either of the psychopaths could do anything else, Ruby lunged through the window ahead of her. Someone had been smoking there earlier, their discarded cigarette butts still sitting on the windowsill. She could've kissed whoever that person was, no matter what their breath smelled like, because it meant the window was open for her to pass through it.
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In the next instant, Rubi was on the fire escape and began scrambling her way down it. She could hear Fork shout something, but she was too far away to actually make out the words. Not that it mattered. Nothing he had to say would make her stop or even slow down. Unlike Cup, his words wouldn’t distract her.
What was a distraction, unfortunately, was the sudden appearance of a monster at the bottom of the fire escape. It was a dog, but not just any old canine. This was obviously the Scion TONI known as Shovel, considering that as soon as she saw him, the dog made his head grow to several times its normal size and opened his terrible jaws to snarl at her. It looked like his mouth was big enough for her to fall right into. For all she knew, that was exactly what he was hoping for, that she would lose her grip in a panic and plummet down to become a snack for him. She didn't know for certain that he ate people, but she honestly wouldn't put it past him. To be honest, she wouldn't really put it past any of the Scions.
With Shovel waiting directly beneath her, and a very pissed off Pencil and Fork above, Rubi felt a wave of complete despair wash over her. She was going to die. She was going to be broken, tortured, and finally killed. She had done everything she could to escape, but it wasn't going to be enough.
No, no, she still had a chance. She had to have a chance. If one didn't present itself, she would create it, goddamnit. The dumpster behind Shovel. If she leapt as far as she could off the edge of the fire escape where she was, she might be able to land on top of it. That might give her the chance to roll off, hit the ground, and keep running before the monster dog could react. It wasn't much of a plan, and there was a good chance she would break several bones in the process. But given the choice between that and allowing the Scions to do whatever they wanted with her, Rubi immediately knew which one she would go with.
Without a second thought or even an instant of hesitation once the idea came to her mind, the dark-blonde girl instantly scrambled over the edge of the railing and hurled herself out as far as she could. She actually crashed into the far wall, feeling a jolt of pain as her shoulder collided with the brick before she dropped. There was another sudden sensation of sharp pain as she slammed down onto the top of the dumpster. It was full, thankfully, so she didn't go right down through the lid. Even better, she was pretty sure nothing inside herself broke, though she had definitely gotten some deep bruises.
None of that mattered, however. She just had to get out of this place and away from the giant teeth of the evil dog behind her. Rubi could already hear the monster scrambling around with a snarl, even as she rolled off the dumpster and fell the rest of the way to the ground.
It was there, as she hit her knees against the pavement on the side of the dumpster, with the realization that Shovel was already blocking her escape, that she saw it. Hovering there right in the corner, partially hidden by one of the dumpster wheels, was a small, glowing orb.
Immediately, every other thought left the girl’s mind. She stared that way, dazed and distracted. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, the rest of the world somehow cut off and unimportant. Her hand rose and extended, fingers brushing over the orb. She heard the woman's voice, those two Latin words. “Summus Proelium.”
Just like that, Ruby was elsewhere. She was standing in a void, gray ground all around her, along with a thick fog. In that fog, she saw her family, her brother and sister, as well as Murphy. She saw all of their parents as well. She saw herself working at the law office, staring longingly at the busy, important attorneys going about doing the job she wanted so badly to get into for herself.
It seemed as though no sooner had it started than her trip to the other world was over. She was back in that alley next to the dumpster on her knees, pain from that fall coursing through her body still. Shovel had turned around and was already lunging at her.
In a blind panic, Rubi grabbed the edge of the dumpster as though to yank it between herself and the evil dog with her back still to him. It was impossible, of course. And yet, as she grabbed it, something even more impossible happened. Everything froze. The whole world around her was completely motionless. Rubi only realized that as she fell sideways and saw Shovel frozen in mid-lunge. His feet were off the ground, mouth open as he came at her from behind.
Abruptly, she was kneeling back where she had been an instant earlier. It was as though she had been snapped back into position like a rubber band. Which was very disorienting.
Only then did Rubi notice something else. Her body looked semi-translucent, like a ghost. As did the dumpster. Everything else looked completely solid, though still frozen. She could even look up and see Pencil, motionless while in the process of climbing through the window she had emerged from. Fork loomed behind him, equally frozen.
So, Rubi and the dumpster were like ghosts in this frozen world. And every time she turned away from it or moved in anyway, she was snapped back to the same position.
With her hand on the dumpster, she reflexively pulled at it. Nothing happened. It was too heavy, even though it looked completely intangible. But again, her position reset. She was kneeling with her hand on it once more. And once more, she pulled at it.
Still nothing. And her position reset yet again. Rubi had absolutely no idea why she was doing this, what compelled her. But she pulled in the dumpster again, and that time, she felt it budge just a tiny bit. Again, she reset. And again, she pulled at the dumpster, which actually slid an inch or two that time. But when she was reset, so was it.
She continued that cycle ten times, then twenty, then thirty. Every time, the dumpster moved a little more. And every time, she and it reset a moment later. It was as though every time she interacted with the dumpster, it retained that amount of effort for the next attempt. It wasn't just her trying to move it, it was every past iteration of the previous thirty-plus versions of herself. Every single time she reset and tried again, it was with the combined effort of all of her past-selves. After several dozen times, she was able to pull the dumpster as though it weighed almost nothing, and swing it sideways through Shovel. It was still intangible, so it didn't actually do anything to the dog Scion.
At least, it didn't do anything until Rubi felt a moment of satisfaction. She felt as though she had completed her objective. Instantly, the world was unfrozen. She was back on her knees next to the dumpster once more, her hand on it. Before she grasped what was happening, she had already spun around, hoisted the physical dumpster off the ground, and slammed it into Shovel with the force of a professional baseball player swinging a bat. He was sent crashing head over tail along the alley with a shocked and pained series of yelps.
Pencil was moving again too, lifting what looked like a gun from his position on the fire escape before taking aim. Rubi panicked once more, and suddenly she was back in that frozen world. Except this time, she was the only thing that looked like a ghost. The dumpster, lying on its side where she tossed it, was just as frozen as everything else. Was it because she had been touching the dumpster when she used this power the first time? She couldn't move very far from her initial position when she used it, and was always snapped back to where she was. Then, when she somehow triggered things to go back to normal, all the effort she had expended during the frozen time came out at once in a single physical action.
Wait, wait, if whatever this power was allowed her to essentially enact the physical strength of dozens of versions of herself all acting over and over again, maybe…
Rubi braced herself, stiffening her body as much as she could. A second later, she was back to the position she had been in when time froze. Again, she braced herself. She did that again and again and again, more than fifty times. Then sixty. It went on and on in this frozen world, but she was too terrified about what could happen if she didn't do it enough.
Finally, when it felt like she couldn’t hold herself in this position and keep the power going any longer, Rubi relaxed her grip on it. The world slammed back into motion, and her body stiffened just as Pencil fired that gun. She felt a very faint pain in her chest, as though someone had thrown a small rock at it. The damage of the bullet had been stopped by what amounted to over sixty versions of herself all bracing themselves. She didn't have the durability of just her own body, she had the durability of five dozen of herselves.
Pencil seemed surprised when his bullet did nothing, and dropped to the ground right in front of her, landing smoothly. “Well, isn’t this int--”
He couldn’t be hurt. It was impossible. But in her moment of blind terror, faced with the sackcloth-masked man, Rubi wasn’t thinking about that. She dove for the safety of her power, instinctively freezing everything. She saw him right there, eyes so smug and confident as he stared at her. And in that moment, Rubi could only think of one thing.
She wanted to wipe that smug look right out of his eyes.
Rearing back her fist, she swung hard. Her fist passed through his head in that frozen state. Her body reset, and she swung again. Reset, swing. Reset, swing, reset, swing. She had done it sixty times when facing that gun, and that had felt like a stretch. This time, she strained even harder, repeating the same motion seventy times, then seventy five, even eighty. Over a full minute passed like that, and she was starting to hear a painful whistle in the back of her mind. She was getting dizzy. It couldn’t go on, she couldn’t keep this going.
Finally, it was too much. Rubi lost hold of her power, and the world snapped back into motion. Her fist rose, reared back, she saw Pencil’s eyes light up with obvious amusement at her silly attempt to harm him.
And then her fist collided with his face, knocking the man to the ground with a hastily-blurted curse. Blood, there was blood on the ground. Blood from him. She saw blood and a tooth, both lying there. She had punched him so hard she knocked one of his teeth out and put him on the ground.
She hurt him. She fucking hurt him.
Between Pencil, Rubi, Fork up in the window, or Shovel, who was still trying to pick himself up after being smacked across the alley, it was hard to say which of them was more shocked in that moment. But one thing was certain, Pencil was about to be indescribably pissed off. He wouldn’t let that stand. He couldn’t let it stand. No, he would do absolutely anything it took to kill her.
Before he could recover enough to try, Rubi was already pivoting on her feet and running out of the alley. She sprinted like her life depended on it, because it very much did. She ran as hard and as fast as she could.
And she didn't stop running for a very long time.