The drive to the peer was filled with unnerving and eerie quiet. The smell of the brine stuck to the air, thick and potent, it added to the strangeness she was feeling. Teh driver didn’t ask too much–where she was going, why she was going over there– but the glances he gave her in the rear view mirror told her stories. He was curious, maybe judgemental too.

The car came to a sudden stop. She exhaled the shallow breath she was holding. She nodded and thanked him, climbed out, the door behind her clicking shut.

He tipped his cap downwards, a gesture of respect.

The massive pier greeted me, dark and empty. Usually, it would be teaming with late-night partygoers and young couples. Tonight it was still, only the crashing waves made noise as they slammed against the west bay in turmoil. A calm tempest that felt like a distant mirror.

Her hands twisted as she stepped forward at a snail’s pace. Her sneakers dragged across the wooden planks. What did she want? Why call her now? The timing was way too convenient. Downright convenient. Evelyn had assured her someone would be her shadow, yet there was no sign of anyone appearing. Just the vague idea to play along.

[Chin up, Juniper.] Sys-chan chirped away, breaking her mental stagnation. [ you’re meeting a known pragmatist, with kind manners–and I believe a tiny hint of a temper. It'll be a peace of cake my little shut-in.]

Her throat tightened. “Tiny hint? Do you know what she was dubbed as a child, the ‘morning devil’, the ‘wrong ray of sunshine?’ This whole mature act she has going on is an act. Learned behavior.” her voice lowered. “And now she wants to meet me, before midnight?

[As she said. She required your help. Would you ghost Helen of Troy? Hypathia? Cleopatra?]

“She’s just a cape.”

[Who’s powers you nabbed, so, hear her out. She's like literally the reason your alive.]

She sighed. “Of course. I didn’t come here for no reason.”

At the end of the pier, the sunlit heroine floated above like a biblical angel on the brink of ascending into the heavens, she wore a rarely seen golden cape, draped over her shoulders. It glowed faintly, but a starkk contrast the normal combat-ready outfit. It shimmered as seh approached, outright otherworldly under the moonlight.

Juniper stops below her. Mustering her introverted courage, forcing herself to move forward. Her steps are uneven. “Hey …um…Heliogirl…Hi.”

Heliogirl head snaps towards her, her eyes sparking with a modicum of surprise. She descended with a godly grace, Juniper couldn’t hope to replicate. Two cups of steaming hot coffee in her hands, the scent alluring as she stood in front of her.

“Hey! I almost didn’t see there,” heliogirl, waved casually. A warm smile on her face, but there was an undertone of something else. As she had rehearsed for this, her eyes were bloodshot red. A lack of sleep perhaps. Her arteries were visible as well. “Thanks for coming Juniper. In such a short notice.”

“I…. I did.” she fidgeted standing, her nervousness was impossible to miss. She caught herself fidgeting too much with hands, then dropped them altogether.

“Sorry about the suddenness. let's take a seat over there fi you don’t mind.” she pointed to a weathered public bench at the end of the pier. “I got you a coffee, didn’t know what you’d liked, so I took a guess.”

She hesitated, but took the cup. The heat heating her cold hands as he followed her to the old bench.

[Careful,] Sys Chan warned her. [She’s a bit too nice. Like a sharpened butter knife.]

‘Noted,’ she sent the thought back. Settling next to the heroine. If her not-girlfriend saw her now, she’d either be teased to hell or be scrutinized. Are you dating capes behind my back? How dare you?

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The silenced stretch for a bit, stifling in the air. Heliogirl extruded an aura of poise and polished behavor, she felt like a massive stick in the mud in comparison.

“So,” Heliogirl began, her voice low. “I was hoping you’d contact me after the incident. But you never did. There was a day I thought, maybe… Uh, well… Never mind I’m just glad you’re here.” her hands were tense around the cup, as she took a sip. “At least you didn’t sue me like most people did.”

Juniper blinked. “I’m…sorry?”

“What? Please don’t be.” she laughed in bittersweetness, the grip of her hands threatening to strain the bench. A light glow flickered in her hands before she pulled them away. “I deserve so much worse. I’m a failure?”

Her head tilted and she looked uncomfortable.

“You’re not,” Juniper said, almost too frantically. Her voice buckled. “You’re…a good person. My–”

“Don’t,” she cut in, her eyes closing and her head lifting. Body restless. Her feet tapped against the planks, her finger clenching against her suit. “Please…I hear it every second of the day. Everywhere, Not right now, I’m sorry.”

Juniper frowned, drinking the coffee as if it would shield her from the girl’s sudden frustration and fury. “Heliogirl, why’d you call me here? You said you needed my help. What exactly? She leaned closer, voice dropping. “Please. Be honest at least.”

Heligirl froze, her composure threatening to crack. Her gaze landed on juniper, searching her face, before staring at her untouched coffee. The waves of the ocean began crashing louder, filling the space. Neither of them were able to add up.

“I…” She started, her voice catching. “ She exhaled very sharply, Her eyes darted all oer like she was deciding what approach to take. “You’re right. I should be honest atleast, we both deserve the truth.”

“Both?”

Her head tilted again as if listening to someone else elsewhere, something buzzed in Juniper’s ear like static but faint.

[Oooh, would you look at that,] Sys-chan piped up. [Little black clip in her ear. What do you bet you’re not the only one she’s chatting with?]

Her eyes locked on the little earpiece. Chills went down her spine.

“Juniper, is there anything you want to tell me? Anything at all?”

“N-No,” Juniper said, voice brittle, she was starting to get frightened. “Y-You don’t sound like you want my help anymore.”

Heliogirl lips curved into a tight smile. “When our fingers brushed against each other in that hospital, did you do anything? Anything…out of the ordinary?”

[You wanna guess where she’s going with this.]

Juniper got off the bench, she could hear her own heartbeat distinctly. “No. What are you–?

Heliogirl was already behind her hovering, eyes glowing in the dimlight dark. Her coffee hit the wooden plank, coffee spilling out of the plastic cup.

“I was never delicate or good with this stuff,” She said, her voice rising. “I bash skulls in– I don’t play caped detective. Just come clean and get this over with. Ms. Mimic.”

Juniper forgot she had to breathe. The nickname landed like a slap to the face.

[That’s not a bad name if you think about it. Ms. mimic. Has a nice Classy ring to it.]

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Juniper snapped, she forced some anger into it. “I don’t feel safe, why are you threatening me? You’re a hero, aren’t you? What is this!”

She didn’t answer. She took out a concealed smartphone from underneath her suit. Fingers dashing across the screen. She turned it towards Juniper, images flickered in Juniper’s head.

The day she defended the vendor from the thug. She’d punch him in front of dozens of cam holders. Her hovering near a patrol drone, a faint glow of energy surrounding her at night. The bank. Grainy security feeds off her and Annemarie deafening civilians, both masked.

Her legs trembled.

“You’ve been sloppy, outright amateurish,” Heliogirl said, her voice laced with anger. “Come clean, Juniper or rather Balaclava girl?”

Her chest felt hollow, the air was really suffocating her now. The emptiness of the pier was clear now. No parties, no yachts, no fishermen–just silence, save for distant traffic and the hum of the sea.

“I can explain!” she went on her knees, holding her hands together. “It’s one huge misunderstanding! I promise!”

“Is it though?” The cape advanced towards her, her body glowing golden and flickering like a flame. “The powers you’ve obtained–they’re mine. Mine! A one-to-one copy. You stole that from me.”

The words were a hit to the gut.

“I didn’t steal them! I–”

“What? I certainly didn’t share it?” her voice cracked. Fisted clenched, and glowing with light. “My powers aren’t simple abilities. They stem from my trauma. My pain!. What gives you the right to steal it.!”

Juniper stumbled back into a backward crawl, hands raised in defense. “Please calm down, let me explain!”

“Explain what?” The heroine snarled, boots scraping against the wooden planks as she hovered mid-air. “How are you any different than the scum I fight every day?”

She wanted to say something, but the words were stuck.

[New objective: Survive]

“I can’t win this fight,” she whispered to herself, and to the voice in her head.

“You’re right, you need a proper spanking,” Heliogirl announced.

[Defend yourself. You’re not in some rom-com, Juniper. Time to fight back or start making room for a serious butt-whooping. She's ready to spank you, are you ready for her.]

Syschan was right for once, Heliogirl was messed up, she needed to make it out here for her siblings sake at least. She had enough ambushes for a lifetime.