"3!
2!
1!"
As the whistle blew, Theo launched himself forward into the pool. He felt the water move as the other swimmers dove in beside him. Kicking his legs as hard as he could, he swam like his life depended on it. Well, it did... in a way.
A swimming scholarship was how Theo landed himself in one of the top schools in the country, Aurelian Academy. He had been an orphan since birth and never had anything, moving from one abusive family to another, all of whom only wanted him for the benefits payments. His horrific home life made it impossible to study, resulting in him finishing high school with grades that could barely even get him a job flipping burgers. He was gifted one thing at birth, however: extreme raw talent as a swimmer. He was the best in every school he attended, even good enough to get a scholarship here, despite his awful grades. Being a great swimmer was the only thing standing between him and a life of homelessness.
After reaching the end of the pool and performing a flip turn, Theo continued to pull himself through the water with every ounce of effort he had in him. From what he could see, hear, and feel, he was in first place. He pushed through the fatigue that was starting to burden his muscles as the finish got closer and closer. After one final burst of energy, he felt his hand hit the wall at the end of the pool. Shooting his head out of the water, he looked around.
First place again.
Despite his awful childhood, Theo had always found refuge in swimming. When he was underwater, everything went silent, and all of his worries were drowned out. It was the only place he truly felt at peace. The only thing he truly enjoyed.
Until he enrolled at this school.
He felt a pair of hands wrap around his ankles as he was yanked under the water.
Theo tried to resurface, but another hand pushed down on his head from above. Any attempt to struggle was met with a barrage of punches and kicks from his underwater attacker. Being hit didn't hurt as much when he was underwater, but it still hurt.
As the air in his lungs ran out, Theo's body started to violently jerk and thrash, trying desperately to help him out. He felt himself falling unconscious before a hand painfully grabbed his hair and pulled him out of the water. Gasping in as much air as possible, Theo tried to grab onto the side of the pool. Before he could reach it, he was once again pushed under the surface, the whole process about to be repeated.
Sam, Daniel and Alfie were some of Theo's harshest bullies. When a poor orphan joins your highly prestigious school and beats you at your chosen sport, what else is there to do but fucking waterboard them?
Pricks.
All students at Aurelian Academy disliked Theo, but these three felt threatened by him. He was the reason they weren't the best swimmers in the school. The reason their fathers probably beat them for losing. They had a motive for trying to incapacitate him, and because of that, their bullying methods would more aptly fall under the definition of torture.
The 3 bullies’ strategy normally followed the same basic structure. Step 1, distract the teacher and convince them to leave the room. Step 2, attempted murder.
"Shit! She's coming back!" Alfie shouted to Daniel, who was knelt at the edge of the pool, holding Theo's head underwater.
Daniel tapped Sam to get his attention, "We gotta go."
After one more punch to Theo's stomach, Sam climbed out of the pool and joined his two friends as they hastily escaped into the changing rooms.
Theo grabbed on the edge of the pool and heaved himself out, coughing and sputtering.
Mrs Nelva, the swimming teacher, opened the glass door and entered the natatorium. She saw Theo lying on the floor trying to catch his breath.
"That was some mighty fine swimming earlier Mr Galewood, now hurry into the changing rooms, swimming class is over."
As a victim of bullying his whole life, Theo knew much better than to try telling a teacher, especially in a school who's students are from the most powerful families in the world.
Theo was never academically smart, but he was smart enough to know that entering the changing rooms with all the other guys would result in a painful, certain death. He instead followed his usual routine of waiting until Mrs Nelva wasn't looking, and then grabbing the bag he hid under one of the benches, taking out a top and some joggers and throwing them over his still soaking body, then hastily leaving. It was uncomfortable, embarrassing, and it had gotten him ill multiple times, but it spared him from having to endure yet another beat down, and that made it the best option by far.
Swimming practise took place after college and ran for a couple of hours, so it was past 7pm by the time it finished. As it was mid October, it was almost pitch black outside. There were street lamps lining the popular walkways around campus, but Theo learned it was best to avoid those, as being the least popular student walking alone at night made him an easy target. Theo opted for the long route, which took him through the abandoned section of campus. This was a collection of old buildings scheduled to be demolished, but currently sat vacant. In a regular college it would probably be a hot spot for drug use and late night parties, but rich people could seemingly do whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted, so they had no need to hide. This made the abandoned buildings the perfect route for Theo’s walk home.
The autumn air was cold, with a breeze that felt like it was freezing his soaking skin. Theo was a conventionally good looking guy. If this college wasn't so damn classist, he might have actually been quite popular. He had dark brown hair, and eyes to match. He was a decent height, just around 6 foot, and had an athletic figure from years of swimming.
He could feel his wet hair dripping water down his face and back. Every movement caused his clothes to rub uncomfortably against his skin. Theo normally liked walks in the dark. It was quiet. Peaceful. He hated how those rich dicks continued to ruin everything he enjoyed in life.
A few minutes into his walk, Theo heard a groan coming from an alleyway between two of the buildings. It sounded like a girl, one who was in great deals of pain. As a non-academic, Theo had spent his whole life getting things wrong. Tests, homework, questions directed at him in class. He often wished he could be right more often. On this occasion, however, he deeply wished he was wrong. Before he investigated further, he already knew who the sounds were coming from. There was only one activity the rich people at this college felt the need to hide. Violence. And there was only one student beside himself they would want to hurt.
Jessica.
Jess was the other scholarship student at Aurelian, and unlike Theo, she was smart. She had gotten in with her grades alone. Only the members of the swim team felt threatened by Theo, but everyone felt threatened by Jess. Unfortunately, all of her intelligence still wasn’t enough to help her avoid getting the shit kicked out of her every now and then.
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Jess was the only other person in the school who knew what Theo was going through. The only other person who had to experience the same thing, maybe even worse in her case. They didn't interact too often, as they were both in the routine of rushing to the safety of their dorms as soon as college ended, but Jess was the closest thing Theo had to a friend. He'd always felt comfortable around her, and she seemed to feel the same way.
Theo walked round the corner towards the sound of the pained voice. As he got closer, his suspicions were confirmed. Jess was sat on the floor, slouching against a wall. She had wavy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Like Theo, she probably would have been quite popular in a regular school, based on her looks alone.
Currently, however, she looked a complete mess. She was covered in cuts and bruises. Blood poured down her face from a cut on her forehead. She looked tired, angry, and a little scared.
"Jess? You ok?" He asked.
She flinched as she noticed his presence, clearly assuming he was her attackers returning to finish the job.
"Don't worry", He continued, "It's Theo."
"You gonna hit me too?"
"You know I wouldn't do that"
"Might as well", she sighed, "pretty much everyone has at this point. Wait why the fuck are you so wet?"
"Oh just some casual water torture. It's how I like to end my swimming practice."
"At least we're both having a shit day. I'm guessing you chose to skip the changing rooms? Smart choice." She replied.
Theo grinned. "Guess we're more similar than I thought. Here, I'll give you a hand."
He crouched down beside her and put her arm around his shoulders. On the count of three they stood up, with Theo doing most of the lifting. Jess winced loudly.
"They really messed you up huh? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Theo asked.
"One of the worst beatings yet, not even sure what I did this time. But no, I should be ok, I didn't hear anything snap and I haven't coughed up blood yet, so I'll survive."
Theo admired Jessica's ability to retain a sense of humour after just being beaten half to death. It was a talent they both shared, probably due to being so utterly desensitized to pain and violence.
"I mean this in the most platonic, purely worried for your health way, but would you like to come back to my place? I have some first aid stuff and it's probably best if you have someone keeping an eye on you." Theo asked. Part of him just didn't want to be alone, he was enjoying the company of someone who could relate to his hellish life. The other part of him was genuinely concerned for Jess. She was tough and had a good poker face, but he could tell she was in a lot of pain.
"Aw, you telling me you're not trying to hit on me Galewood? Guys are normally really into limping piles of blood and self pity. I'm disappointed." She replied. "Are you sure it'd be ok? You probably have enough to deal with already."
"Yeah it's no problem. Being totally honest, it'd probably be good to have someone keeping an eye on me too, considering how much time I went without oxygen earlier."
"Ok if you say so, but I ain't giving you mouth to mouth." Jess joked.
Theo chuckled, "You have my word."
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He unlocked the door to his dorm and ducked as he went through the doorway, trying not to hit Jess’ head, who he was now carrying on his back. Theo had been athletic all his life, and Jess was on the smaller side of girls, so carrying her would normally be an easy task. After the abuse he had endured earlier that day however, he would have struggled carrying just himself, let alone another person.
As he reached the couch he lazily tipped her onto it and sat down, finally giving his muscles a break.
“Thanks, Theo” Jess said, her voice strained from the aches and pains that burdened her body.
Theo’s dorm was the worst on campus. It was in block H, the block for the scholarship students and those who could just barely afford tuition. It was the furthest point from the classrooms and lecture halls, and the complete other side of campus from the shops and social areas. Being in the one of the most prestigious colleges in the world, however, meant his dorm was by no means bad. The bulk of the apartment was comprised of the main living area, which housed a good sized sofa, facing the even better sized TV on the left wall. There was an open kitchen in the back right corner with all the appliances and kitchenware Theo could ever need. There was also a dining table against the back wall of the living room, with enough seats to fit more people than Theo had ever been friends with, a criteria met by all tables with more than three seats. On the far end of the left wall was the door to the bathroom, which boasted a rain shower and a bath so big it was basically a hot tub. The right wall of the living room had another door, which lead to Theo's bedroom. The whole space had a cosy aesthetic, with cream walls and warm lights. It was the best home Theo had ever had.
"Want something to eat?" Asked Theo after sitting slumped on the cough for a while. "I was going to make some pasta."
"Cooking me dinner? Are you sure this isn't a date?" Teased Jess, coughing loudly as she finished the sentence.
"Oh please," Theo replied, "if I was trying to win you over I would not subject you to my cooking."
Jess smiled weakly. "Pasta sounds great".
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Theo woke up the next morning in his bed. He'd insisted that he slept on the sofa and Jess took his bed, but she made the point that any of her cuts could open during the night and forever stain his bedsheets with blood, to which Theo conceded.
He wandered into the living room and saw Jess still asleep on his sofa. After eating the rather tasteless pasta he cooked, Theo and Jess had spent the rest of the evening watching the news. It turned out they had something else in common, an obsession with artifacts and the luckily individuals who wielded them.
Artifacts were seemingly ordinary objects that started randomly appearing around the world a few decades ago. These objects, however, couldn't be further from ordinary. They granted extraordinary abilities to the first person who touched them. A TV remote that shoots lasers, or a frisbee that you control with your mind. Each person can only ever have one artifact, so you'd better hope the first one you touch is decent. The bond between human and artifact went deeper than the ability to use it. Wielders - those who had acquired an artifact - claimed that their objects could communicate with them, giving them explanations of how to use it and what it was capable of. Artifacts could also improve and level up over time, becoming more powerful and unlocking new abilities. The wielder of an artifact was also able to summon and dismiss it at will. Basically, an artifact could turn a below average person into the most powerful being in the world, granted it was strong enough.
Which is exactly what had happened to the woman who had been all over the news last night, and almost every day for years now.
Celestia. The strongest super hero who ever lived.
Celestia's artifact was an unassuming toy unicorn, small enough to be held in one hand. What made her so dangerous, however, was the fact that this toy could transform into a very real unicorn, the size of a large horse. When mounted by Celestia, the animal could perform an array of abilities, such as flying, shooting lasers out of its horn, and creating forcefields. The unicorn was fast, strong, seemingly invincible, and Celestia absorbed all of these properties when riding it. She was unkillable, unbeatable, and not the kind of person you'd want to mess with.
The news story Theo and Jess had watched before falling asleep showcased Celestia singlehandedly stopping 50 large planes piloted by kamikaze villains aiming to fly them into the most populated buildings in New York. 50 planes simultaneously raining down on one of the biggest cities in the world would be a terror attack unlike anything America had ever seen before. This was something the villains behind the attack had clearly been planning for a long time. The planes went undetected until they were just on the outskirts of the city, most likely due to the support of an artifact or two.
Celestia, however, sat atop her trusty steed and fired 50 precise lasers out of its horn, penetrating any attempts at defences that the villains created, and splitting each of the planes perfectly in half. She then proceeded to effortlessly catch the pieces of falling debris with a forcefield stretching across the entire New York skyline. She had just stopped one of the biggest villain attacks ever attempted, and she barely even broke a sweat.
Theo and Jess had revelled in the idea of possessing such power. How their bullies wouldn't dare to even look at them anymore. The conversation had started to take a dark turn when they reached the topic of revenge, but it was cut short by their tiredness and their bodies clearly telling them to go to bed.
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As Theo walked past the still sleeping Jess on his way to the bathroom to take a shower, he took a quick glance at her face to see how much bruising remained after a nights sleep. To Theo's shock, she happened to wake up at the same moment, locking eyes with him.
"Were you fucking watching me sleep?" She accused, rubbing her eyes.
"I know how this looks, but I promise I was just seeing how bad your bruising was while I walked past to have a shower." He responded in a desperate attempt to prove his innocence.
"I'm fucking with you, Galewood." She responded, "You don't strike me as the creepy pervert type."
"...Thanks?" Theo replied.
"Mind if I use your shower after you? I have class soon."
"Yeah sure, I'll be quick".
And with that he dashed into the bathroom before his face could get any redder.