BOOM!

The aberrant monster fired another missile at Theo, narrowly missing him. He wasted no time, before kicking off the ground and flying into the air. He rose about 50 feet, before he was at the same level as the monster's head.

This aberrant was made out of metal. Its forearms were giant gun barrels, and its body resembled the cylinder of a six shooter. It's legs were the only parts that weren't metal, at least not on the outside. They were covered in a black rubber, the same type that covered some gun grips.

It had clearly been a revolver of some sort before transforming, except with the ability to shoot explosives. Objects that were already dangerous turned into some of the most powerful aberrants.

Theo held his artifact between his fingers, and pointed his arm towards the monster's head, which was just a giant block of metal. He rested the coin on the side of his index finger and curled his thumb under it. He felt the power start to flow into his hand, letting it continue to build up, until he couldn't hold it anymore. He flicked his thumb forward as an explosion of energy sent the coin flying into the aberrant's face. It stumbled backwards with a giant CLANG!

Theo then flew in closer towards the beast. It tried swatting him out of the air, but he dodged its arms with ease.

A crack in space appeared beside Theo as he used his ninth ability. A giant chain shot out from the crack. Theo focused on the chain, moving it through the air with his mind. He wound it around the aberrant, pulling its limbs close to its body, and holding it in place.

He then called upon his fourth ability: Perfect slice.

He twisted his body around, bringing his arm up and behind him. He held his hand in the position you'd use to perform a classic karate chop.

In a blur, he sliced his arm through the air. An invisible, razer sharp arc of energy was shot out from his hand. It his the aberrant's torso, slicing it perfectly in half. The monster dropped to the ground, defeated.

Theo's eyes shot open. He tried to sit up, but his body was set alight with unbearable pain. He let out a cry of anguish.

"Whoa, hey! It's ok, it's ok."

Jess quickly stood up and rushed to Theo's side.

"Jess? What's going on?"

"You're in the infirmary. The nurse used her artifact to heal all of your major injuries, but the pain will still be there."

"Infirmary? Why-", he began, before suddenly recalling the events of his brutal beating.

"I went to your apartment, but you weren't there, so I went looking for you in the abandoned district. I saw George and those other two leaving one of the buildings, so I went in after they'd left and found you on the floor. Then I brought you here. Nurse said you could have died. I'm um. I'm sorry, for making you flip the coin this morning. If you still had your flick ability you could've defended yourself. Even if it made you suspicious, what use is being innocent when you're dead?", Jess explained, a guilty look on her face.

"No, you were right." Theo replied, "What good is being alive when you're rotting in jail."

"Touché. Can you remember what happened?"

"Exactly what I thought was going to happen. Those dicks jumped me and started question me about Daniel. Don't worry, I denied it all like you said. Then they just started beating the shit out of me. I think Alfie broke my leg." Theo winced as he tried moving it.

"Hey, try not to move. The nurse said you need to stay as still as possible for the recovery to work."

"Did she say how long I have to be here?"

"Just until tomorrow. You can sleep here, and she said I can too. Her artifact, it's pretty cool. It's like a tube of glue that she poured all over you. The thing isn't that big but the glue just kept coming out. The stuff wrapped around you and formed like a weird slimy cocoon. Apparently it can heal most injuries, but moving too much too soon can undo it."

"Oh yeah, I think she used that when I broke my wrist last year. That stuff's weird."

Jess fell silent for a moment.

"Sorry dude. I can't help feel like this is all my fault."

"It's not. It's their fucking fault. Those dicks have been getting away with this for too long."

Jess paused.

"...Apart from Daniel."

"Yeah true... Wait, what are you saying?"

"We've both dealt with this shit our whole lives. I'm sure you've also tried everything you could think of to make it stop. Standing up for yourself, telling a teacher, running away, just fucking dealing with it. There's only one time I've ever seen someone successfully stop a bully, and it was what you did with Daniel."

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"Jess, I... as much as I hate them, and I fucking hate them, we can't just go around killing people. Look at what happened to me while trying to cover up just one murder."

"That's what I'm saying. You kill one of these shit heads and the rest try to get revenge, but what if they were all gone? Wouldn't it be nice, going to class and actually being able to focus? Going out on the weekends, living a regular life?"

"Of course it would be nice. But how are we going to get away with it? We were only able to dispose of Daniel's body because of my artifact."

"And that's how we'll dispose of the rest. Everyone knows the authorities have a hard time solving cases involving artifacts. Your coin can give you a new power each day, which means even if people found out about it, they couldn't track the deaths back to you. I've been thinking about it since the night after we killed Daniel, and especially since finding you earlier. You have the perfect weapon to pull this off."

Theo didn't respond right away. He thought about. She isn't wrong. Assuming I get some abilities that are actually useful, combined with Jess' crazy smart brain... We could actually do this.

He hadn't fully admitted it to himself, but killing Daniel had felt really good.

"Ok." He said. "I'm in".

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The hours flew by while the two of them made a plan. It all felt a bit surreal. Two days ago, Theo was nothing more than an innocent victim of bullying. He'd always followed the rules, done what was right, in the hopes that he would one day be rewarded. Until yesterday, when he had accidentally become a murderer. He'd done something that most people would say is unforgivable. Theo had spent his whole life thinking the same thing, that if he did something that bad, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. To his surprise however, he felt fine.

And now, he was planning a murder spree. The only negative feeling he had was the uncertainty at how unphased he felt.

"Are you sure she's the best person to start with?", Theo asked.

"Yeah, she's not really a part of their group. Well, she is, but I don't think any of them like her that much, she just follows them around like a little sibling. Anyway, they won't really care if she goes missing."

"And what’s she guilty of doing? I mean, I didn't mind killing Daniel, because he spent the last year making my life hell, but I barely even know this girl."

"Oh, so we're allowed to kill your bullies, but not mine? She was never the one initiating things, but she helped. She was so desperate for the other girl's approval that she didn't care what they were doing to me. She pointed me out to them when she saw me, she kept watch for the teachers, she tripped me when I tried to escape. Theo, at one point these girls were beating me within inches of my life everyday. And she was always fucking laughing while they did it. It doesn't matter if she threw the majority of the punches of if she just cheered from the side-lines. She was a part of it."

"Ok, I'm sorry, You're right." Theo admitted. "So, how do you want to do this?"

"Flip your coin in the morning, hopefully it'll give you a useful ability. We then make a plan around that. This girl doesn't live in the same building as the rest of the group, but she normally goes round one of their places after school to hang out, so we can get her when she's walking home. It'll be quite late by then and not many people should be around."

Her name was Tilly. She was a girl in Jess' math class. Theo remembered her from the start of college. She had initially tried out for the swimming team, but didn't get in. She was quiet and polite, and often wore cute dresses with bows in her hair. Until she started hangout out with the 'popular' girls.

After that, she started wearing revealing outfits covered in with vulgar words. When someone bumped into her she'd shout swear words at them before turning to the other girls, checking for signs of their approval.

Theo had heard about the things those girls did to Jess. He'd even witnessed some of them. He remembered staring out of the window during a particularly boring lesson one day, when he saw Jess run out of a door on the ground floor, her hair and clothes dripping wet. He had later heard whilst eavesdropping on gossip that she'd been covered in burning hot water. That would explain why she was screaming in pain. Apparently she'd been revising in the library when her bullies had poured the scalding liquid on her head.

The worst part is, that was one of their tamest pranks. These girls were monsters, and if Tilly had any part of what they did to Jess, she deserved to die.

"You excited?", Theo asked.

"Is it bad if I am?", Jess replied.

"I think we're past acting like there isn't something a little wrong with us."

Jess laughed.

"Maybe you're right, but they were the psychos first, we're just getting on their level"

"Exactly, gotta make it even right?". Theo grinned. Why didn't I start hanging out with Jess sooner?

They'd always been friends, initially due to their lack of choices, but eventually due to their shared daily torment. Theo had always been so preoccupied with avoiding bullies that he'd never stopped to think that maybe he and Jess would be stronger if they stuck together. Regardless, he was glad they were much closer now, even if it took a murder to create that bond.

"Hey Jess, if you had your own artifact, what would you want it to be?"

"Oh um, I haven't really thought about it. Actually, that's a lie. If we're gonna do this together, we gotta be honest with each other."

"Fine by me", Theo said, "So, what's your dream power?"

"Promise you won't make fun of me?"

"I promise."

She hesitated for a second.

"Invincibility. When I was younger, I didn't want some flashy power, shooting lasers or jumping over buildings. I just didn't want to be scared anymore. If I was invincible, I wouldn't have to worry about where I would get a meal from everyday. I wouldn't have to avoid about the drunk men who came out at night, or the bullies at my school. I know, it's pathetic-"

"It isn't." Theo interrupted, "I wished for the same thing my whole life too. Well, that and the power to fly, and shoot lasers, but being able to face all these pricks head on without fear would be pretty nice."

"Well, now you can." She replied. She'd once again shifted to her quieter, more timid side that seemed to occasionally break through when she forgot to wear her mask of a tough, fearless girl. Theo wondered if this was who she really was, deep down. Just a scared girl.

"I maybe can, if my coin gives me a good power. Plus, when it explained the ability to me it said there's a small chance for it to fail, disabling all of my abilities for the rest of the day."

"Or you could just rely on that flick you do and blow off the head of everyone who messes with you."

"True, but didn't you tell me that using my default ability to kill everyone would make it easy to trace it back to me?", Theo responded, poking fun and trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Well yeah, for now. But maybe one day you'll be so powerful that you don't have to hide."

"Maybe...", he paused, momentarily getting lost in a hopeful dream, "but one step at a time."

"Of course, for now all we need to think about is Tilly. Anyway it's getting late, we should get some sleep."

"I guess I'll talk to you and potentially commit murder with you in the morning?"

"You bet, partner."