There is a look of pure hatred on Violet's face. She looks like Emma smacked her. Like a cornered animal, Violet has been snapping at everyone, unable to admit that she makes mistakes. The vicious ugliness I witnessed that night in the club is bleeding through. Your parents failed to raise you properly. They created an entitled monster who, deep down, believes herself above the rest of us. This is what happens when you don't discipline your child. This is what happens when you don't teach a child that the world does not revolve around them. This is what happens when you let someone believe their role is more important than their responsibilities. Violet Grave, you are ugly inside.

Everyone's eyes are on both girls, occasionally taking glances at me. This isn't a party anymore, it's a mud flinging morality contest. Emma looks cold as ice while Violet is so angry she's red in the face. The contrast between the two women couldn't be any more obvious. Emma's face is steel while Violet's is uncontrolled fury. She's bored. Emma doesn't think Violet's worth the effort. My girlfriend judged her and found her wanting.

"What the fuck did you say?" Violet screamed.

"I said: you're the expert on being a pathetic slut who kisses other people's boyfriends. Because even after meeting me and being introduced as Eryk's girlfriend, you cornered him and forced yourself on him in the most desperate cry for attention," Emma said.

"YOU DID WHAT?" Aubrey shouted.

"Shut up. Watch your mouth, Emma. You have no idea who you're dealing with," Violet said.

"No, I do. You're a spoiled, rotten to the core bully. You aren't better than anyone," Emma responded.

Everyone is standing up as the two women face off. The evening is certainly going to be a Friendsgiving that no one will ever forget. Aubrey is so angry she's shaking. That'd be the rage. It did not occur to me that Aubrey would feel so strongly about what Violet did. I forget how close she feels we are. Go, my little champion. Defend my honor and purity. Across the room is Vivienne, shielding Anika with her body. From her stance and body language, it would seem she is ready for a fight. We lock eyes, and she conveys immediately what she's thinking without a word or head movement. I shake my head slightly. This won't become physical. There's too much at stake for anyone to do something like that.

But if it does turn to violence and Anika or myself are in danger, well, Vivienne has made her feelings on the matter quite clear. She would transform in this Cape mansion, surrounded by Heroes' Union trainees, without a second thought, if it meant protecting us. Not to mention how badly she wants to fight Virtue. Dappur and Sydney look very uncomfortable with what's happening, but neither is making any moves to change or help. Those three have known each other forever, and will probably take Violet's side no matter how this ends. Raf is the interesting one. What will you do? Do you let this slide, or do you take Aubrey's side? Aubrey runs up to Violet, getting in her face.

"Is it true? It wasn't enough to lie to all of us that you two were dating when he had already rejected you. No, you decided to elevate from lying to assault. You're fucking disgusting, you rapist," Aubrey said, screaming in Violet's face.

"Do not call me that. Get the fuck out of my face and my house."

"Hey guys, chill. Everyone said some stuff they shouldn't have," Dappur said, hands up, trying to defuse the ticking time bomb in the middle of the living room.

"There she goes again. Talking down to us like we're peasants," Emma said, egging Violet on as she walks over to stand beside Aubrey.

Is she trying to get Violet to hit her? She can survive it, but unless she has a brilliant plan, she cannot do anything against her. Aubrey is without her helmet, which makes her basically useless. I survey the room, checking in on the normal people. I see Sy not looking too good. He looks pale and stressed the hell out. Is this triggering something in his memories? He never said anything about his parents fighting, but maybe he was able to not share every facet of his trauma with me. Shanice backs away from Dappur, distancing herself from the Cape trio. Jean-Luc walks, no, stumbles over to the three women.

"Ladies, ladies, ladies. There's plenty of men to go around. Why don't we all kiss and make out, I mean, up?" Jean-Luc said, putting his hand on Violet's shoulder.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She screamed, shoving him away.

Violet actually shoved him, using not her full strength, but a good amount. Jean-Luc shoots backward, flying over a couch and into the wall. He hits it hard, knocking a painting down and damaging the wall. He falls to the floor, a tiny trickle of blood trailing down the side of his head. She knocked him out. She escalated this to the point of no return. Shanice screams in fear, Sy is frozen, and Vivienne looks to me for the go-ahead. I shake my head again. Not yet. Let's let the Capes figure this out amongst themselves.

"Oh fuck," Sydney said.

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"I-I didn't mean to. You all did this, you made me do this," Violet stammered.

"JEAN-LUC!" Aubrey shrieked.

"You psycho," Emma said.

Emma punches Violet square in the face while she tries to explain what just happened. Violet doesn't even attempt to dodge; she's never had to before. So when my girlfriend's fist collides with Violet's cheek, she's not expecting to feel anything from the hit. Her head jerks to the side, surprise evident on her face as she touches the spot that was hit. To Violet's credit, she adapts to the situation quickly, catching Emma's next punch with her hand. No one has moved to check on Jean-Luc, and seeing him unconscious gives me an idea. I rush over, turning my back to the rest of them. Taking my shirt off, I hold it against the cut on Jean-Luc's head, and my other hand feels for a pulse.

All at once, I start transferring all five powers I currently have into the knocked-out Jean-Luc. Carefully, I count down the minutes as I hear Aubrey screaming as Emma and Violet fight. Turning around for just a moment, I see Emma yank her hand down in a maneuver to try and escape Violet's grasp. She snaps her wrist, bone piercing through the skin as blood goes everywhere. Emma shrieks and starts sobbing, saying that Violet broke her wrist. She used her own enhanced strength to forcefully break her own wrist, and to make it look like Violet did it.

My internal timer is almost up. Five, four, three, two, one. All five powers transfer to Jean-Luc, and I am empty for the first time since the docks. All emotions drained out of me, and I'm back to the cold me. I prepare myself for a performance that will rival Emma's. My old friend's eyelids shoot open as his eyes roll into the back of his skull. He screams an awful, painful sound that reverberates inside my chest like bass from speakers. He shakes violently, and I do my best to hold him down as the seizure takes him. I knew you weren't special. No one in New Farford was special, except me.

I scream out Help me as his whole body jerks around. Letting panic leak into my voice as I fake tears. I turn back to him as his jaw opens and closes rapidly. Eryk has never had to deal with something like this; he wouldn't know about seizure victims biting their own tongues. I'm not sure what the odds are for chomping your own tongue off, but at this rate, he will soon enough. I yell out another Help me, making my voice shaky and scared. Sy rushes over, dropping down next to me to try and hold Jean-Luc steady. Our efforts are made futile as blood bursts from his mouth; he's bitten through his tongue. I continue to hold him as the spasms become less and less frequent. Finally, he stops moving, his body goes slack, and his head falls to the side lifelessly. And another of my high school friends meets their end as the cost of my ambitions.

Forcing myself to my feet, I stumble backward, falling onto the ground. I use the third aspect of my power for the first time since awakening it, and instantly reabsorb all the powers. No one is shouting or fighting anymore. Emma is cradling her injured wrist. The slower nature of her regeneration means that it'll likely be an hour or so until it's healed. Everyone is crowding around Jean-Luc's lifeless body, but Aubrey throws herself to the ground, wailing a deep, wretched sob. Farewell, Jean-Luc. If heaven is real, then you and Marcus will be reunited. My original plan to kill Aubrey has to wait; there's no way to get to her without arousing suspicion. She'll join you guys soon enough. The three of them and Maria can curse me together as they look down upon me. Raf holds Aubrey as she continues to cry while the rest of us are too stunned to speak. When she finally stops, she wipes her face with her sleeve and then looks at Violet. The rage is still there, burning below the surface, but it's being used for fuel now—fuel for hatred.

"I-I-I-I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I didn't even push him that hard. It's not my fault. It was an accident," Violet murmured.

"You killed him; you fucking murderer. You killed my friend. You are a cancer, Vye—a rotten, hateful creature pretending to be human like the rest of us. You're a monster," Aubrey said, her voice hoarse and distant.

"N-n-no I'm not. It was a freak accident. I would never kill anyone. He must've had some kind of condition," Violet said, trying to rationalize her actions. The dam bursts, and tears flow freely down her face. "I'm a hero, not a monster. You all know that. You all know me. I would never do this on purpose. It's not my fault he's so fragile, that everyone's so fragile."

"You have powers. You're a Neuvohuman," Sy said suddenly. His hands and clothes are covered in specks of blood from Jean-Luc. "That doesn't excuse what you did."

"You don't understand, I'm a Cape, I help people. I wasn't trying to kill him; you guys have to believe me," Violet pleaded.

"Intent does not negate impact. It doesn't matter that you didn't try to kill him; you killed him. Having powers doesn't free you of responsibility, and being a Cape doesn't absolve you of your actions. Plenty of Neuvohumans never murder someone," Sy said, speaking confidently.

"You're a danger to everyone. You should be locked up," Emma added.

"I'm going to call the Heroes' Union hotline," Shanice said, pulling her phone out to dial the number.

"This can't be happening, this isn't how anything is meant to go. This isn't how tonight was supposed to go. This isn't how my life is supposed to go. This isn't how my story goes. I'm supposed to be a HERO!" Violet said, holding her head and shaking.

"Not anymore," Emma said.

"Vye, calm down. We'll talk to you-know-who and figure out where to go from here. You need help," Dappur said softly to her.

"You will never join the Heroes' Union, you will never be a hero. If it's the last thing I ever do, I will make sure you never join. You're going to prison, somewhere where you can't hurt people. You aren't a Cape; you're an unstable Cowl and a murderer," Aubrey said, continuing to speak in the emotionless voice.

She's completely numb. Aubrey is rife with grief and is barely holding it together. If she doesn't close herself off like this, she'll collapse. Shanice holds her phone up to her ear and starts explaining the situation to the dispatcher on the line. Violet's head is whipping around from the body to the faces of everyone who is looking at her like she's a monster. Even Sydney and Dappur look worried for her. You are a monster, Violet. Trust me, I would know. Her eyes glow blue for a moment before she fires her heat vision at Shanice's phone. Shanice shouts in fear, dropping the phone. Violet controlled it well; the laser was thinner than a pencil, but it did what she wanted it to. Shanice's phone is destroyed. Before anyone can stop her, she flies off the ground, turns around, and blasts a hole through the wall with her body. All of us are in shock as we see the Quinstin skyline through the hole. She's gone. She ran. And you know what they say, only the guilty run.

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