[OLD] The Supers Experiment (#1)

Seven

"—an accident moments ago in central Los Angeles, just outside our building. Two semis collided at an intersection and several cars have joined the pileup—"

Tyler turned down the small radio hooked to her belt and pulled her earbuds out from underneath her dark brown hair. Her feet dangled off the edge of the high-rise as she peered down at the traffic below.

"Well, here we go," Tyler said as she stood up. She zipped up her jacket before sprinting to the side of the building. She didn't hesitate to jump when she reached the edge, and landed hard on the fire escape. Pain shot up her legs, but it was immediately replaced by the warm tingling sensation she was familiar with.

Tyler flew down the fire escape stairs and hopped off at the bottom. She stumbled a little when she landed on the sidewalk, but it wasn't too bad a landing for the height she'd dropped from. Ignoring the confused onlookers, she ran toward the accident.

A construction zone was all that stood between her and the pileup. No time to go around. Tyler jumped on the chain link fence that surrounded the construction zone and the half-finished building inside. Her gloves protected her from the sharp wire, and any cuts would be healed instantly anyway.

Tyler hurried through the unfinished building, her feet pounding against the dirt as she weaved through the half-built walls. A few moments later she was back in the sun, the accident visible up ahead. Sirens were audible in the distance—she didn't have much time. Tyler jogged over to the nearest vehicle and reached inside through the shattered window.

After a moment of fumbling with the lock, she heard a click. She winced as a shard of glass sliced through her arm, but the pain faded quickly and the wound began to heal. Tyler pulled the door open.

In the backseat was a young girl who appeared to be unconscious. Blood trickled down her forehead. Tyler leaned in and touched the girl's shoulder. The moment her hand came into contact with the girl's skin, a sensation of warmth flooded Tyler's body and flowed into the injured girl.

There was a faint golden glow where her hand touched the girl's skin. Tyler glanced up and caught a glimpse of her dark eyes and pale freckles in the rear-view mirror. In the distance, she could see a crowd beginning to form. People were starting to approach.

The girl's eyes fluttered as she regained consciousness. Tyler slipped away from the car and moved on to the next vehicle, managing to go unnoticed by onlookers. She kept healing until the ambulance came around corner.

Time to go.

Tyler sprinted away from the scene, ignoring the shouts and the chaos behind her. The last thing she needed was to be questioned by police.

She'd been on the run a long time, finding people to heal. It didn't always work. The worse the injury, the more energy it took. If she was too tired, sometimes Tyler couldn't heal more than a bruise or scratch.

And no matter how strong she was, she couldn't bring people back from the dead.

Tyler ducked into an alleyway and hopped onto a dumpster. She pulled herself up onto a fire escape and made her way to the highest level. From there it was onto the railing, being careful not to lose her balance, and a jump to grab the edge of the roof.

She didn't mind doing what she did. She enjoyed it, even. It was sort of like being a superhero, like in the movies.

Grunting, she pulled herself up and rolled onto the roof. She slid her headphones back into her ears and sat up. "We're just arriving on the scene," the news reporter said. "Paramedics are already here, and—" the reporter paused. "There's some sort of commotion around one of the vehicles."

Tyler stood up and walked to the middle of the building as she listened to the reporter talk. She held up a hand to shield her eyes from the overhead sun.

"It seems one girl has miraculously escaped with no injuries. Excuse me, miss..."

Tyler changed the station as she crossed the roof. What few possessions she owned—a sleeping bag, blanket, toothbrush, and some food and clothes—were hidden a few buildings over. She broke into a run as she got closer to the edge of the building, and rush of energy surged through her as she jumped off the edge and fell a short distance to the next rooftop.

The new station was a talk show of some sort. Two men were in deep discussion.

"My friend lives in California, just a few miles from where the town used to be. And he says that every once in awhile, some suits will come by. Stereotypical government agents with sunglasses, you know? And—"

"Oh please," the other man interrupted. "You really believe that crap? This is taking the conspiracy thing to a whole new level. I think we'd know if there were superhumans running around."

Tyler frowned, coming to an abrupt stop halfway across the roof. Superhumans? Like her? Like the other Cladis Point survivors? She'd always wondered what happened to them, after she was dumped at a children's home.

"President Holmes said—"

"Ha! You really think the president is going to give you the truth?"

"How do you explain the increase in missing teens? Two disappeared just this week! Ackerman, Foster, they were traced back to Cladis. Someone is kidnapping Cladis Point survivors."

"No one survived Cladis Point."

Not true, Tyler thought as she ascended a ladder to another building. Almost there. Her mind was racing. She barely remembered living in Cladis Point, being only four at the time, but she remembered what happened after.

Her parents didn't survive, but her aunt did.

Her aunt took her and some kids to a laboratory. She told them to listen to the scientists, that they were in charge.

The place was burned into Tyler's memory. The long white halls, the cramped living spaces, the adults in labcoats ignoring her or even giving her looks of annoyance. They were building an army and they didn't need her. She was useless on her own.

They took her blood. They wanted to study her DNA, but besides that she was a waste of space.

Tyler hopped down onto the balcony that jutted out of the back of the building. The offices inside were being renovated, so for the time being the balcony was unused. She could stay here.

Digging around in her backpack, Tyler found the photograph she was looking for. It had been given to her by maybe the one person in the world that cared about her. And she had no idea where he was, if he was even still alive.

Tyler leaned up against the railing, studying the picture. It was her family, before the accident. She stared at the younger version of her, and thought back to the lab.

They weren't there for very long. Maybe a week? Everything blurred together, except for the day that changed her life. After that day, she was abandoned, left for the people in black suits to find.

The day the scientist in charge tried to kill her.

The day Claudia Montgomery tried to kill her.