"Bella? Bella what's wrong?" Hades asked as he half jogged just to keep up with her pace.
"Nothing," she responded as she continued to walk toward the bus stop.
"Bella, what's wrong."
"Nothing," she repeated.
"OK, well, I know that something is wrong, so saying 'nothing' is a lie. If you don't want to talk about it, just say that."
"Fine!" Bella yelled, turning to Hades. "Then I don't want to talk about it! I thought that was obvious!"
"Then we won't talk about it. Where are we going?"
"We aren't going anywhere. I'm going somewhere to be alone."
Hades shook his head and held up the boxes he was holding. "No, we were supposed to have lunch together today. We've already been putting it off for weeks so we're having lunch. If you want to sit quietly while we eat or throw things or scream or whatever you do to feel better, feel free."
"You are probably the absolute most annoying person I've ever met."
"Good," he sighed. "At least I'm memorable."
Bella stood at the bus stop, her arms crossed as she tried desperately to hold onto her anger so that it didn't turn into something else. Sadness or stress wouldn't really help her situation, and acceptance would only mean she'd start talking to Hades about it. She didn't really see a problem with that, but at the moment, she really just wanted to be angry.
She got onto the bus and almost screamed for everyone else to exit, but was interrupted by Hades' voice. "Thank you," he said to the bus driver before ushering Bella to an open seat. Then he began making small talk with everyone around them. Bella quickly became annoyed with this and decided to focus instead on the snow that had once again begun to fall outside. It had stopped and most of it hadn't stuck, but now it had begun again and it annoyed her.
Bella subtly used her powers to move snowflakes outside the bus. She watched them dance and found the fact that they weren't hitting the ground to be relaxing. She hated having to trudge through the snow, so she hated winter. She wouldn't even still live in the town except that it's where her dream college was.
She heard the voice on the bus announce her stop and she immediately pulled the cord. She then stood and walked to the door as she waited for the bus to stop. "That was the stop!" she practically screamed at the poor bus driver who'd accidentally passed her stop.
"What she meant to say was: you passed our stop," Hades said. The bus driver stopped the bus and pulled over. "Thank you. We didn't mean to be rude."
The bus driver smiled at them as Bella glared back and Hades simply gave a sorrowful look. Hades followed Bella without saying a word. She walked down the street and up the hill toward a hiking trail, veered off the trail a bit when they'd finally arrived. He still didn't question anything as they made their way to the top.
She took a deep breath and collapsed on the ground when she finally made it to the top. She laid down as she used her powers to pick up a large chunk of earth and threw it. She listened for the satisfying sound of it hitting the telekinetic wall she'd put up and smiled when she finally heard it.
"Don't care if anyone sees?" Hades asked.
"No one comes up here anymore," Bella responded. "And besides, I made sure no one could come up here." She picked up an even larger chunk of earth and threw it, her smile even larger when she heard the almost thunderous sound it made when it contacted the wall.
"Well," he said as he sat down and opened a pizza box, "we should eat lunch at least."
Bella smiled as she sat up and reached into the pizza box. She stopped herself, having gotten a better idea. She smirked at Hades and took the entire box while he looked on in disbelief. "Really?" he asked.
"There's another box." Bella ate a piece happily as Hades went to open the other box. She didn't really have a reason for taking the box. It simply made her happy to see his reaction to it.
They sat in silence for a while, eating their pizza as they watched the day go by.
********************************************
"I don't even know why I need to be good at hand-to-hand combat," Jade sighed. "I'm not planning on being a superhero. I'm going into supervillain rehabilitation."
"Yeah, but you still need to be able to protect yourself. Defense isn't enough," Quinn said as they walked outside to have lunch. He laughed as he watched Jade make a small mound of snow to sit in. "Not enough snow on the ground."
"None of it stuck," she complained. "Anyway, don't change the subject. This class is pointless to me. I shouldn't have to take it."
"Well, believe it or not, complaining about it won't change anything. Why don't you just get someone to help you so you don't have to retake the class? Yvette offered, right?"
"Yeah, but I... I don't know, I just don't know if I should."
"Why not?"
Jade chuckled as she took a bite of her burrito. "Yvette's nice, but she's..."
"You don't like her."
"Not really, no. I mean, I don't dislike her, but I don't really like her either. I don't think we'd work well together."
"OK, I won't argue it. What are you going to do then?" Quinn asked as he looked at Jade intently, ignoring his lunch completely.
"I don't know," she groaned. "Maybe I'll ask Belladonna."
"Your roommate?"
"Yeah, she's good at hand-to-hand combat."
"Really?" Quinn asked, clearly not liking the idea. He believed that Belladonna was powerful. After all, she'd shown him some of her power already. It seemed unnecessary, so he assumed it was just a way to show him the extent of her power, even if it wasn't the full extent of her power.
"Yeah, because of who Belladonna is, she was in danger a lot when she was a kid. Her mom insisted that she learn martial arts, so she put Bella in four different martial arts classes when she was 7."
Jade's body deflated when she saw the look on Quinn's face. "You... I know you've known her a long time, but maybe... I don't know, it just might be... dangerous to fight with her..."
"You don't trust her," Jade sighed.
"Not... really. I mean, I'm trying so hard to give villains the benefit of the doubt- my whole thesis is about trying to give them a voice- but it's kind of hard to think differently."
"I know. I feel the same way sometimes," Jade smiled. "But she's my best friend. If she wanted to hurt me, she would have by now. We've known each other since we were 7."
"Still..." Quinn said.
"Hey, she could say the same about you. I've only known you for two years. Maybe you don't have my best interest at heart."
Quinn shook his head. Jade wasn't understanding, but he couldn't do much to change her mind it seemed. The truth was, Jade did understand. She understood that Quinn felt the same way now that Jade felt when she first met Bella, when she was almost the reason Bella died, but she tried to avoid reliving that time. She certainly wasn't going to tell anyone about it. People would look at her differently.
Bella was right: one mistake and a hero was no longer considered a hero. Jade wasn't really willing to take that chance by telling that story to anyone.
********************************************
Bella was well aware of the fact that she missed her last class of the day, but she wasn't worried about missing a day in that class. It wasn't hard and she usually doodled in her notebook instead of taking notes anyways.
Hades knew before he left campus he'd probably miss his meeting, but he was sure Hellen, the Vice President, could handle it on her own. He also knew there was a good chance he'd miss his 3:00 Psychology class, but he wasn't necessarily upset that he missed his only three hour class. Sure, he probably missed a ton of important notes, but no one in class was going to deny him access to their notes, so he wasn't worried. In fact, he was happy he didn't go.
"Thanks," Bella said opting not to look at him and instead watching the sky become a light magenta.
"No reason to thank me," he responded. "Actually, I should thank you. I had a reason to convince myself not to go to my meeting or my class today."
Bella tried not to laugh. She'd already shown him enough smiling, allowed him to hear enough laughing, and even thanked the guy. Anymore weakness and she might as well just apply for the position of minion instead of becoming an actual supervillainess.
"I know you don't want to tell me what was bothering you earlier, but I'm glad you feel better now," he said after a long pause.
Bella waited until the sky had become almost purple before speaking again. "The headmaster told me that I have to kill my roommate by next Monday."
"Or..."
"I don't know. I don't think I want to know," Bella sighed as she laid down in the grass.
"Haven't you known your roommate for a while?"
Bella nodded, though she figured Hades wouldn't see it. "12 years. She's the only friend I've got..." Bella almost continued, but closed her mouth. "I just don't want to kill her. I'm not sure I'd survive it and..."
"I understand," Hades whispered. "But what if I told you there was a way to avoid having to do it without probably being killed for noncompliance?"
"Like what? Run?"
"No, like challenge the headmaster to a Malent Talent Competiton. It's a lot like the game you play in those power-strengthening classes, but harder and with higher stakes."
Bella sat up. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, if you challenge the headmaster, you have to beat three other competitors first. It'll be people of the headmaster's choosing, but any student who's won against the headmaster in the past is automatically a part of it. You'll have to beat three people before you even get to fight the headmaster."
"Same rules?"
"Same rules."
"OK, but how would this help me exactly?"
"Well," Hades sighed, "if you win, you pretty much get a free pass on everything. It's like saying you still have to go through the four years of college, but since you've defeated the headmaster, there's not much they can teach you. You'd have the freedom to tell the headmaster that you won't kill your roommate without any repercussions."
"What if I lose?"
"Well, that's the downside. Lose and you are pretty much at the headmaster's mercy. Noncompliance to any degree results in death."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"The last person who lost was told to kill the prime minister. He went on the mission and gave it his all, but he failed. He was killed before he even had the chance to set foot on campus again."
"Noncompliance includes failure?!"
Hades nodded. "Those are the stakes. You willing to take them?"
Bella slowly shook her head in response. "I'm not strong enough to take on the headmaster and win. I'd lose before I even got to battle her and I don't even know what her powers are."
"What if I trained you? Intensive training, of course. We've got less than a week." Hades smiled at Bella, but she seemed unsure. "Would I be able to convince you if I said that I've challenged the headmaster and won?"
Bella's eyebrows shot up. "You... really?"
"Yeah. Freshman year. People were underestimating my abilities because I wouldn't show anyone the extent of my power, so I decided to take on the challenge. Why do you think people are so afraid of me? Why do you think I've been elected President every year?"
"I don't know. You just have that sort of air about you," Bella shrugged.
"So, what do you say?"
"Why? Why do you want to help anyway? It's not your problem."
"I told you that I've killed before, right?" he asked. Bella nodded, so he continued. "Well, did I tell you that the first person I killed was my sister, Crystella? It was an accident, of course, but still my fault. She was younger than me by a few years and she was so excited by the fact that I had superpowers since she didn't and asked everyday to see them. I kept telling her no, but on her 10th birthday, I figured it'd be a nice present for her to see them. I guess I didn't have the control I thought I had over them."
Bella frowned. She never really thought about it before, but she didn't really know what Hades' power was. She wasn't sure now was the time to ask, but she truly wanted to know. What kind of power was it that he killed his sister without anyone being able to intervene?
After a brief pause, he continued to speak. "I know you think of Jade the same way I thought of Crystella, so I assume killing Jade on purpose would feel even worse than me killing Crystella accidentally. I wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone. So, I'd help you for that reason alone."
"But..." Bella said, knowing there was more he wanted to say.
"But I think you're a lot like me, even if you don't know it," Hades said.
"Meaning...?"
"Meaning the headmaster's trying to push you in a certain direction and I think you should have more control over your own life."
Bella had more questions, but Hades answered each of them just as cryptically. Eventually, she just stopped asking and let them watch the rest of the sunset in silence.