Xiao studies Nietzche

Winter at Xiao's community college

Xiao was speaking to one of the guidance counselors in his office. The office was on the third floor of the building, modest in size and modern in aesthetic. The floor was finished with white tiles, black furniture filled the room and an exposed gray ceiling showed the utilities. The heater was running as to keep the cold out. The young African American counselor broke news to her that she had reacted to in a very surprised way.

"Mister Bryant... Professor Naksil... He... he was fired?" She repeated what she heard.

"Xiao, The college board has decided his behavior, his... treatment of your work was completely based completely on personal bias towards your... alternate career. Not only that, other students have complained about his demeanor." He said calmly as his attention was split with his laptop, then putting some file folders on his table in order.

"But wait no, I don't want to get him into trouble!" Xiao pleaded with the Counselor, rubbing her arm as a reflexive mannerism, clinging to her seat.

Counselor Bryant pulled a thick folder out from the drawer, and placed it on the table top. They were Xiao's papers in Philosophy, with memos concerning re-evaluating. "Xiao, please. You are completely justified, and the Humanities faculty reviewed your finals and your papers in Mister Naksil's subject. You fulfilled all your requirements and we are passing you. Please, don't be worried. And happy holidays."

"Unbelievable. I didn't ask for this." Xiao got up and headed out the door.

Outside in the third floor hallway
Xiao saw the bespectacled Indian professor as he was carrying his box of items from the faculty office. "Mr. Naksil... can I speak to you?" She asked, catching up to him. It wasn't difficult.

"No. That won't be necessary Miss Li." He said, not bothering to stop or even look at Xiao.

"But, I wanted to apologize, I didn't want..." She started, but the professor cut him off.

"Please Miss Li. I don't care and I don't want to hear it." He said bluntly, stopping in place and telling Xiao, the squat, rather fat five foot man staring down the lean Asian girl.

"But I didn't mean for them to get you fired. I'm... I'm going to talk to the Board... ask them to reverse their decision!" She offered, desperation and contrition in her voice.

"No. Stop it Miss Li. That's just so typical of you isn't it? That everything has to be right with you? Everything has to like you because you're always trying to fix things?" He said, raising his voice in frustration.

"I... I..." Xiao didn't have a response to that.

"I'm trying to teach human philosophy, miss Li. Quite frankly, you do not write from a human perspective at all. Seriously... you're in a baking class. Why did you even take Philosophy?" He asked, frustrated at his student.

"What are you saying?" Xiao asked, clueless.

"Do you know why you feel like there aren't any monsters in this world, miss Li? It is because you are one."


Campus Grounds
After that discussion, Xiao found herself sitting alone by the school fountain, emptied weeks in advance for the impending cold weather. Most people had already gone home for the holidays though more than a few people were still there, people who were the strangers and bystanders to Xiao.

It was winter, and it was cold. As to be expected. Cold weather comes with the terriotory during the winter. John Capore was bundled up pretty well in a relatively thick coat as he walked up towards the campus. He was here to visit his friend Sebastian, and hang out with him for the day. It was holiday break and Sebastian had decided to spend it here for some odd reason. John was curious as to why he would stay here instead of going home to be with his family. He knew it couldn't be because he didn't like his family. It was quite the opposite in fact. John had met his family and been over to their house on a couple of occasions. Literally a couple, as in exactly two times. Knowing how well they got along left him curious. He would have to ask him at some point today.

John was walking through the campus grounds towards the dormitory. He reached a fountain and saw somebody sitting there. He kept walking and was about to just pass on by without giving it a second thought until he thought he had recognized the person sitting there. He turned around to look at the person sitting by the fountain to see if this was true. Sitting there, alone was a girl. A really large one too, and one that he did in fact recognize.

"Xiao, is that you?" he said to her wondering if it really was. He had not seen her in months. Last he had heard she had moved to Los Angeles. If she had, then what was she doing here? Was she a student here too? If Sebastian had seen her here then he would have told him about the really tall girl on campus. Not as tall of Gwharr mind you, but still pretty tall, and he would have told him if he had. Sebastian was quite the gossip. Probably a bigger one than Tyuki. Still not as crazy a talker as Darren though. That guy was nearly as crazy as Elaine. If that were even possible.

Xiao looked at the parking lot where Mr. Naksil was slowly putting his things into his car. She felt sad indeed, because it was true. She always wanted to help and always felt awful when she couldn't.

"Oh hello Forcewave.... John. Yeah it's me. I've been in school, trying to be normal. I can't even manage that." She said, slightly saddened. She was an open person and showed Forcewave her bad grades in her Philosophy finals and papers, only to have a memo from the faculty that she would be passed for the trimester.

"And how about you? How is Tyuki doing?" She asked, returning the kind concern, trying to smile. She avoided the Knightwatch question, as being a superhero brought alot of stress to her life, and she explained she needed to be absent to find her own way- like learning Baking and cooking at Community College.

Look at that, Dragon Girl who could shrug off laser beams but would cry from a bad grade. What a model student.

It really was Xiao. What do you know. Well it was good to see her again. Even though she looked really sad. John wondered what had her so down. He heard her talk about her efforts to be normal, and how they had been going poorly. John could easily relate to that. He had rarely ever felt normal even before finding out he had powers. Even among other metahumans he still felt like an outsider sometimes. Was that just naturally how he felt in life? He should probably talk to somebody about those feelings. Some other time.

"It's okay, Xiao. Being normal isn't easy for a lot of people. And I'm good, and so is Tyuki." he replied kindly in hopes of making her feel slightly better. Hopefully it worked for she looked really sad. "Anyways I came her to see a friend who attends this college, and I wound up seeing another one too." he told her. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I... I guess I will. I passed, but I think I caused my professor to lose his job... I don't know why he hates me so much. He calls me monster, then uber... ubermensch... then that I don't care about him or anybody." She explained, while wiping her face of tears, recalling all the conversations she had with him. It was clear that Xiao really didn't think people could just hate someone for no reason. She gestured to the parking lot to point out the Indian professor who wore a turban and a beard.

"I know he can't be all that bad... some students told me he was a nice guy. Oh well... Who's your friend, Forcie? Maybe We can met him... it's pretty small college and I know my way around." Xiao asked John, trying to put aside her troubles for a moment.

The conversation was eventually cut short when Xiao- and eventually Forcewave would feel heavy steps coming their way. Beyond the parking lot's fence, a twenty foot tall gray giant carved his way through the metal barrier with large carving blades for arms, like tossing aside toothpicks. Xiao looked in horror as her professor's car was tossed aside, the man running for his life.

"DRAGON GIRL!" He called out. Xiao audibly gulped. She recognized this metahuman. She looked at Forcie and murmured to him. "...Isn't that Carver? Didn't we put him away with a bunch of other third rate metas a few months back?" She asked, though given their work, fighting low rate meta humans was not an uncommon occurrence. That one would actually come back was just astounding. That they came back evolved... completely unexpected.

"DRAGON GIRL! I'M CALLING YOU OUT! FACE ME, HERO, OR I START CARVING UP THESE PUNY HUMANS." He held Mr. Naksil as an impromptu hostage, the man whimpering in fear, pleading for his life. "No.. No... please don't hurt me..." He pleaded, arms in the air as he sat on the pavement.

Xiao inhaled and exhaled. Quickly, she took off her shoes and outer clothes, and stuffed them into her backpack, leaving it in the empty fountain. Xiao stood there with her special gray-black one piece combat swimsuit uniform. She talked to John as she slipped on some nanofabric gloves.

"...Forcie, cover me and keep an eye out on other metas with a grudge he might have come with. If he wants me, maybe we can avoid involving the school." In a single bound Xiao was off, the wind of her take off stirring up the dust and any loose clothing around Forcie.

Carver carved up two more cars, cut down some lamp posts, and kept three people paralyzed with fear at his feet. Xiao landed with a loud thud in front of him in the parking lot. Sure enough, there was another one there with Carver, some strange lady in a Victorian dress and a large parasol. She seemed so very out of place with the giant, let alone Chicago.  

"WELL, WELL, LOOK WHO SHOWED UP ONCE THE SHEEP WERE THREATENED. REMEMBER ME, DRAGON BITCH?" Carver laughed boisterously as he finally confronted Xiao, cursing under his breath. He took large steps, but Xiao stood her ground unflinching.

"Yes I do. You opened a train car with blades that sprout from your arms." Xiao commented. It seemed the once humanoid Carver she recalled, who could simply extend or retract blades from his arms, had upgraded to an abomination with arms replaced with giant blades. His body was also covered in scars and ossified growths.

"You seem surprised." He said, with a grin.

"I don't remember the scars." Xiao pointed out, distracting him.

"Heh. the thing I remember... we could barely put a dent on each other. And we were real tough. But, y'see, something's changed. I can cut myself now, even by accident..." He walked around, pacing back and forth to talk to Xiao. He swung his arm around, never breaking eye contact. Xiao maintained her distance and stayed opposite him. "So... I figure... I can probably carve you up now too. Don't ya think? Hell... there's only one way to find out. Hehe. Hehehe."

"What do you want?" She asked outright, Carver's arrogance grating on her nerves.

"I wanna lay a smack down on the Dragon Girl. I'm gonna humiliate you. Gonna show these people you're not a damn hero. I wanna cut up your damn pretty face, and cut off your damn legs for being too damn tall!" Carver really didn't seem too aware that he was now three times taller than his nemesis.
Xiao said nothing. She kept her calm and tried to be diplomatic.

"What? the Dragon Girl's too much of a pussy now? Think you can get find a peaceful life, baking cakes, making sandwiches? Ha! That's good. You know if you made me a sandwich now, maybe I might go easy on ya." He laughed at his own tired, sexist joke.

"If I made you two, would you go away?" She offered sincerely, though she already knew where it was going.

Slowly, Carver hovered his arm blade over his hostages. "Heh... you don't have much a choice."

The Dragon and the Abomination stared each other down, their muscles tensing.  Xiao slowly raised her arms in an orthodox boxing guard, the most she could do with her standard training. Carver remained very still, then grinned with bloodlust.

The giant Carver opened with a massive downward swing which cratered the parking lot concrete. Xiao avoided it, barely, unwilling to test the sharpness of those arms. She had leapt several hundred feet into the air, trailing dust and Carver gave chase. Xiao hopped through the least populated parts of the city, headed for the rover and crossing over into a demolition zone. Xiao made sure Carver was behind her, then she slipped into the frozen river, heading to the other side.

Meanwhile, if Forcie at any time felt like intervening, there would be a blonde lady in a black dress, red lipstick and a parasol appear behind him. She spoke in a snobbish, upper class British aristocrat type voice. "You know... I commend your friend for having the foresight take this somewhere else... She know how messy these kinds of fights are."  

John listened to Xiao's story of a professor of hers that hated her and got fired for it, and how she felt sorry for it. He knew she was nice, but here she was being way too nice. He couldn't blame her for it though. He was the same way sometimes. A bit too nice for his own good. He was getting slightly better at it though. Bit by aching bit.

This professor seemed to hate Xiao because she was a metahuman. He could easily believe that to be true. The hatred and fear were fairly widespread across the world. The bad ones didn't exactly help make it easier for the good ones. When do they ever? And poor Xiao having to have one as a teacher in college. That couldn't have helped with the stress that it brings. John wasn't even in college and he already knew how rough it could be. Well, had a good idea more than actually knew.

This conversation nearly made him forget all about why he was here in the first place. His friend. The one he came here to hang out for a little while. Seeing Xiao again for the first time in months distracted him from going to do that. She was offering to help him find his friend, but John knew where he needed to go. He was about to make sure she would be okay before going when he heard a bunch of really loud noises that sounded errily like footsteps. The sounds grew louder as he saw Xiao suddenly become frightened by something he saw. John turned to look and saw a giant of a man walking their way.

This giant screamed out Xiao's other name like a challenge as he glared at her all while holding her teacher hostage. Xiao mentioned to him that this was Carver. He was vaguely remembering a fight against him and a few others that resulted in them tearing up a shopping center. That was the part he remembered most because he had used that shopping center on a few occasions. Mainly whenever he was heading to Tyuki's and had to pick something up on the way there. Looks like he had broken out of prison and wanted revenge on those responsible for putting him in there, starting with Xiao. Xiao immediately leapt into action, but John couldn't for he wasn't in costume and still had a secret identity to protect. For now all he could do was watch and wait for an opportunity to assist without blowing what little cover he had. Oh how he hated situations like these, and how they had the tendency to pop up all too often. Supervillains were masters of inconvienent timing.

John for the time being just stood back holding Xiao's clothes as he watched both her and Carver go through the hero and villain banter routine that seemed to be inevitable whenever they were about to square off. It was like watching a boxing match sometimes, and a wrestling match other times. Depended on whom was present and how they were feeling. The banter could wind up being longer than the fight.

Then, the fight started. At first Xiao had to be wary of the hostages that Carver had, but as soon as they came to blows, that no longer became an issue. The hostage situation was pretty much just a way to force her to fight. Seems he wanted to prove he could defeat her. Pride and perhaps reputation were on the line. John wouldn't be witnessing much of the fight though because Xiao wisely moved it out of the city. He watched them move away from the campus until they were eventually out of his visual range. Now might be a good opportunity to somehow enter the fray too. Unfortunately, Carver didn't come alone, and the woman dressed a bit like Mary Poppins decided to apparently strike up a conversation with him about how the fight had changed locations.

"Yeah, she seems to know what she's doing." John responded before turning around to face the woman. "So, who might you be ma'am? And why were you with that guy?" he asked, barely even trying to feign politeness. He could tell that this woman wasn't trustworthy.

"Oh. I'm just an old friend of Joshua's. I haven't seen him since we were ten, after his alcoholic stepfather... found his condition disagreeable." She said nonchalantly, spinning her umbrella about, pacing back and forth, her gaze fixed up on the sky like she didn't have a care in the world.

"I had become a nurse by then. I was there when his fingers fused to his... arm blades. This... mutation... this thing we call the metahuman condition... unfortunately Joshua had a form of bone cancer, and when his powers came upon him, so too did his cancer cells mutate. I had to watch his condition first hand, worsen when no one would give him any medical care in prison. He was a freak, a monster. A metahuman unlucky enough not to have the relatively human looks you, or I, or your very popular friend have been lucky to have. I had no choice but to get him out. I had gifts, I had some medical knowledge, but I can't... help him. And so I obliged his final request."

"Tell me young man. Have you ever felt helpless despite your power? Like, you had power but someone needed different kind of help? I can pluck slings and arrows from the air! but oh, Can I do anything for my friend? No I can't." She asked. She peered over to the chosen battleground between the heavy hitters, a plume of dust erupting into the sky. What was left of a low rise apartment building was collapsing into rubble. Another strike, and another ruin collapsed.

Right now, the dragon girl and the giant bladed arm man had run off to take their fight to a different area. Okay, that sounded like something that should be in a movie. Why wasn't it already? Anyways, in the meantime, back at the college campus, John was apparently getting acquainted with the giant known as Carver's friend. An extremely fancily dressed woman was speaking to him about the ongoing situation. Mainly her history with Carver. She spoke about his tragic past involving parental abandonment, and cancer, and other things that would leave someone worse for wear. Then mentioned how she was helping him fulfill his final request. A final request? Was he about to die? Fighting while on his last legs? It sounded like seeking revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment a few months back was his final request? Unless. Unless he had something different in mind.

This woman had said she was a nurse, but at this moment John was wondering if she was also a psychologist because she was saying things that could easily get into someone's mind. John turned away from her to see what he could of the battlefield those two behemoths were fighting upon. Yeah, there was a lot of damage ensuing as a result of the fight. He turned back around to look at the woman so he could answer her questions, and pose a few of his own. "Yeah, I have actually. Though I'm not telling you about it. Sorry, it's personal." he said and paused before speaking again. "So is your friend's dying wish to get revenge, or something else entirely? Because honestly, I think he wants to go out fighting what he considers a powerful foe." he concluded and was readying himself to rush over to where they were fighting to make sure nothing too bad happened.

SCHOOL

"He wishes to die doing the only thing he knows... fighting in this case. Fighting against a world wouldn't have him... Fighting Dragon Girl who never looked for the world's approval and blended in effortlessly. Do you know how that makes metas with unusual looks feel? The world wouldn't have us. And now he's raging, raging why the Dragon Girl fights to protect that world... and yet does not want it to change." She spoke in that calm tone as always. She looked at Forcie for a while now, studying his body language. He seemed quite eager to go and help.

"Well, I see someone's eager to get to helping their friend. Shall we go and watch then?" She invited Forcewave, curtsied to him, then was off in a blur. She kicked up a trail of snow and dirt, and from the blur she turned into she was already there at the battle in a few seconds.

DEMOLITION ZONE

A slugfest between two bruisers was a dirty, gritty, earth pounding affair. Ruins that could not appear more desolate was slowly being reduced to fine rubble. Carver searched the area with increasing frustration, knocking down everything in his path and kicking it aside. He grimaces in pain when he struck his cancer ridden toe on an piece of I beam embedded in the ground.

"Agh! Hrrrr... WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YA, DRAGON GIRL?! YOU DIDN'T TURN TAIL ON ME DID YA! WELL... I'M SURE YOU'LL SHOW IF I GO OVER TO THAT HOSPITAL AND-" Xiao interrupted Carver when emerged from the cover of a masonry wall, and slugged the giant with a thrown Steel I-Beam right in the face. "EAARGH!"

Carver winced, then she knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. She puts in a haymaker for good measure, the force shattering the ground beneath him. Then she gets out of the way of Carver's arm cleavers.

"Bitch! stay still! I'M GONNA CARVE YOU LIKE A TURKEY!" He cussed, his frustration growing every moment when his gaze fell on Dragon Girl. She was cool, calm and using her head. She didn't say a word, didn't answer any insult, any attack on her confidence. She was just there, arms up like a boxer, and it aggravated him even more. He gave chase, and once again Xiao turned around and headed for cover, moving much quicker than the staggering giant.

With just one sentence, plus a few more, his suspicions were confirmed. Carver was here to die fighting. He wouldn't allow cancer to take him to his grave, so he would force an enemy of his to do so. The man must be beyond desperate to want to die that way. The things this woman had said about him provided plenty of reasons for someone to think that way. Yet, she wasn't entirely right. No, despite his desires to die fighting, he was also motivated by revenge. Also she was wrong about Xiao. She didn't fit in at all. Her so called acceptance was probably tolerance at best. Also she just totally quoted the second Avengers movie. Which was a good movie, but not quote-worthy is this situation. John wasn't interested in having a debate with this woman however. Not while his friend and ally Xiao was being forced to fight for her life. Arguing with her wouldn't accomplish anything anyways. So instead he prepared to head towards the battlefield. As he turned around to head that way, the woman suddenly ran past him at an incredible speed to get there in no time flat. Okay, so she mentioned having the power to pluck slings and arrows out of the air, but apparently decided to keep the superspeed a secret up until now. That would explain how she snuck up on him earlier. John would need to watch out for that.

Unfortunately for him, John didn't have his costume on him. He was sort of taking the day off from superheroing since he had been planning on hanging out with his friend for the afternoon. Funny how that didn't work out at all. Inconvenient coincidences are inconvenient. Looks like he might have to hope that nobody witnesses the fight. That or hope he doesn't have to actually use his powers. One of the two. Maybe he could come up with a makeshift costume on the way there. Was anything available to him to do so? Besides Xiao's clothes of course, but that wasn't happening. Too creepy. They were too big anyways. Whatever the case, John took off in the direction of the fight. A few minutes later he arrived to see Carver chasing Xiao to a different location. Now that was just inconvenient too. He saw the woman nearby watching and decided to try and reason with her for all the good it would do. "We need to stop this. This fight shouldn't be happening. You're wrong about.....her." he almost said him, but felt that would make her refuse to listen. "She gets rejected by people left and right. And what do you mean the world wouldn't have you? What did you get rejected for? Simply being friends with him, or is it for another reason entirely?" he asked scathingly.

Mary Poppins stood a healthy distance from the brawl. She waited there and watched as Carver frustratingly looked for his opponent. Forcewave took a bit to get here, but continued their conversation without missing a beat.

"My reasons? not so grisly as murdering the people who should've taken care of me..." She said, then pausing, taking off her fancy hat. the young woman turned out to be not so young, her hair graying and skin mottled. She looked to be in her early 50's. "...But that my powers made me stand apart in a different way. Once I had graduated, no one would believe that I'm twenty two years old with little experience, no young man could see past the lines of my face. My boyfriend left me, my peers could do nothing to reverse my condition. My friends and family watched in pity as I was literally running towards an early grave with no explanation." She said, her voice sad and tired. It seemed, ultimately, she and Carver were friends because they were those metahumans whose powers were more curse than blessing, their powers taking a toll.

"I don't know much about you Forcewave. I don't know what side effects you powers have had on your life. But, as one meta to another... another human being to another... I pray that they do not grow... like mine or Carvers' had. That they don't cost you the people in your life." She said, her voice filled with obvious sadness.

Meanwhile...

Carver, or Joshua Carver as his name turned out to be, was slowly tiring from this combat. Xiao meanwhile, had a few cuts from glancing contact with those arm blades of his, which cut through thick concrete like they were styrofoam. Carver's bluster had mostly died down, some strange yellow fluid flowing from his mouth where he took a haymaker. His breathing was becoming shallow, and a sharp ear could pick up his frequent coughs.

"Fight me... damnit... Finish me!" He muttered under his breath.  

Xiao had snuck around the site to find something she could use. She did, slowly climbing the boom crane and detaching the thing. She leapt up to gain some elevation.

"Hey Carver." She called him from behind.

"What in the- oh crap." Carver looked up at Xiao who was spinning a 2... maybe 4 ton Wrecking Ball above her like it was a kusari gama. Did we mention Xiao knew some kung fu? Never mind that it was 2021 and the wrecking ball was an outdated and unsafe means of demolition.

Bringing it up to speed, she leapt, the forces she controlled simply disintegrating the concrete slab she stood on. She swung it towards Carver, its impact magnifying Xiao's strength. Carver was sent hurtling through several buildings as Xiao came in like a wrecking ball, several pieces of bony protrusions on his epidermis breaking off.  Carver rag-dolled onto open ground, inadvertently cutting himself a couple of times.

She swung it again, this time launching it forward, letting herself be carried along with her thrown weapon. Carver raised his arms to defend against it, carving through the solid steel ball and its connected cable. The pieces still hit him, though he managed to stand his ground.

"Why don't you die already?!" He screamed, then swung at her but didn't connect. Xiao tackled him like a missile, sending them through the air. Carver finally connected a blow to Xiao's head, but rather than completely cut through her like he expected, he only managed a bloody scratch. Xiao finally went for a crippling blow, grasping the arm blade and cutting herself... and smashed apart one of Carver's arm blades with a vicious punch.

"AAAARGH!" His pain was unimaginable. Cancers, blood and muscle tissues that had ossified were torn asunder, and he fell into a crater, filled with water and out of the spectator's sight. It seemed this ugly fight was over.

Her deal with her friend concluded, the Speedster Mary Poppins made haste to help her friend. She gasped at the sight she beheld- Carver's arm blade was bleeding profusely, blood and liquefied bone. Xiao was not done after all. She stood on his chest, the man looking ready to pass out.

"No, you stay awake. You listen to me!" She grasped one of the protrusions on his body, then snapped it off. The core of the bone had blood and nerves in them, and bled.

"ARRGH! NO! STOP!" Carver recoiled from the pain, and pleaded with her.

"I told you I didn't want to fight! But you forced me! What's the matter now?! I thought you want to fight?! I thought you want to die?! Isn't that why you're here?!" Xiao said, her voice changing, taking a much darker aspect, angry and hateful. She grasped a particularly large bone with both hands.

SNAP.

"AAAAUGH!" That one was thinner, and was a lot bloodier. Carver was bleeding out; he broke into a cold sweat, his breathing rapid.

"Enough! He's had enough, get away from him!" Speedster Mary Poppins rushed in and stabbed at Xiao with the sword hidden in her parasol. All things considered, she really should have brought a sharper blade. The metal simply snapped, leaving a line where she struck. Standing dumbstruck, when she really could have gotten away, Xiao picked up Mary Poppins by the throat, lifting her up off the ground, a good foot and a half.

It wasn't all that easy keeping track of the fight between the two behemoths that were Xiao and Carver and having this not quite pleasant conversation with the woman whom had accompanyied Carver here on his personal mission. The fight itself was pretty brutal too. Even though they were both a decent distance away, John could see some of the wounds that had been suffered. Carver was a dying man whom had decided to go out in a blaze of glory. And Xiao was the one whom he had unfortunately chosen to assist him in that.

John had to turn away from this bloody affair to focus on this conversation. He felt that he could convince her to well, convince Carver to stop this madness. For the time being, he listened to her story. She revealed that her powers were making her age at a rapid rate. Yeah, another tragic story. A lot of people had bad lives, unfortunately. Metahumans seemed more prone to tell others about theirs. Every person whom had ever confided in him their tragic and sorrowful pasts had been somebody with powers.

John turned back to the fight to see how it was going. Xiao had the upper hand and was slowly edging closer to an inevitable victory. A victory that would surely result in Carver's death. Just as planned. As far as John knew, Xiao had never killed anyone before. He wondered how it would affect her if he did die at her hands.

The terrain around them was used as a weapon in this battle of giants. Carver constantly slashed at Xiao with his arm blades, but it was having little effect. Xiao on the other hand was consistently pummeling him  with powerful strikes. This wasn't an even fight. Not by a long shot. Xiao completely outmatched Carver. As a result of this, he was just about finished, and Xiao had decided to win this.

John wasn't the only one who noticed that it was over. So did the woman. She ran over to them with great haste and attacked at Xiao to protect Carver. "Dammit." he whispered before rushing over there himself for he knew what was about to happen. Her efforts to harm the dragon girl were of little to no avail, and merely made her a target of Xiao's rage. Xiao lifted the woman off the ground and looked ready to snap her in half. John reached them and shouted to get her attention. "Xiao, stop. It's over. You don't need to fight anymore. Nobody here does."

Blood trickled down Xiao's face as her stress, her movements bled the wound on her head. Xiao blinked as the half dragon blood got into her eyes and she heard Forcewave.

"Force...I... they..." She muttered, her breathing rapid. Having someone around seemingly snapping her out of her anger. Indeed it was fortunate her temperament was well under control, for the well-known consequences were far too dire.

"Carver got his fight. I hope he's happy. I hope you're happy. Because, I want to tell you two something none of you fellow freaks seem to realize." Xiao dropped the Speedster, and, weakened from the neck grip the Speedster fell to her knees.

"I don't want to fight because I hate fighting, no, I love to fight... I love to break bones and mangle limbs. I like to pick up anything I get my hands on, and smashing it to bits!" She emphasized this by picking up a piece of concrete and crushing it in her hands. Speedster Mary Poppins recoiled in horror. For all her own speed and reflexes, she realized she lacked the means to properly defend herself or her friend from her.

"I love the heat and the rush I get in a fight, and I am positively thrilled to stand over the broken bodies of my enemies. I love violence so much it scares me, because I know it wakes the blood in me like nothing else... " Xiao explained, her tone morose and sardonic. There was no mistaking she was in control of herself, but this revelation gave her listeners pause.

The speedster could only look at her in fear. Xiao's anger and aggression had invoked dragon fear in the hearts of her enemies. "Please. Don't kill him." she muttered, kneeling beside Carver's unconscious form.

Xiao looked at Emily, the lady who dressed like Mary Poppins and could break the sound barrier in heels. She slowly climbed out of the crater they were in. She said nothing.

"...Emily... Emily... I'm sorry... Looks like... I should have known better than think Dragon Girl would finish me off." Carver seemed to have come to, and whispered weakly to his only friend.

"No. No! Please Josh. That's enough. No more fighting." Mary Poppins pleaded. There was little denying that seeing anyone's friend in such a state would be heart wrenching.

"...Hey... you...Dragon Girl's friend... you.... could you do it quick and clean? It hurts inside. Please..." Carver turned towards where he thought Forcewave was standing.

"No! Don't! Please, Carver. We'll try to find a doctor... We'll find some pain killers that could work for you." Emily still tried to save her friend. Kindred souls they seemed to be.

"Force... you want... me to come with to go look for your... friend?" Xiao said groggily, unaware of the bleeding wound on her head. The world seemed to spin in her view, and part of her hair had gone missing. To cut Xiao's skin, Carver's blades were obviously of incredible durability and sharpness. "Why's there blood on my...head?" She said to no one in particular, only touching her face and seeing the blood on her hands, Xiao's eyes glossed over from shock.

John shouted out to Xiao to get her to stop. She had won her fight with Carver. One that should not have happened, but did anyways. She heard him and stopped her rampage and began to regain her calm. Carver was defeated and the Mary Poppins looking woman didn't have any fight in her either. Everybody was safe.

Xiao began to talk about her love of violence and how it scares even her. John sighed as he heard this. This was something he might have to keep a lookout for. He saw her climb out of the crater and slowly walking towards him. He noticed the fatigue in her alongside her wounds. She's probably going to require medical attention. She wasn't the only one who looked like they needed to go to the hospital though. Her opponent looked even worse off.

"No Xiao. I can find them on my own. You should get some medical attention though. You're bleeding pretty heavily. Is there a doctor at the campus?" he asked concerned by what he was seeing. He also felt like they should call in the police, and ambulance too. If somebody back at the campus had not done so already. Anything was better than just standing around here doing nothing.

Given the disturbance that their battle had caused, it was right and natural for the sirens of emergency workers beginning to converge on the location. Xiao looked at the two villains... no... metahumans, staying there in the crater. It didn't seem like either of them were going anywhere.

"...Yeah. We should go... Clinic..." Xiao agreed, performing power jumps to return to school.

SCHOOL CLINIC

Back at the understandably empty campus, Xiao looked around. They had stayed here for only a few seconds, and yet part of the school had been carved open... by simple accident. The damage though was minimal, compared to what would happen if they'd fought here. Xiao pushed aside a large masonry wall that had crumbled and made her way into the clinic.

It was dark, and abandoned, everything in the room scattered all over the floor. Some snow was slowly blowing in.

"Mister Naksil... I'm... I'm sorry... sorry that I fought on campus... do you really hate me for being a metahuman?" Xiao mumbled, the head injury having done a number on her perception. She saw them trying to take shelter inside, but no one was here now.

She saw a broken medicine cabinet on the ground and look for something in it to help her. She opened a sealed pack containing a clean, septic cloth and dabbed it on her wound, which stung quite a bit. The cloth was eventually stained crimson, as did Xiao's hand. She used up four or five pieces of cloth before
the bleeding slowed down... then Xiao put an ice pack to her head. The things she used felt dull and mild, having very little effect.

Xiao felt a tinge of confusion and weakness. She started picking up the things on the floor, trying to put them back, only for the tables to give way. Eventually she came across her professor's box, his things- record books, diplomas and pictures. She saw one framed photo in particular, the cover glass broken, one containing a photo of her professor's family. Xiao didn't know he had a family... Inside was a cut out news article, from the L.A. Times, from about a year ago.

Dragon rampages through L.A. , fighting giant bee monster.

The super powered battle saw several buildings levelled as the Dragon fought the monster through the densely populated areas. A clinic was completely demolished, claiming the lives of three, including physician Dr. Naksil...

...His wife.

Xiao began crying, breaking into tears where she knelt down, covering her face as her heart gave way to the guilt, crushed under the weight of shame. She also passed out from the head injury.