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When Marie entered the training room yet again, she found Cipher staring down some papers while partially engrossed in a large red apple. She grimaced at the sound of his teeth gnawing exceptionally rough into the crisp fruit. His eyes trailed from the words on the unimportant paper to her frozen figure standing a few feet into the echo-heavy room.
“You’re not still upset over the whole fighting thing, are you? He said with an unbothered tone. The lack of remorse made her stomach instantly turn.
“You mean when you took over the body of Jordan to beat the shit out of me?
He pursed his lips slightly, as if to hold back a remark.
“You could say I’m still upset over that, yes,” Marie spat. but the dean was quick to react.
"Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is all because your boyfriend/girlfriend decided to flush their perfect ranking down the toilet after that little speech-adjustment on Godolkin Day,” he scoffed while impulsively waving his hands as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
The man then turned his head to the side.
“And all those theatrics and for what? To atone for their attempted murder of a fellow student? Marie visibly shook from the grim reminder of the particularly awful event. No one had meant for anyone to get hurt yet intentions weren’t always what came to fruition. He enjoyed the way her mind seemed to grind and stall over the statement. Marie had not yet forgotten the wounded cries of Cate on the hardened concrete and her hesitation to jump to the rescue. The regret was certainly currently written all over her face. The only way she could make it even more obvious would be to plaster it on a shirt for the whole world to see.
Cipher dared to think about the disastrous fallout from their now star student falling from grace yet again. It was a resolution he would prefer to avoid entirely.
Marie ran through the events of that tragic night again. But who created the conditions for such an event to happen in the first place? She thought angrily to herself.
The exhausted student felt like walking out already and the lesson hadn’t even started. She could tell it was going to be an eventful hour if she didn't give up and take leave before then.
“They’re not my boyfriend or girlfriend. We’re not really anything,” she shrugged through clenched teeth. The burning wound of the lack of a response to her declaration of love the other day in her room sent her spiraling well before and after the fight. If only she knew the dean would be the one to pour more salt in the throbbing wound.
“My mistake, I could have sworn I saw you initiate a passionate embrace in front of thousands of people at the fight,” the man remarked in a particularly high pitch. Ignoring his smugness, for a moment Marie questioned if he had felt the passionate kiss while overtaking Jordan’s body. Surely there had been a break in time before the effects went though. The thought of such a circumstance brought an uncomfortable heat in her chest.
“Can we move on? To what we’re supposed to be here for,” she breathed out in frustration, feeling her face get hot with emotion. She had not talked to Jordan since the disaster in the ring. Their match ended abruptly, with the tainted student being whisked away for further punishment. Marie had been sick with worry and confusion over the unknown. Over the future of their relationship, status of said relationship, and the penalty for such a display of honesty in front of the student body.
“Sure,” he announced while finishing off the last bit of his apple and placing the bare core down on the table in front of him. He quickly wiped his hands of the traces of fresh juice from his fingers and palms. For good measure he quickly slipped a few fingers into his mouth to soak up the last bit of bitterness. Marie followed the brisk movements with a shy glance before his voice filled the room yet again.
“Today will be a little different. We’re taking from what we went over the other day and will apply it to physical forms. The fun stuff, if you will,” Cipher finished with a small smile. She forced out a partial nod. Her eyes glazed down the room towards a table filled up with more blood bags. The addition of a few stationary dummies she assumed were originally used for some type of martial arts training were placed in odd positions.
“And those … things?” Marie lazily pointed with a slight tilt of her head towards the eerie figures. This training session had already seemed to be a major step up compared to their last.
“They’re just placeholders, really. All I want you to do is get comfortable with transferring blood out of the small bag and into the strong shells,” he stated smoothly as if it were the most normal circumstance in the world.
He seemed to always be calm, Marie observed cautiously.
“I want you to knock them over. Sounds simple enough right?
“Fine,” she huffed while flexing her dominant arm before thinking back to his past advice.
In perhaps a too-bold-of-a-first-move, Marie forgot about the usual reliance on her arms. She instead dug deep inside her mind and stretched the fibers of her mind at full velocity to command the liquid to tear from the small containment and through the dense shell of plastic and foam. Her breaths slowed while she attempted to keep her arms lowered as a result of his criticism from their last training session. She felt the liquid move with every continued beat of her own pulse, which grew quicker and quicker with every passing second. The blood left their container one-by-one and quickly formed into about a dozen daggers of tensed pressure.
With a sudden exhale, she directed the force towards the faux soldiers. The sensation forced out a yell of exasperation from the student, leading her to move with almost locked joints in the same direction of the target. The weapons made contact, leading her to stretching their radius to then tear into the material as if they were a rapidly expanding form of sulfuric acid. Marie’s eyes went wide with surprise at the sight. The thought of attack had been a randomly selected one yet it was able to instantly tear into the body unlike any other attack she had done before.
It was blood yet it could somehow mimic the abilities of other substances. Or maybe it was no longer blood, she thought silently to herself in deep contemplation. Only a short moment later and she watched in awe as the once sturdy dummies dissolved into a pool of their own artificial carcasses. Caught up in the show of destruction, she barely registered the call of her name.
“Marie, that’s enough,” Cipher hollered in surprise before snaking up from behind her sturdy form.
“Stop,” he breathed out as he connected his hands to her shoulders. She gasped with shock at the sudden sensation, feeling as if she emerged from a different state. His grip was as strong and firm as stone.
“You are an extremely bad listener,” he mumbled out dangerously close to her neck, causing a flurry of hairs to raise on her neck.
“Maybe you’re just a bad teacher,” she remarked with a shaky breath.
“Mhm, It seems like you’re starting off a bit too strong,” he stated while trying to ignore her bratty attitude. The ungratefulness from other students always ticked him off but the way she naturally reacted to him seemed to just reek him in even more.
“Maybe there’s some things on your mind you can’t seem to get away from,” he blurted out curiously.
“Everything’s fine,” she affirmed unsuccessfully.
“You must find me painfully daft,” he sighed out naturally with a roll of his eyes.
“You really never shut up,” she muttered softly in frustration while slowly detaching from his hold. She had meant to say it only inside her head but the close proximity seemed to fry some of her critical thinking abilities. This was the perfect time to kick her out but he just chuckled. Marie suddenly found it difficult to break from the unidentifiable look in his eye. She started off slowly, as if something she said could make him lose interest like the many other failed confidants from the past.
“I don’t know what you want me to say. That I’m constantly drowning trying to keep up with these ridiculous classes alongside unnecessary relationship drama? Cause that’s exactly what’s going on,” His eyebrows raised from amusement at her jumbling.
“Good, get it out of your system. Let that help fuel your precision but don’t let it overpower you.”
“There’s a reason why certain battles are not won by just brute strength. You have the strength.” He leaned in closer.
“It’s all about learning to control those urges, so to speak,”
Their gazes crashed into each other yet again.
“How would you know? She pushed back in question.
“Know what?
“You position yourself as some all-powerful and ever-knowledgeable individual yet only a few days ago did you reveal your abilities. Other than that, you’re a ghost,” She had meant to stop herself from showing her hand of knowledge, yet it seemed to slip out.
“Well, it seems like you’ve been doing your research. If only your current semester grades reflected that same level of intrigue,” he said before playfully trailing his fists together to mimic falling tears. She briefly flashed her tongue in rebellion alongside a sour expression on her face. He pretended not to see.
“Let’s resume,” Cipher continued impatiently.
“Resume what? They’re currently settling nicely into the ground,” Marie remarked sharply while gesturing to the destroyed pieces across the room. Cipher disregarded the reminder and decided to pivot towards a much more interesting topic.
“Marie, have you ever tried to use your powers for something other than blood? His suggestion caused a shiver throughout her body.
“What do you mean? “You’ve used it to detect compound v,” Her mind flickered to their failed plan with the use of her seemingly faulty insight.
“Yeah, but that’s with the help of the blood,” she emphasized impatiently.
“Have you ever searched for other things in the blood, perhaps? Like oxygen or glucose?
“I … haven’t,” she admitted.
“Alright, how about when you saved that woman’s life at the club last semester? The mention of the nameless woman saved on a whim seemed like a lifetime ago to the student. She had almost forgotten about the miracle-like event that had catapulted the cascade of following life-altering incidents.
“I don’t know how I did it, it just felt right,” she admitted softly.
“You do understand what this could mean, don’t you? Marie stopped all movement for a moment to consider the weight of his words. This was a man that seemed to take everything he did seriously, yet she still couldn’t rationalize his behavior towards her.
He’s couldn’t possibly be insinuating what I think he is, she whirled around in her mind.
“The signs are all pointing to the potential of an ability never before seen in a supe before,” The air got heavy for the young woman all of a sudden. The impossible seemed obtainable for a moment.
"You think I could’ve saved my parents then?
For a brief moment he felt like he had pushed the issue too far. Perhaps it was too early, he thought silently to himself in contemplation.
“There’s no reason to obsess over the what-ifs. You were only 10-years-old with the biggest worry at the time being learning long division,” he politely deflected.
“Then tell me why I still feel so indebted to them even though they allowed a strange company to inject poison into my fucking veins,” she stated aimlessly. For a brief second she looked down at her hands and swore she could see the same stains from all those years ago. They had cursed her to live not just a life without their guidance, but one that was forever tied to the very reminder of their deaths.
“Of course you feel that way. No matter their faults or successes, they’re still your parents,”
“This is just how things turned out. There’s nothing more to it, really,”
“I … I’m angry all the time. Even when I’m with my friends or in class. It's all the same all the time,” She wiped a few stray tears from her cheek.
“I don’t understand this world,” she whispered in between slow breaths.
“It doesn’t make sense, but you are wrong to assume you’re just an insignificant passerby. You were meant to be a hero. A proper hero. Not some bottle blonde influencer looking for the next sponsorship,”
“Let me guess, you’re going to say you’re the only one capable of teaching me,”
“That’s exactly right. Smart girl,” he affirmed without a second thought.
“How about you start by being honest to me. About everything,”
“I’ve not lied to you Marie,” As if he were suddenly struck with a wave of fear, his voice slightly lowered.
“You’re the most powerful supe I’ve ever met.”
Marie felt a pang of anxiety hit her already restless stomach. The combination of words seemed to be taboo enough to think, much less say out loud.
“Are you allowed to even say that?
“Technically no, but you asked, didn’t you? She began to respond but no words came out.
The blatant disregard for a certain superpowered egomaniac running the government made her even more cautious of his true intentions and allegiances.
“Not to ruin the little mood we’ve created, but your totally not boyfriend/girlfriend has been asking for you. It slipped my mind but has just returned,”
She felt a warm blush creep up her face.
“Jordan’s a nice kid and all, sure, but, cards on the table, what are the odds you maintain that fairytale? There has to be some type of resolution here,”
“I mean, they couldn’t even reciprocate your feelings,” Her body instinctively shuddered in embarrassment.
“How do you know about that?
“I hear things,” he replied with a shrug of indifference.
“You’ve been through so much and endured things most people can’t even stomach hearing out,” the man eagerly boasted. Marie held her breath.
“What point are you trying to make?
“All I’m saying is it wouldn’t be the worst idea to align yourself with allies that already know their priorities and aren’t still dependent on their daddy’s credit card,” the man offered innocently.
“It’s simple, continue to maintain this working relationship and I’ll let you in on what else I know.” He casually smoothed out a few creases across his suit jacket.
“Maybe there’s something you’ve been searching for that I can help with,” the figure teased out again.
“Annabeth? She breathed out almost hesitantly, leading the man to nod instantly.
“Isn’t that what this has been all about? I have a lot of pull around here, enough to get you a proper audience with her. If that’s what you want, of course,”
“How do I know you’re telling me the truth? He sighed.
“You tell me, aren't you able to sniff out one's blood pressure and heart rate? Marie focused intensely on the man and his various components of life.
It almost frightened her to take a closer look, yet her fears were confirmed regardless.
He’s actually being honest. Completely honest. All of a sudden there seemed to be a worthwhile risk to continue these reckless meets.
“I’d like to see her,” she quickly responded back with a small gasp of relief. If she were only a bit more exhausted, she could have fallen to the floor crying then and there. For now, she attempted to keep it together for the sake of her sister. Cipher found it difficult to hide his excitement.
“Good,” he stated triumphantly with a grin as he outstretched his arm to the glossy-eyed teen.
With a slightly shaky hand she made contact with his friendly grasp and silently reveled in the small sense of comfort.