Chapter 007: Everything’s cool

[POV: Third-Person]

Rowe was on the floor, cranking out push-ups as part of her morning routine, her face a picture of fierce focus. "Seventy-seven... seventy-eight..." Her voice was steady, but her arms were trembling from the effort, maintaining perfect form despite the strain.

"Alright, Rowe, I've decided. I'm going to help you from now on," Piper announced from her bed, completely out of the blue.

Rowe froze mid-push-up, her arms still shaking. "W-what?! Are you crazy?" she stammered, her face dropping in disbelief. Piper had only known about her powers for a week, and already she was diving headfirst into the chaos?

Piper sauntered over, ignoring Rowe's wide-eyed look of shock. "I've been doing some research," she said, sounding way too casual. "And by research, I mean I've spent the last few days going down the darkest rabbit holes about vigilante laws, crime stats, and, uh... certain shady operations around Havendale."

Rowe rolled over and sat up, wiping sweat off her forehead. "Okay... and?"

Piper crossed her arms, grinning like she was about to drop some major revelation. "You're already starting to build a reputation out there. People are talking about you, but... come on, Rowe, 'The Red Bat'? Seriously? That's the most boring vigilante name I've ever heard in my life."

Rowe scratched the back of her neck, suddenly more self-conscious than after a week without a shower. "It was the first thing that came to mind, okay?"

"Yeah, well, it sounds like the name of a cheap energy drink, not a badass vigilante. We need to work on that. Something like 'The Shadow Fang' or... I don't know, I'll workshop it." Piper waved her hand like it was an easy fix.

Rowe sighed. "Look, Piper, vigilante work is dangerous. I'm fine because I have powers, but you? I can't let you get hurt because of me."

Piper's eyes narrowed as she took a step closer, her voice suddenly deadpan serious. "So, what, you think I'm weak? Just because you can't die, you think you're better than me?"

Rowe's eyes went wide, and she could feel sweat forming on her brow—not from the workout, but from panic. "No! I didn't say that—I just—"

Piper broke into a grin, punching Rowe's shoulder lightly. "Relax, I'm messing with you. You should've seen your face." Her tone was back to its usual playful, sarcastic self. "Of course I'm not going to be out there, dodging bullets and fists. I'm smarter than that."

Rowe let out a sigh of relief, leaning back on her hands. "Okay, then what exactly are you planning?"

Piper's face lit up as she leaned in, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "I'll be your girl in the chair! The brains behind the brawn. You need someone feeding you info, watching your back, and making sure you don't just charge in, fists swinging, without a plan."

Rowe blinked, trying to keep up. "You mean, like... what? You'll sit here with a headset, telling me where to go?"

Piper nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! I already got us earpieces, and—wait for it—I convinced my dad to buy me a drone. Told him it's for 'journalism purposes,' but come on, Rowe, this is way more important than taking lame aerial shots of the campus fountain."

Rowe stared at her, half impressed, half bewildered. "You got a drone? For this?"

Piper shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? I'm committed. Besides, you're terrible at gathering intel. You just go around punching people like that's going to magically solve everything. News flash: it doesn't."

Rowe opened her mouth to argue but couldn't find the words. She wasn't great at the whole detective thing, that was true. After a long pause, she exhaled and slumped. "Fine. But promise me you'll stay far away from the action. No heroics."

Piper grinned and extended her hand, ready for a deal. "Deal."

Rowe shook her hand, but not without narrowing her eyes. "I mean it, Piper. You stay out of trouble."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll leave the death-defying stunts to you, Miss 'I-Can't-Die'."

The room filled with light-hearted laughter as the tension melted away, both of them slipping back into their usual banter. Piper teased Rowe about her superhero name again, and Rowe countered by calling Piper "Drone Girl," much to her faux indignation. But as they laughed, Rowe couldn't help but feel the weight of what they'd just agreed to.

Piper was in now, whether Rowe liked it or not.

[POV: Rowe]

"Thanks again for sharing your textbook, Hyunwoo..." I muttered, my voice dripping with defeat. Once again, I'd forgotten mine, the textbook-shaped hole in my bag haunting me like a bad dream.

Hyunwoo glanced at me with his usual cool, calm expression. "No problem... but try not to make this a habit."

His words pierced right through me. Am I really that much of a klutz? Ugh. I wanted to argue back, but he wasn't wrong.

"I swear I will... probably," I grumbled, folding my arms over my chest like a child who had just been told off. He raised a brow at my pathetic attempt to defend myself.

"I've got to head out," he said, sliding his books neatly into his bag, unlike my chaotic backpack of shame. "See you tomorrow... hopefully with your own textbook."

I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling that little jab in my chest. "Alright, alright, I'll pack my bag tonight... Geez." I waved him off with an exaggerated sigh as he smirked and strolled away.

As soon as he was out of sight, I groaned. He was so annoyingly right all the time. Packing the night before... why hadn't I thought of that?

I shuffled out of the classroom, lost in thoughts about my endless disorganization, when I heard someone call my name.

"Hey, Rowe!"

I looked up to see an orange-haired blur waving enthusiastically at me down the hallway. "Hi, Rena!" I called back, forcing a smile to hide the embarrassment still clinging to me from my Hyunwoo encounter.

Rena, bubbly as ever, bounced over with a grin. She's a schoolmate of mine and a member of the school press with Piper, but today she looked more like a curious detective.

"So... has something been up with Piper lately? We barely see her in the press office anymore," she said, tilting her head with concern.

My eyes widened, panic bubbling up in my chest. Great. Piper was already getting too deep into vigilante mode, and it was only our first day working together. I had to think fast.

"She's... uh... been, you know, trying out new hobbies?" My voice betrayed me, climbing into an awkward pitch.

Rena raised an eyebrow. "Why does it sound like you're asking me instead of the other way around?"

I bit my lip and shrugged, trying to laugh it off, but it came out like a squeak. "No idea what you're talking about... totally cool. Piper's cool. Everything's cool."

Rena squinted at me like she could see through every lie I was desperately trying to spin. Thankfully, I was saved by the sudden sound of heavy footsteps and a deep, booming voice.

"There you are, Johnny!"

Chad, the hulking linebacker of the football team, was barreling down the hallway like a freight train, his eyes locked on a much smaller guy—Johnny, who was already in full sprint mode.

"Hey!" I shouted, instinctively chasing after them. I held back, making sure I didn't go full vigilante mode in front of Rena, but my blood was pumping. Something was off. "Rowe, wait!" I heard Rena call from behind, but I couldn't slow down.

I skidded around the corner and caught up just as Johnny reached the staircase. Chad was right on his heels, ready to tackle him... when Johnny did something I didn't expect.

SNAP.

Johnny snapped his fingers, and suddenly, as if some invisible force yanked Chad by the legs, the guy flew backward down the stairs. He tumbled like a ragdoll, crashing to the bottom with a loud thud. Blood streamed from his nose as he groaned, trying to push himself up.

"What the hell just happened?!" Chad yelped, clearly as stunned as I was.

I stood frozen at the top of the stairs, my mouth hanging open. Did Johnny just...? No way. He can't be.

Johnny didn't even look back. He strolled away, calm as ever, his hands stuffed in his pockets like he hadn't just thrown a linebacker down the stairs with a snap of his fingers.

"Holy crap..." I whispered under my breath. My heart raced as a million thoughts flooded my mind. Could Johnny really be a superhuman? And if so, what kind of power was that?

Chad was still struggling to his feet, muttering curses under his breath. I rushed down to help him, but my mind was elsewhere. If Johnny really was a superhuman, I needed to find out more...