Chapter Eleven
Echo
I just stared at him with a blank look on my face. I was descended from Tiponi? Wow. That was unexpected. But I was confused as to how he would know that.
“What’s your power again?” I watched him smirk a little, and that smirk reminded me of Asher’s dumb smirk. Men and their smirks, I grumbled to myself.
“I’m immortal.” Well, that answers that question.
“Nice,” I commented. It was the only thing I had to say. So much was going on in my head, my world was changing too fast for me to catch up.
“It has its moments.” Draco wrapped his arms around Rose, and she blushed. Oh boy.
A silence settled over the group, everyone digesting the information at hand: I could change into animals and was apparently descended from a tribal hero.
“Well, this crew just keeps getting more interesting every day.” Rose broke the silence, and I felt grateful. Being around a close-knit group like this was odd for me. Of course, I was around other officers at work, but I worked alone most of the time. I was better that way, and I got the job done. So, I reported in when I needed to, did my job, and people left me to it.
“So, aside from your power, tell us about you.” AJ piped up, having recovered from his initial shock at my shifting. Although I’m sure most knew my story already, if they had done any digging on me.
“Okay. Grew up on the reservation outside of Seahill. My parents were murdered when I turned sixteen; that same night, I got my powers. Moved to Seahill when I could, did the required training to become a cop, and had been bringing criminals to justice ever since. My powers come in handy with my job. I live alone, like being alone, and I have a healthy appetite.” Which reminded me about the takeout box I’d carried in and had set on the small table in front of me. Still being hungry, I grabbed the box and was surprised to see chicken strips, and fries. I didn’t care what these people thought of me, so I just chowed down in front of them.
“I like her.” Lilith bumped my shoulder, and I gave her a teeny smile.
“I think it’d be great to have a detective in the group. Might help us figure out who the bad guy is. She can be all detective-y on this shit.” AJ relaxed back in his chair and gave me a smile, one more suited for a girl he thought was cute than a police detective. I quirked a brow at him, and a pink blush coated his cheeks.
“That would be nice. This waiting game sucks.” Mina agreed with her brother, also looking bored. Interesting siblings.
“You don’t know anything about who you’re looking for?” I’d take a bite on their hook; the mystery appealed to the side of me that liked to solve puzzles.
“Only thing we have to go on is that when we first fought Emanuel, a bright light saved him. Other than that, everything we had was with Emanuel, and he’s dead. New foe, new everything,” Phillip answered, but then Draco spoke shortly after he was done.
“But, I get why they outed us now.”
Rose looked at him with a sad face, and everyone kinda looked toward the floor.
“Explain?” I was confused.
“We heard baddies talking about how they set the school on fire to out us, and we didn’t know why. It’s clear now that for every person who thinks we are heroes, there is someone who things we are abominations. It’s been a little…rough, trying to help people lately.” Rose grimaced, and Draco wrapped his arms around her, shielding her from whatever memory she was reliving.
“Rose had rocks thrown at her the other day by adults calling her a demon,” Lilith whispered in my ear. I looked at Rose and saw her try to give me a nice smile that said it was okay, but something like that was not okay, not at all.
“I had a woman that was gifted almost die last night from an attack. First suspect is a power hater.”
“Oh, that’s awful,” Rose commented, and everyone nodded. Lisa’s ex was away for work but would be back tomorrow. Once he returned, I’d take him in for questioning and figure out if he tried to murder Lisa, and any possible connection he might have to the killer that took the lives of my parents and the others twelve years ago.
“Yeah. Things are getting intense. But we’ll keep it under control,” I told them, and they nodded. I realized they were agreeing with the “we” part, but I had been talking about Seahill P.D. when I said we, not the Hero Society.
I didn’t have the heart to tell them that they were out of their league, but they were.
“People are afraid of what they don’t understand and tend to let that fear guide them,” Draco added, and I was with him on that statement. Things were going to get more interesting for people like us. I was just planning on continuing to do what I was doing. Only a very small handful of people really knew about me, so I wasn’t a target. This crew was out there, though. People knew their faces. They could be targets, like Lisa, for people who feared them enough to try and rid the world of them.
“It’s probably going to get worse; you might want to calm down the heroics for a little while. Lie low until people adjust, or maybe see that you’re needed,” I offered.
“We won’t give up on mankind, even if they give up on us. We fight for them, even in the dark.” Rose’s words were sharp, and her voice had a bite to it. No one contradicted her, and as I looked around, I didn’t see any face that said they felt differently. They really were in this even if everyone hated them.
“I’ll help how I can.”
The words were out, and there was no going back. I felt their loyalty, their bravery, and their determination. Every single one of them would fight till the very end to make sure the future was bright, and mankind was protected: the gods’ true purpose for people like us. I was a protector of man, just like them.
“Welcome to the Hero Society, Echo Cross.”