First-Time Reader ⇌

Re-reader ⇌

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March 3, 33 AE

Somewhere in Japan

Elsie was going to die.

She could see the headlines now: "Hollywood actress mugged/kidnapped/murdered during Japanese vacation." She wasn't sure which of the three would be applicable, but she knew none of them were preferable. And as a drunken middle-aged local cornered her in a dark, narrow alleyway, yelling at her in a language she couldn't understand, she figured any of those outcomes would be valid options.

If only she had a superpower, maybe she could get herself out of this mess. At the very least, she wished she could communicate in all of the languages in the universe. But she knew that was impossible, and that was very unfortunate for two reasons: one, it did nothing to alleviate her current predicament, and two, it showed that she was actually nerdy enough to know that meta-abilities didn't work like that.

Elsie supposed that if she had to be scientifically accurate about her wishes, then she would wish for the superspeed meta-ability so she wouldn't have had to travel by train in a foreign country in the first place. She would have actually settled for any meta-ability, since any of them could have probably prevented her from falling asleep on said train and getting kicked out of the station with nothing but a dead phone, a sparse amount of yen, and no idea how to get back to her hotel.

Or maybe she could just have enough power to not get mugged, kidnapped, or murdered in a dark alley.

Regardless, she was way too old to suddenly acquire newfound meta-abilities and couldn't count on convenient superpowers as a reliable backup plan; she had to use what she already had.

She was going to die, wasn't she?

Suddenly, another figure appeared behind the man, smaller in stature but with a more imposing aura. The newcomer said something in Japanese, and the sound of their voice immediately filled Elsie with a mixture of relief and dread. It wasn't their tone that caught Elsie off guard, even though it was filled with the dangerous sound of warnings and threat, but it was the familiarity. Elsie knew that voice with certainty, and while it meant she was saved from the angry drunk, she now had a new problem.

Immediately, the drunk spun around, initially sounding angry. But after exchanging a few words with the newcomer, his tone quickly shifted to sounding more irritated than anything else. He and the newcomer went back and forth for a bit before the latter slowly approached Elsie.

Instinctively, Elsie tensed, but she knew it was a ridiculous reaction. Because as Camilla Wyatt stood before her, her face now visible with her close proximity, Elsie knew that the other woman would never physically hurt her. It was her words that were dangerous.

When people first met Camilla Wyatt, their impression of her would vary based on where they stood with her.

To the average American citizen, they would see the cute and spunky guardian with the bright eyes and mischievous grin that showed off all the latest and greatest consumer goods. To wealthy CEOs, she was the name and face of the American Protection Organization, and her rags-to-riches story combined with her diverse genealogy made her the perfect model for their products. To criminals, she was their cue to surrender, because behind her innocent smile and petite figure was a demonic force to be reckoned with.

To Elsie, Camilla Wyatt had been a literal angel. Now, all Elsie saw was the woman's piercing gaze, a pair of lasers that could burn one's heart to a crisp. She saw a slight frown holding back a whirlwind of words that would blow the ashes away, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

"He said you took his wallet," Camilla said instead of a greeting. Both her voice and expression seemed bored, so at least she wasn't putting on that irritating public facade of hers.

"I didn't take anything from him," Elsie said, slightly more aggressive than she intended. Apparently, even the sight of Camilla was enough to aggravate Elsie, and she had to take a deep breath before continuing. "I was just walking down the street, minding my own business, and he must've woken up as I passed by. If he lost his wallet, he should check the shitty alley he was sleeping in."

Camilla stared at her silently for just long enough to irritate Elsie even more before turning and walking up to the man. Again, they went back and forth in Japanese, completely ignoring Elsie. As their conversation progressed, the man began to sound more and more agitated while Camilla simply maintained her calm monotone.

Eventually, Camilla went silent for a moment before subtly lifting her hand and slowly waving it around the man. She returned her hand to her side as she said something else to the man, and even though it was in Japanese, Elsie noticed it sounded suspiciously like "jacket" in English.

Sure enough, the man fumbled through his jacket pockets and pulled out a thin black wallet. He seemed more irritated than pleased by his discovery though, and he stuffed it roughly into his pants pocket before leaving without another word.

Once he was gone, Elsie let out a breath of relief that she didn't realize she had been holding. She knew she basically traded one problem for another, but at least Camilla had fewer motives to murder her. Probably.

Elsie snuck a look at Camilla, hoping her face would reveal something. Unfortunately, but as expected, her expression was blank and indiscernible as she simply studied Elsie in silence. This irritated Elsie more than she had expected, and the courteous thanks she was going to give was replaced by something else entirely.

"I didn't do that on purpose," Elsie said defensively.

Camilla responded by doing absolutely nothing.

Stifling an exasperated sigh, Elsie pushed off the fence, her annoyance displacing her earlier fear. She could feel Camilla's stare watching her every move, so it was only right to return the favor. While she couldn't pull off the same expressionless face, Elsie had a great judgemental look that she used as she eyed Camilla up and down.

The woman wasn't dressed in her usual everyday attire, which would consist of designer outfits based on the latest trends, nor was she wearing her guardian uniform. Instead, her outfit was a baggy black sweatshirt, dark fitted jeans, and a plain navy blue baseball cap.

"Is that your incognito look?" Elsie said, only slightly mockingly. Her own simple outfit was meant to blend in with the public as well so she couldn't really talk.

Camilla ignored her question. "What are you doing here?" she asked instead.

"In Japan? Same reason as you, I'd imagine," replied Elsie with forced ease.

Elsie knew the Unity Games weren't for another week, but she wasn't going to point that out. And if Camilla was asking about why Elsie was in the streets of some random town in the middle of the night... well, Elsie could ask her the same question.

Camilla was probably thinking the same thing, judging by her silence. They both knew they were at a stalemate; they weren't about to ask questions they didn't want to answer themselves.

Regardless of what Camilla thought of her, there was nothing suspicious about Elsie being there. She had decided to take a little solo vacation before she was engulfed by a packed publicity schedule revolving around the Games, of which she was a VIP spectator, and the filming for her next movie that immediately followed. Her ill-timed nap on the train was completely unplanned, and she wanted to be there just as much as Camilla wanted to see her, which was not at all.

But Elsie wasn't about to admit to any of that because Camilla didn't need to know, plus it was more than a little embarrassing. Therefore, she couldn't ask Camilla about why she was there even though Elsie was extremely curious.

Camilla worked her jaw a little, showing the most emotion Elsie had seen that night, before asking, "Do you need a ride?"

Elsie blanched a little at what she assumed Camilla was implying. "There is no way I'm letting you fly me anywhere."

Even though Camilla didn't roll her eyes, Elsie swore she could hear it in the woman's voice. "Foreign metas aren't allowed to fly in Japan. I drove."

"Oh," Elsie said dumbly, then mulled the offer over in her head. She hated the idea of being indebted to Camilla twice in one night, not to mention being stuck in a car with her for who knew how long. But she didn't have very many options at the moment, and hey, it was Camilla's job as a guardian to protect the people of the United States, wasn't it?

"Sure," Elsie said with a nonchalant shrug, as if she hadn't been looking desperately for a taxi no more than five minutes ago.

They headed back to the main road and to a small black car parked on the side. Elsie didn't recognize their surroundings which meant she either had been too panicked to realize where she was going, or she actually never passed this area before. Either way, it was an unlikely coincidence that Camilla just happened to be there to save her again. Judging by Camilla's huge savior complex, Elsie wasn't surprised, but she kept her observations to herself as they got into the car.

It turned out that Elsie's hotel was only a forty-five minute drive away, based on the GPS on Camilla's phone. That was still too long to be stuck in that car for Elsie's liking, and Camilla seemed to share Elsie's sentiments as she drove through the near-empty roads as if she was in a car chase.

As much as Elsie hated the silence, her reluctance to talk to Camilla was stronger. To compromise, Elsie held imaginary conversations with the woman in her head; they were probably biased though, as Camilla always played the part of the stoic jerk while Elsie was friendly and innocent.

They pulled up to Elsie's hotel ten minutes faster than predicted. Elsie hesitated for a moment before leaving, then turned to Camilla.

"Thanks..." she said, trying to keep her words from sounding too forced. "Again."

Camilla kept her eyes fixed in front of her but she nodded once in acknowledgement.

It wasn't the reaction Elsie had hoped for, but it was definitely more than she expected. She exited the vehicle and paused again before bending down to stick her head back through the door.

"Good luck at the Games," Elsie said.

This time, Camilla turned to her, the woman's eyes scanning Elsie as if she was looking for something. It took a few seconds before she nodded again, but she continued to remain silent.

She drove away as soon as Elsie closed the door and stepped back, and Elsie watched her car leave until it was out of sight. A mixture of emotions that she had been suppressing since Camilla first showed up began to rise to the surface, and Elsie didn't want to be in public when they finally burst.

She rushed through the hotel in record time, maintaining a pleasant smile until she was safely in the confines of her room, and she immediately threw herself onto her bed with a groan. Acting may have been Elsie's forte, but if she had to see Camilla Wyatt again, she wasn't sure how long she could keep playing her part.

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NOTES

Meet the characters. In one corner, we've got Elsie Bates, the popular actress who probably gets herself into more trouble than necessary just because she talks too much. In the other corner, we've got Camilla Wyatt, the uber-powerful guardian who, in Elsie's opinion, secretly thinks she's above everyone else. Who will be the victor?

Well, if we're talking about physical strength, Camilla would surely win (um, superpowers??). But Elsie's got her own fair share of talents; for example, she could probably talk her opponents to death.

ELSIE BATES
Full name: Elizabeth Maria Bates
Hometown: Flagstaff, Arizona
Birthdate: March 27, 4 AE
Height: 5' 8"
Occupation: Actress

CAMILLA WYATT
Full name: Camilla Mitaka Tanoue-Wyatt
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Birthdate: May 15, 8 AE
Height: 5' 3"
Occupation: Guardian (Class 4) (Rank: First Officer)

(This was written before Space Force guardians were a thing, for the record.)

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