Side Story: Madison's School Days

“Um… do I have to?” Madison asked. Behind Director Piggot, the window showed a blue sky, no sign of the endless legions of bugs that had set the very bones of the building to rumbling.  Rosita stood next to Madison.

Rosita was still on probation, but she was also doing a work-study at the PRT.

“Tia Ramona was a secretary,” she’d said. “Better job than I thought I was gonna get.”

Sometimes Madison envied Rosita. She just…

Was always cheerful, but not someone who ignored reality… it was just that she didn’t see the point in bemoaning things.

But that didn’t help right now.

“Unfortunately, Ms. Clements, yes. Youth Guard pointed out that out of your changer form, you have full control over your strength, and your ratings are not ones that bar you from public activity.”

Brute 4, Mover 4, Madison filled in. She’d read her reports. Not able to fight Leviathan. Just able to murder anyone around her. She’d barely been able to pet her cat when they’d brought it in, terrified she might hurt him, even though the power evaluation showed that she really had to want to exert her strength. But even so…

What if I have a nightmare? What if someone startles me when I wake up?

What if I decide to hurt someone… just because I can?

“And as such, social interaction laws require you to spend some time among your peers.”

Madison could tell that Director Piggot thought she should be somewhere safer…

Maybe they had a school version of the Birdcage?

“C’mon, Madison,” Rosita said, giving her a light punch, (that she barely felt), to the shoulder. “Sure, you’re scared, but you survived cafeteria food in Juvie, school can’t be that bad.”

“Yes.” Director Piggot said, with a long-suffering sigh. “That is the reason for your reluctance, I’m certain. But regardless, neither you nor I have a choice in this matter, and I expect you will not manifest your changer form without… good cause.”

“No Ma’am!” Madison said.

“Um…” Rosita raised her hand, and Madison got a feeling that Director Piggot really wasn’t used to this.

“Yes?”

“I’m like, just the convict, but if someone comes after her, they can hurt her like this, but if she just goes Alien and curls up, they can’t do anything to her.”

Madison blinked; she hadn’t thought of that. From her reaction, Director Piggot hadn’t, but she nodded.

“Good point, let me rephrase, if you feel the need to protect yourself, you can manifest your changer form, but do not use it aggressively.”

Madison shook her head so fast she got dizzy.

“Very well. One last point, which you have already been briefed on, but I want to reiterate. While Orb Weaver appears to have ceased operations after his destruction of the Empire, if you come in contact with him, be polite, break contact as fast as you can, and contact the PRT immediately.”

“Yes ma’am,” Madison said. Then the director dismissed them, and she scuttled out.

“So!” Rosita put one arm around Madison. “School!”

“I didn’t do so good at the last one,” Madison said.

“Yeah, you were a real bitch,” Rosita said. “You got better. So, first day of new school!”

Madison nodded. She was staying in the PRT building, in part because she was still serving her sentence, in part because her home wasn’t rebuilt. Also, according to Clockblocker, who had talked to her a few times, and seemed to be the Ward who… didn’t hate her, Armsmaster was working on measures to keep Orb Weaver from doing what he’d done to Lebensraum to anyone else, which was a problem because nobody really knew what he’d done to Lebensraum, or at least how he’d done it.

This is stupid. They said I could fight toe-to-toe with Leviathan! Why are they sending me to school?  Why not just have me in a room with a computer screen!

But there was the PRT Van, Madison had been outed, so…

Go to school in an armored car. At least until they decided they could trust her on the bus. Rosita went with her because she’d also sort of been outed, by you know, being carried to the hospital.

Madison had her sweater and jeans on, her bookbag (with spare clothes), the tracker, and everything else.

Madison shook her head. She hoped it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be.

It was.

“Locker girl,” someone whispered as she walked into the halls of Arcadia. She’d had a meeting with the principal, and she bet not every student got a talk about the school’s bullying policy.

She deserved it, though.

But beyond that, everything went well, until…

After homeroom, she got her assigned locker.

It was just big enough to shove someone in it. To push someone who was screaming and fighting but not prepared into all the stinking tampons and maggots as they laughed and laughed and laughed and locked her into it, and walked off, as she banged and begged someone to come save her, but nobody…

Everything started going fuzzy. Madison felt pinpricks running up and down her arms, like they’d gone to sleep when she was lying on them, but that didn’t make sense because that didn’t happen to her anymore, and she was—

“Madison!” Rosita said, her voice was a little louder.

“I—“

“You need to take some breaths,” the Latina said. “Okay? Everything’s fine.”

The kids were looking at her, including… Oh God, was that Glory Girl?

“And you know, stop abusing that poor locker,” Madison blinked, then looked to the locker where her fingers had dug in, the light metal door twisted like she’d been playing with taffy.

“Ms. Clements?” And that was a teacher. Oh God, she just wanted to curl up and die. Meanwhile, Rosita was making shooing motions at everyone else. “Yeah, yeah, she can beat up a locker door, why are you looking, you got the flying fashion model!”

“I’m sorry, I uh…”

“Ms. Clements, why don’t you come with me. We can sit down and talk for a little while.”

Oh. It wasn’t a teacher, it was the psychologist. That made her feel a little better. Maybe he was like  Dr. Mattis, who didn’t tell her what she did wasn’t  wrong, didn’t pretend she wasn’t… what she was,  but told what she could do to be better.

“I’ll grab your notes,” Rosita said. “Hey, chemistry! You know, they never let us do lab in Juvie, this should be fun!” With that, she grabbed Madison’s bag, and not even seeming to notice the expressions of her casual comment of ‘juvie’ went wandering down off the hallway, like she trusted Madison.

“Okay,” Madison said. “I’ll go.”

Why was school more scary than the shelter with Leviathan outside and the water rising inside?