â:Terry âTessâ Farina:âș
âYou be careful on the way home, Iâd walk with you but I have to workâŠâ Amy gave a look of genuine concern which was somewhat reassuring, if a little excessive. I mean, Capetown was home to the highest population of heroes and villains alike, but it wasnât incredibly dangerous. Whether by chance or simply good business, most of the villains were fairly organised in their criminal methods; which meant at the least, there wasnât too many casualties. Still, what were the odds that sheâd get jumped two nights in a row? âIâll be fine Amy, donât worry. Worst case scenario Iâll have my phone ready this time.â Terry gave a smile and wave as Amy parted ways, briefly looking to Marcy, who was still standing with her. Normally she came and went without saying much, but the fact she was still around probably meant she had something to add.
âSo⊠Howâd you go on your Parahuman Ethics assignment..?â Tess asked, attempting to make some casual conversation as she walked. Honestly, she didnât know where Marcy lived. She was mysterious like that, but sheâd never really stuck around after school, just sort of vanished. If she didnât know Marcy to be a lazy individual, she mightâve thought she was a heroine of some kind. Silence stood between them for some time, making Tess feel awkward for a bit. After some more delay, Marcy finally responded, though she didnât seem to notice how long sheâd made Tess wait.
âDr. Markus Crown, better known for his hero name of Dr. Triage, or his villain name, Malpractice; is an example of a parahuman ethical dilemma. After years of working to try and save his terminally ill wife, Dr. Crown made a lethal mistake in one of his surgeries, resulting in the death of a patient and several lawsuits. It is believed that during this time he developed parahuman capabilities pertaining to healing wounds; however, his sentence prevented him from visiting his wife. Eventually ending his prison sentence, he was found to be several years too late to save her; though this seemed to spur him on to heroic work as a field medic. In actuality, Dr. Crown was not actually capable of healing wounds, but only transferring them; and had been unsuccessfully attempting to resurrect her cadaver in private both with animals and other terminally ill individuals that visited him, resulting in a substantial death toll before investigations into his practices were made. Though he is on record as saving countless lives, an equally large number are thought to be dead at his hands. Given a life-sentence of imprisonment, itâs said he was released on a number of occasions during Abhorrent attacks to use his powers on heroes and civilians while transferring the injuries to suitable animals. It is during one of these events that he broke the treaty between heroes and villains, utilising the chaos to injure his detainees and escape. His current whereabouts are unknown. This is but one example of villain âco-operationâ during Abhorrent attack, which begs the question as to whether utilising them to any extent is wise or valuable. Though there is amnesty for villains during Abhorrent attacks to allow their assistance, villains have been proven to show poor morals and values in their very existence as villains, and as such, represent a dangerous risk in such scenariosâŠâ
Marcy stopped at that point, looking to Tess for some sort of comment. Realising that was her cue, the girl stepped in. âThough itâs true that villains have a higher percentage of breaking the treaty than heroes, this action produces condemnation from both sides, and frequently ostracises the âtraitorâ, resulting in their capture or⊠elimination in most scenarios. As such, the number of parahumans committing such treason during an Abhorrent attack has dropped dramatically in recent years, to the point that such action is the rare exception rather than the norm.â Terry happily debated from the other side of the argument, Marcy staring at her for some time. Then, somewhat condescendingly, she extended her hand up to pat her head. âOhh⊠You are a smart one. Good girl.â
âH-hey, Marcy! Iâm not some pet!â Tess pouted a little, moving back away. âYouâre just saying that because you donât have a counter argument.â Marcy remained silent for a while again, simply staring at Tess. Then, she raised a hand up to wave. âHeroes and Villains will never get along. Just like mankind will never get along. Case in point.â Marcy extended her hand to point off to the side alley they were walking past, Tess following her gesture to see a familiar face in trouble. âGlen?â Tess spoke aloud, looking back to Marcy, only to see that she was gone. How did she- When..? Sighing, Tess brought her attention back to the situation at hand as she approached the alley.
Glen was crumpled to the ground and clutching his stomach, though for the moment, his attacker seemed more content with throwing words his way. âWhy the hell did you just start playing this Harmonica you freak?â The instigator of the bullying, Callum, was Glenâs long-time adversary throughout school. For whatever reason, he intensely disliked Glen and his flamboyance; though admittedly, Glen was perhaps a little reckless not to tone it down when in his presence. As Tess made her approach, he provided a perfect example of this. âWell Cal, you know what they say about music and savage beasts..?â Glen explained, earning a swift kick in the side as Cal sneered. âWhat was that punk?!â
âI⊠I asked if your constipation had cleared but⊠clearly no-AUGH!â Glen hit the ground after the next blow to his head, and Tess finally had the courage and sense to step in. âHey! Leave him alone Cal!â Stepping into the alleyway, Cal turned to give her a dry look. âS-stay out of this Tess. Iâm handling thisâŠâ Shooting Tess a weak thumbs-up, Glen didnât get to feel cool for too much longer as Cal gave a solid headbutt to his face. Relinquishing his grip on Glenâs shirt as he strode towards Tess, Cal leaned up in her face, examining her. âHeh, this girlâs got more balls than you Glen. Piece of shit, youâre lucky Iâm not willing to hit a chick, but donât let me see your butt-ugly face in my path again.â Shouting over his shoulder, Cal spat on the ground behind him and walked past Tess, muttering something about the loser as he cleared off. Hurrying over to Glen, Tess quickly began tending to him, though took an uncomfortable step back as his nose was bleeding. It always made her freeze up, the sight of blood.
âGuh⊠Geez⊠This is embarrassing⊠Sorry you had to see all that Tess.â Glen mumbled as he moved over to his bag, fumbling around for some tissues and the like. Shaking off her uncomfortable anxiety, Tess cleared her throat. âIâm more sorry for the state youâre in. Why do you go provoking him like that? You know heâs always over here getting his cigarettesâŠâ Tess sighed and turned away, looking to the ground and picking up the bent harmonica and handing it over to Glen. He nodded in thanks, tucking it into his pocket before answering her question. âWell, you know how Parahumans trigger right? Well-â
âGlen, no. Thatâs stupid and you know it. You might not even be able to become a parahumanâŠâ Tess tried to argue with him, but Glen was undeterred. âHey, you donât know that. I might even have powers now after that beating. Wait, wait, check this out.â Holding his hands out in a stop gesture, Glen quickly brought them in to his sides, posing like he was charging up for something. Out of confusion and politeness, Tess waited as Glen performed a drawn out pose before thrusting his arms out towards the wall. âSuper Buster Blast Geyser!â Glen cried out dramatically, but thankfully for the convenience store owner, his wall remained intact. Glen gave a dejected sigh. âOne day⊠Iâm gonna be a way cooler hero than the ones you see online. How come next to none of them come up with cool attack names and shout them and stuff? Thatâs half the fun!â
Shaking her head, Tess didnât have the heart to tell him that heroics werenât as simple or thrilling as the comic books made them out to be. Instead, she began walking out of the alley with him to begin heading home. âI dunno. Maybe you should ask one sometime?â
âYeah, as if Iâd ever meet a Parahuman in person. Itâs like, whenever something cool happens Iâm in the wrong place.â
âGlen, you spend half your day at school and the other half in front of the computer. Maybe if you got out more youâd see some action?â
Yesterday had been another ordeal, that quite frankly, Tess was glad to be past. Yep, she was looking forward to a nice, normal and simple day at school. She had the odd chores and such to be a part of, such as delivering the band club funds to the bank, but that was only going to take half an hour or so on break. And in all honesty, she could use some time away from school to just relax.