The Freaks

7

Ashleigh Lowe loved her city. It didn't matter that it was always teeming with chaos, that it could be incredibly dangerous. She may be from New Jersey, but Slifshire was her home. In her opinion, Slifshire was unique compared to the other American cities. Cities like New York had superheroes with public identities, superhero power-groups such as The First, which was ironic since they weren't the original heroes. 

She'd just returned from taking her neighbor's dog for a walk. In an hour, she would have to go back to work, though not for working purposes. Every year, her and her colleagues would hang out. It wasn't a mandatory thing, it was just so they wouldn't be just colleagues, they could be friends, or at the very least acquaintances. A tinny voice sounded from her counter.

"Delta, I repeat, Delta," 

Ashleigh, still with the spray paint in her hand walked over to the counter, set the can down and picked up the small earpiece. 

"This is Delta. May I ask who's speaking?" 

"This is Epsilon reporting duty. I have nothing to report on aside from genetically superior human beings soaring the skies and jumping out of planes from twenty-thousand feet in the air." a voice replied. Ashleigh giggled. 

"But, the real mystery is who would you rather have in your city. The people who kill the innocent or the people who kill the guilty?" she questioned. 

"Ugh, you've gone Shakespearian. What ever shall I do?" 

Ashleigh giggled again. "Come on, Epsilon, you can take it." 

"So, are you ready for tonight?" Epsilon asked her. She shrugged even though he couldn't see her. 

"I've been waiting for this moment for my entire life, Eps." she replied. 

"And what moment is that?" 

"The moment I kick your ass." Ashleigh answered. She heard laughing on the other hand. 

"Oh, we'll just see about that. I can say that it's almost guaranteed to be untrue, but I don't wanna hurt your feelings." 

"The only person with hurt feelings will be you." Ashleigh told him. 

"Uh huh. Did you notice anything different about the others?" he questioned. Ashleigh paused. 

"You'd have to be more specific." 

"You know how Alpha is almost never friendly with anyone, not even Beta, right?" 

Ashleigh snorted. "Of course I do. I remember what my welcome was. I still can't believe she looked me up and down and then went eh." 

"Yeah, well, she and Beta were particularly chatty today." he stated. 

"They talk a lot. They're very old fashioned when it comes to work." 

"But, are they modern enough to arrive at the exact same time and cover each other's asses in front of the boss?" he inquired. 

"So, what are you saying? Maybe Alpha's taking a nicer approach to things," 

"I'm saying that perhaps they broke the pact." Epsilon stated. Ashleigh let out a laugh at that. 

"The two people who created the pact breaking the pact? Sure, pal. I mean, you could've gone more original than that. That has happened in every sitcom ever." 

"I'm not screwing around. It's weird. I think I saw her tease him or something." he defended. 

"She screws with everybody, Epsilon. Remember how she convinced me that Beta had a traumatic childhood and that bananas and the color yellow set off his PTSD?" 

This time Epsilon let out a laugh. "Yeah, that was great."

"It definitely was not." 

"Okay, okay, but is there anything about today that you thought was weird?" he questioned. 

Ashleigh sighed, but she did think about it. 

"Yeah, when the guests showed up. She listened to everything the boss said. She was perfectly polite." 

"How did you notice that?" 

"After about six years, you start to notice things." 

~

Sorry that this chapter was soo short. I'm just going through the ropes of certain characters who will remain unnamed. Because it's so early, I will most likely have another chapter out tonight. Be prepared though! I'm doing the unexpected!!!! 

Enjoy!!!