Broken hero

Chapter 8

   Two weeks, that's how long it took for the antidote to flush out most of the poison. Two painful weeks in the hero academy's hospital. Though if she was honest, she couldn't remember much through the haze. Last she remembered was being placed in a vehicle of some sort by Warfalcon before she passed out again. After that it's a blur of people talking, needles and bright lights shining in her eyes.

Blackout... or rather Eclipse sits up slowly with a groan. The white sterile room around her felt unnecessarily bright as the morning sun seeps in through the window. She could hear the nurses and a few doctors talking to each other as they walk down the hall. The heavy smell of antiseptic felt even heavier with her enhanced senses, proof that her powers were finally returning.

Heavy footsteps approach her door, and it cracked open just enough for a head of wavy brown hair to peak in. She rolls her eyes at Warfalcon's hesitation and motions him in.

"Bout time you wake up." He smirks at her as he pulls up the hospital chair and eases himself into it.

"Next time I get hit with a poisoned bullet, I'll try to remember not to sleep to long." Eclipse smirks back as he rolls his eyes at her.

"How about you don't get hit by another bullet and we'll leave it at that?"

"That would definitely be preferable."

They both fall into awkward silences, the room becoming tense.

"As much fun as this is, we have to talk about the elephant in the room." He finally breaks the silence, his voice soft but firm. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was undercover dumbass." Eclipse rolled her eyes at him before speaking in a softer tone, "not like you'd care anyway."

"Why would you think that?!" Warfalcon looks at her with a mix of surprise and anger.

"Maybe because you didn't care about anything else that was going on with me?" Eclipse gives him a pointed look but continues before he can speak, "Ever since Charles and the other 3 went AWOL you've been really cold towards me. I couldn't tell you what was going on because you cared more about what was happening with the academy."

He winces at the bitterness in her tone before speaking, "I cared... that's why I came over to check on you that night you tried... well you know."

Eclipse scoffs a bit, "Yeah and you locked me up here without even visiting or asking me why it happened. Then anytime I seemed even remotely down, you sent doc after me. It hurt knowing I was struggling and the only person I could trust didn't care enough to ask why."

"You had a girlfriend to do that for you though. I thought you were being taken care of... but that's no excuse not to try. I'm sorry."

Eclipse bites the urge to make a snarky remark about the girlfriend bit and sighs. "I know... and I know you did your best. I just... I didn't know what else to do."

They stay quiet for a bit before he speaks up again, "so what happened?"

"Depends on where you want to start. At the very beginning or why I left?" She sighs as she leans back against the wall.

"Let's start with the missing two weeks. What happened with you and Charles' group?"

She takes a breath as she looks at her hands. "Remember how I had come to you about them bullying me because my power control was still weak? Then you talked to them, and things got better?" She gulps as he nods, "it didn't get better. They just got better at hiding it. But that's not all... Charles..."

Her chest started tightening from the panic welling up inside her. Only one other person knew about this, and they had used it as a weapon against her. She knew Warfalcon wasn't the same, but it still caused her to hesitate. Warfalcon's face grew soft as he patiently waited for her to continue.

"One night when we retired to our dorms, Charles broke into my room as I was closing the door. He forced himself on me and threatened to do worse if I ever told you." She finally whispers, not daring to look at his face while he absorbs this news. "I felt so weak, and I tried to fight back but he overpowered me. For 3 months after that he would find a way in after everyone was gone for the night, and he'd rape me. One of those times he went too far, and I found out I was pregnant. I was terrified and didn't know what to do but I ended up telling him. He flew off the handle and threatened to kill me if I didn't abort the baby. Somehow, I grew a spine and told him that I was keeping the baby. He didn't have to be the father or let anyone know but I wasn't going to get rid of it."

She pauses for a moment, her fingers rubbing together.

"And then what happened?" Warfalcon's voice was soft, but she could hear the anger beneath it.

"The next day as I was on my patrol route, Charles and his group of friends pulled up next to me. His girlfriend, Jenna, held the door open while Charles and one of the twins grabbed me and pulled me in. They pinned me down and gagged me so I couldn't speak. They drove for hours before finally stopping and Charles carried me into an old house where they strapped me down. They must have drugged me because I don't remember anything after that." She takes a breath before continuing, "You know that my water powers give me the ability to change my DNA... well somehow they found a way to force my powers to change my body structure, so I had both female and male parts. Then they used fishing line to create a home stitch, forcing me to stay that way. Jenna had also used her magnetic control to forcibly tie my tubes. After I came to, they started mocking me and beating me, I started to miscarry from everything they were doing. But because my tubes were tied... " she trails off before starting again.

"Finally, they all started walking out, except Charles. Jenna looked back at me and said, 'since you want him so much, I think I'll let you have him for a bit.' Then she laughed and shut the door. I realized then that he had lied to them. He told them I was pining after him and they decided to teach me a lesson. Charles ripped my clothes off and started raping me again while I fought to stay conscious, which ended up breaking my leg as it was still chained to the end of the bed. Once he had his fun, he left, and I was alone. I knew I was in trouble as my eyes blurred and I struggled to stay alert. I noticed a pool of water in the corner and was able to focus just enough to jam it into the keyhole and unlock the chains. Then I climbed out the window, and by now it was turning dark."

She pauses again and Warfalcon hands her the glass of water from beside the bed, his face flushed with anger.

"I was terrified but I needed to get help so I limped down the dirt road, hoping that I would find a hospital at the end of it. By the time I made it to the closest town, the sun was peaking up over the horizon. I had been so scared that Charles would discover I was gone in that time. Every noise had me jumping, I was biting what was left of my shirt to keep from screaming in pain as I was forced to walk on my broken leg... but I made it. The doctor there took one look at me and rushed me into surgery. I told him to just give me a hysterectomy while he was in there cause at this point, I was hurting so much, and they had mentioned the possibility of it never recovering anyway. So, after pleading with him, he finally agreed. He put me under, removed the fetus and my uterus, fixed my leg and then let me wake up to say goodbye before he sent the baby to the morgue. They cremated him for me and even used some of the ashes to create a pendant that I keep. And once I was well enough, I was discharged, and they helped me get a ride home."

"And Charles?" Warfalcon asks, his voice tinted with anger.

" I don't know. He never showed up at the hospital or around here afterwards."

Warfalcon takes a deep breath and then hugs her before heading towards the door. "I need to go get rid of some steam and you should be resting. I'll come by later so you can tell me the rest."