Siphon: Born To Take It All

"Listen to me Penny! Listen to me! I know this is hard but this is what's best for you. Now listen to me very closely. Whatever you hear on the news, whatever they tell you, whatever you hear from the police, remember that we loved you very much and we are doing all of this for you."

"We have to go. I'm sorry my child but this has to happen."

"MOM! MOM WAIT! WAIT! WHAT'D I DO WRONG?! MOMMY DADDY PLEASE! PLEASE COME BACK! WHATEVER I DID! I'M SORRY!"

"Forgive us, Penny. But this will just be easier on you."

"Come along now. She'll be okay here. They won't look for her out here."

The men gently held me in place while I screamed for them to come back in vain. "MOMMY! DADDY! PLEASE COME BACK! PLEASE COME BACK! I'M SORRY! DADDY! DADDY DON'T GO! WHAT'D I DO WRONG? WHAT DID I DO? I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY PLEASE COME BACK! COME BACK I LOVE YOU! COME BAAAAACk!"

But they didn't come back for me. They walked out of the door and drove away to God knows where while I was stuck in the orphanage bawling my eyes out. I didn't understand why they didn't want me. I didn't understand what I did wrong. I didn't understand why I was left at the orphanage. I didn't understand why they fought the world. I didn't understand why my father commanded an army of bad guys. I didn't understand why he got into that fight with Serenity that traversed the country. I didn't understand why it ended in Ironfrot. I didn't understand why my father wounded Serenity. I didn't understand why Serenity killed him either. I don't know what happened to my mother. I don't know why my parents left me alone. I don't know why none of my parents business associates ever came to find me. I don't know.

What I do know is that my father was supposed to have been the most evil man in the world. At least that's what everyone else says about him. I only knew him as my father really.

Now he's dead and gone and demonized. Schools teach about all of the evil things he did in classes. There are documentaries about his evil deeds. Movies. TV Shows. Online Shows. Entire Novels. Fake True Stories.

Meanwhile, Serenity has an entire city named after her with a statue and a monument in the middle of it. With everyone cheering her praises to this day and I can kinda get it? I mean, I guess she saved the world right?

But it still doesn't explain why my parents did any of that though neither does any of the documentaries.

I don't understand why he did any of it.

But now he's gone and my biological mother, if she isn't dead too, dropped off of the face of the Earth.


It's not that bad though. I got a lucky break. I was adopted by Miss Stone and all things considered I'm living a good life in Rivington Falls. Not to be confused with the other Rivington. I'm not sure how the name was adopted here in the United Republic but I guess that's not too important.

I've changed my surname to Stone and I'm definitely sticking with that.

It's not like I can go around using my real surname. I got enough flack for that thank you very much!

Oh, who am I?

You sure you wanna know?

Alright. I'll tell you.

My Name Is Penelope Donovan Killmaster Stone. Well, just Penelope D. Stone right now.

I Am The Daughter Of The Dark Lord Equilibrium.

This Is My Story.

Rivington Falls Academy School For Advanced Learning.

A big fancy school for talented young students! The best students in Rivington are selected from the schools and offered a chance to join the Academy. If you can make it through the downright insane exams, some of which were on the Incomprehensible Secret Test Of Character side of things, you were golden! The Academy was comprised of multiple buildings and towers located on a small island just off of the city and connected by a long bridge.



The Academy's curriculum consisted of advanced courses, College and University Level, along with physical fitness and wilderness survival training. The Talented Students were kept exceptionally busy keeping up with all of it but damn if it wouldn't look good on their records. Besides, they knew what they were getting into when they signed up and sat down for those Ultra Nightmare Mode Entrance Exams.

But every now and then they got a nice little breather to have some fun.

Which is where I am now.

"Are you kidding me right now?!" Skyla Wright demanded as she stared at the Joker card in her hand. "There's no way! You're cheating somehow! You have to be!" She accused me. Skyla is a beautiful, young girl with blonde hair that is usually tied up at the left side of her head with a blue scrunchie and blue-eyes.

Au contraire de ce que tu prétends, cela n’est pas le cas." I replied to her with a cocky smile. "This is a simple game of chance." I placed my red and black cards down and tapped them. "I explained to you quite clearly how this game works, didn't I? There are four suits in a deck of cards: Diamonds, Hearts, Spades and Clubs. Hearts and Diamonds are Red, Spades and Clubs are Black. Normally, if you draw two cards, there will be four possibilities: Black and Black, Red and Black, Black and Red, and finally Red and Red. The chances of drawing two aces of the same color from the four aces might seem 50-50 at first, but people are fooled by drawing two cards at a time. By drawing only one card at a time, after you draw one, whether its red or black, there would be three cards left face down, and only one card of the three is the same color. Thus, the real odds would be one out of three." I explained clearly. I tapped the Joker card. "That's why I added him in. See? We take turns drawing from the five cards right? And whoever collects two of the same color wins. Exceeeept! If you draw the Joker, you lose! If we both collect one of each, it's a tie! There's no way to win unless one of us draws the Joker. If the Joker is left at the end, the game has to be a tie. The chances of drawing the Joker card out of five set cards is always one out of five."

I ran my hair through my brown hair that I kept in a shoulder length bobbed cut curved inwards at the ends with two longer clumps taking the same shape on either side of my face with short bangs that reach roughly a quarter of the way down my forehead as I leaned back and relaxed as she processed this and sat down. She placed the cards back on the table. "So you really aren't cheating huh? You're just lucky?"

“We are all a great deal luckier that we realize, we usually get what we want – or near enough."

"Roald Dahl. Alright, fine, one more time! But! I want my homegirl to shuffle this time."

One of her friends walked up to the desk and gathered up the cards. I made a little bit of conversation while keeping an eye on the joker card. "So how's your interview project coming along?"

"Going great actually! It took some time but I've managed to score a virtual video chat with The Princess!"

"No way! Carmella herself? How'd you pull that off?" I exclaimed in amazement.

"Took a lot of phone calls. My family's rich remember?"

"Sure rub it in." I stuck out my tongue.

"So anyway, my father called a guy who called a guy who knew a guy who was roomates with a guy who knew another guy and that's how I got the interview." Skyla summarized as her friend placed the cards down.

"That's impressive. My hats off to you good madam." I told her and took a card.

Then Skyla took a card. "So who are you trying to interview?"

"Davina Deandra from Shepard. We're scheduled for a VR Interview tomorrow." I explained and took a card.

"Cool. Of course, she's not as cool as interviewing literal royalty, but I suppose you could do worse." Then Skyla took her second card.

"Alright. Three. Two. One. Showdown."

We both revealed our cards. Two Reds for me. One black and one Joker for her. "What is with my luck today?"

"Good luck and bad luck come and go in waves! Wanna try it again?"

"Ugggh no thanks! Five losses in a row is enough for me."

"Understandable. However, there is the matter of your payment."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." She took out $50.00 and placed it on the desk. "There. $10.00 for each game. You win. Just know that I will not forget this. I am going to get you back for this one day, Penelope."

"Best of luck to you, Skyla."

We shook on it and I took the money and put the cards back in the card holder.

Today was going to be a very good day.

I like the respective shout outs. Interesting to see how the interview turns out😁

I arrived at the library and swiftly ascended to the computer lab where I logged on with my username and password Regina Immediatus Prestigia. It was essentially Latin for Queen of Ultimate Deception. It just felt right for an artist like Moi. I got into the computer and on the internet and got one of my word files from my E-Mail and got to work on it. I threw my all into it. Crafting a beautiful passionate essay that had the appearance of an amazing work of heart that makes a teacher tell that you had poured your heart and soul into it after weeks of sweat and tears desperately crafting the ultimate essay chasing after that ever elusive A+ Grade.

Well, it certainly appeared that way didn't it?

I skimmed the Wikipedia entries on the way to the library on my phone, checked their sources, memorized those and checked a few other sources, memorized those and finally I skimmed some online notes last night. Now here I sat as I pooled all of that gathered knowledge into the essay into my own words. This was meant to be a 10 page long monster that would take . I knocked it out in the first round.

It's not that hard. Just take the information you find and expand on it. It's really quite simple.

I looked over the essay again after I finished it. It was sealed air tight and golden. I saved it and E-Mailed a copy to myself and then I printed it out. With this out of the way, I was free to get started on my other assignments. I was about to log out of the E-Mail when I noticed a message. From Davina Deandra. I immediately clicked on it.



I immediately sent her a response.




g

I sent the message and waited with baited breath for about two minutes. Just when I was beginning to think I'd been to hasty she replied!





I closed down the browser and logged out of the computer and rushed into a private room, slid to a stop, grabbed a computer, logged in, got all set up and logged into the chat system while adjusting the headset. Once everything was ready I clicked start and I was immediately pulled into a glowing computer tunnel before suddenly finding myself into a new room that looked like it was somewhere inside of a Mansion and there she was. Sitting right in front of me. With a fancy blue suit and extensively long coral brown hair that she keeps in a high ponytail tied back with a large white bow, curled slightly at the ends along with two prominent strands of hair beside her bangs that reaches slightly past her ample chest. Her eyes are emerald green. She had the feel of an experienced and confident businesswoman looking over me like I was a puzzle to be solved. I smiled and offered my hand. "Davina Deandra?"

"That's me. Hello, Penelope Stone. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Oh I plan to have some fun with this.

(Whoa-ho-ho! Somebody's proud of herself! Isn't she just a Student Council President?) "I seeeee. So if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are your powers then?"

"Hmm? Well, it's a bit complex, but for simplicities sake, I call it Patho-Ergokinesis."

"Patho-Ergokinesis? I've never heard of that."

"It's fabulously rare and yet everyone can tap into it. Allow me to summarize. The Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum is an energy field that is fueled by the emotions of all sentient beings. The Emotional Spectrum was created early on when sentient life first appeared in the universe and its thoughts and feelings became powerful enough to coalesce into in a whole band of energy. You see it all the time. For example, you ever watch a cartoon or an anime where the main character is getting the daylights beaten out of them until the villain royally ticks them off and they get a huge swell of power? Or someone finds an epiphany that swells them up with joy and restores their energy? Or the powers of love and friendship?"

"Yeah?" I asked nodding along.

"That's the EES. That's basically what happens when someone taps into their inner selves and gets a huge swell of emotion that gives them a brief surge of energy. They are tapping into the boundless energy of the Emotional Spectrum. Everyone can tap into it to some degree but only for the briefest of moments. Empaths have an easier time doing so it and it is theorized that their powers are fueled by the EES the same way it fuels all emotion in all living things. That's where I come in. I can tap into it deliberately." Davina explained. "I can create, shape and manipulate the energy that is created and generated by the emotions of all living things in existence capable of feeling them. I are able to increase, decrease or change it, manifest the emotional energy to physical level, and convert emotional energy into another form of energy." She gave me a minute to let that sink before she continued. "It was quite invaluable when we fought the demon. Being able to functionally eat people's fears in a fight like that can be a lifesaver."

My head was swimming. Emotional Energy? I guess it's not entirely impossible but could this girl really tap into that kind of power?

Converting, shaping, manipulating, changing it...eating it? Absorbing it? She could Absorb Energy like that then....could she be like my father?!

"Ah, yes, what kind of supernatural creatures and people live around Shepard?"

"Oh we've got it all. There's a Centaur on our Student Council for instance! As well as a few others around town. Nymphs, Faeries, Sprites, the occasional Gnome and Goblins, we've got Lycans, Witches, some Minotaurs, we've got it all here."

"And everyone lives in peace?"

"Of course. There might be the occasional disagreement but it's rarely anything serious. It comes with being a supernatural hotspot due to the ley line crossing. Oh and ley lines are a worldwide source of magic woven around the Earth. Wherever Ley lines intersect in specific ways, they provide and enable magical properties to certain areas and people to greater degrees than normal. Because of this, supernatural beings are more attracted to hot spots like Shepard and they tend to naturally gather in numbers around the area. Since they've been gathering around the town for so long it essentially just grew around them and they've learned to live in peace together with each other and the townspeople."

"Woah. You are...blowing my mind here. So these ley lines are all around the world?"

"Everywhere and they're particularly strong on this Earth as well hence the more public and common appearances of supernatural beings and events. When the lines intersect with each other at certain locations in juuuust the right way, it results in a supernatural hot spot like I described above. The area will start to radiate a certain energy and supernatural beings and humans who are more inclined towards the supernatural will start to gather in that area over time."

"That's cool. So the energy they radiate is like a beacon?"

"Basically."

"Cool. What exactly do they look like? Can you see them?"

"Not with the naked eye unless you're supernaturally inclined. As for what they look like, imagine this. Picture the most beautiful sparkling shimmering shining light you can envision in your mind and now picture it as a series of crisscrossing lines all around you stretching beyond the horizon as far as you can see. That's honestly the best way I can describe them to a newbie."

"Woaoh...hey wait a second. I thought you said you were a Super. How can you see them?"

She giggled. "My Patho-Ergokinesis is my main trick but it's not my only one, Penelope. It takes more than an awesome super power to keep order in Shepard. I've learned quite a few tricks." Davina winked.

You know it bro! Shepard has a little bit of everything there going for it! Penelope would get along great with Daphne for sure!

"Serenity was...kindness. Purity. Passion. Earnestness. Hope. Courage and strength. She was the physical embodiment of justice in the world. That's what everyone always said about her and it was true. Of all of the heroes of ages past, she was the very model of justice and compassion. When you were around her, you could just feel that everything was going to be fine. She had an aura around her that just made you feel at ease. That everything was going to be fine when she was around. You've probably heard the same thing from anybody who's ever met her after all but it was the truth. Let me tell you as someone who has met her in person. It's the absolute truth. I'd never met anyone so kind before." Davina paused to reflect on that day before continuing. "Lets see. Lenora Barrineau. She was interviewing Lenora Barrineau from News Storm at the time. Haha. It was one of the few interviews she was able to stick around for. Normally she had to cut in and out of the interviews to go save someone. Serenity couldn't sit still for a second. Buuut the other heroes were handling business and it was a quiet day for once so she had some free time. A lot of it was the usual fair. Cracking some good natured jokes about fellow heroes like Physikḗ, Empyrean Man, Royal Sentinel, The Majestic Magician, Rosethron and Nightbolt. Telling a funny story about all the work that went into settling on a team name."

"The Guardian Champions. I remember. They also considered The Apex Legion, The Justice Defenders, The Justice Marvels and The Infinity Battalion were also in the running."

"You know your history. Coming up with the name was one thing but the real fun came from choosing one. There was a lot of debating before they settled on The Guardian Champions. A Super Team formed from Heroes around the world dedicated to defending it from all manners of threats. Until The Vanishing happened they were unbeatable. The Dark Lord Equilibrium's Conglomerate Of Crime, the autocratic superpower of the criminal world, were their only real opposition. The real power behind the Conglomerate was of course The Church Of Terror. A literal religion of evil ruled over by The Council Of The Cataclysm. Dismantling them was Serenity's lifelong goal."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I know that story. I still can't believe Serenity's final battle with them was on the freaking Moon!"

"The Lunar Battle. The battle so awesome it could be seen from Earth!" Davina declared. "That was one for the history books. She even surfed that giant bio-weapon from the Moon down to Earth!"

"Kakothūmin (Malevolence, Κᾰκοθῡμῐ́Ᾱ.)"

"She might've been the embodiment of kindness but that didn't mean that Serenity didn't have style."

"Oh I know she did. She was amazing. Ah, getting back to the interview though?"

"Right. So she was in the interview right, just generally answering questions about life, her hero work, her recent missions, her greatest battles, stuff like that. She answered everything in a good natured tone of voice. Well, almost everything. Naturally the subject of her nemesis eventually came up. Equilibrium. The moment the subject of that monster came up you could feel the mood in the room change. She kept a strong front up of course but I could feel it affecting her. She described him as The Emperor Of Darkness. An Archdevil. An Infernal Tyrant. Among other names. A gluttonous hope crusher who gorged himself on the powers of others while drinking in their despair. According to Serenity, he once told her that fear and despair just made the process feel so much better for him."

"I see. Those were her words, huh?"

"Yes but everything we've been able to dig up on him, the reports of people who encountered him, video footage...yeah that sounds about right. Satan on Earth."

"But, what's with the name then? Equilibrium?"

"That. Yeah, I asked her that myself. Originally, he represented the idea that as long as good and evil both exist in the world, there needs to be a "balance" between them. As long as evil exists in the world, there needs to be good as well, and the only way that an absolute good can exist is for an absolute evil to simultaneously exist. The ultimate evil to counter the absolute good that was Serenity in order to force the world to focus on him as a threat and unite together. That's what he wanted. Originally. According to Serenity at least. Problem with designating yourself as the ultimate evil of course is that he got lost in the darkness at some point and before anybody knew it he went mad with power and became exactly what he wanted to be."

She paused before continuing. "Potentially it's a result of his absorption ability. Think about how many changes he must've done to his own DNA with all of the modifications it had to keep up with. Every time he ripped a power out of someone, he forcibly modified his own genome to be able to include them, damaging them in the process, resulting in mental and physical instability."

"Wait, wait, wait. Physical instability? The guy who could throw hands with Serenity was physically unstable?" I asked in disbelief.

"Power Stealing is a double edged sword, Penelope. If you make too many changes to your body too fast it results in a breakdown. The human body isn't built for many changes and the user will get physically ill if they overuse it. The effect is different for everyone depending on a variety of factors but its never pleasant. That's why Equilibrium had to steal the abilities of regenerators to compensate. His body wouldn't have been able to keep up with the demands he was putting on it and would've begun rapidly deteriorating or even melting down. Eventually, even that couldn't keep up with the damage that Serenity did to him in their final battle while still stabilizing him and his body gave in. His healing factor burned out, resulting in his final mutations and meltdown at the end."

"Power Degeneration." I realized.

"Imagine cancer, that slow insidious death that kills you from the inside, but which is also intrinsically you; it is a body eating itself, and unable to heal. Now imagine that cancer can grow faster whenever you do what you're best at: dancing, painting, coding software, kayaking. This is what happens with Power Degeneration. It's especially nasty with Power Thieves. Look it up. It's a rare power but anybody who gets too big for their britches with it will find themselves stuck in a healing vat or desperately hunting down regenerators to stabilize themselves."

I went quiet and hung my head as I took all of this in. (Holy fucking shit this...this is some irony isn't it? There really is a price for everything. Oh Father, is that why you abandoned me? Did you not want me to get involved in this mad plan of yours? Did you not want me to experience that with you? Did you want to keep me out of the crossfire? Or...did you not want to see it happen to me? Is that it? Is that...all of that...going to happen me?)

"Penelope, are you okay?"

"Huh, oh, yeah. I'm fine. This is cool stuff. It's the best history lesson I've ever had! Please continue." I assured her with a smile.