Ariadna Vazques knocked twice and waited. The activity on the other side of the door could be heard from where she stood on the door step.

“Coming!” someone shouted out. Ariadna became impatient. She had other places to be. A young woman with an excited smile opened the door. “Pizza’s here!” she shouted back into the house.

Ariadna handed the pile of four pizza boxes over and readily accepted the tip. The door closed on Ariadna and she turned back down the stairs to her car. Her next delivery wasn’t too far away and she could still make it within the forty five minute time frame. She knew the Silk Market area of Fort Prirough like the back of her hand, making her one of the most efficient pizza delivery girls for the restaurant she worked for.

Back on the road, her ABBA playlist continued, with the introduction of ‘Voulez Vouz’ soundtracking her ten minute drive to the Frat house she was due at with five pizzas.

Luckily, it looked like there wasn’t a crazy party going on. Ariadna had no patience for huge crowds and rowdy drunk people. She knocked on the door twice and waited. The night was warm but a gentle breeze occasionally took the edge off the heat and dried the lingering perspiration on her skin. She shifted, rolling her shoulders to loosen her yellow work top that had stuck to her skin.

The door opened and a young guy clocked the pizzas first, his gaze then shifting to Ariadna’s face.

“Um, hi. Pizzas?” the guy awkwardly stuttered, gesturing questionably towards the pizzas.

“Obviously,” stated Ariadna, robotically thrusting them at the Frat guy, who took them.

“Thanks. What’s, er… your name?”

“Ariadna.”

“That’s pretty.”

“Thanks.” She turned to leave back down the path.

“Er… my name’s Ralph.” Ariadna froze and turned back to Ralph. “I’m Ralph,” he repeated with more certainty.

“I know, you said already.”

“Yes. I did, you’re right. Um you forgot your tip,” he started to balance the pizza boxes and dig around in his back pocket. Ariadna walked towards the door. He looked at her expectantly but Ariadna wasn’t sure what he was expecting. “You give me a hand?”

Ariadna offered her right hand, palm up.

“No, take them from me so I can get my wallet out.” Ralph took out a ten and stuffed his wallet back, taking the pizzas back from Ariadna.

“Are you new?” Ralph asked.

“Nine weeks and two days.”

“Very precise. It’s been a while since we ordered from Joey’s. I just didn’t recognise you.”

“Very well.”

“Have you been busy tonight?

Why won’t he stop talking to me?

Ralph noticed Ariadna’s frown and blushed. “Sorry, I should let you get back to work.”

“They’re getting cold,” she advised, pointing at the pizzas.

“Of course, the guys will be getting hungry too. See you again.”

“Only if I’m working on a day you order.”

Ralph blinked. “Yes, that’s what I meant.”

“Thanks for the ten dollars,” she said and turned away back to the sanctuary of her car.

“Weirdo.” Her hearing picked up Ralph’s slight muttering as he closed the door on her. She flinched but continued on. Her aunt told her growing up to ignore comments like that. She wasn’t weird.

She drove off and dialled the restaurant.

“I am going to fill the car up before heading back,” she informed the person on the other end of the phone and hung up once was acknowledged. She didn’t like to let the gauge fall below a quarter of a tank.

She pulled into the gas station as ‘Chiquito’ hit the chorus. One lone car sat on the forecourt, and the luminescent lights from the roof and the store made it feel like a the station was in a bubble of daylight.

Ariadna watched the price dial as it climbed to twenty five dollars and stopped precisely at her budget. She hesitated once she put the pump back in its cradle.

Something caught her attention.

A faint suggestion of something from inside the store.

She could see the worker behind the till and no queue, which is just what she was hoping for. She opened the door to enter but as the door closed the sound of a gun readying behind her caused her to stop.

“Don’t move a muscle, lady,” said a mans voice. “What’s your name?” he continued.

Ariadna didn’t say anything. She just stood. The man waving the gun came into view as he insisted on not being ignored.

“I asked yer a question. What’s your name?!”

“You also told me to not move a muscle. Do you realise how many muscles in the face are used in order to talk?” Ariadna asked, again still not moving- if you don’t count the jaw she moved to speak.

Another man announced himself, saying, “She’s right Frank. Your instructions suck! Relax lady, move into this space here.” It was another guy who also had a firearm.

So two robbers.

Frank glared at his as yet unnamed accomplice as Ariadna did as she was told.

“It’s about one hundred.”

“What is?” asked Frank.

“The number of muscles used when you speak.”

“Yeah, we don’t care about that right now,” said the second guy.

“What’s your name?” Frank asked again.

“Ariadna.”

“Right Ardianna-”

“It’s Ariadna.”

“Whatever. Listen up. I do the talking. Me or Simon there. Christopher behind the till is going to give us the takings.”

“But that’s stealing,” Ariadna argued. Simon and Frank looked at each other and laughed.

“Oh really? I didn’t realise,” Simon said, but Ariadna sensed in his tone that perhaps he did know deep down.

“Hurry up Christopher. Enough delay! Money now!” barked Frank.

“And the cigarettes too,” Simon added.

“No Simon, we just said cash.”

“And I keep telling you we can make more selling the cigarettes.”

“Chris, just the cash in the register.”

“Are you kidding me Frank?”

“We don’t have time, Simon. We’ve already been here long enough and I want to get out of here. CHRIS! REGISTER. NOW!” Frank aimed the gun at Christopher who whimpered.

He looked to be young, maybe just twenty one. Old enough to serve alcohol and cigarettes, but young enough to be scared.

“I-it’s all card payments n-nowadays. There’s not much in the register to have,” he tried to explain. Yes, young enough to be scared but also young enough to not know better than to haggle in a robbery.

“Quite frankly Chris, I don’t care! Open it now!” shouted Frank.

Ariadna spotted Simon check his watch. She didn’t think he liked the time because he became quite agitated.

“Frank let’s just get out of here now, we’ve been here long enough.”

“Don’t get cold feet on me now, yer bastard!” Frank lowered his gun from Christopher and walked towards Simon at the window.

Christopher shifted, pulling a shotgun from behind the counter, pumping it towards the robbers. Ariadna watched on, still in her spot. She could tell that Frank and Simon were not happy about this new development.

“Don’t move!” Christopher shouted. Simon obliged, but Frank began to walk slowly to the front of the counter.

“Now now, Christopher. There’s no need for this.”

“Well you have guns, why shouldn’t he? It’s fair now,” observed Ariadna.

“Shut your mouth!” Frank snapped.

Simon raised his gun at Ariadna. Christopher aimed his at Simon and Frank raised his gun at Christopher, who got spooked and aimed his shotgun back at him.

In the same beat, a shot went off. Ariadna flinched, and everything went black.

***

Seven hours later.

Ariadna came to, lying in an unfamiliar environment. She shot up and walked to the only exit. It was locked. There wasn’t even a handle. She turned and assessed her surroundings. Bland, cold, silent, small. A cell. Why am I here? The last thing she remembered was being at the garage- Oh, not again, she thought.

She sat back on the excuse of a bed it was and tried to put things together. But it was no use. She was never able to recall what happened in a black out. She surmised that whatever it was, landed her in police custody.

Some unknown amount of time passed when the door opened. The clinking of a key and a metallic sliding announcing so. A police officer stood at the doorway. A big guy he was, his bald head glinting in the bright light.

“Someone tell me why I’m here?” demanded Ariadna.

“Up on your feet. You have a visitor,” he said, ignoring Ariadna’s initial request.

She complied, getting up and walking out into a corridor of identical looking doorways.

He took her to a room which had a different door. In the room, was someone who she instantly recognised, but was equally not expecting. The police officer closed the door leaving Ariadna with the familiar face. He was sat at a table with a chair opposite, which she sat in.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

“I think so.”

“Good. Ariadna, do you know who I am?”

“Brad Jacobs Brown, also known as Proten from The Enhanced Beings Collective and representative for America in the G7 Enhanced Alliance.”

“Right, well yes. That’s me.”

“Why am I here?”

“Do you not remember what happened?”

“I remember being at the gas station. Frank, Simon and Christopher all had guns and someone fired a shot. Then I blacked out. But then I woke up here and I was led to this room with you in it. That’s all I remember.”

“Ok, well done. That’s good.”

“Why am I here, Brad?”

Eight hours ago.

A shot went off. Ariadna flinched.

Christopher’s shotgun recoiled and Frank toppled over into a display of windscreen wash. Ariadna leapt onto the counter, swinging both legs at Christopher, crashing him into the products behind him. He yelped in agony and shock as the shotgun was taken from him and bent into a bananaesque curve.

Simon was now by the side of a frantic and wounded Frank who was shouting obscenities. Christopher meanwhile was trying to flee over the counter so Ariadna, grabbing him by the shoulders, flung him across the shop.

“Are you crazy?” yelled Frank, as Simon tended to his wounds.

“He shot you,” Ariadna stated in a slightly demonic voice, standing over the two men.

“Who the hell are you?” Simon desperately pleaded. “Your eyes?! Your voice!”

“I’m Ariadna. I’ve already told you,” she explained, uninterested. She walked off towards Christopher.

“Simon, you have to get the money now,” Frank whispered through gritted teeth.

“What about you?” Simon asked.

“I’ll be fine, just finish the job whilst the psycho bitch is over there.” Simon got up and ran behind the till.

“What’s your problem?” Christopher asked Ariadna from his place on the ground. His lip had blood coming from it and he had a bump on his forehead. He was also cradling his left arm.

“You shot that man. You can’t do things like that,” she replied.

Christopher looked at bewildered. “I was defending the business! They had guns pointed at us. It was self-defence, Jesus Christ!” he hissed.

In the distance, sirens could be heard, signalling the end of the robbery. Across the other end of the store, Simon came away from the register with his loot, returning to Frank to pick him up.

“He needs an ambulance,” advised Ariadna.

“Screw you!” snapped Frank, leaning on Simon as he hobbled out.

“Well don’t let them get away!” cried out Christopher. “They’ve stolen the money!”

“And the cigarettes,” informed Ariadna.

She went out after them onto the forecourt just as three police cars swooped in, blocking any chance of escape.

“Hands up! On your knees! All three of you now!” shouted the police officers.

This isn’t right, thought Ariadna, following the instructions. She complied with the law but the combination of bright lights, flashing lights, shouting and the injustice was too much for her. She toppled over, passing out.

***

“So they thought I was in on the robbery?”

“Yes.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“We know that now. The three of you were leaving the scene at the same time, and you had attacked the worker after he shot one of the robbers. Can you blame the police officers?”

“Well I did that because he shot at them. You’re not allowed to do that.”

“To defend yourself you can. But anyway, what’s done is done now.”

“So can I go?”

“Yes you can. But I’d like to talk about why I’m here.”

“Ok.”

“Your arrest flagged us on our systems. See, Lucas… Network was monitoring you as a potential Enhanced Being since when he met you. Do you remember that?”

Ariadna nodded. “Because of my black outs?”

“Well yes, and what you did when you blacked out. How do they happen?”

“When I get a visual or auditory over-stimulus I black out and become possessed with strength and speed, but with no recollection of what I have done. But Lucas knew that.”

“I know, I’m just asking you myself. Don’t worry.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“No no, I’m just here to see if you’ll think of joining us in return for us helping you gain more of a control over your black outs, and perhaps ways to filter out this over stimulation of the senses that start it.”

Ariadna considered what Brad was telling him. It wasn’t the first time she had heard this offer. “And it’s as easy as that?”

“Well, in so many ways. You’ll have to work with us and commit to The Collective, but the help and support will be there for you. We know what you are capable of and what you can do. There’s a place for you in The Collective, Ariadna. I can give you some time to think about it of course.”

“How much time?”

“Um well as long as you need. A week? A month? Just the longer we leave it, nothing’ll get done to help you.”

“Give me a month.”