Hidden Identity

Viviana stood beside the coffin of the man who had guarded her since she was an infant. A single tear rolled out of her blue contact lensed eyes and down her high boned cheeks, becoming caught in the corner of her slightly pouting lips. This man had taught her how to defend herself and how to shoot. He had been around more than her parents and was like an uncle to her, always encouraging her to do what she wanted to and to never let others tell her how she should live her life.
She watched the flickering, holographic, 3D pictures which were progected over his coffin. A few of him as a boy, a few as he started training then a gap of about 20 years. One flickered up with Via as a young girl, holding a gun that was far too big for her, pointing it at her guard, a huge grin on her face. This one started to move and a small voice came out of no where, only Via heard it.
“Bang, your dead.”
“Oh no.” The guard cried, holding his hand to his side and staggering theatrically. “Now who is going to protect you?” He started to fall. “Oh look out, dead man falling.”
The girl shrieked and ran a short distance. “You can't get me, you can't get me.” She put her thumbs against her ears and wiggled her hands, poking out her tongue. A small golden orb shone from around the girls neck.
The projection stopped as the funeral director stood and started to speak, “We are gathered here today to say good bye to Albert Brown. He was a good friend to all of us...”
Via tuned out, running a hand through her honey blond hair and thought to herself how do you know, you didn't even know him you old, faking coot, wishing she could punch something.

Via stood panting beside the big red punching bag in her basement gym, her parents had given it to her for her 12th birthday and since the funeral a week ago she had spent every spare minute down there ether on the treadmills or at the punching bag. She glanced up at the score board 1748 hits in 88 minutes, target definitely dead. She heard the door open and subtly sniffed the air, her mother. She turned around, switching off the score board as she did, “Hi mum.” She fingered the pendent around her neck, the same one as in the pictures at the funeral.
“Hello honey.” Her mother replied, wrinkling her nose slightly at Via's sweaty appearance. “We need to start interviewing for a new guard, sweet heart.”
Via spin kicked the punching bag. “Does it look like I need protection?” She asked. “Why do I need another guard? There haven't been any threats on my life since I was a baby and that was just a friend of yours joking around.”
“I know.” Her mother sighed. “It's more for the look of the thing.”
“So just for school then, or if I do stuff with you and dad?” Via asked.
“I suppose...”
“Deal. I will have a body guard but only while I'm at school or out with others with guards.” Via beamed at her mother, who hesitated. “Come on mum. I can look after myself, and it's not like I go anywhere really. The only time I won't have a guard is when I'm at home. You can not say no, that would just not be fair.”
“All right.” Her mother sighed, slightly confused by Via's last comment. “But we need to start interviews, school starts in a few days.”
“Cool.” Via shrugged, turning back to the punching bag. Her mother left and the blows became harder. She doesn't trust me at all. Via thought. Does she think I'll run away or something? Get in with the wrong crowd? When have I ever given her a reason to doubt me? Another blow hit the bag and ice encased it. Via looked at her hand thoughtfully, the tiny snowflakes dancing around her fingers. I can't be the only one who can do these things. She frowned and made the ice disappear before getting on a treadmill.

“No, I don't like him.” Via said as her mother gushed over a strong, hansom, inexperienced guard. “He has no experience and I don't trust him.”
“Alright sweetheart.” Her mother said, putting the picture aside.
“This one is good.” Via said, reading the CV of another guard.
“Oh no honey, he's too old.” Her mother cried, looking at the picture.
“Well he is only for looks.” Via muttered, she looked through the photos for the most experienced looking face which wasn't 'too old'. She found one and looked at his CV, he wasn't the best, but he was better than most. “What about him?” Via asked, handing the picture to her mother.
“Oh, he's perfect. Not too hansom, not ugly. Not old and yet experienced. He looks like those guards in the movies.” Via glanced at the picture again and hid a laugh. “I'll call him right away, you're back at school tomorrow, and then your seventeenth birthday is a few weeks latter...”
“Yea, about that.” Via interrupted. “I don't think I want a party this year.”
“But it's your sweet seventeenth?” Her mother replied, looking horrified. “And you haven't had a party since primary.”
“I want to focus on school stuff, I'll be going to uni in a few years and the exams start at the end of this year.” Via replied, making excuses as she always did.
“Alright.” Her mother said, a gleam appearing in her eye as she started planning another surprise party for her daughter. “I need to call this new guard of yours, what's his name? John Smith, well if that isn't the most common name in the world...”
Via knew her mother would plan something for her birthday, no matter what she said, but that was likely to be a dinner party where she could pretend that she got on with the kids from school. It wasn't like she was ugly or mean or anything, she was just kind of quiet and the whole school thought she was a bit odd.
She was, but not in the way the other kids though. Via could change into a white tiger and had control over water in all it's forms, hence covering the punching bag in ice, along with a few mind and truth reading ability's. From the age of two she was able to turn into a tiger, the first time she did this her mother walked in and had a panic attack, then thought it was a dream. Since then she has hidden her ability's from those around her.
When she got to school she was used to hiding herself so she withdrew and became quiet and very smart. The young children started teasing her because she was always on her own, but she never used her powers against them, preferring to just read quietly and ignore the abuse. This continued through to high school and Via started pretending that the kids at school didn't drive her crazy so her parents wouldn't worry.
This doesn't mean that she had no friends. One girl at her primary stuck by her. Rhonwyn, a beautiful, thin, copper haired girl, but her family moved to America just before high school. If anyone came to the party, Via hoped Rhonwyn would. She knew about Via's powers, the only one who did now that Albert was dead.

Via stood by her parents in a long, halter neck, red dress, the golden pendent glinted as they welcomed people into their home. Via shook another hand and said, what seemed to be her millionth, welcome. Then Rhonwyn arrived, Via squealed and gave her a huge hug. “Oh my god, I can't believe you made it.” She cried.
“I can't believe you just said 'Oh my god'.” Rhonwyn replied, she swished the short skirt of her own midnight blue dress. “What do you think?”
“It looks so good on you, I could never wear anything like that.” Via said, laughing slightly at the looks on her parents faces.
“What are you talking about?” Rhonwyn asked. “You have way better legs than me.”
Via leaned forward and whispered in her friends ear, “Yea but the 'rents would kill me if I showed them off.”
“I have something to show you later.” Rhonwyn said as she was pushed into the house by those waiting behind her.
“Welcome.” Via said to a boy from her school, shaking his hand quickly. She had had a crush on him since he asked her for a pencil in maths at the beginning of that year.
“Happy birthday.” Tye replied, trying to catch Via's eye. He found it very hard to talk to this particular girl and that had been one of two whole sentences he had spoken around her. His friends kept teasing him and trying to get him to ask her out, but she seemed so distant that there was no possibility that she liked him. He moved into the house with his parents and wondered what kind of 17 year old had a dinner party for their birthday.

“Oh finally.” Rhonwyn said, stretching out on the mattress on Via's bedroom floor and kicking off her heels. “So how's it going with Mr. Skrummy?”
“I don't know who your talking about.” Via said innocently, taking off the necklace and carefully putting it in the jewellery box beside her bed.
“That Tye guy.” Rhonwyn turned on to her stomach, looking up at Via. “Come on. I saw him looking at you.”
Via laughed. “It was my party.”
“So you've still done nothing about your crush?”
“Why would he like me? I'm 'that weird girl who's always sitting by herself'. He wouldn't be interested.” Via let herself fall onto her bed, sighing. “Anyway, what did you want to show me?”
“Oh yea.” Rhonwyn said, standing up and pushing down the waist of her pyjamas to revile a tattoo of a butterfly on her hip. “Check it out. I got it on my 17th last month.”
“That looks so cool.” Via said, leaning closer. “What you get it for?”
“Apart from my birthday?” Rhonwyn laughed. “You remember that guy I told you about a few months ago?”
“Anton?”
“Yea. He got a matching one, but slightly different. See this part here?” she pointed at the wing of a butterfly with a strange design on it. “Its his name, really small. He has my name.”
“That's a great way to do it.” Via said. “Really subtle.”
“I know ay.” Rhonwyn smiled, pulling her pants back up. “He designed it. He's great at art.”
“You're really close to him aren't you?” Via asked, smiling lightly.
Rhonwyn sank onto her bed, sighing. “You have no idea.”
“So what's he like?”
“Awesome. Wonderful. Amazing. Kind. Nice. Sexy...”
“Have you done it?”
“What do you mean, done 'it'?” both girls giggled. “Well almost. I got kind of freaked out when we were going further than normal, he was so sweet about it, just slowed down, didn't even mention it. I know that if he had mentioned it I would have felt so guilty then would have hated him for making me feel like that. But he didn't, just made no big deal out of it.”
“He sounds really great.” Via smiled.
“It sounds like your making sure he's good enough for me.” Rhonwyn exclaimed.
“So what if I am? That's what friends do.”
“What about Tye?” Rhonwyn asked slyly. “I have to make sure he's good enough for you.”
Via laughed. “It doesn't work that way, we have to be dating, and that is so unlikely that you won't have to worry about it.”
“Fine, fine. How are your powers going?” Rhonwyn asked. “Still having to block out people's thoughts?”

“Oh come on mum.” Via said, getting annoyed. “We agreed that I would only need the guard while I was with others with guards for the image and all that.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“I'm going to the mall with Rhonwyn. She doesn't have a guard, why do I need one?”
“Because you could meet someone we know, and how would it look if you were out on your own?”
“You don't trust me at all do you?” Via started yelling. “It's not about image, it's so you can check that I am where I say I'm going to be.”
“No of course not.”
Via saw the lie. “God mum, when have I ever given you a reason not to trust me? When have I ever done anything even impolite? I can't believe this.”
“All right, we'll compromise.” Her mother said quickly. “John will drop you off and pick you up from the mall. Deal.”
Via felt her anger calling to the tiger within, she took a deep breath. “Fine.” She stormed out of the kitchen and up to her room, slamming the door. “I have done nothing and still my mum doesn't trust me.” She yelled at Rhonwyn.
“I know.” Rhonwyn replied. “You're the most innocent girl I know. Granted you can triple flip someone ten times your weight.”
“But that's just self defence.” Via put her wallet in a bag. “I want a tattoo.” She suddenly decided. “At least then if mum goes on about me needing a guard I won't get so pissed.”
“You're not just getting one because I have one, are you?” Rhonwyn asked, a small frown appearing between her brows.
“No way.” Via exclaimed putting her mobile in her bag. “Samantha, this girl at school, got a tat of a fox on her shoulder. I've been planning to get one since, never got up the courage to actually get one until now.” Via pulled a sketch book from under her bed and flipped to a page near the back. It was filled with small, intricate tattoo designs. As were the next five pages.
“Cool.” Rhonwyn looked through the book. “Which one will you get?”
Via turned the page and pointed at a cross made out of tiger stripes with a snow flake in the center. “Kind of shows me ay. My ability's hidden within each other.” She fingered the necklace, she did this any time she thought about her powers.
“That is so cool.” Rhonwyn exclaimed. “You designed it?”

The girls sat in the food court of the mall, eating lunch. “You know, you're probably not the only one with powers.” Rhonwyn said as if she was talking about the weather.
Via scoffed. “What are you talking about? I am a freak of nature, if there were others then there would be information about it somewhere.” And believe me, there isn't, I've looked.
“Not if they keep it all hidden like you do. I mean come on, has it never occurred to you that you might not be all that different?”
“Look, can we drop it?” Via snapped, running a light finger over the gauze covering the fresh tattoo.
“Fine, so what's between you and Tye?”
Via laughed. “Nothing. He doesn't even know I exist and if he does it's as the strange girl who is always at the random dinner party's that his parents drag him to.”
“You shouldn't put yourself down so much, guys like confidence you know.”
“What do you think my parents would say if I came home one day and said 'Hey, guess what happened to me today? I got a boyfriend.' My mum would completely freak.”
“True.” Rhonwyn laughed, “What do you think they will say about your new outfit?”
“Well if they ever see it...” Via thought for a moment. “Mum would have a panic attack, thinking I was a gang banger or something, especially with the tattoo. Dad would probably burn it or say, 'You are NOT going out in that piece of gauze.' and I would argue that it isn't a piece of gauze because it is only 5 inches above my knee and that other girls wear skirts that are at least 8 inches above their knee and just be glad that the top doesn't show my midriff.”
“I can just see your parents doing those things, but I can't picture you arguing with them.”
“True, true. I would probably apologise profusely and just hope that dad wouldn't burn it so I can wear it in secret.”

Via waved as Rhonwyn got on the plane to go home. I wonder if there are others like me. Via thought. I would never find them though with the amount I get out...
Her parents voices drifted to her. “But why is she rejecting having a guard?” Her mother said.
“She's just having a small teen rebellion thing, Ann. Are you telling me that you never did anything that would annoy your parents when you were younger?” Her father.
“Well yea, but I was safe about it. I never refused to have a guard.”
“But Via can defend herself, she doesn't really need a guard.”
“But what if she does more without her guard?”
“Like what?”
“Like going clubbing, or has sex, or, god forbid, gets a tattoo.”
“Why is a tattoo worse than sex?”
“Because tattoo's mark the body, if she doesn't get pregnant then sex is perfectly safe. And even a pregnancy can be... dealt with.”
“Well look, she probably won't want to do any of that, though she is old enough to do any of it. She just needs a little space and she gets that by not having a guard. And as you said, as long as she doesn't get pregnant or mark her body it doesn't matter.”
Via stopped listening and started towards where her parents stood halfway across the room, a plan forming in her mind. “The plane's gone.”
“All right, on our way home then.” Her father said.

Via listened as her parents walked up the stairs to bed, she knew they wouldn't come down and check on her now unless they heard something. She opened her window silently and stepped up onto the sill. She had on the short black skirt and tight red top that she had bought while out with Rhonwyn and had also salvaged the black, leather jacket and boots she had worn to the last Halloween party, she'd been a biker chick. The ever present orb glinting against all the black.
She thanked what ever greater power happened to be listening for her parents taste in the old fashioned and the fact that they had chosen a house with 3 inch window sills, on both sides. She left the window just slightly open to make it easier to sneak back in and dropped to the ground, landing silently on her feet. As she pushed her car out of the gate and down the road a little way she kept an eye on the house, then got in. Checking her rear vision mirror to make sure she wasn't fallowed, Via started the car.
She planed to go to a place the 'popular' kids had talked about, The MC, but she didn't want anyone to recognise her. She had made her parents drop her at the mall on the way home from the airport, they made her take John, there she had bought some red hair dust, a rather new invention intended for dying your hair for a couple of hours, cheek pads, to change the shape of her face, and a set of green contact lenses, she normally wore blue as she only wore them in case her tiger decided to make an appearance and blue was her natural eye colour. She put these things on whenever she stopped at traffic lights, hoping no one she knew would see her changing.
She reached The MC just before eleven and planned to stay only a couple of hours, she could always come back again if she wanted. There was only one car parking space in the car park under the club, but Via was glad to see that about half the cars there were at least as fancy as hers.
Via walked up the stairs and placed her hand on the gel pad, her name scrolled along the screen along with her age and the door clicked open. The bouncers didn't check for ID's any more because so many girls did the same thing as Via, though for different reasons, and fingerprints were harder to fake.
She pushed the door open and stood for a while, watching the bodies swaying to the music. She pushed her way to a booth and sat, watching to see what people actually did at these things. Her eye was caught by a group of guys across the room from her and she saw one of the guys eyes shine a familiar, if slightly duller, gold. So there are others, Via smiled and started making her way through the crowd. “Hey guys.” She said lightly. She saw the guy who's eyes had glowed sniff the air subtly. “I saw something I thought was interesting and just wanted to come here to see if it was real.” She was looking directly at the glowing eyed boy, who's eyes were now grey-blue.
“What did you see that was so interesting?” The boy asked cautiously.
“Someone like me.” She made her eyes glow then remembered the contact lenses. “My eyes would be gold now, but I have contacts on.”
“Why do you wear contacts?” another of the guys asked, he was thin and looked a bit like a rat.
“Don't like to freak people out.” Via replied with a shrug.
“Well, welcome... um?”
Via hesitated, she wanted to keep this part of her life separate from the rest of it. “Sasha.”
“Welcome Sasha.” The first guy said, moving over to make room for her. “So what animal are you?”
“Tiger.” Via replied, glad to finally be able to talk about her powers openly. “What about all of you?” She wasn't afraid of these guys, if one got too forward she could always triple flip him.
“I'm Brock and I can turn into a bear.” The first guy said. He was the most muscular of the boys and was obviously the leader. He looked about 2 years older than Via, but she couldn't be sure. He had pure black hair and Via could feel the muscles through both his and her leather jackets. “Most call me Hugs because of my reputation to give bear hugs.”
“I'm Claws, a weasel.” The other guy who had talked said. Via nodded, she had thought he might be something like that. His long, tangled hair was probably a reasonably nice brown, but it was too greasy to tell. He had small beady eyes, which were such a dark brown that they were almost black. Via didn't like him much, she had a feeling his thin twitching hands were prone to wandering.
“I'm a wolverine. Call me Jaws.” Another guy said. He looked slightly older than the others, maybe 3 or 4 years older than Via. He was tall and was almost as muscular as Brock, his dark brown hair had streaks of blond through it and his lazy green eyes seemed to stare into space rather than look at anyone. He seemed a bit slow and Via suspected that he was the 'dumb muscle'.
“I'm a snake.” The last boy said. “Call me Snake.” He was younger than the others, ether Via's age or a year older, and he had a bit of a lisp, as if his snakes tongue didn't quite disappear when he changed back. His hair shone neon green in the black lights and Via noticed that his pupils, in eyes the same colour as his hair, were slitted.
“Can you change fully into a human?” Via asked, a little unnerved by Snakes display of power.
“Of course. But, unlike you, I like freaking people out.”
Via nodded again, it was a truthful answer. “So all you guys have nicknames? Oh now I feel left out.” She wheedled, acting like the flirts at her school.
“Well we could always give you one.” Brock said. “So you're a tiger. We would call you Stripes, but there's already one with that name, he just couldn't come out tonight.” He thought for a moment. “How about Kitten? You're the youngest, I think, and the only girl and I'm not sure how strong you are.”
“I could triple flip you across the room.” Via said lightly.
Brock laughed. “Well see, stronger than you look. Kittens never do what is expected.”
“I like it.” Via said, the other guys nodded.

“You were right.” Via said into the head set as she lay on her bed the next day. She had successfully snuck back into the house and gotten rid of the hair dust, cheek pads and contact lenses without waking her parents. She was now talking to Rhonwyn while she tried to make the green contacts change with her blue eyes.
“Right about what?” Rhonwyn's head said on the projected screen.
“About others who have powers. I went to this club last nig...”
“Wait, what's this about you going to a club?”
“I snuck out last night and went to this club that I heard people at school talking about.” Via replied with a shrug.
“I'm such a bad influence on you.” Rhonwyn said proudly.
“Oh yea, it's all your fault I'm the way I am.” Via said sarcastically.
“Was that sarcasm? From nice, innocent, little Via?”
“Will you shush and let me tell you about these guys?” Via asked laughing. Rhonwyn mimed zipping her lips. “Alright then. So I went to this club and there were these four guys there and they can all change, like me.” Via thought for a moment. “None of them said anything about controlling elements thought. Oh well, maybe it's harder for them than me. It used to make me really tired when I controlled water.”
“Via, your rambling.” Rhonwyn interrupted.
“Oh, sorry.” Via replied, her attention going back to the contacts.
“What club did you go to and why did you go without me?”
“I went to The MC. And I didn't go with you because you weren't here.”
“Why didn't we go clubbing while I was there?”
“Didn't think of it.” Via replied. “Besides, you wouldn't be able to jump out of my window without getting hurt, or get back up to it when we got back.”
“O.K.” Rhonwyn relented.

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