Published at 17th of July 2026 7:30 am

Chapter 37 - Understanding (Emma POV)

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“Oh, aren’t you pretty,” he said, brushing his hand across my cheek and leaving a line of water behind.

Terror, unlike anything I’ve ever felt, is freezing me in place. I feel powerless and weak, and so, so small. I’m not afraid that I’m going to die here; I don’t think Knight is capable of killing me. But there are a few things that are worse than death, and I do think that Knight is capable of them. The thought of him doing that to me is revolting. No, I can’t let him. Damn it, Emma, do something. Move. Move! MOVE! I bite clean through my tongue, filling my mouth with blood as I spit the severed piece of tongue and the bloody spit at his face.

“Wha-what? That’s disgusting,” he said to me.

“Thwuck oou,” I responded angrily.

The throbbing pain has freed me from my spiraling. I reach my hand into my pocket to grab one of the bags I made for him. He clicks his tongue and presses the stun gun into my chest, electrocuting me. The electricity rips through me, causing my muscles to spasm violently as I scream in pain. He chuckles to himself as I writhe beneath him. He moves his finger off the trigger and gives me a moment of reprieve. This sucks, and I’m past the point of thinking about Eryk’s mission. I swing my right arm at his neck, and it passes through the water, coming out the other side damp, but Mr. Knight is no worse for wear. He shocks me again, laughing the whole time I’m in pain.

“Aren’t you a little firecracker. You just tried to kill me, but don’t worry. I won’t hold it against you. A real man isn’t afraid of a fiery personality, and the best women are the ones who fight. In my youth, I worked at a horse ranch over the summer. And you know what the best part of that job was? It’s breaking in the young, wild ones, teaching them who's in charge,” he said, smiling.

Sweat trickles down my back, and a chill creeps down my spine. I’ll die before I let him do this. My ability is regeneration; I shouldn’t be shying away from getting hurt or injured. You aren’t the scared little girl from Nestor Falls anymore. She’s dead. She died there, along with those agents, the ex who used to hit you, the parents who were never there for you, and all the people who used to mock you. I am not that girl anymore. I am the woman who rose from the ashes of that awful little town. My tongue’s finished regenerating now and just in time.

“Fuck you.”

I start thrashing around, swinging my arms and legs wildly with my full strength. My limbs are punching through his liquid body and hitting with enough force that my skin is splitting from the impact. Drops of water and blood splash against the hardwood floor. I see my blood and bits of skin floating inside his body. His eyes widen in surprise, and I roll through his legs out from underneath him. I grab two of the pouches in my pocket, clutching them in my palms to hide them. Then I run at him, punching him twice in the chest and leaving behind the bags. I jump backward, away from his wet touch.

“When will you learn?” He asked condescendingly. “You might be stronger than me, faster than me, and younger than me, but that doesn’t mean anything if you can’t hurt me. There’s nothing you can do against me. You’re picking a fight with the ocean, sweetheart, and the only way that ends is in drowning.”

I can see the PVA bags starting to dissolve inside of him, introducing the sodium polyacrylate to the water. He needs more, and I brought plenty. I throw three bags at him, and he patiently walks toward me. All three are direct hits, but they fall harmlessly to the floor because of the surface tension. Damn. I shove my foot through his stomach once he’s close enough, and he grabs my leg, holding it in place. His grip is stronger than I expected, but I’m able to yank my soaked leg free.

“That gunshot that went off earlier likely alerted the authorities. How long do you think you have before the police are here to arrest you for breaking and entering and assault?” He asked me.

Looks like I’m going to have to get up close and personal for this. I grab more of the bags I prepared and charge at the creep. He activates the stun gun, the electricity crackling loudly. I duck under the jab from the weapon, punching into his thigh to deposit the bags I’m clutching. Repeating with my left arm, I add the remaining ones into the same spot. The ones I left in his chest have dissolved, and I can see the white powder expanding into a clear hydrogel as it absorbs the water. Yes. He swings the crackling stun gun at my head, but I roll to the side out of his reach. My leg shoots upward into his hand, and blasting the taser into the ceiling. It cracks loudly and then falls broken to the floor.

“What the hell have you done?” He asked furiously.

Turning around to face me, his thigh is nearly completely congealed. Thank god it’s working. Obviously, I did my research, and the science said that my plan would work. Still, a part of me was a bit worried that his powers would have some weird interaction that would prevent it from succeeding. I pull my backpack off and scoop up as many bags as I can in both arms. Knowing he can’t hurt me anymore, knowing that I’ve won, it sends jolts of satisfaction through me. He’s shocked when I jump at him, clutching all the presents I’ve brought him. I crash into him, getting wet in return, but I’ve delivered the gifts. Thirty-five PVA bags full of sodium polyacrylate are dissolving inside his chest. He goes to stand, and his congealed thigh falls free from the rest of his watery form.

“You better switch back. There’s no telling what will happen if you change when you’re in pieces like this,” I said joyfully.

“You wretched bitch,” he spat.

“Oh, don’t be like that. I thought you were going to break me in, big man. See, that’s the problem with people like you. You think you’re invincible because of your money, your connections, and, in your case, your powers. That ends now.”

The chemical is ripping through him rapidly; he’s got less than thirty seconds before his entire body is transformed into clumps. I get an idea and an irresistible urge as he struggles to reach his disconnected thigh. My boot goes through his chest, sending the gel clusters everywhere. His face is frozen in shock as the sodium polyacrylate reaches his head. Michael Knight is an Alter who can transform his body into a water replica of itself and then move his body the same way he would when it was flesh and blood. You will need to find a way to force him to be solid. Freezing him should work. Eryk's advice echoes inside my head. My plan was always to force him to change back, and then I'd tase and drug him as I delivered him to Eryk. But this is so much better than that. He’s stuck like this until I salt him to return it to liquid.

I leave his scattered chunks on his bedroom floor and check on his girlfriend. She’s still knocked out in the bed. The woman didn’t see anything that could prove this involved Neuvohumans, so the vigilante’s story still works. I can’t kill her even though it would be the easiest thing in the world. Is there any way I can turn this surprise into a good thing? Rolling her over, I duct tape her wrists together behind her back and wrap her ankles up as well. With her taken care of, I leave the bedroom, making my way down the hall to the stairs. I walk around the ground floor, searching for the kitchen in hopes of finding what I need. There. The kitchen lights turn on automatically as I step inside, illuminating the large room that’s bigger than Eryk’s apartment. Lifestyles of the rich and famous.

Every appliance is chrome, and every surface is granite. It reminds me of that jealous bitch Violet’s house. What is it with rich people and thinking they can do whatever the hell they want? My stomach growls at me, angry at the lack of food today. I was so anxious about tonight’s mission that I couldn’t even think of eating. I open the fridge and spot some fruit, kombucha, and various premade smoothies inside reusable shakers. I grab the one labeled Banana/Almond Milk/Mixed Berries, pop the lid, and take a sip. Wait, that’s so good. I’ve never been much of a homebody, but I could probably learn to make these for me and Eryk. Walking around this giant house does make me think of our future together. I’d make a great wife and mother. We’d do better than my parents at least. We could raise beautiful children together. We could live in a place like this; Money seems to be no issue for him, yet he hasn’t bought any property. Or maybe he has, and he just hasn’t told me.

I continue to sip on the stolen smoothie as I search for what I actually came down here for: trash bags. I check in the hanging cupboards, underneath the island bar in the middle of the kitchen, but find nothing at all. Finally, I find a box of hefty garbage bags underneath the sink as well as a hand broom with a dustpan. Unsure of how many I’ll need, I bring the whole box back with me and the broom-dustpan combo. When I get back to the bedroom, the girlfriend is starting to stir. I grab my mask from off the floor and quickly put it back on. Her muffled cries are frantic, but I leave her as I start to scoop up piles of Michael Knight into five trash bags. Keeping them separate is just a precaution in case he can somehow switch back. I use the hand broom to sweep up the really small pieces of him. Wouldn’t want to leave behind any evidence. I tie off the bags and then tie all of them together. Hefting it onto my shoulder, I see myself in the floor mirror, and I look like a cartoon robber with my huge bundle of bags. I walk over to the side of the bed where the girl is, making sure my mask is securely on my face. My appearance makes her start freaking out even more.

“Hey. Shhhhh, you’re safe now. I’m not going to hurt you. Knight isn’t going to hurt anyone again; where the law failed, we won’t. Listen, I’m leaving now. Your phone is underneath the bed. You can roll off and grab it once I’m gone. You’ll be able to call for someone to come free you. Also, I’m not sure if it's because of money troubles or daddy issues, but you gotta do better, girl. The fact you slept with him is pathetic and sad,” I said, heading for the window.

Two down, one to go before I can go home.

My third and final target, Alicia Spade, supposedly manipulates luck. I just know this is going to suck. Not a single one of the three has been easy; each one has been a different fresh hell. On the second Sunday of the month, Ms. Spade participates in an illegal high roller poker game with a few members of Manhattan’s criminal underground. Eight Cowls, not including her, compete for a winter-takes-all pot with a million-dollar buy-in. I don’t know how she’s allowed to compete given her supposed power. I wouldn’t play against someone with such an unfair advantage, but what do I know?

Maybe I can get Eryk to give me her power instead. I am not cut out for this kind of shit. Stalking a woman from the snow-covered rooftops as she heads to her high-stakes card game is not how I want to spend my nights. I should be in bed with a glass of wine, being treated like a queen by my boyfriend. As I creep along, following her, I’m more than sure that the conversation I want to have with Eryk can’t be put off. I need to tell him I’m done with all this sneaking around and fighting people. This is my last mission like this. I’m willing to do a lot for him, but not this. I’d kill for Eryk; I have already, but I’m his girlfriend, not his underling. I’m sure he’ll understand and give me something else to do. He has to understand. Right?

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