You Were Never The Victim

What have I done?

I stood at the very edge.

Staring at the distance from the rooftop.

How that person fell.

Until the body got swallowed by the snow.

A single push.

Forced.

"Now will you let me go?"

I glared at the masked figure.

"Why are you involving me in this? What-"

His hand cupped my chin.

Eyes glared deep.

"Keep quiet."

A flash of metal glinted in one wrist.

"Or you know the consequences."

***

Golden lights flooded the scene.

Above, crystal chandeliers hung too low for comfort.

Swinging slightly wherever the crowd went.

I stood on polished marble.

My steps felt louder than they should’ve been.

But I was here only for one thing.

And that was Plan B.

The Met gala bustled with endless flashes, as fans' screams were heard over the barricades.

Come on! Just one good picture for the magazine!

The security moved rough through the crowd.

Pushing me around the place.

Why did I ever agree to do this job!

That was, until he came in.

A gunshot echoed in the distance.

Not part of the music. Not part of anything here.

The room went dead silent.

Why can’t I just do my job in peace?!

The crowd shifted toward the exits.

Without a word.

I tried to follow them with my camera still in hand.

Locked.

The doors weren’t opening.

That’s when I noticed it.

Corner of the hall. Almost hidden.

A sticky note on the floor.

And beside it— A finger.

Detached.

Severed.

Just four words.

'How silly are you?'

"Silly...? What kind of sick joke is this?"

The words left my mouth louder than I intended.

I just screamed in front of a million people.

The guards reacted instantly, pushing forward.

One of them snatched the note.

But then— It twitched.

Not once.

Twice.

I was losing my brain cells before I could even process it.

The finger moved.

Literally walking across the floor.

The silence was worse off than before.

No one dared to touch it.

Footsteps backed off.

Cameras dulled.

But then it stopped at a wall— and pressed itself against it.

A smear of red was already there.

Fresh. Jagged lettering formed.

'Now let everyone suffer your consequences.'

Then— another gunshot cracked through the building.

A scream followed it.

Everything snapped.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!”

“GET BACK!”

“WHO DID IT?!”

But then— Everything changed direction.

Cameras turned.

Not to the source of the sound.

But me.

The headlines began to flash.

'The one who started this mess.'

“STOP!” A voice cut through the speakers of the CCTV system above us.

“Bring her to the roof… no more questions to be asked.”

Then it turned colder. “Or all of you will die…”

Hands grabbed my arms almost instantly.

Everything tilted as I was pulled through the chaos.

***

Now I was stuck here.

The air was sharper up here.

It cut into my lungs with every breath.

It was as cold as ever.

The snow was falling across the platform.

If it wasn't for the fact, that someone's eyes were on me.

His shadow stood right behind me.

"Just do as I say, and you can go..."

I froze.

He handed me a gun.

To point at a sack bag.

Seriously?

What's happening here right now?!

Something inside shifted.

A faint sound.

The metal felt heavier than before.

Why was I hesitating?

Why couldn’t I move?

Only just this one job!

"Shoot!"

The figure groaned.

My finger didn't move an inch.

How can I possibly do this?!

He snatched it and fired rapidly.

Something screamed.

Before a dead body was removed from within.

"Push him down!"

WHAT!

"You heard me!"

His voice grew sharper.

My legs froze.

A cold hand slammed into my back.

THUD.

My hand didn’t shake.

“Oh dear,” I said softly, almost amused now, “You forgot to pay the debt…”

The moment hung there, as the figure was against the edge.

And a gentle push was all it took.

I removed my gloves.

The freezing air stung my skin.

To only remember of how that figure sliced my finger.

A cloth laid around the wound.

Big.

That alley.

Thinking I wouldn’t come back.

That promise I made to myself.

Who knew who you were messing with?

THUMP.

Helicopters.

Searchlights swept across the rooftop.

"There! Don't let her escape!"

I smiled.

The wind got louder and some voices overlapped somewhere behind me.

I didn’t look back.

Didn’t need to.

"There!"

The beam of light almost caught me.

Almost.

A ladder was half-leaning against a wall.

Useless.

I kicked it aside anyway.

Bad idea.

A searchlight swept in.

"Got her!"

I turned sharply—

Almost slipped.

Caught myself on a pipe.

Cold metal burned my palm.

I finally slipped in between two giant pipes.

But a second wasn't enough.

"She's over there!"

“Surround the perimeter!”

Metal shifted above me.

They were above and below now.

Perfect circle.

No exit.

I looked up once.

Just once.

A habit, not a choice.

A mistake, if I was being honest.

“Don’t lose sight of her!”

Too late for that.

I was already moving.

My famous illusion trick.

Thanks MRS. Mannequin!

I ducked beneath a tangle of cables.

My coat snagged.

Oh! Come on now!

I kept tugging.

Not working!

Seriously!

Until-

Yes! My lucky pocket-knife!

SLASH.

I slit through the gap.

The guards still hot on my trail.

Until I finally reached the edge once more.

"Catch me if you can."

I leaped.

Well, I got to have an epic escape!

But please this better work!

A cloud of snow rose below.

The officers rushed forward.

Nothing.

I smiled without meaning to.

No body.

No footprints.

No trace.

Only a single glove rested on the rooftop.

And buried beneath the snow...

Four words.

'How silly are you?'

But everything finally settled.

Rumors broke.

Stories shifted.

Names changed.

And I was never recorded as leaving at all.

Now the world had come to see.

A new villain.

Deep from in between.

Lucy Virex.