Hera slowly walked up to the tall, lean figure near the end of the dock, admiring a gleaming catamaran. She tried to shuffle her feet as she got closer, hoping he would hear her arrival, but he made no sign he did.

"Hello?" Hera tentatively spoke, waiting for him to start the code her aunt had quickly taught her. His head turned first, followed by his body, which instantly creeped her out. She waited and waited as his birdlike eyes pierced her soul for the sentence. But it never came. 

Instead, he said evenly, "It's so good to see you after all this time. How is your lovely aunt Jackie?" 

She knew something was off with him but responded anyway. "She's fine, but aren't you supposed to say something to me? I thought you were strict about codes..." Hera let the sentence die as each word became quieter and more fearful. 

"Ah yes, the code... Well, never mind that. Your aunt said this was urgent, so I'm here to take you to safety. Immediately." The way he spoke sounded like a threat.

Hera took a step back. "I don't think you're the person I'm looking for. I better go now. Thanks anyway!" Hera was too enthralled in his unwavering gaze to turn away, but she steadily retreated down the docks until she was almost on land again.

He didn't move. She didn't even see him blink. Hera turned her head to see the step behind her, and when she looked back, he had vanished.

"What the fu-" She went running, only to crash straight into the man's stiff, cold torso. "Holy shit!" Hera rebounded and fell backwards onto the docks 'crab-walking away from his unsmiling face. 

"It's time to go," he stated. His taloned hand clawed at her arm but froze just above her goose-bumping flesh. His fingers twisted back towards his forearm, and he squawked in pain, cradling his arm against his breast. 

A stern but warm voice rang in her head. "Move to the end of the dock." She got up in time to see two sets of hands latch onto the 'Bird man's biceps and drag him off his feet. One was larger and had a gold ring on its middle finger, while the other was smaller, with nails well-manicured to sharp points. 

Attached to those hands were two of the most beautiful people she had ever seen. The young man must have been in his early twenties with dark curls and deep golden skin. His amber eyes attempted to bore holes through the Birdman as his grip tightened. 

The woman looked so enraged at the person she held in her grasp and growled. "Where are you keeping them?" Her body was so muscular she looked like she could have ripped his head clean off his shoulders. He didn't make a sound, but he smiled at Hera, making her skin crawl.

The pair dragged him further back towards an idling van as another man stepped around them, making a beeline for her. He smiled wide too, but unlike the Birdman, it was safe. Soothing even. 

He flounced over, and the others didn't seem to notice. They were hardly saying anything at all, considering they were dragging someone they knew into a flashy van.

The newcomer stopped a foot from her and stared deep into her eyes. Usually, she would be utterly terrified of some oddball approaching her and ogling, but she knew deep down to trust him. 

"I've been waiting so long to meet you, my friend." His smile grew impossibly wide. "You look like a star. A beautiful shiny star. I've never seen a star so bright..." He held his hands out to her and placed her shaking fingers in his palm. Her vision blurred and then sharpened so quickly she got visual whiplash. 

"What was that?" Hera's voice sounded distant to her ears. The man in front of her was... Glowing? He giggled hysterically, grabbing her face in his warm hands. 

"Special, so special. It's you, child, it's you..." The young woman appeared by Hera's side and grasped her bicep, pinching slightly too hard. Hera jerked her arm back and felt a sting as the woman's nails sliced a few layers of skin, drawing blood. Hera fell hard to the ground. She had lost all control of her body; even her throat seemed to close from the tiny scratch. Venom? Hera's vision dulled as her lungs failed to draw breath.

"Dumb ass! Theo, get over here. She got scratched."

The young man appeared in Hera's blurry vision and slid one hand behind her neck, cradling her head with the other. He applied the slightest pressure, and she took an involuntary gasp. She tried to scream, but nothing happened. The man looked concerned. He gently shifted his hands higher, and Hera's eyes became impossibly heavy. "Please stop," she managed to rasp out before sleep took her.

...

Hera awoke yet again to the jolt of a car door against her face. Couldn't somebody put her in a seat properly?

The voices around her were clear, but her eyes remained closed. She couldn't even begin to make them flicker open to her dismay. Her throat was so dry and scratchy she could feel a cough slowly clawing up her chest.

"Look at her. She's so sad looking." The woman's voice sounded slightly disgusted. Hera heard an exasperated sigh.

"We don't know who she is, or what she can do, or even why they wanted her." The man, Theo, said then.

" I know why..." Hysterical laughter ensued. Hera felt strangely at ease hearing the warm sound.

"Well, tell us then, Zeke, don't hold out on me..."

There was silence for a beat, and before the man spoke another word, Hera's cough finally made its appearance. She sputtered and groaned, alerting them to her consciousness.

"Another time perhaps," Zeke chuckled and gently booped the exhausted woman's nose, which she proceeded to scrunch.

Hera's eyes blinked tiredly as she took in the van she was sprawled in and the strange, attractive new people surrounding her. "Where are we going, who are you, and what do you want ?" Hera fired off.

The woman scoffed, "I don't think you should be demanding anything from us."

"Jean." Theo made her name sound like a command. Hera wondered about their history before shaking her head, ridding the thought. Who cares! I need to get out of here.

"I'm Theo," he started. "We are taking you somewhere safe, so we can run some tests and figure out what help you might need..." He trailed off, seeing her terrified expression at the mention of 'tests'.

Zeke came into view. "It will be alright, little one. I won't let anyone touch a hair on your precious head." 

Hera felt herself relax slightly. He was like an old family friend. She didn't know why he felt so familiar or safe, but he did. He was super weird, undoubtedly, but she appreciated his flamboyant nature. It was honest. Authentic.

"Sit back. It's going to be a long ride." Jean groaned. Hera worried her bottom lip between her teeth. She feared that Jean would be right in more ways than one.

...

They drove most of the way in silence. Hera gazed through the tinted windows at the passing scenery. She realized suddenly she had never been anywhere before, besides school and home. 

The world was so beautiful and green. 

Fields of daisies and wild grass stretched onto the horizon. Eventually, a conversation started, and some of the small talk uncovered her unlikely companions' very light backgrounds. 

Zeke was in his fifties, could sense Evolved and their abilities, and had been a part of the Community for many years. Jean and Theo, both in their early twenties, had grown up and trained there after their parents had been caught by Panacea. Hera cringed at the discovery. She was beginning to believe she had more in common with these people than she first thought. 

Jean was a self-proclaimed siren. She could use her voice to lure people close enough to kill them with her bite or scratch, although less potent. Horrifying either way. She shaved her nails down when not on missions to keep others safe. 

"So then... How did I not die when she scratched me." Hera directed the question at Theo, but the 'Siren' herself interjected angrily.

"You scratched yourself." Her eyes rolled before turning to look out the window in a huff. "It's not my fault you pushed your arm against my nails. Idiot."

Despite the scathing remark, Hera sensed a deep-seated sadness with Jean. It wasn't her fault her body was a giant walking meat sack of venom.

It made sense then that she was close to Theo. He could manipulate the physiology of any sentient being, able to override any part of the brain he wanted. That must have been the way he made Hera breathe when Jean scratched her. And then sleep. Theo sighed from the driver's seat. "It was only a minor scratch, so not much venom entered your blood..." He paused for a moment and swallowed;  adam's apple bobbing nervously. "There's no way to say this that isn't... creepy..." His cheeks turned an understated shade of red. Hera couldn't imagine it was that bad...

"I um, just stimulated your Medulla..." Theo nearly choked on air after seeing the horrified expression on Hera's face before explaining quickly. Maybe it was 'that bad'. "I mean, the part of your brain that controls breathing... So you didn't asphyxiate before the venom diluted enough not to kill you..." 

The longer explanation did nothing for the awkward tension between the two. Jean's unexpected cackle did, though, as she saw their flushed faces. "Idiots," she muttered to herself, gazing at the scenery once more.  

When Hera finally felt her cheeks cooling, she looked over at the source of her embarrassment. Theo seemed powerful, and she was sure there was something else he wasn't telling her. She recalled how his voice seemed to ring out inside her head back at the docks. But she couldn't be sure as she didn't see his face. Fucking hell, I hope he can't read minds. That would suck so bad.

Her cheeks flushed yet again. It's not like she had been thinking anything obscene, but now the naughty thoughts wouldn't stop. Imagine what his body looks like under- Stop! Shut up, shut up, shut up! She shook her head and looked stubbornly out the window, trying to distract her racing mind.

"We're here!" Zeke called in a singsong voice.

"Finally," Hera muttered.

Everyone seemed to be in agreement. Time to meet the Community...