Marie was currently sitting in the Wolf's Pool Club, her head was down on the bar table. While the teenage girl was feeling down, business continued as usual around her, White was happily serving guests like any other day. At this point, the profit from the Wolf's Pool Club wasn't really relevant for the Howlers, but Marie's mother was more than happy to continue working in it.
The core members all appreciated her effort, due to the fact that it was running as normal on a day-to-day basis, and with it not standing out so much, it made for the perfect hideout.
"What's wrong, Mai?" Kiki Degrace eventually asked. It was obvious to anyone that something was bothering her daughter, judging by the ever increasing number of sighs she was letting out.
"It's hard to explain. Do you think I did the right thing by dropping out of school? Do you think I should go back?" Marie shared some of her burdens.
Letting out a sigh of her own, Miss Degrace stopped cleaning the bar, headed towards her daughter, and started to rub her head, giving her a bit of a massage. "Sweetie, nothing is stopping you from going back to school but is that really what you want?"
"It's hard, you know." Marie continued to complain while enjoying the head massage. "Back when we all left school, I was so determined to help Kai and Gary out of trouble, and I would like to believe that I really did help them. I was doing my best to get stronger, I was really putting in the work to get better with… the dagger and weapons."
For a second, Marie's mother stopped massaging her head, looking around shiftily that nobody had heard her teenage daughter. As thankful as she was for the Howlers for everything they had done to help the two of them, as her mother, Kiki despised the fact that Marie was involved in gang business. She knew what she possibly had been doing but tried her best to disregard it, but rather than worry about her own feelings, she needed to look out for her daughter.
"Now, though… I can't help but feel that I'm useless… that I just get in the way." Marie continued. "I thought I was needed, but when I really I think about it, am I any different compared to another person if they had the same weapons?
"The ones we met in Notsburg were nearly strong enough to hurt Gary… and from what we learned our enemies in the future are likely to be even stronger. I'm just a normal girl, nowhere near as special as his new friends."
Marie started to think about the AFA students she had seen, like Izzy who had saved her life. Although they were the same age, one was a dropout, while the other was a student at the most prestigious Altered academy. Given her abilities, she could help Gary far better than Marie ever could.
"I understand how you feel, sweetie… There were many times when I felt weak and helpless, and there will always be times when you can't do anything but rely on the people around you. You might not be at the point you wanted to be, but let me ask you this, do you think people like me and White aren't helping out the Howlers?"
Marie turned around and could see White as popular as ever with the boys, as she gave them their drinks. As soon as she turned away, they couldn't stop whispering about her. It was an open secret that many of their regulars only visited to to see her, it was clear she was building up her own little fan base..com
"I'm not sure what to say." Marie replied.
"While it is certainly true that the Howlers are a gang, a gang doesn't function simply by having many strong fighters. Besides, at this point, I see it more like a corporation or a company. The whole thing cannot exist without everyone doing their part. No matter how small that task, it all allows the Howlers to be as successful as they have been. So let me ask you, while you might not grow strong overnight, is there really nothing you can do to support the Howlers right now, even if it's something small?"
Marie thought about it, maybe there were other ways that she could help, but the thing was, if she was to do the same as White right now, just working at the bar, or helping out at meetings and such, then she didn't think that she deserved to stand side by side with the others.
While nobody could deny that she was one of the Howlers' core members, she knew that it was mostly because she had been a member since the beginning. When she looked at the others, and compared herself to everyone else, there was a big difference between them and her, and that was strength.
As a core member, to continue standing by the side of others, she needed strength. The talk with her mother had helped, but not in the way that she thought. It allowed her to realise she didn't want to just be a little help to the Howlers, she realised what she wanted.
"I have to go somewhere!" Marie said as she quickly went to leave her seat. "If Kai asks where I am, just tell him I've gone home for the day to rest up.
——
Taking the bus, Marie hadn't informed any of the other members where she was going. It was quite late out at night, but after going through what she had been through, the streets and more just didn't seem as scary anymore..com
While on the bus though, she did notice something. There looked to be three teenage boys who were incredibly loud, blasting out their music and hitting each other. It was bothersome, but Marie wouldn't get involved and just like everyone else was ignoring what they were seeing on the bus.
However, there was one thing that was concerning her. Two boys were sitting in one seat and were constantly hitting their third friend behind them. The bus was full and there was a woman who was next to them who seemed to flinch each time one of the boys would go in for a hit.
"Damn you, Yami, hold up your hand properly. I need to show you how I pounded that guy's face earlier!" The boy asked.
Yami, the one sitting next to the woman, held up his hand like a boxing pad, ready to take the strike. As the other went to throw out his fist, the bus went over a small bump, making it go off target and as it did it hit the woman in the side of her face.
"Did that woman jump in front of my fist, what the hell is wrong with you?" the boy shouted.<.com>
The others could clearly see what had happened, including Marie, yet they were blaming the woman.
"But… you hit me." The woman said, holding her face.
"What, the f*ck are you saying, are you trying to blame me?" The boy asked.
"Hey, small dick!" Marie shouted, as she stood up and couldn't take it anymore.
"What, small dick? Is she talking to me?" the boy pointed at himself.
"Well, if you were the one that replied, then I guess I was on the mark." Marie smiled to herself, and the boys soon started to laugh at their friend.
"You were the one that hit her, so if anyone should be apologising it should be you. Why are you getting involved in other people's lives?" Marie asked.
Due to the embarrassment, there was a rage building up in the boy, and as he saw Marie get next to the woman, and help her up, he lifted his leg and kicked Marie right in the shoulder, sending her falling to the ground.
"I see, you act tough, but you fall over just as easily as all the others." The boy smiled.
This was the feeling that Marie hated, feeling so weak. These were just some teenage boys, they weren't Altered nor were they gang members, and they were able to do this to her, what was she to do next.
Gritting her teeth, she soon leapt from her position, and tackled the boy. He didn't fall to the ground, but with her swinging her arm, it hit him on the chin and caught him by surprise.
"That hurt!" the boy said, and before he knew it, his whole body was being electrocuted by a strange object. It was an Anti Altered weapon, a baton that was kept on Marie at all times along with a bunch of other weapons.
When the sparks finally ended, the boy fell to the ground having passed out. The other two boys, after seeing this, didn't want to get involved, and as the bus came to a stop, they quickly picked up their friend and dragged him off.
Marie put away her weapon and could see it was her stop as well, and rather than checking if the woman was okay, she walked off.
"Thanks for the lift if you need any reimbursements of any kind, just contact this number." Marie said, as she pulled out a business card and handed it over. It was a card that Kai had made in case circumstances like these popped up once in a while,
The people on the bus, as well as the driver himself, were just too stunned. It was a strange occurrence that didn't happen every day and they didn't know what to make of it.
Either way, it seemed like the incident today was just confirming all of Marie's fears as she had throughout the day, which was why she was here, on Burnham food street.
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