To Judge a Book... Everyone was scared of the Talons. They were one of those gangs of “teenage hooligans” who rode around on a motorcycle in the middle of the day and blew cigarette stubs into people’s nice, green lawns. The police had been called to stop their disruptive behavior no less than seven times in as many months, but they were too clever to be caught like that. They knew all of the hiding places in Ede Valley. Whenever they heard the thundering roar of that damned motor contraption, mothers held their children close, for fear they grow wings and run off to join them. It had happened before, and it would happen again. The children of the hamlet idolized them. The Talons were life, the Talons were god. The Talons represented everything that a kid could possibly want to be: a leather-wearing, boot-stomping badass who didn’t take shit from the man; ie, their parents. It was the schoolyard pastime to swap stories of the Talons on the playground at recess. “I heard they graffitied the whole front of city hall in neon green.” “I heard that their hideout is on the top of the water tower.” “Oh yeah? I heard they kidnapped the high school principle and forced him to give them As for life!” They were legends, they were heroes. They were the hottest, most amazing chicks that the town had ever seen. First, there was Magdalena, tagger extraordinaire. Her art was infamous among the artist elite in Ede Valley. The lines, the shapes, everything about them almost seemed to move on the concrete, or whatever impromptu canvas she used. Her arms were covered in tattoos that she had done herself, and the kids whispered that if you looked closely, you could the tattoo snakes slithering. Someone said that one of them had winked at him once. She was the most standoffish of the Talons, the one you didn’t want to run into in an alley at night, or you would be the next canvas to be covered in green spray paint. Then there was Yumi. Once, or so it was said, she had been attacked by three police officers, and had put all of them in the hospital. She knew ten different kinds of martial arts, and moved so fast that you’d be on the ground before you had even seen her. She was darkness, she was the night, she was… well Yumi, obviously. Who else would she be? But if there was one Talon you wanted on your side, it was her. Several kids swore up and down that they had stumbled upon her training ground, and she had taught them a few tricks, but were sworn into secrecy never to show unless their lives depended on it.
Lilith was the leader, mostly because she owned the bike, and she loved that bike more than anything in the world. You touched it, you were likely to get your ass handed to you, by Yumi, because Lilith would sick her on you. Never in this world was there a love more pure than that of Lilith and her bike. It was named Baby, which everyone knew because Magdalena had spray painted the word on the side. This was how it was for the longest time, for as long as any kid could remember. That is, until Buttercup had come riding into town on her ten-speed bike and took the Talons by storm. Buttercup, as she had introduced herself to Ms. Junes' fourth grade class, no last name, just Buttercup, was abnormally stoic for a child of her age. As soon as she done the requisite gawking period at the front of the class, she began walking to the singular open seat before the teacher had even instructed her to do so, and then sat stock straight with her hands in front of her on the desk. She didn't speak unless spoken to, didn't ever raise her hand to answer a question, and come lunch, sat alone on a bench, away from the other girls. She certainly was a strange one. But it wasn't until Billy the Bully pushed her down at recess that they understood. Faster than anything, she was up and behind him, not clinging, but standing on his back after pushing him forward with one petite mary jane. With all the grace of a dancer she jammed the heel of her foot into a certain spot on Billy's back, and he cried out as his body began to spasm. He collapsed to the ground, and Buttercup walked off, brushing off her pleated skirt. She simply wasn't human. "She's almost crazier than the Talons", whispered Nancy to her best friend Sylvia, as they eavesdropped a short distance away. "Who are the Talons?" Asked a voice from behind them, and Nancy jumped as she turned and saw Buttercup standing right behind her, her head tilted to the side, a slightly awkward smile plastered on her face, as if she only knew from second-hand accounts what a friendly human face looked like. "Umm." Nancy blinked. "O-only the coolest gang in town. They're legendary. I'm surprised you haven't already heard of them, but I'll give you a free pass because you're new." "And just what does this gang do?" Buttercup blinked, the smile abruptly falling away. Nancy paused, caught up in this strange girl's lack of decorum. "They're a group of... um, older girls," Sylvia sputtered, "that go around, uh, painting on things, a-and sticking it to the man and stuff." "Sticking it to the man..." Buttercup pondered. "Which man, I wonder? There are a lot of them. Ah, but never mind, that may be just what I need." She nodded once, and turned around. It wasn't until a second later when Nancy's mind unstuck that she realized that Buttercup wasn't just walking away. "Wait!" She called. "You can't just walk out of school!" For a split second, Buttercup turned back. She didn't say anything, but she didn't really have to, because her face said it all: Do I look like a give a rat's ass? The answer was obviously no. No she did not. Nancy was too confused to push the matter farther. What a strange day. ~~o~~ Twenty minutes later, Lilith, the leader of the Talons, was thinking the exact same thing. First, she had woken up in a Wendy's bathroom when the man in the next stall asked her if he could borrow some toilet paper for his "scratchy-ass ass". Then she had found her left leather boot directly under the air dryer, and pulling it on, had attempted to exit the Wendy's, only to be confronted with the police squadron surrounding the place who wanted to place her under arrest for arson, destruction of government property, and jaywalking, which was just ridiculous. She'd never jaywalked in her entire life. Only idiots pulled shit like that. Of course, she'd gotten away from them in a puff of smoke from Baby's engine; it did help that the police became a little stunned when they saw her bike physically lift up into the air and flying away. Laughing as she saw the looks on their faces, Lilith breathed deeply, the wind filled with the smell of fast food and engine oil. It didn't take her long to get back to the Talon's hideout, located conveniently on top of the water tower. Not on the railing circling it, mind you, but the literal top of the water tower, which was sort of hard to keep your footing on but she put up with for the sake of aesthetics. It was their sidhe after all. Yumi and Magdalena were waiting for her, laughing their asses off at her disheveled appearance. "Looks like you had quite a night," Yumi snorted. “Don’t even get me started,” Lilith rolled her eyes. “Do you guys remember what happened?” “Too much poof,” Magdalena mumbled down to the dragon she was sketching on the water tower, “Messes with your head, yeah?” “Too much... Oh yeah, I remember now... uh, a little.” Lilith scratched her head, plopping down unceremoniously on the fiberglass. “You’re right, Mags. Too much otherworld magic. It was a bad idea to turn that security guard into a Guinea pig, wasn’t it?”
Mags nodded slowly. “No problem. Was hilarious though. Dude looked like Guinea pig anyway.” “Very true,” Lilith nodded, glancing towards the horizon and all of the houses and people that looked exactly the same. Just in this small portion of Ede Valley alone there were three Starbucks’. Why the hell did they need that many? Humans were strange, so different than the danann. They spread wherever they could reach and always wanted more. There were things more important than… well, things. Like honor and the sound of steel on steel. No one preyed, or hardly even saw them now. In the old days, the people of Erin, or Ireland as they called it now, had looked to them as gods and heroes. Now here they were, an ocean away, with no sidhe, no hill, to speak of. All they had was this water tower. And each other. There were good things about this life, sure. Lilith didn’t always have to worry about their neighbors coveting her sidhe for themselves. There were no more battles, no bloodshed. Yet somehow, she felt… empty. To stave off the boredom, she had become what the people saw her as: a trickster, elf, fairy. She shuddered as she thought about it, the indignity of it all. But she shook herself. That had all been a long time ago. Now she was invisible, and sometimes, she almost liked that. Not being watched, stared at in awe every time she rode in on her large black warhorse, err, bike. Which was why it was so strange when Yumi dangled over the side of the water tower and reported: “There’s someone watching us.” “’Re you talking bout?” Mags asked, not really paying attention. “Humans can’t see tower, yeah?” Lilith leaned forward, following Yumi’s gaze down to the concrete far below them. “Yeah, that’s impossible. We should be invisible to everyone up—” But now she paused, because Yumi hadn’t lied. There was someone watching them. Someone small, with stubby blonde pigtails that stood out like a signal beacon from their great height. “It’s a kid,” Lilith commented. “Are you sure?” Yumi turned to her. “She’s not standing like a kid. No kid stares like that.” Lilith raised an eyebrow. “Weird kid then.” “You know I can hear you, right?” They all stared down in shock as the little girl, one-hundred and some sixty odd feet below called up to them, her stone-cold expression—at least how much of it they could actually see—unchanged. “Not normal,” Mags whispered what the others were thinking. Nodding, Yumi stood. “Let's check it out.” She jumped off the tower, leaving a small impact circle around her as she landed gracefully on the concrete below. The girl didn’t even flinch. After a second's pause, Lilith and Mags joined her on the ground. Now that she got a closer look at the kid, Lilith was surprised. She was even younger than she expected. She couldn’t have been older than nine or ten. Crossing her arms, Lilith narrowed her eyes. Something about this pipsqueak seemed fishy to her. “So what’s your story, kid?” “My name is Buttercup. I’m... new in town. I heard that the three of you are the ‘most badass chicks in Ede Valley’. I need your help.” "And why would we help you?" Yumi asked, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes. They didn't know why, but this girl intimidated them for some reason. There was something about her that wasn't... normal. Buttercup simply smiled, though it wasn't the whimsical smile of a child. "Because I can help you. You are Tuatha De Danann, yes? The ancient Celtic spirits?" The three of them recoiled. "Ancient Celtic Gods, thank you very much," Lilith spat. "But how did you know that?" "I'm not from around here," Buttercup said simply, though she looked as if she wanted to say more. "But that's not important. What is important is that you," she pointed a small finger towards Lilith, "And you, and you," the others in turn, "Are bored. You long for a battle, like in the old days. If you help me, I can provide that." "Okay," Lilith nodded, looking down from the little height she had on the child. "I think I understand. You want us to beat someone up for you. Some playground bully. Well, sorry squirt," she began to turn, "We don't beat up kids." "Not a bully." Buttercup said suddenly. "Something bigger. People with weapons and minds and... other things," she looked slightly downwards. Lilith paused. There was something strange about this whole thing. Buttercup sounded almost desperate through her controlled monotone, and the "people" she described sounded more like an army. An army the likes of which she had never faced before. Lilith’s eyes became very shiny, and she had to swallow to prevent the drool from foaming from her mouth. A battle. A real battle. To the sides, it looked as if Yumi and Mags were thinking the same thing. But there was one thing Lilith was unsure of: Buttercup. She was... off. Just off. "Where are you from, kid?" She asked her. Buttercup thought for a second. “It’s a long story. And I’m not sure I can trust you yet.” "Trust us?" Lilith laughed. “How do we know if we can trust you?” “You don’t.” Buttercup simply shrugged. "Seems human,” Mags said, after grabbing onto the girl’s chin and forcing her mouth open wide enough to look inside, “Mostly.” “What do you mean ‘mostly’?” Yumi chimed in. “Little human, much... something else,” Mags backed away, perturbed. Lilith’s face scrunched in concentration. She didn’t like this, not one bit. But to see a real battle... She looked to the others, and they seemed to be in agreement. In classic fashion: fun before business. “Alright, kid,” Lilith said, “We’ll help you.” Buttercup’s expression remained stoic. “But first,” she grinned, “A test.” “What kind of... test?” Buttercup spat out, seeming averse to the word. “You will face each of us in whatever challenge we see fit,” Lilith gestured to the others, “And if you can best all of us, than you have the Talons at your every beck and call.” Buttercup’s face began to twist upwards into a kind of smile. “Sounds fun. When do we start?” ~~o~~ Mags went first. In her usual fashion, she silently led the others to an empty alley, and tossed Buttercup a can of spray paint. She then produced about ten others from the gods knew where, and began to mark off two sections of brick wall with blue tape before setting right to work on a mural. “Better than mine.” She stated simply, to which Buttercup nodded. The child paused for a moment, examining her section of the wall as if she meant to burrow through instead of painting on it. Then she looked to and fro down the alley, and Lilith wondered if she was trying to run away. She jogged down a few paces, before coming back with a thin rod of metal that must have been left from the recent construction work. Then, with a can of paint in one hand, and the rod in the other, she began to work. Lilith and Yumi observed from a distance. Mags was a fluid as ever, her movements firm and true, striking the paint across her chosen canvas like a sword over a man’s chest. The colors blended together, working off the bricks to create a certain texture. But when they turned towards Buttercup, their eyes widened. What was she doing? And more importantly, how could she be doing whatever that thing was? From what they could make out, she seemed to be banging the rod against the wall, but the movement was so fast that it became a blur. Mags hadn’t noticed yet, but something told Lilith that she was going to be pissed when she did. Slowly, the murals began to take shape. Buttercup’s was now looking to be a spiral of some kind, and now she was taking the paint for the first time and doing... something with it. Lilith was no expert, but she had never seen Mags doing anything like this. She wanted to warn her, but she had learned that it was best not to bug her when she was painting. Bad things happened. Eventually, both participants stepped away from their creations. Mags had painted a landscape entirely out of spray paint, the hills and valleys so lifelike that you could almost reach out and touch it, feel the wind on your face. But then they looked over to Buttercup's. It was... abstract, a mess of colors and light and texture, the utter chaos of the void. It was the strangest thing that Lilith had ever seen, and yet she couldn't take her eyes off of it. Mags looked over at the child's creation. Lilith braced herself for a sudden explosion, but it never came. Mags simply whispered. "I lost." Buttercup nodded, as if her win was not so much a surprise as an inevitability and turned to the others. Yumi stepped forward, cracking her knuckles. "Well, I guess that means I'm up, huh?" She grinned, stretching out her shoulders. "Come at me." "You want me to fight you?" Buttercup asked, incredulous. Yumi laughed. "I'd be careful if I were you. Few people have fought a sidhe and lived." They moved in a circle, observing each other's movements. In a flash, Yumi reached out to grab the child. But Buttercup was no longer there, and she grasped at the air. Yumi chuckled again. "I knew you were quick, but I'm impressed." She turned around to face the child, who was now standing calmly behind her, and took another swing. Buttercup dodged left, right; it was almost as if she could see what Yumi was going to do before she could do it. Buttercup went low, attempting to go through Yumi's legs, but Yumi smiled, catching her by the back of her hoodie. “Nice try.” But before she could do anything, Buttercup had wiggled out of the hoodie and was back behind her. Yumi took one more swipe, but missed. "Your technique is perfect." She commented. Buttercup sighed. "I wish you wouldn't say that." Without even signaling a movement, she suddenly swept Yumi's legs out from under her, and the taller women fell hard. Buttercup put her foot on top of her to keep her down. "Your verdict?" She asked. "Yep." Yumi nodded, at least as much as she could from the hard pavement. "You beat me." Lilith pushed off from the wall she had been leaning against. “Welp,” she said, “I guess that just leaves me, huh?” Buttercup turned to her, her face set in a hard glare. For a second, Lilith almost forgot that she was a child. “Name your challenge.” Her voice was calm, but there was something sharp behind it. Lilith flinched. “Tonight, at the top of the biggest hill in town,” she pointed past the buildings, towards the looming mound that you could see from anywhere in town. From what she knew, there was a private boarding school up there called St. Adelaide’s, not that she cared much. Lilith knew that hill for something else entirely. “We’re gonna race from the top to the bottom.” “Your bike flies,” Buttercup commented. “I hardly think that’s fair.” “No flying.” Lilith held up her hands. “But don’t think for a second that that’s my only trick.” “The thought never crossed my mind.” “Then you agree to my terms?” Buttercup nodded. “Let’s race.” ~~o~~ The hill towered over everything, its sides so steep, almost cliff like, that the road had to wrap around like a ribbon in order to reach the top. Above, the foreboding buildings of St. Adelaide’s School for the Gifted perched like ravens, glancing down with interest at the three figures below. Then, from the bottom of the hill came Buttercup, stepping determinately forward. As she came closer, Lilith noticed that Buttercup seemed to have developed a strange set look in her features which she hadn’t previously possessed. She kept sneaking glances up at the school from the corner of her eye, as if it would reach down to eat her. Lilith briefly wondered about it, but shook the feeling off. St. Adelaide’s gave her the creeps, it would only natural for Buttercup to be wary. “Is that what you’re going to race me with?” Lilith scoffed, pointing to Buttercup’s ten-speed bike. Buttercup simply nodded. Lilith leaned backwards onto Baby, the motorbike. “Good luck.” She motioned, and Mags walked off towards the bottom of the hill. “We’ll start up there,” Lilith pointed to the top, right where the rot-iron gate of St. Adelaide’s stood locked tight, “and race to the bottom. The first one past Mags will be the winner.” Buttercup, Lilith, and Yumi made their way up to the gate, the chill October breeze blowing through them. Lilith shivered in the night air. She hoped this would be over with quickly; she hated being cold. “Alright ladies,” Yumi raised a hand in the air as Lilith and Buttercup lined up, side by side. Buttercup’s mouth was set in a tight line, staring down the hill. Lilith almost laughed. If this pipsqueak thought she had even a snowball’s chance of beating her with that ten speed bike, than she really was crazy. “Start your engines! Err, engine, I guess.” Baby hummed to life without Lilith having to even touch it. Buttercup readied herself. “On your marks, get set,” Lilith smiled. Looking over, she could see that Buttercup was smiling right back. “GO!” In a split second, Lilith went from zero to light speed, zooming down the hill just as fast as the bike dare go. She laughed, tossing her head back as the wind blew her hair behind her. This race was as good as won, of course it was. Now she could just take an easy ride down the hill and— Buttercup pulled up beside her, waving, her face completely relaxed. On her ten-speed bike. It was impossible. How was she doing this? Her legs were pumping so fast that they were merely a blur. Buttercup leaned down as low as she could, limiting her drag. Not that it probably did much. Lilith blinked, sure she couldn’t be seeing this. And yet, here was a nine-year-old girl not only keeping up with a motorcycle, but actually almost winning. Even now she was pulling ahead. Then it hit Lilith like a ton of bricks. This kid was not human. She couldn’t be. She was too... perfect to be normal. She had been tricked. Buttercup knew the whole time that she would win. None of this had been a challenge for her at all. She hadn’t even broken a sweat throughout any of her trials. Gritting her teeth, Lilith urged her bike onwards. She wasn’t going to be beaten this easily. Baby roared under her, matching the fire of her hair, which had burst into flames behind her as she let out a roar of indignation. Ahead, Buttercup turned around, almost a little surprised, to see Lilith once more closing the gap between them. Then she smiled. Her bike was smoking under her. It wasn’t going to last much longer. It rattled, the gears falling out of joint from the shear force. Yet the girl pushed it faster, faster. The wheels began to spin out of control. And then the bike broke, falling to pieces. But Buttercup wasn’t on it any more. Lilith blinked, and there she was, sitting on the front of Baby. She opened her mouth, but before she could get anything out she had crossed the chalk line that Mags had drawn on the pavement. It was a beautiful design of lines and flowers, and Lilith utterly destroyed it as her tires melted the asphalt. She screeched to a halt, a few hundred yards down the road, her eyes wide as her hair smoked, extinguished. She couldn’t believe it. Buttercup was a dirty, rotten cheater. But she had won, hadn’t she? “So I won, right?” Buttercup asked after a moment. “You only said the first one past Mags, remember? You never said I had to be on my own bike.” “I... I-I” Lilith sputtered, before shaking her head. “Yeah. You beat me kid, fair and square.” Yumi and Mags appeared at her sides. The three stood over the small girl with the blonde pigtails, and they in turn were dwarfed by the hill and school above. They nodded. “I don’t know how you did it, but you beat all of us. You, my child, have the Talons at your service.” Lilith slowly lowered herself to a knee, and the others followed suit. “What would you ask of us, then?” Buttercup smiled, really smiled for the first time. “You wanted to know where I came from, right?” she asked, pausing for a moment before pointing up to the hill. “From the school?” Yumi asked. The child shook her head. “It wasn’t a school back when I knew it. But yes.” She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “They’ve done horrible things there, and they’re going to do them again. I’m going to stop it before it goes too far. And you three... you’re going to help me.”
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