a rude awakening


She woke with a start, eyes darting around the room frantically, but then her blue eyes focused blearily on the clock across the room, the red numbers read 5:34. The sun wasn't even streaming in her window yet. But fuck did her head hurt. She sat up and settled her palms on either side, pressing them together. For as long as she could remember, she'd relieved some of the tension in her headaches by pressing on her head as hard as she could. But this one was stubborn, and sharp, like someone was sliding a hot dagger into her skull again and again. She groaned and flopped sideways on the foreign bed. It took a few moments before her pain subsided enough that she could focus on her surroundings. This. Was. Not. Her. Room. She slowly got up from the bed and looked around, waiting for someone to walk in the door that she was going to have to kill because they would try to kill her first. She backed against a wall and turned her head from side to side. Spotting a door she darted through it and shut it quietly behind her. But what she'd found, instead of an escape, was a bathroom. Well, since she apparently had to relieve her bladder anyway, she used the facilities and then, as she washed her hands she looked in the mirror.

That. Wasn't. Her. "Who the fuck are you?" she hissed at the mirror. "Tell me!" She watched as the mouth on this woman who wasn't her moved in time to her own words. She brought cool hands to her face and pinched. She felt the pain and she flinched. Had she morphed in her sleep? That hadn't happened in some time, not since she was a young girl. She put her concentration into changing back into her true form, but when nothing happened she felt a sick emptiness in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Someone had taken her powers. And someone was going to pay.

Her anger fueled her, energized her. She pulled on some of the unfamiliar clothes and slammed the door on her way out. She didn't have any car keys or a purse or anything, but it didn't matter. She had two fucking legs and she'd run if she had to. But she was going to find whoever was responsible for this and kick their teeth in. Then, after they reversed it, she'd kill them. He fists were clenched, but muscle memory led her down the street, then over several blocks and down again until she found herself in front of a shop. Mrs. Johnson's Adult Novelty Shop. "Oh for fuck's SAKE," she shouted at the side of the building. Then she did the stupidest thing she could have done. She kicked the wall. And broke her toe. But she was too stubborn to admit she wasn't going to get anywhere without some help, so she cursed loudly. Even more loudly when someone leading their child across the street looked at her strangely.

She was hobbling toward a bar, still muttering and cursing under her breath when she was stopped by a petite brunette who called her Rosie. "That's not my fucking name," she growled. "My name is Raven and I'm going to kill whoever stole my powers."