CHAPTER 1: New Beginning

Gray clouds and cool air filled the atmosphere, a perfect day for mourning. Trina looked at a pile of ashes on the ground. Trina had on a dirty white shirt with jeans and white tennis shoes, which she had for 3 months while on the streets. Her down-to-the-ground blonde hair drifted with the gentle wind and her light brown skin denoted her race. Her blue eyes filled with tears as she reminisced on what happened.

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The school day went by normally. Trina couldn't wait to get home. Her grandma and her were going to make cookies. The school bus finally dropped her off. Trina immediately noticed orange flames directly in front of her. Her house was burning down!
And what was worse....GRANDMA WAS INSIDE! Trina rushed to the scene, tears slowly welling up her eyes. "Grandma!" She shouted. Before she got to the house, a man grabbed her. "Do you want to commit suicide? Stay here." The fire dept. was already there, trying to stop the furious flames. "No! Grandma!" Trina yelled. Her grandma...she didn't care what burned just as long as her grandma was alive. She was forced to watch the house go down.

............

A fireman walked up to Trina. "We couldn't find your grandma's body," he said empathetically. "I'm sorry." At that moment, Trina thought that her grandma's body had burned to a crisp. "No!" she yelled again and fell to the grass, an empty look in her eyes. The firemen left and the man who held her back stood above her. "You can come to my house,"he said and then he left.
Trina's emotion turned from grief to anger. Why did this happen to her? Why?! Her grandma was the only relative she had left! After living 6 years with her, nothing had happened before. Why now when her mother was dead and her father was gone?! Why?! Trina ran. She ran past her neighbor's house across the street and kept running, going nowhere.

~Flashback End~

She had been on the streets for 3 months. During this time, her bookbag (which she had on because she was at school) was stolen, she nearly lost her virginity and had almost starved to death! She decided to come back to her grandma's death place because she wanted her grandma to know that she loved her. Trina decided to go up the street before the police came or the neighbors saw her. But the weird thing was that none of her neighbors were there. Trina wondered why the houses were deserted.
And then it happened. Rain. Trina sighed while crossing the street and walking up the slightly sloped street. Someone was walking towards her. Trina decided to be wary as the stranger came closer.
The stranger bumped shoulders with Trina. "Oh excuse me." Trina looked up at the red-coat hooded man. And fainted.

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Trina woke up. She was in a comfortable bed, a real bed, one she hadn't slept in for months! She enjoyed the fluffy pillow, the soft sheets, the blue cover...
Then she saw a teenager sitting in a chair besides the bed.
"Aaaah!" she shrieked. What was he going to do to her?
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," he said. His blonde hair covered his chocolate eyes. He had on a white tank top with an upper arm band on his right arm and jeans. She decided to calm down. After all, if he was going to do something, wouldn't he have done it by now? However, she still had to be aware of what he did.
"So why did you take me to your house?" she asked. "...Are you homeless?" he asked back. What? Had she or had she not asked him something first? She needed answers!
"Why do you want to know?" she shot back. What game was this stranger playing? "I was asking because I wanted to know if you want to stay here."
WHAT?! She looked at him dubiously. "We're working on a project," he explained. "It's called Project PDA: Punishers Defeat Assailants. All you do is defeat crime with a power I give you. In return, I'll give you shelter, food, clothing and money."
Trina looked shocked. Was he really going to keep her from the streets? She stared blankly at him. She could either accept and have somewhere to stay or go back to the streets and suffer.
"OK, I accept!" she announced confidently. "Good. Get up, I'm giving you your punishment." Trina rose and noticed that she had on a black tank top and some black jeans, both too big for her.
"Close your eyes," he said with his calm voice. The small room disappeared from Trina's view as she obeyed. All of a sudden a whoosh was heard.
"Your punishment will be “Doomsday” which lets the punisher feel like they're in Hades," he announced. Out of some instinct, she opened her eyes and a wand with a large bubble on the end of it appeared.
"When you want to use it, say 'Punishment, come out! Penalize!'" She grabbed the wand and smiled. Not only was she free from the streets but she had a new power with it! 'Thank you, Grandma.'she thought.
"I'll get you some food." the stranger said as he prepared to leave the room.
"Wait! What's your name?" Trina asked. He looked at her. "It's Ryou, Trina."
What? He left the room. She didn't know who he was, yet he knew her name! What was really going on?
Trina sat back on the bed and thought about what happened. She didn't know why she fainted when she saw him. And what was his 'punishment'? She sighed and laid her weary head on the soft and luxurious pillow.
Ryou came back. "Here's your food." Trina woke up immediately. The circular plate had spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread. A more-than-delicious meal for someone off of the streets! She ate speedily with the fork; she had nothing to eat today so it was by the grace of God that she had food!
Ryou looked at her and smiled, even though she didn't notice it. "After you're finished I have to show you the other parts of the house." She looked up, cheeks full, and was eagerly ready to see the other parts of the house. She rose, empty plate in hand.
Trina saw 3 other rooms across from her as they exited. There were 6 rooms, 3 rooms on each side, in a moderate sized hall. They continued up some stairs that were immediately in front of them. The 2nd and 3rd floors looked the same. The 4th floor was different. It had more room space than the other floors and there was a circular shaped room in a corner with a gap that allowed anyone to come in. It must have been a computer room, because a teenage boy was on the computer and there were a few more in there. “This is HQ,” Ryou mentioned.
To the left of that was an office and to the left of that was a doorframe with more stairs. And to the left of that was an open-doored bathroom.
To the left of the stairwell which they stood in front of, there was a circular wooden post that contained 2 armchairs and a TV interconnected with the wall. Below this was a shelf with a DVD player and other things.
"Um...is this an apartment?" she asked. "No, we're underground." Trina stood shocked. "WHAT?! BUT HOW...?" "Let's just say I'm rich," Ryou explained as he walked towards the other stairwell. Trina followed, still confused.
After they walked up a few stairs, Ryou slid a door open and then opened another. Trina came out to a bedroom. The bed was directly in front of the chifferobe with a drawer to the right of it and a nightstand to the left.
They continued, exiting the bedroom from the right.
That was when Trina encountered a hall. The hall was long and contained the passageway to 5 other places. Slightly across the hall to the left was a closed door. Slightly to the right was the living room. To the right of that was a closet.
Ryou went into the living room. Two couches facing each other crowded the room. Between them was a clear small oval table. There was an armchair against a wall facing the small table. In front of all of these was a TV on a stand. The front door was to the left. A walnut side table was close to the hall exit and it held an address book and a notepad. Above it was a white wall phone.
“I hope you know what room we’re in,” he teased. “What?! Of course I know!” Trina half-yelled in defense. Was he teasing her?! They exited the room and Trina saw 3 rooms from the other side of the hall. The one to the far left was the dining room. The one to the left of that was the bedroom and the next one was the bathroom.
Trina once more followed Ryou to the dining room. There was a long oval oak table that filled more than half the room. A fat, stout teenage girl was sitting at the table eating. A door to the right led to the kitchen which, not surprisingly had 3 refrigerators and 2 ovens.
Trina dropped the plate in the sink. She had already assumed that more than one person had been in the house. Of course. Why would she be the only one Ryou had helped? They left the kitchen and Ryou opened the closet across from it.
“You don’t have to show me the closet.” Trina insisted. “It’s not a closet,” Ryou said. Trina’s eyes SAW a closet. Ryou pushed a button next to the doorframe. A door opened in the wall to reveal another bathroom.
“There are 10 people in this house so we couldn’t have one bathroom,” Ryou explained. “Do you see that light?” He pointed to a police light next to the door. “If it flashes red, you can’t come out.”
Trina and Ryou went back to the 2nd floor in HQ. They went to a middle room among the 6 rooms. “This will be your room. I hope you like it.” Ryou exited the room. Trina flopped on the bed, exhausted. He hadn’t shown her what was behind the closed door and the other people were gone. She slept, waiting for the next day to come.