Against all Odds

Chapter One

For Charmaine's life of seventeen years, her parents were heroes, saving the lives of everyone in the city they lived in, sometimes the entire world. Her parents were gone a lot of the times, which meant Charm was alone. Not that she minded, she liked being alone, and even if she didn't, it was worth it because her parents were doing something worthwhile.

Ever since she was a little girl, Charm dreamed of becoming exactly like her parents, but, unlike her parents, she didn't have any special powers. So she couldn't do anything except watch as her parents fought to protect the city. Sometimes she did get to see the fights, which were brutal and drawn out, which sometimes resulted in a few buildings ruined. Sometimes she didn't.

Either way, despite the fact that she knew her parents were some of the strongest people she knew, Charm always paced back and forth after her parents went out. She was always worried that one of them would get injured, or worse, killed. But the worse they got was a broken arm/leg and a concussion.

So that was why, despite it being a Saturday morning, she was staring at the bright white of her ceiling, listening as her parents left. Charm knew that her parents wanted her to have a normal life, which meant sleeping in on the weekends. Charm wanted that too, but that didn't stop her from wanting to be down there to say goodbye, because a part of her knew that there was a chance, slight as it may be, that they wouldn't come back.

Charm turned to stare at her room. It was actually quite messy, with clothes of all colors tossed on the ground and her chair, books scattered on her desk, as well as pencils, pens, a little fox crochet guy that someone made her, half filled notebooks that was left forgotten.

The room itself was relatively simple and small. It was squarish, with enough room for a bed, a dresser, a desk, and not much else. There was a window facing her bed that showed a gorgeous view of her city, a few skyscrapers, other apartment buildings, and, of course, vehicles driving to and from places.

There were a few posters on Charm's plain white walls, mostly of her favorite band, One Direction. Her favorite member was Harry Styles, she thought he was hot and hoped that one day she'd get to go to one of their concerts.

There were also posters of some of her favorite books, like The Mortal instruments and Percy Jackson.

Finally sitting up and rolling off the bed, Charm made her way towards the desk, kicking clothes out of the way. One of these days she'll definitely have to clean. Ugh, she hated cleaning.

Once she got to her desk, she picked up a picture and stared at it. It was if her and her parents, when she was a little girl. She was on her father's shoulders, giggling and laughing at something her mom had said. Everyone in the photo looked happy.

Charm smiled slightly, looking at it. Just then, a huge boom rang out and her room rattled. Pencils rolled to the floor and she squealed, nearly dropping the picture.

She set it down and hurried to her window, peering out. There was a skyscraper that had flames and smoke shooting out of it, and a part of it crumbled away. It was her parents, fighting a villain. Charm watched, entranced as she saw two tiny figures go after a third one.

She stared as she watched them fight, pressing a hand to the glass. It was so beautiful, how they fought as a team. She loved it. She watched as the three traded blows, until the villain was finally taken down.

Charm was used to the occasional fires and bombs, but sometimes she still got startled. she would never admit it, however.

She listened to the sirens as they got closer. Just a normal day in the city, she mused, laughing a little. Life would go on as if nothing would happen. That was the beauty of living in such a messed up world. People got used to it all, the good and the bad.