Vigilante (Under Construction! Please Excuse the Dust!)

Chapter 1: unethical greetings.

Author's Note: Okay, the name "Giliana" was good in theory, but confusing to pronounce. Juliana and Giliana are the same character, I just changed her name to make it easier for readers. Also, I'm trying to take the "show, don't tell" approach with this rewrite, so there isn't as much information crammed into each chapter! -Silvered

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Juliana Guerrero:

Juliana spun on her heel the moment she saw the meathead slamming down the street, backhanding cars into the sides of buildings and roaring at the top of his lungs. He was chasing someone down and Juli did not want to get involved. 

Judging from the meathead's strength at the moment, he had just barely swollen up like a balloon and there was likely a broken artery in his brain that would kill him soon.

If whoever he was chasing was smart, they'd be able to outmaneuver the clumsy-

A scream made Juli stop in her tracks and look over her shoulder, but she made no move to run back to help them.

"Talon," she grimaced, pressing her lips together and squeezing her eyes shut before forcing herself forward again. No way was she getting involved. None. Better that one person was hurt rather than-

Before she knew it, Juli had turned sharply around and was sprinting. Her backpack slapped the sidewalk behind her as the sudden burst of movement sent it flying and she leaped from the curb. 

The meathead was holding a skinny man by the throat, tearing at his limbs with his free hand. His arms were bent at unnatural angles and he screamed continuously as the meathead dug his thick fingers into his leg to wretch it away from his midline.

Juli ran at the meathead full speed, fury and desperation sending her diving onto the meathead's broad back, an arm slipping around his throat and tightening while the other covered his eyes, successfully confusing him into dropping the disfigured man. 

The skinny man dropped to the ground and was motionless, his eyes wide open and jaw clenched in concentration.

"See how you like it," Juli snarled in a voice that wasn't entirely hers, choking him as he thrashed in confusion, attempting to figure out where the world had gone. 

His shoulders bobbed and he twisted at the waist, slamming his hands on the street with frustration. No matter how big this stupid brute was, even muscle-bound psychos had to breathe at some point.

Seconds passed and the meathead swayed before crumpling forward, his forehead cracking on the cement.

Juli released him, stumbling backwards and tripping over her own feet as she regained control of her own emotions. It left her mind clouded and a migraine pounding at her temples. 

"Augh...," she groaned, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes. "Talon-damned Empaths..."

The victim of that monstrosity was an Empath. He'd manipulated Juli's emotions and hormones to use her like some kind of distraction so he could get away. 

Juli dragged a hand over her face and peered to where the Empath had been. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing but a splotch of blood. 

She wasn't sure, but Juli was pretty sure she'd read something online about Empaths being able to scan an area for someone to manipulate and stronger ones could do it even without eye contact. How lucky was he that she had to walk this way to get home?

It didn't really matter anyway. The Empath was gone and the meathead was going to die from his hemorrhage in the street. Juli hadn't wanted to be involved at all and yet here she was, a bruise already forming on her arm from the force she had exerted on the meathead's windpipe.