Ruled by Chauvinists

A/N: I dedicate this story to all women, especially those who have been victims of sexual abuse of any sort, and hope that they will be able to stand up for themselves and be proud of being a woman. No matter how much of a crime it is to be female these days, we will never let the sexists get the upper hand. And never be silent about it if anything happens to you. Then the monsters win by default. Alright, ladies?

Warnings: There's an awful lot of cussing. And adult themes.

Piper doesn't expect them to understand. Not really.

Sure, she's come up to them on several occasions, eyes teary, posture sunken, arms crossed to her chest. They'd ask her what was wrong. And she'd quietly, haltingly tell them, "I was molested. On the streets. In Atmosia."

Immediately, there'd be outrage. "WHAT?" Aerrow and Finn would scream, standing up suddenly. "By whom? What did he look like?"

Junko would gasp, his fists tightening. "Yeah, Piper. We'll take care of him!" Radarr would chirp angrily too.

Even Stork would look disgusted. He wouldn't say anything at first, but his reaction would be calmer. "Did you see his face?"

"No, no I didn't. I would have done something if I had. Kicked his ass."

"Yeah," Aerrow would snarl. "I'd castrate him."

Finn would wince.

However, all of that was in the past. These days she doesn't even bother telling them. Today, Piper's gotten so used to it that it's become a part of life. She doesn't bat an eyelid when some shady character whistles to her on the street. She freezes for a moment if someone touches her—she really, really tries to find the offender, but the crowd is always too thick. She shrugs it off. Shit happens. Especially to women.

But it's shameful. It's scary. It makes her want to cower away, and never be seen again. She is just one of the billions of women in Atmos ruled by chauvinists. They whistle, they call her names. They touch her. And she knows she shouldn't let them. They think they have a free access to her. They're essentially telling her, You're our property. We will do what we like with you.

Piper can fight the rage of battle. It's so easy to do that, flawless, daring. But in the real world, she's a coward. She can't stand up and say, "Yes, I'm a woman. Yes, you have a penis. But that does not give you the right to even look at me in a way that will make me uncomfortable. So. Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. Here."

She's subdued. Broken. Her will to fight the monsters is all but gone. Let it be. If she angers them then she'll get hurt. Beaten, perhaps even raped. She doesn't want to be raped.

All of that changes, though. The day she reawakens.

Starling marches into the Condor, saying she'd like Piper's assistance with some crystal dealer in Terra Rex. "Apparently," Starling says, "He's selling to the Cyclonians. I've asked some questions but I should have gone undercover because he didn't tell me. He figured I was a Sky Knight."

"What about the Rex Guardians?" Aerrow asks.

"They enlisted my help, actually. Because they had a rather fierce battle with Cyclonia only a few weeks ago and are in no condition to work."

"Oh," Piper says. "Sure, I'd love to help!"

Starling grins. "It's an undercover operation. We're going to go undercover as prospective customers."

The crystal dealer's place is in one of the most run-down and neglected parts of Terra Rex. It's horrible. It's towards evening when they reach there, and the seedy bars are already open. There are prostitutes on every corner, and men leering at them. Starling blatantly ignores. Piper follows close behind, honestly quite scared.

They never actually get to the crystal dealer's because they blow their cover much before that.

It happens on a gloomy street corner. And it happens quickly.

"Hey babe, how much?" says a man, coming right out of the shadows. And he pinches Starling's butt.

"NO!" Piper yells.

But Starling is faster. She growls. She actually growls. And then she flips him onto his back, slams him into a wall and punches him so hard that Piper hears his jaw break.

When Starling lets go, he falls down, limp and unconscious.

The dust settles. People are starting to stare. The older Sky Knight glares at them and they turn away.

"Come on," Starling mutters. "It's pointless. We've created a ruckus. We'll come back some other time. They know we're Sky Knights now."

And it's true because Piper can hear the crowd whisper, "Sky Knight, Sky Knight!" Junkies and drug dealers shying into the shadows give Piper fearful looks.

They walk back, and Piper's heart is racing. It's completely dark now, and she follows Starling to the parked Condor.

"Wait," the younger says, grabbing Starling's arm. "How did you do that?"

"Do what? Beat up the guy?"

"Yeah. You owned him."

She laughs. "Training? Come on, Piper, you'd do the same."

Piper looks away.

Starling's eyes widen. "You'd let him molest you? What if he tried to rape you!?"

"Obviously I wouldn't let him!" Piper snaps. "But I'd…run. I'd not fight. You fought."

The woman with the purple hair raises an eyebrow. "But if you don't fight them, then they'll never stop. I mean, if you suffer in silence, they win. It's what they want. They want to shame you. Even when I was a kid—before I learned how to fight, I'd tell my mother. Even my dad, actually. Because it's sexual harassment, right? It's nothing to be ashamed of because you're the victim. They're the villains, so they should pay. Not you."

Piper lowers her eyes.

"What?" Starling persists.

"Nothing." And she's thinking.

All those years of sitting quiet, all those years of silent agony. Piper had lost her way. Piper's fire had dimmed. But now it has rekindled. She's a Sky Knight, a Storm Hawk. And more importantly, most importantly, she's a woman. Not an object, not a thing. A person. A living being. Every day is a fight to survive and now Piper remembers that she hasn't fought. For the longest time, she'd given up. She'd lost the flame, the will to be strong.

"Tell me," Starling says, softly now.

Piper shakes her head, and smiles in a gentle, determined way. "I feel fire," she replies cryptically.

Starling doesn't try to make sense of it. But she smiles at Piper. "Come on," she points to the Condor. "Let's go eat."

Piper nods. She knows she lives in a world ruled by chauvinists, by demons.

But she also knows that demons can be slayed.

A/N: Thank you for reading. This piece is very important to me. Recently someone in my country was raped, and she died. She's become a symbol of how women suffer, but all she wanted to do was live, and all she wanted to do was follow her dreams. We didn't know each other, and yet every single person I know feels connected to her. It's like a part of me died with her. Here's to you, you brave, brave girl.