Disclaimer: I do not own Les Miserables. Please don't sue!
In an old, broken down factory at the edge of town, eight girls wearing vests were holding a meeting around a circular table. Most of the girls seemed impatient, as if waiting for something extraordinary to happen…
The first girl, sitting at what was more or less the head of the table, had silver blond hair and sharp blue eyes that seemed to contain a fire unmatched by any of the others. Her vest was golden, rather than the brown or gray or black sported by the others. A stray flame would occasionally alight on her hair, which she, with a tired expression, would extinguish. She also seemed to be the leader of the group, casting glances about to each girl, waiting for everyone to quiet down.
The chair at this girl's right-hand side was empty. The first girl seemed anxious about this, and her gaze was almost willing it to be filled.
The second girl had messy brown hair, and her playful demeanor was incased in her brown eyes. After finishing a joke, she grinned and pointed at a large stack of books. The books then flew apart and spread in a messy pile. Then, she pointed at a large red flag resting against the wall, which unrolled itself and fell on the floor. The leader looked at her, annoyed.
"Cora, pick those up, and put them back. The books were in alphabetical order."
Cora snorted unhappily ("I was only having a little fun!"), but the leader's harsh gaze drove her to go complete the task, albeit in a begrudging manner.
The third girl was rather short. Her suspicious green eyes peered out from under her dirty reddish hair. She gazed around shiftily, apparently looking for anything dangerous. She did not seem to relax as Cora did. One of her hands flickered back and forth from flesh to shadow and back. Cora, momentarily distracted, looked at her.
"Florie, there are no monsters here. Enjoy yourself!"
Florie didn't take this advice.
The fourth girl was sleeping. Her dirty blonde hair stretched over her eyes. She was snoring loudly. The leader rolled her eyes.
"Looks like we're going to be having this meeting without Gretchen—again." The others laughed.
Girl number 5, at the opposite end of the table, had yet to sit down. When she did, she let out a yowl, and got up very quickly, removing a solitary tack from her backside.
"Who put this tack on my chair?"
Cora let out a giggle.
"I-I'm sorry Leslie!" she managed to squeak out. "The tack was meant for Angie…oops…" She peered sheepishly at the leader.
Angela scowled and the entire top of her head burst into flames, while Leslie, ever cheerful, sat down again, beginning a joke. She adjusted the bandanna on her head, a present from the others after her first chemotherapy treatment.
The sixth girl looked very worried. She was leafing through a large book, which appeared medical in nature.
"Guys…do I look pale?"
Everyone groaned.
"Julie, you idiot, you know what those do to you!" said Angela, snatching the book away, while shaking her head.
"B-but…"
The 7th girl's brown eyes looked rather dreamy. She was scribbling on a piece of paper, and didn't appear to be engaged in the general activity of the others. When she was quite finished, she stood up and cleared her throat.
"NO, Janine! Not more of those! You're driving me crazy!" Girl number eight snatched the paper away. She gazed around the table, as if looking for someone to challenge her, and everyone felt sorts of unnatural anger rise in themselves, except for two people.
Janine looked about to cry, and Julie was matching Girl eight's glare exactly. They looked as if they were about to fight…
"JULIE! BETSY! BREAK IT UP!" Angela yelled as she threw herself between them. "WE'RE HOLDING A MEETING!" The two girls did not want to "break it up", but as fire had consumed Angela's entire head by now, they decided not to take any chances. "Now, then," Angela said, calming down, "the meeting."
Gretchen lifted her head, seemingly disoriented. Cora made her way back to the table, rolling her eyes.
Angela ignored them. "So, the portal…"
Everyone in the room stiffened.
"I really don't think there's any way we can close the portal to Monsters unless we have our Ninth." Her eyes flicked to the empty chair.
Betsy snorted. "You don't? I think we're strong enough!"
Angela glared. "It's not about strength. Something went very wrong last time. You know that. You all know that."
Florie shuddered. "Angie, that would be all well and good…except the Ninth might be in Japan. What in heck are we going to do then?"
"Whatever it takes."
Cora shook her head. "You're crazy. I don't see why we can't at least TRY to be normal kids, and leave the monster-fighting business alone!"
Angie stared at her. "It's your character talking, isn't it? You know very well why!"
Cora was eyeing the bookcase behind Angie.
Gretchen locked eyes with Cora. "You—wouldn't—dare."
Everyone looked at her. It wasn't often that Gretchen spoke at meetings. "Anyway," she said loftily, "I completely agree with Angie. We need the Ninth." Then, she promptly went back to sleep.
"Okay, then. Cora, you know very well why we have to do this. Has anyone seen anyone who could be the Ninth?"
Everyone shook their heads. Suddenly, Janine began to shiver.
"What is it?"
"Can't you hear it? Something's coming…something bad."
Then, everyone else could hear it, too.
Bang! Crash! BANG! CRASH! BANGCRASH!
"Ahhh!"
"Sounds like more than one!"
"We can take them! Come on, guys!"
Angie stuck her head out the door, and then quickly took it back the room. "Cora!"
Cora pointed at a bookcase, which blocked the door.
Angie looked deathly pale. "Guys...it's them!"
Squeals punctuated the air.
"Florie…you know what to do. We can never come back here. They've found us."
Angie then thought to herself. "We can't keep this up forever! Come on, our Ninth, where are you!
.
If you're wondering what the heck this has to do with Les Mis, just read it over again...