Okay, so I've always been into Now You See Me- it's my favorite movie- but I didn't think about writing fanfiction for it until I saw the second one, and it was like all these tiny fireworks went off in my brain, giving me ideas. And my favorite one was one where Henley came back into the group.
If someone else has already written a story with this idea, I sincerely promise that I'm not copying. I've actually been working on this for a while now, but anyway, I really hope that you guys like this. It's my first Now You See Me fanfic, so we'll see where it goes.
I think this will be less of an adventure story and more of a drama/romance story, but who knows? I might end up throwing a mystery in here somewhere. But with no further ado...
Disclaimer: I don't own Now You See Me, but I'm working on it.
It was the peak of autumn, mid-October- the time when the leaves would flutter delicately to the ground, golden and orange and red, creating a beautiful, colorful painting out of nature itself- when a young woman dressed stylishly in a black sweater,, a mini-skirt, leather gloves, and polished boots stopped in front of a store with a window full of TV's showing the news. Her red hair was let down but concealed with a black cap that shaded her sunglass-covered eyes and tucked neatly into a gray scarf. The New York chatter around her faded into a muffled buzz as she stared at the screen, taking in every word.
A week after their stunning finale, the four Horsemen have disappeared without a trace, accompanied by ex-FBI Agent Dylan Shrike. Theories have been made about their wherabouts- some say that they've gone back to Macau to plan another series of magic shows- others say that they're here in New York City, searching for a fifth Horseman. Thaddeus Bradley himself claims that the five have joined the Eye and are preparing to go onstage for a third time, but no mater what, one thing is for sure- the Horsemen will be back. And when they are, they'll be better than ever.
The screen changed to a picture of them- Daniel Atlas stood in the front, Merritt McKinney and Jack Wilder on both sides of him, and an unfamiliar, dark-haired girl standing next to Jack.
The woman took off her sunglasses and folded them in her hands, revealing the tear-brimmed eyes underneath.
"Straight flush. I win."
Merritt threw his cards onto the table, a smirk on his face. Jack stared at him, eyebrows furrowed together, trying to determine whether or not he'd cheated, but Daniel said it for him. "No way. You're a swindler, McKinney."
Merritt pretended to be offended. "I can't believe that you think I'd do such a thing! Now, I may be a couple of things but there's no way that I'm..."
His voice faded out in Lula's ears as the corners of her lips curled up in a smile. She stood in the corner, watching them while playing with a card in her fingers- a habit she'd picked up from Jack. As if sensing her thoughts, he looked up and gave her a wink; struggling to keep her emotions under control, she shot him a grin just as a knock sounded at the door.
She froze. "I have a feeling that this is bad."
Merritt looked bewildered. "Yeah, it's bad. Whoever's out there interrupted Daniel's and mine nice, little argument."
"Yeah, and on top of that, nobody's supposed to know where we are!" Daniel replied with an annoyed look, standing up in a flash. "Jack, throw me the tranquilizer gun over there. We'll put them to sleep and then figure out what to do from there."
The person knocked again, and Daniel walked over to the door, gripping the handle tightly. He threw it open, shot ready, and then everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion- he froze, open-mouthed, and the shot dropped from his hand. Merritt and Jack ran to him with Lula in tow, and they all stared at the person who stood in the doorway for what seemed like an eternity before Daniel spoke what they were all thinking: "Henley?"
The young woman gave him a small smile. "I'm back."
Henley accepted the small cup of espresso that the girl- she'd said her name was Lula- had offered her and gazed around at the small, run-down apartment that her old friends now stayed in- the living room that she sat in held two leather couches opposite from each other with a small coffee table in the middle. A single dim lightbulb hung from the ceiling, casting eerie shadows in the room, and there was a dusty, unused bookshelf in the corner that held a few books and DVD's about magic- she even spotted something with Thaddeus Bradley's name on it and turned away. The tiny bedroom held two sets of bunkbeds and had a clock hanging on the wall, with a small, clean bathroom inside.
She took a sip of her espresso as she prepared to answer all the questions unsaid but lingering in the air. Avoiding Daniel's eyes, she began, "I left because I was having dreams. I don't know who it was, Danny, because I know you're going to ask-" Daniel's heart skipped a beat at her old nickname for him- "and they told me what to do. They told me to leave you. They didn't say why, or how, but I asked the Eye to leave and they let me. So, I disappeared for a while and I went to search for whoever had sent me those dreams. I know that they weren't normal dreams, because I kept having them over and over, and they felt different to me- real.
"I started in Macau and went to a magic shop- I can't remember the name, only that it was the oldest magic shop in the world. There, I met someone named Li. He told me that he and his grandmother were part of the Eye, and he said that he might be able to help me. He gave me this-" she carefully took an amulet off her neck. The gold chain and the peridot in it gleamed in the light. "and he told me a story."
"Well, I just love stories," Merritt said, rubbing his hands together and putting on a face of mock interest.
Henley ignored this. "Once upon a time in Egypt, there was a young girl born into a family of slaves. Pharaohs ruled over all and got all the wealth- slaves, however did all the work in the land and were treated poorly in return. The girl's name was Abubakar- it means noble. One day, she decided to stand up for all the slaves in the land, and she demanded to see the pharaoh."
Henley closed her eyes as her imagination painted a lively picture in her mind. She saw a young girl, maybe thirteen or fourteen, with short, black hair dressed in a dirty brown robe, standing with a furious look in her eyes. Behind her, other slaves gasped and kneeled down, returning to their work and hiding like cowards, while Abubakar stood tall and met the hard, brown eyes of the pharaoh.
"It didn't work. She and her family were banished, but she didn't give up. She got an idea, and with some hesitation, her family and friends agreed. Not all of them, of course, but enough for her plan to work. On a dark, windy night, twelve people gathered in a circle with sand blowing into their eyes. Abubakar was at the head of the circle, and that was where she created the Eye."
Henley opened her eyes to meet all of their awestruck stares. "And so..." Jack prompted. All of them leaned forward in their seats like small children listening to a fairy tale; she almost wanted to laugh.
"And so, I'm descended from Abubakar herself. I'm descended from the woman who created the Eye."
Lula's mouth opened in wonder. "No way! That's so cool! I-"
"Yeah, I think we can all agree that it's cool, but what does that have to do with the dreams?" Daniel asked, never casting a glance towards Lula. The girl opened her mouth to speak, then decided against it, closing her mouth and leaning against the door. Henley raised her eyebrows, and still avoiding Daniel's searching gaze, she continued. She didn't want to think about what he was searching for, even though she knew- he was searching for forgiveness, but how was she supposed to forgive him if he didn't even know what he did wrong?
"There's more. Their first heist was against the pharaoh who had shamed her, by sneaking in and stealing this amulet." She held up the amulet again. "The pharoah had stolen this, among a number of other valuable things, from other kings all around the world. You can tell because in the gold here, the princess he'd stolen this from had engraved her name." She showed it to them, her thumb running over the faded cursive words; she could feel the word 'Princess,' with the 'c' missing, and something along the lines of 'Catarina.'
"They showed everyone that the pharaoh was a thieving liar, and he ended up being thrown off a cliff."
"Well, he had a bad day," Merritt said, reaching out and taking the necklace from Henley. She resisted from rolling her eyes.
"Before he died, he swore that he would get revenge. Nobody believed him except for one woman, who knew that she was pregnant with his child. Now, generations later, bad blood still runs between our families. Li thinks that the person controlling my dreams is out to sabotage me."
"So he told you to leave the Eye so that you would be alone and vulnerable..." Daniel mused thoughtfully, beginning to put the pieces together.
"Then, it would be easier to sabotage you. But why'd you fall for it? You're smarter than that, Henley," Jack murmured, his eyebrows furrowed together in a mix of thoughtfulness and confusion.
Henley sighed, the beginnings of a frown pulling at her lips. "At first, I thought that someone from the Eye was sending me these dreams. That's why I followed them, but by the time I realized, it was too late."
"So how'd you escape?" Daniel asked, clearly trying to keep the concern out of his voice but ultimately failing.
"Well, once Li told me about my... heritage-" the word sounded choked- "I contacted Dylan. He told me to fly to France, and he would meet me at the airport. Apparently, he was there looking for Alma Dray. Anyway, he told me to just ignore the dreams and gave me your address. Now... here I am."
"Did you ever find out who was trying to kill you?" Lula asked, refilling Henley's coffee even though the latter hadn't drank more than a bite or now.
Henley shook her head no, but it was clear that she didn't want to talk about the topic anymore. "So, how have things been with you?"
"Well, we had a few shows, almost got killed, were hypnotized into going to Macau, were betrayed for the second time by my evil twin brother, and got him, along with Arthur and his rather, I think, self-absorbed son thrown in jail. So, overall, pretty good." Although Merritt's tone was light, there was bitterness displayed openly on his usually cheerful face.
Henley gave him a half-kind, half-sympathetic smile. She didn't doubt for a moment that Merritt was telling the truth, but, as usual, he'd turned a relatively somber story into a joke. Maybe she'd changed while she was gone, but her old friends seemed like the same people. And she was glad.
Well, all of them except Daniel. In the corner of her eye, she saw the expression that passed over his face for a split second before he carefully plastered over it- she doubted anyone else saw it but her. It was a look of betrayal and disappointment and sadness mixed all into one; it was a look that made Henley wince on the inside and quickly avert her eyes; and it was a look that brought back too many unwanted memories. But there was nothing to stop them now.
It was early August, she remembered, and she'd went to Daniel's new apartment. There was a light drizzle outside, which provided a nice counterpart to the stifling summer heat, so the pair had sat on his balcony in comfortable chairs. Oh, and she'd been laughing. She'd been laughing so hard at something Daniel had said, and his mouth, as she remembered it, was half-open too in a chuckle. As her hysterics died down, there was a moment of silence, all except for the birds- the birds sang a beautiful, sweet melody, as if they'd guessed the electricity between the two before they did.
Stray hairs had fallen from her messy bun, and looking back now, she wished that she'd tied it better. Suddenly, Daniel reached out a hand and tucked a stray lock behind her ear, his blue eyes turning honest and genuine. Surprised, Henley's mouth dropped half-open, and he said, "I forgot how soft your hair was."
That single sentence brought back so many memories- first, she was taken back to their second show, where she was floating in the air in soap bubbles, and then she was falling and screaming and in Daniel's- and she hated to admit it- warm arms. "I guess you have gotten lighter."
Then, she was back in her old apartment, a year or two ago when she and Daniel used to date. They sat together on her couch, the TV flickering in front of them. Her head rested on his shoulder, and his arms was wrapped around, pulling her close, closer, as if doing that would make sure that she would never disappear.
But she did. Three months later, she did, and she remembered writing a note with a rose attached to it and taping it to his door. After that, she ran away, knowing that she was pulling a serious jerk move. She caught a plane to Los Angeles, planning to never see Danny again.
Until she got the card. The tarot card had changed everything for her- without the card, she wouldn't have seen Daniel again, she wouldn't have met Merritt and Jack, she wouldn't have done all those amazing magic shows, and she wouldn't have joined the Eye. And if she never joined the Eye, she wouldn't have went to Macau, where she received a very vital message from Li's grandmother:
Young girl, never run away from your problems.
Lula rested her head on her fists, which were propped up on the railing of the balcony, as she stared off into the distance at nothing in particular. A million thoughts ran through her head, each fighting for attention, and it was giving her a major headache.
Hands came up and rested on her shoulders, startling her. She spun around to see who it was, and she relaxed slightly when she saw that it was only Jack. Playfully, she knocked away his arms as he smiled at her and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Wha- what?" She stammered, her mind muddled. "Nothing's wrong."
"Something's definitely wrong with you," Jack replied, his arms wrapping around her waist as she melted into him. He rested his chin on top of her head and said, "What's on your mind?"
Lula decided to try once more. "Nothing."
"Lula... please. You know you can tell me anything."
She sighed. "I don't know. It's just, ever since Henley arrived, it seems like my world- our world- has just turned into chaos."
There was a pause before Jack spoke again. "You're not afraid that I like her, are you?"
"What?" She laughed. "No." She decided not to mention the fact that when she first saw Henley, that had been the first thought that ran through her mind, but now she had a feeling that Henley already had too much drama with Daniel to be interested in Jack.
Jack chuckled, then grew quiet. "I think I know what you mean. Everything's changing, but... our world is all about change, I guess. Without change, I wouldn't be a Horseman, and... I wouldn't have met you. We wouldn't be here, in New York City, dancing on a balcony."
She tilted her head up at him. "We're not dancing."
"Oh, we're not?" Jack pretended to be surprised as he took her hands and spun her around so that she was facing him. She laughed, her heart skipping a beat, and suddenly she wanted to kiss him. So as he led her across the wooden floor, she stood on her tiptoes and gently pressed her lips against his, the corners of it curling up in a smile.
"I never knew you could dance," Lula whispered, leaning her head against his chest. Jack's grip on her waist tightened slightly, and she suspected that he was grinning.
"I'm full of surprises."
She laughed lightly, and they danced in comfortable silence throughout the night.
So? Did you like it?
I know, I know, I just answered one of the biggest questions of the movie, but I hope you guys enjoyed this. If you did, please leave a review, follow, favorite, all of that good stuff.
*snaps fingers and disappears*