Alright, so here it is, as promised. Like I said in my author's note in Freaky Mad Darkness, I'm rewriting the story. I'm kind of nervous about this. I hope you all enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Freakazoid.
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It was late. Too late for it to be safe to wander the streets. It was a new moon and darkness blanketed the streets of Washington, the stars and street lamps providing very little light.
Dexter Douglas was walking home through the darkened streets, some books and folders clutched to his chest.
He knew it was dangerous to be outside with how late it was, but he didn't have a choice. He had just left the library because Duncan, his jerk of a brother, threatened to destroy his computer if he didn't do his research project for him. Of course, he had told Dexter this at the last minute, so it was already pretty late when he got to the library.
"I don't know why you did it in the first place." Freakazoid said to him, "He's such a weenie."
"Yeah, well I didn't have any other options." Dexter thought back to him, trying to get home as quickly as possible, "Besides, I'm used to it."
Freakazoid wanted to point out that being used as a human punching bag was not something that he should have to get used to, but he refrained. It was a conversation that they had had many times and the result was always the same. Dexter would just brush him off and tell him not to worry about him.
He couldn't help but worry, though. Dexter was his friend and they did share a body. He was kind, but few people could see passed his "nerdy" exterior and it often made him a target for bullies and his brother. When that happened, Freakazoid wanted nothing more than to "Freak-out" and cause them the same pain they would cause Dexter.
However, he couldn't do that for several reasons, most of them obvious. For one, it would reveal that he and Dexter were two halves of the same coin, putting both of them, and their family, at risk. Another reason was it wouldn't look good if it got out that Freakazoid, Washington's superhero, was going around beating up random people. But the most important reason he didn't do it was because Dexter didn't want him to. He always told him that he had better things to do than beat his bullies senseless.
It hurt Freakazoid to watch Dexter suffer like he did, day in and day out. He wanted to do something, anything, to help him, but he always insisted that he should handle his own problems. Dexter would never fight back, though. He had resigned himself to being pushed around long ago. Freakazoid desperately wished that someone would protect Dexter since he refused to do so himself.
At that moment, Dexter saw something in the distance that made his blood run cold. Just ahead of him was a strange man leaning against a lamppost. Normally he wouldn't think anything of it, but when he saw this man, his brain yelled at him to run.
The man smirked at him, malice on his face.
"Hey, kid," he said, his voice rough and gravelly, "Come here."
Naturally, Dexter turned away, about to run in the opposite direction, only to see another man approaching him. Panicking, he ran into a nearby ally, fear clouding his mind. He soon ran into a brick wall, a dead end. He was about to bolt out of the ally, but the tow men were blocking the entrance. Dexter pressed himself up against the wall, trying to put distance between them as the men drew closer.
As if it wasn't bad enough that he was tormented at home and school, now he had to deal with it on the streets, too?
One of the men chuckled as he reached into his pocket, the horrible sound making Dexter shudder. "Don't be like that, kid. We just want to talk." He pulled his hand out of his pocket and, even in the darkness of the ally, Dexter could see the gleam of a knife. The other man did the same, laughing at how frightened the boy looked.
Dexter was beyond terrified. He was trapped, it was late and there was nobody outside. No one would hear him scream. He couldn't turn into Freakazoid, that would give away his secret identity. All he could do was sit there and wait for the men to hurt him. Dexter was truly afraid for his life.
He was ready to beg the men to spare him when something happened. Something, a person, dropped down into the ally way from the roof tops, landing gracefully on their feet. Dexter couldn't see the person well as it was dark and their back was to him. Whoever it was had startled the men by landing in front of them and nearly made them drop their weapons.
"Hey, what's the big idea, girl?" the first man growled, baring his teeth.
The girl smirked, though no one could see it, and twirled the metal pole in her hands. "Didn't mommy ever teach you boys that knives are dangerous?"
"This doesn't concern you!" the second man snarled, "So why don't you stop playing dress up and go home?"
"I'm afraid that I can't do that." she replied, faking an apologetic tone, "You see, I live here now and I just can't sleep at night knowing there's garbage on the streets. I mean, really? You're trying to mug a defenseless kid."
"This is your last warning! Leave, now!"
She pretended to think a moment, tapping her chin with her index finger. "How about...no."
"Alright, but don't say we didn't warn you!"
In a matter of seconds, as the men tried to charge at her, the girl had used her pole to knock the knives out of their hands. Before they even realized what happened, she made a swift turn on her left heel, swinging her right foot into the first man's head and knocking him into the second. They flew into a wall, groaning in pain as they slid to the ground. The impact had rendered them both unconscious.
The girl glanced at him, but he still couldn't make out her face. All he could see were her vibrant electric green eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness. Those eyes were hauntingly familiar to him, but he simply could not place where he had seen them before.
She placed her pole in a holster on her back and grabbed some rope off of a nearby dumpster, then took hold of the men's collars.
"Follow me." she said simply.
He did as he was told, his mind numb from the experience. He followed her to a street lamp, watching as she used the rope to tie the criminals to it. Though the light the lamp gave off was dim, Dexter could now clearly see the girl who saved his life.
Her skin was paper white, magenta around her eyes and on her lips. Her hair was curly and fiery orange, tied back in a pony tail. She wore a black halter top and black skinny jeans, both adorned with neon green flames. Short black gloves and black boots, both also bearing neon green flames, completed her outfit.
When she finished binding the men, she turned to Dexter. He thought he saw her eyes go wide for a fraction of a second, recognition flashing in her green orbs, but it was gone in an instant, making him wonder if he had really seen it in the first place.
"Isn't it passed your bedtime, kid?" she asked, smirking.
For some reason, her words annoyed him. "What do you mean, "kid? You can't be any older than I am!"
"True," she admitted, amusement lacing her words, "But I would think that someone my age would know that it's dangerous to be out at this time of night. Seriously, what were you thinking?"
He felt a little embarrassed and blushed. He already knew it was dangerous, but hearing her say it made it sound even more foolish.
"I... had to go to the library to do a research project." he said lamely.
The girl quirked a curious orange brow, slight disbelief in her eyes. "And you decided to do this at the last minute?"
He averted his gaze to the ground, feeling dumber by the second. "I... I didn't have much of a choice." he told her quietly.
She regarded him for a moment, her face a blank mask. Then, she shrugged, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "Hey, it's none of my business. Sorry for prying." she paused, looking over him carefully, "You're not hurt, are you?"
Dexter forced himself to meet her eyes. She was kind of intimidating, but she seemed good. There was also something bugging him. He couldn't shake the feeling that she was familiar somehow. She was new to Washington, he was sure about that. He had to admit, he was curious about her.
"I'm fine. You got here just in time." he said, "Not to be rude, but just who are you exactly?"
She grinned, revealing pearly white teeth. "Call me Darkness. That's the name I've adopted for this gig. As you may have guessed, I'm, well, I suppose you'd call me a superhero." she explained, leaning against the wall of a building, "I just got here. I was patrolling to get a good idea of the layout of the town when I happened to stumble upon you. You know the rest."
"A superhero?" Dexter repeated, "Washington has a superhero already."
"And the world has the Justice League. It doesn't hurt to have more help around. Tonight would be a perfect example. I got here before your local superhero, didn't I? If I hadn't shown up, you'd still be in a rather sticky situation."
Dexter was silent. If she hadn't shown up, he might have been killed. The very thought made him shudder.
"You should head home." Darkness said, pushing off the wall, "I'll walk with you."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because I have this really annoying thing called a conscience, and if something bad happened to you after I saved you from these guys it would never leave me alone."
Dexter, still a little shaken up by the incident, agreed. He led the way and they walked in silence.
"Hey, Freak," Dexter began, eying Darkness warily, "What do you think?"
His friend was unusually quiet, something that worried him quite a bit.
"I don't know." he answered, sounding uncharacteristically serious, "She seems good, but I just don't know."
Truth be told, he had mixed emotions about Darkness. Like Dexter, he had never heard of her before, he he had the knowledge of the internet at his disposal. He was happy that there was another superhero in Washington and was even happier that she had saved Dexter. However, part of him was jealous that she had protected him when he was unable to. He was also angry at himself for not being able to help Dexter when he really needed him.
Soon, they arrived at Dexter's house. Dexter glanced at Darkness, "Um, thank you for saving me."
She shook her head, a warm smile on her lips, "Hey, it's my job."
He smiled back and walked up to his door. He glanced back at Darkness one last time, only to find that she had disappeared.
"Where did she...?"
Suddenly, the front door swung open, Revealing Mrs. Douglas. "Dexter!" she exclaimed, pulling him into the house, "You were supposed to be home an hour ago!"
"Sorry, mom." he apologized dazed, "I guess I got a little distracted."
A pair of green eyes watched the scene from the rooftop across the street. She smirked, highly amused, as the door was shut.
"Well now," she mused, "It looks like things are about to get interesting."
.:Line Break:.
And there it is. I know it's short, but this is the prologue. I'll try to make the other chapter's longer. I hope you'll tell me what you think. Was it good? Was it bad? Review please!