Beat The Odds
Icejins in all shapes and sizes were gathered in the huge arena, where they were awaiting someone to come out and speak. In the back, sitting on a tall throne, King Kold stared off into space boredly with his chin rested on his palm. He was swirling a glass of wine, looking quite bored.
His eldest son, a somewhat tall, lean and purple-skinned lad, flipped his tail in equal boredom. "Father, how much longer do we have to wait?"
Yawning slightly before speaking with a snobby British sounding voice, Kold replied, "I don't know, Coola." He turned his attention to the front row for a few moments, where a group of disabled Icejins had gathered. "Eh. Who let them out?" He asked, wrinkling his nose in contempt.
Coola shrugged and looked to the front row as well, his lip curling into a sneer of disgust. He could see Icejins with mental handicaps of varying severity, some with missing limbs, there were a few blind and some deaf. There were also some that were paralyzed, or palsied in one form or another. They started to cheer at something, the deaf ones joining in as well. Upon hearing this, Coola's attention went up to the front where everyone else was looking.
A hoverpod came into view, yet stayed just enough in shadow to hide the person's identity. There was a collective gasp throughout the audience of Icejins.
"Am I late?" Freeza asked as he hopped over the back of his seat and sat down.
"You are right on time." King Kold sighed, stifling another yawn. He blinked and looked at his youngest son, then towards the stage where the hoverpod had just become visible. "Isn't that your hoverpod down there?"
Twitching his long, purple tail, Coola turned to face Freeza as well, "I thought you were going to speak up there!"
Freeza's purple carapace caught the light as he turned his nose up at his older brother and crossed his arms, "I never said I was going up there, and I have nothing to do with whatever is going on here."
The hoverpod, which was revealed to have tons of buttons and gadgets added to it, moved forward again until the Icejin perched inside was fully visible. Gleaming in the light, the armor-plates on his scalp, shoulders and the rest of his body were a fiery ruby red; his lips, fingernails and eyes shared that same blazing redness. His body shape was much like Freeza's fourth form.
The first thing about him that seemed to stand out most was his outward appearance. His slightly spasming body was twisted unnaturally, almost in a semi-fetal position, and he sat awkwardly with his legs folded almost completely up against his lower abdomen. Every one of his fingers and toes curled into a claw-like position with the end-joint permanently bent inwards. The last six inches of his delicate off-white tail curled into a spiral, just like a chameleon's. His ruby-red lips seemed to droop slightly on one side. One might have thought he was in pain, but it was quite clear that he wasn't. And despite his decrepit body, the Icejin's eyes were bright and alive, glittering so much that the people in the back row could see them.
For a long time, many people just stared rudely or whispered amongst themselves. Up front, the disabled Icejins continued to cheer and whistle, some of them jumping up and down excitedly. The Icejin in the hoverpod was undaunted by the whispers or stares, and continued forward until he was floating just above the edge of the "stage".
He couldn't speak, that was obvious. Instead of struggling to do something he couldn't do on his own, the Icejin moved the twisted fingers on his hand left to reveal a black keypad the size of a universal TV remote. Various buttons blinked, and a light came on when he had managed to up-link it with the sound system.
A few moments went by while the Icejin touched several keys on the little keypad. When he finished typing, a synthesized voice, created from his own vocal utterings, began to speak, ||My name is Mist.|| His ruby lips formed into a crooked smile, one side of his mouth not quite cooperating. But his eyes, bright and glittering, made up for what his lips wouldn't do. His eyes turned to look down at the disabled Icejins gathered up front as they started cheering and shouting his name.
In the back, Freeza, Coola and King Kold were looking on in shock. Their eyes were like dinner plates.
"Mist!? But how?" Coola wondered.
"I'll be damned…" Freeza was smirking.
Kold just watched, slowly regaining his composure.
Mist's eyes traveled over the gathering while the keypad in his hand continued to speak, ||I know that most of you only see me as nothing more than another crippled retard. A few more might think that I am incapable of doing anything. In a way, that is true; I can't speak, walk or pick up small objects. I can say, however, that my Cerebral Palsy only affects the body. My mind is just as alert as yours.|| His eyes briefly stopped on Kold, Freeza and Coola, then returned to the huge crowd.
"Shut up! Freak." Someone in the audience shouted.
Collective laughter rose up briefly, but Mist was undaunted. He leaned forward in his pod slightly, glared at those who laughed and touched a few keys on the keypad, ||Laugh all you like, but I will not be silenced anymore. Nor will those like me.|| There was a pause as his speaking device lagged momentarily, ||You all fear what you do not understand. And you don't like to see what you fear, sometimes seeking to destroy it. So, on behalf of all the people who are handicapped in some form or another and those who were killed because of the way they were, I have come to tell you 'normal' people my story. Perhaps it will shed light on what you refuse see, and to help you understand that there is nothing to fear.||
King Kold was looking pretty angry, veins popping out under his skin. Coola was leaning forward in his seat, his eyes still huge. Freeza was smirking and shaking his head in disbelief.
||Before I tell you my story, I have something to say to those who know me personally.|| Mist's pod turned slightly, ||You didn't think I would ever come this far, but I have. I dared to dream, I am back, and I beat the odds.|| His ruby eyes turned to look down at the gathering in the front row as they cheered again, ||And if I can do it, then so can you. It can be our victory.||
Author's note: This is just my little teaser. It may be a long time before the actual fic is written, but I wanted you to get a small taste of what I have cooking. I also wish to dedicate this, as well as the rest of the un-written fic, to all people who are "special"(like Mist) in some form or another.