Ace of Evil 2 (The Return of Ace) by Anfkc
Chapter One: Nails
Character Isle's protective force field has allowed it to survive underneath the ocean. Ace, aware of this, is in jail planning her escape and the renewal of Character Isle. Ironically, Ace's jail buddy is Shego, and when Ace is rescued by none other than a floating, moving island which came from under the sea and rejuvenated once again, she allows Shego to escape with her.
A very grumpy-looking Ace in a bright orange jumpsuit was being held by two burly policemen. She was led through the halls of a jail. The three stopped at the chosen cell, unlocked it with a cluster of keys, and slid it open all the while creating a screeching sound, shoving the convict in. Ace responded with a huff.
As the policemen walked away, Ace stared through the bars in a stare of rage.
'Imprisoned! What horrors must I face—goodness, I feel like a caged animal!' She thought.
Ace felt the presence of somebody else in the cage with her….a cell mate. She felt eyes burning on her back, questioning the addition of a new person to this sanctuary they must love so dearly. She must have been considered a threat to a humble abode, and to the value of privacy. But she honestly didn't seem to care. She was too wiped out to do so.
Ace crawled into her attempt of a bed, and almost instantaneously fell asleep. She was used to the force of nature against her. And today, exhaustion was the enemy.
Ace woke up to a loud clanging. As she attempted to open her eyes without completely blinding herself from the eruption of arousal, she could scaresly make out, gradually better within time, her cell mate sitting on the opposite corner of the room, being taken by a few policemen. Ace felt strong hands on her arms, pulling her up and out. She thought of Griffin.
"Wakey, wakey, Ace." The hands' owner spoke.
Ace growled.
"Time for breakfast." He said, forcing her hands behind her back, cuffing them, and pulling her out the cell.
Ace was barely conscious during her walk. The policeman kept pulling at her to make her walk. A few times he had to shove her forward. And at one point, Ace had enough. She snapped.
Ace tugged away from the man's grasp, attempting to walk independently, by herself, without help. But as soon as she tugged away about three police escorts jumped on top of her, grabbing her by the arms, the waist, the neck…
The cafeteria was gray. And black. And full of chrome…and grime…and bright orange convicts. Ace scowled in her mind the ghastly atmosphere she faced compared to her glorious island. She couldn't wait to tell Griffin the horrors of the rest of the world.
Her handcuffs were unlocked, and they panged a sting in her wrists. She flinched.
"Go ahead," the guard said. "Go eat while you have the chance."
The guard's voice reminded Ace of Griffin's. It was gruff, and hard.
As Ace went on line, and grabbed a metal tray, she noticed the guards escort another 'convict' into the cafeteria. She recognized the person…she thought it might have been her cell mate.
The woman was fairly tall and skinny, with cold, piercing green eyes and long, wavy black hair. Ace thought she was crazy, because it almost looked as if the woman's skin had a greenish tint to it.
Ace directed her attention to the convict in front of her on line. He was very big and muscular…it made her think of No. 6.
'UGH! I simply cannot take it! Everything I see, everything I experience here reminds me of the island! And it's gone! My island…it is GONE! Destroyed! Ruined! I am cursed! All my precious, hard work! Everything I held dear is gone! I've lost everything…and now I have nothing! Look around you, Adrianna…look at what you've done to yourself." She thought.
The line moved….an inch.
Ace looked over her burly, evocative counterpart. The grub looked like compost compared to the food at Character Isle!
Or…the food that was at Character Isle…
Ace sighed. She sensed someone behind her. Slowly and slightly turning her head to the right, she could just barely see the bright orange cloth of the ever-so familiar jumpsuits that surrounded her…and a green-tinted hand, with long, sharp black fingernails. Ace has never seen nails that sharp. They reminded her of claws.
The line moved another inch, and Ace progressed. So did Shego…all the while wondering about this new jail mate. Who was she? There was curiosity in the air.
Five long, weary minutes later Ace received a plate of brown mush and grey goo. She didn't think it even edible.
Ace noticed her (most possible?) cell mate sit down at a table a few feet away. Nobody sat with her.
Actually, it almost seemed as if the other convicts were…distancing themselves from her.
'Hmm…' Ace thought. 'Maybe she has a reputation in this jail…or in all jails.'
Ace was thinking of sitting down next to her. See what all the commotion was about. The suspense was killing her. She reminded her of one of the drones, almost…
Ace shook her head. 'SNAP OUT OF IT! CHARACTER ISLE IS GONE!' she shouted, mentally.
Then Ace noticed something. The left sleeve of her orange jumpsuit was pushed back a bit. It only took a glimpse for Ace to notice her bare wrist.
Well…almost bare.
It was bare on the outside, yes….
Ace frantically looked around her, her mind was flooded with ideas. Her mind raced! Her eyes twitched! Her heart full of excitement, overwhelming the doubt!
'If only there was a possibility…I must not lose faith!'
Ace held tightly to her tray, being careful not to drop it. She was shaking; just slightly…it was a difficulty to hold on to her tray. And she must! For if she did not, if it fell with a clang to the floor it would cause attention! Ace was beginning to feel the pang of paranoia in her bones. Before thinking anything else, she grabbed a stack of napkins from the condiments end of the line.
Ace took a deep breath, and dropped her tray a chair away from where Shego sat. The 'green-tinted lady' looked up, quite startled.
Well…not really. She was new. She probably didn't know what she was capable of, and of her history. She probably didn't know her reputation with Dr. D…the duo who were this close to ruling the world.
No. She couldn't know. Not unless she was active in the evil community…or actually in the regular community…and the news.
Didn't she watch the news? She must. Why else would she be sitting down a few inches away from such a dangerous threat? It's not like this woman was cut off from the outside world…she must have at least heard her name. Most people did.
These were the thoughts that flooded Shego's mind.
Ace sat down.
Shego was about to say something cynical and threatening, like, 'Don't you know who I am?' or 'Don't you know who you're dealing with?' or something along those lines. But Ace cut her off, in a low, monotone, suspicious voice.
"How sharp, exactly, are those nails of yours?"
Shego was taken aback. Ace said it in such a casual voice, however low, while nonchalantly poking her plastic fork into her semi-edible mush.
"Huh?" she responded.
"You're nails…how sharp are they?"
Shego raised an eyebrow; she stared at Ace in baffled astonishment.
"They look sharp." Ace said, scooping a handful of mush with her fork and placing it in her mouth. Ace tried not to flinch at the taste.
Besides the oddity of the situation, Shego tried not to lose her confidence.
"Sharp enough." She said, coolly.
"Good." Ace responded. Casually, Ace rolled back her sleeve a few inches. She placed her open forearm onto the table.
"Do me a favor, will you?" Ace asked, lowly. She kept looking up from her food in slight paranoia, checking the people around them, especially the guards.
Before Shego could say "What?" in her usual annoyed tone, Ace continued:
"Open it."
Again, Shego raised an eyebrow. "O-open what?"
Ace motioned with her eyes, to her exposed forearm.
"Open it up."
Shego made an expression that could be described as a mixture of 'Okay…this lady's crazy' and 'I'm strangely curious to know the plan behind this'
Shego knew there was something up. This woman had something up her sleeve, no pun intended.
"You want me…to open up your arm?"
Actually, the closer Shego looked, there was a long, thick scar on the inside of the woman's arm.
"Right where the scar is. And make it fairly deep wound." Ace mumbled.
Shego gave a soft sigh, looking around to the guards. They monitored some of the other convicts, but none were near them at the moment.
Ace slowly lowered her exposed forearm under the table. Shego felt for the scar with her fingertips.
Then, with force, dug her single nail into the flesh. She felt the rip…the penetration.
Shego continued to dig her nail into the wound, and forced her nail downward. She could feel the blood running down her fingers.
Ace bit her lower lip, gripped the edge of the table with her other hand. She held her grunts, releasing them in short, rough intervals. She lifted her neck, staring at the ceiling as a distraction.
When she was finished, Shego grabbed a few napkins off Ace's tray. Under the table she stained them with the red blood that had marked her green skin.
"Thanks." Ace mumbled, taking the rest of the napkins and holding them to her bleeding wound. Rolling down her sleeve, with the napkins underneath, she grabbed her tray, got up, and dumped it out. Then, she picked up a small carton of milk from the line. Shego lost sight of her after that…she walked away, not from the cafeteria, but to another part, at a different table.
Ace sat down, as casually as she could, and attempted to use the beverage to clean the wound without being caught. She had opened the drink when it hit her. Ace gasped.
'NO! I cannot do that…'
Ace sighed. She drank the milk down with large swallows, as if she was drinking a glass of alcohol. And frankly, that's what it tasted like.
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