Disclaimer: I do not own Legion of Super-Heroes.
This time around, it's another obscure Legion cadet. Only this time, she has a name. Mentalla. This time, it's a bit of an exaggeration of an urban legend, also collected in J.B. Stamper's Tales For The Midnight Hour. The original tale, called The Black Velvet Ribbon, is about a man who obsesses about the black ribbon his wife never takes off from around her neck. She only tells him "you'll be sorry if you do". Well, one night, he's finally had enough, and cuts it off when she's asleep. And then he wishes he hadn't. I've turned the story around and now, it's about a girl who has to perform a dare if she hopes to join a sorority, a play on how Mentalla wanted to join the Legion so badly. Also, Sela Aquila is a romanization of Xola Aq, the alias Mysa used when she was turned into the Hag.
Mentalla: Deyla Castil of Titan. Her powers included telepathy and, to a larger degree, temporarily possessing one's mind. When she was denied Legion application, first as an applicant and then as an Academy Cadet, she went out to prove herself by going undercover as a member of the Fatal Five. When she attempted to warn the Legion of what they were planning, the Five killed her, but not before she managed to stop the Emerald Empress long enough for the Legion to beat her and the rest of the Five. They considered her to of died a hero.
Spider Girl: Sussa Paka of Earth. Had super-pretensile hair. Once she was rejected from the Legion, she joined up with the Legion of Super-Villains, eventually joining the human supremacist Justice League of Earth. One version of Sussa worked for Leland McCauley's workforce. Another version eventually reformed and joined the Legion, changing her codename to Wave when she dyed her hair blue.
Cautionary Tales: The Ribbon
"I don't know about this."
"You want to be one of us? Then do it."
Delia Castle swallowed her cowardice, only for it to climb back up her throat. She stood at the bottom of the stairs of the Epsilon Zeta Cappa sorority house. Delia had on her white silk nightgown which outlined her bra-less breasts as her blond hair graced her shoulders. She was surrounded by the sisters of EZC, each in their own silk nightgowns and holding candles to light the darkness. Her leaf green eyes followed up the stairway in the darkened hallway of the second floor. And at the end of the hall was the room belonging to the housemother.
Delia was not a member, a sister, of the sorority just yet. This was the Initiation Night, and Delia was the only pledge left to go through with it. Two girls were forced to streak across one of the fraternities, and Susan and the others just ditched them and took their clothes with them. The two got expelled. During the week when the pledges were forced to be servants, one girl had to taste-test Susan's breakfast, even though it had blueberries in it and the girl was allergic to them. They had to rush her to the hospital when her throat swelled shut. Another was accused of stealing Susan's pearl necklace and had to quit before the sisters brought the matter to the police. Amazingly, the necklace showed up right after the girl left. Others quit simply because they couldn't handle the abuse, or because they needed to pay more attention to their grades. And that just left Delia.
The Rite of Initiation was simple. Sneak into the housemother's room while she slept, and cut off the black velvet ribbon she wore around her neck. Then, take it back down to prove your worth. Simple. Right. As part of the Initiation, each of the sisters wore an identical black ribbon around their necks.
"But, are you sure that this is a good idea?" Delia nevously asked the others.
"A little too late for second thoughts, girl." Denise, one of the sisters, chided. The girls laughed and Delia felt low. It was true. Delia had come too far to back down now. She really was the only pledge left standing. That is, none of the others passed all their previous tests as she had.
"Now girls, ease off." That was the voice of Susan Parks, the head sister and the pledge master. She stood taller than Delia, and had a flaming mane of red hair that always seemed to have a life of its own, and green eyes like flawless emeralds. "Delia doesn't have to go through with it if she doesn't want to."
Delia felt her mood lighten.
"It just means she won't get one of these." Susan's lips curled into a cruel smile as she flaunted her garnet signet ring, bearing the house's initials on the inside. Each of the sisters was given one upon completing their Initiation. The gold bands and garnet gems glittered in the candlelight, silently mocking Delia as their owners did. How badly Delia wanted one of those rings! Susan could see it in her eyes, and that made tormenting her so much more fun.
Susan Parks had a particularly nasty chip on her shoulder ever since her boyfriend, Joseph, or Joe, dropped her like a rotten egg for his first girlfriend, Ann Ryans. And after all the work Susan did breaking up his relationship with his second girlfriend, the princess Tina Wallace. What was worse, though, was that Joe was back on good terms with Tina, while he wouldn't even give Susan the time of day. So, she took her frustration out on the pledges. But Delia would not be brought down.
"No, I'll do it." Delia said with such determination even she believed it. Susan's smile started to falter.
"You're sure?"
"Positive."
"Heh. Alright then." Susan laughed. "Sister Taryn?"
A blonde sister with blue eyes, Taryn Loyenburg, stepped forward.
"Ready, Sister Susan." Taryn's smile was rather disturbing in the candlelight. Delia's apprehension was tightened by the sleek pair of scissors Taryn held up high with her free hand.
"Thank you." Susan spoke as she took the scissors, then offered them to Delia. "Well, what are you waiting for? Take them." Susan pushed them into Delia's face further, until Delia finally snatched them out of the pledge master's hands. "Now go." Susan pointed up the stairs.
Delia swallowed her fears once more, and, slowly, began to ascend the stairs.
You can do it girl. Just stay strong.
"And don't worry. We'll be right here if anything goes wrong." Susan mocked. Delia rolled her eyes.
Wonderful.
The walk up the stairs seemed to take forever. The scissors felt heavy in Delia's hands. She was afraid she might trip on her nightgown, and then she would get sent down onto the stairs with the scissors right into her head. Maybe they'd make her a sister post-humorously.
Delia shook off such morbid thoughts. But, it was hard, considering who she was dealing with. The housemother. Sela Aquila.
No one really knew that much about her. Only, that she had popped up one day, with wonderful credentials and references, and the job was hers. She was nice, and polite, and beautiful. Except for the black velvet ribbon she wore around her neck every day. She never seemed to take it off, even though people told her it made her look like she was in mourning. The ribbon itself was weird. It never seemed to get ripped, wet, or burned. It looked the same all the time. The color never faded and it never stretched out of shape. There was no end to it either. No loop or bow that tied it together. Some figured she had a whole collection of identical ribbons. But, one day, Susan had some of her underlings go through Sela's room, and they could find none. People often asked Sela if the ribbon was uncomfortable, but she just shrugged off these questions. When people would ask why she never took it off, she replied with the same answer everytime.
"If I do, you'll be sorry."
That very comment instantly cast the headmistress as weird, and as a deserving target of both Susan and the sisters. They could not stand that black ribbon. It mocked them, it defied them. And Susan would never have that. So, the ribbon would have to go. But, every time anyone would ever try, they always failed.
So now they're making me do their dirty work. Wonderful, Delia. Way to assert your independence.
Delia had nothing against Sela at all. She just wanted to really get into that sorority and show up Susan and those other b!tches. If she didn't get in after all her hard work, then she'd be "sorry" indeed. All through high school, Delia never belonged to any clubs or organizations. It wasn't for a lack of trying, or a lack of grades. No one thought she was the "right material" for their club. But she swore to herself that once she entered college she would find one organization she would belong to, even if it killed her.
After she finally made her way to the top of the stairs, Delia began her trek down the hall. Behind her, the candlelight from down below started to become dimmer and dimmer the further she got. The floorboards creaked beneath her feet as she passed by the other rooms until, finally, she reached the room at the end of the hall. For a moment she stared at the metal doorknob in grim anticipation, hoping that Sela would turn the knob and come out, thwarting Delia's dare and holding off whatever trouble she might get into if she was caught.
"This, Ms. Aquila? Why, I was simply checking to see if your drapes needed to be shortened by a few inches." Ugh. You are such a horrible liar, Delia.
To her disappointment, the knob did not turn. Taking in a deep breath, Delia did her best to slowly turn the knob and open the door as quietly as possible. Delia picked her head in. The room was as dark was the hallway, save for the moonlight flooding in through the window. Delia could make out Sela's form underneath the blankets of her bed, her head resting on a white pillow stuffed with goose feathers.
"Ms. Aquila?" Delia whispered, before wondering why she did such a stupid thing. She received no response. Sela was fast asleep.
Thank God.
Delia creeped into the room. Tiptoed in. Silently. Slowly. Inch by inch. Step by step. Creak by creak. Delia froze in place when she stepped on the wrong floorboard.
CCCCRREEEAAAAKKK!!
Her heart stopped. Ms. Aquila did not stir. Wind began to rattle the window.
WWWHHOOOOO.
She did not stir.
God, the woman is a heavy sleeper.
Going back on track, Delia continued onward to Sela. The closer she got, she noticed that the top half of her body was covered by shadows. Delia could see her platinum strands of her gracing the pillows. The outline of her lips and eyes. And the black velvet ribbon. Delia stood above Sela, scissors poised to strike.
Okay, here goes.
Delia, shakingly, lowered the scissors down to Sela's neck. She finally got control of herself as the blade went underneath the ribbon. Her heart was pounding. Adrenaline rushing. Would she feel the cold metal on her skin? Would she feel the absence of the velvet from her neck. Hear the snips of the blade? Questions racing, until-
SNIP.
And like that, it was done. An anticlimax. Delia felt proud of herself as she ripped the severed ribbon off Sela's neck, and was prepared to hightail it out of there and earn her reward, when she heard a-
THUMP.
Something rolled onto the floor and bumped against Delia's feet. She looked down, and her eyes widened in abject horror. She dropped the scissors, and the ribbon. Her heart had stopped. There, staring back at her, was Sela's severed head.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmGodOhmyGODDDDDDDDDD!!!!
Delia stumbled around, screamin and terrified, until she tripped on her nightgown.
"GOTCHA!"
Raucous laughter suddenly filled the room as Susan, Denise, Taryn, and the others burst in the room. One of them turned the lights on to reveal the dummy they had set up in Ms. Aquila's bed. The wooden head with the black wig stared up at the ceiling.
"Oh God if I could've seen the look on your face!" Susan could hardly hold her sides. Then, she wondered why everyone had stopped laughing. "What?" She opened her eyes, tear-filled as they were, and looked at her sisters. They were wide-eyed, their attention stuck on the floor. "What is it?"
Denise held a shaking finger downward.
Delia had tripped on her nightgown, alright. And, as she tripped, she hit her head on the side of Ms. Aquila's dresser. Delia lay face down, sprawled on the floor.
Blood oozed out of a wound in her head.
"Oh sh!t."
...
Later that night, Delia had been admitted to the hospital. Luckily, she needed only stitches. But she had yet to wake up. The doctors said it would be a while before she was conscious.
Sela Aquila met the sisters at the hospital, explaining how she had been held up by one Tiffany Cross, an EZC sister who had, somehow, been stranded on the outskirts of the city and needed a ride. The police chalked it up to teenage pranks. But this would not be the end of it, as the dean promised. The girls were all worried. Except Susan. She never worried about authority unless it was her own. Everyone returned to the house a good while later, after midnight.
"I hope you're proud of yourselves." Sela lectured. The others felt horrible. Except Susan. She was staring, angrily, at the black velvet ribbon that so mocked her. Sela's eyes turned to Susan.
"And you, Miss Park."
'What?" Susan coldly muttered.
"You don't learn, do you? I've told you time and time again what would happen if you removed it." Sela eyed Susan as she rubbed her neck. Her ribbon. Susan hadn't even realized that Sela was coldly eyeing her own ribbon, until Sela tapped it with her index finger. "You'll be sorry."
When Sela left the room, Susan gave her the finger.
"Yeah, I'll be sorry. Sorry if she sticks around."
"Come on Susan. What happened really wasn't funny." Taryn said. "Delia really got hurt."
"Well it's her own damn fault for tripping on her own nightgown." Susan snapped. "And don't pin this on me. You ALL helped."
The girls remained silent, looking downward at their own feet as they felt ashamed.
"I'm going to bed. But, before I do, I wanna get this stupid thing off." Susan explained. She was the only one who was still wearing her ribbon. The others had taking theirs off before Delia had her accident, while some were taking theirs off just now. "Give me that." Susan ripped the scissors out of Tiffany's hands, after she snipped her's off.
"Hey!" Tiffany cried.
"Thanks." Susan smirked. "At least you morons are good for something."
The scissors went-
SNIP.
And off went Susan's head.
THUMP.
The End.