WARNING:
All characters and the story upon which this fanfiction is based are property of Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I don't own anything.
As this is my first story to be published here, I will be happy about every reviews - both good and bad as only so I can know what I have to improve. :)
Rated M for crude and strong language at times, violence and mature content in later chapters.
-Over and over-
The next morning greeted Max with warm sunrays shining through the window of her room in the dorms falling right on her face. Grudgingly she opened her eyes and propped herself up in her bed. Her head was killing her.
'Too much booze will do that to you.' She thought only now registering that the laptop was still opened on her desk playing some songs from Three Days Grace on low volume. Had she not put it on Beatsteaks? And where the hell were her trousers?
'Okay, really need to get your shit together, Max. No more alcohol this week!' She chastised herself. 'At least I'm not completely naked. Or covered in vomit…' She had an old and slightly faded Metallica shirt on and the boxers she used as a pyjama. The blanket had fallen to the floor at some point as had the pillow, but there were no sign that the drunken woman had thrown up at some point. 'I don't remember much of the evening though…'
As Max tried to get out of her bed she nearly stumbled over the closes and things thrown carelessly on the ground. 'At least I know I still have one boot… now I only need to find the second one.' She thought as she rubbed her eyes and kicked the boot in question out of her way to the desk. After logging into her computer, she put on Believers in Medicine from Rainbows are Free and cranked up the volume. 'Screw them if they say something about the volume! It's my medicine against the headache.' Max thought after looking at the clock in her laptop showing that it was only seven thirty. It may not be the best cure for a headache, but she knew herself well enough to know – loud metal and ice-cream were a combination that could clear her head in an hour or two. Aspirin and coffee would fasten the recovery, but listening to metal was a good start.
Knocking noises from her phone notified her that she had gotten two new messages. As she picked it up from under the pillow she saw that both were from Chloe.
'my head iz killin me, didn't think u up to strong stuff' read the first one making Max cringe a little. 'What did we drink? I can remember I had a few beers, but afterwards it's a bit of a blur.'
'anyways – u there mad max' was the other.
'Don't recall drinking that much, but like I said: Always for you :P ;)' Max typed and hit the send button. She didn't supress the smile spreading on her face. Yesterday had been all kinds of fucked up, but what she remembered from the evening before was good enough. They had talked and drank long into the night sneaking into Chloe's room through the window once or twice to get something Chloe had forgotten. They had also hit the store a few times, but she couldn't recall going to a bar or something, which meant they had bought or gotten heavier stuff from somewhere else. How she had gotten to her dorms she didn't know.
'NO EMOJI!' came the reply from her friend. 'Yeah, we're friends again.' Max smiled to herself. It had taken quite a bit of talking about all that happened yesterday, but somehow it all had brought them closer and they had declared 'Friends forever once more!' at some point, before smoking some weed Chloe had stashed away. Yeah, that had been it, why they had returned to Chloe's house, or wasn't it? Max couldn't recall even if her life depended on it. The only thing she knew for certain is she had somehow avoided to spill the beans on Chloe about her mom's death and all of her own misadventures that had followed. She would tell Chloe at some point, but yesterday evening it had been more important to get the blue haired girl to believe in Maxes' words and to listen about the visions she had had.
':(' was the only thing Max sent as a reply still grinning at her phone and waiting for the other girl to answer.
'meet u at the dinner in 40' 'Right, we had decided to go get breakfast at the dinner Joyce was working at. Damn, she still works in the same place from five years ago.'
'I'll be there' she texted now really feeling the need for a shower.
'do not be late or I'll know time is not on your side and don't get high like in my room' "I wasn't that stoned! Drunk more likely! And we only crashed there for a few minutes anyways!" Max said aloud a little bit of mock-anger in her voice. "Or wait… were we there back again later? Damn girl, less alcohol. Definitely less alcohol!"
'On my way, punk-queen' She typed in as she picked up the things she needed to freshen herself up.
'u r EVIL; 40 minutes or else' Chloe's message brought the smile back to Maxes' face.
'Yeah right. You talking to a Muay Thai Champion, girl. I can totally hand you your ass if I wanted to :P' she sent the answer and put the phone on her bed. One sweeping look at the room filled in some gaps in her memory. The scattered notes and papers on the floor showed the results of her efforts to somehow put everything she knew about her powers to paper and come up with an answer. She didn't know however at what time she had made the notes. Her open scrapbook which was carelessly tossed on the desk showed what she had written about her friend. 'Damn straight!' She smiled as she read, what her drunken self had written about Chloe. 'Love the blue hair. Makes me want to sing 'Over and over' from Three Days Grace.'
"Time to make yourself presentable, girl-scout." Max sighed as she walked out of her room and closed the door behind her. The thought about getting ready to hit the road were interrupted as she entered the bathroom at the end of the hallway, where a thoroughly distressed Kate Marsh was standing before the mirror and looking like she had been crying the whole night.
"Hey, Bible-girl! How are you doing?" Max asked, trying to sound up-beat and gave the other girl a reassuring smile as she turned to Max.
"I'm still here… Thanks again for standing up for me yesterday. I really needed that." Kate replied with a small smile.
"Anytime. That guy has issues, but seriously – they give you shit and I'll break them!" Max said flexing her muscles in a mock-posture of the bodybuilders she had seen showing off in the gym back in Seattle. This made Kate's smile widen a bit.
"Doesn't everybody here? Anyways – do you still have my copy of 'The October Country'?" Kate said quickly changing the topic.
"Of course. 'tis great so far. Wasn't sure I'd like it, but it is really great. Never knew Bradbury was such a poet." Max exclaimed. If Kate wanted to drop the issue, than Max would let her, but she would still look out for the girl.
"Could you please bring it back to my room this morning? I just need to take some notes for the classes." Kate continued.
"Sure thing. I'll just shower quickly and bring it to you before I go to the Two Whales." Max answered jabbing a thumb in the direction of the showers, before turning, undressing and getting into the shower.
Just as Max was showering she heard the door opening and the unmistakable voice of Victoria droned in.
"That video of you clubbing didn't look like you were doing homework, Kate." Victoria said mocking the shy and dedicated girl.
"Victoria, that wasn't me…" Kate replied weakly.
"Don't be shy. I think it's awesome you set a tongue record on video." Victoria continued to bear down on the poor girl.
"You are going to be sorry someday." Kate said, with tears in her eyes, before she turned and walked out of the bathroom. 'Damn right, Kate. And I'll make them!' Max thought angrily wanting nothing more than to beat the girl left standing in the bathroom. It was only then she registered that Taylor, one of Victoria's cronies was there too. It didn't really matter. She would make sure Taylor got her fair share in beating too.
"Oh boo-hoo. I'm sorry you're a virtual slut. I'm sure she had fun. I know Nathan hooked her up and he has the good shit." Victoria turned to Taylor after the door had closed behind Kate. Max turned off the water and towelled herself quickly, before putting on her boxers and shirt. She wasn't really thinking straight as she felt still a little hung-over from yesterday and was fuming at the two girls who looked startled as Max got out of the shower-cabin and walked over to them.
"Oh, if it isn't Miss I-like-to-stick-my-nose-in-other-peoples-lives." Victoria exclaimed, trying to regain her composure. She didn't see the blow coming and was clearly shocked at the violence Max put on display. Max had made a single jab at the girls' stomach making her double over and ring for air.
"You bitch! You put Kate through all of this!" Max hissed as she grabbed Victoria by the hair and pulled her face upwards so as to look Max directly in the face. "You knew about the reason for her misery all along and what do you do? You use every opportunity to make her life a nightmare! I swear this – if I see you giving Kate any shit or if she hurts herself over this, I will make you wish you were never even born!" She spat at the beaten woman before her before letting go of her hair. "And if you try to go to the principal or get back at me, try it! Don't think I don't have dirt on you that I couldn't use to get out of the situation. You know what? Actually do try and get back at me. You do that and I promise you I will break only half of the bones in your body so you can watch the world move on not giving a shit about the vegetable you will have become by then." Before she picked up her stuff she turned to the other stunned girl standing with her hands covering her mouth. "As for you, Taylor. Don't think I will spare you the same treatment just because you are Victoria's side-bitch. And now scram before I make good on my words right here, right now."
Taylor helped Victoria to get up and the two of them quickly ran out of the bathroom shock still painted on their faces. Max could have rewound and handled the situation differently, but she knew she would have probably ended up doing either the same or breaking one of the girls' legs on the spot if she had to hear their voices again talking about poor Kate. She knew her dad would probably hear about this, but he would plead with the principal on her behalf. He had done so once already before, in a different school though. He was a good father, who loved her more than the world even if she gave him a very hard time over the last three years. Max sighed and calmed herself a bit, before turning and leaving for her room. She expected that it would be trashed or that her white-board would be vandalised, when she would return form the Two Whales.
Back in her room she quickly put on some panties, got her black jeans on and slipped in one of her Rammstein t-shirts, before putting on her leather jacket and putting on her boots after she found the missing one under her bed. She didn't put on any make-up. She was not in the mood and wanted to go over to Kate as soon as possible so she could try to convince the young woman not to pay any mind to the shitbags from earlier. She rummaged a little through her stuff before she found the book Kate had given to her, storing it in her bag and walked out of the room and locking it after closing the door. It didn't take long to walk over to Kate's room.
"Kate, are you in there?" Max asked after she had knocked for a third time on the door without receiving any answer.
"Yes. I'm here, Max. Come in." She heard the other girls' voice from behind the door. It was choked and weak as if the young woman was trying to hold back her sobs.
As she entered the clean and very organised room, she saw Kate hunched over at her desk having placed her head in her palms. She didn't even turn to look at Max, which worried Max even more.
As she walked over to Kate, she saw a postcard lying on the ground and picked it up. It was from Kate's father and was actually rather sweet taking into account the situation at hand. She placed it on Kate's desk next to the cage, where Kate's bunny slept.
She saw the drawings lying on the ground next to Kate's desk and it was clear to her, that the girl before her needed a strong arm to hold her above water right now. The skulls and nooses Kate had drawn reminded her of the time she had had a similar look on the world before her personality had changed and her anger had given her power to fight on. She put a hand on Kate's shoulder hoping it wouldn't startle the distraught girl.
"Hey, Kate. I brought your book…" Max started hoping that it would prompt the other girl to start a conversation with her.
"Max, why did you step in between David and me yesterday?" Kate asked, which somewhat caught Max off guard. She decided it was best to be honest with the upset woman.
"I hate bullies, Kate. You might not know that, but I had to deal with quite some heavy shit myself more often than I would like to admit, including bullies. I had no choice. I couldn't just stand idly and watch you get yelled at by that prick." Max answered.
"You had the choice to just look away, Max. Nobody here seems to care about anybody…" The religious girl replied weakly, but with some resentment in her voice, although Max assumed it was more directed at the others and not her.
"Look, listen, Kate! I actually do care. You are a sweet girl and I'll be damned if I wouldn't care about a friend in need." Max said. "So what's the story with you and David?"
"He's totally paranoid. Thinks I'm part of the Vortex Club, because he saw the video. Do you know how humiliating this is for me? Do you have any idea what my parents and relatives think about me now?" The girl sitting at the desk was near to tears again.
"I know this sucks hard, Kate, but if you could tell me, maybe I can help you." Max offered hoping she wasn't dealing with the frail girl too heavy-handeldy.
"Basically I went to the Vortex Club party and ended up making out with a bunch of people… and I have no memory of it…" Kate was crying now, prompting Max to duck down and hug the other girl, who let it happen, but didn't return the hug immediately.
"I believe you, Kate, but you have to tell me what happened at the party. Did you drink?" Max inquired easing away from the girl a bit so she could look her in the face.
"I swear to God, I had one sip of red wine and after that I drank water." Kate said through her sobs.
"That is hardly enough to get wasted. Did somebody drug you? Kate, it is important that you tell me." Max tried to shut down the anger boiling up in her. What asshole had done this to Kate? After hearing what Victoria had said, she suspected the worst - Nathan Prescott, but he could have been otherwise inwolved. Regardless, she would make sure to break that bastard before handing him over to the authorities.
"I remember getting sick and dizzy at one point. Nathan Prescott offered to bring me to the hospital. He was being nice for a change offering to help me." Kate said weakly. Maxes' eyes widened at Kate's words. 'That bastard! He really did this, didn't he?'
"Go on. What next?" Max swallowed. She tried not to show the fury in her voice.
"I remember driving for a long time and then I woke up in a room. I thought I was at the hospital because it was so bright and white." Kate continued. "Somebody was talking to me in a soft voice. I thought it was a doctor…that is until I heard Nathan and felt a sharp pain in my neck and that is all I remember. I woke up outside my dorm room the next day. I didn't have any marks or bruises, but I felt gross."
"I'm here, Kate. And I swear that I'll find out what's going on and make them pay!" Max said barely able to resist the urge to just walk over to Nathans room and cripple the bastard. "Do you have any idea, who could have taken the video at the party?"
"I don't know. Probably Victoria. She was there being her mean self." Kate offered shaking her head. "Max, how do I take down a viral video? I know it's already spreading… What if my church sees it? I don't know what to do…" The girl broke down again.
"Kate, I'll figure this out. I won't let them hurt you anymore. If Victoria gives you any shit – any shit! – just call me and I'll break her spineless ass in half! I'll check back on you later, okay?" Max reassured Kate as good as she could a plan forming in her head how she could hurt Victoria and Nathan most for making Kate suffer all of this.
"Thanks, Max… Can you please put my book next to my bag?" The girl nodded wiping her eyes. Max did as she was asked before the other girl spoke up again. "So, Max, could I ask you a question? And, please, be honest." Max only nodded after turning to Kate, she didn't know how to answer less her voice betrays the rage boiling in her stomach.
"I need to find out if Nathan helped me… or hurt me after the party." Kate's voice was barely audible. "Should I go to the police?"
"Yes. You should definitely go to the police, Kate. I believe you. Nathan Prescott is a dangerous and vicious bastard. Trust me; I know that first-hand." Maxes' answer was more a growl than an actual sentence.
"Bless you, Max. I will go to the police and also Principal Wells. With you as my back-up witness they will have to take us seriously." Kate smiled weakly at Max, finally feeling a little bit more reassured.
"Hell yeah! And if Karma will not do her work on that bastard, I sure as hell will, regardless of his family's status and shit!" Max nodded her agreement, before giving the other girl a hug and getting on her way out of the girls' dorms and to the dinner.
-Sober-
As Max walked out of the dorms she put in her ear-buds and hit the play button on the music app in her phone. Up came Sober from Tool. It was fitting her mood and her thoughts perfectly.
She was nearly out of the gates leading to the road, as Warren caught her attention by waving his hands while he leaned on one pole of the balcony of the boy's dorms, which were right next to the gates.
"What are you doing here, Warren?" Max tried to be polite and keep most of the venom out of her voice.
"Oh, nothing-waiting. For a call? I mean I already took the call… Anyway, I wanted to rap about that action yesterday." The young man blurted out making his statement sound more like a question and an excuse for waiting on Max than anything else. He had a swollen bruise over his right eye.
"Right! Thanks, cowboy. You really took a beating there for me. I owe you. I mean, I could have handled that bastard myself, but your help is appreciated." Max hoped this was a good enough answer to get the young man off her back. He was sweet enough but as she was more into the fairer sex and hadn't really any interest in Warren at all, she looked for a way to shot him down in a way that wouldn't hurt him too badly, but which would be firm enough to squash any possible lingering hopes the young man might have.
"Oh, yes, you do. I'm pretty badass if I want to be. Like a personal superhero or such." He beamed at her obviously letting Maxes' comment get to his head.
"Erm… not that much of a hero, but I have to give you that – it is really awesome that you stood up to a bully and acted, not as others who might have just stood there." Max tried and failed to keep the sarcastic note out of her voice, but Warren seemed unfazed by it or he just simply couldn't take a hint even if it hit him right between the eyes.
"Even if you left me with said bully and ran off with that girl." He replied somewhat sullenly. Max rolled her eyes, but didn't comment. Her reply could very much have been too harsh. "She is pretty punk rock. Well, I mean you are pretty hard rock yourself, but… er… Anyways, how do you know her?"
"Smooth. That is metal, Warren. Totally different genre, but I can see over such small mistakes from outies." Max replied with a sarcastic grin, before adding, "As for Chloe - she is a very good old friend of mine. We haven't seen in a while."
"I bet you were glad to see her blast up in that truck, like a rock star." Warren said grinning clearly not concentrating on the sarcasm on Maxes' part. "Which begs the question – why did Nathan go full psycho on you back there?"
"Warren, I don't know if you should get involved in this too much. You are already involved enough, but as I said, I can handle things pretty well myself." Max said sternly. "I think it is enough if I just say that I busted him and he found out. Anyways, I think you don't have to worry about that prick all too much, for when I see him the next time, it will be the last time he will show his face outside of an asylum." Max only than realised with what anger she had said the last part as she saw the shocked expression on the young mans' face.
"Anyways," Max said waving a hand as if to dissipate the bad mood in the air before her, "I'll return the favour some time. So take care, okay?" She turned to walk off, when Warren spoke up again, his hand outstretched as if to grab hers.
"Erm… sure… oh, by the way, Max, do you maybe want to go to the theatre in downtown tomorrow evening? They have pretty good 70's movies there." Warren asked hopeful to receive a positive answer.
"No, thanks for the offer, but no thanks. Not my bottle of rum." Max just said over her shoulder, not really turning back to face the young man before she put back in her ear-buds and headed out to the bus station.
The drive to the dinner was eventless, but luckily not a long one and so Max used that time to stew a little over her plans to make the lives of certain people much harder and those of certain others – much easier. The dinner looked still the same as five years ago and Max was actually glad to see it unchanged. She had spent some pretty good days at the dinner eating for free as Joyce had always somehow 'forgotten' to get them the bill.
As she entered the dinner she could see that despite it being very early in the morning it was pretty well visited. A cop was sitting at the bar, which explained the police car outside in the parking lot. Some truckers were having breakfast as were some other patrons. She didn't bother to try and put on a song in the jukebox as she doubted it had anything she would really like and thus decided to just settle in one of the empty booths and wait for Joyce to notice her or Chloe to appear.
It had only been a few minutes of waiting, when Joyce turned to her with the coffee-can in one hand and a pleasant, but professional smile on her face, which never really reached her eyes. She had not changed at all.
"Can I get you something, darling? Oh, my- Max! You sure have changed! You actually look a bit like my own daughter although the hair colour is the exact opposite and you certainly have a better taste in clothes." Joyce eyed her from top to bottom with a cocked eye-brow. "But it oddly suits you. You look pretty." She commented.
"Thanks, Joyce. You look good yourself. You haven't aged at all." Max smiled back at the older woman which was the closest person she had to a mother now. That thought clouded her smile a bit, but she hoped the older woman hadn't noticed it. Of course she had no such luck.
"Oh, Max, what a charmer you are. So, how are you doing, lovely young woman?" Joyce smiled and chided her.
"It certainly is nice to be back. Very fucking weird in some ways, but nice after all. And it is really good to see you, Joyce." Max replied truthfully.
"Good save kid. Though I hope you don't use such words around me anymore or I will have to bring up all the bills from five years ago." Joyce smiled a bit, before turning more serious at Max. "You are a smart kid, Max, but I have to be honest – I am a bit disappointed with you. Getting busted for smoking pot, really? I heard the whole story from David and I'm sorry that you had to meet him in that way. He is a good man, no matter what Chloe says."
"Look, Joyce? I get that and it is obvious that they have it out for each other, but it is really just a misunderstanding. I don't really smoke, but this has been a very, and I mean very stressful time for me and with the opportunity at hand – I just took what I got. It was a mistake, I know, but it happened." Max offered, not really wanting to get into this conversation.
"It surprised me, Max, that is all. I hoped you could be a good influence in her life now…" Joyce said before pouring in some coffee in a mug which was placed on the table before Max and setting it before the younger woman.
"I'll try. At least that I can promise." Max said smiling, grateful for the coffee. "I know things went south for you and Chloe and I feel bad for not calling, but it wasn't exactly easy for me and my dad as well." She looked at Joyce pleadingly, hoping the older woman would not dwell on the issue.
"You just moved on with your life, Max. As did I, after David passed away. Chloe… Chloe decided to just stay angry. David is a good man and he has paid his dues in the war. He really cares about Chloe and the other Blackwell students, even if Chloe sees it as her mission to rebel against him." Joyce said with sadness in her voice, but certainly trying not to take this discussion in a way the young woman before might not like. "But enough of this for now. What can I get you to eat? You must be starving."
"Bacon and eggs. Something with much protein. I still do train even if not so intensively as a few years ago, but I want to keep my body as fit as possible without too much work." Max replied happy for the change of topics.
"Coming right up. Anyways, I hope we will get to see more of you. Chloe really could need an old friend right now." She said before blessing Max with another smile and moving on to the other patrons to hand out coffee.
"As could I, Joyce. As could I." Max muttered under her breath so as to not catch the attention of the woman who was like a second mother to her.
It really took the chef in the back of the dinner only a few moments to get the meal done and Max was positively surprised at the size of the fully packed plate, which Joyce set before her after having served the other patrons coffee and returned to her place behind the bar and given the order and asking the chef to cook the breakfast 'pronto'.
"I still can't believe it though. You're a woman now, Max. When I think of the pictures of you and Chloe-" Joyce interrupted herself looking up from the woman she had just served the meal and out of the window. "Speak of the devil." She said before turning towards the door of the dinner, where Chloe just waltzed in as if she would own the place.
"Mom and Max, together again." Chloe teased.
"And Chloe looking for a free meal, I see. You've put your whole college fund on the tab." Joyce narrowed her eyes, but there wasn't any malice or anger in her voice.
"Actually, I'm treating Chloe to breakfast." Max piped in, speaking around the bacon she had just put in her mouth.
"Are you atoning for the racket you made yesterday?" Chloe's mom asked with a stern voice, but a glint of amusement in her eyes. Before Chloe could say anything, Max already beamed at her mother.
"Can't say I'm not, Ms. Price. I sure as hell don't remember all too much, so yeah, why not? A little atonement has never hurt anybody, right?" Max grinned still chewing her food.
"Well, you got that part right." The older woman smiled too now to Chloe's surprise. "Okay. I assume you too want bacon and eggs?" She turned on her daughter, who managed a silent nod as her mother moved to place the order.
"You guys are still the same." Max said somewhat amused by the look on Chloe's face as Max had somehow managed to get her a full portion of bacon and eggs and not just one, how she was used to get, when she would antagonize her mom.
"Yeah, another reason to blow this town." Chloe said but smiled at Max nonetheless, before turning and walking over to the jukebox and putting on some rock music from the 80's. 'So they do have actually something there what is at least partially acceptable.' Max thought. She had stowed away her ear-buds and phone after entering the booth, but had toyed with the thought of getting them out if she would have to wait all too long on Chloe.
"Now, let's talk about your superpowers." The blue-haired girl didn't seem worse for wear after the last night as she climbed in to the seat opposite from Max.
"I don't have an explanation. I can't explain why I saw that weird fucking tornado, but I guess even if I had some kind of idea yesterday evening – it's gone now." Max said leaning back in her seat.
"Well, we did kind of get a bit too wasted there." Chloe smiled. "Didn't know you could sing so well, or that you could growl, or that you knew most of the songs from-, what was that band called, who had the Q with a spermatozoid as a logo?" Chloe laughed seeing Max trying hard to remember what they had done the evening before.
"That would be Queens of the Stone Age and yeah, they are pretty awesome." Max said still trying to figure when she had shown off her singing and growling skills to the blue-nette.
"Well, I can second that now, after a personal crash-course of all the 'best songs in the freaking world'." Chloe laughed again. She really had discovered the band for herself as the music had struck a chord in her at some point in the late evening. Maybe it had been the weed talking, but if the music was good to rock out when you are high and it makes the high only better – that is a damn good sign.
"But anyways – the tornado is just a daydream, Max. I want proof that you can rewind time." Chloe turned back to her original topic.
"Well, I could name every single thing that you have in your pockets right now." Max offered clearly enjoying the little game she could pull off.
"Dude, I don't even know what I have in my pockets! You got X-ray vision too now or what?" Chloe asked excitedly.
"Chloe, X-ray works differently, but hell if I got a new even freakier power… what I meant was that you show me, what you got in there, I rewind and tell you." Max face-palmed herself, before explaining her plan to Chloe using the possibility to tease her friend.
"Yeah, yeah! Whatever! Let's see!" Chloe didn't pay it any mind and started packing everything she had on her on the table. "Ok, Max. Impress me!"
"So, this is me telling you what you got in your pockets." Max said after taking a look at the items Chloe had packed on the table before rewinding to the moment they came up with the idea. "You've your car keys, they have a panda keychain. 7 Cigarettes." Max made a face at this, but continued. "You also got 86 cents on you and a parking ticket, which says you were busted at 10:34 a.m."
"Ok, that is some precise info you got there, rocker-gal, but now for the fact check." Chloe said still thinking at least half of the info might be off as the only thing she certainly knew was true was about her car keys having a panda keychain. The look of confidence on her face disappeared though, when she began to pack everything she had in her pockets on the table and go over the details.
"Amazeballs. I literally got chills all over my neck right now." The punk-girl exclaimed clearly scared a bit by the exact knowledge Max had shown about the things she had had in her pockets. "You really do have powers." She looked up to the other girl, who was sitting there pleased by the amazement in her voice.
"Take that crap off the table, Chloe." Joyce intoned as she came around the bar and placed the plate with breakfast before Chloe. "How is the food, Max?"
"Better than I remember." Max said smiling at the older woman.
"Very good save." Chloe's mom said smiling back at her as she turned and walked of to get the orders from the other patrons.
"Man, I'm hungry like a wolf." Chloe stated chewing already on the second slice of bacon. Max hadn't even seen the first one vanish.
"I can see that. But so am I." Max grinned before digging back in herself.
"God, I'm still freaking about what just happened. You have to show me more. Something way cooler so I believe you without a doubt." Chloe set down her fork and knife and excitedly grabbed one of Maxes' hands.
"Want me to predict the future? Sure, can do that." Max said in a tone as if it was the easiest thing in the world and after observing what happened in the dinner in for the next few moments and then rewinding, she was ready to shock Chloe to the core.
"Ok, now listen to the wise oracle of Maxopolis!" Max placed a piece of egg in her mouth and talked around it while chewing. "See the trucker there? He'll drop his mug and Joyce will rip him a new one. The cop over there will get an emergency alert but his partner in the car outside leaves without him. Justin and Trevor, yeah, I know their names, I asked, will get into a fight and Joyce breaks it up. And the jukebox will go crazy as a cockroach crawls over it."
"Ok, sounds pretty bizzaro, but let's see what happens, Max." Chloe said excitedly, looking around to get a full view on the dinner for the next few moments. After everything happened exactly as Max had predicted it, or rather, like it already had happened once before, Chloe was completely stunned and turned to her friend in amazement.
"I pledge allegiance to Max and the power for which she stands." Chloe exclaimed as she bowed over the table as if really bowing to the other girl, which took it all with a cocky grin on her face.
"That's right! Bow ya shits! Bow before yer king!" Max gave the blue-nette her best Robert Baratheon from the GoT series imitation. "Still, I guess I shouldn't toy all too much with it. The headaches I get from it are a real bummer."
"Screw that! Of course you should toy with it! That is like the best toy ever!" Chloe exclaimed excitedly. "You could bang anybody with no strings attached, rewind time and boom, it's like it never happened!"
"Yeah, right." Max just rolled her eyes.
"Maybe you made a move on me and I'd never know." Chloe teased. At this Maxes' eyes took on a certain glint and the girl with brown-red hair smiled mischievously. "Wait! Don't tell me you really did that!" Chloe asked in shock.
"I didn't know you have beige panties. Figured it wasn't really your colour. And you are smooth there too… Shaved for me?" Max teased the grin spreading on her face as she watched the girl before her grow red as a beet and sit back at her side of the table so suddenly she nearly bumped her mug all the while eyes and mouth opened wide in silent shock.
"How-" she started, but Max interrupted her, laughing at the young woman's distress.
"Don't worry, Chloe. I didn't go all 'whole-body-massage' on you back there. I'm just messing with you. I just couldn't refrain from saying it, though I guessed and don't really have any idea about the specifics." Max laugher, before adding with another wicked grin, "But judging from your expression I seem to have struck gold about at least one thing that I said."
Chloe was still trying to regain her composure for a time, but after shooting the other girl an angry look, she couldn't help but to start smiling too before bursting out laughing.
"Damn, woman! You got me good there! You've got guts to joke crudely, that's for sure." She said. "Anyways. This is so fucking insane… We have to play!"
"Would love to, but I don't know if I have the time." Max said still grinning, when a sudden sharp pain struck her and she placed a hand beneath her nose. It came away bloody.
"Too much blow?" Chloe teased thinking it was just the stress. Could happen to anybody really.
"Too much excitement. See? That is what happens when we hook up." Max said a bit worried, but otherwise unfazed by the blood on her hands. She had seen her own blood before.
"Then, maybe we should just go hang out at one of my secret lairs and test your powers fully." Chloe offered handing Max one of the tissues from a box on the table. "You need a sidekick to guide you after all!"
"Ok, Girl Wonder… Show me the way to Chloe's Cave." Max replied getting out of the booth and walking over to Joyce and paying for the breakfast.
"Ok, Supergirl, let's go to my secret place!" Chloe said as Max joined her at the door of the dinner.
At the exact moment Maxes' phone started to blast Red Fang's Prehistoric Dog and showing the photo of Kate Marsh Max had set up as to know who exactly would call her.
"Don't even answer! We have places to go, people to do." Chloe said clearly not wanting to lose the time she would have spent with Max to something as trivial as a phonecall.
"Look, Chloe. Zip it! It's Kate Marsh, from Blackwell, and Victoria gave her some really hard shit to deal with, ok?" Max said, but Chloe beat her to the punch and answered just as ready.
"Big whoop. I had also heavy shit to deal with. You don't call me five years and now you're all over some shy nun you see every day at the Blackwell Monastery? I see how you roll. So go ahead and chat up with Kate Marsh from Blackhell. I got other people to hang out with too."
"I said – zip it. And I mean what I say." Max said holding up a finger at Chloe before answering the phone. "Hey, Kate, what's up?"
"Please, don't let your best friend get in the way." Chloe threw up her arms, but didn't move from the spot waiting for Max to end her phone call.
"You okay?" Max asked the girl on the other side of the conversation. "Yeah, don't worry. I won't forget. And I will sure as hell make them pay. So don't stress, do your homework and try to sleep a bit, okay? Yeah, sure. I'll call you later then. Sit tight, bible-girl."
"Thanks, Max." Chloe said angrily when Max put her cell phone away and turned to her. "If you'd rather chill with Kate, please, go ahead."
"Not this again, Chloe." Max groaned. "I told you. She has to deal with some real fucked up things right now. I'll tell you 'bout it later, as it might concern you too, but the shit you are giving me right now is ridiculous, okay? I'll chill with you. So could we, please, get to your secret base, 'cause I really would like to see it and think things over at a calmer and less public place."
"For now… Ok, let's rock." Said Chloe as they walked out of the dinner and got into her car.
-Killing me softly-
The oh-so-cool secret hiding place turned out to be the local junkyard, which was a little further out in the perimeter of the town and where all kinds of old junk had been bunkered. Chloe was practically dragging Max through the whole junkyard not really letting up on where the exact location of her secret lair was in this whole place, which kind of did piss Max a bit off, but then again – it was very much like Chloe to do such a thing.
"Is this a race or what?" Max groaned. "How many times are you going to get pissed at me this week?" Max said before slugging back a long draw from the beer bottle she had bought. 'It's not even midday and I'm drinking again. Didn't know my powers came with a heightened risk for alcoholism.' Max thought a bit grudgingly.
"Well, that depends on you and how well you do this phase of the test." Chloe answered before taking a sip from her own beer bottle. "Anyways – welcome to American Rust, my home away from Hell."
"I can see why you like it here. Back in Seattle I had to settle for less glamorous secret lairs to get away from the everyday life." Max said taking a look around, for the first time really setting her mind on where they were now. "Raw and rough. I like it."
"Yeah, right? Do you know how awesome this is?" Chloe replied all mock-anger washed away from her voice, leaving more room for the excitement to fill in the empty spot. "I get my best friend back and she is also supersized?"
"Right. We don't know for how long. So let's have some fun, okay? I want to relax a bit." Max offered. She had had a pretty bad start in the day with all that had happened to Kate and she had thought about it constantly throughout all the morning, so now she was in the mood for something more light-hearted.
"In that case, let's break some bottles!" Chloe smiled at that and pulled out the gun she had stolen from her stepdad.
"Wow, the serial-bottle-killer from Arcadia Bay has awakened. I can already see the title of the newspapers tomorrow – 'Chloe the Breaker strikes again, which bottle will be her next victim?'" Max snorted, but threw back the rest of the beer, before placing her bottle on one of the old cars further away from where they were standing. "You sure, you know how to use a gun?" She asked slightly sceptical after looking how Chloe was posing like some wannabe-gangster.
"Duuh, after more than a thousand online videos – pretty much, yeah!" Replied the blue-nette rolling her eyes.
"And I have been going to shooting-lessons as part of myself discovering if I didn't want to become a murderer for hire, so I think I'll do a better job. Anyways, one bottle is hardly enough to have a real shootout." Max stuck her tongue out at the other girl slightly mocking her.
"Then we need to hunt down… let's say four more bottles?" Chloe grinned back at the rocker-girl.
"Three. Finish yours and make it join its comrades in the inglorious battle against bullets." Max said waving a hand at Chloe before starting to scan the junkyard for anything they could use as a target. She didn't have to search long though. She quickly found two bottles and found the third one in a small half-built shack, which probably was the secret lair Chloe was talking about. It was full of graffiti and various things, all pointing into the direction that this was Chloe's and Rachel's hideout.
'Damn, looks like I'm intruding here on lovely-dovely-memory lane.' Max thought surprised at how bitter it sounded in her head. She had just taken a sweeping look at the interior, before she noticed one specific graffiti, which stated 'Chloe was here' and beneath that 'Rachel was here'. Without really thinking she took a black marker that was lying on the ground and added her own text beneath the two above - 'PowerMax was here', before getting back to looking for bottles to shoot. She found one in the trash bin near a sofa, but couldn't resist the urge to take a peek at the crumbled paper beneath it, when she saw that something was scribbled on it, after she had picked up the bottle. After all, this could lead to some more clues about Rachel's whereabouts and had she not decided to help her best friend?
"Let's see what we can find out, shall we, Watson?" Max said to nobody in particular as she picked up the crumbled paper and straightened it so she could read what was said there. As she quickly flew over what it said, she felt the knot of anger build up in her stomach. 'She fucking left her for some random fucker, just 'cause he's older and into weird shit? Well, I mean, I have also tried out things, but why does she have to be so much like Casandra?' She thought bitterly before re-reading the letter. Some parts of it were crossed out so many times it was not possible to say what was written there. The neat handwriting on the paper hinted at the possibility that Chloe and Rachel might have been a bit closer than just best friends. 'Well, Chloe did say she fell in love.' Still, Rachel had at least tried to explain unlike a certain woman that had once meant the world for the rocker-girl. 'Seems like Rachel didn't feel the same way though… Wait a minute! Vortex Club? Oh, bloody fucking Christ! This doesn't sound good!' She read the letter a third time, before crumbling it back and throwing it back into the trash can with more anger than he had expected. Worry and rage at the girl she didn't know wrestled in Max for control, but after taking another look around the small shack, she settled on just being worried about Chloe. The 'I want to die' letter she had found on one small table near the sofa was enough to cool her temper. She had been at that very dark place once herself and knew how hard it was to deal with life sometimes.
"She's still a bitch for ditching Chloe." Max muttered as she went back to where Chloe was waiting and loading the gun.
"So? Ready to take a shot, Max?" Chloe beamed at her.
"Yeah, just let me place the bottles so we have our targets and let's get started." Max replied as she walked over to the rusty car where two empty bottles were already placed on the lid.
"Ok, Max! You have to help me aim. Show me the way." Chloe said before taking up a more serious posture.
"Sure thing, Sweat Pea." Max said. "I'll teach you how to shoot, Clementine."
"Who's Clementine?" Chloe asked cocking an eyebrow at the girl next to her.
"You really don't play video games much, huh? 't was from The Walking Dead, Telltale Games. Really fucked me up. I wouldn't come out from my room for a whole day, because I cried so much at the end of the game." Max looked at Chloe with a small sneer. "Anyways, time to put some new holes in the bottles. Shoot first so I know if you even can hit something."
"As you say, emotional rocker-girl." Max only mouthed a silent 'Ouch!' at Chloe's remark as the other girl took aim and shot completely missing the bottle. Max rewound just a second after Chloe's remark before instructing the punk-girl to aim a bit more to the right. This time the bullet hit.
"Oh, yes! Did you see that shit, Max?" Chloe cheered excitedly. "That was so fucking cool!"
"Duuh, you have, like, the Jedi Grandmaster guiding you. Only that I'm young and sexy and not some green midget." Max laughed.
"Hey! Yoda is cool, okay?" Chloe replied, but grinned nonetheless. "Now for the second bottle." Chloe took aim and Max let her shoot, rewinding and instructing her where to aim.
"Now that is fun. Let's pump up the volume and find me another target." Chloe said excited at her own idea. "I wanna get creative…"
"Ooo, the young padawan thinks she can handle the trials?" Max smirked at the blue-nette as she looked for something that might be good for a trick-shot, but still break the bottles. After a few small rewinds she had found the first good target. "Alright, aim you must take. The wheel rim to your left must you hit. Guideing you the force will be." Max gave it her best Yoda imitation, which under the current circumstances wasn't very much.
"I will do as you instruct, master. Taking out the wheel rim now…" Chloe snorted and took the shot. The bullet ricocheted and hit the third bottle. "Hella yes!" The girl was clearly happy with the results. "That's what I'm talking about."
"Nice shooting, rookie." Max said growing a bit weary of the whole process as she felt the rewinding take its toll on her.
"Ok, now, before you do something dumb, like shooting yourself, let's get ourselves a last ubercool trick-shot and go someplace I can chill." Max offered.
"Hell yeah! Now where do I aim, Max? Give me a target." Chloe was nearly bouncing on the spot.
"Use the junker over there as a target. Shoot the tire. Results will be guaranteed by Max the Almighty." Max pointed to where Chloe should aim. "And don't hit the bumper, the bullet will ricochet and hit you in the shoulder."
"Wow… ok, that is scary, good thing you told me where to aim, because I was totally gonna shoot that bumper if you hadn't said anything." Chloe said with a bit of fear in her voice.
"Yeah, well, good that I can rewind time, right? Now take the shot, Blue." Max said again pointing where she wanted Chloe to shoot. The punk-girl took aim and shot. As expected, shooting the tire prompted the old car to lose its balance where it was placed and roll down from the other car it was on, shattering the remaining bottles, before keeling over and falling in the direction of the two women. They took a few steps back as a precaution, just as the car slammed on the ground.
"Ubercool!" Chloe said jumping once on the spot and bumping fists with Max. "I cannot believe this is for reals. My best friend is a superhero! Now it's your turn to bust a cap."
"Yeahm- maybe later… I don't feel so super, right now." Max said weakly. A sudden sharp pain had hit her again and made her feel weak in the knees.
"Max, your nose! Damn…" Chloe went a little pale as she saw the girl before her place a hand beneath her nose only for it to come away bloody.
"Oh, shit…" Was the last thing Max managed to say before falling head along in Chloe's direction. She didn't hear Chloe shout her name with panic in her voice or how the other woman picked her up and went to a spot further away from possible prying eyes where she could tend to the shorter girl. Max saw again flashes of her nightmare-vision, but woke up rather soon, only to find that Chloe had laid her on the lid of an old truck having placed Maxes' head on her lap. She felt Chloe slowly rubbing her back in a way that was reassuring her that the other girl hadn't left and was caring for her.
"You freaked me out there. Do you feel any better?" Chloe asked worriedly as the brown-red haired girl got up slowly.
"A little. Thanks for helping me… Just give me a sec, okay?" Max said rubbing her temples with one hand.
"Too much action for Arcadia?" Chloe asked trying to lighten the mood and just as much to reassure Max as herself.
"Never. I will make them eat dirt! Just needed to take a few deep breaths." Max answered after just doing so. "I'm ready to lock and load." Max said after picking up the gun from where it was lying next to Chloe's hand, as Chloe swung down from the truck and slung her arm around Maxes' shoulders. 'This is kind of like we used to be. Close like the frenchies. With no space between us. Well… nearly.' Max smiled at the thought.
"Alright, make me proud, sista!" Chloe laughed. Just in that moment a man came around the corner only a few feet away from the two women, but far enough for Max to quickly put her hands behind her back so that he wouldn't notice the gun. He wasn't particularly mean-looking, but something about the tattooed, grumpy middle-aged man seemed a little off.
"Hey! It's Thelma and Louise! Or was it Bonny and Clyde?" The man said a bit mockingly, but without malice in his voice gesturing at the two girls.
"Excuse us, Frank." It was obvious Chloe knew the guy, but was not pleased to see him.
"Oh, sorry, Chloe! Don't let me get in the way of your bonding." He mocked. "I heard the gunshots and the breaking glass. It's cute that you play with guns. Just like me at your age." He said as he came a bit closer. 'Wrong move, pup. Wrong move.' Max thought feeling herself tense up. She already had played out at least five scenarios how to take the man down if he would try something funny.
"We are not anything alike, man." Chloe said frowning angrily at the taller man.
"We both need money. In fact you need it so bad, you owe me a shitload. Don't you, Chloe? Huh?" The blond mans' voice grow a bit more hostile at this point as he came to stand right before the blue haired girl.
"I'll get your money." Chloe replied defensively. The man paid no attention to Max who had just moved to stand next to Chloe.
"Don't they all say that? Y'know, even when they are broke and just act tough…" Frank said still in a mocking tone, before finally noticing that Max held her hands behind her back. "What are you hiding there, girlie? Let me see!" He stretched out a hand.
"Where did you get that bracelet?" Chloe suddenly asked with real anger.
"A friend. And it's none of your goddamn business. You're my business now and I-" The man went instantly on the defence, retracting his hand.
"That's Rachel's bracelet! Why the fuck are you wearing her bracelet?" Chloe interrupted him jabbing a finger at him.
"Calm yourself, alright? It was a gift." The man said, trying to end the conversation.
"No, it wasn't. You stole that shit. Give it to me right now, asshole." Chloe accused him with fury in her eyes. 'Ok, Max, be ready to knock 'im out if shit goes south. Just like in the Championship finale.' Max eyed the situation weary and was not sure if she shouldn't just fire the last remaining round into the air so as to startle the girl and the man. At that moment Chloe tried to grab the bracelet on Frank's wrist, but he pulled out a knife from his jacket and held it right before Chloe's eyes.
"You better step back, girl, before you regret it! I mean it." He said. "You want me to cut you, bitch?"
"Ok, that's enough. Put that knife down before you get hurt, big guy." This got their attention. Max was holding up the gun aiming at Frank's stomach.
"You're kidding. Put that down." The man said, his confidence wavering.
"Not really. Wouldn't be the first time I have to shoot a person. A wound to the stomach is serious business, but I doubt you will make it so far as to call the ambulance." Max said flatly, her face not betraying anything.
"You're bluffing." He said, but it was clear that this situation was quickly becoming uncomfortable for the man.
Without a second thought Max levelled the gun and shot. The bullet dug in right next to the man's left foot.
"That was a warning." Max said. "Now play nice and go back to where you came from. I'll tell you this only once, so listen carefully. I don't have anything in particular against you yet, except waving that knife at my best friend, but if you cross me – in any way – I will find you and I will end you. Got that?" Max was saying this all in a calm manner, but she actually was barely able to restrain herself from crossing the distance between them in a leap and beat the hell out of the man. She really didn't have anything against the man, as she had said, but once she got this enraged, it took her all her willpower not to beat someone up. And she knew she could take him out easily despite the height and weight difference.
"I'll remember you, kid! I'll remember you almost shot me!" The man said after recovering a bit from the shock already on the retreat stepping backwards not letting Max out of his vision. "And you'll wish I had no memory, because I never forget." He tried to intimidate the smaller girl, but was failing as he was constantly stepping away from her, before he turned just once to Chloe. "You have until Friday to pay me. Don't ever try to pull crap like this again-"
"You done? I said not to piss me off and right now I'm just on the verge of committing murder. So scram, before a bullet tears you a new one." Max said this time unable to hide the rage boiling inside her. This outburst made the man stop dead in his tracks before turning and quickly walking away as he put the knife back in his jacket.
When the man had disappeared from their vision Max dropped the gun carelessly and walked over to a wooden pole which was standing rammed in the ground a bit further way. It looked sturdy enough to take a beating. Without explaining what was going on inside her she just started to jab and kick at the pole, not caring that her knuckles would hurt like hell and probably bleed afterwards.
"Max? Max! You can calm down. He's gone and we're unhurt." Chloe came up to her but not too close, worry in her voice. At this Max stopped to punch the pole and turned to Chloe. Her face showing deeply set hurt, which Chloe couldn't explain. The young rocker-girl looked like she didn't know if to yell at her or to just break down and cry. Chloe reacted in the way that came to her naturally at that moment – she quickly walked over to the girl and embraced her in a tight hug. "It's alright, Max. You were badass. Thank you for standing up for me… C'mon. Let's blow. My secret lair doesn't feel so secret today." She let go of the smaller girl. "At least Frank is gone. He won't mess with us. You made hella sure of that. He just wants his money." She said as she turned as if to lead the rocker-girl away from the junkyard.
"I do hope he has as good a memory as he claims." Max only said before she followed her friend out onto the train tracks. This all reminded her too much of her past and she certainly didn't want to experience it all over again.
-Alive inside-
They walked in silence for a while before getting on the rails and continuing their way holding each other hands for balance.
"I still can't believe you pulled a gun on Frank. That was epic." Chloe started the conversation, clearly not being over the topic.
"I could have beaten him to a pulp even without a gun on me, but that would have been way messier. Still, I hope I won't have to do this again. Last time already was enough." Max said absentmindedly.
"Hell yeah, the moves you pulled on that poor pole would have reduced him to bloody bits in seconds." Chloe exclaimed. "So you really did learn Muay Thai?"
"Well, duuh! I was even at a junior championship in Olympia once. Got gold for my efforts." Max answered bragging a little.
"Wow! That's strong stuff, man!" Chloe sounded really impressed, before she added in a smaller voice, but not without a fair share affection in it. "I'm just glad you were here."
"Me too… BatMax saves the day again… Just, Chloe, why do you even hand out with people like Frank?" Max inquired, she could probably guess that it had something to do with dope, but why she would owe Frank money – that she wanted to hear from her friend.
"Let's take a break and I'll talk." Chloe said as she lay down on the rails. They had just reached a junction and the cabin for switching the rails. Max set down too, hoping her friend would continue to explain as she promised. "Feels like a different world, huh?" Chloe asked after a small pause.
"Yeah… Could we build another pirate fort and keep the world at bay?" Max grinned a bit at the obvious word-play.
"We need a new secret hangout… At least Frank wouldn't find us. But damn, Max, you sure you're ok? I mean that with Frank must have riled you up quite a bit to nearly destroy that wooden pole, not talking about your hands in the process." Chloe asked a bit concerned about her friend.
"Yeah… I just needed to get that out of my system, but talking about Frank – you wanted to tell me what the deal was with him." Max replied evasively trying to steer the conversation back in the original direction.
"Frank isn't as hardcore as he fronts." Chloe began still eyeing her friend with a bit of worry. "All he cares about is his cash, stash and mangy dog."
"Details, Chloe. Please." Max sighed. 'Why do I have to pry everything from people today as if they were safes containing top secret files that could destroy the world?'
"Frank Bowers. He's just the local dealer. Where I get my weed. Anyway, Frank and I hang out." Chloe answered quickly.
"Erm… hung out?" Max raised a brow at her friend as to signal 'What exactly do you mean by that?'.
"What? No! We didn't have sex. Gross, man! He never even tried." Chloe answered in disgust. "I just made the mistake to borrow money so Rachel and I could bail out of this hellhole."
"That's it?" Max asked looking up at the bright blue sky.
"No. I want to know how Frank got Rachel's bracelet… What do you think?" The anger was back in Chloe's voice.
"We have to keep an eye on that guy, but don't do anything rash. We need to get to the bottom of this, not get our asses kicked for killing a dealer in the process of finding answers." Max said sternly, but more to herself than to Chloe. Losing her temper in the manner like today – twice already – that reminded her, why she had been sent to therapy for nearly a year. 'Seems like Arcadia bay is not only getting out my inner nerd, but also awakening the Hulk or Mr. Hyde in the process.' She thought wearily.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Best if we do that without him eyeballing us though." Chloe agreed readily, "Damn, it feels weird to talk with you about all this insane shit. We haven't hung out this much since we were tweens… and it's like no time has passed. I wish Rachel was here to meet you…"
"I don't know Chloe… I'm not really good with people. Never have been. You were like the only other person I would really trust outside of my family. I'm not really sure I would have been able to be friends with Rachel." Max bit down on her lip.
"Bullshit. You are not that different. She had- has a great eye for images and for art." Chloe corrected herself. "Plus, she's a smartass like you. We would all be hella 'besties for fucking ever'."
"Right…" Max dragged the word out, but added, "Only way to find out is to find her. I'm sure we'll meet her soon" With that she got up and took out her camera. "Ok, time to make best of our railroad time with my cam. Have no clue what I wanna do in the future, but learning photography must mean that at least I could work in one profession, right?"
"Yeah. Enjoy your stay in Railroad-nowhere-next-to-Arcadia Bay." Chloe laughed as she remained on the tracks watching as Max went up behind her and up the small hillock on which the cabin controlling the junction was built.
Max was just about to make a photo, when the sharp pain in her head hit her again. Visions of the tornado ripping through the town flooded her head. For a brief but very painful moment she couldn't hear anything except the crash caused by the tornado devastating the town. She was only ripped out of the nightmare when Chloe's voice penetrated the numbness caused by the pain. It was full of sheer panic.
"Max? Help! I'm stuck!" Chloe cried from where she had lain on the rails. This made Max look up only to see how dire the situation was. A train was approaching fast signalling to them to get out of the way. There was no way it could stop in the short distance left till them.
Max ran down to Chloe and tried to heave her up, but to no avail. Her boot was stuck on something and wouldn't come loose. She took a quick look around and found what she was looking for. Quickly checking if the box containing the cables for the manual switch of the junction was locked, she made her way to the cabin on the mound. She didn't waste any time one even looking if the door to the cabin was locked. She simply kicked it as hard as she could and was not surprised when the lock broke and the door swung open with force. Now she could get in without having to rewind to get more time. A quick search bore the fruits she had hoped it would. 'With these pliers your set of tools is complete, MacGyver.' She raced down to the box. It was only now that she rewound, hoping that the item she had grabbed from the cabin would stay on her person even after rewinding. She needed a bit more time. Max nearly ripped off the lock when she opened it only to find herself confused as what to do next – there were three cables, one yellow, one red and one green.
"Please, Max, hurry! Please get me outta here!" Chloe cried a bit further away where she was still trying to unstuck her foot. "The train is coming, Max!"
Max cut the yellow one and regretted it instantly – electricity hit her and she jumped away in pain. 'Whoa- short circuit city!' She rewound again. 'Ok, red cable. Like in the movies?' This time it worked. She ran up to the manual switch and tried to push it. It didn't budge.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Max screamed as she kicked the switch with all her might. It clicked and switched the tracks so that Chloe could get her boot loose and jump of the rails just as the train rolled ahead trying to halt its course. It had slowed enough for Chloe to get off the rails and for Max to switch back the tracks. The second time it was easier to pull the lever. It seemed all it had taken was a bit of force. 'Well fuck me, if this isn't the most exact depiction of the sentence: 'When in doubt, use brute force.'' The train rolled by and after it had done so Chloe came over to the side where Max was standing just to embrace the smaller girl in a tight hug. Again.
"You okay?" Max asked as she squeezed the blue-nette against herself. This was all too crazy.
"You saved my life again, Max. This is so crazy. Now we are totally bonded for life." Chloe said squeezing back before letting go of the smaller woman.
"More like I own your juicy punk-ass!" Max said smiling weakly, but glad to see her best friend unharmed. "If you do such shit again, I will seriously slap you." She added in a more serious but slightly playful tone, even as she didn't really know why.
"I swear to all the gods – you have all the right to do that, should I ever get myself in such a mess again." Chloe laugher. "But aren't you glad I took you away to a nice quiet desolate place?" Slinging an arm around Maxes' shoulders and pulling her close to her side, feeling reassured as Max placed a lazy, but at the same time firm hand around her waist.
"I am. It was cool to spend time in your lair, even with all the shit that happened. But I've got to get back to my school before my next class. Gotta check on Kate too, you know? There ain't no rest for the wicked." Max smiled at Chloe, finding it oddly comforting to be this close to her best friend again. She hadn't felt like this in a long time – secure.
"Well, since you're the mysterious superhero, I'll be your faithful chauffeur and companion." Chloe laughed again.
"Yeah, though my powers may not last forever, you know?" Max said a bit more cautious about the idea of being a superhero, even if just for herself and maybe some few people who she truly cares about. 'What if it's like Superman and kryptonite and something is going to take them away? Or some other shit like that...'
"That's okay – we will. Forever." Chloe replied with a firm conviction in her voice. The blue-haired girl really meant what she said.