Okay, People! I'm updating quick because it's a weekend! Yea!
OCS AND THEIR OWNERS:
Lily Meadows and Mia: created by AmaraRae.
Avery Lake: Created by A Girl's Instincts.
Sammy Ridder: Created by NoctisLuci.
And of course Commando and Maxie are mine!:D
Just a quick FWI, the beginning of this chapter is a dream. I explain that, but I don't want people reading and going 'whaaaa?'
I use a lot of nicknames, here are a few I've used or will use for Commando: Mandy, Co, Coco, maybe more-I dunno yet.
P.s: If this chapter doesn't pull on your heartstrings at least a little, then I think I've failed at writing.
"You little brat, this is all your fault!" The furious woman shrieked.
The woman was tall, and would've been really pretty. But the booze killed her looks. Her once-sparkling dark blue eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Her jet-black hair was greasy and matted. The freckles on her nose stood our prominently against her beet-red skin.
"But…but I didn't do anything!" I squeaked, my tiny five-year-old body shaking in fear.
"You're the reason Jason left me!" She roared. Jason, my stepdad and father of my little siblings.
"D-Daddy said he was leavin' cause you and him fight too much…" I whimpered.
I had snuck into my little brother and sister's room when the yelling started, to try and make them feel better. But Mommy had a rule; I was not allowed to go in there. I was not allowed to play with, talk to, or even look at Mommy's 'good kids.' I never understood that. What did they do that was so good? And what did I do that was so bad? It didn't matter anyway, when Mommy left for work me and my siblings would play together until she got home. My sister and Daddy promised not to tell, and the baby was too little to know what we were doing. But that was before Mommy got fired and things around the house got worse.
When Mommy found me holding two-year-old Dakota and four-month old Tyler in my lap after the fight was over and Daddy left, she freaked and dragged me into the kitchen. I wished Daddy would come back so she could yell at him some more instead of me.
"First of all, he is not your father!" Mommy screamed at me.
"And secondly, the fight was about you!" She ranted; there was no stopping her now.
"Do you know what you've done to this family?"
When she said those words, I felt something deep inside my little mind go SNAP!
"I didn't do anything." I said calmly.
"What did you just say to me?"
"I. Didn't. Do. Anything." I did as Mommy said and repeated myself.
"Be quiet you little monster, you don't know what your saying!"
"No, Mommy, you be quiet!" My squeaky voice rose higher.
"And I do to know what I'm saying! You blame me for everything! It's not my fault Daddy left! It's not my fault you lost your job! It's not my fault! It's not my fault...!" I kept saying that over and over until it was etched in my mind.
It's not my fault!
"How dare you…!" She strode towards me.
"Daddy loved me, Mommy, he did! And so does Kota! They told me so! Ty's too little to talk but he always crawled to me after you left when he wanted to be held! Me! They love me, Mommy, and I love myself! I don't need you!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Mommy reached out and grabbed a hold of the front of my nightgown. She picked me up like that and threw me across the room.
Mommy was really strong, she played baseball in college, and I was really little, so I soared through the air and cracked my head against the wall.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I reached behind me and touched my head. Not bleeding, but there was a really big bump there, and it was still growing.
"I hate you…" I whispered as I crawled on my hands and knees out of the kitchen to avoid my mother's rath.
"And I'm not staying here anymore!" When I reached the hallway I got up and scibbled off to my room.
Daddy left and so can I!
I was shoveling clothes into my backpack when I heard someone sniffling and hic-hic-hic-ing at the door.
It was Kota, and she had baby Ty wrapped in her little arms.
"Your leaving, just like Daddy." She said accusingly, tears in her eyes.
"I gotta." I said simply.
"You'll be fine, Mommy loves you and Ty. It's me she hates." I shook my head and pulled the money I got last Christmas from Grandma out of my piggy bank.
Grandma used to invite us over all the time, before Mommy stopped talking to her. She called a lot, though, wanting to see us. She called and called until one day, she just stopped calling. Then Mommy and Daddy dressed up in black and went away for a few hours—leaving us with a babysitter. When they came back, Mommy yelled at me and Daddy before going to her room with a bottle of wine.
Then Daddy told me Grandma went to heaven with the angels, and told me not to bring it up anymore.
I only had ten dollars, but that was like a fortune to me, so I packed it carefully in a little pink purse Daddy bought for me and stuffed it at the bottom of my backpack.
Then little Kota sat Ty down and ran up to me, throwing her arms around my legs.
"I love you, Jill, I know you gotta go for you to be happy, but I love you…" I hugged her back.
"No matter what bad things Mommy said about you I knew they weren't true because I know you, Mommy only knows who you pretend to be…"
There was that word again, pretend.
"When Ty gets big I'll tell him 'bout you, I'll teach him to love you even more than I do."
The words were so sweet, I hugged her even harder.
"I love you too, Kota, I love you too…"
"JILL!" Lily shouted and roughly shook me awake.
"Whoa, what? What happened?" I blinked away the fading images of my dream.
"You were twisting around and moaning 'it's not my fault, it's not my fault' in your sleep." She sat down beside me.
"Was it…that dream again?"
That's how we talked about our nightmares of what happened to us as little kids.
That dream.
It's funny how one word can hold so much meaning.
"No, no, I'm fine." I got up and rubbed my eyes groggily—and then I nearly ran right into Avery.
Avery Lake (Codename: Valid) was a girl of normal height—but she had an athletic build. She had dark black—almost purple—eyes that felt like they were looking right through you at your soul. The eyes of a killer, people said. If they were one of mine, I yelled at them. If they weren't, I punched their noses straight through the back of their skulls. I take care of my own. Her flawless ivory skin clashed dramatically with her long black hair—which she had tied up into a loose bun. When we suited up for a heist, she wore a dark purple sleeveless turtle neck and form fitting black pants.
She also wore designer white boots and old 80s cop-style sunglasses. But right now she was in her civvies, a simple tang-top and jeans. The one-inch long scar on her collarbone peeked out from under her top.
Like always, she said nothing, but waiting for me to make the first move.
"Um…..what's wrong, Av? Do you need anything?" As soon as I said it I realized it was a dumb question. If she ever did need anything it was highly unlikely that she'd ask for help.
"Max." She said bluntly, then disappeared.
"What next?" I shook my head.
"What's wrong with Max?" Lily asked, walking over to me.
"She didn't say." I shrugged.
"Does she ever?" Lily pointed out.
No, she didn't. Avery had a dark past, the daughter of a minor villain, Ivory Bones, and an assassin-for-hire from the League of Shadows. Avery loved her dad because he was there for her growing up, but hated him from never doing things the easy way. Bones dreamed big, but he was too….incompetent…to pull anything off. But the man did one thing right. He had Avery.
Bones taught his daughter 'Phyc-Game.' It's this ultra-cool technique where you can get in your enemies head. Not a super power, but still very impressive. Her mother taught her that if something gets in your way, get rid of it. Not exactly a theory I approved of, but Avery was also fiercely loyal and would do anything to protect her friends, even if it meant losing her life. Her mother taught her hand-to-hand combat and the proper use of her gun and her small silver dagger—which she always kept sheathed at her side. She probably would've joined the Shadows, if her mother hadn't been killed by a fellow assassin—a sniper. As a result, Avery refuses to touch a gun. She ran away from home at age eight, and spent a year tracking her mother's killer. When she found him, nearly a year later, she confronted him. The 'talk' didn't go so well, and the assassin found himself with a dagger pressing up against his throat and a extremely ticked-off assassin girl in his face. She let him go before her dagger tore out the man's jugular, not wanting to stoop to his level. She left him to stew in his own guilt, and I didn't have a scrap of remorse for him. She joined my team at age ten, for whatever reason. I never pegged Avery as a team player, but she was arguably one of my best fighters, and she was an excellent addition to the team. I considered her a friend, even if other considered her a liability.
"I better check on him…" I shook my head and trotted over to the infirmary. Our infirmary was stocked with bandages, over-the-counter medicines, and several cots that doubled as sick beds.
"Come on, Maxie, please? Try to eat something…" Someone's voice beckoned from inside the room.
"I can't…!" A little voice whined.
"It hurts…!"
I took a deep breath and opened the door.
I saw Sam Ridder, more commonly known as Phoenix, hovering over Max's tiny form.
The ten-year-old boy's short, spiky, black hair stood straight up like a little boy's. The ends were died a radical shade of crimson, making his head look like a volcano. Sammy had incredible hazel eyes—almost golden. Very pretty, although that's not something a boy always likes to hear. His skin was pale, and he was tall for his age. Sammy wasn't muscular, not in the slightest, but he was quick and he had the incredible aim that I teach to every Highwaykid. He wore black jeans, an emerald-green with a black phoenix design on it. He also had a black jacket and a black-and-white converse. As Phoenix he wore a black, long-sleeved leather zip-up shirt with red stripes on the
sleeves, black leather pants with chains on the belt, black boots, a red
phoenix mask with a golden trip that covers half of his face and a black
hooded cloak with a phoenix bursting in flames on it. Sammy was talkative and funny, but also really shy when he meets new people. It took him nearly three weeks before he opened up to me and told me about his parents kicking him out of the house when he was eight. Although, Avery took nearly three times as long.
"Hey, Sammy. Is Maxie eating?" I asked.
Sammy's great golden eyes looked up from the small boy.
"No, he says his stomach hurts too much. I've tried, Mandy, but…."
"It's alright; go help Mia and Avery sort out things we take, and things we need to leave behind." I told him.
"So it's true…" He frowned.
"We're really going…"
"Boy, I don't have time for this! Hurry!" I shooed him away with my hands.
He stalked away, muttering something about bossy girls.
I walked over to Max's cot, giving him my best smile.
"Hey, Maxie, not feeling good still, huh?"
"No…" He whimpered.
"Don't worry; we're going to the hospital today. The nice doctors are gonna make you feel better, alright?" I smoothed back the boy's hair from his sweaty forehead.
"Don't wanna go to the hospital." He sniffed.
I took a deep breath.
"Yeah, I know. Neither do I, but it's only a one-time thing."
"Promise?" He asked.
How could I promise something like that?
"Promise." I said, smiling like an idiot.
"Now, get some sleep. I'll take care of you, I always will."
"I know you'll always take care of us, but when are you going to let someone take care of you?" A voice behind me whispered softly.
I whipped around and saw Sammy still standing in the doorway—with Mia.
I wish I could give you Mia's back story, but I don't know it. No one does. Mia, aptly codenamed Mouse, had dark brown hair that stops right above her waist. The ends of her hair curl in; her skin is a very-dark tan, suggesting mixed ethnic heritage, but who the heck knows for sure? She had bright green, innocent-looking, eyes. The girl was small and skinny, she looked like she was somewhere between seven and ten years old. Her past is a mystery, all I know for sure is that something bad happened, real bad. I know she was kept on a short leash, but if that was because her parents wanted to protect her or…or something else, is anyone's guess. She can have shorts bouts of rage where she becomes, almost, homicidal. Mia had tried to steal from me, something I am so not okay with. I met her three times before I convinced her to join me, and each time she had nearly succeeded in robbing me. Nearly. I know I should do something about her, but what could I do? I wasn't about to throw her out into the streets, but when the girl barely says two words a month, how am I supposed to learn her history? I don't want to distrust her, but she's pushing it.
"What'd you say, Sammy?" I asked.
"I said nothing." He gestured toward Mia.
I blinked in surprise.
"Mia, do you think I need protecting?" I asked. It wasn't an accusation, it was an honest question. If the girl was talking, I wanted to keep her talking.
"You need…help." She said.
"Why? Is there something wrong?"
Mia shifted uncomfortably on her feet before darting off unexpectedly.
"Well, I think I just botched that…" I sighed.
"Maybe she's talking about your dream, we all heard you." Sammy turned towards me.
"I…Sammy, it's just not something worth bringing up."
"Okay…" He nodded knowingly.
"That's okay…"
How'd a ten-year-old get so dang profound?
"Sammy, keep packing. I'll take care of things here."
He turned around, preparing to go and said.
"She's right, though…"
Before I could get in another word he zipped off.
"Jeez, what's up with everyone today? First I get Lily the therapist and now there's Dr. Sammy and Nurse Mia."
That earned a giggle from Max.
I grinned, this time for real, and gathered the small boy in my arms.
"Okay, Maxie, time to go…"
"Everything is gonna be alright." Max said.
I couldn't tell if it was a statement or a question, so I answered him.
"Of course, what could possibly go wrong now?"
Commando, Commando, Commando...you never ask what could go wrong, because then things go wrong!
So now you know Commando's history, and I introduced more OCs. If I let out some detail about them, relax because I'll cover it later on.
If any of you are going 'Wait a sec, what about the Young Justice team and the League, what are THEY up to?' Chill out, I'm getting to it. I'm building suspense, you guys know something's gonna happen, but you don't know what or when...hehehe, I'm a jerk.:D
I needed to establish Commando as a person before I go on. If you haven't been able to tell, I'm building a stroy arc around Commando's morality. Hero or Theif? What do you think? She's trying to save a little boy, and she's rescued lots of children from bad situations (The Highwaykids) but she steals and insults spandex-clad superspeeders. Kinda like the theme we've seen hundreds of times in movies, a teenage girl with an identity crisis. But Commando's tale has a twist in the form of costumed teenagers and velvet cloaks.
P.S: Let me just randomly tell you how much I adore Icicle Jr, I think he's so frickin' cute! And I kinda feel bad for him. I also like Kid Flash and Artemis. I also like Kid Flash and Artemis together:D
KEEP READING! PLEASE REVIEW!