Chapter 2:
"WOOOHOOOOO!" Jason cheered his lungs out as he soared through the air. "This is AWESOME!"
Everyone down below had eyes only for him as the young Blossom flew through the sky; no one could believe what they were seeing. There was Jason, someone they had grown up with all their lives now hundreds of feet in the air of his own free will. Loud gasps were made as Jason nearly crashed into the school, only to pull himself up at the last second. Barrel rolls, Inside Loops, Cuban Eights... Jason had complete mastery of his flying and was giving a show most people would pay professional pilots to see. As he landed, the entire school erupted into cheers as Jason was soon swarmed by admirers.
"You're so amazing, Jason!" Midge cooed, clinging to his arm
"You're like a Superman, Jason!" Nancy Woods clung to his other arm, love hearts in her eyes.
Jason bathed in the love from everyone, smiling to his ears as he closed his eyes and reveled in it. Opening them again he saw Betty run up to him, love hearts in her eyes.
"Wake up, Jason!" Betty smiled in front of him. Jason cocked an eyebrow at the bizarre comment. "Wh...Wha?" He asked in confusion.
"Wake up, Mr Blossom!" Betty called out again in front of him, this time sporting a much more elderly voice. And one of... a man? Suddenly everything around Jason went black, as a loud noise deafened him.
"Mr Blossom!" Mr Flutesnoot called out as he slammed his hand on Jason's desk. The young man nearly jumped out of his skin and panicked while everyone in the class was chuckling quietly. Betty couldn't help but join in as Cheryl just rolled her eyes.
"I trust you would have rested enough during the summer to stay awake on your first day back, Mr Blossom!" Mr Flutesnoot stated severely, glaring down at Jason. The young man scratched the back of his head in confusion as he pulled himself up.
"At least pull yourself up for the first day." Cheryl whispered sharply at her brother.
Jason didn't even turn to face her as the lesson continued. All that flying, the feeling of the breeze on his face.. It all seemed so... real...
Hours seemed to drag on before the bell rang for lunch. Everyone nearly ran out of their seats from the sound of freedom, trampling over Mr Flutesnoot in the stampere. Betty joined up with the twins as Jason looked like he was thinking about something.
"Earth to Jason." Betty smiled as she snapped her fingers in front of his face. "What's with that look on your face?"
"Huh?" Jason looked at Betty. "Oh.. Uh, nothing, it was nothing." The young man shrugged it off. Cheryl cocked an eyebrow at her brother's reaction, but thought nothing more of it. She assumed it was just Jason being Jason.
The trio made their way to the cafeteria, which was already swarmed with students. They noticed a lot of new faces this year with the arrival of all the freshmen, but there were still a lot of recognisable ones as well. Moose from this morning was eating next to Midge, along with his mates from the football team. They noticed Jughead Jones, world famous devourer of burgers eating five servings of food next to some freshmen who couldn't believe their eyes. The teachers all ate in the room above with a bird-eye view of the canteen; the trio could even see Mr Flutesnoot limp to his seat struggling to walk straight. They couldn't help but chuckle at the scene.
"Come on, let's find somewhere to eat that isn't overrun." Betty suggested. "You guys packing your food?"
"Yeah. Just some leftovers from last night." Jason said. It took them a small while, but they were finally able to find some seats near the exit to the outside. A few freshmen were also seated at that table, but they didn't care; as long as they could eat in peace they would be happy.
As everyone pulled out their food Jason took an over the top whiff of his meal. "Mmm.. Even leftover, Macaroni Cheese is still the best..." He smiled, pulling out a spoon and ready to dig in. Betty chuckled at his remarks and decided to join him, however Cheryl was having a tougher time focusing on her food. Her head was ringing slightly from all the noise in the cafeteria; for some reason it felt like it was getting louder. Cheryl rubbed her temple slightly, trying to ease her brain. These migraines happened from time to time, they usually pass pretty quickly.
The doors to the outside burst open all of a sudden, shocking everyone around it and causing Cheryl to clutch her head from the noise of the slam as someone ran through. The person who slammed them open was covering her face and could be heard whimpering while she ran as fast as she could, although most Juniors would recognise that raven hair with two blonde bangs anywhere. That was Ginger Lopez, and something seemed to have upset her greatly.
Midge left Moose and ran after Ginger who was heading towards the girl's bathroom; however most people were wondering what could have made her cry like that. That answer was reveiled almost instantly as the doors opened up once again. Veronica walked inside with Reggie and Dilton by her sides, a confident smirk on her face and in her pace. Putting two and two together it was obvious Veronica had something to do with Ginger's state, most likely blackmail. Some wished they could help, but all knew if they tried to interviene they'd just end up in trouble as well... Well, nearly all of them.
"Cheryl no!" Jason called out as he pulled his sister back to her seat. Both teens had similar strength, so it was a struggle from both ends as Cheryl tried to break free.
"I'm not just gonna sit here and watch!.." Cheryl growled, glaring at Veronica as she sat down at her own table with her back-up. The fact she was so casual after putting Ginger in that state made Cheryl sick to her stomach. That woman knew no bounds.
"Yes you are!" Jason said sternly. "You can't just go rushing for trouble! You know what she's like!"
"Jason's right, Cheryl." Betty chimed in. "You two have been able to avoid her for years now. Don't go looking for problems."
Jason was still struggling to hold Cheryl back, but one solid pull brought her close enough for him to whisper in her ear.
"And we have secrets she can't know about..." Jason whispered to her. Cheryl flinched at those words, she knew exactly what Jason was talking about. If Veronica happened to find out about their powers, they'd be outed across the town the minute that followed. Or worse, she'd use it as leverage against the twins; both of them knew she'd revel to have that power over them.
Cheryl knew Jason was right this time, and stopped fighting back. The atmosphere was tense for the rest of the meal.
The twins decided to walk home that evening; Cheryl needed the fresh air after today's events. They left Betty back at cheerleading practice and paced forward, the mood so tense you could cut it with a knife. Jason wanted to say something, but didn't want to upset his sister further.
"I don't believe this..." Cheryl stated out of the blue, causing Jason to perk up as they walked.
"Don't believe what?" He asked.
"This... All of this..." Cheryl answered. "Veronica's been out there causing hell for whoever she wants for years, we have all this power inside of us, and yet we just sit and watch while she gets away with it everytime."
"I know, Cheryl. But Dad told us why we can't use our abilities publicly." Jason sighed. "If word went out that we can do what we do-"
"-Then our normal lives would be forever thrown out the window, I know." Cheryl interrupted. "But maybe I don't want a "normal" life. Maybe I don't want to just get a job, marry a guy, have kids, a dog and live the rest of my life behind a white picket fence. Maybe I want to make a difference, an impact on life."
Jason sighed. Cheryl has always had this idea that with her abilities she could change the world for the better. Ever since she was a kid she's always wanted to be one of those superheroes they saw in comic books, fighting crime and saving people.
"Real life isn't that simple Cheryl." Jason tried to reason with his sister. "If people find out about our powers, it won't be like in those stories dad used to read us. There won't be parades celebrating your victories. There will more likely be three old men in military uniforms with an army behind them wanting to take you away for testing!"
"How do you know?!" Cheryl shot back. "There's never been anyone like us before! We could lift ten times more weight than the world record when we were 3! We can jog faster than the fastest plane in existence, and that's for a warm-up! No one's ever been like us!"
"Oh come on, Cheryl!" Jason retorted, getting visibly frustrated with his sister. "You know what people are like! When they don't understand, they get scared. And when they get scared, they get violent! If people could find out what we can do, they would go nuts!"
"Tch, you sound just like Dad..." Cheryl grumbled, crossing her arms as the two started traversing a bridge.
"And it's a good thing I do, too!" Jason shot back. "Don't think about just us, think about Dad as well! Imagine what he'd go through if people found out! He wouldn't be able to set foot outside without thousands demanding answers! Or even worse, they could take him away for-WATCH OUT!"
Time seemed to slow down as Jason shouted those words towards his sister. Cheryl was caught off-guard by the scream, that was followed up by the loud screeching of tires. Turning around all she could see was a black car trying to slam it's breaks as hard as it could. Because of the argument, she didn't even notice she was jaywalking.
The driver flipped the wheel to the side, trying to stop the vehicule; but it was too late. The car hit Cheryl straight on, causing her to go flying back with the vehicule. Both her and the car were rammed to the side as the car crashed through the barricade of the bridge, before diving into the water down below. Jason rushed to the other side of the bridge, looking around desperately for any trace of Cheryl or the vehicule.
"Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!" Jason called out, dropping his backpack on the bridge and diving into the water. Looking underwater, he saw Cheryl almost immediately, unscathed as she shook her head to get some of her senses back. Both twins looked at the car: a jet black Rolls Royce that was sinking to the bottom of the river. Cheryl and Jason looked at each other and nodded, before dashing towards the car.
Cheryl was the first to arrive to the car and looked inside: she saw two people. A man in his late 30's, driver of the car dressed in a typical black chauffeur's uniform. A badge on his cap read the initials "P.L".
The other person was a rather peculiar one: a lady, seemingly in her late 30's-early 40's as well with short crimson hair. She was dressed in a beige fur coat, with bright gold necklace and diamond earrings. That was all Cheryl could see from the window, but from the way she was dressed she had to be of the upper-class. Both she and the driver were knocked unconscious from the crash.
Jason joined up with Cheryl. Both of them saw the car was filling up with water rapidly. Not wasting any time Cheryl tried to open the door, but the thing was jammed stuck. No way of opening it normally. Cheryl swam towards the front of the car and rammed her fingers into the roof. The metal dented and crippled under her grip as Cheryl effortlessly pried it open like the car was nothing more than a tin can. Cheryl tore the roof off three-quarters of the way as Jason took over. The seatbelts were jammed as well, so Jason grabbed the buckles in each hand and tore them off simultaneously. With their restreints broken the victims floated slightly, still out of it as Jason grabbed the driver and Cheryl the passenger. With their strength both twins were able to swim out the water in seconds, victims in hands as they swam for the bank.
"Come on, breathe!" Cheryl grumbled as she kept on with the CPR. Clifford had forced Cheryl and Jason to join up with the firefighters when they were 12 to learn basic first-aid. At the time Cheryl didn't want to go, but now she was thankful she had. Jason was busy with the driver as Cheryl leaned in to listen to a heartbeat. Still nothing.
"Dammit..." Cheryl cursed. They had called the emergencies a few moments ago, but they didn't knowing how long it would take for them to get here. Taking a deep breath, she blew into the woman's mouth, before pumping her chest once more.
"1, 2, 3, 4-" Cheryl counted just like the firefighters had taught her. Suddenly, the woman's eyes shot wide open as she coughed up water, choking from it all. Cheryl sighed in relief. That was too close for comfort...
The lady looked around her, before her eyes landed on Cheryl. The young lady was soaked from head to toe, but it also clicked that she was drenched in water too. Picking herself up with the help of Cheryl she looked around her, trying to remember what had happened: she was on the phone, when there was a loud screech from the tires. The last thing she remembered was ramming through the bridge and falling into the water...
Spluttering noises broke her out of her train of thought as the driver woke up as well, choking on the water. While Jason helped him get accomadated, the lady turned to Cheryl, a confused look on her face.
"Who... Who are you?.." She asked in a very posh accent, a slight frown on her face.
Cheryl looked at the lady, a confused look on her face.. "I-uh..."
Before she could answer, the sounds of sirens blared from the streets catching everyone's attention. An ambulence followed by a police car stopped at the top of the hill, before medical care and policemen stepped out and rushed down the bank.
"Step aside!" The policeman called out as Cheryl and Jason backed off from the victims. The doctors rushed to their aid, while the policeman turned to the twins.
"What happened here?" He asked gruffly.
"I was crossing the bridge when their car arrived out of nowhere. I managed to get out of the way in time, but they skidded across the road and landed into the water." Cheryl explained.
"And you jumped in?" He asked. However, no one had the time to answer as the deputee spoke up.
"Chief!" He called out in shock. "This is Penelope Lodge! The Media Queen!"
"What?!" The chief exclaimed. He couldn't believe it; what was Penelope Lodge, one of if not the most powerful women in the state doing in Riverdale?!"
"Lodge?!" Cheryl joined in with the shock. She had no idea who this woman was, but the surname certainly rang a bell. This was the woman who broke Victoria's family apart?!
The chief turned back to the twins, pointing a finger at them. "You two stay here! I'll need to take you in for questionning." He stated, before turning back to his deputee and helping Penelope. Jason grabbed Cheryl's arm, causing her to turn around.
"We need to get out of here." Jason told his sister sternly.
Cheryl nodded in agreement. Things were too confusing at the moment and happening too fast. She didn't want anything to slip accidentally during questionning. While everyone was too busy dealing with Penelope, Cheryl and Jason managed to sneak away, grabbing their bags and heading back home.
"Miss Lodge, I'm sorry I have to trouble you like this: but I'm going to have to ask you a few questions when you feel up to it." The chief told her politely, even taking his hat off like he was in front of royalty.
"You may ask Francis for any details concerning the accident. I was merely in the back on the phone." Penelope dismissed the policeman with a slight sneer.
"Even so, Mam-" The chief was cut off by his deputee.
"Chief? The kids are gone!" The deputee exclaimed.
"What?!" The chief called out, turning around him with a glare. Those little brats managed to sneak away.
"Raaah... Forget about them. We've got more important matters to deal with." The chief called out angrily to the deputee who saluted in return. All the while Penelope was thinking back the events. Taking into account the bridge's height, the speed they were going at, where those kids were at the time of the crash and the depth of the water... There was no plausible way she should be alive right now... So how were those two kids able to get to her? No matter how she thought it over, it didn't make sense...
Penelope cocked an eyebrow as she thought this over. She was supposed to just past Riverdale quickly to get to Miami faster, but now... Now there was something interesting going on in Riverdale... It had something to do with those kids... And she was going to find out what.
