Chapter 9 you guys! For future reference, things are going to start getting extremely serious with this story and I plan on making the chapters much longer than they are now. As much as I'd like to keep them consistent, I want them to be long enough to ensure excitement and satisfaction. Anyways, happy reading and please please please REVIEW! Xoxo
TT
Chapter 9
"Kori, it's okay. You need to calm down." Richard was never good with comforting anyone, especially when it came to girls.
Kori took three big gulps of the glass of water Richard has given her when they arrived to his dorm room. She was sitting on his bed hyperventilating and thinking of every single worse case scenario.
Roy wasn't in the room, thankfully. Richard didn't know where he was but he figured he'd be playing video games or something with one of the guys. He hoped he'd stay gone until Kori left. He'd never hear the end of it if Roy walked in on the two of them alone in his dorm.
Richard bent down in front of Kori with bandages, peroxide, and a towel. He needed to take care of her scraped hands for two reasons. One being he didn't want anyone to ask how she'd gotten scrapes on the palms of her hands. The second reason was that he wanted her hands healed before their big test next weekend. Those reasons might've seemed selfish to some, but to him, it was benefiting the both of them.
"Richard, I do not know what to think of the events that have occurred on this secured campus." Kori's eyes were wide with panic and she rambled on about anything but the good.
In her defense, there wasn't any good that came out of the recent incident.
Richard sighed. "I know, Kori. We just have to stay calm and think this through. We just need to rest tonight and then tomorrow we'll talk about what needs to be done."
Kori looked at him in surprise. "You mean we are not going to Headmaster Weathers about the black unearthly monster thattriedveryhard todothekillingofus?" She didn't even take a breath.
Richard dropped his head in defeat. "Look, I'm not saying that at all. But you saw that creature. It was dangerous. Really, really dangerous. It was basically telling to keep our mouths shut or else."
"What do you mean 'or else?'"
"I mean," Richard said as he laid the hand towel under Kori's hands. "That it was threatening us. We have to be cautious about this."
Kori shook her head profusely. "Richard, I do not think keeping the quiet about this is a very good idea. We must be honest and come forth about what happened!"
He could tell she was getting riled up. Geez, what was it with women.
"My star bolts hardly worked against it and now we have made an enemy when we do not even know who the enemy is and it most certainly wants to hurt us no matter what we choose to do with the information we have gained from tonight! Oh, X'hal!" Kori was now on her feet pacing back and forth, the hand towel on the floor.
Richard sighed and stood up. He was curious as to what language she was rambling in but nevertheless, his main concern was calming her down enough to keep from saying anything.
Whatever this thing was that attacked them sent them a warning; it was coming back whether they told Headmaster Weathers or not. But if they did tell Headmaster Weathers, how much more danger could they be putting themselves in? He didn't want to risk it. They had to be smart about this.
Besides, if it did come back, the security guards were sure to take care-
Wait.
Where exactly were the guards tonight? Sure, every now and then they'd head to their own break room and doze off or miss an alley way or something. But from all the ruckus Richard, Kori, and 'It' were making, they would've come running immediately, right?
But they hadn't.
Richard's head hurt from everything that had happened in the past hour. There were so many questions and not enough answers. Actually, there were no answers at all.
"I did not leave my awful planet to come to this earth just to be tortured again and targeted by whatever creature that thing may have been I cannot do it Richard Grayson!" Kori looked at him and her chest was heaving up and down. She really needed to learn how to take a breath in between sentences.
Richard stopped for a second and quirked an eyebrow. His mind drifted to one of the nights he'd walked her back to her dorm.
"Where are you from?" He'd asked her.
"From far away." Was all she replied.
He looked at Kori and tilted his head to the side. "Did you just say...planet?"
Kori stopped pacing and looked at him. Her face flushed red at the information she'd just spilled to him. "Um...did I say planet? I meant that I was just...um...I do not..." she trailed off, not being able to cover up her mistake.
Richard didn't blink. "Are you...human?"
Kori's face suddenly turned sad. She looked down at her feet and twiddled with her fingers. When she spoke, he could barely hear her. "I am not human."
Richard almost crapped his pants.
"I am an alien," Kori said as she looked up at him with sad eyes. "I am from the planet Tamaran and we are an extraterrestrial race known as the Tamaraneans."
Richard sat down slowly, sinking in all of this information. "But...you look human?"
Kori took a step towards him. "I am most human, or so I feel like it. I have many human characteristics, all Tamaraneans do."
"Are you what all aliens look like?" He asked dumbfounded. To be honest, if all aliens looked like her then he definitely didn't have a problem with that. He couldn't deny the fact that she was quite possibly the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on.
Kori shook her head. "No. We are just a different form, per say, and are the most humanized form of an extraterrestrial being."
"How come you didn't tell me a long time ago? Or any of us?" Richard asked.
She looked down sullenly. "I was ashamed. I did not want to be labeled as, how do you say it? A 'freak.'"
He smiled a little at her naive slang. He stood up and walked over to her. "Kori, you are not a freak. No one would think that."
She looked up at him, her eyes slowly lighting up again. "Do you truly believe that, Richard?"
He nodded. "I do. Plus, how cool is it to be an alien and have all these awesome powers?" Richard smiled at her.
Kori smiled even bigger and Richard's heart swelled up. Maybe he was getting better at calming people down. And with girls. And with talking to people.
"Oh how wonderful! I feel at most peace! I feel enlightened!" She threw her arms around Richard's neck and he stumbled back. He lost his footing and they were suddenly on the ground, Kori being on top of him.
And so perfect timing decided to work its magic at this exact moment. Roy walked in and stopped as soon as he saw them.
"Uhhhhhhh." He quickly shut the door, thinking they needed privacy.
Richard shut his eyes and sighed, knowing he was definitely never going to hear the end of this. Kori, being the naive one, just smiled and rolled off of him. She was clearly elated and any thoughts of what had happened to them an hour ago were gone now.
For now, Richard wanted to keep it that way. He cleaned up her hands, assured her that she was indeed not a freak, and walked her back to her dorm. Tomorrow would be a whole new day, and hopefully, Kori would trust him when he tells her that they weren't going to say a word about what had happened tonight.
TT
The next day the school was buzzing with gossip. News about the threat Headmaster Weathers had received involving Elite High was spreading like a wildfire.
It didn't take long for the parents to immediately start contacting their kids after Headmaster Weathers sent out the email. Not long after that email was sent were the students' phones going crazy by their parents. By now, the email about it sent to the students meant nothing since they'd already heard about it.
As of right now, first period had been cancelled and there was a meeting in the auditorium. It was safe to say that almost every single student was worried sick, some were even wanting to go home. Headmaster Weathers was going to do his best to reassure everyone that they were indeed safe at Elite High Boarding School.
Richard and his friends sat in two rows all bunched up together. Roy, Richard, Kori, Karen, and Vic were in front whereas Gar, Rachel, Wally, and Alain were in the back. They were all pretty antsy after hearing about the threat, but none of them were spooked enough to think about leaving.
"I say whoever thinks they can take all of us on to bring it," Roy said with a cocky smile.
Vic rolled his eyes. "With that attitude your dumbass will be the first one to go."
"I don't think this is that serious. They just have to address it and assure that everything will be okay," Richard said. He was frankly annoyed about all the chaos that disrupted their time to learn and train.
Kori flicked her eyes over to him for a split second and looked away. He'd pulled her aside earlier this morning to tell her it would be safer for them to keep quiet about last night. She sadly agreed, thinking they should go to Headmaster Weathers.
Kori looked down at her bandaged hands and frowned. Richard gently nudged her with his elbow and she moved her eyes to meet his.
"Don't worry, I'm sure this has nothing to do with last night", Richard whispered, thankful that his friends were conversing all around them.
Kori sighed but offered a small smile. "I do hope you are right, friend Richard." She looked away, leaving him with a frown on his face.
Soon, Headmaster Weathers was standing at the podium up front. He looked professional, calm, and ready to get started. Voices quickly deceased and all eyes were on him.
"Good morning my fellow students," he said with a pleasant smile on his face. "I'm sure you all are wondering what is going on or why your parents are wanting to pull you out of our beloved school."
At this, a lot of students shifted uncomfortably in their seats. He noticed this and took a deep breath. He looked out at the sea of students and staff, a certain glimmer of sadness in his eyes. Truth be told, Headmaster Weathers this was a serious matter. But he wanted to do his best to provide hope and safety in the eyes of the students.
"I have a daughter here, most of you know my little Kole." He smiled as a group of students in the far right hand corner turned to look at a pink-headed, flushed-faced girl. "And she is very much my pride and joy."
He continued, "If ever there was a situation that was unsafe enough to inflict harm upon her, I would do everything in my power to stop it. That is what I am doing with all of you. When you all stepped foot onto this campus, you all became my kids." He took this time to let that sink in to all the students. "Now, none of you could replace my little princess, but I still want to ensure your safety." There were some laughs at this.
Headmaster Weathers motioned to all of the teacher standing behind him and at the back of the auditorium. "We have an amazing staff here as well, who have had years and years of training for anything you could possibly think of. Coach Santos helped build the barrier around this school and we know for a fact that no one can get in or out without my consent from the control room. I can guarantee you that much."
"We have already made all the notifications to everyone about the threat that was brave enough to be made to our school. We are still trying to figure out who it was from but I can assure you that every precaution and safety measure is being enforced to keep the students of Elite High safe." Headmaster Weathers let a round of applause go through.
Richard's jaw clenched. He was torn between telling Headmaster Weathers of being cautious as well. If no one could get in or out without his consent, then how the hell did that thing get in.
Then he remembered it disappearing in a blink of an eye. This was completely and utterly a ginormous mystery. He had no idea what to do.
"We have taken the initiative to reassure your parents as well as you all. Everything will continue to go on normally, but extra security and safety precautions have been provided. You all have nothing to worry about," Headmaster Weathers explained.
Lies. We have a lot to worry about. Richard thought to himself. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Each and every one of you sitting in this room has a special trait to them. You all are unique and more powerful than anyone could imagine. Trust me when I say this; you all are safe beyond measures."
This was true, and Richard couldn't deny it. They were all pretty remarkable and whoever was dumb enough to think they could take on two-hundred power-filled teenagers must be on crack.
"Since there has been so much turmoil today, we have decided to cancel classes for the rest of the day. We have also opened up the transporting bus from now to 4pm. You all are free to do as you please."
A round of cheers went around and any unsettledness of worry was now gone. Soon, everyone was dismissed and the auditorium was emptying out faster than it had been filled.
"I'm starving, y'all," Karen said. "I know it's early but a cheeseburger sounds amazing."
Vic immediately agreed saying, "I'm definitely in."
"Tofu burger!" Gar added.
"What is this burger of the cheese you all speak of?" Kori asked.
Everyone stared at her in shock. Then, Roy slung an arm around her shoulder and said, "Have you ever been to Red Robbins?"
TT
"Slade."
A man with silver hair and eyes to match turned around in his chair to face his teenage prodigy. He smirked when he saw her pissed-off face.
"What now, my sweet child." His voice was low and unnerving.
Cheshire sat down, her mask and short green kimono on. "So what? Am I fired or something?"
"What ever do you mean?" He asked sarcastically.
She grimaced and ferociously stood up. "You know what I mean! What is this new thing you've brought in? You sent them to the school last night."
Slade smiled viciously. "Oh, you're talking about my newest investment, courtesy of our dearest employer."
Cheshire crossed her arms defiantly. "I don't give a shit about our employer and his wants. I want to know why I'm suddenly booted off the island."
"Well," Slade started while standing up nonchalantly. "For starters you're not mature enough, strong enough, or cold-hearted enough to get the job done."
She took off her mask vigorously, revealing eyes full of anger. "Are you kidding me!? What the hell is that supposed to mean! I make one mistake and now I'm not good enough for anything?"
"So you admit to making a mistake?"
She bit her tongue to keep from answering too quickly. She had to be careful with her words this time. "Yes, I do."
Slade studied her and waited for her next move. He rounded his desk until he met her face. "I'm listening, child."
Cheshire kept her cool as she spoke. "The only mistake I made was not killing the boy who got into my way quick enough." Her voice was full of venom.
Slade smiled, clearly pleased. "I see you've had a sudden change of heart."
Cheshire rolled her eyes and scoffed. She never really had a heart to begin with. She didn't care about Roy, but she did care about taking innocent lives. Bloodshed on innocent people was not on her bucket list.
At this point, she'd do anything to make Slade put her back on this mission. Sitting at home and doing absolutely nothing was agonizingly boring. Plus, she felt useless and pathetic. She hate not only being bored but also feeling utterly alone.
Cheshire watched as Slade walked back around to his desk. She then asked, "So am I back on this mission?"
Slade chuckled. "Dear child, I do not give you what you want because you tell me what I want to hear."
She sucked in her breath. "What the hell am I supposed to do, huh?"
"I have new...apprentices...to do the job." Slade didn't make eye contact with her.
Cheshire had no idea who he was talking about, nor did she care. If he wouldn't let her back on this mission then she sure as hell was going to prove her loyalty, hard work, and dedication to him. Even if that meant working behind his back.
She walked out without another word. Whatever was cooking up in her twisted head was anything but good.
