A/N – Okay, the drama of the party unfolds! I am really interested to hear what you think about this! So no more delay with my words, happy reading! :)
Chapter 9 – Fight it Out
Helena loved how oblivious the town of Port Charles was. With a slight disguise, she, Jerry and Anthony had managed to attend the party without being detected by anyone. She wondered where the so-called "superheroes" were now. Not that it mattered. Even if they did try and stop what was about to happen, they couldn't. This time Helena was in complete control and no one was getting in the way of her path to world domination.
Helena looked at the clock and saw it was almost midnight. She checked the door and could tell that her men had all the exits sealed. She made eye contact with both Anthony and Jerry and nodded slightly as they made their way to the middle of the dance floor. It only took seconds from the time Jerry fired the gun for everyone to freeze in place. The citizens of Port Charles were all paralyzed by their fear as Helena removed the disguising wig she had been wearing.
"I tried to be nice last time," Helena said in that sickening tone that was unique to her. "But your superheroes wouldn't let me have little Lulu. So now I have to take all of you down. One by one."
"You won't get to us," Olivia, the hotel receptionist, spoke out. "The superheroes will save-"
Her words were cut off by Jerry firing his gun again, this time, aimed at her. Blood poured out of her chest and her body slumped to the floor. Everyone gasped and stepped away from her, no one willing to risk their life to see if she could be helped.
"Anyone else have something to say?" Jerry asked darkly and no one dared to breathe. "I didn't think so."
"Now, as I was saying, we want this lovely little town and you're going to give it to us," Helena bellowed. "You've seen the consequences if you try to get in our way."
"What do you want us to do exactly?" Carly squeaked out.
"It's simple really," Helena smiled. "Give us your town and go to work for us."
"What kind of work?" Carly wondered.
"Whatever kind of work is necessary for us to take over the world," Helena snapped. "Now that's enough questions."
Helena started pacing around the room staring at all of the terrified people. She loved the power she had over them. She reveled in the fact that they were all going to bend to her will. She could see it in their eyes. She came to a stop in front of Carly and glared at her.
"Anthony, do you see this woman?" Helena asked, pointing a finger at Carly.
"Yes," Anthony answered.
"Shoot her first if anyone tries to play hero tonight," Helena ordered.
"It would be my pleasure," Anthony replied.
"The rest of you, sit tight," Helena laughed. "Your superheroes have until midnight to surrender and give us the town. And if they don't, everyone here dies."
Johnny's eyes shot open when he heard the gunshot. It was muffled and sounded far away, but it was a gunshot. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt that Lulu was still safe in his arms. He didn't want to wake her, but he knew he had to get down there to help. He had to protect the rest of the town from the Terribly Troubled Threesome.
"Lu," Johnny said, shaking Lulu slightly to wake her.
"Is it morning already?" Lulu asked sleepily.
"No, but I have to go," Johnny answered.
"Go?" Lulu wondered, suddenly fully awake. "You're just going to go after we made love for the first time?"
"I don't want to, but something is happening," Johnny replied.
"What could possibly be happening that requires you to leave?" Lulu questioned.
"I don't want to worry you," Johnny muttered.
"You need to tell me what's going on," Lulu responded.
"Look, I think I heard a gunshot," Johnny started. "So I need to go check it out and see if I need to save anyone."
"A gunshot?" Lulu asked in disbelief. "You can't go down there if someone has a gun."
"Lulu, it's my duty," Johnny argued, getting out of bed. "I have to protect the town of Port Charles."
"But who is going to protect you?" Lulu demanded, wrapping the sheet around herself and sitting up.
"You know there are three people that I work with," Johnny said as he got dressed in his suit.
"Johnny, this is dangerous," Lulu said softly. "You can't just go running in there to save the day. You could get hurt or worse."
"I'm not going to go in blind," Johnny replied, trying to soothe her. "I'll figure out what's going on and what needs to be done. Then, I will do everything I can to make sure everyone is safe."
"Promise me you'll be okay," Lulu requested, standing up and walking over to him.
"I promise," Johnny smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"You look sexy in this suit," Lulu whispered, letting her hands settle around his neck.
"Yeah?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah," Lulu nodded. "It shows off all your muscles. And black is just your color."
"Lulu, you can't seduce me into staying," Johnny whispered and Lulu shrugged.
"Can't blame a girl for trying," Lulu smirked and Johnny laughed.
"I'm going to be okay," Johnny said again.
"I know," Lulu nodded.
Johnny smiled and leaned in to give Lulu a passionate kiss. Lulu returned the kiss with everything she had, trying to memorize the feeling of Johnny's lips against hers. Johnny knew she was worried about him, but he also knew that he had everything to live for. Because she was everything. He pulled away slowly and rested his forehead against hers.
"Stay here until I get back and don't open the door for anyone but me," Johnny instructed.
"Okay," Lulu agreed. "How long do you think you'll be gone?"
"I'm not sure," Johnny answered. "But I'll try to be as quick as possible."
"Just be safe," Lulu requested. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Johnny smiled and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I have to go."
"I'll be waiting for you," Lulu whispered.
"Knowing that will get me through anything," Johnny breathed.
He kissed her once more and then turned and left the hotel room. He headed for the stairwell and was met instantly with Jason who was dressed in his suit. Jason didn't look happy and Johnny knew the situation was not good.
"Where the hell have you been?" Jason demanded.
"I was with-" Johnny started and Jason cut him off.
"I should have known," Jason said, rolling his eyes. "Is she at least someplace safe now?"
"Yes," Johnny nodded.
"Alright, well we have a problem downstairs and we really don't know how to handle it," Jason explained. "The Terribly Troubled Threesome have the entire place surrounded. They already killed one person and they are threatening Carly now if anyone tries to stop their plan."
"Their plan?" Johnny asked.
"They finally revealed their agenda," Jason replied. "They want to use Port Charles as a base of operations to take over the world. Helena told your father to kill Carly if anyone tried to play hero. She also said everyone in the building would be killed if we didn't surrender by midnight."
"We can't surrender," Johnny said, shaking his head.
"I agree," Jason responded. "But Sonny says we can surrender and keep everyone safe and then formulate a plan for the long term."
"What's going to happen to everyone if we surrender?" Johnny wondered.
"They would get to live and help the villains with their plot for world domination," Jason answered.
"If we show ourselves and surrender they will kill us on the spot," Johnny stated. "There has to be a way to save everyone and keep the villains from taking over the town."
"I'm listening if you have any ideas," Jason said, staring at Johnny impatiently.
"Well how do you know all of this about what Helena said?" Johnny questioned. "Surely she didn't just let you leave the party."
"No, as soon as they broke up the party, Sonny, Nikolas and I ducked into the stairwells off the main room," Jason explained. "I eavesdropped on her speech so we could try to formulate a counterattack."
"Alright," Johnny nodded. "Then those same stairwells will be our way back in. Helena must have been in disguise for her to be able to get inside without anyone noticing, right?"
"Yeah," Jason breathed. "They all were."
"So we need to get in disguise," Johnny suggested and Jason looked at him skeptically. "One a little less conspicuous than our suits. We need to figure out a way to get back into that party and get close to the Terribly Troubled Threesome. I'm betting that any security Helena brought with her won't react without her giving them orders. If we can figure out a way to take down all three of them at once, we can save everyone and the town."
Lulu paced the hotel room. After Johnny left, she put her dress back on and tried to relax, but she couldn't. No matter how many times she told herself he would be okay, Lulu was terrified for Johnny's life. Anything could happen to him and she was powerless to stop it. She didn't know how she could do this all the time. How she could sit around and wait while the man she loved was out there risking his life? How could she spend the rest of her life wondering each time he walked out the door if he would come home?
She couldn't.
Lulu felt the tears gather in her eyes and she didn't try to fight them. She did love Johnny, with all her heart, and she knew she couldn't handle losing him. If he was ever killed, she would die on the inside. The tears streamed down her face as her thoughts were overtaken with fears of all of what could happen. There were so many bad things that could happen and all Lulu could do was wait and hope and pray that none of them would.