BarkingPup: That he is, that he is.
Coppa-Cola: I'll try to name them all in the last chapter, but I may forget a lot by then. I tend to torture the characters I like.
Ch. 10: Fired Up
In a large, cold, dull grey prison yard, with walls blocking out the shining sun, or at least mostly, the shadows of barbed wire were falling on the farthest wall and a wide selection of criminals. One in particular sat on a stone bench bent over a crumpled piece of paper and a pencil in dire need of sharpening. Besides looking a little jaundice, the man was a fine specimen, with chiseled features, a great mental capacity, a melodious voice, and was a regular acrobat. How a person with so much potential can fall into such a place as this is a story no one would believe, even after given so many chances to redeem himself outside in the real world. He was once again regarded as having good behavior at this penitentiary, so given the freedom to see the light of day, though doubtful he would be allowed to see much of it.
Another man entered the yard, instantly spotting the former's perfectly shaped, palm tree-esq, red hair, and making a sly smirk. This one had similar, reddish blonde hair, only much shorter, along with fairly equal eloquence and malice. He meandered to the redhead's side, a bit disappointed he wasn't able to cast his shadow all dramatic like. The red haired man stopped suddenly, and without looking up, tightened his grip on the pencil, but not too much to make it snap, for it took three days to get this pencil.
"I was told that they would keep us in separate facilities." The first man growled in his deep, sinister voice. "To prevent us from conspiring, as if I would bother."
"Yes, well, a fluke they will soon fix. They tend to move me around every couple of months, so I cannot memorize any building's structure. Apparently I'm considered more of a threat." The other explained with a bit of boastfulness. He enjoyed the twisted anger in his big brother's face as the heavy head turned to look him in the eye.
"More of a threat? Oh please, how many times have you held a machete to some one's throat?" he asked sardonically as he placed the pencil and delicately folded paper in his shoe.
"How many times were you man enough to lunge it into something other than a photo?"
"Shut up, Cecil."
"That all you can say? How about telling me how the family is? I never got one phone call to Mom and Dad, and speaking of Dad, is he here too? Speak to Francesca in a while? How about Gino?"
"I said shut up!" Cecil's brother stood up suddenly, anger flashing in his face in an instant, but he was one to quickly regain his composure.
"What were you working on anyway?" Cecil prodded. The criminal was getting very tired very fast of his little brother's questions.
"If you must know, I'm working on my memoirs." He replied with a tint of pride, something Cecil will quickly try and steal.
The brother snickered. "Oh yes, I'm sure. I'm very sure everyone will rush to read about your inability to kill a ten year old brat."
"There has been more to my journey to this hell-hole than that wretched little boy! Besides, you couldn't kill him either."
"In my defense that was your fault. But, I'll humor you. Name one thing."
"It's really none of your business." He turned to storm away, but the brother placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You know, Robert," Cecil looked around to make sure no other convicts or guards were close, again an attempt to be dramatic. "When you've met as many low lives as I have, you learn quite a bit about the underground workings of society. You overhear something about someone fixing a big game, a complex smuggling ring, or perhaps something much more."
"Get to the point."
"Much quicker than you ever will, Bob." He snickered again. "Anyway, I've made a few connections, and even from the inside, you can make a certain phone call that could end your little problem. Can you think of it? Once you're released outside again, which you probably will thanks to the family charm, you don't have to pursue the object that drives you so fervently mad. No more obsession, no more failure, no more Bart Simpson." Robert glared at his brother and pondered the idea for some time, but threw his hand and his offer aside.
"Absolutely not. A hit-man may get the job done, but will he savor it, will he relish in victory? No, I must be the one to carry such a deed to completion. I want to be there and watch his eyes glaze over. I want the image of him drowning in his own blood to burn into my mind. I want to see it, I want to finish it!" Cecil was disappointed, and the smirk he had kept disappeared, but he let his homicidal brother go. He told himself that it would never happen, that Robert will forever be the insane one who's only destiny is to drag his family down with him, but as a vicious sibling who enjoys the rivalry, Cecil will gladly let his brother's nightmares continue to haunt him. No skin off his nose, though he considered going against his brother's wishes.
xXx
Grass was running low, even the brittle brown blades; Cow wasn't sure how much more of this she could stand. She'd spend the long, grueling hours peering around the mountain, craving pork butts and taters, and letting her tongue hang out from her horribly dry throat. She very much wanted to go home, but she could never convince herself to leave her post. She was determined to save lives, especially that of her "fwiend". Her suffering lead to inattention, and she near collapsed under the shade of the mountain, but the vision of men approaching reawakened her senses. She did not try to run, for at first she saw them as mere mirages, but when they were groping her neck and back, she couldn't hold back a "moo".
"Nope, no hidden camera. This is just a stupid animal." Commented one of the men.
"Not for long, she'll be buzzard food in a few hours if she stays here."
"She'll be buzzard food regardless. She's come a long way."
"Stupid cow, look at the mess you got into." The second soldier laughed. "You sure walked a long way to die."
"Hey, check this out, I've always wanted to do this." The first soldier approached Cow once more, his fingers twitching mischievously. Cow took one step back, feeling so painfully awkward. The man placed his hands on her side, then tipped her over with ease. Cow moaned pitifully as she fell to the ground, the impact making a big "fwoom" as dust rose around her. Her legs kicked to get back up, and she mooed her complaint of being such a sorry victim.
"Heh, awesome, man" Said his partner. As they stood over the seemingly helpless creature, they began to chat like she never existed. "By the way, speaking of stupid, you weren't at lunch today, didja hear 'bout one of the recruits?"
"What's that?" the first one asked, dusting off his gloves.
"Some juicy excitement, that's what. The scientists developed this new technology, or whatever, to read the kids' minds. And get this, one of the kids actually knew everything!" Cow's eyes widened. "For a few days too! It was the ghost kid, yeah. He told the others too, and they've been planning an assault on the Black Building."
"No way, idiots, what do they think they can accomplish?"
"I know, but they plan to attack tomorrow, while the ghost kid, their mini leader, is completely out of it. Tranquilized. How funny is that?"
"Funny, but sad. So, everyone's on duty tomorrow?"
"You bet! We're about to get some action! Hell, we might have to kill one of them."
"Finally," they both started back for the mountain. "You know I haven't been sent on a single mission since the capture of the Freakazoid fella? It wasn't even that challenging."
"Bummer."
Oh no! I gotta tell Vlad! Cow once again struggled to get back on her feet, and once she finally did, she looked back at the mountain with terror in her tired eyes. To avoid suspicion, she slowly ventured away from the shade, the speed of an average, starving cow, and behind the biggest, closest rock she could find. Once safely out of sight, she stood on her hind legs and let her chest heave in and out very heavily, her ears pinned down and her heart almost stopping. She never thought seriously about how she would eventually have to do this! She looked down at something she had hidden under the rock some days ago, an old, scratchy, smelly green blanket, which she now pulled close to her and clutched it for dear life. Then, after some mental preparation, a huff of breath with an attitude, she tied the blanket around her neck like a cape, which triggered a flash of light.
The scared wittle cow was no more. Her front hooves held on her hips, wrapped in purple spandex (with holes for her udders) and a yellow triangle with a red "C" on her chest, and a determined expression, she became SuperCow.
"SuperCow, ARISCATE!" She flew off like lightning, too fast for the cameras to detect.
xXx
Yet another normal day in the neighborhood, Jenny stepped outside, trying to hide her cautiousness. She was the first one out of her quarters, everyone else still in their beds pondering about the files they had read. The group had stayed together the day before after they were assured Danny was in no danger, popped in another sci-fi dvd, and continued reading about themselves. Danny had fallen asleep, so they let themselves out, taking good care of the papers. Burning those documents felt like burning the Bible; they would have been overcome with hurt had they not remembered a thing. Almost half of their memories were restored, and they found that during sleep they only came faster, so they would lie awake in their beds, begging to fall back in dream land. Sadly, they would have to get up.
Jenny was prepared to once again act like nothing had happened, but the vision of the next day came so very clear, it was hard to concentrate. Tomorrow they shall launch their attack, and if all goes well, within an hour of the battle they would be home with their families, showered with hugs and kisses, and the nightmare would be over. Her lips twitched into a smile on that note, and she pushed herself forward to Danny's door. Her thoughts now on the ghost boy, she wondered what life would be like when they were both out of the Community. Would they stay friends? Would they ever see each other again?...Did he have a girlfriend? She quickly realized these questions were irrelevant, it's not the time to think about such things. Besides, after going through so much, of course they would stay friends. And they had superpowers; they could fly to each other. These questions were nothing of concern, she knew they had to take one step at a time. They still had a mad king to overthrow before they could dwell on any happily ever after.
She made her cheerful knock at the door, smoothed her dress, then waited for an answer. She knew Danny might not particularly like waking up so early, but she doubted he would mind. She went over what the "normal" plan for the day was, first they would check on the movie theatre (maybe watch a movie if it's actually up), a walk in the park, and maybe lunch at the fast food place. Yep, twas a plan, not a date at all.
She found it unnerving that he was taking so long to answer, perhaps he was a little cranky this morning. Hesitant, she made herself knock again. This made her feel very uncomfortable, now thinking herself rude. But then she raised an eyebrow when he still didn't answer. Now she was just worried.
"Danny! You awake yet?" Nothing. "Hello? May I come in?" Nothing. She then had that protective feeling she had when Danny sounded so hoarse. Placing all concerns regarding manners aside, she let herself in yet again, a sigh of relief seeing Danny asleep on the couch. "Get up sleepy head, it's unhealthy to sleep all day…I think." She strolled by the couch, poking him in the arm. "Danny, c'mon, we have to lead a normal day…Danny?" She stood dead still for a few minutes, once again able to give a "phew" when she noticed a gentle rise and fall in Danny's chest.
With the utmost carefulness, she got a glass of water and splashed it on his face, and still got nothing. Her expression was perplexed as well as worried, and she gathered something wasn't quite right. "Sorry to have to do this, Danny." Raising her right hand, then bringing it down swiftly over his face, her efforts still earned nothing. Danny was out cold. A million thoughts ran through her mechanical head, and it processed the worst possible answer. The soft look on Danny's face, the limpness in his arms, the breathing rate, all attributes matched one mental image she wish she no longer had in her mind. In place of Danny on the couch, she imagined an unconscious Zim in her arms. "…A sedative…they know."
xXx
"Someone control these dogs!" Jack shouted, holding back a few himself.
"They wouldn't be so crazy if a few CATS in the area would do us the favor of staying on the other side of the island!" Aang hollered back, giving a dirty look at the three anthros in red, white, and blue armor.
"Well, excuse us." Speedy, the leader of the bunch, said dryly.
"Sorry for the commotion, everyone!" the girl cat said sincerely. "Let's go you two," she added as she hooked an arm around her partners. "Honestly, you went through all this trouble to drool over the Starfire chick?" The attack dogs barked more ferociously as the cats escaped, but gradually calmed themselves after some petting and chew toy distractions.
"Get that crap away from me!" Growled a man in a red robe, who happened to have dog ears sitting atop his long white hair. He shoved aside a bone that was given to him, then started pouting childishly. "Don't associate me with these mutts."
"Will you please all SETTLE DOWN?!" ordered the vampiric ghost who hovered over all. However, his soldiers were too busy mingling and bickering with each other to notice, which drove the attention hungry business man very mad. His partner Jack did the best he could on the ground, but Vlad was about to blast this entire place to smithereens just to spite. No one ignores him and gets away with it!
He slapped his face and rubbed his temples in agitation, starting to regret ever turning good, but a horrid shriek pierced the sky and everyone's ears. He found himself envious of Cow's voice, because everyone paid attention to her message.
"AYEAYEAYEAYEAYEAYEAYE!" She crashed into the island, dust rising all around, and everyone backing away in awe. They were told that if a flying cow ever came, it meant that war was imminent, and here they were, staring at the face of war. SuperCow kept her battle ready stance and demeanor as Vlad landed in front of her, eyes narrowed and ears open. Knowing that not all here can understand Spanish, SuperCow decided to transform back to Cow, and by doing so, she lost all poise. She broke to tears.
"They know, they know!" She cried, her commander prepared to hear such a report. The army on the other hand started whispering amongst themselves, "this is it", "here it comes", and "no turning back now". "But, the childwen don't know that they know, they were able to read minds!" Vlad's brows furrowed, not expecting this additional information. "And worse, ohhhhmooooooooo, things only get worse. I heard them say they might kill one of them, mooooo. And, and Danny. The wittle ghost boy. They said that Danny is asleep, very asleep, defenseless!" This bulletin made Vlad scowl darkly, the cowards drugged Daniel? "And—and the kids were planning their own attack, TOMORROW!"
Planning an attack? Vlad thought, clenching his fists with frustration. Those kids are asking for an ass kicking.
The other soldiers voices rose with excitement and fear, but Vlad silenced them with a flat hand raised high. Cow broke into sobs on the ground, Vlad's eyes becoming half lidded with pity, and his body floating upward.
"Very good, Cow. But please, stand up and get ready to fight." He stated. Cow wiped away her tears, rose slowly, and retied her blanket around her neck. Vlad faced the majority of the super powered crowd, turning slightly toward each group during his speech, speaking with ferocity and superiority. "Men, women, along with all present creatures, it is the time we must put our differences and quarrels aside. The time we've spent together has been hectic and miserable, but, we have been gathered for a reason. We must stop this Community from gathering us and those like us, and using the essences of noble living things to do unthinkable, villainous deeds. Who's to say they would not come after some of you, if that is one of your concerns, but our main purpose is to abolish this evil. We are here because we believe we were meant to make this world a better place, and I think we all agree, the world could do without Mr. Big and his capital idea of turning children into MUDERERS!"
His followers gazed up at him with much respect, faces transforming into those of unwavering warriors. The heart of a hero rising in all of them. The majestic spirit of the dying breed, the hero acclaimed for the noble sacrifices, intuition for right and wrong, known for defending the weak and upholding justice, and classic catch phrases, they were reminded that this was what they were born to do.
"I implore all who care to listen: recognize who the enemy is here, and swear that this mad man falls! May he not claim another life, OR ANOTHER CHILD'S INNOCENCE! Heroes…UNITE!"
An uproar of enthusiastic battle cries rose over the island as a multitude of the sun's rays pierced through the clouds and shone in their already bright, twinkling eyes.