Chapter 10: Suppression
Upon her hazel eyes opening, the only object which stood in her sight line was a lone white door. With zero hesitation, she made it her priority to open that door, only to discover another soon after as she did so. Yet the word quit had no ill effect on her, regardless of how many doors she may open. And yet only a minor convenience gave her a sense of panic; the sound of chattered cackling, a cackling she could only ponder about until the final door in her path reveal a choir of familiar villains, their laughter a horrid yet harmonious sound.
And who else to lead the charge but Cree, a smug smile lay ever present upon her beautiful face, a smug smile which she remained confused by. Or at least, she remained ignorant until the dreadlocks teen lifted up a mirror to reveal to her confused looking sister, revealing nearly a spitting image of herself in the mirror. And yet despite such notions, her hazel could only showcase fear as opposed to joy; her hands quivered, her face lost its colour, even her lips began to tremble before she unleashed a blood curdling scream atop the harmonious laughter.
"Doushtano Abby-sama", asked the quiet voice that awoke Abigail from her disturbed slumber, the concerned expression upon Alex's face enough to sooth her before she opened her mouth to speak.
"Oh, sorry about that girl, Numbuh 5 was just off in dreamland", replied the exhausted Abigail, rubbing her hazel before commencing to put her hands behind her head soon after.
"Still sounded pretty intense though...Oh, was it the one where you go to school in August, and you haven't done your homework and the whole class is laughing at you. And then you stop to realize; I don't EVER go to school in August, and we're not even living in Japan", Alex asked, her concerned tone becoming rather animated in such a short amount of time.
"Ah, somethin' like that", the braided girl casually replied, yet a quick glance at her aura colour revealed to the mutant brunette the true intent of such words.
"Oh, I see...sorry about that", she said in a genuinely apologetic tone.
"Ah don't worry about it girl", she replied casually as her eyes remained ever fixated upon the cloudy sky. " This day just won't go by fast, will it?
"Guess not...I got to say though, it feels kind of relaxing actually", the curly brunette replied in mild enthusiasm.
"Relaxin'", her black friend asked in surprise.
"Yeah, it kind of reminds me of my days back home in Canada", she explained, her friend observant in her mannerisms in this current state.
"I mean sure, I like goin' on missions as much as the next guy, but...Sometimes a small dollop of nature's beauty is all it takes to remind you the wonders life has to offer...It feels peaceful...tranquil...as if the world has stopped spinning fore a mere moment", the mutant brunette calmly narrated, her words enough to release a small chuckle from her spunky looking friend.
"I swear girl, one of these days you goin' te' end up a poet", the spunky black girl replied, a chuckle ever so present as she spoke, even catching the attention of her embarrassed looking friend.
"Oh, I don't know about that; a poet doesn't really suit me...Oh, but a writer does though, especially an abnormally geeky writer", the young brunette excitedly cited with glee.
Yet blissfully unaware was she of the almost deadpan look upon her wise friend's face, the uncertainty, even the disbelief reflected in her hazel eyes as they remained transfixed on the cloud ridden sky once more.
"Say Alex...you think people change that quickly", asked the curious sounding Abigail as she caught her surprised looking friend off guard.
"Oh...well...I don't know; it's not something that crosses my mind very often", there nervous sounding Alex explained.
"Yeah, but let's say ye' had te'; how much do ye' think a person would change", she asked as she sat herself upon the grassy hill, hugging her legs in the process as she did.
"Well, I can't say I deny it; there are those who grow, and those who don't, the end result is only the mere pre-determination ones actions take", the mutant brunette said in a rather observant tone, blissfully unaware of the dark anger growing upon Abigail's soft face.
"So it's just some means to an end, isn't it", she asked rather darkly, catching the attention of her friend before she heaved a deep sigh in realization.
"You just want this day to be over as much as anyone else, don't you", she asked in a low yet concerned tone before enduring a beat of silence.
"Who wouldn't", the black skinned girl asked rather darkly, her response enough to endure concerned looking puppy dog eyes from her mutant friend before she heaved a heavy sigh once more.
"I wish you wouldn't let this get to you...you did a heroic thing back there...", the mutant girl sincerely replied, prompting anger to swirl inside the spunky girl before she turned to face her friend in anger.
"What are ye' tryin' ta' say girl", she asked rather angrily, prompting suspicion to form upon her friend's freckled face.
"Nothing...all I'm saying is that you did a heroic thing by-"
"Yeah, well don't even bother", the braided beauty angrily dismissed, unaware of the angered look forming upon her friend's face as she did so.
"Look, maybe you don't want to acknowledge it, but I do! Do you know how many people would willingly save their friend first if it meant-"
"Yeah, and look where that got ya'll; you lost it and almost destroyed the Convention Center before goin' ta' hunt down Grandfather, Nigel practically started doubtin' himself, Hoagie didn't know what ta' make of it, and Wally and Kuki-"
"But you can't just hold a gun to your head as if to say "I give up", the important thing is to accept it and move on-"
"Oh right, and I'm sure it's easy fo' you ta' just forget all the crud you meant through", Abigail asked as she turned to face her friend, her angry hazel eyes and expression enough to leave the mutant girl in stunned silence as she proved unable to answer, even as a heavy sigh escaped her throat.
"I'm sorry Alex...It's just hard fo' me...I mean, if I had my way...I would've punched that old geezer...And I couldn't even bring myself ta' do that...I mean...Is that what it feels like to feel superior...", the black beauty asked in a calm yet uncertain tone, the very thought of her cackling sister enough to further tense her rough hands.
Yet, the feel of a soft, almost delicate hand proved enough to surprise the braided beauty as she turned to face her curly haired friend; her eyes misty, even watery as she spoke.
"Don't say that...Please don't say that...", she began as her voice began to heighten, thoroughly absorbing her surprised looking friend's attention.
"The Abby-sama I know is kind...the Abby-sama I know is loyal...the Abby-sama I know always puts her friends first and never hesitates to do the right thing, even if we're the ones who end up hurt in the end...See?... You don't need to hate yourself...You don't need to be afraid of change...
"If anything...I'm the one who should hate myself for...", was all she could say before turning away from her surprised yet seemingly concerned looking friend.
"Oh, come on girl; there's nothin' you need ta' feel ashamed of", the black beauty tried to explain as the mutant girl turned her attention towards her once more.
"But I have a legacy I can never live down; it's bad enough that he almost stole everything I've ever worked so hard for...but to know that that man and I are so similar...", was all the mutant girl could muster as she stared at her shivering hands.
"It just...It just...", was all she could muster before she found her quivering hand smother her face, her body shaking violently as her muffled wailing began.
Truthfully; a sight which carved concern upon the Abigail's face and make her bottom lip quiver. Truthfully; such a sight itself was all it took to bring her to her knees before she caressed her wailing friend into a tight hug.
"Oh, it's gonna be okay girl...It's gonna be okay", the motherly girl said in a tone of attempted calmness, concern ever so laced upon her face as she slowly stroked the back of her wailing friend.
Yet only could her hazel widen as a breath of revelation overcame her; a revelation of character, a revelation of growth and understanding, a revelation that could only paint her once uncertain face with subtle happiness.
"I'm sorry Abby-sama; I just needed to get that off my chest", the young brunette spoke as she wiped her own tears on her sleeve, unaware of the now blissfully happy looking Abigail.
"Ah, it's okay...Besides...Numbuh 5 thinks she just needed a breather too...", the motherly black girl replied, her casual tone enough to calm the nerves of her mutant friend as she felt the girl's aura returning to normal.
Indeed, such sweet revelation could only be followed by a calming silence, one that unfortunately seemed too good to last as the motherly black girl opened her mouth to speak.
"Let's face it though, if I should be feelin' sorry fo' anybody, it'd probably be Numbuh 1", Abigail casually spoke, prompting her mutant friend to witness their bald leader struggling to reel in a stubborn fish.
"Oh yeah, I can only imagine what the hell he's going through right now...I only hope he took my advice", Alex replied, her concern tone quick to morph into bluntness.
"We can only hope", the braided beauty replied in a very similar tone herself.
"Yeah...Still, it's just too bad we can't turn this into a day for good memories", the curly haired girl said rather casually, unaware that such words had sparked a sparkle in Abigail's hazel eyes.
"Wait, say that again", she asked, her enthusiasm surprising her friend in the long run.
"Okay...I said "it's too bad that we can't turn this into a day for good memories"...why", she asked rather suspiciously, even as her friend stared at her with such a perpetual looking smile.
"Alex...yo' genius is showing", the spunky black girl teasingly replied.
"Really?...Wait how", the mutant girl asked in suspicion once more.
"Well it's like ya' said; if he can't think of any good memories, than we'll just bring the good memories ta' him", she replied, her spunk and enthusiasm enough to finally send a signal off to her suspicious looking friend.
"Oh, I get it; we'll throw him a surprise party", she happily remarked. "Wait, won't that cause confusion if his birthday's not for another few months?"
"Ah, we'll cross that bridge when we get there", the Abigail casually stated. "Now, how are we gonna sneak away if we need ta' get back ta' the tree house."
"Makasete", Alex whispered with a wink to her friend, all the while uttering the Japanese phrase for" leave it to me" as she stood on her feet after so long.
"Yo, Nigel-kun", she cheerfully shouted, catching the bald leader's undivided attention almost immediately.
"Two-Seventy-Three, I'm kind of in the middle of something here if you don't mind", Nigel shouted, his frustration ever so clear through his thick British accent.
"Well fine by me, but I think Abby-sama's feeling a little under the weather...In fact to think of it, I think Kuki-chan's feeling the same way as well", she began, talking a mile a minute as her tone changed from arrogant to observant, giving her spunky friend enough time to catch on before she placed her hand to her head.
"Oh yeah...Numbuh 5 ain't feelin' so good", she chimed in, allowing for her leader to raise an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Really? How long has this been going on", he asked, suspicion clear in his tone as he did.
"Oh, uh...maybe a few hours or so, you know I can't ever keep track of time when those dizzy spells take over", she casually replied, throwing in a fake cough as she observed his suspicion looking expression.
"Are you really that sick", the bald boy asked, his suspicion ever still lingering in his tone.
"Yes", the duo replied in harmonious unison, their uncertainty ever so ringing in their tones as they patiently awaited his suspicious face to soften. Sure enough, a small sigh was all it took before he opened his mouth once more.
"Alright then. Take care guys", the bald leader replied, his frustrated tone ever present in his tone as he sat back down in the rickety boat once more.
"Yes! Thanks Nigel-kun! See ya later", the mutant girl happily remarked as the duo took their leave, taking caution until they found their leader's ever watchful eye out of reach.
"That was close", Abigail remarked ever bluntly.
"Yeah, no kidding...Well anyway, we got to figure out how to organize this thing; I mean, you and I can be in charge of food, but I don't know what else we can do to keep everyone busy other than decorations", Alex observantly remarked as she talked a mile a minute, her cheery attitude enough to surprise her usually calm friend.
"Well, you certainly perked up in no time", she casually remarked.
"Well of course; after all, organizing a party is half the fun of having a party. Now come on, let's go get Wallabe-kun and Kuki-chan", she cheerfully remarked, surprising the spunky black girl ever more as she took off with her hand in hand.
At first, surprise could only overtake the usually silent Abigail, yet that unexpected dash, the cheerful nature, even the attitude towards such a passion, it couldn't help but make her laugh ever so.
End chap. 10