Selena awoke from her fainting fit with a scream.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
"I dunno, I was bored!" Syndrome grinned.
"DON'T YOU DARE USE MY BODY AS A TOY, SYNDRONE!" Selena shuddered at the terrible image rising in her mind. Well. She would have if she hadn't been under the zero-point energy's influence. Instead, her face looked utterly grossed out, but her body showed no emotion.
"Don't CALL ME THAT!" Syndrome yelled back, and threw her into a wall.
"Fuck," Selena said, groaning. "That's right. Touchy about how your voice works." She sighed and sat against the wall, not even trying to get up. "I'll just sleep here tonight."
"There's no way you're getting me back to Ravensburg," he spat. "Not for anything in the world."
Selena took a deep breath. She needed Syndrome's mind for this new plan of hers... she sighed, and said, in the most convincing lie she had ever pulled off...
"Look, I'm sorry. You scared me, you got to understand how WRONG what you said sounded, and how it would feel to wake up motionless except for your face. I... spazzed and called you Syndrone."
"Okay, whatever. I'm still not going back."
Dammit.
"I'm not going back there as long as Rylan is there."
She closed her eyes and sighed. "I think we HAVE to have Rylan...though he doesn't do much in our plan, he gives us food and lodgings, he DOES help a bit.. as much as I hate to admit it.. and he's got Sikes- oh, fuck. Screw Sikes," Selena shook her head, as if she was trying to rid herself of something. "I know you hate Rylan. EVERYBODY hates Rylan. But we've got to endure it... because if we get caught... He can take the blame while I send you, Sikes, and Basta back to your worlds and Cyrus and I run for the hills."
She paused for a moment. "After all. He's been incarcerated for murder before."
"I'm staying with Cyrus." Syndrome bit his lip. "I've gotten to know her better recently..."
Selena sighed. "My dreams, my plans," she started, "just went up in blazes."
Good for you.
A sad smile crossed her face.
Huh? Cyrus was mildly confused.
"You'll let me stay here until morning, won't you?" She asked. "I'll go get the fiction tomorrow and come back the next day and put you both there... somehow." Selena shook her head. "I should've known it would never work."
"No, you don't get it... Cyrus is all for your plans, and... well... She isn't going to let me NOT help..."
Realising that her head shaking and nodding was more of a nodding off sensation, she closed her eyes... She thought a single word and finally went off to sleep.
Thanks.
---
The first one to wake was the supergenius.
Syndrome was mildly disoriented for a good thirty seconds after he woke. Something was wrong. Something had gone wrong in the dream.
Something had gone horribly, horribly wrong.
He could still see it! But wasn't he awake? Shouldn't the stains be gone?
But to his dismay, the red tint refused to leave his hands.
He stared at his hands, horrified.
They were stained with blood...
Her blood.
Selena mumbled a few words. "No... don't... don't... don't..."
Suddenly, she screamed out, breaking the silence. "DON'T SNEEZE!!!!"
She woke with a jolt.
"Selena!" Syndrome yelled, and rushed into her room.
Selena jerked the covers over her body. Wait. Covers?!
"I'm sorry for invading your personal space, but..." His breathing was shaky.
"What the hell is the matter?" Selena looked at the ginger. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"
"Look! Her blood is all over my hands! You were right...!"
"WHAT?! WHAT THE HELL?!" She jumped out of bed, ran towards the door, and grabbed Syndrome's wrists.
There was nothing on his hands.
She stared at Syndrome.
"Wh-what are you staring at me for? I didn't mean to! It just kind of happened!"
She looked at his hands again- for a split second, she thought she saw blood. Her mind was catching a glimpse of life through Syndrome's eyes... but she blinked and the vision was gone.
"There's nothing there, Syndrome." she dropped his hands, realizing she was still holding them. She wiped hers on her pants.
"You don't see it?" Syndrome was mortified. "That's her blood, Cyrus's blood! I killed Cyrus!"
"What's going on?" Cyrus called from behind them. "What's wrong?"
Selena jumped back a bit, but not as much as Syndrome jumped high.
All the color drained from Syndrome's face. "Y-you're dead..."
"Obviously not, she's alive and well. But I thank you for putting my thoughts on dreams into consideration," Selena pointed out.
"She's dead," Syndrome persisted. "She wouldn't be all blurry if she weren't..."
"Does Syndrome have glasses? Or contacts?" Selena asked Cyrus. "Wait-wait a minute. She's blu- check his eyes, Cyrus. I think I see the smallest tear!"
"No glasses, no contacts..." Cyrus replied. She gently touched his shoulder, but he snapped backward. "Don't touch me. I killed you. I don't deserve it..."
Selena looked at the two, and felt disgust. "I'd use the term 'get a room,' but seeing as I don't own this one, if you'd get out of the doorway, I'd appreciate it. Thanks." She grabbed her coat.
"Shut the hell up!" Syndrome shouted. "I KILLED CYRUS. Her blood is still on my hands and now I'm seeing her ghost, and you're pretending THIS ISN'T HAPPENING?!"
Selena groaned. "If only I had learned how to teleport... but that wouldn't be good right now anyway, I'd probably splinch myself."
Syndrome was angry with himself, he was very, very mournful, but most of all, he was scared. He truly hoped this wasn't really happening, that it was just an unfortunate extension of the dream sent by Selena to teach a lesson.
"Please, make it stop! I swear I'll never go after anyone again!" Syndrome pleaded.
"Make it stop?" Selena asked. "I'm not doing anything! Purposefully, anyway. If I'm doing something, I can't help it, you know how I am right now," she continued, "I have NO CONTROL. But don't swear what you just did. We need you to be able to go after those bitches, remember..."
"I-I meant in my dreams..." Syndrome was getting progressively more unstable. "This is a dream, right?!"
Selena searched his mind thoroughly. She couldn't find anything that was making him this way...
"Cyrus, how much control do you have over your powers at night?"
"Just as much as in the daytime..."
"Because I know that I can't control some things when I'm asleep..." Selena sighed.
Do you think you could illusion him to stop imagining this?
Truthfully, I don't know. I hope so, and I can try...
Please do. If it really is me, I can't do anything about it.
I don't think it is. Something just snapped because of that dream in his subconscious. Or so a little birdy told me that flew out of the hole in the fourth wall.
That hole is still there? Sweet! Erm, I mean…
"Syndrome..."
"I... Cyrus, stay away from me."
Cyrus looked hurt. "Syndrome, not even death could keep me from you, no matter how sappy that just sounded."
Selena choked. "Very," she spat out.
Shut up, Selena! I have a plan!
"Syndrome, there's a way to bring me back."
He froze.
Oh no, don't say it... Selena thought to herself.
"Just calm down... If you're on the verge of a nervous breakdown, it won't work."
"Well, it's too late for that, then."
"Listen. Just relax."
Syndrome still looked extremely apprehensive, but he at least made an attempt to regain his composure.
"Now close your eyes."
"What?"
"Close 'em. Now."
Selena shifted her weight, and turned around. She put her coat on and looked for her gloves, trying to occupy herself.
Syndrome slowly shut his eyes.
"Now keep them closed until I tell you to open them."
Cyrus concentrated on the "blood," gradually causing it to fade.
"Okay, open."
Syndrome blinked. Completely gone. The blood had vanished from his gloves.
"HAH! Found 'em." Selena said, holding HER gloves in the air like a trophy.
She did a quick pivot. "Everybody sane again? No? Good."
"You're not dead?" Syndrome asked Cyrus.
"Nope, never was. You just had a really bad dream, and your subconscious associated it with "A dream is a wish your heart makes" and... well. You kind of snapped."
He nodded. "Now what?" he asked Selena.
"What, you're asking me?" Selena asked, laughing. "Hell if I know! Go shout through the broken wall down there for some help!"
"You're supposed to be the one with the plan! We shouldn't have to ASK the authors what's supposed to happen!"
"True point, true point." Selena scratched her head. "Eureka!" She paused. "Actually, what Einstein said was, "Oh SHI-" but the science texts always leave that out... Anyway. Onward to... well. Rylan's. But I need all the help I can get on the way there, remember." She poked her head, and muttered a small ow. "I've kinda lost it."
"If you haven't noticed, we've ALL lost it. Hell, I just snapped mentally! I mean, years of Super genocide and a fucking dream sets me off? REALLY!"
Selena sighed. "It's all Rylan's fault. I can only hope Sikes isn't dead, being stuck there with him."
"Since when is a dream Rylan's fault? Unless he implanted it in my subconscious to drive me absolutely crazy... Let's go kick his ass!" Syndrome exclaimed, deciding that his theory might not be so outlandish after all.
"We're off to kill the wizard, the horrible Rylan of... something."
Cyrus was not quite sure where Rylan was from that only had one syllable.
"Well, if I'm a witch," Selena said, not getting it, "Hear, hear!"
Cyrus and Syndrome just stared.
"You just killed it, Selena."
"I thought that was the point?"
"No. It was a messed up-quote from The Wizard of Oz. They go to SEE the wizard, not kill them. But we're off to kill Rylan, so..."
"Oh. Sorry. I've only seen one musical, and not even a single movie- my mother was a telly hog," she said.
"WHAT?!" Syndrome yelled. "You mean you brought me into this universe and YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW A THING ABOUT ME?!"
"Um.. only what I read from Rylan's mind..." Selena said, anger raising. "It's funny how you don't even question my mum. But then again, you know all about it..." She growled a bit. "I knew enough that I contested reading you here. But Rylan always HAD to have his way."
"Actually..." Cyrus interjected. "Rylan's never seen The Incredibles. I just told him about it."
Selena stared at Cyrus.
"What? Whatcha staring at me for?"
"Nevermind. Let's just go."
---
"Alright, where was that store from here?" Selena asked, looking at the unfamiliar streets of Farleigh. "I know the bus drops off there… and I REALLY don't feel like walking much farther."
"I forgot," Cyrus replied. "I'm bad at that kind of stuff."
"What, seriously?" Selena groaned. "Well, let's just take a stab at it, then..." They started walking in what they hoped was the right direction. Along the way, Selena noticed a small cardboard box "Hey, catch!" She said, trying to direct the box towards Cyrus.
The box hit Syndrome in the head. "Hey! Watch where you're throwing that!"
"Oops," Selena said, with a hint of sarcasm. "Sorry, wasn't aiming for you." She tried to bring the box back to her.
The box smacked Cyrus in the back of the head. "I don't think that box is very social," Cyrus commented, rubbing her head.
Selena caught the box. "Sorry," she said, now smirking. "I told you I need hel- HEY, lookie here!" She looked ahead of them. She could see the store already. "I didn't know you lived THAT close!"
"Neither did I," Cyrus replied.
She saw the bus coming in their general direction. "HEY!" Selena thought to the bus driver, waving her hands and shouting it as well.
The bus slowed down and came to a stop. It was the same guy from yesterday!
"You, kid, have one loud voice. Nice to see ya agai- who're these guys?" The driver asked.
"I'm Cyrus," Cyrus replied. Syndrome didn't reply audibly.
"And he's Syndrome."
"Like a disease, Syndrome? What kind of hippie parents did YOU have, kid?" The driver asked. Selena snorted. "How much for the three of us?" she asked, driving off that subject.
Cyrus replied anyway. "It's a nickname, not his real name. His real name is far more embarassing in my personal opinion." Syndrome glared.
"I doubt there's anything worse than Syndrome," the driver said. Selena shuffled her feet. "Come on... We need to get off... aren't you going to be off schedule?"
"No, I'm about ten minutes ahead, actually," he said. "It's fifty cents in-town, like I've said before, but this time it's a dollar fifty for Lilyport or East Lotus, for each of you."
"What about Ravensburg?" Cyrus asked sweetly.
"What in hell's fire do you want to do there?!" The driver asked. Selena growled a bit.
"Hell's fire. EXACTLY." She attempted to lift the driver off his seat a bit.
"Irk!" The bus driver clapped his hand around his throat.
"We've got nine bucks. TAKE US TO RAVENSBURG."
"F-fine!"
Selena let go of the man mentally, and grinned inwardly. She did it right!
"Here's your nine bucks. Edge of town, Lilyport side is fine."
Selena sat down on the seat closest to the driver. "If you DON'T take us there...? Expect something worse than hell."
"Especially since you made fun of my name," Syndrome added.
Okay, Sikes…
Selena took that back quickly.
Erm. You know what I mean. I hope.
I get it. All "My Name."
About halfway to Ravensburg, Selena noticed a few adults standing on the street, waiting for the bus.
Shit. she thought to Cyrus and Syndrome.
The bus doors opened.
"Five to East Lotus," an older man said. He handed the bus driver money.
"Sir, just so you know," the driver started. Selena tightened her grip on his throat mentally. He coughed, and Selena let go. "... We have some priority passengers today. It will take a bit longer than it would normally. However, the next bus is arriving here in about five minutes, which is shorter than it will take to get back to East Lotus. I recommend waiting," he said.
"No, I don't mind, do any of you?" The man waited. "No, none of us mind. We're in no big hurry."
The group of five boarded the bus. One man, looking to be a bit over thirty, and four women that seemed to be from fifty to eighty, sat behind the three villains, unaware of the danger they were in.
One of the women spoke up. "You three seem a little YOUNG to be out on your own, don't you think? Especially during a school day!"
"I'm TWENTY-THREE!" Syndrome yelled to himself.
Another woman commented on Syndrome's hair under her breath. "Young whippersnappers. Always doing crazy things to themselves. Did I tell you about my granddaughter who pierced her belly button?"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT SYNDROME'S HAIR?!" Cyrus screamed.
The four women jumped and then chattered away about 'kids these days,' and the man smirked slightly. "Calm down, kid. What did you call him?"
"His name is Syndrome," Cyrus said with an eye twitch. "You want to make something of it?"
"No, no! And neither do any of these ladies here. They've never been to a costume convention before, so they have no idea. Syndrome from The Incredibles, huh? Interesting choice," the man said.
"Costume convention! HAH!" Cyrus laughed. "Oh, yeah, costume convention," she added quickly. "I'm... um. Gardenia. From Pokemon."
"My son used to love Pokemon. Now he's fourteen and he's 'too old' for it," He smiled sadly. "Kids grow up too fast. And how about you? You don't look at all familiar?" He asked Selena.
"Erm. Nothing you'd know of. It's a rather obscure character." Selena said. This was going to be a loong ride.
For Selena, maybe. But Cyrus had found out that this guy knew about Syndrome. And she proceeded to fangirl about Syndrome RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM.
---
Selena's eyes had been glued to the window for most of the ride. Lucky her, being squished against the bus, however, Syndrome had fallen off of his seat several times during the ride, so it wasn't AS bad. She saw a familiar street.
"...and really, he knew what he was doing! That's why Mirage is stupid."
The man nodded. "That makes sense. You haven't really converted me to be a Syndrome fan yet, sorry, but I see your views."
Selena saw a view too. Another familiar street. She pulled the string hanging from the window, and the bus came to a stop.
"Well, we're here," Selena said.
"Maybe I'll see you guys again," the man said as the three stood up. Selena smirked.
"Yeah, maybe in a breaking-news story about how three people dressed up got lost trying to find a costume convention... or something to that effect," she said. She winked at Cyrus, and then they got off the bus.
"Wow," Cyrus said as she stretched. "I haven't ranted like that for at least a year."
"I could believe it. You talked that guy's ear off... I feel sorry for the in-mates near you in jail," Selena said.
"You would," Cyrus said disapprovingly.
"I was thiiiiiiis close to killing that guy and then those ladies to cover for it," Selena said, holding her fingers about a half an inch apart. "If he hadn't said Costume Con, I would've."
She started to walk towards the alleys.
Selena looked back at Cyrus and Syndrome. "Are you coming, or am I going to have to drag you two?"
Cyrus blinked and followed. Syndrome rolled his eyes.
Selena ran through the twists and the turns of the old alleyway system. It made her feel alive again...Right until she knocked on Rylan's door and Sikes opened it.
"Wot the bloody 'ell 'ave we got 'ere?" Sikes shouted. "Why, it's the Witch!"
Selena growled. "Minus her powers." She looked behind her.
"Tell Rylan I've met his requirements... They're back a little ways, more than likely eating something besides food," Selena said, shuddering. Sikes shut the door in Selena's face.
Cyrus snuck up behind Selena and dopeslapped her. "We weren't snogging, shaddup."
Rylan opened the door to find Selena, Cyrus, and a VERY choleric-looking Syndrome.
"I've done it," Selena said. She checked herself and added, "I've brought them here."
"So I see," Rylan said, annoyed.
Selena sensed the pissed off nature... how could she help it? Her powers were haywire...
"What, have I interrupted something between you and Sikes?" Selena said, taking the annoyance and throwing it back at him.
"No. I was hoping that you weren't coming back. I didn't expect Syndrome to agree to come back..."
"But you expected me to FIND them? Especially after being passed out for HOW LONG? Out in the middle of NOWHERE? WITHOUT MY POWERS?"
"Actually, I was mildly hoping you had died."
Selena snorted. "I'm too evil to die. Thought you'd learned that one."
"Well, I can hope, can't I?"
"Well, then, if you're going to be that way, I'll just set flame to your house instead and call it even," Selena said, then looked at Cyrus. "You have a match handy?"
Cyrus grinned. "Boy, do I!" She pulled out a Colt Python. "Whoops, that's not it." "Holy shit, where did you get THAT thing?" Selena said, in shock.
"Um... somewhere..." Cyrus replied sheepishly.
She then proceeded to pull out a full matchbook and three lighters.
"Hah, thanks!" Selena took the matchbook and a lighter.
"You are NOT setting my house on fire," Rylan protested.
"Why shouldn't I?" Selena asked, taking a match out.
"Because it would be rather unfortunate for your allies to... say, turn against you and beat the living hell out of you, now wouldn't it?"
"Syndrome may hate me, but Cyrus would never beat me up," Selena said. "Besides. He wouldn't hate me for setting your house ablaze." She struck the match. It didn't catch.
Damn.
"Are you brain-dead? You've forgotten my abilities? It doesn't matter if they don't want to. It only matters if I tell them to."
"How the hell could I forget that?" She said, striking it again. It again didn't light.
"Third time's the charm," she muttered.
"Then why are you still striking matches?" Rylan asked smugly.
Selena struck it for the third time and it caught. "Because," she started, "'what's the matter with a little drop of danger every now and then?'" She shook her head. "No, that's not the right quote... Eh. Nevermind. It's because you don't think I could do it."
Rylan leaned forward and blew out the match, just to spite her. "I know you could do it, but you aren't going to."
"FUCK YOU!" Selena screamed. She put the lighter to the match. It didn't light. "You spit all over it!" Selena realised.
"Didn't want you to try to light it again." He snickered.
Selena clicked the lighter and waved it in front of his face. "Too bad you can't spit THIS out."
He sent a glance Cyrus's way. "No, I can't. But Cyrus could always put it out."
Cyrus, under Rylan's control, made an attempt to trip Selena.
Selena jumped. She was ready for anything. "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick! Jack jumped over the candlestick!"
Rylan turned to Syndrome with exactly the wrong timing.
Rylan's eyes met Syndrome's in the same instant that Syndrome turned on Rylan.
Rylan was consumed in a green light and Syndrome was frozen in place.
Selena looked at Rylan. "What the fuck...?" She turned around and saw Syndrome's now-green eyes.
"Well, this is a paradox if I ever saw one... "