Well, here's the second half of that infamous Chapter Five I've been bragging about! Hope you like it as much as I did.
R&R Pleez!
Does Firegirl really exist? No. So do you really think I own LoSH? No.
Chapter Five: Darkness Rises
Part Two: Darkness Within
Firegirl felt someone shaking her, and she opened her eyes blearily. "Firegirl! We've got big trouble!" Brainy was shaking her and shouting in her ear. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What." She hissed. She was sooo tired; she felt like she hadn't slept in weeks even though she just woke up.
"There have been reports of a strange creature roaming the streets of New Metropolis." He said, and she managed to crack an eye open.
"What kind of creature?"
He pulled out a piece of paper; it was a photograph caught by a security camera. Firegirl took a look at it and shivered. It was a huge monster with reddish brown fur and evil looking red eyes.
"Were they able to capture it?" He shook his head. "It was last sighted at about one in the morning headed our way, but then it disappeared." She stood up, ignoring the head rush she got. "So are we putting out patrols to look for it?" He shook his head. "We have no idea what this is. It could be an escapee from a zoo, one of Dr. Londo's experiments, an undiscovered species of alien, a mutated known creature; the list goes on and on." She nodded, trying to make the spots in front of her eyes go away.
"Are you feeling well? You look like you're sick." Brainy observed, obviously concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine." She lied. He left to let her get ready, and then they headed down to the briefing room for more information.
The room was spinning, and Firegirl felt as if there was a wild animal pounding inside her head, trying to get out. It almost seemed like she was fighting that animal, trying desperately to keep it locked away, keep it from escaping. She sat through the briefing in the back of the room, her hand pressed over her eyes to keep the headache under control. After Cosmic Boy finished speaking, the Legionnaires filed out.
A pair of gold boots appeared in Firegirl's downcast vision, and she looked up wearily. Lightning Lad was standing there, his electric blue eyes concerned. "You ok Fireball? You seem less Fiery then usual." She didn't even have the energy to laugh sarcastically at his pun, and she shook her head. He sat down beside her, his eyes watching the other Legionnaires as they walked past. Soon they were the only ones left.
"You look terrible." He said, gently resting his gloved hand on her shoulder. She nodded weakly. "I feel terrible. I have a horrible headache, I feel like I haven't slept in a week and I'm sore all over." She said. She suddenly wondered why she was telling Lightning Lad instead of Brainy. Then she realized; Brainy was working hard on solving this mystery, and he didn't need to have to worry about her being sick as well. He rubbed her shoulder soothingly, like her mom used to do when she was sick.
"I wonder if it could be something to do with the cold. Sun Boy has been under the weather as well, just like he is every winter."
She shook her head. "No, I love the cold. It's something else. I- I…" she stopped, not sure she should tell him everything. "What?" His eyes were so brotherly, so understanding and compassionate she couldn't stop the words. "I feel like my body is a cage! Like there's something—something dark and dangerous and evil— deep inside of me. And it's trying to get out. But I don't know if I can hold it in forever." She dropped her head into her arms. "It sounds pretty bad." He said.
She smiled dryly; he wasn't pretending everything was ok the way Brainy might. He was just telling it to her the way it was. She nodded, and felt a pair of large arms wrap around her. She turned and let him embrace her; the warmth and safety of his arms made her feel protected, and she felt as if the thing inside her might run away. 'Go you evil thing!' She thought fiercely. 'I have my big brother, and he will protect me! So go before he comes after you!'
But then he let go of her, and she felt the presence in her head again, pounding harder than ever to get out. She clenched her jaw and forced it back down, just enough to be able to concentrate. "Are you going to be ok? I can ask Saturn Girl to do a mind sweep; maybe this is a mental thing that can be dispelled." He suggested.
She gritted her teeth and shook her head. "No. We don't need to drag anyone else into this. It's probably just some passing illness. I'll be fine." He shrugged and stood up, offering her his hand. She let him help her stand and walked wearily to her post at the Monitor.
Brainy frowned at the picture of the creature; it most certainly had something around its neck. He enlarged it and zoomed in on the item, but the monster's shoulder was blocking his view. "Sprock." He muttered under his breath, cursing his bad luck.
He heard footsteps, and he turned around. Firegirl was walking down the hall, looking as if she didn't feel well at all. He turned to go and ask her about it, but then a small girl dashed in. "Brainy! I found one of the people who saw it up close!" Violet exclaimed, leading the boy with blonde hair who had reminded him about Valentine's Day. He looked dazed, as if he wondered what he was doing here.
"Please, have a seat." Brainy said, motioning at a chair. This was a very pressing matter; he decided he would find out what was wrong with Firegirl later.
As night fell, Firegirl dropped into bed, dead tired. She closed her eyes and willed sleep to take her. She had barely closed her eyes when she began to dream. The nightmares plagued her, but she could never remember why they were so scary.
A few minutes later, the window banged against the wall, open to the wind of the night.
Brainy sighed and rubbed his eyes; it was very late, and this case was going nowhere. He left Computo to shut down the Legion tower and crawled into bed. His room was right through the wall to Firegirl's, and he could hear the soft music that always put her to sleep playing faintly. Then he thought he heard a crash, and he sat up. Was someone trying to break into Firegirl's room? He mentally slapped himself; how could anyone get into the Legion Tower? The windows could only be opened by someone on the inside.
He decided it was his imagination and lay back down to sleep.
Several weeks passed the same way; Brainy completely involved in the case of the Creature, which continued to appear each night. It also managed to always evade all attempts to capture it. Firegirl was as sick as ever, and she had been relieved of all duties until she got better. She spent most of her time in her room, trying to sleep but waking every hour from nightmares, sweating with her heart pounding in fear. It was one of few evenings when she had finally been able to fall asleep when Brainy burst through the door.
"Firegirl, wake up!" he called, shaking her shoulder. She cracked an eye open. "Yes?"
He held up a folder and shook it urgently. "Someone was attacked last night!!!" She shot up in bed, but had to pull the quilt around her as she shivered. "What? The Creature again?" He nodded, and his eyes had an odd look in them. He was keeping something from her. "The man it attacked had a camera with him. He managed to get a pretty good shot of the face and upper torso before it chewed him up."
She winced. "Did he… I mean, is he…" Brainy shook his head. "He'll live, but he suffered severe slashes from those claws." She shivered and noticed he wasn't meeting her eyes. "What did you find?" She asked. He handed her a picture out of the folder. She looked down at it and her hand flew to the hollow of her throat- where the necklace rested. "It looks like… but it can't be… it's my…" Her fingers curled around the necklace and she looked up with a frightened expression.
"It's my necklace!"
Brainy nodded solemnly. "It would appear so. But what I don't understand is everything else." Suddenly his eyes lit up in fear. "You've been tired and sore, as if you've been exercising all night." She shrugged. "I was, but I feel much better then I did a week ago. But I'm still so tired…" She sighed and nestled deeper into the blankets, trying to escape his stricken gaze. "I'm not sure what this indicates. But, if I could just run a few tests on the necklace…" Her eyes widened, as if the idea greatly alarmed her.
"No! I, I mean, it would be bad luck. And I really don't want to part with it." She said hastily, pulling the quilt higher. Brainy darted around behind her, and his hand wrapped around her wrist. "Please! If this is all adding up to what I believe it is…" He trailed off, his eyes falling on her arms as the quilt dropped from around her shoulders. She looked down too, and realized that he was staring at her hand.
Her fingers were stained with dried blood.
Brainy flinched away, eyes widening. He dropped her hand, backing up. "Were you aware that you were the Creature?" He asked, staying a safe distance away, his hand on his blaster cannon. "I would have told someone, told you—"
"Would you? You always think you can handle anything and everything! You never ask for help, even when you need it! How long have you known?!" He demanded, pulling his gun from its holster.
Firegirl began to get angry. "Yes, I knew. I've known I was the creature since I started remembering the nightmares. I would wake up and remember nightmares of running on rooftops and screaming people. And my pajamas would be lying on the floor, and somehow I would be wearing a different pair. And my hands were scratched from running on paws that weren't broken in yet. But they got stronger." She ended in a deadly tone.
"Strong enough to nearly kill a man?"
She jerked her head up, tears forming in her eyes. "I didn't mean to! I'm hardly even aware when I am transformed, I didn't have any choice—"
He had suddenly lunged for her, his fingers wrapping around the stone on her neck. A many-colored bolt of something stronger then electricity lanced up his arm, and he cried out, letting go and falling to the floor. He held his arm to his chest, trying to stop the burning sensation that was rippling up and down his body. Firegirl was standing now, her eyes turning a fiery shade of red and her body bulging oddly. The light from outside had faded as night fell. As he sat there dumbfounded on the floor, the demonic red eyes of a monster turned for a moment to the sapphire blue of his love. She managed to whisper one word.
"Run."
And then a howl ripped from her throat and the blue irises and pupils faded to be replaced by solid angry red. Brainy scrambled up and shot out the door, sliding across the metal flooring as she snarled and hurled the metal door, freshly ripped off its sliders, after him. It missed, but as it slid it hit him in the leg and made him crumple to the ground. The other Legionnaires all heard the commotion and came running. Violet was the first one there, and she helped Brainy stand.
"You're shaking like a leaf! What on earth happened?" She asked, holding his trembling green hand in her pale steady one. "Fi-fi-fireg-g-girl!" He managed to gasp out. "What's wrong? Is she alright?" Another voice said, and then Lightning Lad was kneeling beside them as well.
Brainy shook his head, holding down a cry of pain as his whole body cried out from the feeling of fire that was raging through his nervous system. "Her necklace… The creature… Her dreams…" He tried to stammer out the story, but the pain and the shock from the bolt of multi-colored energy and the terror of seeing the creature so close made it impossible to speak. He felt Violet stroking his hand and felt his racing heart calm a bit. He realized what might have to be done and almost collapsed. "Did you tell her about the attack? She might have some idea about what the creature is." Bouncing Boy said from behind them. Brainy shook his head.
"No." He looked up weakly, meeting the worried eyes of his comrades with a defeated feeling.
"Firegirl is the Creature."
The whole Legion burst through the doors and flew out into the night, searching for their transformed friend. Violet and Brainy flew over the west side of town. As they flew over Valentine Park, Brainy felt hot tears stinging his eyes. He brushed them away, but not before Violet saw them. "We'll get her back, Brainy." She said and reached over, hesitantly taking his hand in hers. He did not respond; he simply let her hold his limp hand and lead him on the search.
Lightning Lad was the one who found her. He was shooting over the city as fast as he could, calling her name into the night air. Suddenly a flash of something abnormal even for the 31st century snatched his attention, and he turned just in time to shout in surprise and fear.
A huge and terrifying creature had leaped off the nearest skyscraper, and its paws hit him square in the chest. They both went down, hitting the pavement hard and skidding to a halt across the asphalt before coming to a halt in City Park. He staggered up, his normal arm that he had slid across the pavement on scraped and bleeding. The Creature leaped up, snarling, with long tendrils of saliva dripping onto the pavement as it panted.
"Firegirl! Calm down. I want to help you." Lightning Lad said softly, holding out his hand. She shot around behind him and bowled him over. He sprawled into a somersault and struggled to get up. "Everyone, I found her. We're on Main Street!" He managed to gasp into his flight ring. She swiped at his leg, and he felt a tendon snap, followed by a screaming wall of pain. He went down hard, crumpling into a helpless heap on the ground. The Creature stood over him, paw raised for the killing blow.
"NO! Brogyn, don't!!"
Brainy was suddenly standing in front of Lightning Lad, arms thrown out protectively. "You have to fight the darkness, Firegirl! This is not who you are!" He realized he had taken those words from Superman, long ago when he had been the one out of control and his friend was trying to save him. Whatever he said, it had a dramatic effect. She backed away as the other Legionnaires landed around them. They closed in, surrounding and trapping her. He moved towards her to calm her, but she turned and slammed her paw against his side. He flew into the air and hit the side of the nearest building hard. There was the unmistakable and sickening crack of breaking bones, and he slid to the ground and didn't move.
The Legion was shocked into a standstill, staring at the motionless body of Brainy and the huge form of Firegirl. She let out a piercing howl that made even Timber Wolf wince. She stood over him, head cocked as if deciding whether to eat him or just slice him in half with her claws.
As she extended her right paw to destroy him, he groaned and opened his eyes. He looked up and saw his demise waiting above him, and his expression turned to one of sheer terror. He flung his arms over his head and cried out, expecting the cruelest kind of death to claim him; killed by one he loved. But the paw raised to smite him lowered, and he looked up fearfully. The Creature was looking down with an oddly human expression, and when he met her eyes he found himself looking into a sea of horrified blue. The Creature backed away and stumbled to the wall of the nearest building, her form shifting oddly. She supported herself against it as she slowly began to change back into her human form.
As the red fur gave way to curly blonde hair, she slid down the wall and began to cry. She was now wearing a tattered pair of pajamas, and her shaking hands and feet were turning blue as she crouched in the snow. Brainy stood up, wincing as he tried to put weight on his right leg. He hobbled over and knelt beside Firegirl. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, and she was sobbing. He touched her shoulder, and she looked over her shoulder at him, her tear-streaked face afraid.
"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I never meant to hurt anyone, I swear I didn't—" She was cut off as he grabbed her in his arms and pulled her to him in a tight hug. She flung her arms around his waist and sobbed into his shoulder, her whole body shaking with the force of her tears. He held her fiercely and buried his face in her wild curls.
The other Legionnaires were standing behind them looking at each other confusedly. Saturn Girl had taken Lightning Lad back to HQ to fix his leg, despite his protests. Nemesis Kid was comforting a shaking Shrinking Violet, his arms wrapped protectively around her small form as she cried into his chest in relief. Karate Kid and Chameleon Boy were standing in the snow looking very worried, their eyes straining to see over Brainy's shoulder. After a few moments, she stood up and wiped the tears away.
"I'm sorry I put you all through this. But I'm going to end it right here, right now."
Her fingers curled around the stone at her neck, and her eyes hardened with steely resolve. She jerked her hand hard, and the chain snapped, sending little bits of gold and silver chain spraying into the snow. She turned toward the large lake in the middle of City Park, her eyes sweeping across it. She cocked her arm and hurled the stone as hard as she could into the water. It made a tiny splash and a faint twinkle before sinking to its watery grave, where no one would ever be bothered by it again. She turned back around and slung Brainy's arm over her shoulder, helping him stand on his broken ankle. She faced her fellow Legionnaires with head held high.
"Come on guys; let's go home."
To be continued…
You know, considering how Firegirl is technically a D.C Universe Version of me...You'd really think I would get less joy out of making her life miserable. XD Review pleez! The Infamous Chapter 6 coming soon! ~Firegirl~