Last time we witnessed multiple methods of the death of Diaspro, but in the end, Sally-Ann captured the madwoman. On with the show!
Chapter 12: Things Said and Unsaid
Within a few minutes of Sally-Ann's news, all of our heroes had gathered back at The Night Rider, waiting for the bounty hunter to deliver her catch.
"I've alerted the Galaxy Police," said Brandon, "They should be here soon to take everyone's statement."
"That's a good idea," said Helia, "We're lucky to have done as much as we did without getting into trouble."
Just then Sally-Ann emerged from the house, dragging the bound and unconscious Diaspro.
"One spoiled brat," said Sally-Ann, "bagged and tagged." She deposited the out cold Diaspro in front of Bloom and Sky for their approval.
"What now?" asked Flora.
"I'll tell you what now," said Julie as she cocked her riffle, "I'm gonna send this pathetic excuse for a human being straight to Hell!!" She aimed her riffle at Diaspro's head and readied to pull the trigger.
"No!" said Bloom.
"I'm sorry," said Carmen, "But did I just hear you say 'no?'"
"You heard me right," said Bloom, "I don't want Julie, or anyone to kill Diaspro."
"Are you out of your f#ck$ng mind!?!!" exclaimed Julie, "Diaspro brainwashed you and Sky, kidnapped the two of you, forced him through an horrific ordeal, with you watching, then tried to drown you!"
"I know," said Bloom, "But that's still no reason to kill her."
"I agree with Bloom," said Sky, "Diaspro doesn't deserve to die."
"Have the two of you gone completely sideways!?!!" said Morgan, "This is Diaspro we're talking about here."
"Have you forgotten already?" asked Julie, "She used my face to hurt you! She deserves a thousand and one deaths!!"
"I know what she did," said Sky, "But that's still no reason to kill her. Diaspro is a highly disturbed woman who needs help."
"Disturbed is the least that she is," said Stella, "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Maybe the whole experience has messed with their heads," said Musa.
"They're fine," said Aaron, "I've examined them."
"That still doesn't solve our problem," said Violet, "What to do with Diaspro?"
"I happen to agree with Bloom and Sky," said Flora, "Diaspro needs help." Helia, Layla, Tatewaki, Tecna and Timmy nodded in agreement.
"You may want to be merciful," said Carmen to Bloom, "But I say that we should just kill the psycho bitch and get it over with." Morgan, Elise, Stella, Brandon, Tenchi, Kodatchi and Shampoo nodded in agreement.
"This could get out of hand," said Andrew, "Somebody decide something quick."
"What say you, Max," said Virgil, "Should we kill Diaspro, or make sure she gets the help she needs?"
"That's the problem," said Max, "Half of me wants to destroy her completely, the other half wants to see her locked up in a padded room."
"Well somebody should decide for all of you," said Michael, "The crazy one is waking up." Indeed Diaspro was starting to move again.
"How about we let Sally-Ann decide," said Jill, "She did catch Diaspro. Is that satisfactory for everyone?" After a few seconds everyone nodded.
"Then I say we turn her over to the proper authorities," said Sally-Ann, "Besides, enough blood has been spilled today."
"You should have killed me when you had the chance," said a groggy Diaspro, "Because I'll never quench my desire for revenge. You Earth people have just added your names to my vengeance list, you freaks, you Mutants!!"
"That does it!!" exclaimed Steve as he activated his power pole, "I'll have her dead in ten seconds!!"
"No!!" shouted Sally-Ann, "This is my call!" She then faced Diaspro and looked her square in the eye. "You think your head hurts now, Diaspro? Keep using that language with my friends and I'll break your jaw, so just shut up and listen."
With that Diaspro had Sally-Ann's full attention. "Good," said Sally-Ann, "Now here's the situation. Under normal circumstances, you would be as dead as BBQ Chicken. But you happened to pull this sh$t while I'm in the middle of a transitional period, so I'm not going to kill you, I want to help you. Tell me, are you a religious person?"
"Not much," answered Diaspro, "What's that got to do with anything?"
"I'm not that religious myself," said Sally-Ann, "But there's this one passage in The Bible that I've always enjoyed saying, Ezekiel 25:17. 'The Path of the righteous is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,' or in this case, women.
"'Blessed are they, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherd the weak through the valley of darkness, for they truly are their brothers and sisters keepers, and the finders of lost children.
"'And I shall strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, those who attempt to destroy my brothers and sisters, and you shall know my name is The Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon thee.'
"Now if this whole mess had happened a week ago, I would have just shot you in the face, but that's not going to happen. You see, I've been saying those words for a long time, but I've never thought about what they really mean and how they apply to my life.
"I would like to believe, in this situation, that I represent the righteous, Bloom and Sky are the weak, you're the evil, and Mr. 12-gage here," she indicated her shotgun, "He's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass through the valley of darkness.
"Or maybe, I'm the shepherd, Bloom and Sky are the lost children, and it's the whole f#ck$ng universe that's evil and selfish, and you're just a product of it. But that's not the truth. Do you want to know what the truth is, Diaspro?"
The madwoman hesitated for a second before answering, "Yes."
"The truth is," said Sally-Ann, "that Bloom and Sky are both the righteous and the lost children. And for the two of us; you, Diaspro, are the weak, and I am a product of the tyranny of evil men and women. But I'm trying, Diaspro, I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd." With that she flicked the safety on for her shotgun, "That's all I have to say."
Fifteen minutes our heroes handed Diaspro over to The Galaxy Police. They would later hear that she was placed under intense psychiatric care.
"Well that was a waste of everyone's time," said Riven.
"You can say that again," agreed Layla.
"Say, Sky," said Brandon, "Weren't you going to ask Bloom something? I think that's the whole reason why this happened."
"You're right," said Sky, "Bloom, there's something I wanted to ask you, something that I've been waiting to say for a long time. It's the reason why I asked you to the park yesterday."
"I already know," said Bloom, who was grinning and crying with joy.
"You know?" asked a surprised Sky.
"Well, I guessed," said Bloom, "And the answer is yes."
With that, Sky got down on one knee, reached into his pocket, pulled out a gold ring with a diamond on it and placed it on Bloom's finger.
"Did he just do what I think just he just did?" asked Flora.
"Uh-huh," said Stella, who had stars in her eyes, "Those two are now officially engaged, and it's about time if you ask me."
After a huge round of congratulations from everyone, The Ramblers were saying their goodbyes to Bloom and her friends "You're all invited to the wedding," said Bloom, "So don't think this is goodbye forever."
"Are you kidding?" said Fay, "With all the crazy stuff that happens in our world, it's only a matter of time before we meet again."
"Count on it!" said Steve boldly.
With that Stella made a portal back to the Rambler's Earth. Max and his group finished their farewells and went home to their world.
A short time later back at Bureau headquarters Sally-Ann was saying goodbyes of her own. "So you really going to do it," said Michael, "you're really quitting."
"I said I would," said Sally-Ann, "I'm done being a bounty hunter." Then, as if on a whim, she tossed her shotgun to Violet.
"You're giving me your favorite shotgun?" asked Violet.
"I don't need it anymore," said Sally-Ann, "So take good care of it, you might just find it useful." With that she walked towards the elevator back to the surface.
"But where will you go?" asked Andrew, "You weren't serious about wandering around the world, I mean, you must have some overall destination in min, do you?"
"I'll go wherever my heart takes me," said Sally-Ann, "Smell you later, cousin."
"There she goes," said Julie as Sally-Ann entered the elevator and pressed up button, "One of creations' original prototypes. Some kind of high-powered freakazoid never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, yet too rare to die."
"Aren't we all?" asked Fay.
"We'll see her again," said Max, "Our paths will cross in time."
"You sound much better," said Jill, "Has your belief in what we're doing been restored?"
"As a matter of fact," said Max, "Yes, this whole mess has refortified my conviction in our mission; protecting the good, and battling the evil."
The end of chapter 12. There's one or two more lose ends to tie up in the next chapter. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!