Songs: Bad Reputation - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts & Cherry Bomb - The Runaways
The Swellview Mall was one of the places untouched and abandoned in the city. Team Danger hadn't thought much of it, but the Wall Dogs had clearly been there a few times in the past week. If the front doors with shattered windows didn't give it away, then the way they casually ducked inside as though they'd done it before did.
"This place is a few blocks from the detention center," Veronica explained when she saw the confusion on Team Danger's faces. "This was the first place we hit when we got out."
"Did you have to break the windows?" Henry asked in disbelief.
She smirked. "We did more than break a few windows."
Oh, that didn't sound good.
Henry threw a knowing look at his friends over his shoulder as they followed Veronica inside. The rest of the Wall Dogs were already scattered throughout the mall; they took off once they got inside.
There weren't any lights on, but it didn't matter because the sun shone through the skylight covering the main mall lobby. There were a few skylights throughout the mall, so electricity wasn't needed.
Almost immediately, they noticed the walls, the store fronts, the kiosks spotted across the floor. Rainbows of graffiti were tagged across any and every reachable surface. They varied from actual, detailed pieces of art to random words sprayed in sloppy handwriting.
"Whoa," Jasper muttered. He and his friends spun in a circle, taking in as much as they could. The drawings didn't stop at the lobby. All three levels of the Swellview Mall were garnished with colors. There weren't many spots untouched.
"There is a beauty in Dr. Minyak enslaving all of the adults in the city," Veronica informed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And what would that be?" Charlotte questioned. "Getting away with crimes?"
Veronica shrugged. "Yeah. It's like I said," she smirked at Henry, "we can do whatever the hell we want."
Suddenly, a rock song began blaring through the loud speakers. Cheers echoed from every corner of the mall. Max slid down the middle of the escalator, and the second her feet hit the floor, she ran over to them.
"Piper!" she called, stopping in front of the girl. "Come on, I found the perfect spot you can lay your first tag!" Her eyes shone with excitement, and Veronica nudged her knowingly. Max's face fell back to neutral when she looked at Veronica. "What?"
"Nothing," Veronica snickered. She and the other teens watched Max lead Piper away. As they ran up the escalator, Veronica turned back to the remaining three. "So, what are you guys waiting for? Let's raise a little hell!"
Henry and Jasper looked at each other with eager smiles. Charlotte still wasn't sure about doing this, especially not with the Wall Dogs (even with the truce, they are still criminals). She kept her arms crossed, even as her best friends dragged her through the mall.
•••••
Max lead Piper to the top floor near the bathrooms. There was an empty wall between a fake tree and the entrance to a furniture store. Next to the potted tree was a pile of paint cans and two black surgical masks.
To the beat of the music rolling through the speakers, the two girls set to work on filling the last free space together. Halfway through, Piper took a selfie with Max. Later, she would make it her lock screen.
Her friends were never going to believe this!
•••••
There was a train that drove around the entire first level of the mall. Usually, it was used as a ride for children, but not today.
Luckily, the train's operations weren't too difficult to figure out. Jasper hopped in the conductor's car, pressed a few random buttons, and yanked a chain above him. The train's whistle hollered and drowned out the music. Jasper twisted the steering wheel to the left, and the train followed!
Jasper quickly whipped his camera out and began filming. He stuck his head out the window, threw his hand up, and cheered.
•••••
Veronica was laying on a counter at a jewelry booth outside of Hot Topic. There was a pile of diamond necklaces and rings resting on her stomach. She held the jewelry up to inspect them shining under the lights before she pocketed them for safe keeping.
•••••
Henry and Charlotte high jacked two electric animal rides (a dog and a giraffe) near the food court, and they raced each other around the mall. They had to swerve around tipped over trashcans and broken glass, and they ducked under silly string dangling from store signs and light posts.
Charlotte took the lead as they rounded the corner and headed for the play area in front of Forever 21. At Henry's cry of protest, Charlotte tossed her head back and laughed.
•••••
Jasper and a few other Wall Dogs ran around the second floor in a frenzy, Nerf guns clutched to their chests as they avoided any darts aimed their way. Jasper found safety behind a poster, and just in time too! A boy behind him rounded a photo booth, only to be shot in the face by a girl ducking behind a trashcan ten feet away.
Then, another boy leapt over a bench, and shot the girl out with a dart to the arm.
Jasper made sure his gun was locked and loaded; these people really weren't messing around!
•••••
Charlotte found Piper and some other Wall Dogs trying on clothes in PacSun. Piper beckoned Charlotte closer and persuaded her to join them.
The two girls ended up filling three bags of merchandise.
•••••
In the food court, Henry hopped over the counter of Great American Cookies. As he searched for something to eat, a voice called out from behind, "I doubt there's anything edible in there."
He turned and met Spray Z's look of disbelief. He had his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.
Kid Danger shrugged. "We'll see." He turned and walked to the back of the shop. He heard Spray Z's footsteps hit the ground and follow him.
Just through a door next to the oven, the pair found three freezers packed against the back wall. Once the door shut, the music outside was muffled, and a soft hum took its place.
"Are those still on?" Spray Z questioned as he moved closer to the freezers. He pulled one open and stuck a hand inside.
"Is it cold?" Kid Danger asked.
Spray Z chuckled, mildly surprised. "Freezing."
Kid Danger opened another door and peeked inside. "Oh my god, look at all the cookie dough! Dude, we have to make some."
"What are you, a girl?" Spray Z scoffed.
Kid Danger grabbed a box of chocolate chip cookies. "Whatever man; I guess you won't get any cookies." He let the freezer shut behind him as he walked back to the front.
Spray Z's nose scrunched as he rolled his eyes. He scanned the freezer shelves, reading each label carefully.
Finally, he begrudgingly grabbed a box of sugar cookies and joined Kid Danger at the front counter.
•••••
By the time the sun was beginning to set, the teenagers were winding down. The smell of Henry and Spray Z's three dozen cookies wafted throughout the floors, slowly drawing everybody to the food court.
The first group to return was Veronica, Max, and a few Wall Dogs. A few minutes later, a train whistle cut through the silence left behind from whoever was responsible for the music grabbing their phone, and the rest of the crew arrived. Jasper parked the train next to the cookie shop, and everybody piled out.
Charlotte, Piper, and Jasper had at least two bags filled with clothing or accessories. Jasper had three, but that was only because Henry left his on the train.
The crew pushed tables together and began passing around cookies. As they ate, the teenagers conversed with each other about nothing special. Some discussed school, others talked about their home lives or what they dreamed of doing one day. Spray Z even pat Kid Danger on the back for his cookies.
"They aren't terrible," he'd said.
The sun disappeared from the skylight, and the moon was rising to take its place.
"We should get going," Charlotte mentioned, even though the idea disappointed her.
Kid Danger nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right." His eyes scanned the mess of tables they'd created in the center of the food court. The groups were mixed now; gone was the separation of Team Danger and the Wall Dogs. Everybody was getting along, finally. Kid Danger chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is insane."
Veronica nodded as she looked over her friends as well. "Isn't it? Who would've thought we'd be sitting here together, having fun?"
"Hanging out with Kid Danger and his friends hasn't been as terrible as I thought it'd be," a Wall Dog with green hair sitting next to Jasper admitted. Some of his friends mumbled their agreements.
"Yeah, maybe you guys aren't as bad as we originally thought either," Charlotte added. She smiled when the girl next to her, a science geek named Olivia, nudged her with a grin.
Jasper began recording again. He panned the camera down one side and up the next, making sure to capture everyone. Some caught him and flashed a peace sign, others stuck out their tongue or smiled. When it reached Kid Danger's end, the superhero winked, and Veronica made rock signs with her hands.
Spray Z gasped. "Dude, have you been filming everything too?!"
Jasper nodded, eyes wide. "Yeah!?"
Max face palmed. "Great, now there's two film geeks."
As Spray Z and Jasper chatted about combing their footage, Kid Danger mentioned, "Charlotte said something earlier, and I think we need to take her advice." He looked over his friends. "We've been doing a lot of stuff to draw Dr. Minyak's attention, so I think we need to lay low for a few days. At least until Althea's friends wake up."
Veronica nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."
"Do we have a plan for ending things yet?" Max questioned.
Kid Danger shrugged sheepishly. "I'm kind of just winging things here."
"For now," Charlotte added, "the best thing we can do is work on downsizing Dr. Minyak's numbers. Maybe we can help reunite some kids and their parents, or maybe we can find some adults who can help us defeat Dr. Minyak." She looked at Kid Danger and shrugged.
"Uh, there's another thing," Piper interrupted. She leaned forward, so she could see them better. "I know we've been busy and everything, but my friends and the other middle schoolers are scared. So are the elementary kids. Some of them don't have older siblings to look out for them. While we're laying low, we need to check on them and make sure we're okay."
"We're going to need more help for that," Kid Danger realized as he looked at Charlotte.
Charlotte nodded. "You need to lay low more than the rest of us. I have some friends at school who will help." She turned to the Wall Dogs. "And if any of you want to help, you're more than welcome."
"I'll help," Olivia volunteered.
"Me too," a boy behind her agreed.
Veronica nodded slowly; she was still surprised at how well everybody was getting along. "How long are you planning to lay low for?"
Kid Danger shrugged. "A few days probably. I don't want it to be too long; it's already almost been two weeks since this all happened."
"Yeah, any longer and we won't graduate," Jasper joked, but there was a realness to it that nobody wanted to admit. Graduating wasn't something they were exactly looking forward to, but that didn't mean they wanted it to never happen.
Max pushed back her chair and yawned. Veronica and the others took that as their cue to leave. Chairs screeched across the tile, and the teenagers exchanged short goodbyes.
Jasper gathered whatever cookies were left over into a box he found behind the counter of one of the restaurants. He planned to take them to Althea the next day.
"You guys good with getting out of here by yourselves?" Veronica asked with a smirk.
Henry rolled his eyes. "I think we can manage it."
"All right. Good luck, Herbert." She kissed his cheek when he scoffed. "Don't let me go a few days without seeing you."
"I won't," he promised softly. His eyes squinted as he watched her leave. There was still a weird feeling in his stomach about dating her; it made him uncertain.
"I didn't think about having to carry this home," Piper whined as she lugged a shopping back over her shoulder.
"It's not too far," Henry reassured. "It's only like eight blocks."
She scowled, and Henry snickered. He ruffled her hair, much to her displeasure, and nudged her toward the door.
As Charlotte and Jasper followed, she asked, "Hey, will you stay at my house for a few nights? I don't like being by myself."
Jasper took a deep breath. "Oh my god, yes. Staying by myself scares me."
Charlotte grinned, relieved. "Okay, good."
So, Team Danger and the Wall Dogs went their separate ways once they exited the mall. The teenagers disappeared into the dark streets, secretly looking forward to a well-deserved break.
And they better enjoy it, because the worst is yet to come.
I consulted my friends, my family, and the internet for ideas to write this chapter. I tried thinking of things from the Purge, until I remember that movie is mostly about killing people. I watched the Jimmy Neutron movie, half for inspiration and half because I just love that movie. Honestly, the possibilities for what these guys could be doing if they weren't in constant danger and instead under the same circumstances as the JN movie are endless. The mall limited it, so I think that's why I had some trouble.
I'm curious. Tell me my beautiful readers:
If you could do anything in the world knowing you won't face any consequences, what would you do?
Personally, I think I'd just steal a bunch of stuff. Clothes, accessories, maybe a new car? Yeah, that would be pretty cool.
Anyways, this chapter took a turn. The next chapter will actually be an unplanned one, but that's okay because it actually makes things a bit easier in the end.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! :)