Randy winced; he had missed being electrocuted by that much. Otherwise,part 1 of Plan B worked perfectly. As soon as he was underwater he had donned the ninja mask and turned invisible. Exiting on the opposite side of the pool, he tried to shake as much water off as possible so he would not leave a trail.
He mentally patted himself on the back for his quick thinking. Randy would kill for a weapon right about now, like the schweet sword at home, but he just needed something to bust Howard out. As much as he would love to beat the shit out of Bash himself, (it's not really Levander's fault) being incognito was the only way he could safely sneak into the Sorcerer's secret base. If the school found out, the Sorcerer would soon know his ninja had succeeded in contacting him and the element of surprise would be gone. Though he might already know… the Ninja might have gotten away from the Cowboy after they disappeared. Even so, the school could label him as a traitor…
The what ifs and who-knows-whats started to hurt his brain. Randy's train of thought had gotten too complicated and confusing and before he knew it, precious time had slipped away.
"Bastard!" Howard screamed, referring to both Levander and Bash. He had refused to accept that his best friend had actually died; it didn't register in his mind. But as Howard waited and Randy still didn't surface, reality set in.
Anger overrode logic and self-preservation. Howard felt weak and helpless, so his stronger half took over.
Randy was only a few paces away when his best friend started to transform. At first he was glad when he realized how much simpler this made his plan- the hard-packed earth was already starting to crack. Howard would free himself, scare everyone out of the room, and they would be good to go.
But what he didn't understand is how delicate the process is. Every bone in Howard's body had to be broken. Human skulls are too round, their necks too short and their knees bend in the opposite direction. This is normally not a problem; the Tengu's powers are beyond the actualities of science. However, this in between time leaves them extremely vulnerable. Things are half-formed and not quite solid.
Howard yelled again, this time in pain, as his fingers melted to form the primaries but were given no room to expand. The feathers were folded and bent, and the small, fragile bones were reformed out of alignment.
The clay prisons shattered and Randy sprinted towards the partially transformed Tengu, sensing something was wrong. An arm's length from contact, a wall of fire sprung up and encircled the unstable new threat. The owner of the flames was the same fire Mover who had been joking with Buttermaker about her superior powers, the girl with the red-streaked hair.
The 2nd Quadrants knew their entertainment was getting out of control and those without offensive powers were quickly evacuating the Elemental Room.
Julian's possum trick actually worked. Levander was attracted to the movement of the larger group of people.
Randy froze. Forget trying to teach their captors a lesson, they just needed to get out of there. Howard hadn't looked like he was in any shape to take on anybody. He glanced around- Buttermaker could dowse the flames- but instead he noticed Bash had already fled. Coward.
A war cry rose up from behind the fiery wall. Amazingly, a determined figure strode through the flames, impervious consuming heat.
"Howard?" whispered Randy.
The Tengu did not hear and it began to run towards Levander, its talons leaving deep gouges in the ground. Its wings dragged uselessly, though that did not slow it down.
The pink-haired teen screamed like a little girl. Levander was seriously outmatched and the demon bird easily snatched him from the ground with its sharp beak. He tried to use his Energy Absorption, but the Tengu didn't seem to be affected by the loss.
"Howard!" Randy called, much louder now.
The gigantic bird cocked its head, puzzled by the lack of a speaker.
"It's me! Randy!" Somewhere in there, Howard pieced together what had happened. The Tengu flung its prey into the water with a flick of its neck. "Transform back!" There was no way the bird could fit through the doorway.
"Ghost!" Whomever said it, it effectively chased away the remaining 2nd Quadrants.
Randy snickered. For being the most powerful students in the school, that was pathetic.
"Holy cheese, what happened to you?" Randy watched as his friend slowly reappeared until only his arms were still covered with feathers.
"It hurts," he grunted, looking slightly to Randy's left.
Randy became visible and rushed forward to catch Howard before he fell over. He brushed his fingers over some of the feathers, trying to find the problem. Howard sucked air in through his teeth and jerked the limb away.
"Okay, no touchy touchy." Randy gently guided Howard to the elevator, intent on getting him to the nurse's office on the main floor.
Once inside, Howard closed his eyes in concentration and the feathers near his shoulders receded back into his skin at an excruciatingly slow rate.
"Stop that! The nurse can take care of it as is." Randy put a gloved hand on his shoulder, as if he could physically stop him. The shapeshifting had never seemed to hurt him before…
"It has to be one or the other- and he's not happy," Howard replied cryptically. The thought seemed to motivate him. Like someone ripping off a band-aid, he forced the transformation.
What was left behind was so horrible that Randy's first reaction was to shield his eyes. Howard's hands had reformed completely mangled. The fingers in best condition were just crooked, but others were bent in the wrong direction at joint and the worst were folded to where the tips touched the back of his hand.
The power of speech failed Randy. This was so much worse than he originally thought.
This time, he let Howard slide down to the floor. There he sat, shoulders shaking from the effort and pain, and his lip bleeding from when he had bit it. Howard turned his head and held his hands in front of him, out of his line of sight.
Randy watched as the floor numbers descended. It was so quiet, just a ting every time a floor passed. The effect was agonizing.
What could the nurse do? She doesn't have powers, only an artifact that eliminates pain and encourages healing. He'd have to go to the hospital.
Suddenly, Randy knew what he could do.
Randy knelt down in front of Howard and carefully grasped Howard's wrists so that his hands rested in Randy's palms. As soon as the ninja suit made contact with the broken area, it came alive with pale yellow sparks of energy.
It looked like magic. The two boys were rapt with wonder as the bones realigned themselves and the bruised flesh healed.
As good as new.
Howard flexed his healed fingers, then balled them into a fist and punched Randy in the chest. "That was for making me think you were unalive."
"You mean d-"
"Unalive."
-Friday-
Randy woke up that morning feeling pretty good about himself. He couldn't help but grin as he remembered when he visited Bash the previous night, pretending to be his own ghost. The dummy totally fell for it! He doubted Bash would bother him ever again.
Actively ignoring P Slimz's morning routine, he noticed that Doug was still asleep in his bunk. He must have come back early in the morning because he hadn't been there when Randy had returned from scaring Bash shitless. Doug had been missing for a whole day!
"Doug!" Randy climbed the bunk's ladder and poked the sleeping boy's feet. "Doug! Did you find anything?"
Doug groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. "Go away… tell you at breakfast."
The mind reader was true to his word; he sat down at Randy and Howard's table just a few minutes after they did.
Howard ate his French toast sticks sullenly; he had hoped Randy had given up on his stupid plan.
"Now I know I said I could find the Sorcerer's secret hideout," Doug began, holding up a hand to discourage questioning, "but I found something almost as good."
Randy's disappointment was visable. He almost considered giving in and approaching the Sorcerer like the ninja wanted- just to speed things up- but he had no idea how to do that. The ninja had found him… it's not like he could wander around Norrisville yelling for a sorcerer.
"I know what you're thinking," Doug chuckled. "I found someone who does know where the Sorcerer is. Her mind was too well guarded and I couldn't get an exact location. Will you accept her name instead?" He slid what looked like a sticky note with "IOU" written on it and a signature line.
"You're kidding, right?" Howard said, beating Randy to the punch. Only Doug would want written proof of a favor.
Randy rolled his eyes, but accepted the offered pen from Doug anyway. The pen's tip was a hair's breadth from the paper when Randy paused. Technically, they weren't supposed to give out their last names…
"Honestly, Randy Cunningham? I thought you knew me by now," Doug teased.
Yeah, I know you can't mind your own business. Randy signed the paper. A small lead was better than none. Doug would probably just want him to do his homework for him or something.
"Thank you," Doug snatched the paper up, "Her name is Debbie Kang."
Randy and Howard glanced at each other, silently sharing their surprise. How many Debbies could there be at McFist High?
Doug stood up to go back to his own table. "Also, the ninja you keep thinking about, he's MIA. Thought that it's kinda important to your plan. Good luck."
They waited until the mind reader was out of range to discuss their conclusions.
"Do you think she's…?" Howard left the unsaid words hang between them.
"No, she's been so helpful. She saved your cheese that one time. I didn't even know Smith existed." She had also stood up to Bash. Without her, the gang would have taken Randy to who knows where and left the Tengu to wreak havoc.
Randy considered what he knew of her from their two encounters. She could get into the Super Teen Awesome Club- or whatever it was. She had a cute friend, Theresa, who goes to Norrisville High school. She can make people speak the truth and has access to at least one restricted floor. That's not too weird, but she did ask him if he was the Sorcerer's son… How did she know about that?
Plus the Sorcerer's location… Could all that somehow mean she's a spy and a double agent?
"No," Randy said again, "I think she's like me. She's been doing some snooping herself, maybe she's sick of the Sorcerer demonizing people and no one stopping him. After all, Theresa is her friend. Debbie is probably trying harder than me to get her back. With her truth inducement, it wouldn't be hard for her to get the information."
"I like the way you think, Cunningham."
Howard, of course, had wanted to look for Debbie too, but the mask wouldn't make other people besides the wearer invisible.
It took Randy a while to find Debbie. She wasn't in the cafeteria during lunch, nor on the 2nd Quadrant floors or the beach or the garden. It was possible she was in her dorm or on a restricted floor; he'd never find her if that was the case. After checking all the obvious places, Randy decided to search from the bottom up.
And there she was.
On the main floor across from the office was a bulletin board. Debbie was in the process of pinning a paper up. Randy opened the stair door just enough to slip through. It was more work, climbing the flights of stairs, but it was easier to avoid detection. Howard had suggested it before Randy left and he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it himself. Most people would dismiss the open door as air displacement.
Debbie whirled around and watched the door until swung back into place, leaving the paper hanging by one pin.
Suspicious much?
Randy tiptoed closer to see what the paper was, if it was the cause of her seemingly guilty behavior. He only took a few steps when her gaze fell on the space he occupied. Randy held his breath until Debbie's eyes moved on to search the rest of the room.
Skulking around the corner, he entered the bathroom to take off the mask. It was like she could see him… which was impossible. His foot must have squeaked on the tile or something.
It doesn't take long to pin a sheet of paper, yet Debbie had taken no effort to leave. She leaned casually against the wall as if she were waiting for someone when Randy, with equal casualness, strolled back around the corner.
Debbie was so surprised, Randy was able to get the first word in. "Hey Debbie! How's it going, whatcha doing?"
"Oh, it's you," she said with an edge.
Randy held a hand over his heart, feigning offense. "After all we've gone through and I can't even get a hello?"
She sighed. "Hello Randy."
"That's better. Are you waiting for someone?" Randy walked within a comfortable distance for conversation.
"No… just working on my board." Debbie gestured behind her. "I used to work for the school newspaper at my old school. They don't make a paper here in case the public ever got ahold of one so I'm stuck doing this."
"Your old school, Norrisville High, am I right? Isn't that where Theresa goes?" Randy noticed her figure stiffen. "How has she been doing these days?"
Debbie glared up at him through her bangs. "What do you want Randy?"
"Nothing! I just…" What was he expecting her to say? 'Theresa was kidnapped by the Sorcerer! Please help me save her, I know where the Sorcerer's hideout is.' Well, that's what he hoped she'd say.
"Don't you have more important matters to be thinking about?" She grinned slyly. "Like the Leveling Up Ceremony next week?"
"The what?"
"You know, where you First-Months are divided into your Quadrants and Principal McFist announces who has gone up a Level since last year. I just put the poster up for it." Debbie moved away from the board so Randy could see it.
There was indeed a poster. It informed students about the important event next Thursday in big bold letters. Underneath was clipart of a buff man holding a weight in the air and an asterisk reminding the new students of their role. However, the main focus seemed to be something called the 'Tournament.' At the very bottom was a bracket, like for a basketball game, with spots for four, final competitors. One spot with all its branches was crossed out, leaving three finalists.
"I have been putting this off, I can't think of how a teacher would vouch for me. Don't get me wrong, I totally have powers, but-" Randy turned to Debbie.
She was gone.
Debbie: 1, Randy: 0
Great. Now he had two impossible problems to solve: how to save Theresa and how to not be separated from his best friend.
a/n: I wanted to make this longer, but college starts tomorrow and who knows how long it'll take me to write the major point of this fic. So I quick wrote just enough to resolve the cliffhanger and lead into the next chapter. So what do you think? Is Debbie trustworthy? What will happen to our two protags? What is the Tournament?
Thank you for all the new favs and follows, kisses for the lovely reviews! Til next time :)
(no editing was done to this chapter plz forgive my mistakes)