Jem and the Holograms, and all related trademarks, are the property of Hasbro, and the creation of Christy Marx.

Chapter Twelve

...who reacted swiftly and caught it mid-air with one hand. More amused than concerned, she examined the label.

"Hmm, good choice."

She took a swig herself, and strolled into the room, heading straight towards the bar. Stormer and Clash cautiously followed behind her, no doubt apprehensive about what could happen next. Roxy was scowling as she eyed them closely. She looked like some wild animal ready to pounce, which she was more than capable of doing. Clash could attest to that.

Though the truth was she wasn't really angry at her band. No, her anger in this case came from the fact she was having trouble coming to grips with what had happened to her, and what she had become.

Pizzazz never broke eye contact with her as she approached.

"Feeling better?" she asked, handing back the bottle. A foolish act if her band mate decided to fling it at her again.

A visibly tense Roxy didn't answer right away, glaring back at Pizzazz.

"Yeah, I guess," she finally answered, though the scowl on her face said otherwise. It was clear she still wasn't happy about everything that had happened. Pizzazz noted this and sighed.

"Look, I know your upset-"

"Ain't that the fucking truth..."

"-but like I told you; it was either this or let you and Stormer die, and I sure as hell wasn't going to let that happen."

Despite how it had been done, Roxy was under no illusions that she and Stomer wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for Pizzazz. Someone saving your life was something you didn't forget. As Judy would say, "When somebody pulls you from the flames, you don't spit in their face."

But with that said...

"Look...I'm sorry. I'm not pissed off at you...it's just..." She trailed off, seemingly having trouble putting her words together, before she suddenly flung the bottle to the floor, shattering it into a spray of broken glass and liquid. "Goddammit! What do you want me to say?! I nearly died and now I'm some kind of fucking monster!"

She glared at her band mates, eyes narrowed and fists clenched, the scowl on her face even mre pronounced than before. But this fresh round of anger seem to burn itself out as soon as it started, leaving her to try and catch her breath after getting so worked up. She let her head drop, breaking eye contact with her band, as she seemed to relax.

Pizzazz and Stormer shared a concerned look, before the latter slowly approached and gently placed her hands on the bass player's shoulders.

"Roxy," she exclaimed, firmly, getting the bass player's attention, "your not a monster. Sure, your no longer human, but now your something better; a vampire. Homo Nocturnis. That means your cut above of the rest, human or otherwise." She then added softly, "More importantly your still a Misfit, and nothing is going to change that. Nothing."

"She's right," Stormer chimed in. "Pizzazz told me she considers us sisters now because of this."

"Sisters?" Roxy stared at the keytarist like she had grown a third head, then turned back to her leader. "Never thought I'd ever hear that from you."

"I never thought I'd actually say it out loud. Believe it or not, I care about you. Both of you. It's just that I didn't think I had to be all sunshine and rainbows about it all the time, like Pink Hair."

"Makes sense," Roxy agreed. The Misfits weren't known for being the affectionate with each other. Maybe Stormer, but that's it. "But...sisters...really?"

"Let me show you something."

Pizzazz put her arm around the bassist's shoulders and guided her towards a large mirror hanging on a nearby wall. With her free hand she motioned for Stormer to join them. The keytarist did so willing, smiling as she knew what their leader was doing.

Flanked by her Misfits, Pizzazz peered into the mirror, her eyes still holding their inhuman appearance with the green iris. She opened her mouth, showing off her fangs. She then jerked her head towards Stormer. "Now you."

The keytarist, with her inhuman eyes with the blue iris, opened her mouth to fully show her fangs.

Pizzazz nodded, then jerked her head towards Roxy. "Now you."

The bass player, her eyes like the others except for a red iris, seem to hesistate for a second, before she too opened her mouth to show her own fangs.

Pizzazz grinned. "Well, what do you think?"

Roxy had to admit they were impressive. "Yeah, they're pretty badass."

"Sure are," Stormer agree.

Indeed. The sight of the three Misfits together with their gleaming fangs and luminiscent eyes visible gave them a wild, feral look that was impressive to behold. From where she was watching them off to the side, Clash certainly thought so.

"Imagine flashing those fangs at the Holo-Twerps," she joked. "You'd scare'em right off the stage."

The mere thought of it had Pizzazz cackling, followed by the others. It was the kind of laugh the three of them would share when they were scheming together to do something, like play a prank on the Holograms. At moments like those they were just like...

Okay, Roxy understood what Pizzazz meant. After Aunt Judy died she really didn't have anyone to be close to. Sure, she had her gang, the Red Aces, but they were her friends and she wasn't really close to them - at least, not in the way she had been with Judy. Then fate had her cross paths with Stormer and Pizzazz, and here she found two kindred spirits with whom she felt a closeness to she hadn't felt since Judy.

So the idea that they were in a way sisters wasn't so far-fetched. It's just that she never thought any of the Misfits - least of all, Pizzazz - would ever actually say it out loud.

But now that Pizzazz had...yeah, Roxy could see it for herself. Especially with how this vampire thing they now shared seemed to drive it home.

She looked into the mirror, curling her lips back to show of her fangs as she scrunched her face up, as she pretended be some kind of wild beast trying to imidate some imiganary foe. She made sounds too, doing her best impressions of growls and snarls to go with it.

The other Misfits looked on with amusement, taking this as a good sign that their sister was coming to terms with her vampiric nature, started to imitate her, with Pizzazz surprising everyone with a very convincing - not to mention intimidating - hiss.

"How the hell did ya do that?" Roxy asked.

Pizzazz smirked. "Simple. Let me show you."

So began several minutes of the leader of the Misfits teaching them how to convincingly hiss while baring their fangs. They managed to get the hang out of it, but admittedly needed more pratice to be as good as her.

Still watching from afar, so to speak, Clash couldn't help but smile and shake her head. She was sure this was a side of the Misfits that no one else - not the Holograms, their fans, no one - had ever seen. It was yet another addition to a long list of surprises on this morning like no other.

Pizzazz could see the young fan's reflection in the mirror as she stood behind them, seemingly maintaining a respectful distance from them as they had this bonding moment. She smirked and winked, knowing Clash would see it reflected in the mirror. The young fan smiled in return. This was a bonding moment for the Misfits, but she had not been forgotten.

Pizzazz turned to Roxy. "So how do you feel now?"

"About what?" The bass player stared back at her for moment or so before she realized what Pizzazz was asking her. "Okay, I can kind of see us being sisters."

"Good."

The two of them stared at each other, as if one was waiting for the other to say or do something first. Roxy rolled her eyes.

"Your not going to try and hug me, are you?"

"Not unless you want me to."

"...pass."

"I'll hug you!"

"Stormer, no! You -" She was too late, as the keytarist suddenly wrapped her arms around her band mate in a bear hug. Roxy rolled her eyes. "Ugh...thanks, Stormer."

Pizzazz smiled as she watched Roxy tried to untangle herself from Stormer, who decided to playfully screw with her sister by refusing to let her go. The target of her affections, suddenly grinning, picked her up and started to carry her around the room over her shoulder, while the both of them started giggling like loons.

The Misfits, it seemed, were back to normal.