Everything was quiet. So, so quiet...How unusual...Even with Cartman on mind, Kyle couldn't help noticing. Still, Cartman was the one thing he decided to focus on. He felt that if he had been watching him out, none of this would have happened...He should have known Cartman could never be trusted, even as a mindless hooker! He flew a bit low, aware that he was exposing himself, to find him.
He stopped suddenly and descended to warn Stan and Kenny, who were jumping over the roofs.
"I found him!" He told them.
He was at the door of the Peppermint Hippo. Again he was wearing that leather mini skirt that showed all of his fat meat, shaking his ass to catch a guy. Pretending to be minding his own business.
The three of them landed in front of him. Cartman turned his head idiotically, like a startled cow.
"Hello, Cartman." Kenny spoke. Even though his voice was soft and melodic, at that moment it resembled a tiger's snarl.
"Hello, superheroes! You handsome! Me want you!" Cartman exclaimed, drawing a smile.
"Glad yo see us, Cartman? We were dying to see you too..." Kyle took a couple of steps towards him.
"Kahl! Me want circumcised Jewish boy!" Cartman approached, looking for the way to unzip his pants. Kyle grabbed him by his neck—or more like his double chin.
"You bastard, you dare put on an act in our faces, after stabbing us in the back!"
"Ah? Aaah?" Cartman was acting like a complete moron, confused, brainless, and that only irritated Kyle, Stan and Kenny more.
"Quit it, asshole! We know you started all of this!" Stan threatened him, stabbing him with one finger on the chest.
"And you're gonna pay for it!" Kyle squeezed his neck, really wanting to break it...He would have done it his neck hadn't been so fat.
All of them wanted to beat him to a pulp, would have even fought each other to be first, but then a voice spoke behind them.
"How typical of you, to put the blame on good old Eric automatically..."
They knew Cartman was an excellent ventriloquist, but the source of that voice couldn't be a trick—it was really behind them! They turned around and were instantly sprayed something onto the face. Stan got some in his mouth, and Kyle and Kenny in their eyes.
Kenny was the first to identify what it was by the smell, but he could do nothing about it: it was already in his blood stream.
"...Wha...!" Stan muttered, wobbling.
Suddenly, the three of them felt like their strengths were leaving them, everything spun around them, they weren't able to keep standing, but they had the time to see it for an instant, that puppet in Cartman's hand—just not in Eric's.
Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Get up.
They tried but couldn't. Their muscles didn't respond. Every tiny movement was so hard even thinking of trying was tiring. Even their eyelids seemed very heavy. They could only feel being dragged one by one into a car.
"You really disappoint me, boys. I thought you would go see Eric sooner. I didn't think you would forget about him. But, of course, you had so much to think about...Having a double life to take care of mustn't be easy..."
And they kept hearing that voice that years before offered them cookies, was extremely attentive during sleepovers, used to observe in delight how tall they were getting.
"You have grown, your bodies are covered with hair, got jobs and responsibilities—but I'm afraid you are still selfish children." Liane said, sitting on the driver's seat and putting the safety belt on. "Oh, don't you worry, what I gave you is nothing bad. Don't you recognize it, Stan? It's your father's Mardi Gras Tegridy Special, dissolved in water. A good dose and you forget about all your problems and leaves you so relaxed you can do nothing at all..."
It was true that they felt like puppets with no strings, powerless, deprived from all energy, but even with the mental fog they were still well aware of what was going on, the terrible of the situation.
"Momma. Momma." Eric smiled like a little child in the co-pilot's seat.
"Don't worry, my love. Mommy wouldn't have let them hurt you." Liane caressed his face the way she always had, and started the engine, after glancing back at the three young men who only remained sat thanks to the belts holding them.
As much as they struggled they weren't even able to move a finger...!
"You could have let Eric play...Being a superhero was one of his childhood dreams...He had the chance to become one. He made you the suits you're wearing, gave you great challenges to prove your worth. I was so proud of him. He was so enthusiastic about it...He shared all of his plans with me...Unlike you and your mothers, we don't have secrets for each other...I loved seeing him so invested, the plots he came up with...It gave him so much life! Why did you have to leave him out? Was it because he doesn't have real superpowers? There are many superheroes who don't have superpowers. Batman doesn't, and he's a very good one, as far as I know." Liane shook her head. "I don't want to believe it is because you don't want Eric to hang out with you..."
She looked at them through the car mirror and Kyle, Kenny and Stan, who had never seen Mrs. Cartman say a single word louder than any other, shuddered seeing her look at them so coldly.
"But...You haven't proved to be good friends, either...After all, look what you did to him..."
It seemed that it physically hurt Cartman not to have someone's intimate parts in his hands. He groaned, moving in his seat, and Liane caressed his hair to comfort him.
"You have disappointed me, boys...I thought the four of you were a nice gang...Inseparable...I thought you had this kind of bond that can never be broken..."
Kenny could only manage to make his throat produce a grunt.
"You may think that I am a monster...But that's not true. God knows how patient I've been...I...would always put on a smile every time people talked badly to me...I pretended not to hear them call me a slut and a bad mother...But one gets tired, you know...And doing this to Eric crosses the line...What I've done is just retribution...I've done nothing your own parents didn't to us first. Spread nasty rumors about us, of ugly things we have done, our deepest secrets, our mistakes...Put people against us before they even had the chance to meet us...It's nothing complicated actually. Anyone could do it, even a mom. You just have to spot five stupid people with strong convictions, encourage them to think their arguments and emotions are valid, give them a vehicle to spread them and make it seem that it is the whole world's opinions and just wait to see what happens...The Internet has made it so easy...It makes five seem like five hundred thousand."
Liane paused. No reaction from the boys in the back.
"...I genuinely thought they would be nice, because of who Eric's father was..." She continued. "I thought I'd have some support...But I was all alone, and they looked at me like I was a whore and like Eric was scum...They protected Jack and despised us...Like a mistake...Like something dirty...At that time there was no social media, and they didn't need it. Perhaps Chef was the only one we could count on and talk to—but he left us. I thought, when you and Eric started to get along, that I could have some kind of bond with your mothers...Be one more..." Liane sighed. "I expected you to be sympathetic, Kenny, because you know what it is like: everyone always looked down on you because of your family's situation, disrespected you...Eric always considered you his best friend, but I see you preferred to side with people who don't really care about you...You have no idea of how it hurts me to do this, boys. I've seen you grow up. I love you like you were my own children."
Come on, move! Move!, they commanded their bodies. All useless.
"...Did I say it hurts me? Well...Not quite...You, see, Kyle—and I hope this stays between us—I always hated your stupid mother...I hate people like her who thinks they're always right and the rest of the world has to change to please her, even if they are wrong...The way she always looked at me, as if I had to say sorry for not being married to a lawyer, and have a very tidy, stable house, and time to do community work, and strong convictions to live to and put before the needs of my family...I tried not to lump you in with her, but the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. And after our conversation at home the other day...You didn't hesitate to steal Eric's girl, lie to my face, act like you had nothing to do with Eric being like this...Maybe it is true what they say, Jewish people being treacherous...Anyway, Sheila's blood runs through your veins, that explains much. And it is perfect..."
She grabbed her phone, not taking her eyes from the road, and made a call. When the other person answered, her voice changed, sounded shook up.
"Sheila! Oh, thank goodness! I-I found him! Human Kite! He-He wanted to hurt Eric, I got to hit him with...I don't even know what, I was so nervous I couldn't see straight! I left him lying on the ground, near MFC...Yes...Yes, he's not moving, and I called you because you were...Yes...A-All right...Please be careful, Sheila, he might get his conscience back any second now!"
She hanged up, all fear in her voice vanishing.
"What did I tell you? She didn't even ask me if I was all right..." She muttered.
She stopped the car by the parking of Medicinal Fried Chicken. A sign on the door indicated that Towelie and his workers had closed sooner than usual.
Liane got out of the car and opened the rear door to drag Kyle out.
"Oops. Sorry." She said when his head hit the pavement.
"Kyle! No, Kyle!", Stan could only think, his words not reaching his mouth, his arms not able to move to save his friend.
Liane left Kyle on the ground and crouched down to look at him. Kyle's eyelids trembled, but he was still unable to to lift them. However, he was able to see her through a little slit, the way she looked at him.
"I'm very sorry, Kyle...I've cried enough for my son...It's time your mother cries for hers..."
Before leaving, she kissed his forehead.
She got back into the car and turned around to look at Stan and Kenny.
"Don't worry, kids, I didn't forget about you. I have a treat for you at home."
She then turned her head to her son and gave him a kiss.
"You will have one too, Eric, of course. The best one, just for you..."