Another day, another criminal.
As Leni rode with the Detective to the new Penitentiary, she took a moment to breathe, and relax.
"How'd you find the guy again?" Hobbs questioned. "With the amount he stole the first time, he should've been sitting pretty for a little while."
"Caught him trying to take more," Leni answered. "Apparently Void-Frog is too greedy for his own good."
Hobbs raised an eyebrow. "Void-Frog? Cause of that vacuum thing he does?"
Leni shrugged in a "I-don't-know" answer.
"He named himself," she added.
Hobbs shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road. And on the transport truck they were following.
"Heard about what happened to your sister," he commented after a while. "Is she okay?"
"Yeah," Leni nodded. "I think she's getting used to it. Mom and Dad are still a little freaked out."
"This is new ground for them," Hobbs offered. "It's always different when it's your kid."
"Yeah," she nodded. "I guess so."
A minute passed.
"I still love her, though."
"Of course you do," Hobbs gently agreed. "But there's going to be an adjustment period. But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that."
Leni nodded, remembering bringing their brother home from the hospital. Having the wheelchair. Needing help with a bath. Getting dressed the first couple of times. All of which Lincoln found completely humiliating, and he stated as such.
Now we have something new to deal with. A mixture of biology that maybe shouldn't be. Can Lana handle the cold anymore? Does she need a whole new diet? How does her new body react to certain stimuli?
All these questions and more were things Lisa spat out before being forced to go to take a nap earlier today.
Leni sighed. An exhausting ache settled into her limbs and shoulders, one that goes beyond the encounter with the froggy thief she had to wrestle down to the ground. It feels like her victories are only half of the prize she wanted. Sure, you saved your sister, but she looks like a lizard now. Sure, you caught the bad guy, but you didn't prevent him from ruining the livelihoods of over a dozen people.
You caught King, but not before he could further corrupt the city with his voice.
Why can't things go right for once?
"Heads up," Hobbs brought her back. "We're here."
They pulled into the driveway of this massive, wide building. Stone bricks, bars over the windows, electrical wiring with something whirring nearby. It was certainly the biggest house Leni had ever seen; more than qualified for mansion status. And it was the only prison she would (hopefully) ever set foot in.
A doctor surrounded by guards exited the front doors, walking down to meet Leni and the police escort with an upturned nose.
"What an interesting specimen we have here," he examined the prisoner being wheeled out. "And what is his name?"
"Void-" Leni caught herself. "Erm…"
"Edward Hopper," Hobbs answered for her. "He's a little looney, but he's pretty crafty. We'll be escorting this one to his cell with you. As an extra precaution of course."
Right. Leni had almost forgotten. Their mission here was two-fold. They needed to observe the goings on of the Prison themselves. No incidents were reported, but that was sort of the problem. No police were stationed here; it was all hired guards donated to the positions by Victorious Industries.
Quite effectively, it was a private prison, with a private police force, being funded directly by an Industry giant known for fashion and clothing lines. And with all that's been going on, no one's even had the thought to question it.
Before Hobbs brought it to Leni's attention.
"Ah," the doctor noted. He had a pointed patch of hair on his chin, goggles on his forehead, and… a lot of hair curled upwards on the sides of his head. All ends were curved to a point, almost making horns. When he spoke, it was with a somewhat faded German accent.
Leni could tell. She wasn't good with a lot, but she was good with accents.
"I can assure you, Officer… Hobbs, was it?" he descended the stairs. "Such an escort is not necessary. We will take it from here."
"Oh, this guy just screams 'mad scientist'," Luan commented.
"Let's… not jump to conclusions, girls," Rita tried to calm the call.
"Ten bucks says she has to fight a giant robot later," Lola audibly waved a stack of bills in the air. "Any takers?"
"You're on," Lincoln challenged.
"If it's all the same to you, Doctor Fiend," Hobbs insisted. "We'll come along anyway."
"Find," the doctor said. "It's pronounced 'Find.'"
"Sure it is," Luna mocked.
He turned on his heel and twirled in his finger in the air: a non-verbal command for the heavy guards around him. They fanned out around the stretcher holding Froggy, and not-so-gently nudged the escorting police out of the way. They started wheeling him inside and, with a shared look, Leni and Hobbs followed.
As soon as they entered, the lobby had a line of metal detectors and guards with wands, like at an airport. Mr. Hopper was wheeled through first, not setting anything off. Hobbs walked through, and set the alarms off.
"So sorry, Officer Dobbs," Doctor Fiend apologized without a hint of sorrow. Or the correct name. "No guns, badges, or phones beyond this point. Safety reasons, you understand."
"I don't," He answered, keeping a hand protectively over his sidearm.
"Hm." Was the only response he got from the good doctor. No further insistence was made about his belongings.
Leni stepped in next. Would they ask her to remove her mask and earpiece?
The alarm didn't go off.
"Hm." Doctor Fiend commented.
"Not going to be that easy, plebian," Lisa muttered, followed by a yawn. "Updated recently; your camera mask and earpiece contain no metal to detect."
Leni made a mental note to give Lisa a big hug when she saw her.
"Come along," the Doctor stepped off with his nose held high. "If you must inspect our facility."
There was a staircase that went downwards to a basement level. The upper level only had a hint of the décor it had in it's earlier days. None of that existed for the below levels. As soon as they stepped onto the stairs, the walls, roofing, and flooring were replaced by concrete and poorer lighting.
"The main and upper floors are primarily for staff and visitors," the Doctor explained, giving the tour. "As fortune would have it, the original designer of the house became quite paranoid during the Cold War. It took a considerable amount of his finances, but he converted the basement of the house into a shelter with multiple floors and rooms. Unfortunately, it's too close to the surface for adequate protection from a nuclear event, but I suppose paranoia overrules common sense. Don't you think?"
Leni opened her mouth to answer but was cut off.
"Of course, you do," Doctor Fiend rambled on. "It's the only logical choice. Fear overshadows all rational thought. If you were to put a rat in a room with spikes, with one wall open to escape, it will always try to go through that door, regardless if that direct route is what kills them. Even if you tell it that the center of the room is the safest place for them, they'll break down crying."
Leni and Hobbs share another look.
"The rat will?" Leni wondered.
"Yes…" Doctor Fiend straightened his bow tie. "The rat."
As they descended the stairs, Leni realized something else. Everywhere she's gone to in the city, people will stop and stare at her. Not that she minded. The amazement and awe on people's faces were unmistakable. Sometimes it was humor. Sometimes it's even questioning her presence. Regardless, everyone stared.
Not these guys. At least, not in any kind way. The guards when she entered all wore heavy armor and helmets. The ones that didn't had tattoos on their necks, and almost seemed to sneer at her. Or, failing that, held a different, more malicious form of humor on their visage. Even one of the guards wheeling Void-Frog down step-by-step, bump-by-bump, kept turning back to her with a hidden look behind that helmet and visor.
They reached the basement floor, and Leni looked around. It was a wide open hall, with metal doors lining the walls. Each door had a big turning wheel in the middle of them; like what you'd find in a submarine. The doors had little slots above the wheel; one for food trays, and the other for viewing. Though, Leni doubted you could see anything through such thick and tiny windows. The lighting was mediocre at best, and one of the hanging lamps down the hall flickered. Muffled noises came behind most of the doors, but Leni couldn't make out anything.
Honestly, she didn't want to. She couldn't even think to count how many rooms there were.
"Here's your cell, Mister Hopper," Doctor Fiend waved over to one of the doors. The Guard was opening it. "I hop you enjoy your stay."
"Ugh," Luan complained. "When he does it, it just sounds wrong."
"They all sound wrong," Luna countered. "Living with you has ruined any chance of me enjoying puns."
"Shhh. Girls!" Rita scolded. "Don't distract her!"
Leni watched intently as the guards started to offload Void-Frog into the cell. The room was tiny. It had a bed and a toilet, but there was hardly any room to stand in, let alone walk around.
"Geez," Lincoln mumbled. "Makes my room look like the Ritz."
"With this guy, the rooms are more like the Fritz," Luan solemnly chuckled. Luna groaned, wordlessly.
As soon as Frog was free, he crouched down and sprung up into the air.
Leni would have been on top of him, but as she willed herself to move forward, she took a step and almost fell forward. She looked down at her feet in confusion. Why isn't she flying?
The guard that unstrapped him beat her to it. He threw his arms up and caught the Frog man by his waist before he could clear them. He then threw the criminal into the cell and the others slammed the door in front of him.
"No need to worry," the doctor tried to settle on a moniker. "…Sweetie." That was the wrong one. "Our power dampeners keep the prisoners from escaping. I understand you donated the designs yourself?"
"My… friend did." Leni corrected.
"Ah," he nodded. "So, more of a doer, are we?"
"Uh, I guess so?" Why did that sound like an insult?
Leni shivered as she felt something creep up her spine. She turned her head to the voice, recognizing it. She couldn't fly, but her hearing was still... well, not completely useless.
She walked across the hall, peeking in to see Crusher in his cell, his head hung low. Leni had to pull herself up by the ledge of the window. Her fingers were already complaining. The next cell held Goat; crouched and facing away from the door. The next one had Leech on the floor, sitting against the wall. He stared off into space with a blank expression. Leni spotted Springlock and Mole-man before she reached the very end of the hall.
She pulled herself up, leaning to see inside the cell. The small visual the door provided gave nothing away at first, but was suddenly filled with teeth and claws.
Leni jumped, as she was startled by King attacking the door. Then she heard him laughing.
"Little mice shouldn't play in a place like this," His voice was muffled through the door. Leni suspected she was the only one that could hear him. "How's your sister?"
Leni blinked, and scrunched up her nose.
"Better than you," she crossed her arms. "How's the cell?"
Even through the small glass, Leni could see his evil eyes and sickening grin. "Oh, I have everything I need, little mouse. Right here. Even from this box, I command a kingdom from miles away."
"Your 'subjects' are all in here with you," Leni rebutted. She wanted to hurt him, and she couldn't throw a punch down here, so words would have to do. "Your plan failed. We figured out that its you messing with people's heads. And that your roar can make people transform."
"Can she hear him?" Rita wondered. "I can't hear him."
"Shh!"
"Have you now?" He bemused. "Well, well. It seems I've been beat. No point in trying anymore, is there?"
"That's right," Leni nodded with finality.
Except…why is he being so smug?
"What do you want, exactly?"
King laughed again. His massive frame must fill all corners of that box.
"Oh, it's not what I want, little mouse," he answered. "It's what they want."
"They?"
"The higher ups, of course," he explained. "Martial Law is still on the table, you know. And it opens so many business opportunities with the locals. Criminal empires weren't built in a day you know. And do you really think that any government official will simply give up their power?"
"You're not making any sense," Leni snapped at him.
"Control is happening," King taunted. "Whether you understand it or not. The world toils on, regardless of what you do. You should try to vie for control too, while there's still enough to go around."
Leni felt a hand on her shoulder, and spun around to Hobbs. His face was hard, straining to keep something back.
"Frog's locked away," he explained. "Let's get going."
"He must have found something." Lincoln noted.
"I think we did too," Luna shivered.
They made their way back up the stairs. Back in the light of the mansion, Leni flexed her grip to test her strength. It wasn't quite back yet.
"Oh darling, you are here!"
Leni's head snapped up and looked over to the entrance of the mansion. A woman in a flowing dress and expensive purse raised her arms in celebration as she strutted towards the teen. She had a bright smile, cutting eyes sharpened by eyeliner, and her hair bounced and flowed perfectly around her shoulders. With her dress complicating her dark skin tone (or, was it the other way around?), Leni could tell she had money to spare. Despite the gold jewelry dotting her fingers and wrapped around her wrists, she didn't set off the metal detector when she walked through. The woman was so pretty, Leni started to blush.
"Who's that?" Luna wondered.
"Victoria Grace," Leni mindlessly answered. She was blown away by her presence.
The richest woman in the world skittered to a stop in her thousand-dollar heels and wrapped her arms around Leni in a big, dramatic hug.
"Oh. My. Goodness!" she announced as she pulled back, her hands still on the girl's shoulders. "Look at you! Would you look at her? Look at her! The angel of Royal city! How do you do it, honey?"
Leni stood there gaping like a fish. Some part of her eventually registered to say something.
"Help." She sputtered. "Lot's of help."
Her face heated up even more. Oh God, shut up! Just stop saying stuff right now!
"Oh, I bet!" Miss Grace playfully slapped her shoulder. "Oh, honey. I have to know, who did your suit? It looks; so fab!"
Leni felt she was going to combust at any moment. She beamed with pride.
"I made it myself," she answered.
"No," Miss Grace stepped back and looked at her up and down. "Shut. Up!"
Leni smiled with her hands twisted behind her back.
"Oh honey," she sounded amazed. "Brave, kind, cute, and creative! Uh! Please tell me you're not spoken for."
"Huh?" Leni tilted her head.
"Where do you work right now?" Miss Grace questioned. "Are you interested in working in design with me?"
"I…" Leni blinked. "I'm still in high school."
"Well," Miss Grace beamed at her. "I hope we can recruit you, Leni. You have an eye for the divine. I would be sent over the moon to know if we had and honest-to-goodness superhero in our little family!"
Leni felt like her face would split, her smile was so big. She was on cloud nine. Along with all of the other numbered happy clouds.
"I hate to interrupt, Miss Grace," Hobbs stepped in. "But I'd like to introduce myself."
"Oh, no need!" Miss Grace gracefully shook his hand. "The good detective! Jacob Hobbs, it is very good to meet you."
She gave an obviously flirty look. Hobbs gave a friendly smile back. Leni felt like turning away. It was like watching her parents flirt with each other.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," he greeted. "But I'm afraid I have to ask some questions."
"Oh, I completely understand!" Miss Grace waved away. "You're only doing your job."
Job. Job?
Oh no.
"Oh Shhhoot," Leni gasped. "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about… Can I talk to you later?"
She was asking Grace more than Hobbs, but they both nodded.
"Okay, sweetie," Grace waved her off. "You do your super-thing and we can talk later."
Hobbs was about to add something, but Leni was hurredly rushing out the door. Her flight and speed were back, and just in time. She took to the sky, back to the city.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Rita asked over the com. "Is someone in trouble?"
"I am! I just remembered I agreed to come back to work today," Leni answered her. "And I'm already late!"
Leni changed at home and flew over to the mall. She landed on the roof and used the maintenance door to walk down the hall and onto the main floor.
And no one even spared her a second glance when she stepped out. She was back to regular business as usual.
She walked through the entrance of Reininger's and sighed with relief as she made it to the punch out clock in the back room.
No sooner did she clock in was she bombarded by a voice she'd never heard before.
"Lazy girl!" the man shouted. "What are you doing?"
Leni spun around to the man. He was an Indian man, with a pointed nose, had his hands on his sides, a pot belly, and a gnarled ear bent sideways. His name tag read "Dev," but Leni learned later it was pronounced like "Dave."
Was he a manager?
"I just…" Leni cleared her throat. "I'm sorry for being late, but my brother needed help with-"
"Aht-tut-tut!" he waved his hand in front of her. "There's no such thing as excuses! Go fold the changing room stalls! Go. Now!"
Leni hurried out of the back room and towards the changing stalls. Sure enough, people had been leaving the clothes they tried on all over the place. Had they not been checked all day?
Leni set to work, looking out over the store with each trip back and forth from the stalls. The store was slow going, but that was normal for the middle of a weekday. Even considering all that's been going on. She looked over to the registers to see Fiona, leaning over the counter with her chin in one hand and looking bored out of her mind. She made eye contact with Leni across the store and waved miserably.
That's odd. Whenever it's slow, Miss Carmichael will have them push new lines out on the floor or make a check of the store for disheveled or misplaced products. She'd even let them socialize, as long as the three of them were still doing the work.
Then Dev appeared out of Leni's field of vision and said something with a lot of hand gestures. Leni could have used her super hearing to listen to what was said, but she really didn't want to. Fiona rolled her eyes and pulled out a spray bottle from under the desk. She started cleaning the fairly spotless counter.
Leni looked over to see Miguel with his back to her. He was setting the display table in the children's corner, with growing visible frustration. Dev appeared again and they started arguing. Not that Leni wanted to hear them, but as far she could tell, Dev was trying to stuff all the clothes they had in storage onto the table all at once.
Leni got back to work. What in the world happened?
She turned around with her last load and jumped with a start that Dev had appeared behind her again.
"Leni!" he scolded. "What are you doing?"
Leni blinked at him. Shouldn't he know that already?
"Finishing up," Leni answered. He harped in the second the last letter was out of her mouth.
"You're taking too long," he complained. "Go help Miguel. He doesn't know what he's doing."
Leni blinked again. Miguel was one of the hardest workers here!
"Where's Miss Carmichael?" Leni asked Dev.
"Away."
"Okay," Leni tried again. "Like, away where?"
Dev sighed for at least four Mississippi.
"Miss Car-cone-knee," he answered. "Had to go away to a funeral instead of running the store. They sent me to cover for her."
"When will she be back?"
"Don't know. I'll worry about that for you. You worry about what I tell you to worry about."
Leni was taken aback. What a… rude… rude little man!
Leni dumped the load of leftover clothing in the basket and briskly made her way over to Miguel.
"Hey, Miguel," Leni started folding some disheveled clothes set to the side. Miguel looked up at her with a start, but then gave a tired smile.
"Hey, Leni," he greeted. He gestured to the rest of the store. "Welcome to the circus."
Leni looked at him. He looked frayed, for lack of a better term. He was always smiling, and had a good sense of humor, but he was never this… cynical.
"How long has…?" She whispered while looking over at Dev. He was dabbing the sweat off his bald head with a handkerchief, looking something over on a clipboard.
Miguel picked up the hint and answered immediately. "A couple of weeks. Honestly, that…" he sounded like he was about to swear, but bit his lip. "He's been running everything to the ground. My shift can't end fast enough."
"What's he been doing?"
"Enforcing every rule he can think of," Miguel bitterly answered. "Reminding all of us that he's constantly in charge, and screwing up the schedule. You know he gave away freebies to ten different customers yesterday?"
Leni looked wide eyed. Freebies were for particularly unruly costumers. The system doesn't always get prices right at the register, so Leni and the other's would have to fix them to match what was on the floor. Did he give every customer who questioned him a freebie?
He sighed. "I'm sorry, Leni, I shouldn't have answered him."
"About what?"
"He saw your name on the schedule and asked me who it was," he explained. "I tried to tell him you were having some family trouble and were L-O-A, but he wouldn't listen and demanded you come in."
"Oh," Leni remembered it was Fiona who called her telling her about her shift. She sounded super remorseful about it over the voicemail.
"Lazy girl!" Dev called from the register. Fiona was missing. "It's time for your break!"
Leni blinked and looked at the hanging clock over the entrance. She'd been working for an hour.
"It's too early!" she answered the man as politely as she could. "You're supposed to work two-"
"No sass!" he declared. "Go take your break!"
Leni looked to Miguel, who sighed and shook his head.
Leni went to the break room and found Fiona there, drinking some fruity health drink like she was at a bar.
"Hey, Fiona," Leni greeted as she sat down.
"Hey, Leni," the girl rubbed her eyes and groaned. "I shouldn't have called you."
"It's okay," Leni assured her. "I probably need to pick up some hours anyways."
"Not worth it," she pulled at the skin under her eyes. "Miss Carmichael might not be coming back."
"What?"
"She said they were thinking of moving her to a different store," Fiona explained. "After the funeral business with her uncle."
"But… Who would run the store?"
"Best guess."
"Dev?"
"Dev," she set her head down on the table.
"Lazy."
The girl turned to the manager standing in the doorway. Maybe he just didn't see her nametag?
"It's Leni," Leni tapped on the plastic pinned to her shirt.
"We need to talk about your availability," he approached her with the clipboard.
"Come on, dude!" Fiona complained. "We're not even five minutes on our break and you have to bother us? God!"
Ignoring her, Dev continued. "I can't find your old availability on the schedule. Why haven't you been working the past few months?"
Leni felt awkward. She couldn't very well answer "because I'm a superhero."
"Leni's been taking care of her family," Fiona answered in her defense. "Her dad's restaurant burned to the ground and-"
"How is that my problem?"
"…And her brother almost died," Fiona finished with growing irritation. "He's stuck to a wheelchair and needs help around the house."
"Um, he is getting better," Leni offered, though she wasn't sure why. "He's going to physical therapy to help him walk-"
"Good," Dev answered without a hint of sympathy in his eyes. "Then you can open tomorrow after closing tonight."
"Jesus, dude!" Fiona threw her arms up. "How can you…? You know what? Forget it. I'm out. Done for the day. See y'all tomorrow."
She got up and stormed out of the room.
After an awkward pause, Leni stood up.
"Mr. Dev," she started out. "I'm sure being a manager is stressful and all, but I can't be here as much as you want me to. I'm sorry. I have a lot going on at home, and my parents need my help with-"
"I don't need to hear this sob story from you," Dev waved his hand flippantly between them. "You teenagers think the world revolves around you. You are clearly a ditzy, lazy girl who can't be bothered with work. Do you want to come in and make money tomorrow morning or not?"
Leni was gob smacked. She never had to deal with someone like this before. Someone so… dismissive of other people. She didn't even want to use her family like an excuse, but her parents agreed that it was her best option at the moment! Everything she'd gone through in the past year means nothing to him! Every villain. Every loss. Every fight and life or death situation she had ever been in, all coming to this point. All of it, for this sad, disgraceful human being. Someone who can't see a foot past his long pointy nose!
I looked a mass murderer in the eyes today, what did you do?!
Leni stopped herself, and forced herself to take a breath.
"No," she said calmly. "I quit."
She walked out of the store. She waited for the bus and made her way home. She could have flown, but she wasn't feeling all that heroic.
The spell of dissociation lasted until she was walking the steps to her house. She opened the front door to see the crowd playing and rough housing in the living room. Lincoln was out of his chair, on crutches. Apparently he was having a race with Lily. Luna and Luan watched with vigilance. Lola was trying to decorate Lana's reptilian tail with stickers, much to her annoyance. Lynn was too busy laughing to help either of them, and Lucy looked on with quiet amusement. Lisa looked up from her book and waved Leni over.
"Leni!" she called out. "I need to speak to you about several things!"
Lisa babbled on, but as much as Leni tried to listen, she found that she couldn't. She heard Lori in the kitchen though.
"Hold on, Bobby," she said, "Let me call you back."
Leni felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, sis," Lori got her attention. "What's wrong?"
Leni shook her head. She felt a stinging presence in her eyes.
"I quit my job."
