Author's Note: This is my first Zenon story in quite a while, so if you
see any errors, especially in the slang and character names, please tell
me! Constructive crit is welcomed, but flames will be ignored and deleted
on sight.
"Vega Omega!" Looking at the holoscreen in something that on anyone else would have been complete shock, Zenon Kar shook her head as the image she was seeing didn't go away. So she wasn't hallucinating after all. "Did that just say Proto-Zoa is in the hospital?" Her face looked horror struck at the very idea, and next to her Margie and Cassie had identical expressions on their faces.
"And it didn't even say why. How inky." Margie, always the first to jump to the not-so-happy conclusion, sounded absolutely stunned. "I wonder if Ellie Sho tried to kill him?" Off Cassie's doubtful look, she tossed back her hair. "She has a history of violence, you know. Threw her last boyfriend off a ski-lift last year."
Zenon shook her head at her friend, still watching the news. "I don't think she'd try to kill her older brother, Marg. That's just too impossible major." The newscast faded away to commercials for a new kind of airbike, and she finally looked away. "Anyway, isn't she supposed to be shooting her new movie right now?"
Her comm beeped before Margie could refute her statement, and she switched it on to see Nebula looking terrified. "Z, did you hear? Proto Zoa was in a jet crash - he's in the hospital! Jessica says they're operating on him as we speak." Her voice was hushed into a tone she usually saved for deep secrets or when trouble major was near them.
"I'm watching right now, Neb." She threw the changer over to Cassie and mouthed at her to turn on the all day news. A mega boring channel, but she would sacrifice her non-bored state as long as they were totally reassuring everyone about the crash. What she - and teenaged girls everywhere - wanted was some nicely cheerful news about everything - maybe a statement from Lester saying everything was fine.
Something not depressing and panick-y.
"Good." Nebula nodded, her eyes blinking rapidly. "I have to go - class is just about to start. Z, call me if anything... happens." They shuddered in unison at the possibilities that could happen. Not all of them had cheerful solutions.
"Gotcha." Waving to the screen, Zenon clicked it off and then looked up at her friends. "This is a crisis major. How could someone like Proto-Zoa be in the hospital?" Didn't he have someone making sure he'd stay safe every minute of every day? Weren't stars supposed to sign clauses allowing people to do that until their contracts with whoever ran out?
Well, she didn't like it. At all. And the next time she was on Earth she might just take a few minutes to hunt him down and tell him that. In her bossiest voice, the one she used when Dasha tried to convince her that she needed to go live on Earth or ask Bronley out on a date.
In other words, something impossible major.
Cassie looked thoughtfully at the holoscreen and then glanced back at Zenon. "Do you think it might be... a lie? So he can take some time off again? He did just up and leave a few years ago, remember?" Her eyes were full of concern, and she frowned as Margie laughed.
"Cassie. As if! If it were something like that, they'd be stressing an injury minor. That way nobody would freak out and go all weird." Margie looked mischievously to Zenon, ignoring the glare that was being shot at her. "Trust me on this one. It's how they all work."
"She's probably right." Throwing the magazine-disc she had been looking at before they interrupted her show for a 'special broadcast' , Zenon sighed and rolled over onto the floor. "This is just not stellar," she muttered from beneath her nightstand.
"Inky to the ninth power," Margie agreed with a frown. Nudging Zenon with her left foot, she watched the other girl burrow herself under the table even further. "Look, if it bothers you so much, go to Earth and see if he's all right."
That was an idea that hadn't occurred to Zenon yet, and she paused while she considered it. She had the family - Aunt Judy and Dasha - the excuse - Dasha's birthday - and even the way to get there - Commander Plank. All systems were set to go. Grinning, she jumped up from the floor and hugged Margie. "Marg, you're a genius major!"
Twirling away from her friends, she started singing Supernova Girl to herself. "This will work, I know it will. Hey..." She looked over at Cassie and Margie with a grin that reminded them both of how much trouble they had gotten into throughout the years. But that was okay - when they were with Zenon everything turned out okay. It was like a law of the galaxy. "Do you two want to come with me? Dasha would love to see you two again, and Aunt Judy wouldn't mind."
Of course, Commander Plank - Zenon could never think of him as an uncle - would. But between her, Aunt Judy, and Dasha, the entire trip would be basically unavoidable. And besides, Dacha was turning thirteen. Every girl knew a thirteenth birthday was a mega-huge deal, and deserved a birthday that was just as big a deal.
At Margie's quick nod and Cassie's muttered, "Sure, okay. No trouble this time, though." Zenon grinned at them both. Now came the easy part - convincing everyone that they needed to go to Earth as soon as they could leave.
Which probably warranted a call to Dasha and then Aunt Judy. Sneaking a look at the clock, she blinked as it said it was only 16 hours. Later than she had thought. But at least this way Dasha would be home and not at school.
Switching on her comm, she pressed a series of numbers - 64602353146- and then waited for her younger cousin to pick up and stop doing whatever she was doing. Probably listening to the news with the same single-minded intensity her friends were doing everywhere.
It wasn't everyday one of the hottest stars in the universe landed himself in the hospital for unannounced causes, after all.
With a wry grin, Zenon looked on in relief as Dasha finally answered. "What's up?" She watched the girl shrug into the comm and take a quick look behind her.
"I was watching some talk show that Bronley was on, but they went to the news a while ago. Did you know Proto-Zoa is in the hospital?" She looked concerned but not overly so - the whole Proto-Zoa thing had basically passed her up, since she was five years younger than Zenon was. Instead she had a mega crush on Bronley Hale.
Zenon nodded. "Yep. But that's not why I called..." She let her sentence trail off and grinned cheerfully instead. "How about we visit you for your birthday? It's only a week 'til, and it's your thirteenth. Birthday major." She'd leave out the part about visiting the hospital, since Dasha was actually more important. Especially since next week was going to be her week.
She could sneak off and find Proto-Zoa after Dasha had turned thirteen. It was an agony minor to wait, and it'd make the younger girl happy.
"Really? Stellar!" Dasha's face practically glowed at the idea, and Zenon grinned over to where Cassie and Margie were standing. "Margie and Cassie too, right?" She giggled slightly as she said it, and her cheeks turned red.
God, was she that apparent when she was thirteen? How inky.
Wandering over to in front of the comm, Margie nodded. "As long as we're allowed to go. How could I pass up a chance to celebrate your birthday, visit my old friends, and probably see my boyfriend?" She smirked as Dasha went even pinker.
It was so fun to tease Dasha about her crush, especially since Marg was dating him. All three of them thought it was cute major, although Margie would never admit it and occasionally liked to taunt Dasha about trying to steal her boyfriend.
"Really? Co -cool! I'll ask Mom and Dad, but I'm sure they'll say it's okay. They already wanted to invite a few people over anyway - Mom was supposed to call you tomorrow morning about coming down for a bit." Her pigtails bounced as she jumped up and down in excitement, squealing slightly. "This'll be so fun! And Margie, you can invite Bronley to my party if you'd like. Since he is your boyfriend."
Her eyes were guileless, and the three girls didn't think for even a second it was because he was Margie's boyfriend. After all, they had been thirteen not so long ago - and besides, the redness on Dasha's cheeks let them all know there was an ulterior motive there.
But that was okay, Zenon decided, sharing an amused look with Marg. Ulterior motives were all stellar until somebody got hurt. And she'd just have to make sure that nobody would get hurt. Sweat minor, right?
"Great!" Zenon enthused, smiling brightly. "Do you want to go talk to Aunt Judy about it, then, and call me back tonight to tell us what she said?" She thought about saying that they could leave whenever possible, but decided against it. That was too obvious.
And in the meantime, she'd just watch the news obsessively with Cassie and Margie. Not a mega deal. As long as there weren't any inky newcasts in the meantime, anyway.
"Vega Omega!" Looking at the holoscreen in something that on anyone else would have been complete shock, Zenon Kar shook her head as the image she was seeing didn't go away. So she wasn't hallucinating after all. "Did that just say Proto-Zoa is in the hospital?" Her face looked horror struck at the very idea, and next to her Margie and Cassie had identical expressions on their faces.
"And it didn't even say why. How inky." Margie, always the first to jump to the not-so-happy conclusion, sounded absolutely stunned. "I wonder if Ellie Sho tried to kill him?" Off Cassie's doubtful look, she tossed back her hair. "She has a history of violence, you know. Threw her last boyfriend off a ski-lift last year."
Zenon shook her head at her friend, still watching the news. "I don't think she'd try to kill her older brother, Marg. That's just too impossible major." The newscast faded away to commercials for a new kind of airbike, and she finally looked away. "Anyway, isn't she supposed to be shooting her new movie right now?"
Her comm beeped before Margie could refute her statement, and she switched it on to see Nebula looking terrified. "Z, did you hear? Proto Zoa was in a jet crash - he's in the hospital! Jessica says they're operating on him as we speak." Her voice was hushed into a tone she usually saved for deep secrets or when trouble major was near them.
"I'm watching right now, Neb." She threw the changer over to Cassie and mouthed at her to turn on the all day news. A mega boring channel, but she would sacrifice her non-bored state as long as they were totally reassuring everyone about the crash. What she - and teenaged girls everywhere - wanted was some nicely cheerful news about everything - maybe a statement from Lester saying everything was fine.
Something not depressing and panick-y.
"Good." Nebula nodded, her eyes blinking rapidly. "I have to go - class is just about to start. Z, call me if anything... happens." They shuddered in unison at the possibilities that could happen. Not all of them had cheerful solutions.
"Gotcha." Waving to the screen, Zenon clicked it off and then looked up at her friends. "This is a crisis major. How could someone like Proto-Zoa be in the hospital?" Didn't he have someone making sure he'd stay safe every minute of every day? Weren't stars supposed to sign clauses allowing people to do that until their contracts with whoever ran out?
Well, she didn't like it. At all. And the next time she was on Earth she might just take a few minutes to hunt him down and tell him that. In her bossiest voice, the one she used when Dasha tried to convince her that she needed to go live on Earth or ask Bronley out on a date.
In other words, something impossible major.
Cassie looked thoughtfully at the holoscreen and then glanced back at Zenon. "Do you think it might be... a lie? So he can take some time off again? He did just up and leave a few years ago, remember?" Her eyes were full of concern, and she frowned as Margie laughed.
"Cassie. As if! If it were something like that, they'd be stressing an injury minor. That way nobody would freak out and go all weird." Margie looked mischievously to Zenon, ignoring the glare that was being shot at her. "Trust me on this one. It's how they all work."
"She's probably right." Throwing the magazine-disc she had been looking at before they interrupted her show for a 'special broadcast' , Zenon sighed and rolled over onto the floor. "This is just not stellar," she muttered from beneath her nightstand.
"Inky to the ninth power," Margie agreed with a frown. Nudging Zenon with her left foot, she watched the other girl burrow herself under the table even further. "Look, if it bothers you so much, go to Earth and see if he's all right."
That was an idea that hadn't occurred to Zenon yet, and she paused while she considered it. She had the family - Aunt Judy and Dasha - the excuse - Dasha's birthday - and even the way to get there - Commander Plank. All systems were set to go. Grinning, she jumped up from the floor and hugged Margie. "Marg, you're a genius major!"
Twirling away from her friends, she started singing Supernova Girl to herself. "This will work, I know it will. Hey..." She looked over at Cassie and Margie with a grin that reminded them both of how much trouble they had gotten into throughout the years. But that was okay - when they were with Zenon everything turned out okay. It was like a law of the galaxy. "Do you two want to come with me? Dasha would love to see you two again, and Aunt Judy wouldn't mind."
Of course, Commander Plank - Zenon could never think of him as an uncle - would. But between her, Aunt Judy, and Dasha, the entire trip would be basically unavoidable. And besides, Dacha was turning thirteen. Every girl knew a thirteenth birthday was a mega-huge deal, and deserved a birthday that was just as big a deal.
At Margie's quick nod and Cassie's muttered, "Sure, okay. No trouble this time, though." Zenon grinned at them both. Now came the easy part - convincing everyone that they needed to go to Earth as soon as they could leave.
Which probably warranted a call to Dasha and then Aunt Judy. Sneaking a look at the clock, she blinked as it said it was only 16 hours. Later than she had thought. But at least this way Dasha would be home and not at school.
Switching on her comm, she pressed a series of numbers - 64602353146- and then waited for her younger cousin to pick up and stop doing whatever she was doing. Probably listening to the news with the same single-minded intensity her friends were doing everywhere.
It wasn't everyday one of the hottest stars in the universe landed himself in the hospital for unannounced causes, after all.
With a wry grin, Zenon looked on in relief as Dasha finally answered. "What's up?" She watched the girl shrug into the comm and take a quick look behind her.
"I was watching some talk show that Bronley was on, but they went to the news a while ago. Did you know Proto-Zoa is in the hospital?" She looked concerned but not overly so - the whole Proto-Zoa thing had basically passed her up, since she was five years younger than Zenon was. Instead she had a mega crush on Bronley Hale.
Zenon nodded. "Yep. But that's not why I called..." She let her sentence trail off and grinned cheerfully instead. "How about we visit you for your birthday? It's only a week 'til, and it's your thirteenth. Birthday major." She'd leave out the part about visiting the hospital, since Dasha was actually more important. Especially since next week was going to be her week.
She could sneak off and find Proto-Zoa after Dasha had turned thirteen. It was an agony minor to wait, and it'd make the younger girl happy.
"Really? Stellar!" Dasha's face practically glowed at the idea, and Zenon grinned over to where Cassie and Margie were standing. "Margie and Cassie too, right?" She giggled slightly as she said it, and her cheeks turned red.
God, was she that apparent when she was thirteen? How inky.
Wandering over to in front of the comm, Margie nodded. "As long as we're allowed to go. How could I pass up a chance to celebrate your birthday, visit my old friends, and probably see my boyfriend?" She smirked as Dasha went even pinker.
It was so fun to tease Dasha about her crush, especially since Marg was dating him. All three of them thought it was cute major, although Margie would never admit it and occasionally liked to taunt Dasha about trying to steal her boyfriend.
"Really? Co -cool! I'll ask Mom and Dad, but I'm sure they'll say it's okay. They already wanted to invite a few people over anyway - Mom was supposed to call you tomorrow morning about coming down for a bit." Her pigtails bounced as she jumped up and down in excitement, squealing slightly. "This'll be so fun! And Margie, you can invite Bronley to my party if you'd like. Since he is your boyfriend."
Her eyes were guileless, and the three girls didn't think for even a second it was because he was Margie's boyfriend. After all, they had been thirteen not so long ago - and besides, the redness on Dasha's cheeks let them all know there was an ulterior motive there.
But that was okay, Zenon decided, sharing an amused look with Marg. Ulterior motives were all stellar until somebody got hurt. And she'd just have to make sure that nobody would get hurt. Sweat minor, right?
"Great!" Zenon enthused, smiling brightly. "Do you want to go talk to Aunt Judy about it, then, and call me back tonight to tell us what she said?" She thought about saying that they could leave whenever possible, but decided against it. That was too obvious.
And in the meantime, she'd just watch the news obsessively with Cassie and Margie. Not a mega deal. As long as there weren't any inky newcasts in the meantime, anyway.