Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or any of it's characters. Dan Schneider, Schneider's Bakery, and Nickelodeon are the most likely to own it, while Netflix seemed to have rented the rights, for now. Think I own the original characters, but give who the courts have been, I make no promises. I do, however, only use them for entertainment purposes, and promise you, they won't feel a thing.
Warning: This story shows some dark stuff. I've seen loads darker, but this isn't initially a happy story. Maybe later, but not initially.
:}
David glanced at Marty, an Afro-American in his mid twenties, not quite yet sure what to think about the young man. They had an unusual history, one David wasn't able to fully explain, given their current occupations. Simply put, Marty currently had his old job, and like anyone who got started in such an iconic position, he wasn't really sure if the young man was able to live up tot he role. However, they weren't there on a pleasure trip, and this wasn't a chance for the two to get reacquainted. Today they were riding in the back of a police transport because police informants had been spreading a rumor that was too probable to ignore. Those rumors stated that one of the more dangerous criminals who'd been captured, someone who'd been in and out of holding for almost five years as his trial dragged on, was going to be broken out some time soon. They were there to try and prevent that rescue, and if possible, capture this Black Dahlia. Mostly, this was a trap, and they were waiting instead of the bait.
"So," Said Marty, named Martin, but the officers of the LAPD had forced the nickname on him, "Why is it, if we captured Pandion five years ago, he's only now going to jail?"
"Same trick pedophiles use." David replied. "The lawyers ask for a continuance, hope to keep their client out of jail long enough for whatever witnesses they have to forget, or maybe they were trying to strike a deal. Who knows, who cares. What matters is, after all this time, we still have charges against Pandion that stuck. He broke into the police evidence room intent on destroying evidence. He's going down."
"You know, he looks so harmless..." Marty commented.
"Without that mystic whatnot, he can't assume the hero's form, or the physical abilities that go with." David reminded the younger man. "So he looks, and is, a grandpa, someone who normally wouldn't be caught leading any kind of criminal enterprise."
"Do you think it's true, what his lawyer said?" The younger man asked. "That Johnathan Sinclair was all but retired, and that if we made him a deal, he'd give us that crown thing of his? That he'd only started that plan to help protect his family, since both his sons had quote, 'gone into what was once the family business'?"
"They're criminals." David corrected, not too happy about his replacement having such thoughts about a man who'd masterminded dozens, possibly hundreds of crimes in a career that had lasted over thirty years. "Take Mister Sinclair, Pandion. Guys been in that business too long to just get away with a slap on the wrist. Now, if he had something to offer..."
Before the younger man could respond, the whole transport shook. Inside the police officers braced as the vehicle skidded to a stop, with everyone avoiding any injury. Next, a block of mud encased the front section of the van, trapping the driver and his partner inside, unable to exit, not even through the back, since police vans usually don't provide access for the prisoners to the cab of the vehicle. With a pained screech, the roof went next, as some large earthen thing stood over the van, glaring down inside. Almost unnoticed compared to the large earthen creature, a young lady dressed in a long, formal black dress, hovered near it's shoulder. This woman was somehow elegant, to a degree, with a stylish hat and veil reminiscent of what a woman would wear at a funeral, that also served to conceal her identity. The elemental, however, was obviously just there to deal with problems.
"Listen up, kid." David, now the hero Blue Steel, said, even as he activated his force field and leapt out of the van. "The big guy there, he's a distraction. Girls the threat, probably some kind of witch. Take her down, and the elemental goes away." The lance of electric energy that shot from his bracer deflected off a shimmering in the air, some mystic shield the girl conjured. 'Damn, gonna be one of those days.'
Marty, now The Constable, rolled out of the car, pulling out his tonfa and getting ready to brawl. "How do I ignore something that big?" The young man asked. But already he was dodging, avoiding the grasping hands of the earth elemental. 'Things gonna be a problem. So, the question becomes, how much control does she have over that thing? If I'm keeping it busy, will she be able to defend herself from Steel?'
The young woman, who'd been using the name "Black Dahlia" on the streets, was a talented and destructive sorceress, throwing spells with deadly aim, inflicting damage to the environment with deceptive ease. Only, while she had power, this was her first time in battle with anything like Blue Steel and The Constable. Her magics were mostly physical, eldritch energies tearing up the landscape, thus dodge-able. Lacking the experience to shift tactics, she blasted away, hoping to keep the flier, Blue Steel, at a distance.
The Constable saw a weakness in her actions. 'She's letting this guy keep me busy, so she can focus on the guy who she knows can reach her. That's been her mistake. I don't need a gun to take her down a peg or two...' He pulled out a small taser like device, judging the best chance he'd have to hit her from behind. 'Okay, big fella, I need you to give me a shield…' He raced around to position, even as Steel moved in the opposite direction, offering his partner her back.
The shot flew true, and the dart, carrying a large electric charge, struck the girl in the back. Her dress seemed to be armored, despite being made of cloth, but it's protective value failed to stop much of the electric discharge that lanced through her body, igniting uncontrolled convulsions for a fraction of a second. The girl staggered, but somehow managed to shrug off the effect and keep fighting. Her response, nothing more then a gesture in his direction, sent a spiraling pulse of emerald energy towards the ground bound hero, threatening who knows what kind of impact. The young police hero easily dodged the attack, but had already placed himself in a specific position, making her missed shot strike the elemental. The greenish energy tore into the earthen body, ripping it apart, exploding pieces outward all over the battlefield.
Blue Steel pressed his advantage, forcing the girl backwards. Her reaction was to send shock waves across the sky, hurling the police super tumbling away from her. David righted himself, ready to face the sorceress again. "Girls powerful." He called out.
"Any idea what connection she has to Pandion?' The Constable called back.
"Not the time." David warned the younger man. "Now press out advantage, before she conjures another ally." The earth elemental was already starting to pull itself together, but after her attack, it would take time.
Marty pushed himself, finding another weapon he could use to help herd the girl into a place where he could, potently, use his martial arts to help take her down. Taking out a small capsule, he hurled it towards the witch, hoping it would break on her armored body. The capsule fell to the ground, the girls dress to soft to break it open. The contents spilled out on the ground, spreading tear gas near the impact point. 'Damn...' Marty thought.
"Good tactics, but you need to find a way to make it work." David called out, using his weapons to send a shocking pulse to weaken the girl. But the shields she conjured once again blocked the charge, preventing any damage from incapacitating her. "Damn it, she's ignoring you."
Marty had loaded another dart in his taser, but waited to let it charge before shooting at the girl. 'I need something to slow her down. Damn it, I'm a close in fighter...'
Frustrated as he was, The Constable was quick on the uptake, so he formulated an idea that he hoped would make a difference. Pulling out another capsule, he bounced off a car, up against a wall, and threw the small weapon at the girl. He knew it wouldn't do much damage to the girl, and hoped she'd assume the same, thus ignoring it. Only this time, he had no intent of allowing the gas to go to waste. His next throw was a weighted coin, aiming at the place where he hoped the capsule would strike.
The coin struck, not doing much damage, but still sending gas across the Black Dahlia's body. 'Come on, breath...' Marty begged.
Coughing, the Black Dahlia tumbled a bit, losing her concentration for just a moment. Defenses still strong, she sent a wave of air across the open space, sending the gas towards David, but also dissipating it to the point where the gas no longer had the potency to hurt anyone.
Blue Steel wasn't going to trade shots with the young woman. He was already coming out the loser in those exchanges, even adjusting for the fact that he was a lot more accurate in his attacks then she was. Girl just had to many options. Only now, she was learning to adapt, and sooner or later she'd figure out how to mix both power and the small area effects she's been using to do some serious damage to the heroes. David, not sure of her intent, and knowing he couldn't let this kind of power escape and try again, wasn't going to give her that time. Lacking much else in the way of choices, he charged her, using his strength and flight abilities to force her down.
The woman in the black dress dodged downward, out of Davis grasp, even as she sent a shock wave through the earth towards the Constable, trying to tumble him to the ground. Already, the land around the younger police hero looked like a battlefield, with cars overturned, ground ripped up, among countless other collateral damages from their struggle.
But Marty was quick, and had anticipated the move. Bouncing off a car, he lunged towards the girl, ready to use that Tonfa to strike her down. He ran into a solid wall of earth, raised up to prevent his blow from reaching. The wall shattered from the force of his attack, but still the woman emerge untouched.
Taser pulses rained down on the girl, striking her through the earthen shields she tried to use, stunning her. Marty was tumbling back while reacting to her defensive whirlwind that was pushing everything away. Only now, his dart was charged, and his shot struck true, sending more voltage through her body.
David closed, using his utility belt to produce his own stun capsules, gassing the girl even as he used the small shock wave of his own to burst them. Seconds later, with a howl, the girl rose up, energy coating her hands, only to fall back down. Her power spent, the girl fell into unconsciousness.
"That happened." Marty said, even as Blue Steel took the time to dig the police out of the van.
"I have no idea who this girl is, but I'm not concerned by that." David told his partner. "I wanna know why Pandion held her in reserve until now." The police super closed, taking a quick peek under her veil. "Okay, now I know. Girls maybe seventeen."
"So, he spent the last five years training her?" The Constable asked.
"No, cause if he had, we'd have lost that fight." David replied, but he seemed far away. "Um, Marty, call this is. We need a van to bring her in, restraints to keep her from gesturing, and for the love of god, anything else that might keep her from using spells. Can't remember the last time I faced anyone mystic who was this powerful. Hell, not sure I remember facing that many this strong, period."
"On it." Marty said, stepping closer, even as he activated the radio in his helm. "Um, We sprung the trap, and we got this Black Dahlia. My god, the street looks like there was a fight, using grenades and bombs, only with a lot more survivors….. Yea, looks like no casualties." He noticed his partner gesture towards the unconscious girl. "The girl?" The man wondered, as the part he'd lost came back to him. "Oh, yea, girls a mystic, powerful. We just barely beat her. Steel said if she were better trained, we'd have lost, so bring appropriate precautions." He looked at the girl. "Um, she's a spell caster, so restrainers, and anything we have in the anti-magic kit would be helpful."
"Rodger that, Unit 99481." The voice replied. "Sending requested assistance."
Marty slid closer to his mentor, the original Constable. "So, spill. Whats so freakish about seeing her face?"
The police supers body heaved with a barely restrained sigh. "I think she's one of my daughters friends." David said, not sure what to do.
"Wait, my cousin is one of your kids friends." Marty Harris said, looking at the girl with a new suspicion. "You think she was a plant?"
"No, I think it's just a very bad coincidence." David corrected the younger men. "Lets get her restrained, and tell the department. This could be bad."
Jade woke up, her head hurting. 'Okay, that didn't work..' She thought as she shook herself out of the expected self criticism, and started looked for an escape. 'Note to self, have an escape plan ready. I should have had some way of popping out prepared, for when my grandfather wasn't there. Now, I'm captured, and he's gonna die in prison...' A tear formed in her eye, but Jade refused to show weakness in front of whomever she knew had to be watching.
Closing her eyes, and using her mystic awareness, Jade felt out, feeling the wards that had been placed around her, limiting the amount of mystic energy she could draw upon. 'I can still cast spells, so once I've gathered my strength, it's time to bust outta here, and come up with anther plan to get my grandfather out of prison. It means sacrificing my future, but I think, maybe, I've already done that.' Opening her blue eyes, she allowed herself to scan the room, looking for whatever resistance she'd have to get past in order to get out. She was just barley starting to register the various objects in the hospital room when she felt she wasn't alone.
"You know, Jade, we're watching you." Blue Steel said, letting her know he'd been behind a curtain, waiting for her to open her eyes. "FYI, while you've been out, we spoke with your grandfathers lawyer, and we're ready to take a deal he'd been pushing for the last five years." He took a breath, readying himself for the next part. "Thing is, we added a condition."
"What do you want from me?" Jade asked, knowing she had everything to do with this new change. She wasn't particularly shocked they knew who she was. Her veil, and it's concealment effects, was gone, along with the majority of her costume. By now, they'd identified her, and that meant there was no normal life to go back too. The police would be watching.
"The D.A. wants you in jail, but while our fight was destructive, it might not send you away for that long. It would, however, make you a hardened criminal." The police crime fighter laughed. "Thing is, after that one fight with you, I'm not looking forward to seeing what kind of criminal you could become. So I called around, asked the DA, and the Chief, if we could maybe come up with some other option." He shifted. "This is where your grandfather comes in. See, we have this program, Project Redemption, and it was originated just for people like you. People with powers, but not really evil. Tell me, Jade, are you evil?"
Jade lay there, thinking. "No." She finally said. "I just don't want the only member of my family who ever gave a damn about me going away for a long time. I mean, he told me that, had he not gone to help my uncles, tried to destroy that evidence, you'd have never had anything on him. And he was gonna retire anyways, so why not let him go?"
"Because over the years, he's been the mastermind behind a lot of crimes." Blue Steel said. "Admittedly, he knew enough to avoid hurting people, so he had that going for him. But it wasn't until he had something major to sweeten the pot that we were willing to make a deal."
Blue Steel shifted his stance again, focusing on the girl on the bed. "You, Jade. You're what brought it all together. You see, we're all committed to saving you from the lifestyle that consumed your uncles. You grandfather, Johnathan, he never wanted his sons to be criminals. He wanted them to have nice, safe jobs where they could make a lot of money legitimately. That's why he was so in favor of you becoming a filmmaker. He figured, with his money, he could invest in a couple of your films, and you'd be a name, someone that Hollywood could rely upon, instead of a criminal."
"I want that too." Jade said, finally admitting what she'd been willing to give up out loud.
"And you can have it." Blue Steel agreed, shifting tones to push for his own agenda. "Just, it's gonna require a bit of community service. You'll be on probation, the kind where the crime is forgotten when you complete the program. But, while on probation, you'll be working for us, and with luck, eventually you'd be my sidekick. We'll keep an eye on you, make sure you don't do anything bad, and after a few years, you'll be free to make your own decisions on what to do with your life. Of course, programs like this often have a repayment plan, but both your grandfather and the DA agreed to use alternative repayment plans. The DA wants you to work it off, while your grandfather just wanted to pay your fines. We're going with the working it off."
"As your sidekick." Jade said.
"I'll admit, it'll take up a bit of time, so you'll probably have to reduce your after school activities." The police officer added, not really answering her. "Just tell your friends you got caught doing vandalism or something, and have loads of community service. I'm sure they'll understand."
"So, no plays? No songs? Nothing that makes me popular?" Jade asked as she started to feel just how much this punishment was costing her.
"School activities will be judged on a case by case basis." Blue Steel said. "We do acknowledge that you attend a performing arts school. However, if we call, we have the right to demand you come immediately." Jade opened her mouth. "Sometime, we're dealing with problems that just won't wait. Now, I know you won't be hanging out with your friends for a while, but it's for the best. Just be glad you'll be able to see them at all."
"What about class assignments?" Jade asked. "They have us work together a lot."
"As I said, on a case by case basis." The police super restated. "We have no desire to cause your grade to go down, but we may need to restrict who you work with. We'll talk with your school, make arrangements. Now, all I need is for your father to sign off on this deal, and we're done."
Jade could only lay there, watching, as the police officer walked out of the room. 'I could refuse, but then they'll put grandpa in jail. No, I have to do this.' She thought. "Sorry, Beck, Cat, I won't be around much to help you out. Vega, at least you won't have to deal with my issues any more.' She gulped, barely admitting how much the next thought hurt. 'Take good care of Beck for me.'
It was less then an hour later that Jade found herself in front of a Judge, a stern looking man who sighed the order without so much as a second thought. "I do have one question." The Magistrate asked.
"Yes, your honor." The ADA asked.
"What code name will we be assigning this young lady, or are we making sure everyone knows who she is?" The judge asked.
"It'll be better for her family if the public doesn't know who she is." The public defender assigned to this case argued.
"Why not use the code name she was using when she was caught?" Blue Steel suggested. He'd been there to see her through this part of the program, though she suspected he was really there as security, given how dangerous she'd proven to be. "I mean, I know we don't like them keeping names tainted by association, but it was her first crime. Besides, I think she draws a connection with that movie. Or maybe the case..." A moment of thought was disrupted by a shake of his head. "Whatever, she feels connected with the victim of a grisly murder, and while it may not seem obvious, we can use it. So, Black Dahlia?"
"Very well, but the court reserves the right to change that name at any time." The judge said, signing off on Jade's new life.
"Okay, Jade, we'll assign you a caseworker, and a probation officer who knows about Project Redemption. They'll coordinate on your training schedule, expectations, the works. In the meantime, we're gonna put an ankle monitor on you, so we'll know where you are at all times. Welcome to the world of super criminal reform." Blue steel sounded almost hopeful, but Jade was an actress, and could see how badly he wanted her out of his hair.
"Can't I just do a bunch of community service in the morgue?" Jade asked, but she already knew the answer. She gathered up her things and waited for her mother. Her dad may have been the one signing all her legal documents, but she lived with her mom.
David sighed. 'She won't have time to be a threat to Tori, or any of those kids. Not until she graduates. Maybe longer, given how easy it is to earn demerits in the Project Redemption program. My kids are safe…'
:}
I have a few chapters worked out, and will try to write, or edit, as I have time. Hang on, this could be a bumpy ride.
Thoughts?