Chapter 7: Memories

AN: I can't believe it took me 3 years of watching static shock to finally find out what Richie's mother's name is. It's Maggie….and his dad's name is Sean…just a little off topic thing I found out…back to the fic…

Richie's feet switched back and forth across the rug. He was home from school and it was killing him. A visit from the psychologist every week wasn't helping much. He didn't have the suicidal feeling anymore; it was more of a feeling of getting away from it all. Only Kandice could understand what he did. She had snuck over his house a couple of times after school. They never did anything serious, just sat there and chilled. They talked, and they kissed, but never did they do anything other than that. The house was smaller than what he was used to. His parents were fighting every day. His mother was trying desperately to hide it from him, but he had always known. A normal teenager would pry, trying to find all the information, but then again, Richie Foley wasn't normal. He was a bang baby who used his superpowers to fight crime and put away evil. He laughed as he thought of himself as a superhero. His thoughts went back to Kandice. With all the superpowers he had, he couldn't even save his girlfriend. She was emotionally suffering, and he could somehow feel it. She kept telling him that her memories were coming back, slowly. At first he thought that it was wonderful, but she kept telling him that they were horrible. She gripped her head every time she began to gain a memory. Her body would rack with fear and she would fall to her knees. All Richie could do was hold her. Then, there was the promise that she forced him to make. He never thought that he could do that to her. She said that if she ever went insane, to kill her. No questions, no reasoning, just kill her. He promised her that he would, but he hoped that it would never come to that. Kandice was a bit paranoid at times, but never insane.

Kandice sat there in the tub full of water. She didn't even bother to put bubbles in it. She stared at the ceiling as she felt her body start to shut down on her. Her memories were coming back to her, but she didn't like it. Her head hurt from all of the strain it put on. Her body began to submerge under the bath water, but there was nothing she could do. The water was under her face and she could see the bubbles floating up from her nose. The light of the bathroom looked pretty under the water. Her body finally shut down as she began to remember….

The gun was in her hands and she had no idea how it got there. One of her fists was in contact with a man's jaw. All she could see were shadows. Then, came the man in black, she could see the devil in his eyes. She began running, but she didn't know where. She let off a couple of shots and felt herself fall. There was a sharp pain running up her back. There it was again, the man in black. He gripped her wrist with the gun and she was forced to let go. She could see death and despair, all the things that she wanted released from her body. She felt strong cold hands and her air supply being cut off….

Kandice immediately sprung up out of the tub, water flying everywhere. Her body shook from the memories and she looked around to find herself back in the bathroom, sitting up in the bathtub. She immediately got up and pulled out the plug. She then looked at herself in the mirror. She was African-American, but her complexion was a bit pale. Her hair clung to her face in clumps and her body was soaking. The rug couldn't take that much water, so it went right through it. All she could her was the psychotic laughing. "This is your darkness…" it said

"Shut up." She said

"Why can't I talk? This is your past. We're one and the same. You thought you could hide me away, but I'm back now."

Her eyes widened as she saw her dark reflection. She was laughing at her. All she could hear was laughing. Looking around, she could see faces laughing at her…and one shocked her the most. Richie was laughing at her. Her body was angered and she balled up one of her fists. The laughing stopped once she rammed her fist into the mirror, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Her fist still stayed there, blood dripping down into the sink. "Go to hell…" she muttered

Outside, there sat Batman on top of a roof. He saw the whole thing from outside. He had been watching her from for quite a while. He was making suspicions about her. First, there was the fact that her memory had been completely erased, but then he did some research on the town where she was 'born'. Someone or something wanted to bring Noir back, but it was the question of who it was.

Richie walked around. Everything around him was on fire. He heard screaming and began running. He didn't know where the screams were coming from, but he was a superhero, and it was his job to save people. As he ran faster, he began hearing a familiar voice. The flames kept rising and he couldn't see. "Richie!" yelled the voice

His eyes widened as he recognized it. The flames grew hotter and his skin felt like melting. He could see her, Kandi, hanging there from the flames. Her arms were like in a crucifix like fashion. He tried to get to her, but the farther he ran, the father she seemed to be. "Kandi!" he yelled

Kandi was putting her stuff away in her locker. She didn't look like she usually did every day. Her left hand was covered in bandages, where she smashed her fist into the bathroom mirror. Her guardian disregarded it as an act of anger, and warned her not to do it again. Still, she had a bad feeling as she left for school, as if someone or something was following her. She slammed the locker shot and looked over to see Virgil staring at her. She screamed and jumped back. "Jesus Christ Virg!" she yelled "You scared the hell outta me!"

"Sorry, I couldn't re…" he started

He looked down at her bandage hand and saw some dried blood on the top of it. "Christ Kandice what did you do?" he asked

She snatched her hand backwards. "Uh…accident cutting myself." She said "Don't worry about it."

"Kandice, you've been acting weird lately. Is there something wrong?"
Kandi gave him a stern look and her eyes seemed to light up a bit. "There's nothing wrong Virgil…" she said, flatly

She walked past him. Something was going on with her that was for sure. One minute she was nice, the next she was like a totally different person. As Kandi kept walking, her hands stopped at the doorway outside to the courtyard. Kandi knew she wasn't in control of her body, but she couldn't stop herself. "I'm in control now…" she muttered

She walked past the courtyard and into the city. She walked far, and Kandi didn't know where she was going. She finally stopped at an old building. Knocking three times, she was let in. Brickhouse nodded to her and she nodded back. She kept walking and Kandi noticed that the inside of the building wasn't abandoned as it looked on the outside. Everything was dark and lit by candles. She finally stopped at the last room on the top floor. Knocking lightly, the door opened and she walked in. Two large candles lit on both sides of the room. In the middle of the room was a man with skull-white skin chanting I the middle of the floor. Under him was a symbol. Kandi kneeled and bowed her head. "Lord Aragog." She said

"Aaaahhh so you have come to meet me Noir." He said

"Yes, it wasn't easy. The soul that truly inhabits this body is trying to gain control."

"Do not worry about her. It will all be over soon. This town shall be just like the last one, and soon we will have enough power for our coven to come over in this realm."

"Still, people are starting to become, suspicious…"

"I see…do not worry about them. We must gather more souls Noir. The more souls, the more likely we are to get our bodies. Luthor thought that he would get a cure from his pathetic sickness, but he got more than he bargained for."

Kandi woke up Saturday morning in late March and looked around. Theresa was sleeping across from her and was snoring a bit heavily. Kandi smirked at her snoring and then began to get dressed. She was going to sneak over to Richie's house again, of course Richie requested this in an email to see him so early. Mrs. Rodriguez, her guardian, was already awake and drinking coffee in the kitchen. When Kandi came down, she gave the girl an odd look. "Where are you going at this hour?" she asked

"It's a little after nine." Answered Kandi "I'm gonna go the community center and hang out there with the others."

"You mean hang out there with Richie?"

"Uh no, just to hang. I do it all the time."

"I hope that's all you're doing. I'd hate to wake up one morning to find out you were pregnant."
Kandi's face turned a slight pink and she coughed in her hand. "Well, I gotta go." She said

She ran out the door, hoping to get far away from Mrs. Rodriguez as she could. The run over there wasn't very long, considering the fact that the city looked completely empty about this time of the day. It kinda creped her out, in fact, the fact of her sharing her body with a demented psychopath is creepy too. Her stomach rumbled with hunger and she smirked, she had forgotten to get something to eat. When she reached Richie's house, she hopped over the gate the backyard. Looking up, she could see Mrs. Foley arguing with Mr. Foley in the window. She knew that she was coming at a bad time, but she didn't want to disappoint Richie. She crept over to the window on the right side and looked up at it. "Damn…" she muttered "I'd better not get yelled at for this."
She took a small pebble and threw it at the window. It bounced off and hit her in the head. It took all of her willpower not to scream out in pain. Richie slid open his patio window and smirked at her. Her eyes were swelling up with tears. "Cute look." He said

"Very funny." She said "Why don't you get out of there while your parents are still arguing?"

"I don't think they want me out this early."

"Well, they're gonna notice me trying to climb up into your window. It's not like you live on the first floor."

"Alright, just meet me outside in the front of the house."

"Can do."
Kandi hopped over the gate and cut her ankle in the process. She hissed in pain and her eyes turned slightly red. The trash cans in the alleyway were pushed back a couple of feet. She shook her head and the red eyes went away. She walked over to the front with her left ankle bleeding a bit and making her sore. When she got around to the front, she could hear Richie arguing with his dad. He said a lot of profanities, which kinda surprised Kandi. Usually, she was the one cussing all the time. Richie slammed the door shut, walked down the front stairs, and kissed Kandi on the cheek. "Let's go." He said

She walked off with him, giving him an awkward look.

Static sat on top of a roof. He was waiting for Batman and the Dark Knight had given him specific instructions. As Static sat there, he watched as all of the people passed by below him. Batman appeared behind Static and placed a hand on his shoulder, making the teen jump. He inwardly laughed, but kept his strong, cold demeanor. "You have bad habit of appearing out of nowhere." Said Static

"I have to talk to you abut your little friend." Said Batman, ignoring Static's statement

"Gear?"

"No. Kandice Harris."

"Kandice? What about her?"

"Harris may be involved in things that neither you nor Gear can understand."

"What do you mean?"

Batman just gave him a stare and then looked out on the streets. "I think that Harris may be going insane." He said

"Kandice? She's not that kind of person."

"I saw her talking to herself and then smash her fist into a mirror."

"I'll admit, Kandice may be paranoid at times, but I don't think she's going insane."

"Maybe she is a bit paranoid, but I know what I saw."

Kandi sighed as she listened to Richie rant and rave about his parents. Normally he would never talk about it, but it seemed like it was stressing him out. He finally stopped and kicked a trash can over. Kandi looked at him wide-eyed as he sat down. He gave her an awkward look. "What?" he asked

"You've never acted like this before." She said

"I know, I'm just a bit stressed at the moment."

"Don't be, just let things happen. You can't change the way your parents feel about each other so why bother?"

"My parents have always been together, if they separate, I might go crazy."
Kandi laughed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic." She said "Parents divorce all the time. You'll be just fine."
Richie gave her a weak smile. "I hope so." He said

She nodded and leaned on his shoulder. "You're the only person I need." He said

She giggled but as she did, she got a throbbing headache. She screamed and gripped her head in pain. "Kandi!" yelled Richie "Kandi what's wrong!"

"No…" she muttered "Leave me alone!"

Richie looked at her slightly stunned, but he knew that it was just her powers. He gripped her shoulder softly. "Kandi?" he asked

All of a sudden, Kandi stopped gripping her head and she grabbed Richie's wrist forcefully. "Let me go!" she said

Out of nowhere came this extreme blast of psychic power and Richie went skidding backwards on the ground. Kandi then stood up and turned around, giving him a very pissed off look. "Kandi?" he asked

"I'm not Kandi." She said "You are so pathetic. You have your powers and you don't even use them properly. If I were you, I'd be trying to hurt my parents for all the pain they've caused."
She turned and began walking when Richie tried to run after her. She glared at him a bit and he stopped moving. She walked over and touched his cheek lightly. He could see in her eyes that she wasn't Kandi. Her eyes looked dead and cold. "Sweet child, you have no idea how much Kandice is suffering." She said

She turned and walked away, and using her powers, disappeared. Richie collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Not only did she make him motionless, but also tried to cut off his air supply. He pulled out his communicator and called for Virgil. Something wasn't right with Kandi, and he had to find out what it is.

Noir opened the door and bowed before Lord Aragog. She had only taken control of Kandice because he had contacted her. The girl was beginning to resist and it was getting harder and harder for her to take control. "Why have you summoned me my lord?" she asked

"Brickhouse has found the book that I have been searching for." Said Aragog

"And what would that be my lord?"

"The Book of Anubis, the only one of its kind."

"Does this mean that you can get my body back my lord?"

"Yes, but it does require a sacrifice…."

"Oh well, poor pathetic Kandice Harris was going to die from suicide I suppose."

Static and Gear flew around looking for Kandi. She had disappeared without a trace, no tracks or anything. Static was contemplating on how he was going to tell Gear about what he head from Batman. If what the dark knight said was true, then they were in more trouble than what they thought could be possible. "This doesn't make any sense." Said Gear "Backpack can't pick up a trace of her."

"She obviously doesn't want to be found." Said Static

"I have to find her, something's not right."
Backpack picked up a signal and started going off. "What's up with backback?" asked Static

"He's picking up strange energies from a local abandoned home." Answered Gear

They appeared reached an old apartment complex that seemed to be shrouded in fog. When they landed at the entrance, they got an eerie feeling. They looked at each other. Gear could feel something gripping at his head, pulling him in. "So who goes first?" asked Static

"Well you're the hero…" muttered Gear

"It's your girlfriend."

"Chicken."

"Look who's talking?"
Wasting no time, Static burst in through the door with Gear following behind. It took them a good while to get through hordes of bang babies, some the two didn't know. Something hard and heavy flew against the heroes and sent them flying into a wall. Gear groaned and looked up, shaking his head. There stood Brickhouse, standing cold and stoic. "Brickhouse, it's us!" said Static

The stoic bang baby didn't say anything as she attacked. Static used his powers to send her flying into the next room. While he was fighting, Gear had his hands full with bang babies and regular people. They all had the same cold, stoic look. Static finally used his nova burst to knock down all the fighters. It took some energy, but it was well worth it. Out of nowhere came a scream and the two heroes looked up the stairs. They ran up the stairs and found that everything above was drenched in water, like a nightmare. They began checking doors but all seemed locked. They finally found the last one and opened it. There lying in the center of the floor was Kandi, in the middle of some kind of symbol. She was motionless and she looked as if she had been through some kind of struggle. Gear quickly ran to her and picked her up. Through his gloves, he could feel as if her skin was ice. Static searched the room for anybody else, but only Kandi was there, and she looked…he didn't want to think about it. That's when he noticed the strange symbols on the back of Kandi's arms. Gear checked her pulse and to relief, a slow and steady one. Static turned one of Kandi's arms around to reveal the symbol. He then thought back to what Batman said: 'If I'm right, then there's more to Kandice Harris then what she's reavealing.'