Evil Is No Laughing Matter, Chapter One
By: Guinevere Richardson
Rating: PG-13
E-Mail: himenoryuuhotmail.com
Author's Notes: You can't play an MMORPG and not get involved in your character's story. Or at least, I can't, but I'm a writer and that's what I do. I first made Giggle Girl as a lark to pair my game friend Last Laugh(who also appears in this story), but after playing her, she became a real character to me. This is her story. If you ever see Giggle and Laugh bouncing around on the Infinity server, say hi! :)
Chapter One
The clock on the wall ticked by the seconds, the sound echoing throughout the silence of the library. Several students were in the vast space, all with their heads bent towards their reading material. None of them seemed to notice the subtle tick of the clock, so immersed in their concentration they were. Some had no choice but to use this place to study, for it was the only place to find true quiet, since roommates tended to disregard requests for a studious atmosphere.
Risa Hossorn was one such student. Except she had no irksome roommates; she lived in her own apartment right off campus. Though she lived alone, she still felt most comfortable studying in the library instead of at home. She had always done it; it was probably more out of habit than any need. In actuality, she didn't really need to study at all. She was the smartest in her class, had graduated high school at 15 and now, at 17, was a sophomore in college. Despite her young age, many took her seriously, for she had established her right to be here the very first day of school, albeit through lies. She had went her whole freshman year pretending to be 18 like everyone else. No one had thought to question otherwise, and still didn't.
Why would they? She had always looked older than she really was. Even though she was only five two, she carried herself and acted like an adult. An aura of maturity surrounded her, probably because of her high class background. Her uncle was a genius inventor who was now a billionaire, who owned Portal Corp. That probably had also paved her way into being accepted among the students, she knew. It wasn't her bright emerald eyes or her pretty auburn hair, or even her brains. It had always been the money.
With those dismal thoughts, she finally glanced up at the clock. Was it that late already? She had wanted to get home before nine, but it was nine now. The library would close in an hour anyway, and she had only been brushing up for the tests tomorrow. Stifling a yawn, she gathered up her notebooks and slid them into her messenger bag. She always thought backpacks had made her look unproportioned, so she had adapted to the sleek purse-like carriers when she realized she wouldn't be getting any taller. Hooking the strap over her shoulder, she nodded to the security officer at the door and headed out on the street towards her apartment.
She avoided her normal route via alleys and over fences, even thought it was quicker and a shorter distance. In fact, she avoided all shadows or dark areas period. She wasn't afraid of the dark, never had been, but the news had gotten more and more nerve-wracking of late. Attacks were happening closer and closer to Paragon City University, and Risa didn't like it. She had even started carrying pepper spray in her bag, but it didn't reassure her much. If she really had to use it, that meant finding it, and there were so many loose papers and other things in her bag, it was hopeless. So far she had seen no trouble or incidents, but there was always a first time for everything, and there was no moon tonight. She tried to play it off as just silly paranoia, but she kept beneath the streetlights anyway. How lights would deter true criminals she didn't know, she only hoped they would.
Her hopes were dashed, however, when she rounded the street corner and found three men attempting to break into a parked car. She nearly screamed from the shock, but had managed to get a hold of herself and only emitted a slight squeak.
Unfortunately, one of the men seemed to be lookout, and he heard–and saw–her while the other two continued their business, one holding a flashlight, the other using a crowbar. Looking at them, she saw that they were wearing the marks of the street gang the Hellions. She brought startled eyes back to the man who had noticed her; he still hadn't alerted his comrades. Perhaps if she just turned around he'd let her leave...
She took a step backward and turned to do just that, when a shot rang out. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that all three of them had their attention on her now. "I-I didn't see you...I won't tell anyone!" Risa kept backing away, the men kept stalking her. "Stay back!" She cried. "I've got pepper spray!"
"Oh no, not pepper spray." One snickered.
"Don't hurt us, lady!" Another cried mockingly.
"I m-mean it!" But it wasn't the ones that were teasing her she was worried about, it was the one who just kept staring at her, behind the others. As if planning, waiting...
Finally she just turned and ran, hoping her knowledge of the area and her small size would help her outrun them. If she could get back to the library...
"Come back here!"
"We're not done with you!"
She kept fishing through her messenger bag, trying to find the damned pepper spray. She knew she should have emptied her bag before, and now her clutter was going to cost her, in some form or another.
"I'll shoot you if I have to!"
That made her skid to a halt and whirl. "What?!" She couldn't help but let her disbelief ring in her voice.
"We know who you are!"
"And more importantly, who your family is."
"One word: money."
Money. Always money. "Here!" She took out her wallet with shaking hands, pulling out all the green she had on her.
"Oh, I don't think so." One was directly in front of her before she knew it. The one who had been watching her all that time. "You're worth more than just these petty papers." He knocked the influence out of her hands. "Much more."
Before she realized, he drew a knife, and Risa drew a deep breath and whirled again, dropping her messenger bag and everything else. The belongings weren't worth her life.
"Dammit. Don't just stand there, chase after her!" The leader cried, and the two minions did as he said. Meanwhile he pulled out his pistol, aimed, and fired.
Risa fell forward from the impact, and the shocking pain. Her shoulder seemed as if it were on fire, and through the haze she realized she'd been shot. She couldn't let that stop her, though. After gritting her teeth, she scrambled to her feet, only to fall back again. The world was tilting, and she couldn't seem to stand on her own. Reasonable enough since she'd just been shot and was half in shock, but she couldn't just stay there, she had to get up, had to move.
Before she could, however, one of the men popped up in front of her. "Boo!" He pushed her to the ground, and she landed on her back, and her vision exploded from the pain. The man straddled her, fought to keep her still. "Got her!"
Every self-preservation instinct she'd ever had came into effect; she kicked, writhed, bit, fought as hard as she could despite she was worsening the pain in her shoulder, her weakening grip on consciousness. "Get off me!"
The man who had stayed back, the one she assumed had shot her, finally approached. He wore the mask that only Hellion leaders were allowed to wear, a type of red skull with tusks. To her, he looked like Death himself. He crouched down, not touching her. "This can be easy or hard. Your choice."
Despite her terror, Risa gathered the courage to spit in his face.
"Hard. Remember, I let you choose." With that he nodded to the other and drew a knife.
"SOMEONE HELP ME!!" She finally screamed, hoping she was within some kind of hearing distance of someone. Anyone...
Her prayers were answered by a blur of black and white.
The weight on her was suddenly gone, as if picked up off of her. Blinking, she tried to sit up, tried to watch what was going on. Someone had joined the fray, and now they were all fighting. She realized she should care, should stay and see if her rescuer survived, but she didn't. She rolled to her stomach and tried to crawl away; her shoulder wouldn't let her do much else.
She heard cries of, "Wait!" but didn't listen; she didn't know who was wanting her to stay. Although she was moving at such a slow pace. Slow...she finally stopped. She had to rest...just for a minute...she closed her eyes, and unconsciousness claimed her.
Last Laugh had feared he'd been too late when he came on the scene. Seeing the girl on the ground like that had pissed him off. They were so near the university, she had to be a student. Would they stop at nothing? Attacking girls walking home from classes? He let his anger fuel him as he pummeled them to near death, letting them know what he thought of their actions. "Evil is no laughing matter!" He cried after their running figures, but his usual sarcastic humor just wasn't in the sentence. He was too worried over the girl.
Speaking of, he turned to where he had last seen her, hoping she'd still be there. She was, although she was further along. He'd seen her trying to crawl away and yelled at her, but perhaps she thought he was a villain as well. Approaching her, he felt his anger renew. There was an awful wound in the girl's right shoulder. They'd shot her. Why? He also saw she was unconscious. She needed a hospital, and badly. He bent down and gently scooped her up; he again shook his head. She couldn't be more than 120 pounds.
He sighted something further along the street; careful of her wound, he held her close as he jumped over. This was where the struggle had originally occurred. A messenger bag, money, notebooks...she had tried to buy them off but they wouldn't have it; he could see it as if it were playing before him. Then she had dropped everything and ran, much to their aggravation, and they'd shot her to stop her. But why? What had they been after? Usually it was just money and they left their victims alone after that. But this..with a grunt he began collecting the items off the street.
Once he had everything, Last Laugh headed for Chiron Medical Center. The emergency room welcomed him easily, the nurses clucking over his charge as he handed her over. He wasn't going to just let her go, though. He kept her wallet as they carried the girl away.
Once out of the nurses' sight, he opened the wallet for identification. Risa Hossorn. He blinked. He had just saved....it all made sense now, why they had been so intent on the girl. Ransom. He clenched his jaw as he handed over the wallet; they wouldn't just let her go now that they knew where she was. He had to let her family know. With a sigh he caught up to the nurses. "Make sure she's well guarded; this was planned and I don't think they'll give up on the first attempt." The hospital staff nodded; they understood what went on in the city even if most of the population didn't.
Population like the girl who'd just been shot because she was worth money.
Just then she came awake, and her gaze was surprisingly clear. She stared right at him. He was about to ask what she remembered when she passed out again. With another glance at the medical staff, he quit the hospital, taking Risa Hossorn's wallet with him. He had some people to contact about this.
Author's Notes: You can't play an MMORPG and not get involved in your character's story. Or at least, I can't, but I'm a writer and that's what I do. I first made Giggle Girl as a lark to pair my game friend Last Laugh(who also appears in this story), but after playing her, she became a real character to me. This is her story. If you ever see Giggle and Laugh bouncing around on the Infinity server, say hi! :)
Chapter One
The clock on the wall ticked by the seconds, the sound echoing throughout the silence of the library. Several students were in the vast space, all with their heads bent towards their reading material. None of them seemed to notice the subtle tick of the clock, so immersed in their concentration they were. Some had no choice but to use this place to study, for it was the only place to find true quiet, since roommates tended to disregard requests for a studious atmosphere.
Risa Hossorn was one such student. Except she had no irksome roommates; she lived in her own apartment right off campus. Though she lived alone, she still felt most comfortable studying in the library instead of at home. She had always done it; it was probably more out of habit than any need. In actuality, she didn't really need to study at all. She was the smartest in her class, had graduated high school at 15 and now, at 17, was a sophomore in college. Despite her young age, many took her seriously, for she had established her right to be here the very first day of school, albeit through lies. She had went her whole freshman year pretending to be 18 like everyone else. No one had thought to question otherwise, and still didn't.
Why would they? She had always looked older than she really was. Even though she was only five two, she carried herself and acted like an adult. An aura of maturity surrounded her, probably because of her high class background. Her uncle was a genius inventor who was now a billionaire, who owned Portal Corp. That probably had also paved her way into being accepted among the students, she knew. It wasn't her bright emerald eyes or her pretty auburn hair, or even her brains. It had always been the money.
With those dismal thoughts, she finally glanced up at the clock. Was it that late already? She had wanted to get home before nine, but it was nine now. The library would close in an hour anyway, and she had only been brushing up for the tests tomorrow. Stifling a yawn, she gathered up her notebooks and slid them into her messenger bag. She always thought backpacks had made her look unproportioned, so she had adapted to the sleek purse-like carriers when she realized she wouldn't be getting any taller. Hooking the strap over her shoulder, she nodded to the security officer at the door and headed out on the street towards her apartment.
She avoided her normal route via alleys and over fences, even thought it was quicker and a shorter distance. In fact, she avoided all shadows or dark areas period. She wasn't afraid of the dark, never had been, but the news had gotten more and more nerve-wracking of late. Attacks were happening closer and closer to Paragon City University, and Risa didn't like it. She had even started carrying pepper spray in her bag, but it didn't reassure her much. If she really had to use it, that meant finding it, and there were so many loose papers and other things in her bag, it was hopeless. So far she had seen no trouble or incidents, but there was always a first time for everything, and there was no moon tonight. She tried to play it off as just silly paranoia, but she kept beneath the streetlights anyway. How lights would deter true criminals she didn't know, she only hoped they would.
Her hopes were dashed, however, when she rounded the street corner and found three men attempting to break into a parked car. She nearly screamed from the shock, but had managed to get a hold of herself and only emitted a slight squeak.
Unfortunately, one of the men seemed to be lookout, and he heard–and saw–her while the other two continued their business, one holding a flashlight, the other using a crowbar. Looking at them, she saw that they were wearing the marks of the street gang the Hellions. She brought startled eyes back to the man who had noticed her; he still hadn't alerted his comrades. Perhaps if she just turned around he'd let her leave...
She took a step backward and turned to do just that, when a shot rang out. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that all three of them had their attention on her now. "I-I didn't see you...I won't tell anyone!" Risa kept backing away, the men kept stalking her. "Stay back!" She cried. "I've got pepper spray!"
"Oh no, not pepper spray." One snickered.
"Don't hurt us, lady!" Another cried mockingly.
"I m-mean it!" But it wasn't the ones that were teasing her she was worried about, it was the one who just kept staring at her, behind the others. As if planning, waiting...
Finally she just turned and ran, hoping her knowledge of the area and her small size would help her outrun them. If she could get back to the library...
"Come back here!"
"We're not done with you!"
She kept fishing through her messenger bag, trying to find the damned pepper spray. She knew she should have emptied her bag before, and now her clutter was going to cost her, in some form or another.
"I'll shoot you if I have to!"
That made her skid to a halt and whirl. "What?!" She couldn't help but let her disbelief ring in her voice.
"We know who you are!"
"And more importantly, who your family is."
"One word: money."
Money. Always money. "Here!" She took out her wallet with shaking hands, pulling out all the green she had on her.
"Oh, I don't think so." One was directly in front of her before she knew it. The one who had been watching her all that time. "You're worth more than just these petty papers." He knocked the influence out of her hands. "Much more."
Before she realized, he drew a knife, and Risa drew a deep breath and whirled again, dropping her messenger bag and everything else. The belongings weren't worth her life.
"Dammit. Don't just stand there, chase after her!" The leader cried, and the two minions did as he said. Meanwhile he pulled out his pistol, aimed, and fired.
Risa fell forward from the impact, and the shocking pain. Her shoulder seemed as if it were on fire, and through the haze she realized she'd been shot. She couldn't let that stop her, though. After gritting her teeth, she scrambled to her feet, only to fall back again. The world was tilting, and she couldn't seem to stand on her own. Reasonable enough since she'd just been shot and was half in shock, but she couldn't just stay there, she had to get up, had to move.
Before she could, however, one of the men popped up in front of her. "Boo!" He pushed her to the ground, and she landed on her back, and her vision exploded from the pain. The man straddled her, fought to keep her still. "Got her!"
Every self-preservation instinct she'd ever had came into effect; she kicked, writhed, bit, fought as hard as she could despite she was worsening the pain in her shoulder, her weakening grip on consciousness. "Get off me!"
The man who had stayed back, the one she assumed had shot her, finally approached. He wore the mask that only Hellion leaders were allowed to wear, a type of red skull with tusks. To her, he looked like Death himself. He crouched down, not touching her. "This can be easy or hard. Your choice."
Despite her terror, Risa gathered the courage to spit in his face.
"Hard. Remember, I let you choose." With that he nodded to the other and drew a knife.
"SOMEONE HELP ME!!" She finally screamed, hoping she was within some kind of hearing distance of someone. Anyone...
Her prayers were answered by a blur of black and white.
The weight on her was suddenly gone, as if picked up off of her. Blinking, she tried to sit up, tried to watch what was going on. Someone had joined the fray, and now they were all fighting. She realized she should care, should stay and see if her rescuer survived, but she didn't. She rolled to her stomach and tried to crawl away; her shoulder wouldn't let her do much else.
She heard cries of, "Wait!" but didn't listen; she didn't know who was wanting her to stay. Although she was moving at such a slow pace. Slow...she finally stopped. She had to rest...just for a minute...she closed her eyes, and unconsciousness claimed her.
Last Laugh had feared he'd been too late when he came on the scene. Seeing the girl on the ground like that had pissed him off. They were so near the university, she had to be a student. Would they stop at nothing? Attacking girls walking home from classes? He let his anger fuel him as he pummeled them to near death, letting them know what he thought of their actions. "Evil is no laughing matter!" He cried after their running figures, but his usual sarcastic humor just wasn't in the sentence. He was too worried over the girl.
Speaking of, he turned to where he had last seen her, hoping she'd still be there. She was, although she was further along. He'd seen her trying to crawl away and yelled at her, but perhaps she thought he was a villain as well. Approaching her, he felt his anger renew. There was an awful wound in the girl's right shoulder. They'd shot her. Why? He also saw she was unconscious. She needed a hospital, and badly. He bent down and gently scooped her up; he again shook his head. She couldn't be more than 120 pounds.
He sighted something further along the street; careful of her wound, he held her close as he jumped over. This was where the struggle had originally occurred. A messenger bag, money, notebooks...she had tried to buy them off but they wouldn't have it; he could see it as if it were playing before him. Then she had dropped everything and ran, much to their aggravation, and they'd shot her to stop her. But why? What had they been after? Usually it was just money and they left their victims alone after that. But this..with a grunt he began collecting the items off the street.
Once he had everything, Last Laugh headed for Chiron Medical Center. The emergency room welcomed him easily, the nurses clucking over his charge as he handed her over. He wasn't going to just let her go, though. He kept her wallet as they carried the girl away.
Once out of the nurses' sight, he opened the wallet for identification. Risa Hossorn. He blinked. He had just saved....it all made sense now, why they had been so intent on the girl. Ransom. He clenched his jaw as he handed over the wallet; they wouldn't just let her go now that they knew where she was. He had to let her family know. With a sigh he caught up to the nurses. "Make sure she's well guarded; this was planned and I don't think they'll give up on the first attempt." The hospital staff nodded; they understood what went on in the city even if most of the population didn't.
Population like the girl who'd just been shot because she was worth money.
Just then she came awake, and her gaze was surprisingly clear. She stared right at him. He was about to ask what she remembered when she passed out again. With another glance at the medical staff, he quit the hospital, taking Risa Hossorn's wallet with him. He had some people to contact about this.
