FATR: Uh... most of my actual notes are at the bottom this time, to tell you the truth. Man, I'm having a lot of fun with this, poor Ferret. Uh, insert a malevolent laugh here, and continue happily along with the chip chip, while keeping in mind that I own nothing except Tesseract, and maybe the underground thingy (you'll see what I'm talking about). I've said too much. We better get on with this. Lights down, silent audience, drum roll, and... curtain up on chip chip four...
X)O(X
Hysterical, girlish laughter filled the empty house. Tess' side of the coffee table had become a junkyard of chips, soda cans, a half empty two-liter, and assorted packages of cookies. It was the kind of mess only a teenage girl, with neither the supervision of an adult, nor a care in the world, could make. The laughter was in response to the comedian on TV, who was explaining why he wanted to be a snake, or one of the monsters from Aliens. Commercials filled the screen and the guffaws dissolved into giggles and gasps. There was a small crackling sound as Tess, still wearing the fingerless gloves, plucked an oreo out of its package and twisted it open. "Aw, man," she giggled. "I haven't laughed this hard since..." She stopped to consider as she sought out the ketchup bottle and squirted a little on top of the white frosting. Her obsession with ketchup came from its similarity to blood, but she wasn't about to admit that out loud.
"Since we wrote vulgar messages all over Brent's driveway with shaving cream?" Frieda's eyes sparkled with mirth. She disregarded the fact that Tess had just recapped the ketchup filled Oreo and popped it in her mouth. As disgusting as some of her eating habits seemed, Frieda had learned to ignore half of them, and appreciate the other half.
Tess broke into fresh peels of laughter. "They washed it off but it still showed up every time it rained!"
"Oh, god, I remember that!" Frieda exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "I can't believe no one ever caught us."
"I just have that special touch." Tess shot her an enigmatic wink and took a swig out of the two-liter. "You've done well?"
Frieda thought about the question for a bit then shrugged, blushing lightly. "I guess I've changed a lot, huh?"
"Two-face syndrom is c... normal, and benign enough," Tess shrugged and took another swig.
Frieda's eyebrows drew together in confusion and she cocked her head, leaning an inch closer to Tess. "What?"
"'What' what?" Tess blinked. "Oh, two-face syndrom. You... you know..." she flipped her hand a couple times in a 'not important' gesture, "do different things depending on who you're hanging out with... So?"
"I was on the journalism staff at school," Frieda began. "I was a reporter last year, and I'll probably be one again this year, but I'm hoping to make editor status by my junior year. I also did some work on the school website. Daisy and I ran a pop culture section about the Backstreet Boys."
"Backstreet Boys?"
"Yeah." Frieda didn't noticed the amused glimmer in the silver eyes. "I've actually become quite a Backstreet Boys buff... For example, did you know two of them got married a while back?"
"To each other?" Tess' eyes twinkled.
"What? No!" Frieda exclaimed indignantly, pretending to glare. However, the slightest tinge of a smile tugged the corners of her pink lips. "You..." She trailed off and threw her pillow at Tess to finish the sentence.
Tess was wracked with hysterical laughter as she put up her hands to ward off the pillow. "You're too easy," she gasped.
"You're easier," Frieda smirked.
Tess' jaw dropped and she gasped dramatically. "Oh, no, you did not..."
"Oh, yes I did."
Tess' fingers discretely dug into the aforementioned pillow. These play fights were almost a custom between the two girls. "You know this means war, right?" She playfully assaulted the other girl with the pillow.
Frieda squawked and rolled off the couch, dragged one of the smaller pillows along for use as a shield, and dashed into the kitchen. Tess dove over the back of the couch and was soon in hot pursuit. Their footsteps thundered on the floor and the kitchen door crashed into the wall as Frieda slammed through. She hurled the couch cushion at Tess to distract her as she, too, slammed into the kitchen. Thinking quickly, Frieda twisted on the cold water and grabbed the spray nozzle. She pointed at a line on the tile. "This is the line of death. You do not cross," she threatened in goofy accent. The water hissed out of the faucet behind her to emphasize the threat.
Tess raised an incredulous eyebrow and stepped over the aforementioned line.
Frieda maintained the accent. "This is your last warning." She pointed at another line. "That is the line of death. You cross it, you die."
Tess stepped over that last line and crossed her arms, shooting Frieda a smart-ass smirk.
"You've been warned." Frieda squeezed the handle and a shower of cold water leaped out with a sksht sound. Tess shrieked and covered her eyes with her arms, backing away. Frieda chased her across the kitchen. The range of the sprayer was really quite impressive. Tess fled from her until she finally found refuge in a far corner. The stream of water fell just short its target's feet.
Tess stood, the water splattering off the tile onto her bare feet in a fine mist. Her left arm hugged her stomach, her right elbow was braced on her left hand, and her right hand was pressed over her eyes. Her dripping hair formed a black curtain around her face. She quivered with internal laughter.
Still maintaining the accent, Frieda asked, "Do you surrender?"
Tess could only nod and snicker.
Frieda threw her hands in the air in a gesture of victory, the water spurting off at a random target. "I can't believe I won one!"
Tess snerked. "You triumph, grasshopper. We shall meet again." Her eyes wandered around the soaked kitchen.
When Frieda followed her friend's gaze, her breath left her. "Oh, shit!" She quickly replaced the sprayer and dove towards a drawer. "You," she pointed over her shoulder at Tess, "are a bad, bad seed." Her hand plunged into the drawer of roughly texture dish towels.
Tess beamed. "I know." She caught the wad of fabric Frieda thrust at her. Tess had always loved the smell of laundry detergent, and dishtowels always had that sweet scent of hot water fused into their very threads. A pale hand rubbed the wad of fabric against a pale cheek and Tess purred in contentment. Her mind drifted off into a world of suds and rainbows...
"Come on," Frieda urged. "We have to clean this up before my parents come back."
Tess' attention snapped back to the harshly florescent world of the kitchen. This was true. Mr. and Mrs. Goren thought highly of Tess (Tess' own brand of two-face syndrom) and they'd be infinitely more likely to let her stay if the house wasn't in shambles when they walked through the front door. More on this vein of reasoning than anything else, Tess dropped to her hands and knees and began wiping down the tiles.
X)O(X
They stepped onto a staircase that carried them further into the darkness beneath the city. One may have felt rather like Dante descending into his inferno, or Hercules descending into the Underworld. However, Ferret wasn't very familiar with Inferno, and if he had heard of Hercules it would have only been in passing. Water trickled down the chipped, gray brick, leaving slimy green and black trails its wake. The aroma of mildew permeated the atmosphere and burned in the rodent meta-human's sensitive nostrils. In the faint orange glow bobbing down the passage a few steps ahead, he saw the shadowy silhouette of Hotstreak flinch under the touch of a renegade drop. It attacked him from the ceiling, burning him with its cool moisture. The fire he caressed in his right hand jumped and shuddered with his agitation, causing the shadows around the three meta-humans to shift and glide like phantasmal shapes. Ferret gulped, again finding himself wondering about the nocturnal Bang Babies. Ferret, who had lost his sense of direction a few hundred twists and turns ago, ventured, "Where are we?" His voice bounced off the walls, unnaturally loud, and he instantly regretted breaking that unholy silence.
Hotstreak tossed the sphere onto his left pointer finger and spun it like a basketball. The surrounding shadows danced in response, but hardly intimidated him. The only things he still hadn't quite adjusted to were the unheralded drips that slithered out of the cracks in the low ceiling. "We can't tell you. Meta-breed rules, you understand."
Ferret couldn't repress his snerk at the idea of Hotstreak following anyone's rules. Under normal circumstances, the reaction would have gone unnoticed, swallowed up by street noise. However, in this airless, oppressive space, the walls grabbed the sound before it could get too far and began playing a wild game of catch with it up and down the hall. Ferret jumped and squeaked when he suddenly found Hotstreak's enraged face bare inches from his own.
Hotstreak bent at the waist to send an infernal glare into the smaller meta-human's eyes."You wanna try me, rat boy?"
Ferret shied away and shook his head vigorously, causing the luminous chain still around his neck to jingle and crackle.
"Damn straight." Hotstreak jabbed a finger into the scrawny chest to punctuate each of his next four words. "Always. Know. Your. Place." He turned and kept walking.
Ferret freed the breath he had been holding. I really need to be more careful. Hotstreak's just... psychotic... He glanced back at Shiv to gage his reaction. The blue-haired teen was staring at something on the ceiling, even as they walked, yet he never stumbled on the stairs. Something about Shiv's intent yet unreadable expression sent shivers down Ferret's spine, especially since he couldn't pick out anything on the ceiling worth staring at. What had become known as 'the Shiv grin' reappeared and his gaze traveled to the left, down the wall, and stopped to rest on his feet. Ferret's own eyes returned to his own feet. It was best not to think about the airless catacombs. It was best not to dwell on the temperaments of his escorts, and it was certainly optimal not to entertain questions of Shiv's sanity, for a number of reasons best left unacknowledged. Instead, he concentrated on a hole in his black and white sneaker.New sensory input snapped his head up. It wasn't the wreak of mildew, mold, or the faint hint of fungal spores that burned his olfactory senses. As they neared the bottom of the stares, the foul stench of rot peeled itself off the wall of smells and flashed him a decayed grin. Ferret doubled over and almost tossed up all of the Teddy Grams right there.
Hotstreak heard the gags and wrenches behind him but didn't turn around. He could see the crumpled lump at the foot of the stairs. It seemed to twitch and stir in the flickering light. The pyro only paid the pile of green flesh, bone, and rags enough mind to hold his breath as he stepped over it. The tunnel that faced him was lined with doorless arches that either dead-ended in small rooms or became passages branching off all over the city. A few of them had grimy, crude curtains draped across them. Some of them had vertical planks of wood leaning haphazardly across them, lending the impression of a rudimentary prison block. There was a squawk and a thump behind him, followed by more wrenching sounds. Hotstreak glanced back to see Ferret on his hands and knees struggling to keep the contents of his stomach down. He must've tripped on the body... "Get up, wuss!"
Ferret barely felt the sharp jerk on the leash he wore, but the smell was so all consuming and nauseating he could hardly make his limbs function. It wrapped greasy fingers around his throat and squeezed mercilessly, making his eyes water. Ferret partly crawled, but mostly allowed himself to be dragged, away from the decaying thing. What was that? And why did they leave it there? Ferret thought about its shriveled, shrunken face, the single eyeless socket... a morbid thing of indeterminate gender, class, or career. Was it human? Was it meta-human?When they were a tolerable distance away, Ferret sucked in deep breaths of relatively clean air and focused on calming his churning stomach. The air down here was all stagnant and stale. He staggered to his feet and took in his surroundings. The compound reminded him of something. It was kind of like... the underground city of the thieves in that book he had liked growing up. He peered down one or two of the branching halls but the unstable orange light couldn't reach its fingers far enough into the inky darkness to show where they led.
The corridor ended in a cloth screened arch. Hotstreak breezed inside without so much as looking back. Beyond this curtain lounged a figure darker than the eternal night that consumed the veins and arteries of this underworld. He was a dead ringer for Hades; an omnipotent figure with a malevolent glare and authoritative voice. Currently, he balanced in his chair with his feet crossed on the box in front of him, but this laid back attitude was merely a facade. Ebon was sharper than a hawk and slyer than a fox. He saw all, knew all, and controlled all. The shadows were his eyes, and most of the meta-humans in the city had come to answer to him.
Even though Hotstreak was the first to enter, and generally the more assertive one, Shiv tended to have the biggest mouth. "Ebon! Look what we found!" Shiv shoved Ferret toward Ebon. "Can we keep him? Please?"
Ferret smiled nervously and presented a half wave, not sure what to do or say.
Ebon scrutinized the haggard offering with narrowed eyes. He appeared weak and useless, but every Bang Baby, even low men like Button, was offered a chance to challenge any initial negative impressions. A deep rumble escaped Ebon's throat as he stood and moved around to the front of the box. "And you are?"
"F-" Ferret's voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "Ferret."
"Never heard of you."
"Yeah, well," Ferret shrugged and rubbed the back of his left hand: a nervous habit. "I kind of... keep to myself." Silence settled in to brood on his shoulders, its weight increasing the slouch in his posture. Three pairs of eyes burned into him, as though stripping away his flesh to judge his soul. What else am I supposed to say? "See, the rest of the Rough Pack got thrown in the big house, so-"
"The rest," Ebon interrupted with a tinge of amusement in his voice. "You mean Kangor and Hyde?"
"Yeah. And..." Ferret decided to leave out the part about running from Static and Gear. He also omitted the part about wandering the streets in a daze all day, sick with fear and uncertainty, munching on Teddy Grams. "When it started raining, I decided to find a dry place to think things over and get some sleep. My original plan was to break them out in the morning," he gestured over his shoulder at the other two, "but then they showed up." The others' earlier, territorial reaction, and rumors of the size of Ebon's ego, prompted him to add in a rush, "I didn't know this was your territory, and I mean no... disrespect..." He trailed off. Well, which image did he want to go with? Tough guy who answers to no one, or humble, loyal coward? He was so fucked, either way, really... best to go with loyal coward. Sadly, the most convincing story was always the truest story. There was also the matter of winning Ebon's trust, so Ferret would have to be honest in all things at this moment.
Ebon wasn't quite sure what to think of this nobody Bang Baby. He wasn't very well acquainted with Hyde, either, but he respected Kangor enough to entertain the idea of bringing Ferret in under his shadowy wing. However, he had to keep the pressure on Ferret, so he responded with, "Why shouldn't I kill you?"
The rodent meta-human hadn't been prepared for that question and his knees almost gave out from under him. "I'm... obedient... and loyal. I'm careful, too." Ferret felt like he was doing pretty well until he heard Hotstreak clear his throat behind him. His heart sank. What was the vindictive flame-head going to do, now?
"Careful," Hotstreak asked, smirking, "or a pussy?" When Ferret's only reaction was to freeze up, the psycho turned to Ebon. "The reason you've never heard of this piece of rat shit is that he's never done anything. He's a useless pussy. Even his powers suck."
"The Joker didn't think my powers suck," Ferret snapped defensively before being sorry he'd reminded the other two of that incident.
"You turned him down 'cause you didn't want to get in trouble," Hotstreak sneered. There was no way anyone was going to get away with talking to him like that, especially not this feeble, pathetic excuse for a...
"But he still asked me," Ferret shot back.
Shiv giggled. "Yeah, 'cause otherwise Kangor woulda said no."
"And now, Kangor ain't around to babysit you," Hotstreak continued, cutting off Ferret's reply, "so you're crying to us."
Ferret was struck off balance by the truth of these words. He wouldn't have expected Hotstreak of all meta-humans to be so... insightful? Huh. It was just a lucky guess, was all. There was no way that anger management drop out could know anything. "No," Ferret asserted defensively.
Hotstreak glowered at the other meta-human and shifted toward him half a step. Ferret flinched but retained eye contact.
Ebon watched this with his typically unreadable expression. There was some fight in the mangey creature, yet at the same time he appeared to be a complete pushover. On top of that, he was more competent and lucid than Shiv. The shadow man intervened in the brewing fight by stepping in and trapping Ferret with a shadowy arm around the scrawny neck. As he led the Bang Baby away from the others, the phosphorus chain snapped and evaporated in a shower of sparkles. "Listen, Ferret," Ebon began. He felt Ferret quivering like a chihuahua. "I never turn down a fellow meta-human. But yah see, we're a family down here. Each supports the other. You get me?"
"I... I guess..." was Ferret's uncertain reply.
"This ain't no free ride. You want our protection? You gotta prove your loyalty. Prove that you can pull your own weight."
Ferret glanced up into the glowing white eyes and felt his stomach knot up. What had he gotten himself into? He kept wondering that over and over again. They weren't going to make him kill somebody, were they? All of them were seriously messed up, way out of his league. Then again, if it came to kill or be killed? Ferret groaned mentally. "What do I have to do?"
Ebon removed his arm and, with a chuckle, clapped Ferret on the back with an audible thump. "I like this kid already."
X)O(X
Though thick clouds still choked the light from the misty air, the rain had fallen and was now commencing its laborious climb skyward. The house had long since ceased breathing. The only touches of movement were the muted phantoms casting their bright shadows across the sleep-stilled face. The light glittered along the silvery rings and lent a bluish cast to the complexion. Tess slept like death. Not an eyelid fluttered, not a muscle twitched. Frieda smiled at this misleading portrait of innocence and rose soundlessly to her feet. The empty two liter still hung in Tess' limp fingers. When the hazel-eyed teen gently slid the bottle from her grasp, Tess didn't so much as flinch. She must be exhausted. Frieda cast her a compassionate glance before gathering the cans and carting them out to the recycling bin in the garage.
As the cans clattered and clanked their greetings to the others, Frieda reflected on what had just happened and where it was going. True, she was thrilled, absolutely thrilled to see Tess again, but there were still memories that didn't make her laugh. Some of the things Tess had goaded her into made her blush at her own stupidity. At the time they had all seemed like good ideas, and the two girls always remained anonymous. That, however, only served to show Frieda just how little about Tess' powers she really knew, and concerned her more than calmed her. Did she fear Tess? No. No, I'm not afraid of her. Tess would never hurt me. I guess... I guess I'm afraid for her. The garage door thundered open, interrupting her thoughts. She moved out of the way as her parents parked and exited the vehicle.
"Frieda, dear, shouldn't you be in bed by now?" Mrs. Goren asked.
"Mom! You'll never guess what happened!"
In the dark, Mrs. Goren mistook her daughter's rapture for distress. "My goodness, are you okay? Are you injured?"
Frieda was puzzled for a moment, then shook her head. This gesture was lost in the inky night, but not the words "No, everything's fine. I mean... Tess came back!"
"Tess?" Mr. Goren's eyebrows shot up. "Tess Escher?"
"Yes, she's," Frieda pointed behind her at the crack of light from the kitchen door, "asleep on the couch. She didn't look too well when she came in, but I think she'd doing better, now."
Mr. and Mrs. Goren exchanged a glance as they followed their daughter inside. They'd never entertained the idea of even hearing from Tess again, not after the first year and a half had gone by. It had hurt them so much to see their lovely little girl so distraught by the loss her of greatest and closest friend. Tess had almost been like a second daughter to them, despite her abilities and disabilities. In fact, they may have even adopted the troubled little girl, if whoever had snatched her away hadn't beaten them to it. They hadn't been allotted specifics, but they had heard that the man had been very rich. Very rich. Rich enough to buy up the system, at any rate. But, time had passed, Frieda had begun high school, and made two new friends. After a while, it had appeared as though Tess was gone forever. Then again, that girl had always had the habit of turning up in unlikely places. They made their way around the couch and stood observing the piteous scene.
"Should we move her?" Frieda asked.
Tess didn't look well. Her face was gaunt and pallid. "No," Mr. Goren answered. "Let her sleep, she looks like she needs it."
Mrs. Goren drew the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over the sleeper. "We'll discuss more permanent arrangements in the morning."
Hazel eyes sparkled in the dull light of the TV. "You mean she can stay?" Frieda knew there would be a huge mess when they found out Tess had run away from her legal guardians, especially if this Osborn person managed to track her here. However, those little details could wait until morning... morning a couple days from now...
"For a while, if she wants to," Mrs. Goren smiled. "But it's late, and you should be asleep, too."
Frieda smiled back and hugged first her mother, then her father. "Thank you. I love you both." After exchanging good-nights they drifted off to their various rooms. The Gorens' daughter could hardly imagine sleeping, not with all the possible activities swirling around in her brain. She couldn't wait to introduce Tess to Daisy, Virgil, and Richie. She just knew they would love her! Then again, she didn't want to place too much strain on her friend too early. Tess was easily overwhelmed, and that much input all at once... Well, she would just have to ask Tess herself in the morning.
X)O(X
FATR: What has Ferret gotten himself into? I'm not sure if it will be resolved in the next chapter or not. I'll just have to see what my muses tell me. Oh, and I fixed a typo or two in the last chip chip, and (after some extensive research) have determined Hotstreak is more of an Aries than an Apollo. Little changes. They won't affect the story, so don't worry. Hm... I'm not quite sure what's going on in Shiv's head yet, and quite frankly I'm a little afraid to look. Heheh, just kidding. You'll know when I know.
lt. commander richie: Neat trick! You think I can do that? Heehee, I do hope you came back for this chapter, and I hope you come back for the next one as well.
mistermistoffelees: That's what happens in this chapter. Heh, see you next time, perhaps?
Glamek Stalker: Woot! Long review! Button will appear, even though he's not here yet. I have many places for him to fill, I do. Let's see...
And to all of you, something I'm just curious about: how did you pick your screen names? Just me, being curious. Don't be afraid to let me know if I'm being over the top, even though I'm preparing a perfectly good explanation for the underground community thing. You'll see. Any Bang Baby appearances you would like to see are still being accepted. Remember that. Thank you all for your time and I strongly encourage you to review again.