FATR: I've got a Patton Oswalt quote hidden in this chapter. If you find it... uh... you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you found it. I think Shiv let me into his head for a little bit, and it wasn't nearly as complicated as I expected. I feel like there's a lesson there, somewhere. Let's see... I don't own The Ring. I don't own Spider-Man, I don't own Static Shock... Let's make this simple. The only I do own is Tess, okay? Okay... And, yes, there is a Spider-Man comic in this reality, even though there is also Spider-Man in this reality. See, I'm not sure what the time frame for this is, exactly, in relation to the show and the comics. It's pretty much just alternate universe, but in Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 10, there were people making a Spider-Man movie. So why can't there be a comic? There. I've logically defended that point. Reviewer acknowledgments are at the end. On to chip chip five...
X)O(X
The sun brushed the curtains aside with golden hands to spy on the slumbering girl. Her auburn hair spilled wildly across the clean white pillow, but her overall demeanor was serene. The lavender blankets rose and fell with her respiration. One arm fell across her stomach and the other was bent around her head. Her head was turned so that her face was buried in the crook of her elbow, but she slept on her back. The white door opened soundlessly and a dark figure, damp raven hair curtaining her face, slunk to the foot of Frieda's bed. She crawled onto the foot of the bed and up the sleeper's body until she sat straddling Frieda's waist. Frieda felt the mattress dip under the extra weight and groggily turned her head.
"Seven days," the figure hissed.
Frieda's eyes fluttered open. The blurry being swam before her, hiding behind the mask of hair. Frieda squawked aloud and jerked upright, almost clashing heads with the other girl. As her heart slowed and her brain came around, she realized the apparition was tittering at her. The damp hair parted on one side to disclose not a dead, water molded face, but a sparkling sliver eye. "... Tess!" Frieda exclaimed. "What the hell?"
"Expression... your face..." Tess fell over sideways in a seizure of laughter, bouncing once on the mattress. She'd already been up for over an hour and had taken the opportunity to shower, shave, and borrow Frieda's tooth brush. Tess knew she'd be drifting in and out of sleep at random times until she had the chance to power up a bit, but those chances would be difficult to come by. All well, she would just have to keep her eyes open. Yeah, that'd go over well... 'Anywhere I can scare up some energy, FriFri?' I can just see...
"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Frieda wasn't mad. Back in the old days, she'd been used to these antics. Tess stopped laughing and laid on her back, half on, half off the bed, grinning up at Frieda. "What?" Frieda smiled back.
Tess pointed to the door and summed up her purpose in one word. "Pancakes."
Frieda rubbed her eyes on the back of her hand and ran her fingers through her hair with a groan. To the untrained ear, Tess' words may have sounded a little like a request or a demand, but Frieda knew it meant, 'You're mother's making pancakes and she told me to come get you.' This is what prompted Frieda's next question, in combination with noting that Tess was up and showered and dressed. "What time is it?"
"One one," Tess giggled, bouncing to her feet. "Come on!"
So she was in a manic mood. Frieda's lips drew up and back at the corners to see Tess' improved condition. They quickly dropped back into a confused frown. "Eleven o'clock?"
"Well, yeah..." Tess stopped bouncing and stared at Frieda. "Chop, chop, sleepyhead!"
"But..." The groggy fog was slowly drifting away, but confusion still lingered. "It's Sunday, eleven o'clock on Sunday."
Tess rattled her bracelets and clicked her rings impatiently. "Yeah?"
"No one woke me up?" Frieda asked.
Tess look puzzled. I did... I woke you up. I guess, Sunday means something, but of course... Tess looked at the ceiling as a dark shape darted across it. It twisted and flopped like a snake before disappearing in the bowl of the light fixture. She blinked and her eyes darted to the side. S... Sunday...sab... oh... Huh? All well... Her eyes returned to Frieda who was now perched on the edge of her bed.
The rug was spongy and rough on her bare feet. Tess had been the one to call attention to the fact that sleep deprivation seemed to enhance the sense of touch. Both girls had tried an experiment and discovered it to be mostly true. Then again, Frieda had started seeing strange shapes and what not by the third day, and as such had insisted on sleeping all that night and half of the following day. "They must've decided to let me sleep in after last night," Frieda was mumbling to no one in particular. Then she shrugged, dismissing this line of thought in favor of one she had been entertaining last night. "Hey, Tess, I had an idea, but if you're not comfortable with it, that's cool too."
Tess snerked and cocked her head at Frieda. "What possibly is there I that..." Tess gritted her teeth and concentrated. "What there is that..." She took a deep breath and clenched her fists in frustration, trying a shorter, simpler response. "What?"
"Well, there are three people I'd like you to meet, if it's all right with you. You could meet them one at a time, if you want." Tess was watching her expectantly and with a hint of intrigue, so Frieda went on with her explanation. "I don't know about Daisy, but I can see you hitting it off with Virgil and Richie." The bed jumped and squeaked as Tess plopped down beside Frieda and gazed intently at her. Everything in her demeanor indicated she thirsted for more details. "There's not much left to say, really," Frieda continued. "Except to ask if you want to meet them or not. So..." When Tess only waited for the actual question to be phrased, Frieda suppressed a giggle. Sometimes she wondered if Tess took things so literally on purpose or if she really didn't understand. "Do you want to meet them?"
Tess was conflicted. Any curiosity entertained about these three faceless names was merely centered around her affection for Frieda. She wanted to find out how Frieda had done for herself, who she was hanging out with now-a-days. Insight into Frieda's new friends was insight into whatever Frieda had evolved into, and that was something Tess was truly interested in getting to know. Other than that, any other human being or event was a potential chance to replenish her starved energy reserves. It was instinct to gather and squirrel away power. Tess didn't particularly enjoy existing in such a weakened and vulnerable state, either. It was just... aggravating; purely and simply frustrating. "First, pancakes," Tess answered before bouncing off the bed and trotting out the door.
X)O(X
Colors bounded everywhere; red, purple, green, and blue. There were four different ones right now, each one leaving a speed trail in its wake. Sometimes it was difficult to maintain more than four or five, and it was next to impossible to expand the size of the room much. Then again, that's why he practiced. One could have said it was a kind of meditation, but whether or not he considered it that deeply was debatable. Shiv's eyes drifted out of focus as he concentrated on forcing the walls apart as much as possible, that the room might be able to sustain more super-balls. It was a plain room, taller than it was wide, with walls that may have been stark white at one time. Now the walls (though still plain so as to maximize contrast with the rainbow of bouncing rubber spheres) had taken on a grayish hue. He pushed the walls back and experimentally added another ball, a hot pink one. Shiv had never been able to support more than five at once, but he kept hoping each time would be different. The manic meta-human grinned and turned in a slow circle to take in the streaks of color that filled the air. He added another one, a yellow one this time.
"Hey, psycho."
The balls collapsed around the blue-haired Bang Baby, bouncing and rolling to a stop with soft pattering sounds. Shiv, his disappointment with the loss of the flashy stimuli painfully evident, sat up slowly on the sleeping bag, sporting a rather sulky expression. A tall, muscular red-head with sagging khakis leaned in the arch to Shiv's room with his hands thrust in his pockets. Shiv cocked his head at the flaming red figure, the color drawing him forward, though he remained sitting. So... shiny...
"What're you doing?" Hotstreak asked, watching Shiv almost fall face down on his sleeping bag. Shiv jerked back up into a board-up-his-ass sitting position, beaming incessantly.
"Just thinking!" He declared cheerfully. In his mind, a red bouncy ball fell out of the sky and bounced off his mental self's head. "Ow..." Shiv rubbed the back of his head. A super ball shouldn't hurt that much, but one falling from that high up might. What was that thing called that said if you dropped a quarter off one of the Universal Commerce Buildings it could kill whoever it landed on? Terminal something...
Hotstreak raised an eyebrow. "Right..." The brick was cool against his back and tugged slightly on his shirt when he moved. He shrugged away from it and eyed the boy in the red and black jacket. How could something like staring into space be so entertaining? Hotstreak never understood it and he doubted he ever would. His eyes shifted to take in the rest of the room."Ebon's given us orders. We're s'posed to talk to rat face."
Shiv wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but he had past initiations on which to base his musings. Doubtless, Ebon was going to give Ferret a task, and send Hotstreak and Shiv along as observers. That way, if Ferret failed, the two observers could return to Ebon with an account of events. They also served as story verifiers, that is, if Ferret succeeded. Shiv had been the scout on two past missions, and quite frankly he had placed more faith in Aqua-Maria and Button than he dared to place in Ferret. All well. Ferret's performance remained to be seen. "So, what's the sitch?"
Hotstreak winced psychologically. Shiv had stopped watching Kim Possible a while ago, but he still used that ass obnoxious word. Every time the pyro heard it, he wanted to shake the mental patient by the shoulders until Shiv's teeth clicked and what little brain he may have rattled around in that dense...
Hotstreak's eyes lit up and purple smoke curled from their corners. Shiv blinked and recoiled a bit. "What?"
"Knock it off with the fucking word, that's what! I've fucking told you...!" Hotstreak took a step forward and pointed at Shiv with a flaming finger. Anger consumed his mind, burning away his Broca's area, and he trailed off with in inarticulate growl.
"W... what word?" Shiv stammered, candidly confused.
"That FUCKING-" Hotstreak felt his hair and eyebrows flare up. The explosion of light caused ghostly shapes to swirl and dip on the wall. Shiv's eyes were wide and his hands shivered in his lap. There was still a flicker of the moronic grin twitching on his lips but his lower lip was trembling. Why was the dipshit so volatile, anyway? That pissed Hotstreak off, too. Why did Shiv have to be so damn... childish? Why couldn't he grow the fuck up?
"I... I didn't mean..." Shiv squeaked. Hotstreak stormed across the room and hauled the blue-haired one up by the collar of his white t-shirt. The scrawnier meta-human squealed as the pyro began slamming him against the wall over and over again in series of sickening cracks.
Hotstreak dwelled on this little fantasy he'd spontaneously concocted for a second or two more as he glared at his team mate. Shiv still sat Indian style on his dingy sleeping bag, back straight, head cocked slightly to the left, gazing up at the pyro patiently. Hotstreak wanted to punch him right in the face sometimes, half the time, really, but he knew with Shiv it wouldn't leave nearly enough of an impression. "Just... come on," Hotstreak grumbled and turned his back on the maddeningly peaceful scene. "I don't wanna tell the same story twice." There were rustling sounds behind him as Shiv scrambled to his feet. The arsonist glowered at an innocent spider as it scuttled past his black sneakers. He lifted his right foot and brought it down with the force of a pile driver, turning the hapless arachnid into a black and gray smear.
"Hey, guess what," Shiv piped up as he bounded into the hall and fell into step beside Hotstreak.
"What?" There wasn't any malice in Hotstreak's voice, but there wasn't much genuine interest, either.
"Guess," Shiv encouraged, animatedly gesturing 'come on' with both hands.
Games like this weren't entirely appreciated in the morning. Hotstreak let out a faintly exasperated sigh and his eyes rolled up to the ceiling. He blinked and they rolled down to the floor. Finally, they shifted to the side and came to rest on Shiv. With face and voice void of emotion, he responded, "A flock of migrating manilla folders dived Dakota Union High today and ate all the paper and ink for two miles."
Shiv blinked and gaped. "Really?"
"No, dipshit, you told me to guess and I guessed."
"Oh." Disappointment darkened Shiv's expression for less than a nanosecond before the smile exploded back into place. He giggled; actually giggled, like a little school girl. "No..." He shook his head playfully, hard enough to make the hoops he wore in each ear swing against his jaw. "I had the most kick ass dream last night. Guess what it was about."
"No," was Hotstreak's simple reply.
Shiv's eyebrows drew together and his head tilted to the left. "Why not?"
"Because."
Shiv pouted and crossed his arms. "You're no fun," he muttered, staring at the floor. His buddy only grunted in response. There were a few more seconds of silence before Shiv darted out in front of Hotstreak and broke into a sort of backwards skip. "Okay, so, there was this old house, right? But it was underwater, so we couldn't get out without this special submarine kind of thing. I don't remember what happened to it, but... Oh, this was also kind of a cross over with these three movies I've seen, and... Well there was this one twisted part where this one person was in bed and all the lights in the room started going off and the ghosts..." Shiv stopped to take a breath and continued babbling before Hotstreak could interrupt. "The ghosts could only go out in the dark, so me and Ebon, wearing head lamps, 'cause for some reason we only had two headlamps, we were running to save the person, and-"
"Shiv," Hotstreak cut in, stopping in front of a arch covered with planks.
"-you were there," Shiv continued obliviously. "I mean, I don't remember you doing a lot... but you were there, too, and... Either Hyde or that one chick with the-"
"Shiv," Hotstreak repeated in a slightly louder voice.
"-sensitive ears... Tamara or somebody? Anyway, there was this part where-"
"Shiv!" Hotstreak all but bellowed. The other Bang Baby stopped jabbering and jumped, blinking and tilting his head again.
"Yes?"
"Shut. Up!"
Hotstreak's open palm slammed into his chest and Shiv stumbled back against the wall. When his back connected with the bricks, his teeth jarred and he almost bit his tongue. He managed to catch himself before he landed on his butt, but the grain of the wall grabbed his clothing and untucked the back of his white t-shirt. The pressure from the pyro's hand remained on Shiv's chest, pinning him against the wall like a butterfly. However, the red-head stormed past Shiv and into the room beyond. When the hand was gone, Shiv adjusted his clothing, not the least bit moved by what had just transpired, and trailed after the other meta-human.
Ferret, not surprisingly, had found sleep to be quite an elusive creature. Hotstreak's rejection of him, however, and fear of Ebon, had left him reluctant to leave his room. Therefore, when the other two meta-humans arrived, Ferret was in the middle of making his forty-second circuit of the chamber. He had just about every square millimeter memorized by this time. There wasn't really much to memorize. There were two dirty sheets heaped in a corner. They would have served as the bed for this place, if Ferret had wanted to sleep. Ferret had noted, a bit bitterly, that Ebon's room had contained a both a mattress and a pillow. There was a crate in the middle of the floor, which could be used as a table, chair, or rocket ship depending on the occupants fancy. There wasn't anything in the crate aside from a dust bunny or two. That was the first thing Ferret had investigated. Then he had just gone on to sort out and memorize the pictures made by the mold and dripping water.
When Hotstreak stormed in, the smaller meta-human could smell irritation on him. Judging from the exchange in the hall, Ferret knew he was treading unstable ground. "Uh, hey, guys. What's going on?" Ferret stopped pacing and glanced from one Bang Baby to the other. Hotstreak was smoldering. Shiv vaguely resembled a child who'd just been told off by the teacher, but didn't care because it was Friday and the end of school.
"Ebon's got a job for you," Shiv sang giddily and giggled.
"Oh?" Ferret tried not to look like the trapped rat he felt like.
"Yeah," Hotstreak answered. "And it's so easy, a baby with half your powers could do it." To be quite honest, Hotstreak felt like Ebon was cutting Ferret unfair slack. Then again, with a face and powers like that, it would take Ferret some serious thinking to pull it off. Yep, this would be good for a laugh...
"Come on, come on, enough with the suspense!" The way Shiv was practically bouncing off the walls, one would think it was his mission or something.
Hotstreak rolled his eyes. Shiv was almost too excitable for his own good. When he spoke again, he addressed Ferret. "The jewelry store in the mall is showcasing five hundred grand diamond necklace for a charity auction this afternoon. You're going to steal it."
Ferret was almost relieved. He'd expected something much, much worse. Then again, as he contemplated the layout of the mall, a new challenge made itself known. "But... there aren't any outside entrances to that store..."
"No shit, sherlock," Hotstreak spat back.
"So... how'm I supposed to get inside?" Ferret asked.
"That," Hotstreak grinned, "is the challenge." His grin was even worse than his scowl. "Me and Shiv'll be stationed outside the store to watch you, but," he added, glaring at the momentarily hopeful Ferret, "we can't and won't help you. If Fly Boy and Gizmo show up, you're one your own. If the mall cops catch you, you're on your own. If you can't figure out how to get in..."
"I'm on my own," Ferret finished with a sigh.
Shiv was positively enthralled by the potential entertainment value of this initiation. It was always kind of like watching a movie, especially when a fight broke out. He would be on the edge of his figurative seat, every nerve tingling with adrenaline. Would the villain win? Would the hero win? There was no way of knowing until it came right down the final scene. "So, until then, you hungry or something?" Shiv asked. He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "I think we've still got some Pain Go Bye-Bye Juice in the rec room."
Hotstreak snorted. "Button would say it's not a good idea to get slammed before a mission..."
Shiv's grin reappeared in its cheekiest form. "And?"
"Fuck Button," Hotstreak smirked back. He sauntered out of the room like the alpha male of a wolf pack.
Shiv started to follow him before turning back to the figure hunched alone in the room. Ferret was rubbing the back of his left hand again. He resembled nothing if not a nervous squirrel. "You coming?" Shiv asked, tilting his head.
Ferret was encouraged by this apparent acceptance, even if it was only from Shiv, who was fickle at best. The rodent meta-human scampered after the other two but couldn't think of anything to say.
X)O(X
Tess and Frieda sat across from each other. Tess was stuffing her face with the strawberry syrup soaked pancakes, as usual. The silky bread melted in her mouth. That was another reason she needed to power up soon. At this rate, she would eat the Goren's out of house and home. She didn't want to do that to Frieda, and she had no where else to go. Well, if worse came to worse, she could always hole up in one of those little cracks in the city super-villains always seemed to find. As a last resort, she could hide out in the gas station with... but no. That would be a last resort.
Frieda swallowed and began cutting another bite. "So what'd you want to do today?" She asked Tess without looking up.
Tess, with equal if not greater concentration on her food, shrugged impulsively before she realized Frieda wasn't watching. "I dunno... I've been gone..."
Frieda sat back in the oak chair and tapped her fork on her plate while she thought. The clinking sound filled the silent room, but the silence was far from uncomfortable. "There's been a lot of remodeling at the mall, especially around the food court..." She point the fork at Tess as a thought occurred to her. "You know, they put in a new game and comic book store. If Richie and Virgil aren't there already, I'm sure they'd love to come along. Of course," she added hastily, "you're not obligated to let them." Tess hadn't given her a clear answer on the subject, yet, after all. Even though she had appeared enthralled while Frieda explained the idea, that didn't mean she would necessarily back the idea up.
Tess weighed the pros and cons one last time before giving a detached nod. It was hard to feel anything, really, that didn't involve Frieda or herself, but Tess wouldn't mind if the two boys tagged along. She did find herself wondering what had glued her to Frieda in the first place, but the pancakes were delicious and there was a robin at the bird feeder so she left the previous train of thought at the station. Flying would be so kick ass...
While Tess' mind was taking off on the wings of a red-chested bird, Frieda finished eating, stood up, and gathered her dishes into the sink. She followed her friend's line of sight for a moment before plucking the phone out of it's cradle and dialing Virgil's number. The beeps filled the kitchen but Tess remained evidently indifferent. The phone rang once, twice, three times... There was a click on the other end and a female voice answered.
"Hello? Hawkins residence."
"Hey, Sharon, it's Frieda. I don't suppose Virgil's there?"
"Hang on..." Sharon placed the phone speaker-down on her shoulder and called upstairs. "Baby brother! There's a giiirl on the phone."
In his room, Virgil had been lounging on his bed discussing potential plans with Richie. When Sharon's voice reached his ears, he jerked into a sitting position, a blush just touching his ears. Why did Sharon have to do that? What if Daisy or Frieda heard her say that? Big sisters... "Okay, okay, I've got it!" Virgil shouted back, snatching up the phone in his room and pressing the 'talk' button. Richie slouched in the computer chair across from him, laughter sparkling in his brown eyes. Virgil shot him a dirty look before saying, "Hello?"
There was a muffled click as Sharon hung up the other phone. "Virgil, it's Frieda. You doing anything right now?"
"Rich and I were tossing some plans back and forth, but we haven't decided on anything." Virgil watched his friend cock his head inquisitively, twisting the chair side to side.
Frieda twirled one finger in her hair and looked across the kitchen at Tess. The dark-haired girl was tracing patterns in the leftover syrup with her fork, now. Evidently the bird had flown away. "An old friend of mine just got into town and we're going to the mall, to check out the new comic shop. You and Richie interested in joining us?"
"I don't see why not. Hang on, I'll ask," Virgil tipped the phone away from his mouth to address Richie. "Fri's old friend's in town and they're going to the comic shop. You wanna go?"
Richie grinned. "Sounds good to me. I still need to pick up the latest issue of Spider-Man, anyway."
Virgil spoke into the phone. "Are we going to meet you there?"
Frieda contemplated Tess as she answered, "Yeah, that might be best. When can you leave?"
"Pops is at the Community Center, so any time."
Frieda tilted the phone away from her mouth. "Tess." Silver eyes met hers. "You ready to go?" Tess shrugged and slouched back in the chair, cocking her head. Frieda decided to take that as a yes. "How about we meet you in front of the mall in... about an hour?"
Virgil's smile was evident in voice. "See you then."
"Yep, ttfn."
There was a click on Frieda's end and the phone line whined. Virgil hung up the handset with his powers and turned to Richie. "Nothing short of a meta-human attack could screw up this day."
Richie smirked and shifted in the computer chair. It creaked when his weight left the back and resettled. "Careful not to jinx it. Remember we've still got Ferret and Hoodie Girl running around."
Virgil made a pish-posh gesture with his right hand as he stood up. "Oh, please, what's Ferret Face gonna do?"
If only the two adolescent super-heros had known...
X)O(X
FATR: I love cliff hangers, if you haven't figured that out yet. I know things are moving a touch slowly, but believe me, things are really going to explode in the next chip chip. I can't wait to write that part... It'll be so fun...
Moonjava: Short and to the point as usual. Not always, just usual. Thankies very much. You're very much appreciated.
aleeok: Lol, thanks for finishing chapter two. From what you say, you won't be here for a while, but when you do get to this chapter, thank you. I'll talk to you later, kay?
Glamek Stalker: Yeah! Dane Cook fan! "Suck my back! Suck my back!" Lol, he's awesome... I hope you enjoyed the little taste of Ferret's task. Naturally, nothing ever goes according to plan, does it? I'm watching the site, of course, but let me know when that fic you talked about comes up. Now, you didn't answer my question last time, and I'm dying to know... I mean, what is a Glamek? And why are you stalking it? What's your screen name mean, girl? Penguin Peace until next time.
benny2000: Aw, I'm so flattered /hugs/. Again, it's moving slowly but I promise a demonstration of Tess' powers in the next chapter. The next chapter is going to rock, just you wait.
lt. commander richie: I'm not sure who the green thing is, yet. It did cross my mind that it might be Leech. It most likely will be, but the explanation figures into the next chapter, so we'll find out for sure then. You're right, too, it does sound better than Captain Richie. Oh, and I read "Nobody Cares." I tried to review but the thingy was being weird, so I'll ask my question here and comment officially later: Who was the girl in the poem?
I'll close with what I said to Glamek Stalker: Penguin Peace until next time!