A/N- Finally! Onto the next episode, Return!
Korean Pearl- Thank you! As for Alia's fate, you'll have to read on to see what happens to her.
PippinDuck- Thanks! I hope you like this chapter!
TesubCalle- You didn't really think I'd end it there, did you? No, we have a long way to go. So stick with us!
Same disclaimer applies.
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Chapter 13- Return of the Good Leaper
Open your eyes, and look outside,
Find the reasons why you've been rejected,
And now you can't find what you've left behind.
Be strong, be strong now, too many too many problems,
Don't know where she belongs, where she belongs.
-Nobody's Home, by Avril Lavigne
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I thought I would die. I wished for death. I would have done anything to end the pain that ensued in the following weeks, months, years? I had no idea how long it lasted. My mind was scrambled over and over again; every nerve ending was on fire. But this was not news to me. I had felt it once before, when I had failed to kill Sam.
But they gave me one last chance. As Zoey put it, "Third time's a charm. But you don't get a fourth chance."
Maybe if I had resisted once again I would have been killed. But now that the pain was gone, I couldn't bring myself to risk it again. I wept until there were no more tears left in me, but I continued to obey Lothos. Like a whipped and broken cur, I was at his beck and call.
Zoey gave up on finding Sam. She didn't want to risk me crumbling again, and Lothos must have agreed with her. There were no more searches for Doctor Beckett.
In the end, we didn't have to look. He found us.
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Another leap. Another assignment. Another life to destroy.
I felt weary when the red light finally left me, but quickly tried to cover it. I pushed the feeling away. Weakness only gave me pain, and my entire life was spent trying to avoid that. I couldn't afford to feel anything.
"Oh, uh, actually, the car was still stopped when I jumped," said a young man in a nerdy-looking tie. He must have seen my Leap-in confusion because he asked, "Are you all right?"
I was still unsure of what to say, but was saved from answering when the jock next to me answered, "She's fine. Her only problem is she can smell your dirty socks, Arnold. Right baby?"
I found my voice. "Yeah, right." Then, wondering if that had been the wrong thing to say, I asked, "Uh, what were you saying, Arnold?"
He smiled forcefully. "Never mind. It's nothing. Nice to meet you."
I nodded. "Yeah, it was nice meeting you too."
"Here you go," he said, handing a paper to the boy beside me.
"He's so modest, it's cute," I remarked, hoping I was acting the right way.
"Cute? He's a twerp, look at his clothes. Hey, you got wheels, Arnold?"
A younger boy beside Arnold spoke up. "Yeah, yeah, sure he does! A Studebaker, right?"
"Look, I hate to break this up, but we gotta get to class," Arnold said, walking away.
"Yeah, you get back to class, Arnold, but put this in your twisted little head. I'm holding you personally responsible for getting us in trouble with the Dean."
He turned back around for one moment. "Yeah, well twist on this, pal. You wanna know who's responsible, look in the mirror."
The jock next to me glowered. "I'm gonna kill him, I swear I'm gonna kill him!"
"Cool it, Mike," his friend advised. "If anything happens to little Arnold, we'll get our butts kicked out of here faster than you can say expelled."
"What, we're just supposed to let this happen?"
"The Dean, remember? There's nothing else we can do!"
"Guess what, we're here, darling. Lothos says we're dealing with some Woody Allen type! Perfect job for a Homecoming Queen," Zoey said, stepping through the Door. She took a look around us. "Oh, Frat Boys. My favorite college subject."
I glanced at them suavely. "Yes, there is."
"Yeah, what? What do you wanna do?"
"How do you think the Midnight Marauder would feel if he suddenly became very close friends with the Homecoming Queen?" I asked, taking my cue from Zoey's remark.
"Go on," Mike said, intrigued.
"And then the Homecoming Queen tells the nerd it was all a big joke."
"Where?"
"Someplace public, like, a Homecoming Rally, so the whole college can see."
Mike's friend dug his elbow into him. "Yeah, and if he doesn't jump out a window he'll drop out for sure!"
"I opt for the window," Zoey remarked cheerfully.
"It's a new you," Mike said, reaching out for me. "I love the way you think."
I came forward and rested in his arms, wondering when this would all be over.
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Holding my books to my chest, I wandered into the library, searching for Arnold. Zoey thought my plan was marvelous, but she was hoping for a little more…something like his death. I told her coyly that if she could figure out a way to kill him without getting me kicked out of college, I'd be happy to oblige.
Surprisingly, the person I was seeking stood up and actually waved me over.
"This seat's not taken," Arnold called.
"Really?" I said, unable to hide my surprise. Not surprise at the fact the seat wasn't taken- not too many people would want to sit with Arnold Watkins- but because he actually had the courage to ask me to sit by him. Although, if you think about it, jumping on top of a moving car is much more dangerous than talking to a girl…
"Yeah."
He jumped up and held the chair out for me, then turned around to get in his own seat. I looked at him with new interest; no one had ever done that for me before.
"Thanks," I said. Then, "I'm sorry Mike was such a jerk today."
"Oh, its not your fault."
"Most of the time he's really sweet," I told him, wondering if this was the truth. "He only acts macho when it comes to his fraternity."
Arnold was confused. "Macho?"
Inwardly I grimaced. I had used a word that wasn't used in this time period. I quickly covered, saying, "Yeah, I learned it last summer in Spain. It means manly, masculine…macho."
Arnold grinned. "Yeah, well he sure likes acting 'macho' when he's out chicken racing with his buddies, doesn't he."
"You're not kidding me."
"Have you ever tried to talk him out of it?"
I rolled my eyes. "He doesn't listen to me, I'm just his 'girl'."
"Oh, right, it's the fifties," Arnold said under his breath.
Now it was my turn to be confused. "Huh?"
He looked like he'd just got caught stealing the cookies out of the cookie jar, and was trying to cover. "I've just got this feeling that someday, men will be much more receptive to what women think. You know, someday."
I smiled, wondering how he had been able to predict that. "That's nice. I'm glad someone thinks that." I paused, then said, "Mike is so mean to you. Why do you care about him?"
He grinned again. "The Midnight Marauder cares about everyone."
"You mean, Arnold Watkins really cares about people."
"Right." He sighed. "Everyone needs caring for."
I thought hard. It seemed I'd had this conversation with someone before, maybe in a Leap I'd forgotten…"You remind me of someone."
"Clark Kent?"
I laughed. "Don't sell yourself short! I, I can't place it. But I think it's wonderful the way you help people."
"Thanks," he murmured, looking at the table.
I changed the subject, wondering how I was going to be able to get us together. "I wish someone would rescue me from my biology midterm. It's not exactly a job for the Midnight Marauder, but…"
"Don't say that, maybe it is. I'm pretty good at science."
"Really?" I cocked my head at him, thinking of something. "Tell you what. I have a little 'pull' with Mike. If you help me with my biology midterm, I'll talk to him and see if I can't convince him and the Ki Chappas to find some safer form of initiation."
He smiled. "You got yourself a deal!"
"Seven o'clock, my dorm? Tonight?"
"It's a date."
"Great!"
We both stood up at the same time, reaching to shake hands, when Arnold knocked the pile of books over.
"Sorry," he gasped, bending down to pick them up. "Sorry, I…"
"It's okay," I laughed. "See you at seven."
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Zoey popped in later that night, and as I began to put on my makeup, she began to get anxious.
"Where is he?" She seethed.
"He'll be here," I assured her.
"Nerds are nothing if not punctual," Zoey ground out.
"Would you relax?" I snapped. "I guarantee that within five minutes I'll have Arnold's slide-rule fully extended."
"That's my girl," Zoey said.
I gazed in the mirror at Dawn's reflection, noting that she was prettier than I. I felt only a tad jealous, in some Leaps I had been uglier than myself. It was nice to be pretty for a change. Even so, I would have traded places with her in a snap, just to be myself again.
Just then, Zoey's hand-link went berserk, beeping and spewing data everywhere. She glanced at it, then looked a second time. "Darling, you won't believe this. Your dream-date is back at roads-end messing things up again!"
I stared at her. What? He knew we had a date; he should have been here, not at the races…what was going on? Angrily I thrust down my nail file and huffed out the door, wondering what had gotten into Arnold.
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I drove to the roadblock as quickly as I could. There were several cars parked at the end, and many young men were holding torches. They appeared to be standing in a circle around a boy in a red cape and hat- Arnold. And they didn't seem too pleased.
Zoey was waiting as I pulled up. "I smell blood here," she told me.
I got out of the car, running my hand along the edge of it as I made my way to the circle. I never got there.
"You mean, Jack's not in any danger?" Arnold asked, his gaze sliding over to his left, where nobody was standing.
"The only one in danger is you, Bozo!" Mike growled.
"Why didn't you warn me?" Arnold hissed. Then, "You gotta figure me a way out of this fast, Al."
No, not again…oh, please, God, no…Zoey took a step back. "Did I here that right?" She consulted her hand-link. "Lothos?…Oh, its him."
I shook my head, my eyes widening. "It can't be!"
As the circle of teens closed in on him, 'Arnold' dashed for the bushes, leaving me with no one but a raging hologram for company.
"Your little 'Arnold the Dweezil' is none other than Dr. Samuel Beckett!"