Chapter 2: Eruption
Starr slept all afternoon following school in an attempt to keep her new found telekinesis ability under control, but couldn't stay in bed any longer so she decided to get up in the middle of the night. The plan was to get her school supplies ready and leave before her dad or his wife could stop her.
Stacy, Starr's step mother, heard the teenager tip-toeing downstairs so she came down in a confrontational mood. She watched the purple hedgehog from across the kitchen, clearly with something on her mind but she wouldn't say a word.
Finally Starr spoke up. "What, is there something on my face?"
Stacy straightened up and pointed at a newspaper. "This is you, isn't it?"
Starr glanced at the front page and her eyes widened at the grainy photo of herself, hands glowing bright purple and a chain link fence uprooted from the ground.
How'd they catch me?! Starr thought.
"You're one of Them, aren't you? One of those freaks!" Stacy said with venom in her voice.
"I'm not a freak! I'm your child!"
"My kid isn't a monster, an abomination like you!"
Starr's father came running downstairs upon hearing the shouting and asked, "What is going on?"
"It's your monstrosity of a child, she's turned into one of those freaks from the TV!" Stacy pointed her index finger at the teenager. "You hid this from everyone, lucky we have security cameras around town!"
Her father looked at the photo. "Honey, you hid this from us?"
"Dad, I'm sorry but I couldn't tell anyone about my powers! I didn't even know I had them until a few days ago! Please, just-"
Stacy interrupted. "Don't worry, Trevor, I already called the police and they're on their way to pick her up right now. I always had a terrible feeling about her but you never listened. Now I hope you'll take my word from now on."
Starr looked at her father with sorrowed eyes, pleading for him to take her side.
"Starr, I can't-"
Three loud knocks at the front door startled everyone, followed by: THIS IS THE POLICE! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!
Starr turned to her step mother. "Hostages?! Stacy, how could you-"
"You've tormented your father enough, Starr! Just do us all a favor and leave!"
She watched Trevor put his head down and look away from his only child. She held back her tears and grabbed her backpack, heading toward the front door and into the waiting arms of the police.
Suddenly she changed her mind and bolted for the back door.
"Officers! She went out the back! Please stop her before she kills someone!" Stacy hollered in fake horror.
6 SWAT officers ran around the house and kept their guns aimed up as they searched the backyard. Trevor and Stacy looked out the window but saw no sign of the teenager, having obviously used her abilities to escape the property.
The SWAT leader grabbed his radio and growled, "Suspect has fled the vicinity. Put out an ABP on her. She's most likely fleeing the city, maybe even the entire Zone. She's an Elemental.. Extremely dangerous. Pursue with caution. Don't take any chances with this one."
While the local police department relayed the message around town, Starr hid out in an alleyway and watched virtually the entire city police raid the streets looking for her.
I have to find him. Manic. There's no going back now… Stacy, you evil bitch!... Okay, stay calm. Just move, and don't stop. Don't look back and don't talk to anyone. You'll make it.
Starr made her way out of the small town and walked along the highway. She believed Manic could help her make it through life with these new powers, so she was off to Metropolis in search of him.
Manic started to stir around 1 pm and fully woke up, still perched on Mickie's couch. He spent the whole morning drinking with his old friends and now he was hung over. He knocked back a glass of water in one gulp so he filled it again, and again and again until he felt hydrated.
I need to check on the hangout, He muttered to himself.
The green hedgehog exited his friend's house and casually walked down the suburban neighborhood street, listening to the roar of police sirens and angry drivers stuck in traffic yelling.
"Hey Manic!" a young driver greeted from his car.
"What's up, buddy." Manic waved back.
He trekked from one neighborhood to the next in record time, no doubt his Jade medallion gave him an extra bit of speed. He crossed into the part of town called "Grounders' Patch" named after Dr Robotnik's once loyal henchbot. Down here, the sleaziest criminals walk the streets and rule over without objection, not even from the cops.
"Manny, Manny! Hey, wait up!" a male called out in a slightly higher pitched voice.
Manic didn't have to look back to see who it was. "Shit…"
A short aqua-haired crow caught up and walked in step next to him. "Manic, glad I found you! I have another offer for that shiny Jade Medallion you carry- I KNOW you said you weren't gonna sell it but please just listen to my pitch!"
Manic stopped abruptly and looked down at the crow. "I'm not in the greatest mood right now, Beans, but y'know what? Fuck it."
The Green hedgehog took off his Medallion and put it around Beans' neck then waited for something to happen, but unsurprisingly nothing did.
"Shit all, see? Only I can wield it. Even if I did sell it to you, it'd be useless! So you can stop coming to me with offers because it's not for fucking sale!" Manic shouted.
At the very same moment a huge explosion rocked the neighborhood and both Manic and Beans fell to the ground. During the confusion, the tiny crow tried to run off with the Gem but Manic yanked the necklace and pulled him to the ground, promptly taking his Medallion back.
"Nice try, B.B, maybe that'll work next time." Manic called out as he sped off toward the west.
"Think about my offer!"
"I did, and you can kiss my ass!"
"Dickhead…"
Manic used his Gem's abilities to help find the source of the blast. He felt an energy spike toward the docks so he got a running start and headed that way. The first thing he spotted was a pink ball of energy racing along the waterfront, chasing a medium sized speed boat and shooting energy rays at it.
It's her
Manic knew he couldn't run as fast as the thief girl, but he could jump long distances so he ran along the dock platform. His eyes followed the speed boat as it got close so he jumped up and aimed for it. The boats' driver didn't see Manic come crashing down on the back end, so he used this to his advantage and punched him in the head, knocking him out instantly.
A gunman stopped firing at the thief girl and turned his attention to Manic, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid a left kick to the face that knocked him out of the boat and into the ice cold water.
Manic brought the boat to a stop and threw the driver onto the platform while the thief girl caught up to them and smirked at the green hedgehog.
"Pretty good for a buster." She said.
"No thank you hug and kiss? I just saved your ass, what, twice now." Manic replied.
"You didn't have to come all the way out here to save shit, cowboy. I had things under control."
"By blowing up a fisherman's home, gee, that doesn't seem like the case."
She knelt beside the boat driver and said, "That's collateral, and since when did Manic the Hedgehog care about anyone besides himself?"
Manic said nothing, watched as she woke the driver up and used the Crystal Medallion's energy to burn him in the thigh. "I want your boss's name and location or my friend here will make this ten times worse."
"What? Don't drag me into your crazy vigilante interrogation!"
She glanced at him. "C'mon, just play along, big boy."
"Nah-uh, no can do. You stole from me, shot me and sucker punched me, lady! I don't even know your freakin' name!"
The driver winced in pain and cleared his throat. "You two haven't done this before, have you?"
"Shut up! Just tell me what I wanna know and we'll be gone."
"You leaving won't mean shit, the contract's still on you and the price is only getting higher. Now thanks to your boyfriends' involvement the other night, he's got a contract on him, too. I suggest you run away while you still can."
Manic pushed the thief girl off him and used his own Medallion's energy to shock him, causing him to howl out in pain.
"I suggest you tell my friend everything she wants to know because it's only gonna get more painful from here. I might use a little too much energy and slice something off, y'know – accidentally."
The driver proceeded to give up his boss so Manic let him limp away while he took a moment to think about the situation. The girl sat on a wooden barrel and looked him over in the meantime.
"They told me you were a selfish bastard who only cared about himself" She said.
"Well, how nice of them, whoever the hell they are." Manic responded sarcastically. "I don't know much about you except you're pretty god damn fast, whoever you are."
The girl took off her hoodie, revealing her auburn brown hair and green eyes. She looked him up and down for a moment as she walked, then finally spoke.
"I don't trust boys very much, but you've helped me out and you seem okay so, uh... let's talk."
"Finally, some progress!" Manic exclaimed. "Lets start with your name."
"I'm Cassia."
"Alright, Cass. Let's go find out what we can on these contracts, and who's behind 'em."
"Race you downtown, Manny."
"You're on, lady."
Cassia used the Crystal Medallion's energy to give her super speed and Manic did the same with his Jade Medallion. Neon green and pink lit up the streets as they ran back downtown.