I think I've gotten her back, guys.
My muse that is.
It took a lot of Earl Grey tea, a lot of Imogen Heap and a new pair of converse. _ (Don't judge!)
I'm having some kind of artist overload here because I started painting canvas bags to sell on Etsy. I might post a link in my profile. I feel GREAT.
Anyhoo, this chapter is dedicated to RizzleRazzle (Or are you Veomo now?) for all the serious loving this reader gave me. I'm guessing it's a she by the profile pic, if not, please correct me. :D Raz (Mind if I call you Raz?) was a first time reader for my story and went back and reviewed all of the chapters which usually first timers to a kinda established story don't. Raz was also the first to favorite me AND my story. So she deserves some love.
Thanks RizzleRazzle. C:
NeoFayt: Another regular back, hello. Though a new name, lol. I hope these are coming fast enough for you. Who knows? Maybe I'll make a slash version. C: Thanks for the Favorites.
Gravity Fair: I laughed my arse off at your last review. I imagined this purple pac man thing om nom noming my leg saying 'WRITE STORY NOW. FEEL BETTER. WRITE. TYPE. CREATE. FEED MEEE!'
DreamingStorm: I'm glad it made you laugh. This chapter will have some darker parts but I'll try to keep up with humor too.
Kelly: Yes, the ninja button does in fact work. ;D I dare you to press it. Do it. DO IT. And I'll have dreams like that too. Let's hope we never do have to save the day 'cause we'll both be sitting there saying, "Um. Why do I have to save the day? Can't someone else do it? I'm busy."
ShadowHex: I'm glad you're curious. I was hoping to shock everyone. I don't think it worked though. Lol.
Veomo: (Or are you Raz? Because I'm pretty sure you're Raz. Same profile pic…Are you Raz? I think you're Raz.) I'm very glad you yayed when you saw an update. ^^ I try not to have filler chapters because when I read fillers in a fanfic I hated it. Felt like wasted time. I'm glad I'm achieving my goal of staying on track. I agree. Poor Warren. And you'll just have to wait and see if Ami really hates Amelia. ;D I don't know if Emily will be a good friend or not yet. I never developed her in my plot line; she kind of just pushed her way into a more main role. Little bugger. Maybe I'll bring her into the story.
Coloring books: Thank ya thank ya. Come back for more.
Gravity Fair: Much thanks. I like details, so I tend to throw a lot in there. Even little things I'll give details to because usually everything has some kind of purpose in my story. Except for the ninjas a few chapters back. They had no purpose. xD
doodaadee: As for YOU, the one with all the please's, will you please please please keep coming back to read more? :D 'Cause I really hope you do.
mandya1313: Much thanks. C:
FlyingSolo365: I valued your sanity so I updated. :D
Thank you all for your reviews! I greatly appreciate them! Thanks for the favorites too! :D
Songs of the chapter that made me all giddy and thus hyper and thus created quicker update is Untouched by The Veronicas, Comptine d'un Autre Été by Yann Tiersen, What Else is There by Röyksopp.
I apologize for the lengthy author's note. ^^;
From now on, if I get a lot of reviews on a chapter and I think my responses take up too much room at the beginning, I'll limit it to answering reviewers who had questions. I'll try not to do this though because I think you guys deserve replies. Or I'll probably shorten my responses. Whatever.
I don't own SkyHigh. Too bad, so sad.
ON WITH THE STORY!
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Jaden shouldered his way through the throng of people crowding the entrance of the school. He kept his hands firmly in his pockets, grumbling as students rammed into him, and satisfying himself by knocking them back hard with his shoulders. He liked to call those people who shoved him out of the way a certain title, how to say it? Oh yes, he liked to call them rudesonsofbitches. This particular breed of people, rudesonsofbitches, were people who seemed to be in a perfectly good mood, having a perfectly fine day, yet they shoved and pushed as if their life depended on it. This might be an excuse if they were, say, trying to escape from a stampede of wildebeests. But no. They just slammed you out of the way because they could. However, Jaden had long ago been introduced to rudesonsofbitches in New York. And he had learned a few tricks to counteract their stupidity. He was especially good at placing his feet so that excessively rough passerby would stumble over his outstretched legs as punishment. He had to smother a smile as he tripped one particular person, Will, as he turned away from his locker next to Layla's. Stronghold never suspected a thing.
'Humph. That's what he gets for calling me a jerk. It's not my fault that I'm a pretty boy.' At that thought, Jaden deflated.
'Pretty boy? Maaaan. I don't want to be a pretty boy. Who wants to be a pretty boy? Geez. Pretty boys are pansies. Nevertheless, I'm apparently a gay, pretty boy now. OH SHIT.'
A look of horror plastered itself across his face. "Oh maaaan. I'm jailbait. That's what I am. Jailbait."
"And why are you jailbait?" said from someone behind him.
Jaden whipped around, face to face with the LAST person he wanted to see. Warren Peace. And why couldn't his parents have named him after a better book, like, When You Give A Mouse A Cookie, 'cause frankly, War and Peace kind of sucked. Or something like..Mike Hunt.
Jaden burst into giggles. Warren glowered at him.
"And what's so funny, jailbait?" Jaden's giggles ceased instantly.
"Don't call me that! I'm not jailbait!" he gasped, dismayed.
"You're the one that called yourself jailbait!" Warren shot back.
"I did not!"
"Yes you did!"
"Well, I didn't mean it like that!"
Warren's left brow disappeared into his hair, his mouth twisting into a smirk.
"Dude, how many ways can the term jailbait possibly be used?" Warren asked, giving Jaden an inquiring look. Jaden's expression suddenly became serious as he pondered the question. Warren's smirk became an incredulous grin.
"You're not seriously thinking about it are you?" The pyrokinetic chuckled. Jaden cursed and glared daggers at the boy.
"I was thank you very much, until you derailed my train of thought so rudely."
"My apologies, jailbait."
"Stop calling me that!" Jaden whined, "Why am I even talking to you?"
"Because I'm so charming," Warren promptly replied, a devilish smile on his lips.
"You're so weird. You glare at me on the bus, and then you flirt with me. What is wrong with you?" Jaden sighed, before clamping a hand over his mouth. He did NOT just say flirt. Did he just say flirt? Shit, he totally just said flirt. 'Why, girl, WHY? IDIOT.' Warren's grin was instantly replaced with a blank look.
"Did you just say I was flirting with you? And you're calling me weird? You're the freak." He laughed, throwing his head back. 'He thought I was flirting with him? Oh, that's rich. Why would he even consider that? Oh my god. He must be- he must be queer.' Warren's face took on a panicky expression. 'What if he…what if he thinks I like him? Great. Just great. I'm gonna have some homo following me around.' Jaden stuck up a leg and replied with a kick to the knee. "OW! You little-!"
"You little what, Mr. Peace?" The two boys turned to see Principal Powers coming their way.
'Aw hell,' Jaden sighed mentally. 'Hope she didn't see that kick.'
"And Mr. Hart, mind telling me why you just kicked Mr. Peace?" Powers said, turning her knowing gaze to the ebony haired boy.
'Fuck.' "Just checking his reflexes, ma'am," he answered, flashing a smile.
"Likely story. Hart, in my office, Peace get to class. The bell is about to ring."
Warren nodded submissively and scurried away from the scene.
'Well,' Jaden thought, 'There IS someone he listens to around here. Interesting.' He followed the principal into the office, tossing his backpack into one of the two seats facing Principal Powers's desk. He plopped himself into the other, instinctively crossing his arms over his chest as he did so. Powers strolled behind her desk and took her time shuffling papers into an organized manner before seating herself. She leaned back in her leather revolving office chair and turned her attention to the small young man in front of her.
"Jaden. Dr. Spex came to me after school yesterday to discuss your…condition. You didn't tell me that you collapsed if you saw fire."
Jaden gave Powers a fleeting glance and focused on some invisible spot located just to the left of her head. Silence enveloped them for a moment before Jaden took a deep breath and released it as a slow sigh.
"Honestly, Principal Powers, I didn't know that I did either. I'm guessing she told you about what happened to my brother as well?" Powers nodded in reply. "I hadn't seen fire since then." Powers leaned forward, her fingers lacing together on her desk. Jaden's gaze remained firmly on that invisible spot. This wasn't something he wanted to discuss. It wasn't normal, passing out from seeing fire. He didn't want to know what could be wrong with him. Probably going crazy. Like the rest of his family. He scoffed. That would be a fitting development.
"Well, Dr. Spex has some ideas as to what it could be but she'll have to keep a closer eye on you. She might need to run some tests, expose you to fire again maybe. Would you be okay with that?"
Jaden's eyes suddenly swiveled and locked Powers in his stare.
"Not really, no."
"But it could help you."
Jaden sighed, putting a hand up to cover his face. He didn't want to have someone examining him as he screamed and fainted. It's just all too weird. He could get over it on his own. He could, no, he would. He just had to stay away from Warren during P.E. 'Or you could just stay away from Warren for good,' a little voice whispered in the back of his mind. It was right. That probably would be for the best. Even though Jaden's spirit deflated a bit at the idea. All they ever did was argue. But it was more normalcy than he has had in the last week. Warren pissed him off, yes. And he hated the pyrokinetic basically, yes. But…Warren seemed to notice things others hadn't caught onto yet.
Jaden gasped and abruptly stood up. Principal Powers was startled by his sudden movement.
"Jaden?" she asked, "What is it?"
Jaden glanced at the woman who was now standing too.
"It's, it's nothing. I don't want to be examined," he said, picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. He wasn't sticking around to discuss this any further. The notebooks inside it made the bag weigh heavily against the boy's back; rubbing the burns and making him wince. Powers nodded, almost sadly.
"Will you think about it at least?" Jaden shrugged. Powers nodded again. "It's all I ask, Jaden. Just think about it. Also, I notice you're not wearing gloves today?"
'That's right. I was heading here in the first place for gloves.' "Um, yeah," he replied, "I lost mine. I was hoping you had another pair?" The woman was silent as she bent and opened a lower desk drawer, retrieving a pair of gray wool mittens. She handed them to the boy, holding onto them as he tried to remove them from her grasp. Her gaze intensified as Jaden glanced up at her with a question in his eyes.
"Seriously, Jaden," she whispered, "Think about it." Jaden turned his look elsewhere, not wanting to meet her eyes.
"Okay," he mumbled, snatching the gloves and turning away. He could feel her stare, even as he closed the office door behind him, cutting off her view completely. He pulled on the gloves, stretching his fingers and examining the material. 'Why does she want me examined so badly? What's in it for her?' A light bulb went off in Jaden's head. 'Of course. She's like every other person I've met. My power, psh. She thinks there's something wrong with me and she thinks some examinations might cure me. Whatever. She'll find out soon enough, that my curse has no cure.' His mind flicked to earlier realizations, particularly the one that had made him stand up so abruptly in Powers' office. Warren noticed things others didn't and that meant, that he could notice that there was something a little off about Jaden. Maybe the fact, that Jaden was of the female gender. Or maybe that his 'superior combatant skill' wasn't his real power. Yes, the voice was right. 'I have to stay away from him.'
He turned the corner and arrived at his first class, the first of several he had missed yesterday. Countering Villainy. 'And I'm not even late yet. Not until the late bell- His thoughts were interrupted as a loud chime filled the school with its sound- rings. Damn.'
He scurried to enter the classroom before the teacher started taking roll but crashed into a large obstacle in the doorway. Jaden glanced up as he was thrown backward into the hallway from the force of the collision. The obstacle turned around and revealed itself as…the fatty from the morning before. Jaden groaned and stood up to dust himself off. Fatty smirked when he saw who had run into him.
"Well, who do we have here? The fresh meat from yesterday. Hello, fresh meat," he said, leering down at Jaden. "Hey, Lash! Come and take a look at who just shoved me," Fatty called over his shoulder.
'Oh, god. Lash, that stretchy guy, he was the one I punched wasn't he? Crap,' Jaden thought while he returned Fatty's sneer with a menacing glare of his own.
"Who? Who shoved you, Speed?" a tall, lanky male asked, coming to stand behind Speed to peer over his shoulder.
"It's the little one who punched you yesterday, Lash." Lash's inquisitive look turned into and expression of unadulterated rage.
"Oh it is?" he replied, stepping around Speed to lean down and glare at Jaden. "Hello, little boy. Are you lost? Or did you just want to come and try to hit me again?"
Jaden scowled, hitching his backpack up a little higher on his shoulder.
"Neither," he answered, his brows furrowed, "I'm trying to get to class."
Lash's glare turned slightly curious as he stood, towering over the boy.
"Oh, really? And what class would that be?"
"Countering Villainy." Lash and Speed exchanged a look and immediately burst into laughter. Wiping tears from his eyes, Lash shot Jaden a mocking glance.
"Right. Of course it is. Countering Villainy is an elective course and electives are only offered to juniors and seniors." The two began laughing again, Lash leaning on Speed's shoulder to support himself.
"I'm a junior," Jaden growled, getting slightly irritated by their laughter. Lash and Speed's chuckles ended abruptly as Lash looked down at Jaden again. An up and down look, evaluating him. His face was completely disbelieving as he said, "You're kidding, right?"
Jaden's scowl turned into a look of complete disgust as he shoved at Lash.
"No, I'm not; now get the fuck out of my way." Lash pushed him back into the hallway.
"Oh, no you don't kid. I don't know who you think you are but you're on my turf now. It's my turn to hit you," he said with a sneer, cracking his knuckles as he stepped out into the hallway to face Jaden. Jaden's eyes closed, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He slowly opened them, a spark in his eyes and a smirk replacing the scowl.
"Do your worst," he said.
"Oh I will," snarled Lash, rearing his arm back. As his fist came flying back, aiming for Jaden's face, Jaden dropped to the tiled floor into a crouch. He slid between Lash's outstretched legs, tripping him as he did so. Speed bent over in an attempt to grab him but Jaden had anticipated that. The boy leapt into the air over Speed's stooped form and hurled himself into the classroom. He ended up in a tangled heap on the ground, but hey, he hadn't gotten hit. He shot to his feet and righted his twisted his hoodie back to its proper place. Glancing up, he realized the entirety of the classroom staring at him in bewilderment. The teacher, a tall, bald, scruffy bearded Asian man with questionable hygiene habits, gawked at him.
"Uh, sorry I'm late. They were blocking my entrance," he said, motioning to the two now trudging in the door. A glimpse of the ID badge hanging around his neck told Jaden that his name was Mr. Sano Aku. The man closed his gaping mouth and scrutinized Jaden.
"Jaden Hart, I presume?"
"Yes, sir."
"You're late."
Jaden perked a brow. "Um, I know. Sorry about that. I couldn't get through the doorway," he said, guessing that perhaps Mr. Aku had not heard his explanation the first time.
"You've already said that, foolish boy. You get lunch detention since you've decided to lie to me as to why you were late." Jaden gaped at him.
"But I'm not lying! Fatso and Stretchy were trying to start a fight with me in the hallway! Didn't you see any of it?" Aku narrowed his eyes at Jaden, his mouth forming a thin, straight line.
"Two lunch detentions for lying even more and for name calling."
"But I'm not lyi-" Jaden's response was hastily cut off. His mouth. He couldn't talk. It was as if his lips had zipped themselves shut.
"Stop. Lying. And take a seat, Mr. Hart," Mr. Aku said through clenched teeth. A sweat had broken out on his brow as if he was physically exerting himself just ordering Jaden around.
'Man, I must've made him angry. AND WHY CAN'T I TALK?'
"Jaden!" a distinctly female voice called. Jaden swiveled around and saw that Emily Snow was sitting beside the window in the back. There was an empty seat next to her and she was waving to him, a grin on her face. Jaden inwardly sighed, scurrying to the back and to the unoccupied desk. He settled himself and turned to look at her.
"What is that guy's problem?" he hissed to her. Jaden put a hand up to his lips. "Hey, I can talk again." Emily nodded.
"Mr. Aku's power is that he can control people's bodies. He often uses it to shut up incessant chatterers up or to make us sit down. But it's odd…when he seals someone's lips, they usually stay sealed for the entire class period." She gave Jaden a wondering look before continuing, "And Lash and Speed are his favorite students."
"That's explains it. I hate it when teachers play favorites. So unfair," he sighed. He threw a glare to the front where Aku was resting against his desk. Seriously. Why did he look so exhausted? Jaden gave the entire room a sweeping look, discovering that Speed and Lash sat on the opposite side of the classroom. 'Good.' He turned his focus back to Emily who was watching him curiously. "Now that I think about it, why are they his favorites? They're idiots."
Emily blinked, crossing her legs and flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Because he thinks that they'll be the best villains."
Wait. What.
"And he likes them because of that?"
"Well, yeah. That IS everyone's goal in here. To be the best villain." Jaden's eyes widened.
"But… I thought this was a hero school?" he said, the statement coming out as more of a question. Emily blinked again and Jaden realized that it was something she did as if she was confused by his questions.
"Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean we're all going to be good. Countering Villainy is usually a class aspiring villains elect to take."
"But it's called Countering Villainy. Why would villains take it?"
"Because it's taught by the only former villain in the school. He takes it easy on us."
Jaden stared dumbly at her. How could they have a former villain teaching this class? Why why why? This didn't make any sense. AT ALL. And aspiring villains took the class because it was an easy A…he smacked a palm to his forehead.
"Of course I happen to choose the class of villains. It's just in my blood. Ugh," he mumbled, slumping down onto his desktop. "Story of my life."
"What was that?" Emily asked, "I couldn't hear you." Jaden's head shot up, a fake grin pasted on his face.
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. So, um, you want to be a villain?" Emily gave him a small smile. A small, sad smile.
"No, not really. But my mom and dad were villains and it's expected of me." Jaden raised her brows, a frown coming onto her face.
"Then do the unexpected," he said, his mouth twitching ever so slightly. "I do the unexpected all the time." 'Like run away from a villain school, change my name and power, pose as a boy, live in a tree house, and attend a hero school.' "It's quite easy to defy those who plan out your life for you, actually." Emily cocked her head to the side.
"Do your parents want you to be a villain too?"she inquired.
"Uh, yeah kinda."
"Are both your parents villains?"
"No, just my dad. My mom was normal."
"What are their names?"
Jaden raised his hands in protest, his nose wrinkling up.
"Whoa, what's with the twenty questions? I don't wanna talk about them."
"Sorry," Emily apologized, scooting her desk closer, "I just thought that maybe our parents might know each other. My mom is the villain Hydra. My dad is the villain Ghost. And it's nice to talk to someone who isn't evil," she laughed, a high tinkling laugh. A pleasant giggle that probably made the guys go crazy. Jaden smiled, his head coming to rest on his folded arms.
"Hydra, she can control water and Ghost…he can turn invisible," he stated, leaning in to whisper as Mr. Aku had began a lesson on the board.
"Yeah! Not many people know them. They're not that powerful."
"Do a lot of people with villain parents come here?" Emily shook her head.
"No, I don't that many with a villain for a parent. Now that I think about it, I wonder where they do go."
'To Hell's Depths,' Jaden thought but instead he said, "Who knows?" and twisted to read what was written on the board. 'How to predict when a villain will strike.' 'I should probably pay attention to this.' He retrieved a notebook and pencil from his back pack. He flipped it open to the first clean, crisp page. He made a movement to write down 'Countering Villainy' at the top of the paper but he was suddenly falling, his butt hitting the floor hard. "What the-" He glanced around noticing that his desk had been pulled out from underneath him and it was now resting about five feet away from him. 'How did that happen?' The class burst into snickers, laughing at their classmate's dismay. Jaden blushed, hopping to his feet.
"Hart. Is there a problem?" Mr. Aku asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously on the boy.
"Yeah my desk…moved," he replied dumbly.
"Stop playing around and get to work, Hart," the teacher said, scoffing. Wanting to leap across the desks to pummel the man in the face, Jaden restrained himself, remembering the body control power. The boy sighed and yanked his desk back to its normal place. Emily asked if he was okay and Jaden gave her a curt nod. He sat down gingerly, holding onto the piece of furniture firmly. He opened the notebook when his desk slid away from underneath him once again. He didn't fall this time, merely rolled out of the seat and onto his feet. He saw what was happening now. Stupid Lash was stretching his arms around the others and had been the one to move it. He had seen the quickly retreating black and white striped sleeve. He growled angrily.
"You!" he accused, pointing at the elastic boy. "Stop moving my desk!"
"HART, SIT DOWN THIS INSTANT," Mr. Aku commanded. Jaden threw him a defiant stare.
"NO I WILL NOT," he roared back. "He keeps moving my desk!" Mr. Aku's glowered at him. He turned to Lash.
"Lash, is this true?" he asked the boy.
Lash was the portrait of innocence as he replied sweetly back, "No, sir, I would never do such a thing." Aku swiveled back to face Jaden.
"There you go, Hart. Problem solved, Lash is not disturbing your desk. Stop being irrational," he stated, spinning back to board. Jaden's face drained of color. The right side of his mouth twitched fiercely.
"You're the irrational one, you pompous ass," he mumbled. The teacher pivoted around furiously, his own complexion a reddish purple.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"I SAID, YOU ARE THE IRRATIONAL ONE YOU POMPOUS ASS," Jaden replied, stomping forward before an invisible force stopped him in his tracks. 'His power…this is it.' He couldn't move, frozen to the spot. He opened his mouth to scream an objection to his paralysis but realized that his lips were also in a stationary state. 'This is ridiculous!'
A sudden overwhelming feeling came over him, this urge to simply turn around and sit. It took everything he had to remain upright, glaring furiously at Mr. Aku. While he couldn't speak his mind, he was sure his thoughts were projected loud and clear through his fierce gaze. And then suddenly, this wave of dizziness washed through him. Paralyzed or not, Jaden collapsed to the ground. He lapsed into a round of violent coughing, realizing that while he had remained immobile, so had his lungs. He sucked in breath after breath as Emily hurried over to help him from the floor. He saw a flurry of movement out of his peripheral vision and realized that his teacher had crumpled to the floor as well and several students had rushed to his aide. Emily was the only one who had bothered to check Jaden.
"What the hell was that?" she hissed to him, tugging him up by his elbows. Jaden shook his head numbly.
"I don't know," he murmured, contemplating the situation. He had no idea whatsoever. He slouched back into his seat, a sheen of sweat had broken out on his own forehead now, to match Mr. Aku's own shiny, damp, head. Jaden was suddenly exhausted and he couldn't figure out why. He hadn't even done anything! So Question One: Why was he freaking worn out all of a sudden?
His eyes flicked to the tall teacher at the front, leaning against the also considerably lengthy Lash. They were both glaring at him. He did just have some kind of intense facedown with Mr. Aku. And the only thing that he could think of that would tire him out was the fact that he had to stand his ground against Aku's power. Perhaps that required a considerable amount of energy. Which brings us to Question Two:
Where had all that energy come from?
Judging by Aku's own fatigued state, Jaden didn't think that students defied him that often.
If they could even defy him at all.
And now Question Three:
How could Jaden do it?
Well, he hadn't exactly won the fight. Aku did have him paralyzed with sealed lips. BUT. He hadn't succeeded in controlling Jaden's body in order to make him sit down. The skirmish had been a draw.
And why was Jaden considering this some kind of battle? It wasn't like he was in a war. His eyes flitted back to the front of the classroom, his narrowed gaze locking with that of Mr. Aku's scowl. Or maybe he was.
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Malicia Sin sighed, a disappointed, extremely frustrated, about to strangle someone, kind of sigh. Her steely stare focused on the three boys standing before her desk.
"What do you mean you can't find them?" she hissed to them, her long, black nails tapping impatiently on the desktop.
The tallest one came forward, his bald head gleaming in the dim light.
"We can't find them. They vanished into thin air. We checked their apartment and it doesn't look like they've packed up and left or anything." Heft shrugged.
"No one just vanishes into thin air. And you say they disappeared after this little confrontation between Aiden and Amelia at what was it? Some ball?"
"Yeah. We'd gone there 'cause Aiden found out she was dating a mundie. We went there to take care of him," Heft mumbled.
"And did you take care of him?" Malicia asked, her mouth quirking up into and evil grin. Heft shook his head.
"He was gone when we woke up," he said, looking away guiltily. Sin's smile disappeared instantly.
"When you woke up?" she inquired, incredulous.
"Amelia is…really kind of terrifying when she's angry," he explained, glancing at the scrawny boy with windblown hair that was standing to his right. "But Gage and I fought her. She knocked us unconscious. She's better than she lets on."
"I don't see how Amelia could be terrifying. Without her power, she's a weak little twerp. And what do you mean just you and Gage fought her?" her gaze flicked to the young man standing to Heft's left. The boy was sweating profusely.
"Roen ran away," Heft bluntly stated. Malicia's fingers curled into a tight fist.
"You ran away?" she growled.
"A-amelia was really s-strong. I d-didn't know what t-to do. I'd never seen her f-fight so w-well before," Roen stuttered, wiping the back of his hand across his brow.
"Amelia is the weakest villain I have ever come across in my school! Weaker than the minions maybe. She always did her work, never back talked, and was less than satisfactory in the evil mastermind department. She stumbled through obstacle courses, respected her teachers, and was nice. The girl was nice to everyone. If that's not the most ridiculous villain I've ever heard of then I'm Genny Powers!"
Heft cocked a brow. "Who's Genny Powers?"
Malicia waved a hand at him, turning her chair so that her back was to them. "No one," she sighed, "Amelia is weak. But she'll be the greatest villain ever." A smirk formed itself on her lips before a groan escaped them. She covered her face with her hands. "He will not be happy to hear I've lost her."
"Who won't be happy?" Heft inquired. Sin whirled around in her chair, throwing the lot of them a menacing look.
"Why are you boys still here? Get out!"
"But you didn't tell us what to do…"
"God. You three really were nothing without Aiden. Find that boy! The one Amelia was dating. And bring him to me. I have some questions for him."
"Um…"
"What? Is there something else?"
"There was an old warehouse building Aiden would sometimes go to like meditate and stuff."
"What about it?"
"It burned to the ground the night of their fight." A look of terror came across her face. She gasped and a hand went to her mouth.
"No. Oh no. He warned me about this…Oh no. Find out everything you can! Quickly!" She shooed them out of her office, her fingers reaching for the phone as soon as she had closed the door behind them. She punched in a few numbers and stood, waiting. She was too tense and nervous to relax enough to sit down now. She was too scared…for her life.
"Yes, I need to be put through to Lyptica Prison….Yes, Hi, Joey. It's Malicia Sin. I need to talk to prisoner 45JP8, Malik Hart...and Joey? You'll take of the recordings? Yes. Now there's a good boy."
She paused, waiting.
"Hello?" a deep male voice asked from the other end. "Malicia?"
"Yes, sir, it's me. There's a bit of a problem…Amelia and Aiden…they've disappeared and there was a fire and they're finding out the details now and I'm not-"
Malik cut off her rambling with a chuckle.
"Oh, stop fretting. I already know."
"But..how?"
Another rumble of laughter.
"I'm Master Mentalist remember?" He chuckled again. "They're both alive. Though I am still blind to where they are. It seems Aiden has somehow broken my hold on him. I told you he was planning something. Interesting development there. And Amelia. Well Amelia has certainly gone far. She's run away alone, I know that. I still have my grip on her, no matter how small it may be."
"You've broken down Ami's mental defenses?" There was a silence on his end. An angry silence.
"Unfortunately, no. But I have worked my way in all the same."
"How?"
"She's scared. Really scared," there was a pause and Malicia could almost imagine him smirking as he said, "And her fear is allowing me in. Nightmares. They're currently the only part of her mind I can access and control but…it won't be long. It won't be long at all until I've got her. And then we'll find her and she'll do what she was born to do. Until then, I need you to start getting everything ready."
"So soon? But we haven't even gotten you out of prison yet!"
"Oh, don't worry. I'll be out soon enough. Ami Saw it all happening like this. It's supposed to be this way."
"Yes, sir. Very well, sir."
Malik Hart smiled and placed the phone back onto it's receiver. He glanced to his right, where Joey Sin, Malicia Sin's unpowered son was seated, recording the call like law proclaimed. However, Joey would dispose of these recordings as soon as he exited the room. Malik nodded to him and stood as the two guards by the door grabbed either elbow and led him down the hall leading to the cells. The prison was constructed of the same material and technology that SkyHigh's detention room was, making its occupants practically mundane. As the tall, slender man passed one particular cell, he paused glancing at the figure lying on the cot inside.
"Baron," he called, and the man raised himself into a sitting position. Malik grinned at the dark haired hulk of a man. "Guess what I just got a call about."
"What?"
"Banana pudding." The man's eyes widened, deciphering his words. A psychotic grin spread across his lips.
"I love banana pudding," he said, chuckling. Malik smiled, a chuckle bubbling up in his own throat.
"Me too. Can't wait until we go get some." The guards looked at the two conversing prisoners and then each other.
"They're psycho," Guard 1 said to Guard 2.
"I'd go crazy in this place too," Guard 2 replied. They shoved Malik forward, continuing to his cell at the end of the hall. The two pushed him into the enclosure, securing the door firmly behind him. If they had stuck around, they would have witnessed the normally sullen man break into maniacal laughter.
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ATTENTION READERS.
Do not skip over, as this pertains to you.
I've gotten a few complaints about the bold dialogue thing. So question;
Do you want me to go back to the way it was or stay that same?
I was doing it because I thought it would help you keep track of conversations more easily better but if it bugs you, I'll go back to the way it was.
So tell me what you want. C:
Thanks for reading. So tell me, am I getting better? Worse? Tell me what to improve! Questions, comments?