Eva, Part 1
When I made the adjustments for the characters, I decided I wanted Eva to be an extreme character. I wanted her to be able to stand on her own two feet and be able to lead if she needed to, but she did not want to take charge of everything. Since she was the shadow part in the Light and Shadow series, I wanted her to be as dark as I could get her, so I gave her a twisted history with her being abused, her sister dying, and Eva blaming herself the death. At the same time, I did not want her to be so dark that she had no hope for the future. I wanted to show that she could still love and make friends. As the series went on, I wanted to show that Eva was strong enough to overcome her problems and make positive changes.
Aelita and Sophie were surprised to see Eva up at five in the morning. The buses had arrived in Amity Park and were searching for a place to refuel and park for a few days.
"Any reason you are up early?" asked Aelita.
"Couldn't sleep," Eva replied simply.
"What was it this time?" asked Aelita. "Your head or your shoulder?"
"Neither," said Eva. "I just couldn't sleep. Don't worry about it, Princess."
"Well, since you're up, do you want to work on our songs?" asked Aelita.
Aelita and Eva were the opening act for the Subdigitals. They called themselves L'Elfe et le Fantasme — the Elf and the Phantasm. Aelita would play her techno music and Eva would either sing, play her bass, or have a little hip-hop fun on stage. While they were on the road, Aelita and Eva made several songs together using software Aelita had on her computer and recording different sounds from everyday life and augmenting them. Their music was a bit different than anything they ever heard of. One song would be happy and peppy and then the next would be aggressive and a bit dark. It was obvious who created which song and the song they always preformed first was their intro, giving the crowd a taste of what they were about.
Chris even got them time in a studio for a day to record some of their music to send home and share with their friends. It was a better quality than the simple video recorded segments they got during concerts that Odd had posted on the internet. Odd kept them informed on their ratings and said that they currently were a music sensation. Chris also went as far as getting the songs up on an internet music store for the girls to have a little extra income. The record company that the Subdigitals used was interested in L'Elfe et le Fantasme having a recording contract with them. They thought they were going a little too far.
"I want coffee first," said Eva.
Aelita smiled. "I doubt there's a café open yet." She looked out the window. "Where are we, anyway?"
"Amity Park, Illinois," answered Eva.
"What do you know about it?" asked Aelita.
Eva had taken to researching every city they visited for the best places to eat, the sights to see, and how to avoid unwanted fans, like the men in black. They hadn't had a problem with them since they left New York, but Eva was still paranoid about it.
"Not much," said Eva. "I did several types of searches and found very little. Too little, in fact. It's almost like this place is part of a cover-up."
"I think you've been reading too many spy novels and watching too much American television," said Aelita.
"Those American crime shows have a point," said Eva. "I've lived by some of those rules, remember?" She shook her head. "There is just something bugging me. I don't like how much information I have about this place."
"Maybe it's because it's a small city," said Aelita.
Eva went over to her laptop and pulled up a blog page. "This is the only site with this amount of information."
"It's a blog," said Aelita. She took a closer look at the site address. "I'm not sure how much we can trust something called /phantomwatch."
"It says that the town is full of ghosts and ghost attacks are a part of daily life," said Eva.
"It's a blog!" Aelita said again. "It's probably all fiction."
"What if it's not?" asked Eva.
"Eva, ghosts don't exist," said Aelita.
"And neither do evil artificial intelligence programs in virtual universes where teenagers can step into scanners and be transported to computer realms and gain special powers," Eva said sardonically.
Aelita flinched at the remark. "Point taken," she said. Eva was really on edge about this, Aelita realized. Maybe it had to do with something in her dream. "What else does it say?"
Eva pulled up a page that had a list of ghosts. They were various shapes and sizes and some of them appeared very human. There was also a link at the top of the page. Eva clicked on it. It took her to a page with a large image of a boy with white hair and unnatural green eyes wearing a black and white hazmat suit with a logo of a ghostly letter D with a P inside.
Eva recognized the logo from her dream. She kept herself from showing her fear outwardly. The logo was the same, but the monster in her dream was older and looked different.
"'Danny Phantom: Amity Park's Greatest Mystery. Hero or Villain?'" read Eva.
"He can't be any older than us," said Aelita in surprise.
"I'm not surprised," said Eva. "Look at what we have accomplished."
"Yes," agreed Aelita. She turned from the screen to Eva. Aelita saw that Eva was studying it. "What do you think about him?"
"I'm not sure," said Eva. "It's hard to get such information from a picture."
"A picture's worth a thousand words," said Aelita. "And I thought you could tell if a person was good or bad just by looking at their eyes?"
"I can, but a picture does not tell me," said Eva. "I need to see him for myself."
"Face to face?" asked Aelita.
"I just need to be close enough to see his eyes," said Eva. "That's all."
Aelita turned back to the laptop screen and looked through the blog pages. She smiled. "I don't know about you, but I don't think I could go over our music after looking at this."
"You think so?" asked Eva, giving a small smile.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" asked Aelita. "I know you must be restless."
Eva's smile widened slightly. Aelita was beginning to know her as well as Kayla.
Aelita went back to the bedroom area and got dressed. She changed from her pajamas into a light pink tank top, dark pink cropped vest, pink shorts, and pink boots. Eva soon joined her, pulling on a black T-shirt and a pair of baggy jeans, her signature outfit. She put a black messenger bag over her shoulder. The bag contained everything that Eva would need in an emergency: first aid supplies, various weapons, two pairs of gloves — one pair fingerless and one pair leather — extra clothes, and her skull mask she wore when she went to the underground street dancing competitions back home. Eva also had her lock picks in her wallet and her pocketknife hidden in her pant's pocket. Life on the streets and time as a LYOKO warrior taught her never to go anywhere unprepared.
Eva and Aelita left the buses with the video recorder. They needed to update their video diary to send to the others before Odd had a tantrum over them just sending concert footage instead of the juicy bits that happened behind the scenes.
The streetlights were still on and some people were getting up and getting ready for work. It was quiet for the most part. The two music artists walked down a sidewalk. Eva carried the video recorder as they walked around the block. She walked backwards, filming Aelita.
Aelita began speaking in French. "Hello, everyone. Here we are in Amity Park, Illinois. It's about five thirty in the morning here. There's no one stirring except for this elf and this phantasm." Aelita giggled.
Eva turned the video recorder on herself. "They say Amity Park is haunted by many ghosts." She turned the video recorder back on Aelita.
"Whether it is or isn't, we're going to have fun here," said Aelita, giggling again.
There was a crash, almost like a car wreck. Aelita let out a scream and Eva grabbed her friend, the video recorder still in her hand.
"What the heck was that?" Eva asked.
There was a flash of bright green light behind them followed by an explosion and a yell of pain.
"That's back with Chris," said Eva. She started to run back to the buses.
"Eva, wait!" cried Aelita, following her.
Eva skidded to a stop when she saw the buses. Fifty yards away and twenty yards in the air was a robotic being with flaming green hair and a boy with white hair in a black and white hazmat suit. Eva recognized both of them from the blog.
Aelita caught up to Eva and saw the scene. She let out a gasp.
Eva whipped around to the buses. The rear axle of the bus that carried Chris and the guys was blown clean off and laying several yards away, bent and twisted. There was also a crater in the asphalt.
"Eva! Aelita!" shouted Nico.
The girls turned and saw him flagging them down. Eva gave Aelita a push in his direction and they ran, Eva a few steps back and looking over her shoulder at the two ghosts.
Nico pulled them behind a building. Ben, Chris, and Sophie were there as well. Eva looked around for the bus drivers, but did not see them.
"Is anyone hurt?" asked Eva.
"No, we're fine," said Sophie, her voice quivering.
"What the heck is going on?" asked Ben.
"A fight between ghosts," said Eva.
"Ghosts?" asked Nico.
Eva nodded.
"I will have your pelt on my wall!" roared the robotic ghost.
"Dude, you need to get another hobby," said the ghost boy.
The robot ghost snarled and shot missiles from his arm. The ghost boy dodged, but one exploded next to him, causing him to throw up his arms to shield himself. The robot ghost took that moment to pounce, slamming the ghost boy into the ground and pinning him, creating another crater.
"We have to do something," said Aelita.
Ben grabbed her arm as she tried to run to the ghost boy. "Are you crazy? You'll be killed!"
Eva dropped her bag after pulling something out of it. She ran out of their hiding place.
"Eva!" shouted Chris. "Come back!"
Eva paid him no mind. In her hand was the disposable mobile that she and Aelita converted into a stun gun. She ran up to the robotic ghost and pressed the button on the mobile to activate it. She pressed it against the back of the ghost's neck. He let out a howl as several hundred volts went through his system. The robotic ghost abandoned the ghost boy and turned to Eva.
"You dare challenge me?" he snarled.
There was a blast of green that hit the robotic ghost and sent him flying.
"It's over, Skulker," said the ghost boy, pulling a thermos out of nowhere. He uncapped it and sucked the robotic ghost into it. He capped it again and gave a curt nod. He tucked the thermos behind his back and it disappeared. "Hey, thank. . ." The ghost boy turned to thank the one who helped him, but whoever it was was gone. "You?"
Eva had run back into the shadows before the ghost boy noticed her. She watched as he shrugged and took off. Before returning to the others, Eva hid her stun gun.
"What were you thinking?" Chris yelled at Eva.
Eva looked at him, her face neutral. "He needed help," she answered. "You weren't going to do anything."
"You could have been hurt," said Nico. "Even killed."
Chris ran his fingers through his bleached hair. "I have to tell Uncle Jim about this," he said.
"Go ahead," said Eva calmly.
"That's your attitude?" asked Ben.
"Yes," replied Eva. "It's not going to matter if I beg Chris not to call."
"You could show a bit of guilt," said Nico.
Eva turned to him. "It won't make a difference, will it?" she asked.
"Well, what are we going to do now?" asked Sophie. "One of our buses needs to be repaired."
"We can stay here for a few days," said Chris. "It's what we were planning on doing from the start."
It was at that time the police arrived. Eva was very uneasy around them. Aelita watched as Eva's dark eyes flicked from one officer to another. She became extremely agitated when a white van pulled up and two men in white suits and dark sunglasses stepped out.
"If they are government, we are getting out of here," Eva whispered to Aelita.
Aelita nodded. They reminded her too much of the men in black who were chasing her. She gripped Eva's wrist.
The men introduced themselves as Agent K and Agent O of the GiW, Guys in White. They said they were government ghost hunters. First they interviewed the band members and Sophie before turning their attention to Aelita and Eva. They became very interested when they heard that Eva helped the ghost boy.
"You helped Phantom?" Agent K asked.
"Yes," replied Eva.
"That was a very dangerous thing to do," said Agent O. "Phantom is one of the most dangerous ghosts in Amity Park. You're very lucky."
A limousine pulled up and a well-dressed man with long silver hair pulled into a ponytail got out. The agents turned their attention to the new arrival.
"Good morning, Mr. Mayor," said some of the officers.
"Are we done here?" asked Eva.
"Yes, we are," said Agent K.
The two agents walked away from Eva and Aelita and over to the mayor.
"What do you think?" asked Aelita. "Do you think Phantom is dangerous?"
"Dangerous, yes," said Eva. "But not malicious. I managed to get a look at his eyes. He has a good heart. He tries to do the right things." Eva turned to the mayor. "But I can't say the same for that gentleman."
Aelita regarded the mayor. He had stopped talking to the Guys in White and was now speaking to Sophie.
"He is hiding something," said Eva. "A dark secret for a dark heart. At the moment, I don't think we have to fear anything from him, but don't let your guard down."
"I won't," promised Aelita.
Sophie was beaming and thanking the mayor. The mayor asked her something and Sophie pointed at Aelita and Eva.
"Oh, don't send him over here," whispered Aelita.
"I'm here," said Eva. "Don't worry about it."
"What about your stun gun?" asked Aelita.
"I have my knife," Eva said out of the corner of her mouth as the mayor approached them.
Midnight blue eyes looked down at them as the mayor observed them. "Good morning, girls," he said. "My name is Vlad Masters. I am the mayor of Amity Park. I hear you two were very brave and you helped fight off a ghost."
Aelita could tell that the man was trying to flatter them. The trick may work on someone else, but she and Eva were not easily manipulated, especially Eva. Aelita shifted her grip so that she was now holding Eva's hand. Eva squeezed it hard. Something told Aelita that there was something else to all of this that Eva hadn't told her.
"Eva did the fighting," said Aelita.
"And all I did was create a distraction," Eva said.
Vlad smiled. "Your friend told me you two were to start school by now," he said. "The damage to the bus is going to take a few days to fix. I am offering you the chance to see what an American high school is like."
"Don't you need the school board's permission?" asked Aelita.
"That is an easy thing to get for me," said Vlad easily. "You can think of it as a cultural exchange program. I am sure you would like to see how an American high school really operates."
Aelita turned to Eva. "What do you think?" she asked in French.
Eva thought about it for a moment. "It'll be a change of pace," she said after a moment. "I wouldn't mind."
"Excellent," said Vlad. "I'll have arrangements made. You can go to school today. First bell is at eight o'clock."
The girls watched him walk away.
"I don't like him," said Aelita.
Eva grunted in agreement.
"What should we do?" asked Aelita.
"Go about things as normal teenagers," answered Eva. "All we need to do at this point is observe."
Aelita frowned. "Eva, I do not like where this is going. What is in your head? Are you planning something?"
Eva was quiet for a moment. "Planning, no," she answered. "It's just something doesn't sit right with me." She looked at the damaged bus. "I have a feeling that this is only the beginning."
Eva and Aelita had to be at Casper High by seven to be introduced to the principal and get everything in order. Since they only had less than an hour to get ready, Aelita stopped at a café that was opened and brought croissants and drinks — mocha latte for Aelita and the strongest, darkest brew of coffee for Eva, no cream and no sugar.
"How can you stand to drink that?" asked Aelita as Eva took a large gulp from the cup.
Eva made a face, half choking on her beverage. "Barely," she said. "Wow, this is strong!"
"That's what you wanted," said Aelita.
"Yeah, but this stuff doesn't need a cup," said Eva. "Wanna sip?"
"No, thank you," said Aelita. "Maybe with that you can stay awake all day."
Eva rewound the video from earlier. Her eyes widened. "We got the entire fight on camera."
"Really?" asked Aelita.
Eva replayed it.
"Now we have something of interest to send back to the others," said Aelita. "And I think I can isolate some of those sounds to use for my mixes."
They went to the school and had everything sorted out. The principal, Ms. Ishiyama, was a little reluctant, but when Vlad said it would be a good way to introduce the students to a different culture, she was all for it.
"You'll wait here until Mr. Lancer comes for you," said Principal Ishiyama.
Eva and Aelita sat in the principal's office and waited.
"Do you think she and Yumi are related?" asked Eva.
"Ishiyama is a common Japanese name," said Aelita.
At seven-thirty, an overweight, middle-aged man with thinning hair came in. He spent a moment speaking to Principal Ishiyama before turning to the girls.
"Miss Stones and Miss Morales, welcome to Casper High," he said.
"It's Maverick-Morales," corrected Eva.
"Maverick-Morales." The man hummed. "Has a certain ring to it. A rebel with morals. It is poetic in a way. I'm Mr. Lancer, vice-principal and English teacher. The students will be going to their classrooms soon," said Mr. Lancer. "We should get going ourselves." He went over to Principal Ishiyama's desk and took a sheet of paper from it. "This is your schedule for today. You both have the same classes at the same time so you can help each other out. I'm surprised your English is very good."
"We've been in America for three months," said Eva. "I should hope we are passing."
"With flying colors," said Mr. Lancer. "You will have my class at the end of the day."
"We'll see you later," said Eva. "Come on, Aelita."
Danny closed his locker. He had just finished telling Sam and Tucker about his fight with Skulker and had mentioned his mysterious rescuer.
"Are you sure?" asked Sam.
"Yeah, Sam," said Danny. "I don't know how else to explain it. It had to be another ghost."
"But your ghost sense didn't go off, did it?" asked Tucker.
The three of them were walking to their first class.
"I was a bit busy fighting off Skulker to notice," said Danny. "I don't know what else it would be."
"A good Samaritan," supplied Sam.
"Yeah, but who?" asked Danny. "It's not like some random person is going to come up in a middle of a ghost fight and help me."
"Valerie," said Tucker.
"She would have stuck around and shot me," said Danny.
"You have a point," said Tucker.
Danny sighed. "At least no one got hurt," he said.
"What about the people on the bus?" asked Sam.
"There was no one on it at the time," said Danny. "They were really freaked out. They weren't from around here."
The hallway they were in was a bit quieter. Danny and Tucker both heard faint music and looked around. They both turned to Sam. She had her headphones wrapped around her neck.
"Oh, that's me," she said, realizing that her MP3 Player was on.
"What are you listening to?" asked Tucker.
"They're called L'Elfe et le Fantasme," said Sam. "They're this weird techno duo from France. They just came on the scene this summer."
"Cool. Can I listen?" asked Danny.
Sam held out a headphone. Danny took it and listened. It was jaunty, but the jauntiness soon faded out and more aggressive piece took over.
"That's different," he said to Sam, handing the headphone back to her.
"'What We Are' is what it's called," said Sam. "It's their intro piece. They're touring with another group called Subdigitals in America right now."
"I wonder if there are any shows around here," said Tucker.
Neither Sam nor Danny had noticed their techno-geek friend take out his PDA. He was downloading L'Elfe et le Fantasme songs from a music library. He hit play and a different song was playing. This song gave the feeling of darkness and cold, reminding the three friends of a score to a horror movie. It also reminded Danny of something else.
"It feels like the Ghost Zone," he said.
Tucker laughed. "How can you feel music?" he asked.
Sam glared. "Music is able to stir emotions in people," she said. "And if Danny feels something in a piece, you shouldn't laugh at him."
"Doesn't it remind you of the Ghost Zone?" asked Danny.
Sam and Tucker listened carefully.
"In a way," said Tucker.
"Not quite like the Ghost Zone," said Sam. "It feels more like a broken soul, one that is trying to heal itself."
The boys stared at her.
"That's. . .deep," said Danny.
Sam gave them a playful glare. "Let's get to class. Maybe one of the A-listers knows what happened after you left this morning."
Eva, Part 2
When it came to flushing out Eva on paper (or on the computer, whichever way you want to look at it), I wanted her to be similar and yet different from the Code: LYOKO characters. Ulrich and Yumi had the Pencat Silat and karate and judo seemed a bit too common. Instead, she knew capoeira. Since she was a street dancer to make money and it was a hobby of hers, it seemed to fit since capoeira looks like dancing and if you've watched any of those Step Up movies, some of those moves can be used to really hurt someone. When it came time to make a significant change for Eva, I wasn't entirely sure what to do, but then the thought of "Hey, what if Jim became Eva's father?" hit me. Jim was an improvement over her real parents and having Mackenzie die just because of her leukemia wasn't enough for her parents to get in enough trouble to have Eva taken away from them. But Jim and Eva seemed perfect for each other; they both keep others in line, and they don't like to talk about their past, and though they look like they don't care, they do.