The storm did not lighten up over the night, if anything it got worse. From the cave, on a hill, I can see the lightning hammer the ground below us, winds whipping around uprooting small trees, some areas below us are entirely submerged in water.
I saw a small white object move it's way up towards us, seeking shelter from the storm, the animal ran up towards our cave and entered, paying no attention to me, the cat (The exact same cat I accidentally shot down from a tree) passed me, and curled up into a ball and slept next to Cheshire.
I took notice of all of Cheshire's weapons and outfit. She had two metal claws, which attached to her wrists, and from the shape of the claws she must use them as weapons as well as tools. That must be how she can climb trees so silently and quickly. I removed the claws when I was treating her burns, my fingers felt a little numb when I touched them however. She must have coated them in some kind of poison. In her Kimono sleeves she kept an arsenal of knives, both for fighting and for throwing. Crap why didn't I use my knife back there?Waste of five dollars... Next to her were the hair sticks that almost stabbed me in the face when she whipped her hair across my face...What kind of shampoo does she use that makes her hair that tough? I know I've seen those before I just don't know where... She didn't wear them last time we fought..
I remember the first time we fought, it was in a forest in the States. MY TURF and I lost. This time I'm in Asia in her neck of the woods, I would have surely lost and had to call for help...What would BB say if that happened again? She'd kill me! If i was lucky!And why does Cheshire always fight with ME? I mean she worked for the Brotherhood of Evil the first time we fought, but she didn't stay around for the final battle. So she wasn't that committed to the gang. But, she didn't have an excuse for this time... She just randomly attacked. WHY ME? There has to be some reason she keeps coming after me.
Cheshire started to stir, the cat stood up on all fours.
"Errm" She cat meowed in response to Cheshire's voice."Erh, Li?" She called to the cat
The cat started purring and rubbed it's head and back on Cheshire. She then started speaking, in what I assume is Vietnamese, to the cat. They seemed to be words of adoration, at least from what I could tell.
"Well ain't that sweet?" I said. She finally took notice the two weren't alone.
"You!" She tried to get herself up but she rose to quickly and fell back down onto the blanket I placed on her the night before. She noticed the blanket and looked back at me.
"Why?" She asked
"You looked cold last night." I replied
"No, I mean why did you bring me with you? Why didn't you just leave me back there?" It was obvious English wasn't her first language. Although she didn't have a heavy accent, it was distinguishable, I actually found it kind of cute.
"Oh well, I couldn't let such a pretty face all alone in the jungle." I tried to sound smooth and suave, but it didn't work. She was completely unfazed.
"You've never even seen my face." She said nonchalantly. Crap, way to be smooth Speedy
"Well..." She grabbed the hair sticks lying by her side and began to do her hair, when it hit me. "Those things in your hair... There was a girl about your age in Xinhuan with those exact same needles, she was dipping them in some kind of green liquid, and when I was treating your burns, I noticed your claws were coated with a green tint. That girl in Xinhuan was you wasn't it?"
She placed her hands on her mask and removed it.(there must be some kind of special design for it to open)
"Guess there's no point in wearing this if you've already seen my face," She said. "but in return I ask for your name."
"It's Speedy." I said.
"What kind of name is that?" she asked "It sounds like a name for someone who can run fast."
"Well I can run pretty fast." I said in my defense.
"I meant someone like 'Flash' or his sidekick"
"Well what about you? You're named after a cat, any specific reson?"
"Well the first book I learned to read in English was 'Alice in Wonderland' and I liked the Cheshire Cat."
"Not much better than 'Speedy'" I said.
"I think 'Red Arrow' is a much more fitting name." I cracked a smile in what seemed like months.
"Red Arrow, I kinda like that." I really did like it, maybe I'll change my name to that sometime...
Li fell asleep on Cheshire's lap, and was purring as it dreamed. For some reason all my anger and confusion towards Cheshire was gone.
"Hey do you have anymore of that lotion or cream or whatever it was?" She asked looking at her left arm.
"Uh, sure." I dug through my bag and found the container and tossed it towards her.
"Thank you, what is this stuff anyway?" She said as she applied it onto her arms.
"I honestly don't know. It's something Raven, you know Raven right?"
"Isn't she the creepy girl in the hood?"
"Uh yeah, that's her. She made that stuff and said it had special healing properties so only use it in an emergency."
"And you used it on me?" I could swear she lightly blushing.
"Well you I'd feel guilty if I let you die, so I had to do something." I responded.
"Oh.. well thank you again." She said.
"Why did you even attack me earlier?" I finally asked her.
"Well, there's been a lot of disappearances recently around this area, and you looked suspicious." She said a little embarrassed.
"Really that's the whole reason I'm here. We heard that people are disappearing without a trace, and I'm here to investigate why."
"Well I feel, how do you say, 'Stupid'" She said.
"So you're not a villain?" I asked
"Depends on what you mean by 'villain', I'm a bounty hunter, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm evil."
"Is that why came for me like a year ago?" I asked.
"Yes and no. When I was little, I was sold into slavery to a cruel old man, and I was traded again and again to different owners, some more humane than others but slave owners never the less. From each owner though I learned new things; like how to build and repair my claws, all types of poisons, how to wield a knife, a series of martial arts like; Karate,Kung fu, Jujutsu, Judo, Taekwondo, Lam Son, Et Cetera. But then a woman from France came to visit my current master and me. Her name was Madame Rouge and she said she would pay for my freedom if I managed to capture a fugitive from France. She did keep her end of the deal, she bought me from my previous owner and set me free. She even offered me a job with her in the 'Brotherhood of Evil', but I declined. She lied to me though, you weren't a fugitive from France were you?"
"No I'm not, and never was." I said.
"Yeah I'm sorry for what I did. If I knew what they would do to you and who you really were..."
"Don't worry about it, I'm fine and they got what they deserved." I assured her.
There was an awkward silence for the next few minutes before I decided to speak again.
"So do you always want to be a bounty hunter?" I asked her
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, is this what you plan on doing for the next few years?" I restated.
She took a long pause before she answered with
"I don't know, I mean there's nothing else I can really do." She said as if she just now thought of what she wants to do with her life.
"You could join the Teen Titans," I offered.
"Do you think they'll accept me?" She asked
"Are you kidding? There's not many people who can do fight with a knife like you can." I reassured her.
"But it's not like I even have any powers or abilities."
"Well neither does Robin, or myself, but you're pretty acrobatic, and you're pretty good at sneaking and stealth in general. You seem to be an expert in paralyzing poisons, and you can fight with just three thin blades on your 'll be a huge asset to the team." I encouraged her.
She thought over the words I just said, she seemed genuinely intrigued in the offer. I felt butterflies in my stomach as she turned to me with her reply
"Sure, I'll join if the Teen Titans are willing to accept me."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN'T REACH HIM?" yelled Bumblebee as she flew over a city.
"I mean just that, when I try to contact his communicator it doesn't answer," Aqualad's voice buzzed from the device in Bumblebee's hand.
"DANG IT SPEEDY! If he doesn't die out there I'll kill him myself." BB replied back. "How big is this storm again?"
"The underwater life say it reaches from Vietnam to Hong Kong, Exactly where Speedy is supposed to be" Aqualad sounded a little frantically.
"Dang it I can't reach him either, I'll see if Mas and Menos can get a hold of him." BB pushed a button on the communicator and the small screen on the communicator split into two; Aqualad on one half of the screen and twins on the other.
"Hey, Que paso?" Mas answered.
"Mas, Menos, see if you can contact Speedy on your communicator." BB ordered.
Mas pushed a button but no response happened.
"No contesta." They replied back to BB
"Well that's just great! He probably turned it off the idiot." BB's fury was easily seen from the citizens several yards below her.
"Should we check if he's ok?" Aqualad asked from a beach close enough to see the storm but at a safe distance.
"If he doesn't respond back within a day, I want Mas&Menos to run to where Speedy's communicator was last active. Until then just keep an eye out." With That BB shut off the connection with Aqualad and the twins and continued to survey from the skySpeedy, you better not slip up again.
The storm didn't seem to change as time went by, so we spent most of the time just talking. We asked each other both generic and personal questions; Cheshire's full name is Jade Nguyen, her mom was a Vietnamese local, and her dad was a tourist from France.
She also seems to be fascinated with American culture. She found my iPod one day and she took time to listen to every single song I had on there. ( I really can't blame her, there's nothing to do, and I had a good taste in music)
When her burns healed, she taught me how to wield a knife effectively, she taught me a few martial art moves she learned, and about the different poisons one can find in any forest or river. In return I showed her how to use a bow, American music, and we shared several stories of our adventures. She told me how she was chased by packs of wolves, and I shared stories on how we stopped Brother Blood's plans for an 'invincible' army.
On the first night of our isolation we were pretty much at each other's throats, not trusting the other. By the fifth we were sleeping side by side,near the fire, under the same blanket. This was the happiest I've been in months.