A/N: Here it is; chapter 3 of Team Future Metamorphosis! *crowds cheer, fireworks explode, and an angel's chorus resounds in the heavens*
Here's the first chapter in this story that's been written by the Great Artificus. On behalf of the both of us, we hope you like it :)
The realization hit her like a car - Vi was shocked! And at the same time it only raised even more questions. Vi could hardly think straight. The first time when she heard that voice, she had still calmed herself with the thought that it was only her own imagination, but now she was sure that it was no coincidence. Someone sent telepathic messages, and threatened her... her and the whole city!
For a second, Vi clung to the idea that it was only Emely, who had fun teasing her with her telepathic powers - but that was absurd; the young medium would never go so far... she would never frighten someone just for fun...
"I - I gotta go home," Vi murmured, after Wilbur had helped her up. She didn't know exactly how being at home would change anything about her current situation, but she was scared. She would have liked to hide under her blanket.
"Certainly not!" Wilbur disagreed strongly, "We're taking you to the doctor!"
"No, I have to -"
"Vi, that's already the second time you passed out! Maybe you're sick!" Wilbur said, the severity in his voice had given way to concern.
"The second time?" Pete asked in surprise.
"It was the same a few days ago at Earl's ice cream shop" said Wilbur.
"What?" Pete cried aghast, "And yet you didn't go to the doctor immediately? It's not normal when people pass out! I'll get mom," he said, was about to leave the room.
"It's okay again, really -" Vi tried to stop him.
"And you went to Earl's without me?" Pete suddenly cried offended, jerking around.
"Now go get your mother!" Wilbur said irritably.
"No, Wilbur, really ..." Vi began, after Pete was gone.
"Could it be an aftereffect from the cryostasis?" he interrupted her.
"No!" Violet protested vehemently, "That's so long ago!"
She gave her best friend an uncomfortable glance, then she whispered, "Besides... I also heard that voice again..."
Now Wilbur's usual air of self-confidence vanished in an instant. Unsure, he looked at Violet. Fainting was one thing, but hearing voices was definitely not normal. A few days ago, when Violet had said that the whole thing that happened at Earl's ice cream shop was nothing to worry about, Wilbur just ignored it, trying not to waste a single thought about it. But now it happened again! To be honest, he didn't feel comfortable at all. And seeing Vi like this didn't make it any better. He tried not to dissemble though, but only stared at her.
"Say, do you know another medium except of Emely?" Violet asked uncertainly, almost anxiously after a thoughtful pause.
"No..."
"Are you sure?" Violet asked, and looked at him pleadingly.
A very uncomfortable silence ensued, and Vi could see that he was thinking the same as she did.
"You ... you mean ... Alpha ...?" Wilbur whispered incredulously, and he fervently hoped that he was wrong.
"... Who else?" Vi said, and she suddenly got a very dry mouth.
"No, wait, wait, wait! What did this voice say at all?" Wilbur said hastily, almost rushed. He didn't know exactly what he wanted to achieve with it. He probably just wanted to change the subject to distract from the idea of Alpha being alive and threatening them.
"Metamorphosis ... and it uttered some death threats against me ..." Violet said, and she couldn't help but laughing cynically, though she actually felt like crying her eyes out. She was terrified, but she couldn't admit this, of course - after all, she was a super hero here.
"Cobra is dead!" Wilbur insisted, determined. He wouldn't admit it, but actually the thought about Alpha scared him just as much as Violet.
"But apparently Alpha is still alive..." declared Violet, "and he wants to kill me!"
Wilbur was just about to disagree, when Pete and his mother entered the room.
"Vi, what happened?" She asked anxiously when she saw the dark haired girl, who was pale like a sheet. But she also was worried about Wilbur, who didn't look much better then Vi.
"Nothing! I'm all right!" Violet lied, and tried to give her a halfway convincing smile.
"She lost consciousness. We almost thought she had died," Pete tattled. "I would've started digging her grave, if only she hadn't woken up so soon -"
"What?" his mother cried horrified. Pete just wanted to add that she must take them to the doctor, when Vi interrupted:
"It was a joke!"
"You really believe everything!" Wilbur said jokingly, however, it sounded not very convincing. But he didn't give them time to ask more questions. He took Violet's hand and ran with her towards the front door, "Well, we have to leave! Bye!" he called out before they closed the door behind them.
Pete ran to the door, and tore it up again
"Hey! Where are you going?" she called after them.
"Home!" Violet shouted back.
"Ohm ... okay ..." Pete mumbled. He closed the door, a little sad about the fact that they were leaving without saying goodbye properly. After all, he wouldn't see them for the coming weeks, when he was in Scotland.
"And where we are now going?" Wilbur repeated Pete's question after a while, and slowed the pace.
"No idea! Does it even matter? With his telepathic powers Alpha finds me everywhere!" Vi cried; it was much louder than intended, but she was slightly in panic and had trouble keeping herself under control.
"How do you know that it is Alpha? Maybe - " Wilbur began forcefully.
"Maybe there is some other sadistic medium, that has fun to torment me?" Violet interrupted aggressively, "Does this make the situation any better, or what?"
Vi was right; it didn't matter whether it was Alpha or not. The only certainty was that they were in danger.
"Why are we screaming at each other...?" Wilbur asked confused. Violet then seemed to shrink. She was ashamed that she shouted at the only person who helped her. Her aggression disappeared and left nothing but helplessness ...
"I don't know ..." Violet murmured desperately and squatted on the ground. She had no strength left, she did not know what to do ...
Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. The touch seemed to give her strength again. She pulled herself together and stood up, realizing that sitting around wouldn't help them.
"Do you think Emely could help you?" Wilbur asked.
"Well, probably ..." Violet began, but she hesitated. If Vi would tell Emely and Flame about Alpha, she would also have to tell them about the time travel, and why she stole the time machine ... because she wanted to leave this time and them, to return to her old life.
"What now...?" Vi asked desperately.
"Now don't pretend like you're all alone!" Wilbur began encouraging and gave her a slight push with his elbow. But it didn't seem to cheer her up... at all. Wilbur didn't know what to do. This was not like in the comics at all. They walked in silence for a while.
"Metamorphosis ..." Wilbur suddenly began thoughtfully.
"And it mentioned some super powers..." Violet added.
Wilbur whispered, "there's something very, very familiar about that name…It must have been an invention that's already been created. O-or maybe it's a weapon -"
"What if Alpha uses this weapon against us?" Vi said after a while.
"Then you would finally get the normal life you've always dreamed of!" Wilbur grinned. But when Violet didn't show a reaction, he added, "That ... was a joke ... "
"I don't really feel like laughing..." Vi said, exhausted.
"The question is, why does he let you know that?" Wilbur began again after a pause, "If he wants to take your powers away, he doesn't need to inform you about it... He could simply find you, point the weapon at you and pull the trigger."
Violet gulped. She hadn't even thought about this. This whole thing was getting more and more confusing.
"If you ask me, that just cries out 'trap'! He wants you to react, to do something to stop him, in order to fall into his trap!"
"Maybe ..." Vi began, "Or maybe he's just having fun torturing me ..."
Vi didn't go home immediately. Previously, she payed Emely a visit. Wilbur, however, went home to find out more about the Metamorphosis machine.
Violet found her niece Emely sitting in the kitchen, eating cornflakes.
"M?" asked Vi, when she entered the kitchen.
"Hi Vi!" the bubbly blonde girl greeted her aunt. But when she saw Violet, her expression changed, "What's wrong?"
Vi squirmed uncomfortably - she didn't really know where to begin.
"Could - could a medium locate a person with their telepathic powers?" Vi asked finally.
"Depends ..." replied the blonde girl.
"On what ..?" Violet asked urgently.
"Well, on the medium." Emely replied, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Well - so, a powerful medium could?" Violet said hesitantly, not quite sure if she understood.
"Maybe..." Emely said, shrugging.
These responses were not particularly helpful. Violet began chewing her fingernails nervously. What should she do now? What could she do against this threat?
"What is it? Are you scared that I could spy on you?" Emely said with a smile, to lighten Violet up a little.
Vi only shook her head, deep in thought. Emely would have really liked to read her mind, but that would be immoral. Somehow she had to get Violet to tell her about her problem.
She only felt that her aunt was very, very worried - more than that - something was scaring her terribly.
"What is it then? You seem a little nervous ..."
'A little' was a great understatement! Violet looked completely drained. She was pale, she could barely hide her trembling and even the sound of her voice was frightened.
Violet couldn't say anything. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she had a big knot in her throat, that made it impossible to speak. Helpless she looked at the young girl in front of her.
"Did you hear this voice again?" Emely asked worried, hoping the answer was 'no'. But she knew better. All the time she had the feeling that there was more behind this incident in the ice cream parlor then just Violet's vast imagination. Violet only nodded.
"This... is serious..." Emely sighed, "Would you mind if I -...?"she continued carefully, finishing the sentence with a simple gesture by pointing at her head, to show that she wanted to use her telepathic powers. Vi nodded hesitantly. Then Emely closed her eyes.
She focused on Vi's thoughts. It was not as difficult to enter into another person's mind, as she had thought. Each spirit was different, there were no drawers in which everything was properly arranged and neatly labeled, no, it was a shambles. Emely was aware that she could probably discover things that were not meant for her - all she could do was trying to avoid this. Her only chance not to lose herself in this jungle of thoughts, feelings and memories, was to follow Vi's fear, this single, precise emotion. She followed it slowly to the two fainting attacks and the eerie voice that Vi had heard - then everything went very quickly, suddenly entirely new fields opened up, Alpha, Cobra, a journey through time -
Suddenly Sybille, Emely's mother, entered the kitchen, so that Emely had to interrupt her research. Maybe this wasn't so bad - after all she wasn't allowed to see the last part at all.
"Girls, it's such a nice weather! Your should go out and enjoy the sun!" Sybille said cheerfully.
"Okay Mom," Emely said, then she stood up, grabbed Violet's arm and they both went out, without saying a word. Outside, they sat on the lawn in the shade of an apple tree. They sat there in silence for some time. Vi felt a little relieved and reassured. She didn't know what Emely had found out, but her niece made a very thoughtful impression. Sure she had an idea what they could do now.
"I don't want to hide the fact that I know a few things now." Emely said after a while, very seriously, "I want to be honest ... then one of us is, at least - " she continued and gave Vi a stinging glance. Thereupon Vi suddenly was all choked up, her face became bright red, her heart pounded, she felt like crying and wanted to apologize to her niece ... Now it wasn't only the fear that made life difficult but a bad conscience too. But apparently Emely had no interest to talk about the incident with the time machine. Instead, she stretched and changed the subject.
"If I was you, I really would be scared..." she said casually.
"Well... that's uplifting..." Vi uttered with difficulty.
"But Wilbur is right... these messages just cry out 'trap'!" Emely continued.
Vi startled at first, because Emely wasn't around at her conversation with Wilbur, until she remembered that the blonde girl had some of her knowledge now.
"My theory is that he can not locate you -" Emely said, and Violet gave a huge sigh of relief, "He is able to find your mind, in that vast number of different souls and personalities of this city, but his skills are not precise enough to determine your physical location."
"And ... why is he doing this? I mean, sending me these messages?"
"I think he scares you on purpose... this way it's easier for him to find you." her niece replied, but when she saw Vi's rather confused facial expression, she continued to explain, "Well... you have to imagine that emotions can be different in their intensity - you surely know that from personal experience ... Now it's so - at least with me - that I can feel very strong emotions over larger distances... When Mrs. Hudson fights with her husband at the other end of the road, then I feel it up into my room... "
"And fear is a strong emotion ..." Vi noted.
"Exactly." Emely said.
"So, my fear makes it easier for him to find me..." Vi repeated, only now becoming aware of this.
"Indeed."
"Oh great ..." Vi said, frustrated, and buried her face in her hands.
"Did you notice, whose powers he mentioned? Invisibility, Telekinesis, Fire-synthesis..." Emely said quietly.
"Intelligence ..." Violet remembered.
"Who is the smartest person of Todayland?" Emely tried to help her. When Vi finally understood, the beauty of the day, the warmth of the sunlight and the scent of the flowers seemed to disappear all of a sudden - all that remained was a stiff, powerless and cold feeling. Vi froze so much, that she had the feeling that steam would rise with her words...
"Oh no ..."