El Tigre: Evolution

"Si, I believe we robbed the cake shop too."

-Grandpapi

Chapter 10

"What about me?" Frida had asked. She wasn't really expecting a serious response, maybe some form of acknowledgement, but nothing like she got. The man known as Lord Antonio pulled her aside himself while the others were dismissed to who-knows-where.

"You are a special case, dear," he said. "Come with me."

As they started walking through the warehouse, Lord Antonio began to explain.

"You have been scratched and thus infected by one of the demons known as Los Alados. In time you will start to change. It begins with the dreams. Then it will get…weirder."
"Um, how weird?" asked Frida.

"You will begin to develop powers you will not understand," he responded.

"I'll get superpowers!" Frida exclaimed. "Awesome!"

Lord Antonio shook his head. "Not superpowers. Demonic powers. Powers that if you use in the wrong way, will tear your human body and psyche to shreds." He sighed when he noticed that Frida was still shaking with excitement, instead of fear.

"Anyway," he continued. "There is also another problem. You have a mental connection with the female Alada who infected you. That's why you've been having those dreams. You are seeing things through her eyes when you sleep. Fortunately, it appears that she has not realized that this connection exists, or else she would have invaded your mind and turned it into pudding."

"Mmm, I like me some pudding," Frida drooled. "Do you got any?"

"Um…no," said Lord Antonio. "It's going to take some training, but think I can help you develop the necessary mental barriers and control any demonic…abilities you might acquire. Are you ready?"

Frida grinned. "I was born ready, amigo!"

SEVERAL HOURS LATER…

"I am sooo not ready…" Frida said weakly as she crawled into the classroom in the morning, a total mess. She climbed into the seat next to Manny.

"Wow, Frida," said Manny. "Didn't you get any sleep?"

"Couldn't," she answered, her head on her desk "Training…"

"Geez, that Lord Antonio guy must be a tough nut."

Frida gave a weak little wave. "Naw, we're cool. And it's just Antonio. Lord Antonio is what the "watchers" call him. For some reason."

Manny was about to respond, when their attention was both drawn away by a commotion in the back of the class. Several students had gathered together and were shattering excitedly over something. Manny looked at the clock. For once, they were early, and there were a few minutes till the bell. He motioned to the commotion, but Frida shook her head. "No, you go ahead. Tell me what it is later. I'm too tired."

Manny hopped out of his seat and went to the back of the classroom. He immediately began overhearing comments like:

"Did you hear?"

"I heard the explosions last night, but I didn't know what it was until I checked the news this morning!"

"They're calling it the criminal team of the century!"

Manny grabbed a newspaper one of the kids was holding and gasped when he saw what was on the front page. The headline read: CITY IN CHAOS! and there was a picture of Black Cuervo and…

"Grandpapi?" Manny declared, stunned.

"Yeah, Puma Loco!" said one of the other kids. "He and Black Cuervo went on a crime spree last night, one of the worst the city has seen in years!"

MEANWHILE…

"Papi!" shouted Rodolfo. "Of all the dirty, underhanded, evil, things you have done over the years, this has to take the cake!"

"Si," said Grandpapi, taking a sip of his coffee. "I believe we robbed the cake shop too."

Rodolfo stammered. "Not only do you rob Miracle City blind, you do it with…" he paused for an effect, "an Aves!"

"She's not so different from you and I," Grandpapi said, swirling his coffee.

"She's a villain!"

"Okay, just me then. Anywho, I'm just saying we should all just get along."

Maria had been sitting by and watching, waiting for the right moment. She felt this was it…

"Grandpapi may be right, Rodolfo," she said.

Rodolfo started stammering again. "What? You're siding with him?"

Maria sighed. "I'm only saying that there are bigger fish to fry. The man that wanted to see Manny told us about a threat…"

"A threat?" Rodolfo and Grandpapi said in unison.

"Yes, well…" Maria started. She took a deep breath and…

"A greedy billionaire is being misled into completing an evil book that will resurrect an ancient demon and the only way to stop it is if the forces of good and evil join together as one to oppose it!" She expelled her breath.

Rodolfo and Grandpapi looked at each other and back at Maria.

"I'm game," Rodolfo declared proudly.

"Really?" Maria questioned sweetly. "You're not worried about feeling washed up or anything like that?"

"HA!" said Grandpapi. "He would never admit that in front of you!" He went off laughing. Rodolfo grinned uncomfortably.

"So what do I have to do?" he asked.

"Well, a man called the Prophet said that Diego Luxe is only a few pages from completion. He says our only chance is to find the pages before he does."
"Great!" said Rodolfo. "How do we do that?"

"Well… Luxe has servants that can sense the pages," said Maria. "But we don't have that. The Prophet said we would have to find an object-wielder who was there, when the pages were separated and hidden, centuries ago."

"But that's ridiculous!" exclaimed Rodolfo. "We don't know anyone that ol-" he stopped as the realization hit him. Maria nodded.

"Yes. We have to go see Sartana of the Dead."

LATER…AT LUNCHTIME

Maria was now in the school library, reorganizing encyclopedias that had been arranged to spell a dirty word. She was surprised when she heard Manny's voice.

"I'm sick of it! People asking me, "Is El Tigre going to join?" "Are you going out with Black Cuervo again?" I can't go to the cafeteria with all of that!"

"I just need some place to crash," Maria heard a tired Frida say.

Maria turned and welcomed the two kids to the library. They waved in response and took a table. Maria went over.

"I'm actually glad you came, Manny," she said. "Do you know the plan?"

Plan?" asked Manny. "What plan?"

"Your father's in on it too. The alliance is going to see Sartana."

"Sartana!" said Manny. "Don't we have enough problems with Luxe and that demon-guy? Why are we picking a fight with her?"

Maria shushed Manny. "We're not picking a fight. We need information, and possibly, her help. We might even ask her…to join us."

No one noticed Zoë Aves in the corner, hiding behind a large book. She had had her own interesting morning…

EARLIER THAT MORNING…

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" Sra. Aves screamed at the top of her lungs as she slammed the morning's paper down on the breakfast table. "YOU partnered up with a Rivera…AGAIN?!"

Lady Gobbler motioned for her to calm down. "Now, now. We don't know all the details yet." She put her arms on Zoë's shoulders and looked her squarely in the eye.

"Did he lure you in with promises of candy?"

Zoë brushed her off. "No! I was just bored. And I felt sorry for him. Manny won't do evil things with him anymore." She looked down at the ground.

Sra. Aves wasn't impressed. "Well boo-hoo, cry me a river, YOU'RE GROUNDED, MISSY!"

"But-but…"

"NO buts! Off to school with you!"

AND NOW…BACK TO THE PRESENT…

And there Zoë sat listening to the Riveras, and Frida, after a day of close calls ("Hey, Black Cuervo looks kinda like you, Zoë!" "No she doesn't!"). But now she was intrigued. Something big was going down. Something big enough to make the mighty Riveras consider join forces with the likes of Sartana of the Dead.