Chapter 5- Coward

Tessa felt as though her stomach had leapt up into her throat as she walked far enough so that her friends were no longer in her sights.
Seeking comfort the young girl grabbed at Johann's hand, feeling no warmth through the moth eaten glove.
Her mind raced as well as her heart, what was he going to show her? The only assurance she had was that he wasn't going to kill her, if he was he would have done it already. She was invisible and no one could hear her scream, that was when he would have done it.

Tessa tried to keep out the screams and mutterings, the shouts and prayers that seemed to echo while she was invisible.
People were frightened surely, but did they have to be so loud about it? Tessa felt as though she might go insane, or perhaps she would grow used to the echoes over time.

*BOOM!*

Tessa screamed and grabbed Johann's upper arm, her feet hovering just above the ground. The gigantic foot of Steven's monster robot had landed not half a mile away from her, how had she not noticed its presence before then?
"Hurry up," Johann said, not responding to her fright in the least. The young girl let go of his arm and landed, "I am hurrying," she said shakily.
Johann wrinkled his nose briefly at that statement, and as though he was trying to prove his point he walked faster.
Tessa took up a jog to keep up with him, a small part of her telling her to run for the hills. Perhaps try to tell her friends that she was ok, and then get that Doctor Two Brains guy to make her visible again!

"Climb."
The young girl hadn't even realized that they had reached the robot, and that there was a giant metal ladder right in front of her.
"You want me to go inside-?" she didn't finish her sentence, the thought too terrible to complete. Yet, Johann nodded, "Yes, I will be following you of course," he added.
Tessa swallowed several times before she had mustered up the courage to grab hold of the ladder, she didn't though, put her foot up instead she flew upwards slowly as though she was climbing. Her hands clung to the sides of the ladder, the metal sliding past her palms creating more coldness.
Why was everything so cold? So lifeless? It made her feel alone, frightened, empty.

She could hear Johann behind her climbing, his shoes creating a very loud clanging noise with each step. Finally they reached the top, where there stood a door and a keypad, Johann –somehow knowing the combination- pressed a few keys before the door screeched open.
Tessa looked at him with a frightened expression, "Why-why are we going in there? I need to know!" she said loudly, knowing full well that no one but him could hear her.
Johann gestured towards the door, leaning against the frame to keep him from falling off the giant metal monster.

Tessa frowned, was he going to give her no answers?
As if he could read her thoughts the man spoke, "I don't have the answers you want, what's inside there does," he shrugged.
The young girl let out a defeated sigh, deciding that this was the only way of becoming visible again and walked (not hovered) through the door.

The room was surrounded by dark maroon velvet which stopped only around the keypads and dials that made up the controls to the giant machine.
On a solitary wall there was a small well sketched out drawing of the outside of the robot, and right beside it crudely taped to the velvet was a small crayon picture that Tessa remembered having done with him when she was about five years old. It featured the whole family in a wide array of inaccurate colors.

The first human Tessa saw was her mother.
Becky McCallistar was on the floor, handcuffed to a random metal bar. She was looking incredibly tired with dark circles under her eyes and long hair in disarray, yet she looked somehow determined.
Tessa fought the urge to run to her mother's aid, her gaze not leaving the woman that had raised her.

"You don't understand!"

Tessa's attention was suddenly turned towards Steven, her brother, realizing that she had come in during the middle of a conversation.
He was looking even worse off than their mother.
"Steven, I think I understand perfectly," WordGirl replied tersely, "I'm just not sure that you do."

Steven looked at her with disbelief, "Seriously? Is this one of those moments where I get talked down to, and then I just give up and run into my mummy's arms?" he asked scathingly, "How pathetic!"
Tessa had a sudden urge to punch him, yet restrained that too as that wouldn't do any good at that moment.
She looked over at Johann, hoping for some sort of explanation as to what this was supposed to be telling her!
But he was busy peaking down at the dials, adjusting his overlarge glasses on his small nose so that he could see them better.

"I'm sure that that's what you think of me," ranted Steven, "The small child that is just confused! But I'm brilliant, I'm a genius!"
Their mother nodded, "Yes."
Steven blinked at her a few times, surprised by her answer. Tessa was slightly surprised by her reaction too, she knew that her mother was understanding and kind but-but Steven had taken her powers! He was ranting about his brilliance as he terrorized the entire city!

Tessa felt despairing and angry, two emotions that should not go together.
Everything in her world had crashed down around her and she was invisible and voiceless to the rest of the world with only a vague reason for why she was where she was from a crazy man.
Tears formed in her eyes, a headache pounding at her mind, Tessa found she could only listen to the echoing words of her brother and her mother as they conversed.

"You are incredibly brilliant Steven, just like your father and your namesake."
"My namesake was a criminal."
"So you take after him," their mother's tone had gone bitter for a moment, before she relaxed it into warmth, "He was very kind, and confused and lost in his world changed by one mistake-"
Steven staggered, "I'M NOT LOST OR CONFUSED!" he shouted, but Becky ignored him.

"He was frightened too; he cowered before the voice in his head."

Steven-the eleven year old boy- suddenly burst into tears, "SHUT UP!" he shouted, crumpling to the ground, and pressing his back into the velvet wall.
And suddenly it struck Tessa what Johann had been trying to show her.

Though Everyone was in danger from the giant robot, but the person that Tessa had grown up with was the one who needed the most saving.
Steven needed to be saved from himself before he was to turn completely evil.
Tessa needed to save her brother because she was the only one that could do it, she had to be a hero.
A shiver ran down her spine at the word hero, it seemed to mean more then she had originally thought.

Johann looked curiously over at the young girl, before his expression turned from interest to some affirmation.
Tessa looked over at him and nodded to show that she understood, when suddenly the man disappeared.
Or so she thought, rather it seemed that a certain someone had just became visible in front of her mother and brother.

"Tessa?!" Steven shouted, jumping to his feet, his eyes somewhat red from crying although the tears had stopped at the surprise.
"Tessa," Becky said relieved, a small smile on her face.

"Hi mom…"

The end of this chapter isn't quite satisfying to me but it'll have to do.
Sorry for the wait!

Please review!