-1Night's Children: Acteus Reus
AN: Part two!
Chapter Five: On the Fritz (cnt.)
Firm hands gripped her hips gently and pulled them forward slightly as she swayed from side to side, the music a low, repetitive song absolutely meant for close dancing. Her golden eyes shined with mischievousness as they connected with the clear emerald stare and she brought her arms slowly up his chest before locking her hands around the back of his neck and smiling lightly.
His mouth mimicked the motion, and he carefully brought his face down to hers, his faint stubble tickling her. Lips closed warmly over her own, and she pressed back softly. Deciding that he had enough of that, he increased the pressure, the cool stud of her lip piercing digging slightly, and he coaxed his tongue into her mouth.
Her hands around his neck pulled his face lower, and his hands on her waist pressed a little more harshly, his thumb ghosting over the visible hipbone and making her shiver.
"Achem." Came a polite voice.
She playfully nibbled on his lower lip, which merited a smirk from him.
"…Imy," The voice said, a little louder.
He started to suck lightly on her lip piercing, which made her giggle.
"Imy, Art, it's almost time-" The timid voice attempted again.
"Christ Riley, you suck at this." Came an angry growl.
The thumb resting on her hip began to trace up towards the hem of her shirt.
"OY! Knock that shit out and let's get this damn show over with!"
Startled, the dancing couple launched away from each other, both holding beet red blushes on their faces. Standing not even a foot away from them on the dance floor were Riley and Twiggy. Riley had a blush on her own cheeks, most likely a result from their own embarrassment, and Twiggy's upper lip was curled up like a snarling dog's.
"In case you've been too busy playing tonsil hockey," He said crassly, pointing to the stage, "We were supposed to start setting up five minutes ago."
"Sorry for interrupting," Mumbled Riley meekly, avoiding their eye contact almost as much as they were avoiding each other's.
"Uh, um, right," Art trailed off, flushed as he tugged at the collar of his shirt.
Imy cleared her throat, "I'll see you after the set," She said, her embarrassment fading away more quickly than Art's as she smiled with a glint of playfulness in her eyes.
He nodded, shifting uncomfortably under Twiggy's disgusted stare. "Okay."
Imy smirked and gave a wink as she strode off towards the stage, Twiggy stomping irately after her. Riley gave the mortified Art a sheepish grin, "Here, I'll take that for you." She suggested.
His eyebrows furrowed, "Take what-?" But his question dissolved as suddenly all his previous humiliation disappeared, "Thanks."
She nodded, and took off silently after Imy.
Art stood there alone on the dance floor of the club as he watched his girlfriend sneak backstage. A dopey little smile was on his face as he prepared to head back towards the seating area, but he was stopped by a light tapping on his shoulder.
"Hi Art!"
The boy turned his head slightly and his eyes widened in horror.
OoO
"What do you mean I can't come in with you guys?" Carlos demanded as the trio stood outside of Planet Bang's back alleyway in silence. It was, ironically enough, the exact spot where the girls had their first major encounter with the Followers when trying to rescue Tessa.
The said illusionist sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest, "You're our wild card, if there's any Followers they can't see you coming in with us. It's a dead giveaway."
"They wouldn't know about my reflexes," He protested, looking at Aria for some backup.
"We're not saying that you can't go in at all," Aria said, not liking it but seeing the situation logically, "Just hang out here for a few minutes after we enter, then come in after us."
He shook his head, "A lot can happen in just a few minutes, what if there's an ambush-"
"Carlos, calm down. I come here all the time by myself and the most I've dealt with are a few annoyances," Tessa clarified, "We're only here to take out Isaac's henchmen, some low powered Initiates with almost zero experience. It's a walk in the park."
Carlos's sepia colored stare went right through her, "If it's just routine, why am I needed at all?"
Aria gave a sad smile, "Because sometimes things turn out unexpectedly," She admitted, "But it's nothing we wouldn't be able to handle for a few minutes, Chuck. Besides, we'd be out in the open, and the Atrox doesn't want that kind of exposure."
"It's all about subtlety," Tessa agreed, "Something you haven't quite mastered yet."
Frustration was bubbling in his throat as he bitterly muttered, "Fine. I'll give you thirty seconds, then I'm coming in."
"And you've got to promise to keep your cover," Tessa warned, "Which means no interaction with either of us until we single out the threat."
Carlos sent Aria a sidelong glance, "And how long will that take?"
"Who knows?" Tessa said with a distinct air of impatience, "If you see us leave the club out of that door-" Her thumb darted to the side entrance, "That's your cue to step in."
"We should get going," Aria pointed out as more people started lining up in the front, "They're probably here by now."
Tessa nodded and started to walk off, injecting the proper amount of sway in her hips.
Aria hesitated for a few moments, giving Carlos's hand a reassuring squeeze, "It'll be fine."
He exhaled, "You better be careful, because no offense Aria, but you sort of suck at fighting."
Aria awarded that comment with a sharp whack on the head with her purse.
"Damn, Aria, what is it with you and hitting me lately?"
She gave a faux innocent smile, "I thought I sucked at fighting?"
"Doesn't mean I want to be your training dummy!" He protested, rubbing his head, "What do you keep in there, bricks?"
"Training weights, actually, you caught me with my gym purse," She said smartly.
"Who brings a 'gym purse' to a club?" Carlos commented, bewildered.
"It matched the outfit."
"Aria!" Cried Tessa from outside the entrance, her hotheadedness getting the best of her, "That line's not getting any shorter!"
The healer's eyes darted back to her boyfriend for a last time, "I'll see you inside." She mumbled, giving his hand a last squeeze before she took after the blonde illusionist.
Carlos watched her go, the worried frown he had been repressing in her presence finally crawling on his face.
OoO
"What the hell do you mean all of our equipment's trashed?!" Cried Imy at the currently defenseless stage manager. Riley, Twiggy and Jake were standing behind her, their features twisted in horror.
Killian raised his hands in protest, "I swear, Imy, the shit was fine five minutes ago-"
"Then what the hell happened!?" Shouted Twiggy as he shouldered roughly passed him towards the backstage area where all of their instruments and amplifiers were, Jake with him.
"I don't know! I left for five minutes to thank Roy, you know, the DJ? And when I came back the entire area was demolished!" Killian scrambled to explain.
"Son of a bitch!" Hollered Jake from behind the manager, "All my damn drums have been punched straight through! Do you have any idea how much that shit's going to cost to replace?!"
"Some bastard snapped the neck off my bass!" Twiggy proclaimed with no longer repressed fury. "Clean off! I can't fix this!"
Worriedly, Imy and Riley darted to the scene of the crime, Killian left standing where he was as he still tried to explain. As soon as they rested eyes on the equipment, their jaws dropped.
Everything, from the amplifiers to the cords, had been completely destroyed. Riley rushed over to her gig bag, where sure enough, her guitar lay in pieces. The body was cracked in half, with the face plate completely missing, the strings all severed, and the tuning pegs removed. Cradling the broken guitar like a child, she stared despondently at the floor.
"Who would do this?" She whispered quietly.
"You owe us one big fucking explanation Killian!" Twiggy spat, violently slamming the fractured remnants of his bass against the floor.
Imy felt some sort of inexplicable rage bubble up in her throat when she stared at Riley, Twiggy, and Jake. Music was their life almost as much as it was hers, and for someone to hatefully trash their beloved instruments was something close to unforgivable. She couldn't help but acidly notice that her mike stand had been twisted and the cord cut.
"I don't know how this happened!" The stage manager defended, "The RockOut will pay for your replacement instruments and any other damaged-"
"That's not the goddamn point!" Jake cut in, "Someone was able to sneak back here and completely annihilate all our shit and no one even noticed!" For emphasis, he tossed a cymbal, cleanly bent in half, to the floor.
Riley's fingers kept running absently over the guitar, hurt in her eyes, "It's not his fault." She said quietly.
She went ignored, however, as everyone was entirely too livid about their current situation- Imy included.
"What is this? You beg us to play tonight, and then you just let some punk from outside trash everything?" The teleporter demanded, kicking over an amp that had been crushed. "There's no way you couldn't have heard anything, and it's impossible to cause this much damage in five minutes-"
"I'm telling you Imy, it was perfectly fine before I left- nothing like this has ever happened before!"
"Then you're lying," She said shrewdly, pointing an accusing finger at him, "Exactly how long were you gone, Killian?"
He balked a little at the acidic tone in the band members' voices, "Guys, I've known you for years, you know I wouldn't do anything like this!"
Imy's nostrils flared slightly, so much anger with no one to direct it at. She was about to yell at Killian again, but a cool hand rested on her forearm. She turned to meet Riley's stare directly.
"It's not his fault," She repeated, and her eyes were wide and dilated with power. Imy noticed that Twiggy and Jake were finding their wrath redirected, "Let it go for now, Imy. We'll find out who did it later."
Although it was strained, as Riley had not used her empathy on her, Imy slowly nodded and turned to the RockOut's stage manager, "Just replace our stuff and we'll call it even." She mumbled, turning back to the male members of The Discards, "Is that all right with you two?"
Jake sighed tiredly and tossed his drumsticks into the wreckage, "Whatever," He muttered by way of agreement.
Twiggy was staring at his mutilated bass, "I want a better model," He said through grit teeth.
Killian let loose a sigh of relief, "Done, but it'll take some time-"
Imy's eyes narrowed, "How much time?"
He shrugged, "A week, maybe two."
Riley paled, "I need a guitar for next weekend-"
"I'll see what I can do," Killian said, sympathy in his eyes for his favorite band, "But I can't promise you anything."
The maroon haired girl exhaled slowly and seemed to space out for a moment before nodding, "Thank you."
"We obviously can't play tonight." Jake pointed out, "What are you going to do?"
"I'll talk to Roy, see if he doesn't mind playing for a few more hours due to the bizarre circumstances," Killian suggested, "Otherwise, I suppose I can just put on a top forties album or something. More people will leave, but at least it's music."
"We're going to have to call the cops," Grumbled Twiggy irritably, "I was not planning on spending all night giving a damage report to some pigs."
"I'll take care of everything, just leave a list of the equipment that's gone missing or destroyed," Killian said quickly, trying to amend for the vandalism, "Just go get some drinks or something- on the house."
Imy eyed the manager with skepticism, "Did you see anyone before you went to talk to Roy?"
Killian ran a hand over his head, "There's tons of people that come and go between sets, Imy, you know that." He worried his lower lip, "I don't remember seeing anyone unfamiliar, if that's what you're saying."
Imy sent Riley a sidelong glance, "I see."
Twiggy shoveled the remaining bits of his bass into his case, then swore when he tried to pick it up, as the case had been severed in half, "Bastard was thorough, I'll give him that." He spat, turning to Jake, "Do you got a smoke? I really need a smoke."
Jake nodded and pulled a wadded up pack of cigarettes with a lighter out of his pants pockets. Twiggy grabbed them and stuck one in his mouth, tossing the rest back to Jake who absently caught them.
With two words, the bassist in the middle of inhalation summed up the band's general sentiments.
"This sucks."
OoO
"Tessa!" Crooned a voice as soon as the two girls had entered the club, "Nice to see you drop by!"
Tessa's blue eyes landed on the source of the voice and she smiled back happily, "Hi Tommy."
Timothy 'Tommy' Atkins was the bartender at Planet Bang, and a damn good one at that. Although on teen nights, such as this one, he wasn't allowed to serve alcohol he was still permitted to work and serve virgin drinks. Tommy Gun, as the customers normally called him for his rapid-fire drink pouring, was an older guy, about forty five, with a considerable beer belly and long, gray hair pulled back into a ponytail. He had a solitary gold hoop in his left ear and more tattoos than any parlor. The scruffy gray beard contributed to the look of wayward biker.
"Who's your pretty friend?" He asked, winking flirtatiously.
Aria stiffened uncomfortably, but Tessa just laughed and said under her breath, "He's gay."
Seeming a little less tense knowing that she wasn't being hit on by a man old enough to be her father, she smiled charmingly, "I'm Aria."
He grinned, "Can I get either of you two a drink?" He said, lifting up his hands which were currently cleaning out glasses with a dish rag.
Tessa shook her head, "Actually, I was wondering if you could help me with something…" She trailed off.
Tommy Gun rose both his eyebrows, "No peddlers tonight, Tessa-"
"No, not that," She cut off quickly, seeing the disgusted look Aria got on her face at the mere mention of drug dealers, "I'm looking for my date. Have you seen him? He's about six foot two, copper skin, shoulder length black hair, well-muscled…" She trailed off, giving Tommy Gun a description of Tsiro, Isaac's oldest recruit.
He gave an appreciative whistle, "I'd remember someone like that," He said, shrugging, "Haven't seen him, but don't worry, he'll show. Guy would have to be nuts not to show up for a date with you."
Tessa gave a mock sigh, "I hope so, because I would hate to be stood up." She backed away from the counter, "Thanks anyways, Tommy."
"Sure thing Tessa," He called back before facing another set of customers.
"Dead end," Aria mumbled as the two girls began walking off towards the opposite side of the club.
"Not necessarily," Tessa disagreed, "They've been here every night I have…"
"Split up?" Aria offered.
Tessa shook her head, "It's too packed tonight, by the time we found each other it could be too late." She sighed and muttered, "Time for Plan B."
Aria shot her a puzzled look, "Plan B?"
"We attract as much attention to ourselves as possible, in hopes that they seek us out," She said airily, "Shouldn't be a problem for me."
Aria rolled her eyes, "That's got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard," She commented.
Tessa shot her a poisonous glance, "Then you come up with a better idea, Holier-Than-Thou Healer!"
"Cover us with an illusion, and we'll look for them discreetly, not like a bunch of crazy teenaged girls," She said snidely, rolling her shoulders, "You know my power's useless against Followers, your plan's suicide."
Tessa bit the inside of her cheek, not liking being shown up. Especially by Aria. While they were better friends now, their somewhat rivalry sparked occasionally, "Your plan's just as flawed. I could burn myself out cloaking us, and have nothing left to fight them with."
"We should have thought this out better," Aria huffed, turning and facing the dancing crowd.
"The original plan had four Daughters, not just us," Tessa amended, her eyes searching as well.
Aria snorted, "I believe it was you who said that we didn't need all of us here."
"We don't," She said quickly, "We can handle Tsiro and Taavo without their help. It's just the finding of them that's tricky…" Her stare widened, "Got one."
"Where?"
Tessa gestured with a nod out towards the throngs of dancers, and Aria followed her gaze. There, fluidly dancing with some girl, was a man who appeared to be in his early twenties, his description matching the one Tessa gave Tommy earlier. His obsidian eyes glowed slightly yellow under the club's lights as he stared at the girl in his arms hungrily.
"Tsiro?"
"Yep, which means…" She continued to peer at the people, "That Taavo's hanging around somewhere…"
Aria gnawed her lip, "I've got an idea."
"What?"
"I'll go after Tsiro, keep him occupied, while you look for Taavo." She suggested.
Tessa immediately shook her head, "That's suicide, Aria, what are you going to do? Give him a bandaid?"
Her nose crinkled at the comment, "No, but you know these Followers are like cats," She said straightening her posture, "Always playing with their food."
Tessa's face darkened, "Aria, don't."
"It'll be fine," Aria cut her off smoothly, "You said they were newbies, right?"
Tessa reluctantly nodded.
"Then I can handle it," She continued, "Besides, I'm a Daughter of the Moon, that's got to intimidate him some." She dangled the chain of her amulet between her pinched fingers for emphasis.
Tessa shook her head, "Carlos isn't going to be happy about it."
Aria snorted, "He's hardly the overprotective type."
The blonde stared at the healer incredulously, wondering if she knew the same Carlos Killingsworth she knew.
Aria tossed her curly hair over her shoulder haughtily, "Wish me luck," She said with a false air of pretentiousness, smirking at Tessa before she strode off.
"You can be such a bitch," Tessa said with endearment as she watched her walk away.
Aria moved gracefully around the multitude of people that were surrounding her as she eased her way over to the Follower. The amulet around her neck was emitting violent sparks as she neared the man, a clear signal that he was who she was looking for. She finally made her way over, and saw that the man's head was near the girl's. He was whispering something inaudible that had the girl giggling. More importantly, his eyes were all phosphorous and he was emitting waves of darkness- a sure sign that he was about to cross her over.
Aria's eyes narrowed, noticing that the girl was being easily subjected to the Atrox's influences, and decided to intervene quickly. She settled for a tap on that Tsiro guy's shoulder.
Abruptly, the young man swerved around, his angular, sharply handsome face a few inches above Aria's- he had an obvious height advantage.
Aria was all smiles, "Hi there, want to dance?"
The Follower smirked playfully, and was about to accept before he saw the silver charm whose light was beginning to sting his eyes. At this he froze, "You're a-"
Aria pursed her lips, fully immersing herself in the phony act, "Aw, don't tell me you aren't going to dance with me just because I'm a goddess?" To add to her fake flirting, she trailed a finger up his arm tantalizingly slow, "Because I can party like a devil."
Entranced, and obviously not acting too bright, Tsiro began to reevaluate the healer, eyes resting for a bit longer than necessary on her long, tan legs and Aria silently wished she had worn sweatpants out tonight. "Alright," He grinned, breaking his hold off of the girl he had been dancing with.
Aria gave a sigh of relief when she saw the girl stare at Tsiro with something akin to horror before she scrambled away from the crowd.
Tsiro gave a smile at her that revealed far too many teeth as grabbed the hand that had been resting on his arm and brought it slowly to his face, kissing the palm. Aria grimaced, and prayed to Goddess that Carlos wasn't watching. "Are all of you this forward?" He muttered appraisingly.
A frown crept on Aria's face, but she fought it down by replacing it with a sultry grin, "Just me," She said, as she allowed him to run a hand down her side and move with her in accordance to the beat.
"Then tonight's my lucky night," He purred, as a hand went to the small of her back.
Gag me, "You bet."
"Exactly how lucky?" He pressed, the hand on her back dropping a little lower.
Where the hell is Tessa? "We'll just have to find out."
She pulled away from him slightly, and he smirked, thinking it was some sort of perverse keep away.
"I didn't catch your name," Tsiro said as they continued dancing.
"I didn't drop it," She responded smoothly, her amber stare scanning faces for the blonde illusionist.
He laughed, "Elusive," He spoke softly, suddenly pressing her up far too close against him, "My name's Tsiro," He said huskily, "But I'm sure you already know that."
She gave a nervous giggle, "I'm surprised you don't know who I am." Where the hell is Tessa?!
The hand that wasn't discreetly trying to grab her butt tilted her chin up, angling her face so that they made eye contact, "I'm new to the Follower business, so you'll have to excuse me." He drawled, the iris of his eyes flickering yellow.
Shit! "How new?" She responded, trying to keep the conversation going.
"New enough to appreciate a warm welcome," He spoke, lowering his face to hers-
She pressed feebly away from his chest, but it was to no avail-
Until, that is, a punch landed soundly against the side of the Follower's head. A sickening crack was heard, and Tsiro blinked dizzily before slumping to his knees, then falling against the ground. People cleared away immediately from the source, eyeing the newcomer who had just socked the young man.
Carlos stood there, shaking his fist loose as he winced slightly, "He was moving in a little too close on my girl," He explained to the onlookers patiently, giving a little goofy grin that conveyed there was nothing more to see.
People then went back to ignoring the scene, as they lost themselves in the music yet again.
Aria stood there flabbergasted, trying to articulate the correct words, "Carlos-!"
"Look, I know you said not to intervene, but this guy," He nudged the unconscious man at his feet, "Was really pissing me off." He stared at her, an intensity and passion behind his eyes that Aria wasn't used to seeing, "You okay?"
She gave a weak nod, "Thanks." She mumbled abashedly.
The intensity dissolved instantaneously, "No problem," He said wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close. After a few seconds, he muttered, "The bastard tried to touch your butt."
She winced, "I'm aware."
"You wouldn't have let him, would you?" Carlos asked.
"No!" She protested quickly.
"Because you only want me touching your butt, right?" He insisted.
She groaned and rested her cheek on his shoulder as they started to walk away, leaving the Follower on the dance floor where people accidentally stepped on him a few times.
"If anyone were to touch my butt, it would be you," She assured him, which earned her a bright smile.
The couple walked over towards where Aria had split with Tessa, and she swore when she discovered the blonde illusionist was no longer there.
"Carlos, where the hell is Tessa?!"
OoO
"Nice to see you again Taylor," Art mumbled painfully as an arm latched itself onto his.
"It's Tatum," She said, still smiling. Art thought it was rather psychotic and it frightened him slightly.
"Oh, right," He replied awkwardly, "Um, could you let go of my arm please?"
Tatum pouted slightly, but acquiesced. Art let go a tremendous sigh of relief.
"What brings you to The RockOut?" Art asked pathetically, edging away from the crowd and towards the bar area.
"Oh, I met some girls at school and they wanted me to tag along," She said flippantly, following him a bit too closely. Art shuddered, were all girls this…dedicated?
"Is Dwier here too?" He carried on, for although he wasn't overtly fond of Tatum, he was a bit too polite for his own good sometimes.
"Probably lurking around by the stage," She said rolling her eyes, "He is so lame sometimes."
Art finally located a seat, and sat down- making sure that there were no vacant spots to either side of him. Unfortunately, Tatum didn't pick up on this and just stood in front of him. "How's that?"
"He's had this pathetic little crush on Imy since we were about twelve," She said offhandedly, not noticing how Art's eyes widened slightly, "But enough of that, want to dance?"
Art opened his mouth to courteously refuse, but he was cut off.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Boomed a voice from the sound system in the crowd, "Due to unforeseen circumstances, The Discards will not be performing tonight-"
This statement was met with many boos and a few tossed bottles.
"-Instead, our house DJ Roy will be having another set-"
The tension was still present, but not as outrageous, as Roy was popular at the RockOut. Still, a few people left in disappointment at hearing the band had bailed.
"-So give another round of applause for Roy!"
Scattered applause came from the area, as Roy went back on stage with his turntables.
Art stood up immediately, "I'm sorry, I have to go check on the band-"
Tatum's sea green eyes narrowed, "Why?"
"My girlfriend's with them," He said finally, deciding that would stop her pestering of him once and for all, as he took off across the dance floor.
Tatum crossed her arms, and couldn't help but feel a little depressed. The first guy she thought was cute just had to have a girlfriend, didn't he? A smirk crawled up her face, that didn't mean she had to take losing lying down, now did it? Tatum always got her way, she was damn near insistent on it.
Resolved, she went after Art.
After all, if someone like Riley was her competition, this would be a piece of cake.
OoO
After Aria had gone to stall Tsiro and save the girl from being crossed over, Tessa had continued to look for the younger brother, a boy named Taavo. Eventually, she found him, hanging back by the sitting area. Her eyes flickered to Aria, who seemed to have the situation under control with the older Follower for the time being, and decided to follow after the younger brother.
Taavo was a boy who looked to be about twelve or thirteen, with a more heavy set frame and a round face. His hair was cut into a bowl shape, which only helped to make him look younger than he already did, his dark eyes were large, and he always seemed skittish and antsy. Tessa supposed this was part of his act, to lure in people who wanted to help the poor, lost looking kid. She smirked, she could handle him, and she was sure Aria would be fine with Tsiro for the time being.
Confident in her abilities, she started to saunter over towards the boy Follower. However, he seemed to sense her presence when she was a few feet away from him, and startled, he immediately darted to the other side of the club. Hissing in aggravation, she took after him, and wasn't surprised to see that he had darted out of the side exit.
Gritting her teeth, she tailed him, and as soon as she stepped out into the darkened side street she realized what a complete and utter idiot she had been.
"Hello, Tessa, isn't it?" Came an oily voice from opposite the door and Tessa paled. "I'm glad you were foolish enough to follow my subordinate."
"How the hell do I keep ending up in these situations?" Tessa mused out loud bitterly, as she stood outside of Planet Bang and faced down the surprise guest of the evening.
Across from her, sitting almost languidly on a spare shipping crate, was Isaac. The Regulator looked to be about sixteen, maybe seventeen, and had a thin, wiry frame. His black hair was still as greasy as ever and madly disheveled, eerie yellow eyes looking out at her from a gaunt face. Next to him was Taavo, looking smug.
"Daughters of the Moon are so predictable," Isaac drawled, "You toss out a little bait, and they come scampering." He cracked his neck from side to side as he slowly stood up, "But, I'll admit it, I was expecting all of you."
Tessa grit her teeth, "What the hell do you want?"
Isaac grinned, "To kill you." He smirked, "Tsiro should probably be finishing up with your Healer friend right now."
Her eyes widened, "Shit!" She started to run back towards the door, but it snapped shut.
"Running away is rude," Isaac hissed, then turned to Taavo, "You did your part, get lost."
Taavo's smug grin faded and he dejectedly ran out of the alleyway.
Tessa beat her fist against the door, but it didn't budge. Sighing, she swerved on her heel and faced the Immortal Regulator, tensing as she drew up her powers from the moon.
"You think you can take me?" He snorted, "That's almost cute."
Tessa could only sneer as her brow furrowed in concentration. Tonight, a stage of the waning moon hung in the sky, making the already difficult process of gathering her energy for an illusion even harder. The strain was killing her head, but she tried to focus and hone a decent illusion.
Isaac laughed, and leaned against the wall in a relaxed pose, "This is so pathetic," He jeered, "You can't even summon up your gift? Hell, I'll be waiting over here when you want to get serious."
"Shut the hell up," Tessa spat, and exhaling, she cast out a shower of gold meant to make it seem as if she had disappeared.
Momentarily, it seemed to work, as Isaac immediately stood up and swore, his eyes searching every crevice for the vanished illusionist.
Tessa smiled, and prepared to dart off towards the front to rescue Aria's sorry ass, when suddenly something horrible happened.
"Not now!" She screamed in frustration, as she felt the familiar pulling sensation that occurred whenever her power was about to give out on her. Noticing that the gold was flickering over Isaac's head, she sprinted away to get a head start, perhaps enough time to get to Aria.
But it was to no avail. The illusion shattered, and before Tessa took five steps in the right direction, Isaac appeared directly in front of her.
"You're almost amusing," He chided sinisterly, "The Daughter with the strongest power, but also the Daughter with the weakest control."
Tessa tried to dart to Isaac's side, but a pasty white hand snagged her wrist.
"Never mind, I think you're more annoying than amusing," He corrected, his saffron eyes drilling straight into hers, "This won't hurt." A sadistic smile, "It's after I steal your hope, that it's going to hurt."
Tessa squirmed, and clamped her eyes shut, trying desperately to break free. Her hand grasped around her pendant and shined it directly in his eyes.
Isaac hissed in pain, but horror overcame her when she realized his grip wasn't relenting, "Now it's really going to hurt, you little bitch." He growled.
Suddenly, a crushing feeling overcame Tessa, and she whimpered slightly, sagging to her knees. It was a freezing cold and she slumped down on the ground, her mind whirling and her breathing becoming difficult. She choked, was this what being crossed over felt like? It didn't seem like it. According to Riley, the sensation was supposed to be alluring, tempting, and seductive.
So why did it feel so painful and smothering?
Tessa coughed, and amidst her terror she didn't even feel the clammy hand leaving her wrist, or sense the Follower next to her collapse as well. It was deathly silent in the alleyway for a few moments, and Tessa squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that this was the end.
Yet, almost as quickly as the feeling had arrived, it vanished. Tessa gasped frantically, shivering uncontrollably as she tried to get a handle on what just occurred. Her eyes opened, and she was shocked to see that Isaac was in a similar position to herself, his mouth contorted in a silent scream that gradually faded as the dark presence left.
He stood up rapidly, shooting Tessa a look of horror, before mumbling something unintelligible then turning around and running like hell towards the opposite end of the alley.
Confused, Tessa tried to stand, and staggered only slightly, coughing again into her hand.
She was terrified when the side door swung open, and she braced herself for another attack.
"Tessa! You dumbass!" Came a familiar irritated voice.
Tessa felt relief overcome her when she saw Aria standing in the entrance to the side exit, Carlos flanking her on the side. Aria strode up and poked Tessa in the chest.
"What the hell is your problem? Running off like that without telling anyone?!" She demanded crossly, while Carlos stared at Tessa.
"Are you alright?" He asked with concern.
Tessa slowly blinked, and tried to process the completely bizarre occurrence, "I think we have a serious problem." She said hoarsely, her eyes trained on the shadows surrounding them.
OoO
Imy leaned against the wall in the back area, her ankles crossed over each other and her hands in the pockets of her tight sweater vest, "I want to know who did this." She said for about the fifth time that night.
Riley, who was sitting cross legged on the floor and scrawling carefully on a clipboard, exhaled softly, "We all do, Imy. It's not something to stew over."
Jake and Twiggy had picked up the salvageable parts of their equipment, a wah pedal and a drum stool, and then promptly left the club as soon as possible. Both of them were seething in anger, as Riley had removed her soothing influences over them as soon as Killian was a safe distance away. The female members of The Discards were now alone backstage, as they added their contributions to the damage list.
"But who would trash our stuff and then just leave?" Imy continued crossly. "You don't think it was a different band, do you? Twiggy pissed off that one pop group last week."
Riley shrugged, "If it was just Twiggy's equipment that was destroyed, I'd have a whole list. But someone was mad enough to go through everyone's things."
"Then who?"
"I don't know."
Imy gave a frustrated growl, "How can you be so indifferent to all of this?!"
The empath gave a sad sigh, "It's kind of my job. Someone needs to handle this rationally."
"Are you saying I'm some sort of raving moron?" Imy spat.
Riley's eyes narrowed, "I didn't mean it like that, Imy, and you know it."
The teleporter exhaled slowly, knowing she was just taking out her pent up aggression on her best friend since she was in the area, "I'm sorry, it's just…damn it I'm pissed." She stated bluntly.
"I know, but we'll have to leave it to the police to figure out," Riley said, writing down one last thing on the list before handing it to Imy, "It's just an act of vandalism, Imy, not an attack."
Imy's face lit up, "Do you think it was a Follower?"
"No."
Imy groaned and hung her head, "This is ridiculous." She muttered as she chewed on her lip piercing thoughtfully and scribbled down her gear that had been ruined. "You'd think that we'd get one break- but the only normal thing in our lives has to go insane too."
"Everything's replaceable, nothing is even coming out of our pockets," Riley reasoned, standing up slowly and fidgeting with the hems of her sleeves.
"But like Jake said earlier, that's not even the point," Imy finished her last item on the checklist so they could hand it over to Killian, "First, someone disliked everyone enough to do this. Second, no one was paying any damn attention to our stuff." She tucked the clipboard under her arm and went towards the managers' offices, where Killian would be at, "Really inspires a lack of trust, you know?"
Riley shook her head, "Killian was genuine when he said he was only gone for five minutes-"
"Then he was lying," Imy commented shrewdly.
"But my power detects lies easily-"
"Then maybe your power is wrong," Imy snapped as she stomped off the stage.
Riley watched her go and hung her head slightly, knowing that Imy was under a lot of stress and the words she emitted, as spiteful as they sounded, lacked any real conviction underneath them. Still, it was…unusual for her best friend to fly off the handle like that, especially about something as simple as band equipment.
Something wasn't adding up.
"Riley, what's going on?" Came a concerned voice from the side stairwell.
Riley turned around and saw Art reach the stage landing, a flustered look on his face as he absently brushed away a few dark strands of hair from his face.
"Just property damage," She said in her monotonous voice, "Someone snuck in and broke our instruments. It's nothing to worry over."
Art rose an eyebrow, "Follower attack?"
Riley almost smirked, those two were far too similar sometimes, "It would be improbable."
He seemed to notice that the guitarist was alone for the moment, "Where's Imy?"
Riley jerked a thumb towards Killian's office, "She'll be back out in a minute." She paused, "Don't say anything to upset her."
Art gaped, "When do I say things that upset Imy?"
"Never, but just be extra cautious today." Riley hesitated, "She's in a…mood, if you will."
Recognition dawned upon the drummer's face, "Ah. I see." He smiled, "I'll be careful not to piss-"
"Art! I was wondering where you went off to!" Interrupted a voice that Riley instantly recognized.
"She will more than likely upset Imy," Riley commented dryly as she saw Tatum ascend the exact way Art had moments ago.
"Tatum, I'm afraid you can't be back here," Art tried to send her away gently, and swore to himself when he thought the girlfriend comment would be enough of a heads-up. Apparently, she was either pigheaded or thickheaded.
"Don't be silly, I just wanted to talk to my friend Riley," Tatum said far too sweetly.
A miniscule frown of confusion made its way on the girl's blank features, "What would we have to talk about?" She murmured, obviously not well-educated in social etiquette.
"Oh, you know, stuff." She said, then added in a conspiratorial whisper, "Girl talk, you know?"
Riley balked. She was quite possibly the least girly girl she knew. "I don't think-"
Tatum cut her off as she pulled on the guitarist's arm and dragged her away, "You don't mind if I steal her for a few minutes, do you Art?"
Art blinked owlishly, "Um, I guess not?"
Riley's placid eyes actually held a bit of spite in them as she glared at Art over her shoulder while being pulled off.
Before they were entirely out of hearing range, Tatum rounded on the poor, shy girl like a rabid hyena.
"So, how long have you and Art known each other?" She asked, her tone polite but her posture and stance menacing.
Riley stared at her incredulously, "Almost a year now."
"And are you two close?"
She blinked, "Close enough, I suppose." She cocked her head to the side in evaluation, "What did you need to talk to me about?"
"Art. I think he's totally wrong for you Riley," Tatum said sweetly, like a concerned friend ought to.
The guitarist froze, "Um, me too?" She ventured shakily.
Tatum exhaled in utmost relief, "I'm so glad you agree with me, Riley! Because I was afraid I would have to intervene- on your best interest of course- to save you from potential heartbreak."
She tensed, "Tatum, I think that you're mistaken-"
"Now, none of that Riley. I've known you since you were eight, I think I know what you really need." Tatum began steering Riley back to where they were before, "I'm so glad we had this talk!"
"What?"
OoO
Imy dropped the clipboard rather gracelessly on Killian's desk, "Here." She said bluntly, then spun on her heel to walk back out.
"Imy, hold up!" Killian said, standing out of his chair quickly to follow after her, "I'm really sorry about all of this-"
Imy exhaled and counted to ten, "Killian, tonight's not a good night." Her words were grated, and Killian could see the agitation clinging to the charismatic performer, "So, for now, just tell me you'll call the police so I can go home."
Killian guarded her warily for a moment, before saying, "Sure Imy."
She nodded, "Thanks Killian."
With that she left the office.
Needless to say, she was more than surprised to see that her maroon haired best friend had been replaced by her scruffy boyfriend when she returned. "Art? When did you get here?" She asked, standing next to him.
He gave an awkward smile, "As soon as I heard the announcement, I thought there had been an attack or something…"
"Not entirely," She grumbled, "Some ass mutilated our shit."
"Yeah, I heard from Riley."
Imy looked around, "Where is Riley?" She asked curiously.
"Tatum dragged her off somewhere-" Art's words fell as he realized he had made a terrible mistake.
"Why the hell is Tatum here?" The already irritated girl growled dangerously, a darkened aura hanging over her.
"She followed me up the stage-"
"She followed you? When did she even see you?"
"Tatum wanted me to dance with her-"
"WHAT?"
"But I didn't!" He defended, raising his hands up, "And I told her I had a girlfriend, but she just wasn't hearing me Imy."
Imy ignored the rest of Art's ramble as the cogs in her head started to turn, "When did she ask you?"
"Well, I hardly see how that's the point Imy-"
"When, Art?" She said, a bit of begging in her tone.
"I saw her immediately after you guys went to set up," Art explained, "Why?"
Imy's mind rewound to the dinner at her house two nights ago. Tatum knew that The Discards would be playing, Tatum knew The RockOut well enough seeing as she had tagged along with her when they were younger, and she suddenly just appeared directly after someone had destroyed their equipment. Coincidence?
Not fricking likely.
"That bitch!" Imy said acidly, "Where'd she go?"
Art stared at her with a bit of worry, "Imy, what are you talking about?"
Imy didn't hear him, as her ocher eyes zeroed in on a chatty Tatum pulling a reluctant Riley back towards the stage area. Breezing passed Art, she strode over to the two girls, her mouth in a firm line.
"Hi Imy, didn't know you were still here," Tatum greeted.
Riley's uncomfortable face faded when she felt the hostile emotions flickering around her friend like an open flame, "Imy." She said in a warning tone.
But it went unheeded. Imy cocked back her fist, and before anyone had time to react, she sent it straight towards Tatum's jaw.
OoO
Don't you just love how small little scenes find their way into your thoughtfully planned outline, making you have to reorganize the entire thing? Oh, just me then? I couldn't resist giving Ezra some play though- I've become rather attached to him.
Up Next: The Daughters practice for their upcoming infiltration of Erebus, and Imy is slowly losing her grip.