Chapt-uh Six is in the Hizz-ouse!
"Round each corner there's a chance. People searching glance to glance. Moving bout real fast like insects and fish when they're scared." –Raindrops, Regina Spektor
Richie was the first to wake up, he noticed his window was dark and now wondered what time it was. His eyes moved to the nightstand and he almost gasped as he realized it was now 6:15. Ellie and him had been sleeping since 3:30. Thank God, his mother was still working and his father was away on business. He shuttered to think what his father would do if he found a girl in his bed. Just then he became aware of just how close Ellie was. She tossed and turned in her sleep for a while, he could feel the movement but she had finally settled on a position. She had nestled her head into his clavicle and she had one arm around his lower back holding him close. Her soft bare legs had slid over his jean covered ones. And her pelvis was pressed against his, forcing Richie out of his comfort zone. He felt an urge to pull away, but at the same time, there was another urge to pull her closer. He shook his head and straightened up, he was slightly embarrassed when he realized that his hand had been resting on her hip. He brought himself to a sitting position, and realized if he didn't wake up Ellie soon, she'd probably be in trouble with Malcolm. So he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Ellie… Ellie wake up." He called softly. She startled awake and looked around the room in panic. One of the side effects of having incredibly fast reflexes. She sighed in relief as she saw Richie's face.
"Oh hey Richie…" she looked at the darkened window, "Sheesh, how long was I out?"
"About 3 hours… roughly." Richie turned her attention to the clock. Her mouth dropped.
"Oh man! Why didn't you wake me up?" she pulled herself to a sitting position as well and scrambled underneath the blankets.
"I fell asleep too." Richie said.
"Oh man… my dad's gonna kill me." she stated, "I promised him I'd be home to tell him about my first day and all that jazz."
"Sorry I probably should have stayed awake in case something like this..." he started to apologize until Ellie waved it off.
"Not your fault. I probably should have guessed I would pass out during a history review…" she said as she took her shoes off the floor and started to tie them. She looked over at Richie, who looked slightly awkward. "What's eating you?"
"Me? Nothing… nothing at all." Richie said as he shoved his hands in his pockets nervously, Ellie gave him a look and he shrugged, "Well… I'm just not used to having girls in my bed." He stated.
"Oh… I see…" She said, then something occurred to her and she looked up sheepishly.
"I didn't… I didn…" She stammered and then she sighed and looked down. After a moment she looked up and Richie could swear he saw a pink color enter her pale cheeks, "I didn't cling to you did I?"
"What?" Richie responded stupidly, it was too quick, it sounded defensive. He paused and nodded, "Yeah… you did." Ellie looked up the pink color turning to red and working its way across her face.
"Sorry about that… see, when ever I sleep next to someone I always clutch on to them. I guess um… I like movement… so I just sleep better when I'm with someone… I couldn't even sleep alone when I was younger…sorry." Ellie rambled an apology once more. Richie gave a small smile, despite the awkwardness; he couldn't say he didn't enjoy it.
"Don't worry about it." He said. Ellie got to her feet and slid her backpack over her shoulder, "I'll walk you home if you want." He offered.
"Oh that's sweet… but I think I'll make the trip okay, it's right across the street." Ellie reminded him.
"Right… I forgot." He said, "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yeah, you know I'd give you a hug, but you've probably had enough of my clinginess." She smirked.
"I think I could suffer through it." Richie responded. Ellie let out a low laugh and wrapped her arms around him. Her face pressed against his neck for a moment, and Richie didn't want her to leave. Ellie was the one to let go.
"Be seeing you." She stated and walked out of the room. She closed Richie's door and sped out of the house in a millisecond. Ellie finished her quick run and pressed her back against the door of her home. Her hands pressed against her cheek and she could feel her smile widen to the point where most of her teeth were showing. She had felt much too comfortable with Richie, he had been warm and welcoming. She loved how he made her feel. Maybe this whole living in Dakota issue wasn't going to be so bad after all.
Ellie turned around and opened the door as quietly as she could manage, and slid into her house. She closed the door behind her, making sure the only sound that came from it was the metallic clink of the lock. She crept through the hallway and wanted to cry out in sweet relief as the stairs came into view.
"Oh Eleanor, can I have a word with you?" Malcolm called from the kitchen. Ellie cursed herself and threw her arms down in frustration of being caught.
"Yeah dad." She said, and walked into the kitchen. Malcolm was pouring some coffee into his favorite mug.
"Hey sweetheart, how was your day?" he questioned. Ellie's eyes narrowed suspiciously, maybe she wasn't in trouble.
"Oh it was um… good. You?" she asked. He nodded and sat down at the table.
"Well, pretty good until I reached home and discovered both my children were missing and they weren't picking up their cell phones." He said with an eyebrow raised. Yeah, she was in trouble, Ellie sighed.
"I'm sorry dad. I went to Richie's, so he could help me out with History and I fell asleep." She said.
"And it didn't occur to him to wake you up?" he asked.
"He fell asleep too." Ellie responded, "And we just woke up a few minutes ago, so I haven't even touched my phone… I'm sorry…"
"Yeah I know, its okay I guess. Truth be told, I'm glad you got some sleep." He said tiredly.
"You're not mad?" Ellie asked with a hint of disbelief in her voice.
"No… well I mean I would have preferred that you slept in your own bed instead of sleeping with Richie…" Malcolm paused and considered his word choice, "…at Richie's." he stopped again, and shook his head ending the discussion, "Where in God's name is your brother?" he complained.
"Want me to take a run around the city to see if I can find him?" she offered. Malcolm shook his head again.
"If he's not back in an hour, I'll go out and look for him myself. You should get some more sleep." He said.
"Dad that's unnecessary, I got plenty of sleep, I'll get him and bring him back before his bed time." Ellie stood to her feet. Malcolm put down his coffee mug.
"Well, I'm going with you." He stated.
"You'll only slow me down. I'll be back in a flash." Ellie said finally. Before leaving her house she stopped into the bathroom and changed into Velocity. With that she sped around the city. She quickly ran down the major sidewalks trying to identify her brother among the random pedestrians. After an hour of this failed process she decided to take a break and think of a back up plan. She sat down on a park bench. The old woman who had been sitting down next to her was looking at her strangely. She slowly slid in the opposite direction until she faked a cough, stood up and awkwardly walked away. Velocity sighed and cradled her head in her hands not paying too much attention to the woman. Dakota might not have been as big as New York City, but it certainly offered a lot of places for Peter to hide.
"This just in: Meta-Humans are currently underway of robbing of the Dakota Bank, there are 14 hostages inside, our extraordinary footage brings you inside the horror filled atmosphere…" a nearby television stated from the window of an electronic store. Velocity began to tear herself away from the temptation when she caught the face of one of the hostages. A blurred tall and skinny looking man with dark hair. 'It couldn't be' Velocity thought to herself.
"Hey what are you doing back there?" a police officer burst into the way of the news crews footage, "No cameras!" he stated. The special report ended and it went back to the regular news anchors. But the yellow clad heroine had seen all she needed to.
"Pete…" Ellie said meekly. She raced off to the bank with such a blinding speed that she crashed right into Static. The electric hero had been standing on the ground while talking to Richie Foley. Velocity leapt right off his chest.
"Sorry Sparky." She said apprehensively looking around, "Is this the back entrance to the bank?"
"It's Static." Static corrected as he stood up, "And maybe… what's it to ya?"
"Listen Static, I can't fight with you. I have to get in there." Velocity stated anxiously and then hesitantly added, "Someone I care about is in there." Static gave her a genuine sympathetic look.
"Yeah… this is the back entrance. We have to make sure we don't trip the alarm. I'm working on it now." Static informed her.
"Thank you." Velocity smiled. Static went back to work, he pressed his hand against the door attempting to find the small alarm and disable it. While he was working on that, Velocity turned her attention to Richie for what seemed like the billionth time that day. The blond was staring at her with his gorgeous blue eyes.
"Hey sugar, don't you ever avoid dangerous situations like normal people?" Velocity asked.
"Don't you?" Richie countered.
"Touché Blondie." Velocity allowed and stepped back towards Static. He grunted and there was a metallic clink.
"Got it." He announced.
"Thanks." Velocity said and ran passed him. Static had to grab onto the doorway from keeping the force of the wind from knocking him off his feet. He displayed his annoyance and followed her in. Leaving Richie all alone in the back alley.
Velocity came to a stop behind a bank teller counter. She peeked over the top. She saw Ebon stretching himself out and piling bags of money inside of himself. The meta-human that was threatening the hostages was a tall Jamaican man with abnormally large feet.
"Some super power." Velocity mumbled to herself. Her eyes glanced over every hostage until she came to the tall and dark haired man she had seen on television. It was most certainly Peter. "Damn it Pete! How'd you get mixed up in this?" she thought bitterly. But the suit and tie were definitely a clue that he was applying for a job. She raised her head slightly trying to get a good look at all of the hostages and how many there were. She was trying to remain low before drawing attention to herself but it was a failed attempt because she caught Peter's eye. He was aggravated to see his little sister in costume and he mouthed the words "Get out of here." But Velocity shook her head stubbornly. Kangor noticed Peter's head raised. He walked over, placed a hand on Peter's head and violently directed it back to the ground. Velocity's fist clenched and her knuckles cracked from the tension. She lowered herself completely and crawled along making sure to stay out of the meta-human's line of vision. She eventually spotted Static crouching down out of sight as well. When she was sure that the meta-humans couldn't see her she sped over next to him.
"You take Ebon again. I got the foot freak." Velocity stated through clenched teeth. Static could sense her anger.
"Maybe I should take Kangor." Static whispered.
"No way! I'm not letting him get away with threatening my… person that I care about." Velocity stopped herself from revealing too much information. She didn't want to blow her identity completely.
"Are you sure you can control yourself? People do terrible things when they're angry." Static lectured.
"It's really touching that you're worrying about me. I was kind of under the impression that you weren't all that crazy about me." Velocity grinned.
"I'm not worried about you. I'm worried about the poor soul you encounter." Static crossed his arms.
"Yeah, well that poor soul is definitely gonna think twice before threatening someone I care about ever again. Count of three?" she held up three fingers. Static said nothing in response. He only nodded and watched as she slowly lowered each finger.
When the countdown was zero, Velocity leaped over the counter and sped out and tackled Kangor with so much force they both went sailing into a glass window and it shattered. Static zipped out on his disc and shot out so much electricity at Ebon he was reduced to almost nothing. Loose dollar bills went fluttering to the ground and some of the hostages were ashamed to shove them into their pockets when no one was looking. Peter Covelli was among them.
"Static!" Ebon growled, "You picked the wrong night to mess with me hero!" The shadow whipped his figure around and knocked Static right out of the air. Static landed on his back and cringed when he felt the crunch from the broken window shards underneath him. Ebon's arm morphed into a giant hammer and he grunted as he tried to bring it down with all his force. Static gasped before quickly rolling out of the way.
Velocity had been able to hold her own in this fight against Kangor until he delivered a mighty kick into her burned stomach. Velocity landed on her side 20 yards away, her arms wrapping around her stomach which was clenched with pain. Her breathing consisted of short and sharp gasps. Kangor loomed towards her menacingly, getting ready to finish the job.
"NO!" Peter stood up and screamed. Kangor turned his attention back to the dark haired male. He completely forgot about Velocity for the moment and moved back towards Peter. Ellie cringed at hearing her brother's voice and it took everything inside her to stand up with her wobbly legs. Kangor jumped up in the air and was ready to squish Peter, before Ellie sped up and quickly tackled her brother out of the way.
"Get out of here Pete, it's dangerous." The heroine ordered with a wheeze. Peter went to shake his head defiantly, but Velocity's eyes narrowed dangerously and she gave him a forceful push towards the door. Kangor regained his stature and Velocity regained what was left of hers. She could still run circles around him.
A loud crash made Velocity and Kangor both turn their heads. Static had used his electricity to pull the safe door off it's hinges. He molded it around Ebon, which would have been a good plan if he didn't immediately slither out. Ebon grabbed the safe door and slammed it right into Static. The young hero hit the wall and fell.
"Static!" Velocity cried out when he failed to get up. She sped over and lifted the heavy metal safe door off of Static. There was a line of blood streaking down his face and Velocity gasped, "Oh man. Sparky wake up!" she panicked. And when she looked up she realized Ebon and Kangor were making a break for it. "URG!" she growled. She couldn't leave him by himself to go chase after the low lives.
"El!" Peter ran forward and sat next to her.
"Don't use my name!" Velocity snapped, then she waited a moment before growling "You were supposed to leave."
"Well I didn't." Peter stated. Velocity opened her mouth to argue with him when an idea struck.
"Good, stay with Sparky here, I'm going after the loser's." she said and didn't leave him a millisecond to argue before speeding after the meta-humans.
Richie Foley was hardly the patient type. He had been pacing around the back alley waiting for Static to get a move on. Luckily the police were generally dumb and no one had thought to check it yet. So Richie sat against the brick wall between the steel metal door and a dumpster to his left. Raindrops were beginning to fall and Richie sighed. A big fat raindrop that held developed severe tension on the gutter above him fell right on his glasses. He pulled them off his face and began to wipe them clean with his shirt, when the door crashed right off its hinges and plunged six feet straight in front of the door frame. Richie sprang to his feet remaining against the wall, he fumbled slightly but managed to slam his glasses back securely on the bridge of his nose. Kangor ran out and made a clean run to the left of Richie. He hadn't even noticed the blond standing there. He let out a sigh of relief but quickly silenced himself when Ebon slithered out. The shadow was about to tread after Kangor but unfortunately for Richie, the blond had caught his eye.
"You… don't I know you from somewhere?" Ebon asked menacingly getting uncomfortably closer to him.
"Oh, you know how it is… big city…" Richie shrugged keeping his tone as light and casual as he could. But no matter how hard he tried he couldn't hide the nervousness out of his voice.
"You're that Foley kid, the one who hangs out with Static." Ebon growled suspiciously. Richie wished he could back up more but his back was already pressed against the wall. The shadowy hand caught his throat in one swift movement. "I got sent to jail because of you!"
"You… used me… to try… and catch… Static." Richie strained to say, the muscles in his neck ached in pain from Ebon's grip. The meta-human gripped tighter, displeased with the fact the boy could even form words with his hand clutching his throat. Prison must have made him go a bit soft.
"You're coming with me geek." Ebon informed him. He jerked Richie forward by his neck so he was off of the wall. The shadow pulled him along the alleyway and Richie kicked and punched with all of his might as Ebon reached a sewer lid. Ebon used his free hand to open it so he could make his escape with his alternative trophy. They were interrupted as Velocity sped through the doorway. Ebon groaned, "Not you again…"
"Richie!" Velocity cried out in surprise, "Let him go!" she ordered. Ebon looked at the costumed heroine to the blond and then back again.
"You know him too?" Ebon asked, "He seems to be quite an asset to you heroes." Velocity let out a small gulp. Richie had just fallen into a very dangerous place to be in. Especially, if Ebon told other villains of Richie's connections to Static and Velocity.
"Alright I gave you the chance…" Velocity shrugged, she dashed over to the shadow throwing in a few well delivered punches. She grabbed Richie's arm and swung him out of Ebon's fury. Richie scrambled back into the wall again, farther away from the fighting meta-humans. The two got into a close hand to hand battle. When the sound of a police siren blared too close for comfort. Ebon kicked Velocity in the stomach sending her backwards for the second time that night. She landed not too far from Richie and Ebon looked at them both angrily.
"This isn't over. You better watch your back…" he growled maniacally and cast his eyes to Richie, "Both of you." Then he slithered into the sewer. Velocity made a move to follow him but the lid to the sewer closed before she had the chance. She groaned. Richie's blue eyes were widened fearfully at Ebon's threat. Velocity swallowed particularly hard at seeing the panic in the poor boys expression. She went to go squat down next to him but her stomach gave a sharp pain when she did so. She sat down next to him instead.
"It'll be okay… Ebon doesn't know where to find you." She tried comforting him.
"It's not that hard to pick up a phone book and find Foley…" Richie shrugged humorlessly. Velocity sighed she reached down into her belt and pulled out a small square card.
"Look, I don't usually do this… but… this is my card. That's my private cell number." Velocity instructed, "If you even suspect a shadow of looking suspicious, you give me a call and I'll be there in a flash." Richie fingered the small card and looked over at her.
"Why?" Richie asked, those curious blue eyes staring into hers.
"I'm pretty sure you and Static are starting to grow on me. I'd hate to see something happen to you guys." Velocity smiled. Something occurred to Richie.
"How did you know my name?" He asked, Velocity looked over confused, and he reminded her, "When you came out of the door, you yelled my name and told Ebon to let me go. But I've never mentioned it. You always just call me Blondie." Velocity stood to her feet giving him a wide smile.
"You are certainly observant. I like "Blondie" I think it suits you. But just because I call you Blondie doesn't mean I can't do my homework and find out who you really are, Richard Foley." She informed him.
"Mind telling me who you are?" Richie asked. Another toothy grin spread across her face.
"Maybe some other time, love." She stated before standing up and blowing him a small kiss, "See ya around." Richie rolled her eyes as she sped out of his vision within a fraction of a second. He stood up, his hand fell to the surely new developing bruise around his neck.
Velocity shrugged off her mask and costume replacing it with street attire in the small bathroom of the McDonalds across the street. She stepped out of the restaurant and back into the crowd. Each of the hostages was either being interviewed by the press or the police. She looked around, getting closer to the crime scene. Through the broken glass she noticed that Static and Pete weren't where she left them. She began to get a little nervous when she remembered Ebon's threat to get back at the heroes. But realized there was no reason to fret as Static's disc zoomed over her head. She saw a bandage on the side of his head and winced in empathy for his pain. She turned back around and spotted Pete talking to a female police office.
"Peter, are you okay?" Ellie asked as she hugged him.
"I'm fine Ellie." Peter nodded. The cop looked over at Ellie and she extended her hand.
"Hi, I'm Eleanor Covelli, I'm his sister." She greeted politely.
"Trina Jessup." She returned, "Listen Peter, we'll be in touch if we have any further questions, okay?"
"Yes that's fine, thank you." Peter nodded and loosened his tie. He let out a sigh of relief and grabbed his sister's hand, "Come on let's get out of here." The siblings maneuvered through the crowds of people, now the rain was beginning to fall harder. By the time they made it home they were both drenched. They kicked off their shoes in the foyer.
"I would have been fine ya know? You didn't have to put yourself in that kind of danger…" Peter crossed his arms.
"Thanks for saving me sis, I really appreciate you sticking out your neck for me." Ellie mocked in a deep voice. "Oh don't worry Pete, you're my brother, you know I love you." She resumed in her normal tone of voice. Peter rolled his eyes.
"I'm being serious." Peter informed her.
"No you're being stupid. I put myself in all kind of danger every time I put on that yellow costume. But saving you and an entire city makes it all worth while." She shook her head. Peter sighed for a moment before taking this into consideration.
"Thanks for saving me." he mumbled. Ellie gave a small smile and hugged him.
"Just be thankful, we're all in the clear now."
Ebon threw a fist against the walls of his current hideout and growled in frustration. Kangor placed a giant bag of ice on his feet.
"Something troubling you mon?" he asked curiously.
"It's all these damn heroes! I'm sick of it! Why can't they all just stick to their own territory like good little narks?" Ebon shouted in anger, "They're all the same! They show up when they're not wanted! They all smile and flip their hair for the press. They all seem to LOVE little Foley…" Ebon froze, a realization creeping over him, "Foley… he seems to be really tight with Static. And now he knows Velocity too. That little geek might just be the key to getting to them!"
"You gonna stalk that blond kid?" Kangor questioned.
"No…" Ebon stated, "I'm gonna break Talon and Shiv out of lockdown, Talon's the stealthy one, she'll be able to get everything on that kid!" Ebon said mischievously, "We might need a little help though… I think I know just who to get." Ebon snaked out of the room.
"Whatever you say mon." Kangor shook his head at the retreating shadow.
Tee hee hee, we're making our way into the plot :D
I'm hoping you all like it and thank you for reviewing my little darlings.