Author's Note: Yes, this is a couple days late. I blame the cold medicine.
"Wednesday?!" Lucas called out as he stumbled blindly through the smoke and rubble of what was once the bedroom. "Wednesday?!" He heard a cough, and ran in the direction of it, finding Wednesday lying on her back next to what used to be the bed. "Oh my god, Wednesday, are you okay?!" He yelled at the slightly dazed-looking girl.
"I think my cape was on fire, but I'll be alright." She coughed again.
"I'm a little worried about your eardrums, though. Judging by the VOLUME IN WHICH YOU'RE SPEAKING." She screamed the last part, and caused Lucas to smile at the awful situation.
"I think somebody tried to kill us." Lucas stated in his usual volume, and gazed at the gaping hole in the wall.
"No, I just really need to get a new heating system." Wednesday said sarcastically. "Of course someone was trying to kill us!"
"You don't have to get snippy, I'm just going over things with you to make sure you're up to speed." Lucas offered Wednesday a hand and helped her to her feet, suddenly widening his eyes. The heroine failed to notice.
"The task at hand is figuring out how they knew we were here, and who they are." She said and began to pace around the smoldering bedroom.
"Well, maybe they followed us here?" Lucas suggested in as normal of a tone as he could muster.
"How? We flew here, so the only way they could have is-" Her eyes widened. "The lab freak! He can fly!" She yelled in realization, and Lucas quickly caught on as well.
"So you're saying that it was Buckman Inc. that tried to kill us?" He asked, and Wednesday shrugged.
"I suppose it's a very good possibility. Unless Ultraman is working alone." Lucas forgot about what he had to tell Wednesday.
"How could Ultraman be working alone? It's not like Buckman Inc. would let their puppy out without a leash." Wednesday nodded. "Unless of course he's not out on Buckman's accord." Lucas suggested.
"From what I've been told, those labs are pretty good at keeping in test subjects. But then again, test subjects are usually not humans with an artificial XK." Wednesday explained. "Either way, Ultraman is definitely involved, and we have to find him."
"But we don't exactly know what we're dealing with. I suggest that we hide out for a while and come up with a plan." Lucas said logically. Wednesday had to agree with him.
"We need to get to my lair. Can you fly us there?" She asked as she made her way to the hole in the wall, which would have to do for a place for Lucas to fly out of.
"Of course." Lucas joined her, and figured it was as good of time as any.
"And Wednesday?" He started. "I think more than your cape got burned off." The girl raised an eyebrow and looked at herself in a mirror across the room that was still surprisingly intact. She instantaneously gasped at the sight of her hair, now unevenly shoulder-length, and still smoking.
...
"We'll just be in here a minute while I get Lurch." Wednesday said to Lucas as she led him to the mansion which looked less ominous and more decrepit in the early daylight. He looked at the few broken windows, rotting siding, and counted the number of stories, thinking about how his father would have had a field day with it. He wondered why it hadn't been renovated, considering that Wednesday's family could definitely afford it, and then remembered who he was talking about.
"So this really has always been here?" He asked, once again completely astounded that the enormous house in Central Park had gone unnoticed. Wednesday nodded.
"My ancestors refused to sell the land when the park was established, so they just kind of went all around us." She explained and opened the front door for Lucas. "We've never really cared about what society wants us to do."
"Yeah, that's becoming more and more evident." He admitted, stepping into the foyer and taking in the dusty, kind of empty room that immediately led to two flights of stairs.
"Follow me." Wednesday instructed, and led him up the stairs, turning immediately to a door with a bell hanging from the frame "Lurch, are you up?" She asked through it and lightly rang the little bell. Lucas swore he heard a man groan in annoyance.
"Who exactly is he?" Lucas asked.
"My best friend." Wednesday replied just as the door opened to reveal a Boris Karloff look-alike in a nightcap and pajamas. "Good morning." Wednesday greeted him politely. The man mumbled something that could have possibly been,
"You rang?" Like Lucas, he did not seem to react well to Wednesday's latest, 'fashion statement'. "Ugh." He croaked out and reached his hand out to touch the singed ends.
"I know," Wednesday said down to the floor. Lurch sighed and signaled the number one on his hand before turning back into the room and closing the door. "He's changing." She explained to Lucas, and he nodded. They waited for all of about two minutes before Lurch reemerged in a dusty tuxedo, carrying a pair of rusty scissors.
"Oooooogh." He groaned, and headed for the stairs.
"Actually, do you mind doing it in my underground?" Wednesday asked, and Lurch grumbled. "I'm sorry, I just kind of want a little privacy." Lucas raised an eyebrow at how Wednesday seemed to be able to decipher the sleepy butler's moaning. Again, he remembered that this was the girl who'd once broken his rib on live television to get a point across.
Lucas and Lurch followed the girl out to the garage they'd entered from before. The door opened at the press of a button on Nera's utility belt, and they were granted access down to the still-empty garage, due to the car still being in a residential area in Queens. The main room awaited, where Wednesday took a seat in a chair, and Lurch began to circle.
"Do you think there's anything you can do?" She asked, and Lurch grunted. "You're a lifesaver." Wednesday made eye contact with Lucas as Lurch carefully brought the scissors to her hair.
"Somebody just tried to kill us, and you're getting your hair cut?" He asked in disbelief.
"Of course. We don't want to show signs of damage to the enemy." She defended. The butler grumbled. "And Lurch agrees."
"Errrrgh." Lurch added. Wednesday blinked a few more times than necessary.
"I was lucky to have called Lucas this morning after staying in my apartment, and luckily, he showed up right after the explosion." She lied, and Lucas clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Lurch snipped off some hair, and walked around to look into Wednesday's eyes. He sighed, and grumbled something else. "Lurch, I am a grown woman and I can make my own decisions." The butler put his hands on his hips and turned to Lucas.
"Guuuuh."
"Uh..." Lucas could feel Lurch gazing into his mortal soul. "It was her idea?" The giant man sighed and went back to cutting Wednesday's hair.
"Traitor." She muttered under her breath, and Lucas gave her a look of disbelief before rapidly switching his gaze from Lurch to her, giving a shrug. Wednesday rolled her eyes. "Can you turn on the news for me?" She asked, and pointed to the television. He nodded, and quickly found the remote, switching on the TV to a True Blood DVD menu.
"Nice." He smiled back at her.
"Shut up and push 3." She said nonchalantly, and he obliged.
"Are we checking the weather?" Lucas asked jokingly as he surfed down to the news channels.
"A penthouse in the Theatre District being blown up is bound to attract media attention." She explained, and winced as Lurch continued to cut. "See?" She said as the video of the smoking apartment flashed on the screen.
"-It has been confirmed that no bodies were found, and it was presumed to have been empty at the time of the freak explosion." The anchor proceeded to another topic, changing her demeanor to one of somebody with fresh gossip. "Are Lux and Nera DATING?" Wednesday and Lucas groaned in unison. "Sources have confirmed that the two joined hands last night in the safe rescue of four-year-old Benjamin Paulson, sparking rumors of a possible fling between the hero and villain.
"On what planet does saving a kid get translated to, 'definitely screwing'?!" Lucas asked in disgust. Wednesday laughed.
"Well," Lurch grumbled a warning. "I have no idea, because it's definitely not true." She finished. "But I'm not a villain."
"I think that little laugh after you broke my rib gave people the wrong idea." Lucas guessed.
"We have been unable to find either of them for an interview, but certain sources have confirmed these rumors." Lucas cocked his head, and Wednesday raised an eyebrow.
"They never seem to name their exact sources, do they?" She asked rhetorically.
"This is worse than Wikipedia!" Lucas agreed. Their attention was turned away from the TV at the sound of the elevator coming down. Wednesday braced herself for the inevitable barrage of questions, and felt pity for Lucas.
"Ah ha! Finally, I get my shot at Wonderboy!" Pugsley shouted as he stomped off the lift, and Wednesday couldn't help but hear a miniature version of their father. She looked at Lucas, who had a huge grin on his face.
"Hey! You must be Wednesday's little brother. It's so nice to-" He was cut off by Wednesday.
"Pugsley, if you lay a hand on him, I will turn you over to the ancestors." She threatened.
"Tool." Pugsley cursed in vain at Lucas, and Pubert finally caught up.
"Oh my goodness, what happened?" He asked his sister, just as Lurch gave her hair a final comb-through.
"It caught fire in battle." Wednesday lied, and stood up. "What do you have there?" She asked, noting the folder in her baby brother's hands.
"Pugsley and I finally managed to hack into the BI server!" The little said giddily, and his sister rushed him.
"What did you find?" She asked, taking the folder and taking in the print-outs.
"You were right; that guy was a total failure. He's gone completely insane." Pugsley explained, and Lucas got on his tip-toes to see over the siblings' heads.
"Like, cuckoo bananas, worse-than-Grandma crazy." Pubert added for emphasis. "Pugsley says that he ate a scientist!" Wednesday's eyes widened.
"No, it wasn't him." Pugsley confirmed before she could even ask. She nodded, and Lucas knew she probably wouldn't want to tell him what that was about. "But we also found out that he was the second test subject. The first apparently had more obvious physical mutations, and is still in the lab." Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Where's Ultraman?" He asked.
"He escaped around 7 last night." Pugsley said matter-of-factly, and Wednesday threw her hands in the air.
"I knew it!" She leaped up from the chair. "This is perfect!"
"How?" Asked Lucas. "Doesn't this mean that the whole city's in danger?"
"Technically speaking, yes." Wednesday admitted. "But these files say that Ultraman is sickly compared to how he's supposed to be. Also, if he escaped, then he's no longer working for Buckman, which should make it a lot easier for us to get to him." She elaborated.
"Which could also mean he's more dangerous." Lucas interjected.
"Yeah, but when it comes down to it, it'll be easier." Wednesday argued, causing Lucas to put his hands up in surrender.
"I'm just saying that we need to be careful about this." He finished.
"Pussy." The twelve-year-old muttered.
"Pugsley!" His siblings scolded in unison.
"I swear, you are so rude." Pubert said in a huff, causing his sister to giggle.
"He had sex with our sister." Pugsley said bluntly.
"She likes him, so we have to be nice, and respect her decision." Pubert spoke as if Wednesday and Lucas were no longer in the room.
"Uuuuuhhh." The forgotten butler said from near the elevator. Pugsley crossed his arms over his chest.
"Traitors."
"Breaking news: it appears that the suspect in the robbery of several places in Midtown has been identified as a 'Super'." They heard from the TV.
"Turn it up!" Wednesday said to Lucas, who punched the up arrow a few times just as a picture of a very different Ultraman flashed on the screen.
"The suspect has yet to be identified, but police say he is very dangerous, and is responsible for the deaths of a police officer, and two civilians." Wednesday and Lucas stayed still as a statue, watching as intently as possible. "Citizens are in a state of panic, wondering where this man will strike next. We are left to ask: where is the new Super couple?"
"Well, that settles it. We're leaving; now." Lucas said over to Wednesday, who nodded and put on her mask, marveling at how easy it was to get the strap under her hair. Pubert scurried behind her with a fresh cape, unsnapping the remnants of the old, and replacing it.
"Pugsley, I need you to get Lurch to drop you off at my car in Queens." She said back to her other brother. "Let's go, Lucas."
"Oh, so it's Lucas now." Pugsley teased, and his sister bid him farewell with her middle finger. Continuing the trend of hand signals, Pugsley gave Lucas a nice 'I'm watching you' while Pubert gave a little wave.
"Baby, why don't I get to be on TV?" Lady Magnificent asked as she slowly massaged Ultraman's shoulders. He leaned his head back and looked into her eyes
"In time, my dear." He closed his eyes, wondering how long it had been since he'd last slept, and if he really needed sleep anymore.
"Carson…" Dalia wordlessly begged, and he could tell she was giving him puppy-dog eyes.
"If I take you out and let you smile for the cameras, will you be satisfied?" He asked, and she smiled wide.
"Yes!" She shrieked, and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to go fix my hair!" She ran off to find one of the broken mirrors, leaving Ultraman to groan into his hands.
"Women." He muttered to himself before standing up from the broken recliner, beginning to feel the years he'd been aged, but he shook this feeling off.
He was alive. He was strong. It could have been a lot worse.
This had been his mantra ever since the night of the demonstration. The last sentence reminded him of the pitiful creature that would never get out of the labs by himself; the first freak. If he was to do anything of the slightest moral ambiguity, it would be to help poor Patrick.
"Ready!" Lady Magnificent called from the doorway.
"Then lets fly." He said with a plastered-on smile, and they burst through the building's roof.
"The cameras are by the bitch's apartment. It's this way." Dalia yelled over the wind, and led the way to the theatre district, the Flyers not allowing her Carson's smooth movement. He wanted desperately to laugh at the cute way she jerked about at random intervals, but something caught his attention; a voice.
Ultraman had discovered a while back that his powers also included heightened senses, including hearing. If he wasn't mistaken, he had just heard someone besides Lady Magnificent laughing far above the skyscrapers.
"-I did tell you your hair was a hazard, didn't I?" A smooth, young male voice asked. Ultraman began to go in that direction, ignoring the Lady.
"Shut up, it could have happened to anyone." A female voice said in reply. Ultra lowered his eyebrows, having no doubt in his mind who the duo were. He cursed Dalia's incompetence under his breath and flew to her in a matter of seconds. Grabbing her by the arm, he immediately shut her up, and pulled her in the direction of the others, who he could now see were perched on the top of the Buckman Building.
"It seems I'll have to show you how it's done." Ultraman said into Lady Magnificent's ear, and swooping down. Lucas tore his eyes away from Wednesday fussing with her short hair just in time to see the psycho smiling crookedly, holding onto his rather stereotypical sidekick villainess.
Prepare for some AXE-ION!.
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