16. A Hive at the Opera part 5
"Welcome back to Westhaven Opera House, sir," Sandy more or less curtsied at the doorway as Mr. Anderson stepped in. "I trust you had a safe trip here?"
"Uneventful, little girl. And that's all I can say," Mr. Anderson replied as he looked at the work being done to the lobby. His old eyes surveyed the scene like they had a hundred times before. Gray eyebrows and a bald head forming a cratered surface of liver spots. A plump nose and a plump body and a plump ego. "Where is the director, by chance?"
"Ms. Cartwright is having dinner right now with one of the financiers, sir," Sandy said matter-of-factly. "She's been busy seeing to the continued rehearsals and the setting up of the stage."
"I can always trust her to get a job done right," Anderson nodded. "And who might this financier be? Our long awaited Allenthorpe?"
"Close sir," Sandy spoke. "It's his son."
Anderson looked at her rather curiously. "His son??"
She stared back at him. Waited half a second but no longer. And said," Yes sir."
"Hmmm….I would much like to meet him…," the old man said slowly.
"That can be arranged, sir," Sandy said. "For right now, would you like an escort to your office?"
"No no…I'd much rather have a look at the progress of Il Trovatore. Then maybe when the lovely Ms. Cartwright is done dining with one of our benefactors, she can present to me her review in person."
"I'll deliver a message to her thusly," Sandy bowed her head.
"But first…I must ask you. I trust the little people like you, girl. For little people have no reason for twisting the truth when speaking to big bosses such as myself." There was a slight twist of his lips with that last line. His smile diluted into a sort of half slur when he asked: "What are these rumors I hear of poltergeist in the theatre?"
"I beg your pardon, sir?"
"Maybe my words are too confusing…," he spoke with a hint of senior sarcasm. "I've been told that there have been unexplained mishaps taking place over the last twenty four hours. Is this true?"
Sandy didn't hesitate to nod and say: "True, sir. There was a falling light fixture and—"
"—a midnight grassfire. So what I heard is correct," Anderson scratched his chin. "Quite troubling indeed…and unexpected…."
Sandy stared at him.
He addressed her: "Tell me…has Cartwright gotten them under control?"
"To the best of my knowledge, sir…"
Suddenly—emanating from outside—there was a loud crashing sound, followed by the grinding of a dumptruck's tires and an ear deafening 'SMASH!!!!'.
Anderson's weak heart almost failed on him.
Sandy hopped over to the window, looked out, and nearly dropped her glasses.
"Ms. Cartwright and Mr. Allenthorpe Jr. are in trouble. I'll go get some help." Her voice was surprisingly bland for having witnessed such a calamitous event. Regardless, she picked up speed and dashed out the room to provide aide at the scene of the disaster.
Mr. Anderson slowly…slowly…walked after.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Beast Boy dug furiously into the rubble of the verandah. Every now and then he switched to an anteater to sniff the victims out, or a T-Rex to scoop up debris, or an ostrich to peck holes. No matter how many times he morphed and dug, there was no sign of progress. He regressed back to the green elf he was and panted desperately: "Come on, Noir! Come on! Don't die on me! Not now! Come on Come on Come on Come on Come on!"
People started running towards the scene from afar off. Beast Boy saw them through the corner of his eyes. He knew that they could probably see him, but he didn't care. He fought desperately to remove his friend from the rubble.
"Man…this is not good. Not good!!" He clutched his head and trembled.
And then….there was a moaning sound.
He looked to the side and saw Ms. Cartwright and myself in a clearing of grass….completely unharmed.
"Noir!!" Beast Boy leapt down. The overturned dumptruck hid us from the view of upcoming rescuers as the elf knelt down by our sides and fought for a breath. "You….Y-You're all right??"
I held Ms. Cartwright in my arms. I had managed at the last second to blur the two of us out from under the crushing weight of the verandah's roof as well as the hulking missile of a truck. The act in and of itself was exhausting—in that I don't typically blur people besides myself from one location to another. I fought for breath as the stage director moaned once more and went under. She was okay…however she had fainted. And perhaps that was to our advantage.
"Man….I-I thought you were a goner for sure," Beast Boy produced a fake grin, trying to hide his true fears. Ever the jester. "I mean…today's not Trash Day…heheheheh…."
I looked at him weakly. Had I have glared—as usual—it wouldn't possibly have as grand an effect on him.
And it showed.
The whole boy's body sagged and he weakly spoke: "Listen….i-it's gotten more complicated. Jinx is here. Representing H.I.V.E. She wants to put Killer Moth's hostages under hostage! If Killer Moth doesn't give in, crazy stuff like this will happen. Don't you see, Noir?! She's the one who's been responsible for all the mishaps! This situation is no longer in our hands alone. There's a lot more at stake here!"
I stared into the grass. Silent.
The sounds of rescuers digging out the verandah sounded out from the other side of the dumptruck. We could do nothing by just sitting there.
"Let's get these people to take care of Cartwright and ditch this scene…," Beast Boy said. "Regroup in the attic to plan from there, okay?"
I said nothing.
I gently laid Ms. Cartwright's unconscious body on the ground and stood up…blurring into invisible smoke.
"HEY!! OVER HERE!!" Beast Boy called out in his most natural voice before turning into a green seagull and flapping away.
People ran around the dumptruck, gasped, and huddled around Ms. Cartwright's body. Upon discovering she was in no ill-condition, they gently carried her into her office inside to rest and slowly rummaged through the verandah for a sign of 'Mr. Allenthorpe'.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Beast Boy landed on the ground on the side of the opera house perpendicular to the verandah scene; and away from sight. He took a huge breath and looked around him.
"Noir??" he called out.
Silence.
"Noir????" he cackled again, a bit panicky.
More silence.
Beast Boy thought of something. He turned around, jumped up, peered through the window of the opera house. He barely caught sight of a smoking figure teleporting down the length of the hallway and heading towards the staircase.
He gasped and ran for a covert entrance into the building.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
I marched firmly through the hallways of the Westhaven Opera House. There was a glare on my face almost strong enough to break through my shades. I appropriately blurred out of the visual spectrum whenever a body came near, and then I was back to my thundering pace. I upped a set of stairs and reached the second level where I turned down a hallway and came to the unmistakable door to Kitten's room.
I whipped out Myrkstaff…charged it up into Mrykblade with dark Destruction energy and raised it over my head to slice the doorframe apart and finish this ordeal once and for all.
And that's when Beast Boy morphed suddenly in front of me, arms outstretched, prepared to take the full strike of my weapon.
"That's as far as you go, Noir….," he said in a low voice.
I pointed firmly for him to move.
He shook his emerald head. "I'm not about to let you screw things up—"
That did it. I gripped his arm and forcibly threw him out of my way. No sooner had I done that, his temper blew off too. He bounced back and shoved me in the side so that I went slamming into the wall.
"What is your deal?!?!" Beast Boy growled, a bitter side of him I've never seen before showing through. "Did Robin not say I was your captain on this mission?! And you have the gall to shove me like that?! That's a no-no in the Titans' book, Noobie! So help me, I'd turn into a wolverine and bite your hand off for that!!"
I simply glared down at him, smoke warbling out from my limbs in a threatening manner. For once, the thought dawned upon me. I could crush him. I could simply rip him in half and separate the entrails into oblivion in two solid minutes of cyclonic fury. I felt so angry…so frustrated…so stupid all at once. The guilt of the predicament he had put me through throughout this mission…the monotonous passing of time…the way Ms. Cartwright almost died…the fact that she almost died a deceived woman…and the fact that I had been forced to deceive her…
Beast Boy had to have sensed my fury. He had to have felt the awesomeness of my wrathful power that I could have tipped over the brink at any second. If he was afraid, he didn't show it, and that was the most powerful thing of all. For he looked down with disappointment in his face and said simply, "No Teen Titan would ever shove a teammate like that."
The smoke stopped. My fists clenched. I gritted my teeth and shook. At the sound of approaching footsteps—most likely curiosity concerning the noises we were making—I enveloped myself in a cloud of murk and disappeared.
"Yeah…you run away!!!" Beast Boy scowled. "At the slightest hint of your wrongdoing! You freakin' coward!!" He folded his arms, growled in frustration, and pounded his fist into the wall. Soon he morphed into a green owl and flew down the hallway to avoid being caught. He may just have lost a teammate…but he sure as heck wasn't about to blow his cover.
All for the mission……
All for the mission…
Yeah…
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Fuming, I blurred down to a shadowed corner in the main lobby downstairs to catch my breath.
Who was he to accept who I was or wasn't?
I clenched my fists and palmed one into the other.
He spends all his time snooping around the enemy or joking for laughs while I'm forced to silently suffer the consequences of his awkward decisions!!
I brought my hands to my forehead and took a humiliating breath.
So what if I shoved him? He was in my way.
And another.
He was in my way of ending it all……and he got in the way.
I lowered my hands.
Why……why did I shove him?
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Beast Boy flew onto the rooftop of the Opera House and landed behind the huge, neon letters of 'WESTHAVEN'. He hugged himself, shook, and sighed.
"Was he truly angry with me?"
He looked up at the sky and exhaled, his whole body sagging.
"Why does everyone get angry at me?"
He glanced over more or less in the direction of the crushed verandah and overturned dumptruck.
"Oh yeah……that's why……"
He put his head in his hands and sat still for the longest time.
"………I'm sorry………I'm so……so sorry……"
After a minute or two, Beast Boy shrugged off everything and in a melancholy fashion reached for his communicator to make the latest, solemn report.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
So………wrong……
Either I had gathered enough strength to rematerialize as 'Mr. Allenthorpe', or I had lost track of my murk cloaking abilities entirely. Whatever the case, I was walking aimlessly through a bottom story hallway of the Opera House when a voice from behind summoned me.
I turned around and stood face-to-face with an elderly man in a business suit. He grinned at me with a senior rise of the brow and said: "Mr. Allenthorpe Jr., I presume."
I frankly didn't care anymore……
But I nodded lethargically and made to walk off.
"I don't believe we've met," the old man extended a hand. "I'm Mr. Anderson."
So this is the old fart Ms. Cartwright keeps talking about…
I shook his hand lightly and forced an ever-so-fake smile.
It seemed to work. "I'm glad to see you in one piece!" he exclaimed. "Word has it you were with Ms. Cartwright under the verandah during the most recent mishap…"
I shrugged.
He looked at me oddly. "Are you allright, Mr. Allenthorpe? You're so quiet…did the event traumatize you?"
For a moment there, I considered simply murking into oblivion and screwing the whole deal.
But suddenly, who should walk up but--
"Mr. Allenthorpe! There you are," Sandy exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you."
"Yes, I just managed to run into him," Mr. Anderson nodded his wrinkling head. "I was hoping the two of us could—"
"I'm afraid that can't do," Sandy said, surprising the both of us with her authority. The short, brown-haired girl grabbed my arm and curtsied to Anderson. "I've got to get this man looked at by the local physician who's checking on Ms. Cartwright. If he was at the scene of the accident, who knows what he could have gone through?"
"Oh….very well….all right….but I would most love to speak with the financier in person before the Final Showing."
"Duly noted, sir. I'll arrange a meeting as soon as possible," Sandy excused as she hurriedly escorted me down the hallway and out of sight.
Confused, I merely followed suit…until I realized she was taking me upstairs and not where Ms. Cartwright last was.
I tapped her shoulder and forced us to a stop and tried to excuse myself to leave when she hushed me with a quiete 'shhhhhhh' and whispered into my ear.
"I know who you are…"
I stared at her through my shades.
She looked back with firm brown eyes underneath her glasses.
Somehow, I expected this.
I motioned for the girl to follow me, and led the way to my and Beast Boy's attic room.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Jinx?! Jinx is involved in all that??" Cyborg remarked on the communicator's screen.
"Yup….and no doubt her motley crew of friends will join her before the Il Trovatore lowers its curtains," Beast Boy said monotonously. He nodded his head with a listless expression and added, "She's the one who's been wreaking havoc all this time. In fact just now, she nearly………killed the stage director."
"This is bad news….," Cyborg muttered aloud. "If H.I.V.E. is involved with this, who knows how many other members of the underground. Intersect? Slade?"
"It's a rather large party for a stupid opera…," Beast Boy moaned.
"….Say, B.B. You okay?"
"Yeah…..fine like wine."
"You don't look it, man."
"Just when are you guys gonna come and provide backup already??" Beast Boy snapped.
"……," Cyborg blinked. "As soon as possible. I assure you. We've been running into our own little problems while you were gone."
"Oh really…"
"Nothing serious. Just……problems. But this is what I propose. I'll provide backup in time to arrive during the showing. When is it, by the way?"
"Tomorrow night."
"Damn. Time's running short. I suggest you keep watch and prepare to perform a sneak attack on Killer Moth and his bugs right before he can unleash them. He'd be most vulnerable that way. And he may even reveal the location of his hive; which is what we most need right now. If we can eliminate the bugs all in one shot, then we won't have to worry about a sweating fight to protect the audience tomorrow night."
"And what about H.I.V.E.?"
"Not much I can say, except it sounds like they're depending on Killer Moth's bugs to do the dirty work of putting the audience under control. If you eliminate Killer Moth's objective, you in turn break H.I.V.E.'s. Once backup comes, they should be a piece of cake to handle."
"Yeah….sure."
"I'm serious, Beast Boy! This is all I can do for you. Now where's Noir?"
The changeling's eyes trailed. "He's….around…"
"Is he okay?"
"Look, what's with all the questions?!"
"If I wasn't too dumb, I'd say this was a briefing, man." Cyborg retorted. "Just what is your problem?"
"I dunno…not enough sleep or something, I guess."
"Well get well rested. We need your butt tomorrow night when Killer Moth makes his move. We need Noir's butt too. So don't lose track of him. Keep it together, okay Beast Boy?"
"I hear you."
"Over and out."
--blip--
Beast Boy sighed.
He stood up, morphed into a bird, and lazily went to perform another reconnaissance mission.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
In the room, I closed the door behind us and prepared to face Sandy's questioning.
And question, she did.
"How long have you been here? I mean, truly here."
I held up my fingers to signify 'two days'.
She stared at my hands. Then said, "And long have you not been able to talk?"
I looked to the ground, defeated.
The girl blinked. She paced to the other side of the room and then turned around. "Did you choose 'Allenthorpe' because you overheard Ms. Cartwright and others talking about him? Did you just happen to make the name up and get lucky? What motivated you to fool with us so? Did it occur to you that it might hurt us in the long run?"
I looked down, not saying anything.
Sandy looked at me. She took a step or two forward. "You probably think I'm angry at you. And I probably should be. And I probably should report you to Ms. Cartwright and Mr. Anderson and get it all settled. But….who am I to get in the way of heroism?"
Curious, I raised and eyebrow and looked up at her.
"Well, of course we both know you're him," she said absent-mindedly. "You're the Sixth Titan."
I was dumbfounded.
She knew it.
"Well, it's not like any of us know you're name or exactly how you look. There've been a few pictures. You seem to be quite the…elusive type."
I kept looking at her.
"…I see we're at a loss for words." She sat down on the edge of the bed and took a breath. "Very well." And with that, she started hand-signing a simple phrase.
'What is there left to hide?'
I gasped.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Mr….M-Mr. Anderson…," Ms. Cartwright exclaimed and tried to sit up.
"Easy there, Ma'am," the old man put his hand on her shoulder and smiled. "You may not have hurt yourself at all, but you still need your rest."
She laid back down on the couch in her office and took a breath. "Mr. Allenthorpe…is he—"
"He's quite fine, last time I checked. A little reclusive, but fine."
"I'm so glad to hear that," she breathed, forming a slight smile as she closed her eyes underneath her glasses. "I wouldn't doubt it if he got me out of the falling verandah himself."
"We're not quite sure *what* happened, dear. But one thing for sure, it was a close call."
"Mr. Anderson…," Cartwright panted. "These last few hours….these mishaps….I have no idea what's behind them."
"Quite frankly, me neither. Though it wouldn't be beyond me to say that we may have enemies in the world of entertainment."
"But…the show….must go on….right?"
Mr. Anderson smiled. He patted her shoulder and stood up. "I'll see to it with all my strength, child."
"Oh…that's splendid."
He paced over to the window and looked out onto the grounds. "After all the work you've put into Il Trovatore…I would see it as a crime to cancel it now. Besides, the opera house needs this. We've been suffering such a dry season, but this program has enough hype to drag in every rich man and woman from here to Metropolis. It's not something we should throw to the wind, but embrace with as much fervor as our lives have provided. You need not worry Ms. Cartwright. It's all in my hands now…"
"I'm glad to hear that…"
"You rest now," the old man smiled and headed for the door.
"Mr. Anderson?" Ms. Cartwright exclaimed.
"Yes, dear?"
"Mr. Allenthorpe Jr…..he will be such a help to us."
"……..," the old man stared. When he smiled, it seemed strangely sudden. "I'm sure he will be."
And he was out the door.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
I finished a hand-sign to Sandy and blinked at her from behind my shades.
"My little sister," the girl replied aloud. "She turned deaf at age 3. Since then, hands have been the best way she can communicate. I learned it for personal reasons. Plus, I'm majoring in education for the hearing impaired. Working here is actually community service. I don't get paid in dollars."
I nodded slowly, rather impressed. I hand signed at her.
She looked at me. "It's simple," she answered. "From the very get go, I saw signs that you didn't possess the voice we all heard. But that wasn't what clued me in."
I stared at her.
"It's funny enough to 'learn' about a son of Mr. Allenthorpe that none of us ever had previous knowledge of. But what really hammered it in was when you had no detectable memory of this opera house…especially when Mr. Allenthorpe Sr. himself was a key figure in…er…constructing it."
I smacked my hand to my forehead.
"Yeah….," her voice trailed. "That was sort of…speculative on your part."
My lips twisted.
"Though…I'm not sure it was all you," Sandy said. She hand signed, 'Someone had to be your voice.'
I nodded.
"Another Titan?"
I nodded.
She blinked. A pause. "The bird….the changeling……Beast Boy of the Teen Titans."
A pain shot through my heart suddenly. I flinched and looked away.
"Is he here now?" Sandy asked.
I shrugged.
Silence.
Sandy stood up and walked over.
I turned and looked down at her.
"The verandah….you were there when the structure fell and the dumptruck crashed. Weren't you?"
I slowly nodded.
"Did you…..save Ms. Cartwright."
I didn't respond.
"I wouldn't expect anything less," Sandy said. "I'm sure saving people is the daily itinerary of superheroes like you Titans."
A pause.
"But the reason you're here…," Sandy continued. "There's something terrible that's going to happen, isn't there?"
I looked at her.
"Something that could threaten both the opera house…and our lives. Am I correct?"
I hand-signed.
'Don't come to the showing tomorrow……'
"….," Sandy blinked. "I wish I would comply…"
My face fell.
"My place is here, with my co-workers. If anything bad happens to them, I won't be cowardly and ditch them. You know why? Because people stick together. People fight together. In spite of our fears and our vulnerability, we need each other through the thick as well as the thin. Do we not?"
I thought of Beast Boy. I leaned against the armrest of a chair and stared at the floor.
Sandy's eyes trailed down as well. "I never thought I'd see myself lecturing to a hero….but I think it's necessary here. Whatever it is that's going to happen…you're involved. And we all need you." She looked up. "But not just you alone. We need you and whoever it is you brought."
I signed. 'Beast Boy……'
She nodded. "I hope everything is okay…"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
The sun began to set, its amber waves sinking in through the windows as Mr. Anderson trekked through a hallway, opened the door to his office, and entered, sealing himself inside. No sooner had he turned around, a pair of gnarled, gloved hands gripped him by the collar and shoved him against the doorframe.
"Did you know anything about it?!?!" Killer Moth growled through his mask. "Did you know H.I.V.E. would be here?!"
Mr. Anderson batted the villain's hands away with surprising strength for an elderly gentleman. He frowned at the costumed baddie. "It's not like there's anything either you or I can do about it." He wandered over towards his desk and nonchalantly looked through the papers in his in box. "H.I.V.E. has dozens of highly-trained mercenaries and assassins at their disposal. There's no telling how long they've been here…nestled…watching. Undoubtedly, they have more than just that one, pink witch causing these recent accidents."
"So you DO know about them?!" Killer Moth exclaimed, then shook a fist. "And you knew about HER!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Mr. Anderson turned around and grinned. "Did she redecorate your laboratory too much today?"
"Tell me all you know, Anderson," Killer Moth shook. "We're partners, remember? Partners don't hide things from each other."
Anderson leaned forward with a humorous scowl. "Who am I to so simply trust a crook?"
"Because you're a crook too, sir!" the costumed man pointed. "You were the ones who arranged our escape and gave us a place to settle in and make a new home for my ravenous children. Don't try intimidating us when you can't even cover your own tracks!"
"You surely don't think threatening to rat on me would do you any good?" Anderson smiled. "If I fell into the police's grasp, so would you. All in good time."
"Just tell me what H.I.V.E. wants with our gig!"
"How should I know? Those blasted war-children are doing anything at any given time. Whatever that 'Jinx' meant by paying you a visit, it's up to her and her alone to reveal to us the motives behind her organization. I doubt she'll do that unless she knows one of us would die after being properly educated."
"Look, Anderson." Killer Moth paced over. "I need this. And so do you. The ransom money will grant Kitten and I a ticket out of this region for good. In the meantime, you can have all the funds you need to do your little experiments you keep rambling about."
"I'm quite aware of what's at stake, my good freak," Mr. Anderson said, sitting at his desk. "And you need not worry."
"Not worry?!?! With H.I.V.E. breathing down our necks?!"
"They have more money than one can shake a stick at," Anderson retorted. "What they want lies beyond the normal boundaries of monetary gain. I'm quite sure they're desiring something of, perhaps, a political nature. But whatever the case, I am in complete faith that they won't dig into our money pockets."
"For an old man, sir, you're quite naïve."
Mr. Anderson stared up at the villain through his mask. He stood up slowly, threateningly, and grumbled: "This crime is all that stands between me and the completion of my experiments. With the funds from this 'gig' of yours….of ours…my scientists will finish the chemical. It'll be ready and at my disposal within months. I may not be so 'old' or 'naïve' anymore. And when that's so, I'll come looking for you, Killer Moth. I'll come looking for you, remembering what you just said. And I won't be so happy."
"A youth potion, sir?" Killer Moth practically cackled. "I know Kitten and I will be walking away from this whole thing with a secure future…but you….you're nuts."
"I'm dying!!" Mr. Anderson shouted angrily. "After an entire life of devoting myself to the arts, I've learned the greatest tragedy doesn't come off of the stage but out of the dying breath of a man who threw his life away thinking entertainment could distract us from the ultimate question of Mortality. Call me a coward, but I'm not giving into the final curtain. No way, no how. And I don't care what slimy, sniveling creatures of the underworld I must break from prison and enlist to pull me out of such finite weakness as my life has been."
Killer Moth glared at him, and snickered just the same. "Call me when you croak, old man. I'm going down to feed my hive one last time before they're to be used. Until then, I don't want to see your god awful face."
The two parted ways with as much coldness as they had met.
Unknown to them, a green lizard rested upside down in a shadowed part of the ceiling. It had seen and heard everything. And now that the 'meeting' was over, it swiftly turned into a humming bird, and flew out the nearest window.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Red-orange sunlight settled on Sandy's face as she lowered her lids and slowly spoke:
"I've always believed that good deeds are done in secret. When you truly want to bless someone, you do it without them knowing. To take credit for it would be nothing but selfishness. Though I'm working around the clock with everyone else here to get Il Trovatore off the ground, I know that my name won't be on the program anywhere. I'm just a mere volunteer. And I accept it as such, for it gives me joy to relieve Ms. Cartwright's stress…or to make a stagehand smile when I tell him I've called in for extra supplies or what have you. The stage is something meant to be enjoyed. It's an experience. It enriches us. Breathes in our culture. I dunno…maybe I'm rambling. It's just that…what you do is a lot like what I do. I mean, you're the brand new Titan. You could have gobbled up the spotlight. But all this time, you've remained mysterious. Here you are standing before me now and I don't even know your costumed name. I suppose it's none of my business. Still, I admire you for your secrecy as much as I feel hurt by it. But as long as you and your friend are doing your best to save this theatre, who am I to complain?"
I was silent…naturally.
I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed besides Sandy. I gently gestured something.
'Have you ever gotten so angry that you almost hurt a friend?'
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to wring my sister's neck at times," Sandy said with ever so slight a smile. "She may be deaf, but she's still my little sister."
I thought on that, then gestured..
'I think I have a little brother.'
"You 'think' you do?"
I paused, sighed, and signed:
'I want to strangle him at times. Does that count?'
Sandy giggled. The first time I ever heard something overtly joyful from her. I wonder if she ever got to open up much.
"Sounds like a little brother to me," she said, her smile fading into a subtle shadow as she looked at me. "If you're anything like me…then the very reason you want to wring his neck is that you want the best for him."
I looked at her…and slowly smiled.
She smiled back.
A flash of pink.
"!!!" I spun around and looked out the window from which the light emanated.
"What is it?" Sandy turned and looked as well.
I leaned over the bed and squinted my eyes through my shades.
A distinctly pink figure dashed across the grassy landscape behind the Opera House. It headed past the crystal clean lake and into the dark forest surrounding us.
"S-Someone you're after?" Sandy asked.
I nodded. Briskly I stood up, tossed off 'Mr Allenthorpe Jr's' coat and whipped out Mrykblade.
Sandy jumped up and backed up a few steps at sight of my weapon.
Standing in my Titan gear, I glanced over at her and gave her a small smile of friendliness.
Eased, Sandy swallowed and spoke: "Be careful…won't you?"
I nodded. I then crouched, focused my energies through the cracks and joints of the window frame, and ported out in a whisp of black smoke.
Sandy stood at the window, looking as my figure blurred across the lawn in pursuit.
She wrung her hands together.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
I ran over the blades of grass, my murking feet sloshing in midair and making me weightless. I had my head leaned forward. My shades acted as a windshield through which I strained to see a pink light meander its way through the thick woods ahead of me.
The blood-red amber of the sunlight faded as I fell under the shade of trees. The forest seemed unnaturally old and dark. The barks of trees were gnarled and parched. The branches jagged and gothic. I felt like I had stumbled into a sadistic fairy tale.
But one thing was good; the pink streak was brighter. It acted as a lantern, guiding my path a few dozen steps ahead of me. I blurred and slunk around tree and under branch and over trunk and through the underbrush in pursuit.
Something about this seems too good to be true……
Eventually—once in the belly of the forest—the pink light snuffed itself out.
I slowed ever so slightly and attempted to get a good scan of the place. I lifted my shades up a tad and glanced. With the world a lot brighter, I saw an old wooden cabin emerge from the darkness. I lowered my shades, smirked, and stepped stealthily towards it. I murked myself over with smoke to become invisible in the darkness as I approached the body of the cabin. It was an old structure, its wood splintery and dry. I could smell dust and ash breathing out of the cracks of the foundation. But nothing deterred me from stepping in through the collapsed doorway--Myrkstaff cautiously raised--and surveying the interior.
The floor was covered with leaves, dirt, soiled newspapers, and dead insects. A table against the wall contained a basin full of dark black water with leaves floating on the surface. The remains of the bed occupied a corner, collapsing in on its own frame.
I glanced around, then suddenly noticed seven candlesticks spread in random parts throughout the room. None of them were lit, but they did form a center of sorts. And in that center sat—cross legged—a petite shadow with her back to me.
"What were the chances that one of your kind would follow me here?" the silhouette spoke, as if she knew exactly when my eyes fell on her. "I can never truly say. You all come at one point or another anyways."
I stepped forward once or twice, Myrkstaff turning to Myrkblade.
"I should have figured I'd run into you people again. They say lightning never strikes twice. And perhaps, it still doesn't. I mean, you are a new face. Not a bad one at that, I must say."
My feet crunched blackly on extra black leaves and mud over the floor.
My fingers gripped harder to Myrkblade's hilt.
"Whoops…that's dangerous in the dark, ya know. Lemme help you…"
The shadow's arms stretched out.
FWOOMP!!!!
All seven candles lit up in the room. I was blinded. I stumbled back, blinking, teeth gritting…
When eyesight returned, there Jinx sat, her petite back to me. She leisurely lifted a handmirror and examined her girlish face in the reflection.
"You came here for fisticuffs, right? I sure hope you wouldn't hit a girl. Especially one who takes good care of how she looks in front of people she'll eventually kill."
Inexplicably, the mirror cracked into a thousand glass shards.
"Whooops…I did it again," the pretty thing said, tossing the rest of the object into the corner. "Another seven years bad luck." She looked at me, eyelashes evilly fluttering. "What's the tally at now? Three Hundred and Thirty Four? He he he he!"
I raised my weapon again and sought a way to approach her. For some reason, though, I felt suddenly very…very vulnerable.
I was right.
"Word is in the underworld, your field name is Noir. Are you surprised that I know this? Well, quite frankly, I'm one foot ahead of you."
She flexed out a hand. A pink streak of light struck the floor. A hole in the earth opened up, swallowing my shoe. I struggled for balance as the pothole enveloped a quarter of my leg. Mud and earth squeezed around it, holding me in an unshakable grip.
"I do say, that was rather simple," she spun up to her feet and girl-stepped towards me. "While you're waiting here so patiently, might I speak to you a fortune?" The candles were licked by an unfelt wind as she approached me, grinning Cheshire Cat style. "'You will have a long and healthy life'…..for about thirty seconds."
I struggled to get my foot loose. As she came within a hair's length, I swung up high with Myrkblade.
She backflipped, toying with me, and landed with a pose on the far side of the cabin.
"Testy testy…," she tsked. "Bedtime for you." She zapped the bed with her pink hex. The whole frame shook with a bright glow and slid loudly towards me at an alarming speed.
I thought quickly. I stabbed Myrkblade down into the earth, charged forth and let loose Destruction, and shattered a crater of earth beneath me. Freed of my restraint, I leaned my whole weight on the wooden sword, blurred my lower body up, and flipped towards the ceiling—landing with murked feet that clung magically to the structure.
"Hmmm," the pink-haired witch grinned. "Cute." She then spun like a gymnast, the candles warbling around her.
Suddenly, the ceiling above----beneath me shuddered. Splinters formed in the wood, and I was soon collapsing down with an assortment of raggedy, old lumber.
"Nice landing, ace," she smiled. "Shall we get cozy?" She extended a hand at the candles. The flames built up extraordinarily large, forming a cohesive firestorm in the center of the room which Jinx launched at me and the collapsed wood pile with a sudden flick of the wrist.
I charged up murk, gasped, and lifted myself out from the wood before the fire could consume me.
I flew through the fresh hole in the ceiling and landed gracefully on the rooftop. No sooner, Jinx flew through the hole as well. But she soared above me and perched herself on the branch of an old, dark tree. With a cat like grin, she winked and pointed two palms at me.
Waves of pink soared down and impacted roughly with the cabin. Fire danced and licked out of the roof's perimeter on all sides of me. Just a moment more, and I'd collapse into the base of the hellstorm and burn alive.
I gripped Myrkblade's broad side with two hands and backflipped through the licking smoke and landed with a slide a few feet from the cabin's blazing entrance. The black forest was dancing with yellow light against the faint touch of amber sunset beyond.
I gritted my teeth and looked up at the rising column of flame and smoke only to see a pink witch diving through the conglomeration of chaos directly at me, hands outstretched.
"HAAAAAAAA!!"
Pink light soared at my skull.
I leapt back.
The hex bolts struck the earth, sending dirt and soil soaring over me like a black curtain.
I charged up Mrykblade and swung through the black cloud. Once it cleared, pink cat eyes were rushing to meet me.
"!!!" I ducked as Jinx swung a fist. I jumped as she swept a leg. I spun as she struck a second fist.
When I swung Myrkblade at her, she leaned back—perpendicular to the earth—and rose back up with a giggle and a platform shoe to my face.
SMACK!!!!
I fell back hard, Myrkblade tumbling a few feet away from me.
FLASH!!!
Pink streaks flew up at the trees above me. There was a loud, sickening groan…and two massive oaks leaned against each other, crashed, and sailed down heavily over my position.
I gasped, rolled over, grabbed Myrkblade, and leapt up with a blur of smoke, swinging my weapon madly.
SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-CRACK!!!
I ripped my way through the ancient oak and soared above them in slow motion as they smashed loudly beneath me. I glanced in mid air and saw Jinx sailing directly at me with a jump-kick. I positioned Mrykblade to meet her foot with the broadside.
WHUMP!!
Time returned to normal order as the two of us sailed through the forest, slammed into a tree, and tumbled to the ground. That is to say, *I* tumbled to the ground. Even though Jinx collapsed into me, she was nowhere to be found…that is, until she found me.
"HA!!!"
I had barely gotten on my knees when a flash of pink flew down from her position on an overhead tree branch.
I was thrown back ten feet, tumbled, and jumped to my feet, blade ready again.
But I wasn't half as ready as Jinx was. The expert sorceress-assassin launched hex after hex at me. Soon I was running away from her just to survive. Soil and leaves and branches flew apart at my heels, echoed by her constant giggles and unlucky incantations.
A few pink blasts flew past my side, and I knew she meant business. I blurred for the edge of the forest, jumping and landing on a tree just to leap to the other and then the next, barely avoiding each equally nimble assault of her hex blasts which sailed into the bark and wood, sending splinters and sparks flying everywhere.
When I reached the clearing behind the Opera House once more, the sun was nearly below the horizon. The sky was turning into an all encompassing-pink red. I panted as I looked at the clouds overhead, feeling as if I was drowning in Jinx's color. In her very own Luck.
FLASH!!!
A blast landed at my feet, catching me off guard.
I flipped over, raised Myrkblade, and glared at her, my hand stretched out and ready to take the next move.
Jinx leapt out of the forest, flipped, and landed expertly. She brought her hands down to her side and dangled them as she sauntered forward. "You're not out of the woods yet," she smiled cutely. "Rather, you just fell right in my lap…"
I raised an eyebrow…then gasped as my 'Allenthorpe' shades started cracking in many places. Fissures formed, blinding pink light filtering through, and soon everything shattered into oblivion with a cold CRACK!!!!
I exhaled in pain and gripped my black eyes with a free hand, stumbling back. It may have been a sunset, but it was torture. Everything around me burned. Everything ate me alive with lightwaves. The world started spinning and I staggered to find any sense of order among it.
"Jeepers creepers…where'd you get those peepers?" Jinx's devilish voice mused a few feet off. "Not from anywhere on this earth, I'd say."
I clenched my mutated eyes shut and struck a meditative pose. I warbled smoke out through Myrkblade and found my bearing. Slowly, I kicked my spatial sense into gear. I could sense the blades of grass around me under the blinding sky. The blades tossed and turned in natural ways until they met an impression in the ground formed by none other than Jinx's platform shoes. Thus I felt her, ten feet ahead of me, walking towards me and putting her hands on her hips.
"Ooooh…trying to drown me out? Well I'd like to go for a swim. How about you?"
I sensed her arms stretching out. Suddenly a wall of pink fire squeezed themselves under my eyelids and screamed. I was shoved back a few dozen feet and landed on a sandy shore with a grunt. I smelled algae and sawgrass.
The lake.
I heard the pitter patter of her feet…then a break…and I sensed through murk a shift in the wind as she inevitably sailed down on me with a jump kick.
Rather than defend the incoming blow, I meditated for whatever split second I had and covered my feet and hands in black gloves of murk power.
WHAM!!!!
I was kicked and thrown like a rag-doll over the lake. Like a skipping stone, I bounced across the surface. But I managed to take control of the elements. I righted myself up, flipped, and landed down slowly with a curtain of murk on either side of me. Soon I was standing on water in a gracefully-awkward pose of meditation. I didn't realize it until a half second later that I was using both hands of mine—empty—to perform the unearthly balancing act.
SPLASH!!!
The unmistakable sound of my weapon sailing freely and hidden into the lake emanated a few yards behind me, followed by a shift in currents that forced me to bob up and down in my stand but still remain poised on the water's fragile surface.
Two could apparently play at that game. Suddenly, I sensed the petite figure of Jinx flipping to a stand before me by about a mere four feet. She was in grabbing distance, but neither one of us could risk any sudden movements without ruining our own meditation for standing on water. I with my murk and she with her hex fields.
"Come to find a sword, sir?" her humored voice met my ears. "Well, congratulations. I'm the lady of the lake. I think I'll knight thee 'Sir Asphyxiate'."
I gritted my teeth and breathed heavily, maintaining my balancing act atop the waves.
With murk, I sensed her stepping on the water towards me. "You know…I've killed many a person in my day. Some of them more powerful than you," she said softly. "Not all of them were as handsome, but such is the fancy of karma; you're next on my list."
She stood so close to my chest that if I just reached out, I could grab her. But in my present condition—body tense and eyes wide shut—any little move or act would cause me to sink into a watery abyss. I had to have been far into the center of the lake. I doubted I could swim far without wearing myself out.
"There's a common pattern with bad luck," she spoke almost in my face. I smelled lilies and strawberries. "If anyone was to keep a record of what happens here…this day…this minute…this second…then he or she would say that, quite simply, you put yourself in this bad strait."
I sensed her hand reach up and toy with a strand of my long, black hair. I wanted to fly away.
"Chasing after a cute little witch who could end you in a heart beat. Not smart. Too bad all the good looking guys end up killing themselves. But oh well," she stepped back and poised herself on one foot atop the water. "…who am I to have compassion? I'm a lackey of H.I.V.E. Always have been, always will be."
While struggling, I sensed her reach into her blouse and produce a locket on a chain. Invisible murk echoed from me and over the contours of the object. It was heart shaped.
"I have two sisters, not that it's any concern to you," she popped the locket open and stared at its hollow contents. I assumed there were pictures inside. "Fate and Fortune are their aliases. They're twins. I shall not tell you their real names. Even if you are about to die. Their lives are way too important to me. I won't even entrust them in the hands of death."
She closed the locket with a 'snap!' and set her other foot back down on the waves. "Though I will tell you this, since you're honoring me the chance to kill a Titan for once. Tomorrow night, when the precious Il Trovatore raises its curtain. Hundreds of wealthy audience members will be at the mercy of me and my fellow H.I.V.E. elites. One of them, a Mrs. Calico, will be wearing her nationally renown Khaza Jewell. The biggest ruby this side of the hemisphere. What people don't know is that the very same Khaza Jewell is worth one hundred thousand times its weight in gold for H.I.V.E. scientists working around the clock to improve their latest weapon: a crystal ray inducer. I'm sorry to tease you so, Mr. Noir. Because you won't be there to see me win the Jewell for my team. And for once, luck will shine on H.I.V.E. like never before…for it will also be shining on me."
My knees were wobbling. This was not like normal meditation. I never had the pressure of listening to some contemptuous villainess meow into my ear. My legs were about to give in at any second. Perhaps they just should…
"Good luck in the afterlife, Titan," Jinx brought her hands together, stuck the fingers out, and aimed at my forehead. "Let's hope for your sake that you prepared yourself already."
Just then…
I gave up meditating.
I held my breath as my legs sank through the water with a SLOOSH!! When I was halfway submerged, I reached a hand up and grabbed heavily onto Jinx's ankle.
"AAAAAAAA-BBLLBLBLBLBLBBB!!" She was dragged under with me. Shocked by my action, she stood no chance as I swung a fist deep into her gut, kicked her in the ribs, and sent her flying deep towards the bottom of the lake.
Air bubbles sailed everywhere. I tried to open my black eyes—but even beneath the waves the world was blinding. I closed again and diffused murk into currents to sense everything. I found the surface three meters up. Utilizing every ounce of depleted strength in me, I shot towards it.
SPLASH!!
I sailed out into the open air, water droplets trailing after me. For a split second, a sense of hope entered my brain. I envisioned myself landing smoothly on murking legs and blurring my way to the shore and to safety. But no sooner was I airborne that my dry ears heard a second splash to my Six.
Jinx's body flew out of the waves and sailed at me, growling. "RRRRRGHHH-HAAAAAA!!"
Pink strobes.
My body flipped violently over in mid air by the impact of her hex, and I was sent sailing like a rocket back into the currents.
SLOOOOOOSH!!!
I bulleted deep, deep, deep into the body of the lake. So far had I plunged, that it hit me. It hit me. The only it there ever will be when each and every one of us reaches that endless black that our entire lives of wandering can't define.
I don't know what gave out first, my lungs or my brain.
But there was still a spirit in me. And that spirit licked the wall of Destruction ahead of me and sang forth a giggle of light. I remembered the Master. I remembered the training. I remember four bodies in an open field. I remembered the Sun and the storms and the ice and the fire.
And I saw her face.
And I saw her face.
My black eyes opened.
Underwater, she smiled at me.
Maybe I was dead. Maybe I was alive. Maybe I was in between like I was always taught to be. I didn't care.
And I saw her face. And she smiled at me. With the sun in her eyes and the sun off her blonde hair. She told me there's more to luck and chance than bleak hopelessness. The world is too funny to be tragic.
With a blink of my eyes, she was gone. And water rushed in under my lids.
My lungs started to crush in on themselves.
I clenched my fists and charged waves murk at the last second that I could count.
And everything turned dark.