FS: Wow. It's been a loooong time since I've been here. Wow...
Brainy: Welcome back.
FS: Huh? (looks around to see the Legion)
SuperMan: We've missed you. (grins while holding up rope)
FS: (turns pale and backs away) I...missed...you...too?
Cham: We're so glad we have you back. (Inches forward, his arms turning into giant paws)
FS: (charges up a portal) Okay, this is too Children of the Corn for me, so I'm just gonna (is cut off by Brainy grabbing her shoulder)
Brainy: I'm afraid you can't do that, Reki.
(screams erupt from a house somewhere in dimension X)
Brainy: Finish the sprockin' story or you'll never see the end of Cothica Destino! (holding FS by the neck, Superman holding her arms over a keyboard)
(crying) ALRIGHT!
Ten minutes later, the two were woken up by the storm outside. Cham jumped up first, his eyes dilated from shock, while Ron-Carr took a few minutes, when the next boom sounded from outside, to topple out of the bed in surprise.
A few moments later found them in front of Reki's room. They looked at each other, flinching when the storm boomed yet again, and both reached out to knock on the door.
Which was immediately opened by Superman.
He smiled at the twin looks of fright on their faces before ushering them in, where the rest of the Legion was gathered.
"Guess nobody bothered to check their closets for ghosts, huh?" Cham tried, and that got a few uneasy grins. Reki swung her feet over the bed, and motioned for Brainy to sit on the bed with her. Cham and Ron-Carr took the space left by the Coluan. Silence...
"Let's tell ghost stories-" Bouncing Boy attempted. Everyone cut him off with a chorus of "NO!" He slumped back down against Duo Damsel, who smiled and patted him on the back.
"Actually, there is a story I'd like to hear." The mutter came from the newest Legionnaire, and even Kell turned to look at Ron-Carr in interest. The green-toned ex-convict had his ink black eyes trained on Reki.
"I've never heard anything on you, or even how you became a member in the first place." Brainy's reaction was the most surprising - he shot straight up from his seat and emitted a snarl towards Ron-Carr. Superman grabbed his arm in alarm, and Saturn Girl helped to hold him in place. Reki raised her hand without looking at the Coluan.
"Knock it off, dear brother." She soothed in her Japanese dialect. Brainy struggled against his bindings.
"He-He has the nerve to ask that? To make you re-live that?" He responded in a snarl. Reki stood up and stamped her foot, causing the room to quiver and distort. Startled by the display of her powers, Brainiac 5 sat back down against Superman, who gave Reki a sad look.
"Ron-Carr, are you absolutely sure you want to know?" The alien fidgeted, still frightened by the Coluan's reaction to his question earlier. He nodded after a few seconds, giving her the candle he had been holding.
Reki smiled, folded her legs underneath her, and tilted her head a few times. "Then, may a story...starto...now..." and blew out the flame.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
I stared out of the window as the rain pounded the glass. Storms were frequent in Kansas, but the sky seemed to be trying to drown the earth that it fell on, making muddy oceans in the parking lots and streets. I turned to Anna, one of my friends, and rolled my eyes as Tom's hand shot up.
"Yes Tom?" The teacher asked, pointing to the boards problem. I scanned it quickly and scoffed. The question was asking what x was in the triangle, and because the other sides were 50 and 70, and a triangle equals 180, x had to equal 40.
"Sarah keeps making that popping noise so can you make her stop?" He sniggered, showing that he was merely goofing off. I sighed and the teacher turned to me.
"Anna? Reki? Either of you have an answer?" Anna began to furiously scribble. I tilted my head disinterestedly.
"The answer is x equals 40. I was paying the entire time, ma'am." The other students smiled maliciously at me. I payed them no heed - they would goof off and plays jokes, while Anna and I snarked at them and made the teachers proud. The teacher passed out the homework sheets and left the classroom for a few moments.
"Hey Reki, wanna hang out after school?" Tom asked with a grin. I gazed at him icily from the corner of my eye.
"Sorry, I have standards. You must have at least three more I.Q points for me to consider you noticable." Anna began to snigger beside me, and several of the girls glared.
"Like, why are you always, like, so mean? You could, like, be a little nicer." I gave her the same look I'd given Tom.
"You could, like, talk normally instead of using the word 'like' several times where they don't fit into a sentence. But that'd probably be asking too much, wouldn't it?" Anna snorted hard, and I swear a trail of blood had erupted from her nose. The girls quieted down as the teacher came back in, followed by the principal.
Several whispers started up.
"Alright, get to work!" The teacher called out. Anna and I started immediately, helping each other as we went, and after a bit I got bored and pulled out my latest drawing. It was of a dragon, tail curling around a gem, a mountain peak peering up. I scratched a few lines in for shading, when the paper was suddenly snatched away.
"Hey guys, look at this!" Corey, the resident dunderhead, crowed as he held up my art. I screeched, catching everyone's attention, and threw myself at him.
"GIVE IT BACK! DON'T YOU DARE TEAR IT UP! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!" I clawed at his face, and I was thrown back by Anna. The principal took the paper from Corey and handed it back with a glare. I choked down a sob.
"Corey, what were you thinking?" Anna shot at him. The boy looked tramatized at my reaction.
"I was just- I was playing with her, that's all." The principal took a handful of his shirt, and dragged him from the room. I gasped as my throat burned, and I was lead from the room by Anna, who told the teacher she was taking me to the restroom. The thing is, I had a condition that caused my mentality to 'un-hinge', so to speak, whenever I got upset. The teachers and principal were well aware of it, having had to deal with me for three years now.
"Hun, you okay?" She asked a few minutes later, as I patted my face down with a wet papertowel. I growled in response, and wiped again to make sure my face would cool down.
"Fine." I seethed. They were just scum, after all. Why waste my attention on such meaningless insects? After the next two classes, we went to lunch, and I was elated to find they were serving my favorite - pasta with parmesan. My friends laughed as we ate, making the same old jokes, and just being there.
"Hey Reki." I froze and looked over my shoulder. It was Sarah, a girl that I befriended when I first transferred to the school, but no longer hung out with. She had such a set look on things that it just wasn't pleasant to hang out with her anymore.
"Yo, Sarah." I put down my fork, staring at her. She shuffled her feet and Brett scooted his chair away from mine so she could slid into the spot.
"Hey listen. I have to go to a party at my church, and I need someone to come with me. Are you free tonight?" I rolled my eyed and groaned. Churches were NOT my scene. I just had a general unease in them, but the fact that the first church I'd ever gone to I was tormented by the other children, might've added to that.
"Sorry. Got a project to do." She pouted. She then looked around, but everyone else declined as well. She munched on her food quietly, as we continued our jokes.
I walked out past the school field, the day over at last. I liked to walk over the bridge that connected the ponds and islands together. I breathed out, watching my breath flow out like steam in front of my face. I ran my eyes over the view, trees asleep and bare in the chill of December. There was a rumble behind me, laughing voices that I recognized, and some I didn't.
What if I jumped off?
I froze, my heart pounding in protest. If I jumped off this bridge, right now, what would happen? Would anyone miss me? What would my friends do? My family? Too many questions were running around my head in that moment, and I failed to notice that I somehow had already climbed up onto the railing. I stared into the frosted over depths. Winter was harsh, but the ice was thin enough to see to the bottom.
I breathed in, the icy air stinging my lungs like needles. I felt my head spin as I looked at my reflection, expecting my face to be horrified, afraid, hell even a bit surprised! But no...My face was completely smooth, not a bit of emotion on it. I watched as the me in the water smiled, just a bit, and fell forward out of sight.
"REKI!" I heard the scream and turned my head just a bit. Sarah, Jenna, hell my whole gang, was staring in horror at me. They had Jenna's equipment bags divided among them, so I hazarded a guess that they were helping her move the stuff back to the lockers.
"Reki, get down from there, you'll get hurt!" Sarah shrieked. At any other point in my life, I would've listened. Would've stepped down, laughed it off as they scolded me, and bribed them with ramen to get their forgiveness. Would've done anything they wanted, act like puppy, pretend everything was normal.
Not today, apparently, as I felt my body tip forward, my friends shrieking as they dropped what they were holding and ran forward. I felt my face heat up, I wasn't doing this! Something...Something was forcing me to move against my will. Sarah and Nikki grabbed onto my hands, and I felt just a twitch of control come back to me. My body felt warm, and I turned to reassure them -
When a column of water shot up, struck my foot, and I went plummeting into the dark.
The last thing I remembered was Sarah facing me. Her face wasn't of horror, or shock like everyone else's.
It was blank, as though she had expected this.
I blacked out.
Welp, there's the first part. Now can I go?
Brainy:(trying not to cry) No-you-can't...(breaks into tears)
Shrikur.(Shry
-kehr) Alright, I'll get to work on the second part.