Beginning Author's Notes...
More great reception from last chapter. Glad you guys are enjoying my fic, and like my writing style on top of that, which is great because I'm still trying to find my style of writing. Doubly awesome.
Mmm… I don't think I have anything else to say. Enjoy!
November 17th
Shit. Shit. Shit!
"He went this way!"
"You can't run away from me forever!"
Wanna bet?
Seth quickly ducked in to an alleyway, pressing his back against the brick wall behind him, practically trying to become one with it. He wished at that time he could have. That he could melded with the wall and disappeared, at least then if Russell found out it was him, then he would hurt his fist trying to break him…
Until he got a weapon of some kind.
Seth cursed in his mind. He peered around the corner and his eyes widened. His pursuer Russell came to a halt at the end of the sidewalk, Terry and Shaw weren't far behind. Seth pulled his head back as to avoid being seen. He gently hit his head against the brick wall, unsure of what to do now. He glanced down the alleyway he was trapped in. It was dark, but an obvious hiding place. And it was a dead end.
Damn it all… Why can't people just leave me alone? He thought, grimacing at the thought of his fate. He heard Russell shout at his goons, and his heart skipped a beat. Then it picked up again, beating faster and faster against his ribcage. He clutched at his chest.
His vision began to blur.
No … No … There is no way I can do that … Damn it all, Russell, stay away from me! Pick today to find your freaking heart, and leave me be!
"Check the alley."
Seth struck his head against the brick wall yet again. What was he to do? He could easily accept his fate, but what would his mother say? She would want to move them at any cost to keep him safe, and that certainly wouldn't help him in any way to mend the currently strained relationship he had with his father. They were barely on speaking terms again…
He could fight. That was an option.
He looked down at his right hand, the only one he could use at the moment. His shaking right hand. He balled it in to a fist.
Fighting wasn't an option. He could hear the footsteps coming closer. He gulped painfully. What could he do?
He felt a hand on his shoulder, but not the one near the entrance to the alleyway, on his left. He looked over to his right.
"He came through here…" Russell murmured, taking a step in to the darkened alleyway while Terry and Shaw stayed at the entrance. The bully wretched, he pinched his nose shut, "Ugh! Smells like shit! … But it's pretty fitting for that coward, McKinnion!" He and his goons laughed at the poor excuse of a joke. Russell drew his leg back and kicked one of the trash cans, sending it flying through the air, spilling its rancid contents across most of the alleyway.
"Come out! Come out and take your beating like a man, McKinnion!" Russell shouted, "If you come out within the next ten seconds, I'll be the only one to beat you up! Eh, it's a pretty generous offer!" He received no response. Russell growled in annoyance.
"Come on, Russ, we can always get him at school," Shaw stated, scratching his stubbly chin.
"Yeah, this place looks sketchy as hell... Let's go," Terry added.
Russell lashed out in his anger, his fist striking the brick wall and breaking off several rather big chunks, "COME OUT!"
This time the darkness shifted. Both Terry and Shaw took a step back, surprised by the sudden movement, but Russell stood firm, glaring at the figure wrapped in tattered, filthy clothing. They were slightly shorter than him, hunched over. Their face was shadowed heavily by their own coarse shiny black hair and the black scarf around their neck. Their entire body was hidden by a long black coat, the sleeves extended past their hands, and baggy pants covered their feet.
"Messing… with… home," They stated monotonously. By the voice, they sounded female.
Russell leaned down with a wicked smirk stretched across his face, "And? Are you gonna do something, trash?" He drew his fist back, with only shallow cuts and reddened patches of skin to show for damage.
"Leave," The homeless looking woman stated.
Russell slammed his fist against the brick wall yet again, this time taking out a large chunk. It fell to the ground between them, "Or what?" Russell replied to her order. He spit on the ground at her feet, "You know what? Have you seen a kid with his arm in a sling, brown hair to his chin? Any of this ringing a bell?" Russell knocked his knuckles against the woman's head as if knocking on a door.
"Eh?"
The woman lifted her head, though her features still remained hidden within the shadows. It was a fast movement. One fast movement. There was no light to reflect off of the steel. He hadn't seen it coming. In a split second, Russell felt something cold, and then against his neck. His eye slowly traveled downward, and there it was. A hunting knife. The cutting edge pressed ever so gently to his neck, not enough to cut, but enough that he felt that tingling sensation, right where it was.
"Leave," She demanded in her same even tone, not a hint of emotion in the way she spoke.
Russell's eye narrowed dangerously.
"Russ, come on man, this chick is psycho!" Terry urged.
"We'll find where that Seth kid lives, unless we get him at school," Shaw added, "C'mon."
The blond haired bully glared down at the homeless woman, who stood resolute with her blade to his neck. He finally took a step back. He spit at her feet, "Avoid me, and run when you see me. That's the only warning I'll ever give you," And with that he turned and walked away, shoving his hands in to his pockets.
The woman slowly lowered her knife and hid it within her jacket. She watched the trio of thugs walk away until they turned a corner and were out of her sights. As well as earshot. She turned to her alleyway.
"Gone."
Seth stepped out from behind trashcans and clothes. He ran a hand through his hair, "What a psychopath… Hey, I'm really sorry that you went through that," Seth apologized, walking up to the woman. He scratched the back of his head, a small smile on his face.
"Thanks though, you saved me."
The woman merely nodded her head in response.
There was an awkward silence. Seth reached up to scratch his nose, then he caught a whiff of himself, "Uhh… I reek…" He murmured, and then he realized that she was still standing there, "Oh! No offense… Sorry… Uhm…" He looked away sheepishly.
"…Leave," she replied in a rather gruff tone.
"W – what?" He was rather shocked by the sudden change of tone.
"Leave…" The homeless woman practically growled, "My home… My home… You … Leave!"
Seth took a couple steps back, but he only went further in to the alleyway. She reached out rather fast, grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him out of her alleyway. He stumbled; he waved his good arm wildly to keep himself on his feet. Seth fell to his knees in the street.
"Agh!"
The homeless woman went about picking up a couple of the fallen trashcans, fixing the dented one as best she could, and 'tidying' up.
Seth got on to his feet, "Uhm…" He scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what to say. It was pretty obvious she wanted him to leave, but he had to do something, she had probably just saved his life.
"W – would you mind… Letting me know your name?" Seth asked hesitantly.
The woman stopped and the young man reeled back. He took a step back, in case he had to run, "Connie…" She replied.
"Oh…" Seth sighed, "Well… If you're here later today, Connie, I'll bring some food for you," He brought out his phone, and his eyes widened seeing the time, "Shit! I promise, I'll come by later! Gotta go!"
"So, you got it? You're next class in the second hallway to your right, you exit this one, skip the next one and there it is," Helen had been making sure for the past five minutes, before the first classes of the day started, that her charge, April, had the directions to her class. She made sure that the shy girl had them engraved in her memory so that her job as this girl's "chaperone" would be over sooner.
April looked down at the paper in her hands, taking a couple steps back, "Second hallway… right," she murmured quietly.
Helen huffed and grabbed the girl's face, forcibly making her look her in the eyes. April squeaked, red rushing to her cheeks, and slowly the rest of her face, but that didn't stop Helen, "No! No no no," Helen started, shaking April's head for her, "Repeat this back to me: Second hallway on the right. Second hallway on the right."
"Second hallway on the right," April repeated in a rather high-pitched tone.
"Second hallway on the right, let me hear it, Squeaky!" Helen demanded.
"Second hallway on the right!" April spoke up this time, her voice still 'squeaky' as Helen put it. The display garnered a few strange looks from the other students passing by. April's face burned with embarrassment. The moment Helen let go of her face April looked down at her feet, heat coming off of her from her full-faced blush.
Helen sighed, "Again, confidence seminars, kid. Give them some thought."
April merely nodded, unable to find her voice.
The sophomore in charge looked around the now less crowded hallway. She spotted a useful candidate for what she had in mind, "Hey there!" She whistled, "You! Orange haired girl! White blouse… Yes you!"
A young girl walked over to them, a sweet smile on her face, "Yes? Can I help you with something?"
"Are you a freshman?" Helen asked her, getting straight to the point.
"Yes, yes I am!" She replied cheerily, "My name is Colette Dupree; it is really nice to meet you!" Helen almost reeled back. This girl was the exact opposite of April…
Perfect.
A wide smile stretched across Helen's face, "Well, Colette, this is April Jones, a freshman as well, and she is having trouble fi -" The cheery Colette butted in.
"Oh, April! We actually have our next class together!" Colette commented, she grabbed April by her wrist and pulled her along, "The teacher is really nice, and there's even an open seat next to me!"
"O – o – o – kay! C – can you slow down a little?" April whined quietly, still trying to catch up to her fellow freshman. Helen waved after them.
"Have fun!" 'Oh man that was so much easier than I thought it would be! Whoopie! Freedom' She cheered in her mind. She was so excited about being free from the shy girl she actually pumped her fists in to the air.
Then she noticed a couple of students staring at her, "Eh? You want something?" She snapped quickly, frightening them, "Go to class, maggots!" She demanded, and they speedily ran off.
She puffed out her chest, "Feels good to be a top dog!" She said to herself, starting at a leisurely pace down the hallway, "I think I'll take a break from classes today."
The roll call had ended and the entire class was in, something their portly teacher was rather glad to see. April and Colette sat beside each other near the middle of the room. when all was said and done, the class quieted down so that they could listen to the morning announcements. The man moved towards the television, but it turned on on its own. A red skull wear an old-fashioned biker helmet with a short spike atop it appeared on the screen. What followed was a deafening scream. It was not high-pitched, no, it was gravelly, rough, like that of a singer from a heavy metal band. A rapid drum beat and guitars accompanied it.
Some students covered their ears to lessen the noise, others bobbed their heads to the beat and the lyrics.
"What is this nonsense!?" The teacher tried to yell over the heavy metal music, "This is a closed circuit system! This is absolutely ridiculo – oooaaaah!" The music took a turn and the portly man fell on his rear. The screen changed to static for a second before the band appeared.
"YEEEEEEEAAAAH!" The singer tossed the microphone away and stepped closer to the camera filming him. His skin was grey; his black hair was styled in to a mohawk, "Yo, Jump City! How's my favorite town been doing since I left?" He asked with a wide grin, "It's been a long time, but something has recently come to my attention: THERE ARE NO MORE HEROES!" He screamed.
"Aagh!" None of the class liked that.
"Oh my…" April murmured, she and Colette glancing at each other.
"Ahahahahaha! Oh man! That must suck huh?" The man asked them, "Well, to commemorate such a happy occasion… Not that I know the date or anything, but who gives a f***, I – Hold on…" He walked off camera, "I heard the goddamn censor! Did you fucking censor me?! Turn it off! WHAT?!"
BANG!
The class jumped as a gunshot sounded. The man walked back in to the shot, a smoking gun in hand, "As I was saying… Wow, I really lost my buzz after that… Hit it Fellas!" The band in the background began to play again and the man moved to the music. He was given a new microphone, this one on a stand and he bobbed his head wildly to the music, one hand in the air with his index finger, pinky and thumb extended.
"OOOOHH YYYEAAH!" The man screamed, "Jump City! Johnny Rancid is coming home baby! Me and my boys are taking over in three days, ya hear!?"
And with that it was over.
Seth stared at the blank television screen, mouth agape. He, and his entire class, was in shock over what had just occurred. Johnny Rancid, once a small time thief in Jump City, had caused some real damage, enough that he was still talked about from time to time. Although it was about his heavy metal group more than his exploits as a villain. It was sad; Seth knew that Johnny Rancid was talked about more than the Titans.
His phone rang. He didn't take in to account that he was in class. He reached in to his pocket, and flipped it open.
"Hello?" Seth answered.
"Seth, dude!" It was Darren, "Did you just see that? That thing with Johnny Rancid?"
"…Yeah," Seth replied.
"Mr. McKinnion! Put that cellphone away!" Seth gave his friend a quiet farewell, still stunned, and shut his phone, ending the call.
Jump City was about to have a real Villain in its midst again in who knows how long. People thought it was because of the Titans that villains flocked to Jump City, which was partly true, but now, without heroes, they were still having trouble.
"L – let's get back to studying then!" The teacher piped up, getting the attention of the class. Most of them anyway.
Seth slowly lowered his head to look at his desk, Johnny Rancid… This was bad. Really bad.
Yep. In addition to your Villains and my Villains, we'll be seeing Villains from Teen Titans.
Russell Thrush. Not the nicest of people. And Connie... I'm sure we'll be seeing more of her :)
Thank you Vulkodlak, for Connie.
I like how this chapter turned out, I do. And I hope you all enjoyed it too :) If you like it, Follow it, Favorite it, review it, whatever you'd like to do, and I will be back soon with chapter 6.
Buh bye now.