Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock.
Thank you Worker72 for your review of the last chapter.
Author's Note: I couldn't find any information on Talon's last name so I used the one I gave her in my other story.
On with the story!
All eyes were on Static as the final decision was his. He could see the apprehension seeping through Gear's mask, displayed on his trembling fingers. He could almost hear his best friend praying that he would choose otherwise. Static's gaze switched to Ferret who merely greeted him with a creepy grin. Just staring at the lanky meta-human reminded him of Gear's warning. Static shook away the ominous thoughts and returned his attention to the man before him.
Kangor stood with his arms crossed and his eyes solely on the electric wielder. Static's brain reminded him again and again of his dream. Part of him knew that there was no trusting Kangor despite the circumstances. The other part wanted to rid himself of Talon's curse forever. Either way contained a risk, he merely needed to find out which was greater.
Kangor checked his watch then lifted his gaze to Static. "One minute. Make your choice."
Static inhaled then held his breath. He glanced over at the scars covering Ferret's arms. He could clearly see the scarlet lines tangling about his eyeballs. The cut on Gear's face was fading, but the memory would always remain.
Static met Kangor's stare. He narrowed his brow and muttered one sentence. "Let's do it."
Kangor smiled. He took his seat with the other three following his lead. Kangor sat across from Static. To Static's left was Gear and on the hero's right was Ferret. Kangor removed his shades and placed them in his pocket. The candlelight flickered across the giant's face. Both Static and Gear gasped at the sight of Kangor's pure black eyes with two lines of red only differing by two shades surrounded the iris. Those inhuman eyes focused on the center candle. The wax bled onto the base of the golden holder.
The area smelt of gasoline due to the massive leak from when the caretaker mowed the grass just that morning. He ran over a few shards of glass left behind when a few hooligans used the cemetery as the site for their party two nights prior. One of the drunks dropped a beer bottle on a tombstone laying the slivers about the grass. When the mower approached that area a jagged piece shot up out of the blade and cut the fuel line and nearly sliced the man's leg. By the time the caretaker realized it was too late to reverse the action, besides there were very few who would complain about a few drops soaking the grass. Ferret was the only one truly bothered by the smell.
Kangor closed his eyes and began chanting in a whispered voice as they slipped into midnight.
OCTOBER 31
Static glanced over at Gear who tightly bit his lip. He closed his eyes and muttered a silent prayer that he and his friend would be safe during the ordeal. Static opened his eyes and turned his attention over to the boy on his right. Ferret's eyes were glued onto the burning flame. Static could see the light's movements in Ferret's pupils.
Ferret felt Static's stare and turned to face him. Static nearly jumped when the seemingly comatose boy meet his eyes. Ferret's grin increased while his eyes narrowed.
Static swallowed then said, "Ferret…why are you two…" he nodded at Kangor whose eyes were closed. "Why are you helping me?"
Ferret sighed. He looked down at his own hands. His skin had indeed fallen into a moth's pallor. He could not remember the last time he had taken in food.
"You've only seen a small portion of what she can do," Ferret answered in a hushed voice. "She may have taken over your thoughts, but she's not taken your will." Static gulped. Ferret smirked then added, "I just want to be able to sleep again." His smile faded. "Of my own will."
"Alright, everyone," Kangor said interrupting the side conversation. "All of us will now join hands."
Kangor extended his palms in both directions. Ferret gave no hesitation and clamped his around Kangor's. Gear was more reluctant to take the invitation from the man he considered a foe for so long. He looked over at Static who gave him a reassuring smile and nod. Gear twisted his lips and went against his better judgment.
"I hope this ends it," Static said as he took hold of Ferret's hand.
Ferret smiled. "Me too."
Kangor looked at each person. "All of you need to understand this will only work if she feels welcome. Also she is a restless spirit who, as we see by what happened to Ferret, is very dangerous, don't do anything to provoke her." He paused for a few seconds. "Focus and only one person is to speak at a time. This may take a while."
Gear groaned earning a glare from the medium. He gave a quick apology then returned his attention to the centerpiece not relinquishing the recurring thoughts from his mind that the séance was a horrible decision.
Static closed his eyes. The images of Talon's broken body reaching for him surfaced to his mind. Her eyes held such sorrow. She looked as though she wanted to speak, but lacked the ability. He now wished he would have asked her purpose for visiting instead of standing there like a helpless child. As Kangor stated, he was the one who would have to set things right.
The image of Talon's rotting claw aiming for his flesh surfaced. He could still see the amount of hatred displayed through those decaying eyeballs. He could clearly remember the gritted teeth as she reared back her arm for the attack. He held back a gasp upon realization of the company he was in.
His eyes shot open when a sudden thought struck him. It never occurred before that moment that while he and Gear were occupied with calling upon the ghost and She-Bang out of commission, every bang baby in Dakota could be running rampant throughout the city. Static wondered if that was one of the reasons Gear tried so hard to persuade him to decline Kangor's offer. Static opened his eyes to see Kangor preparing himself to call upon the spirit. He sat back against his chair and kept a channel open; if there was any distress in Dakota requiring his assistance he would be able to hear.
Kangor stared at the burning candle. He narrowed his eyes and began to speak. "We gather here to call upon the spirit of our deceased loved one, Teresa Maraz." Static and Gear exchanged glances having never heard her human name spoke aloud before. They were unaware that the other meta-humans referred to each other by those names. Static returned his attention to the present matter. Kangor continued, "Teresa, if you can hear us, please let your presence be known."
The group waited for any response. They sat in silence for two minutes. Gear fidgeted in his seat. He turned his face to Static who replied with a half smile. Kangor kept his focus on the light before him, not once moving his eyes from the target. Even when he blinked his eyes remained where they were before the quick flutter of eyelashes.
Another five minutes passed without any response.
Gear let out a sigh. "This is stupid, we're just wasting—"
"Shh!" came Ferret's retort.
Gear glared at the rodent who replied with a glare of his own.
"If you don't want to be here you can leave," Kangor instructed without breaking his concentration. "But please keep the conversation to a minimum. We can't break our focus."
Gear groaned. "You can't be serious."
A death glare from Kangor showed the genius just how serious he was. Gear gulped from the amount of anger stored up in that one stare, wishing that Kangor would once more conceal his eyes with the shades. He sank back against his chair and regained his composure with his hands tightly clasped inside the other participants'.
Kangor decided to give it another try. "Teresa, tonight is yours," he cried. "If you can hear this call, please come to us."
The request was followed by another two minutes of silence. After that point there was a rustling in the leaves which made all save Kangor jump. They turned their heads in the direction of the sound. A few leaves whirled past the gravestone closest to where they were positioned.
Gear held in a groan as he fell back against his chair. Though he could not see past his friend's mask Static could tell Gear glared daggers in his direction. Static knew if this séance did not work he would never hear the end of it.
Suddenly the wind picked up, blowing out one of the candles. The temperature dropped a few degrees and an army of leaves scattered in their direction. Gear yelped when they hit him in the back of the head, falling into his lap. Static closed his eyes and waited for the tricks to end, he was ready for the meat of the ceremony.
"This is silly!" Gear yelled as he stood.
Static and Ferret followed his movement. Ferret muttered something about Gadget-boy breaking the circle having an effect on the outcome. Kangor kept his eyes shut, unaware of his surroundings, while channeling for any sign of Talon.
Gear's eyes fell on Static. "I can't believe you dragged me into this."
"Hey, I didn't drag you to anything," Static retorted. "As I recall I told you to stay behind. You chose to come along."
"That's 'cause I didn't want anything to happen to you," Gear responded. "But you've been too quick to fall for their bait." Static's lips displayed his confusion. Gear growled then pointed at Ferret. "He made up this story about a ghost and you bought it." He then pointed to Kangor. "And he's making up this whole witchery story as a way to distract us from something important. And what do you know, it worked. We're here…" he pointed to the soil beneath his feet. "…instead of out there where we're probably needed."
"I have an ear out for that," Static said zapping electricity to show his friend that he had been using his powers to collect radio waves from news stations. "If anything happens I'll be the first to know." He put a hand on Gear's shoulder. "I know this is weird. Please, don't stay on my behalf. I know the unknown of the paranormal scares you. I'll be fine." He gave Gear a confident smile. "If Talon does show up I don't want you to get hurt."
"But…" Gear began.
Static shook his head. "I'm staying. I want this to end." He nodded at Kangor. "And if he is the only one who can release me from this curse I'm going to trust him." Static saw the pain and worry painted all over his friend's face. He repeated, "I'll be fine."
The two turned their attention to the two former members of the Rough Pack sitting at the table. Ferret glared at the two who had the nerve to interrupt the ritual before Talon made her appearance. Kangor, however, seemed to not have noticed. His eyes were in a glossy gaze awaiting a response. His free hand was still clenched as though holding onto another.
He moved his head startling the other three. He spoke the same sentence he repeated through the duration of Static and Gear's conversation. "Please tell us your reason for lingering."
Static returned to the table and sat down. He looked over at Ferret who replied with a glare. Ferret's eyes suddenly widened when he realized the hero's silence. The rodent turned to face his friend. His irises and pupils seemed to have vanished leaving only slots of white. Kangor repeated that phrase once more.
"What's going on?" Static whispered to Ferret. The mentioned merely shrugged with his mouth agape. Static gulped and clenched his fist waiting for any kind of response. He felt his stomach tighten, near certain he did not want to discover the reason for Talon's lingering.
"I've never seen him like this before," Ferret said in a shaky voice.
Static's eyes returned to Kangor. The mentioned tilted his head back. He made a sound similar to a hack. He snapped his head back forward and leaned against the table. His hands gripped at the wood surrounding. Kangor stood and stared at the three with empty eyes and a foaming mouth. He called out inaudible words with his hands reaching towards Static.
Ferret rushed to his friend's side, calling out his name. Kangor stared down at the scrawny boy and smacked him aside. Ferret smashed into the side of the table, fortunately being spared from the flames. He stood up and clutched onto Kangor's arm. The giant grabbed Ferret by the hair and slammed his head against the wooden surface. Blood spurted from Ferret's nose and he fell unconscious below with his chin tucked into his chest and one arm slumped over his leg.
Kangor turned his attention to Static. His eyes burned into Static's soul. The electric weilder stepped back with Gear following his lead.
Kangor smirked. He parted his lips and a voice that was not his own began to speak. "So long I waited for him to take off that stupid necklace." Kangor's grin widened. "Ferret was easy to control, but a natural medium gives me much more freedom."
Static glanced down at the talisman resting above his heart. "Oh no," he said in a quiet voice. Gear being the only one to hear turned to look at the speaker. Static took a quick glimpse at Gear then returned his attention to Kangor. "This was the only thing protecting him. Now that I have it—" He was cut off when Kangor's fist came flying at his face.
Static jumped out of the way and fell onto his back. He quickly jumped up, narrowly escaping a second blow. Kangor was quite fast despite his size. Static had to stay on his guard as he once found out the hard way in a fight with Kangor that his punches hurt nearly as much as his kicks. Static was almost convinced the giant had metal plates in his knuckles.
Gear reached into his pocket for a zap cap. He gripped his fingers around the object and reared back his hand to toss it at the victim's feet. As if armed with acute hearing Kangor whipped around in the direction of the hero and ripped the zap cap from Gear's hand, nearly taking the appendage with it. Gear cried out in pain as he tried to bend his hand back the correct way.
Static narrowed his brow. "Alright, Talon, that's enough!" Kangor turned his attention towards Static. The hero had his fists clenched and a glare that was ready to do some damage. "You want me, here I stand." Static pounded his own chest. "I'm not running from you. They brought you here and I want to end this now."
Ferret regained consciousness and looked up with a heavy moan. Through blurry vision he saw Static powering up to unleash his fury on the immense meta-human before him. Ferret gasped having remembered what happened. He gripped the table to help him stand. Ferret's legs wobbled and he fell, taking the table with him. The candles went flying, one preparing its landing on Ferret himself. Gear saw the danger approaching and scooped the rodent up before the flame had a chance to do any damage. Ferret and Gear landed on the other side of where the table once stood, Ferret clutching Gear's shirt for dear life.
Several candles landed nearby and one hit the line of gasoline spilt from the lawnmower earlier. Combined with the fuel and the decaying leaves and grass, the ground lit up. The flames encircled Static and Kangor.
Static reached for his disk only to have it tossed away by the larger man. Static yelped as Kangor increased his grip on his wrist. Static kicked Kangor in the shin which sent him toppling into the flames. Static let out a gasp while the bang baby's jacket became ablaze. There was a shrill shriek along with a white mist that lifted from Kangor's body. The mist took the form of a woman Static knew too well. Talon's eyes stared directly into Static's soul. Her glare was one he would never be able to erase from his mind.
Ferret and Gear were able to rescue an unconscious Kangor from the fire. Ferret ripped the blazing jacket from Kangor's body and beat the fabric until it no longer burned. Once making sure Kangor was alive with very few burns Gear turned to see a white glow shielding the other beings from his vision. He called out Static's name which never penetrated the young man's ears.
Within the circle the flames could not touch Static's body due to the aura surrounding Talon. Static could hear the crackling of the fire which gave him some insight to reality. He wondered if this was all a ploy to burn him alive without him knowing. That thought soon passed as Static realized the Meta-Breed would all die for a chance to see him set ablaze and bask in the sound of his screams.
The vapor form slowly transformed into solid shape. The scrapes and scabs were worse than Static dreamt. Dried blood was caked and clotted all about her arms and neck. Her fists were clenched and her arms shaking, her body slightly hunched over. Her face looked mangled with her eyes being the only thing constant to when she was alive. She took a step forward, walking with a bit of a limp. Static's eyes fell to her ankle to find it severely twisted to the left.
Static took a deep breath then firmly planted his feet in the soil. He only hoped he would be able to leave the graveyard at the end of the night.
Static looked Talon straight in the eyes. "I'm here, Talon. I'm not going anywhere." Talon smirked. A chill ran through Static's body. He lifted his fists by his sides. "I'm here. What do you want from me?"
Talon spoke not a word. She leapt and spread her fingers, her claws ready for the strike. Static jumped away in time, restraining himself from a counterattack. Talon landed in a kneeling position. She quickly stood and faced the mortal standing before her. Static panted. He adjusted the collar on his shirt. Though he could not see it, he felt the flames coming closer. It mattered not, by the end of the night, whether he be dead or alive, Talon's haunting would end.