Chibiyu: Oh no, I am beginning to want to skip around with my chapters like I did with writing Finding Faith. This will get me confused.
Nick: So don't do it.
Chibiyu: Oh, like you've never skipped around writing songs.
Nick: …touché. A small time skip occurs, just a few hours, and a new Villain is introduced.
Part One of Two.
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Longing flashing in his eyes and he dropped his head studying the picture. His answer rang out, loud and true, and had me stepping away from him, smile gone.
"No."
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The touch of soft petals is something most mortals cannot resist. The touch of the girl who controls them is something even more alluring. A smile grew on my face as I caressed the soft roots of my baby, knowing that in a moment's time, all would be well. My fingers moved from the Calla Lily's stem to the nape of my neck. My smile deepened into a frown as my pale fingers traced the depthless snake hanging just above my breasts.
"Soon you will awaken as well, my Four." I whispered, aware that the eagerness in my voice enticed the roots of my plants to sway happily. "Soon, my babies," I called out sweetly, loving the colors and scents surrounding me, "Soon we shall reclaim our earth."
I opened my mouth to speak but closed it when I saw a flutter of wings enter from the dark mouth of the tunnel. The delicate insect flew steadily towards the daffodils and rested, its wings slowly opening and closing.
"Are you my blessing?" I asked the tiny butterfly, loving how its brown wings opened into a magnificent shade of blue. At my voice, it jumped into the air and fluttering over, landing briefly on my finger. "Then let it begin."
I moved towards the center of my moist home and spread out my arms, loving how the white stripes on my monotone shirt seemed to glow in the faint light. "Sing, my babies," I coaxed, smiling when my flowers opened their petals at my command as if I was a conductor and they my choir. I walked to the farthest corner of the large, cylinder shaped room and picked up the most delicate plant in my care. The pale pink stood out most in the colors of my garden, a ghost in night it seemed to be.
I stepped on a large vine that grew into the stone ceiling and down over the chinked metal railings at my feet. "Up," I told it, smiling when it began to smile, moving me and my potted wonder through the moonlight and dirt smelling hole. As soon as I was able to breathe the wind, I had my vine pause in its slow upwards journey.
"My darling," I cooed to the Rhododendron in the porcelain bowl which was tucked tightly in my hands, "Time to teach our destroyers a lesson." I held the single flower to the moonlight and watched it open its petals. I felt it breathe in the fresh smell of smog and I supplied it with anger and strength. I fueled their revenge and they fueled my desire to see them thrive once again. The wind blasted, pushing the petals towards the downtown area of the city.
"Soon." My word was almost stolen by the honking of a nearby car. "Soon the Heroes will realize that humans are not what they should be afraid of."
I stepped outside the hole, unwilling to touch the asphalt with my bare feet, but I must be a part of this world if they come into mine. "Come to me," I sang lowly and sweetly, holding the flower out in front of me. "Come to me."
The wind carried the flower's aroma. The scent wafting through buildings without a sound. Heroes turned over in their beds. Villains sniffed but smelled nothing. The air would soon clear itself of this magic, but my roots would have spread far enough. I allowed the vine to carry my plant and I back down to our home. A smirk lightened my face as my baby flower tickled my blood red hair.
And as my feet touched the floor, around the city Normals were opening their eyes.
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Visions of a bird, pecking his head and nipping at his hair invaded his otherwise peaceful slumber. His body flinched at the pain and his hand smacked into the feathered nuisance, sending it sprawling into the street. The dream ended, fading seamlessly into a pit of welcoming darkness. The pain vanished, replaced by soft caresses of silk ribbons. Nothing was heard within the serenity of the nothingness; no thought interrupted the peace. For once, everything was free. There were no worries. No fears. No pain. He wasn't alone. Not in the darkness. The darkness was his company. It thought him beautiful for being undistinguished by powers. It accepted hm. Loved him. Knew him.
And he stayed in it.
But the bird came back. This time, there was no beak, no sharp pins pricking his skull, but strong arms grasping his waist and trying to pull him out of the tangled ribbon's embrace. He vaguely heard a female call his name, but he couldn't reply; he didn't want too. This voice, these arms, they were bad. They were taking him from the peace. So he fought, elbowing, kicking and struggling against the hint of muscles and ignoring the coarse hair that seemed to brush against his arms. He wasn't ready to leave this place so therefore he wouldn't go.
The arms gave up, leaving him to dive back into the soothing nothingness. Memories of the bird, the voice, and the arms vanished as soon as the enticing ribbons ran over his bare arm. They called to him: Come to me, my Nicholas, come to me.
He didn't see the gorilla pant as it forced itself to its feet, nursing its cut hand. It didn't see the animal transform into a rather gimp looking hummingbird and fly off. He didn't see the bird get buffered by the wind as it tried to balance itself. He didn't know as it shot off in search of his brothers. All he knew and saw was the black nothing.
Paragon raced off, mentally slapping herself. She knew Florice's power was too strong for anyone to break. She had been foolish and panicked when she saw her friend's eyes, blank and void from the spell he was under. She, lucky enough to have powers, was immune to the Rhododendron's scent. The flower itself was a symbol of warning: beware, it said. And beware most Normals did when the innocent petal were in her hands. But how could they have known? They couldn't have seen her stepping from her subway lair and showing the flower to the moonlight. They couldn't have known to plug their nose and breathe only through their mouths while they slept.
And so the girl flew over the town seeing numerous Normals wandering the streets in a half-dead state, all walking towards Florice. Paragon raced off, ignoring the ache of her wing from Nick's harsh scratching and bending. She needed to get to the Lucas household. They needed to know. They needed to stop Florice.
It was pure relief when the girl settled on the slightly open window to a familiar brick firehouse. She chirped out in pain when her wing, worse than before, settled against the warmth of her feathers side. Her tiny eyes peered into the gloom, just able to make out the rising and falling lump that was a slumbering Joe's chest. She chirped, louder this time, but the heavy sleeper did not wake. She huffed in annoyance, knowing that Nick would have been up and taking off the netted screen to let her inside by now. But Paragon had another trick up her sleeve.
She took a deep breath and expanded her bird lungs to their fullest and closed her eyes. The tips of her feathers tingled and stretched. The discomfort in her hand grew to a full on sting when weight had to be added to the digit. Feathers tickled when they shrank back into her skin and split apart hundreds of times. When she opened her eyes, her new claws were already retracted. The netting caught and tugged and irritated her cuts, but she was determined. And all the while, she was calling Joe and Kevin's name, her voice not daring to rise further than a whisper. If Sandy and Tom Lucas knew she was here then she would be fish food.
The netting ripped finely, giving her a chance to push her cat head through the hole and jump soundlessly into the room, leaving nothing but a trail of spotted blood behind her. She stalked over, moving quickly as her paws changed to fingers and hair receded back to her head.
"Joe!" she urgently called, reaching her destination and shaking the boy roughly. "Get up!" Joe swatted at her, but she was ready. His arm was caught in her hand and the boy jumped when he felt the stickiness of her blood. His eyes, still misted with sleep, floated over to her before blinking rapidly. "Up." Paragon again commanded before leaping over to Kevin's curtained bed and pushing against the fabric violently.
"Paragon, what's going on?" Joe hissed, displeased at both the sight of the Villain in his house and that she had rudely woken him. Kevin pulled back his curtain, not surprised to see the leather-clad girl there.
"Where's Nick?" The beauty of his power meant that he didn't even have to spare his brother's bed a glance to know he was gone. He couldn't immediately sense Nick's life force, his presence, so therefore, he wasn't in the house or anywhere near it.
Paragon hugged herself tightly, wishing the tantalizing aroma would get blown away. It unsettled her; made her skin crawl and spine ache. She was the only Villain who could become victim to this magic – the only one with a keen enough nose to be affected. "Sniff." Joe and Kevin looked at each other before sticking their noses into the air.
Joe shivered, looking horrified at the Villainous. Kevin's eyes widened and he covered his mouth, gagging rather loudly. Paragon shuddered as a blast of cold wind filled the room with the scent and retched. She found herself trying to sneeze just to get it out of her nose.
"Florice." The name came between her head shakes. The brothers were on their feet instantly and running towards the fire poles. "He's gone. I was stupid and tried to stop him before telling you." The shifter held out her mangled mess of a hand to the brothers before wrapping her fingers carefully and hiding the limb in her pocket. "She means business. I saw about 6 other Normals too."
"Will she kill them?" Kevin's hushed question had sent Paragon's head down. His tone, so filled with agony at the already known answer, was too much for her to even fathom.
"What about your brother?" Joe inserted, his eyes searching for Kevin's reaction. He did start slightly, his eyes beginning the search the younger female's face.
She managed a smile. "The smell of fish is hard for a flower to penetrate." Her nose flared again, leaving her wincing slightly from the pure power behind the flower's scent. "And yes, Kevin. She will kill them as soon as a Hero walks in her door."
Joe looked away. Kevin regarded the girl before him. He recognized the slumping of her shoulders and the lack of confidence in her frame. She was scared.
"We have to contact the Council." He walked over and lifted Paragon's head with some force. He didn't speak until his determined eyes met her wide ones. "Do not go after them, Elizabeth." He only knew he name and this tone as he heard Nick use it to her a number of times. "Wait for the Hero Council to gas out her plants, and then you, Joe and I can go in and get him."
He let go of her face when she nodded, the action numb. He raced away, grabbing Joe's arm and pulling him down the stairs. There wasn't a moment to lose.
And Paragon watched them go, a sad smile forming on her thin lips. Nick may not see it clearly, but he really was loved. She turned back towards the window, taking off the torn netting and slipping easily onto the cement ledge.
"Sorry, Prophetic," she said rather loudly as she bit her tongue to keep from crying out when rubble dug into her blooded hand. Kevin stuck his head out of the bottom window, looking directly at the young woman in a cat like stance. "But you can't tame me."
Kevin wanted to scream at her and tell her that she was an idiot when she launched herself into the night sky. He wanted too, but the smile on his face kept his tongue in check. He pulled his head back in, comforted that Nick and the others wouldn't be alone in her lair. That he would have a friend by his side if…if he died.
"Come on, Joe," Kevin urged, turning to find his brother already running into the room with their parents on his tail. "We have some plants to kill."
…..
Her breath came in puffs as she stalked down the damp tunnel, only using her nose to keep her on track. The tantalizing smell of dirt, mold, and a garden was enough to have the black cat wishing it could turn back. But she couldn't, not when so many lives were at stake. So she trekked forward, as silent as a shadow, knowing that a Normal life was worth it all to save. And she wasn't the only Villain to know this. She was, however, the only one to act.
She stopped, her paw, which had been so carefully licked clean and closed, opened again on a piece of broken pipe. The giggle chimed again, echoing strangely in the dark.
"My babies will enjoy using your bodies as fertilizer, yes they will." The unseen voice hushed, as if petting something dear. "Soon, so soon will you thrive." Paragon's ears shot forward that the girl's excessive use of the word 'soon.'
"Florice," she whispered her voice not loud enough for anyone but her to hear. She backed up into the slimy wall behind her when soft shoed footsteps skipped down this hall and turned. Paragon watched the beam of the flashlight vanish within the gloom before jumping forward. Her whiskers guided her when her eyes and nose failed her, and soon her paws met the cold railing of metal were the wall should be.
"I heard something," a young voice fearfully called. Shuffling was heard as if the speaker was curling into someone's arms. "Maybe she's decided to finish us."
"Hush," a very familiar voice calmly called. "We're going to be ok." He could turn even the biggest lie into the sweetest truth.
"Nick," the cat dared hiss out, not wanting to squeeze into the cell in fear of touching one of the swaying vines which were unseen by the silhouettes in front of me. One started and was soon as close to the bars as he dared.
"Para?" he asked, unable to see my nod.
"Hey. You got yourself in a pickle this time, didn't you?" A small chuckle was earned. "You want light?"
"Who is that?" A younger voice asked, male by the sound of it.
Nick sighed briefly and rocked back so he was leaning away from the bars. "It's Paragon." Squeals of fright, quiet but ear drum shattering for a cat, rebounded. "She's a friend. Her brother is a Normal, like us. She won't hurt us."
"I'm here to help," the cat tried to say, but it came out muffled as her ears still rang from the high pitched expression of fright. "As I asked before, would you like some light?"
"Can you give it?" Nick inquired, his head titling back towards her voice. It was Paragon's turn to laugh.
"Can I give it?" she mimed with mocking lacing her words. "It's like you don't know me at all." She turned so her butt was facing them, laughing quietly to herself. "This won't be pretty,' she warned, only halfway joking. Again she went through the process of changing, allowing her butt to shine when done. Many of the young girls screamed at the sight of the giant firefly in front of them. Nick, on the other hand, smirked and stood, his face glowing oddly in the pale light.
He looked at the 17 others in the small room, knowing that his face was just as caked with the falling dirt as theirs. He was the oldest by far, which was why the youngest girl was clinging to his arm and his brothers friend's brother was staying close by his side.
"Good to see you," Nick told the Villain in front of him, genuine sincerity flowing from his voice. Only Paragon caught the relief hidden between the lies.
Paragon turned her ugly head and rolled her hideous eyes. "I never thought I would see the day where Nick Lucas was beaten by a flower."
He laughed lightly, finding humor in what would have previously heated his cheeks and deflated his ego. "Care to help us out of here?"
"But then the light will go away!" The girl on Nick's arm whimpered, hating the dark more than she hated the prospect of death.
Nick knelt in front of her, gently holding her hands in one of his and covering them with the other. "Brianna," his voice was low and soothing, "I'll be right here. Nothing will happen to you ok? We need it to go dark so we can get home."
The girl was dirt smeared across her forehead turned her trust filled eyes to Nick's. She nodded and her hair, limp with sweat from the humidity, fell loosely out of its pigtails from the movement.
"Eric," Nick called again. The boy on his other side flipped the red curls form his face and nodded, determination in his young brown eyes. "Hold her other hand." Nick looked to the 15 others, holding up his free hand to Paragon. "Do any of you have weapons on you?"
A few nodded. The eldest two watched one boy reach into his shoe – as he had been outside on his swing set when Florice's magic reached him – and take apart the heel. Nick smiled at the sight of the Swiss Army knife. His smile grew when the kid opened it and a small flame popped up.
"Who is your sibling?" he called to the boy. He just looked up and smiled, mischief dancing in his eyes. "It's Cascadea, isn't it?" The boy laughed out, nodding his head happily. Paragon rolled her eyes again at this; she knew the iced-over girl had a brother, but it was just priceless that he loved to play with fire.
A young boy, probably around 10, pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on, smiling when he found he could see through the darkness with ease. Nick reached in the only pocket of his sweat pants and pulled out the collapsible gun he had stolen from Tac's lair. He fired it up, watching the tick marks light up in a muted green. He counted three. He had three shots for this charge. Hopefully he wouldn't need more.
"Ready?" Paragon asked the 18 trapped. Each nodded, holding either something high-tech, a small dagger like weapon that most young Normals were taught how to use, or latched onto the hands of others. Nick raised his weapon slightly, hoping that blasting this thing wouldn't alarm Florice too quickly of her dead plants.
"Wait!" A voice cut across him when he was about to pull the trigger and disintegrate the cell door. "Is that Tac's gun?" Grubby hands stole the weapon away from Nick's. Everyone watched at the young girl ripped open the top compartment and twisted wires. She tore some from their allotted place and crossed many. Her tongue was held between her teeth. "You can't be Neuropath's sister without knowing stuff like this," the girl concluded, handing the gun back to Nick, her fingers scratched up from working so swiftly. "Now it won't harm organic matter. If you shot that at Florice's plants, she would kill you in less than a second."
Nick found himself nodding, though her words did nothing to help his increasing nerves. He turned to look at Paragon and something flew between them. The girl nodded her bug eyes sad. Her friend could die here. And if he did, it was up to her to get these young ones to safety. By nodding, she agreed to leave him. To leave his body.
"Ready?" Nick asked this time, his voice betraying him slightly though his eyes were as hard set as ever.
Everyone nodded. Paragon's light shrunk until she was just a dot of yellow on the ceiling, ready to lead the group on to what she hoped to be freedom. The sound of 18 people drawing their breath filled the cavern.
And Nick pulled the trigger.
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Chibiyu: Part two of Florice's Garden is coming soon! And it's a bit longer than this part! Until Next Update!
Written on 11/5/11
