Author's Notes: This is a calmer chapter, mostly there to build on the plot and add some world building. Funny story, I set the first part of this chapter during a heavy rain, and while editing it my town got a really bad storm and tornado warning. In fact, this chapter was slightly delayed due to the power going out for a few hours. This happens to me from time to time, where I write something and then something similar happens in real life. Life is full of odd coincidences, huh? Anyway, hope you guys are enjoying the story so far, and that you like the newest installment of "Abdoption" :)
Chapter 11
Fabricate, Investigate
8 years ago…
The rain poured down like the vengeful tears of every broken heart in Townsville. ABC Land looked rather dilapidated ever since their fences were torn asunder by their recent escapee. Of course, as it would soon be learned, this was not the only reason the place gave off a cold empty feeling.
"You mean to tell me you haven't even filed a police report for the boy?" A man in a navy blue suit questioned, "What sort of slip-shod operation are you running?"
"Mr. McArthur, just calm down," Mr. Mendez said placatingly, "This is a blessing in disguise. You didn't really want to adopt William Williams. You can see from the damage he did, he's not a real child. He's a monster, and there's no reason to lament not bringing a monster into your home."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have the wrong address," Mr. McArthur said sarcastically, "I didn't realize I was at the designer kid store. Silly me, I thought I was at a group home for disadvantaged youth. Whatever was I thinking?"
"There is no reason to yell, Mr. McArthur," Mr. Mendez chided, "I assure you we will file a police report immediately and inform you if the boy returns. Until then, you may want to consider interviewing some of our other fine children. After all, I know you and your wife are an exemplary family that any child would be lucky to be a part of. We've worked well together in the past, and nothing has changed. You shouldn't burn your bridges, and we will do our best to not burn ours. We wouldn't want this opportunity to get away, after all."
"You mean you wouldn't want our money to get away," Mr. McArthur snapped, "I'm starting to suspect your 'social program' is little more than a barely legal money making operation. Children disappearing, children being fast-tracked to adoption for the right price, and children being neglected to an extreme degree. Well when you told me about young William, I knew you wouldn't be forthcoming with any pertinent information. That's why I went to my friends in Townsville PD about a child endangerment criminal case against you. Expect to be served sometime next week, Mr. Mendez."
"You think you have a case?" Mr. Mendez scoffed, "ABC Land has been operating for 40 years. And who are you, huh? Some jilted foster parent that couldn't get the kid they wanted. You're nobody. We know how to handle our business."
"Yes, and I know how to handle mine," Mr. McArthur said sternly, "Just in case you forgot, one doesn't get to be the DA by sleeping on an obvious fraud case, not to mention a severe case of child neglect. You'll be lucky to find an attorney within a 200 mile radius that wants to touch your file. I'm just grateful I got my three daughters out of this cesspit before anything happened to them."
"You're really going to make a fuss over this because you couldn't adopt a monster boy?" Mr. Mendez asked incredulously, "Come on, we can smooth this out, right? We find the boy, waive all fees, add in a few thousand for your trouble, and this goes away, right?"
"Bribery…" Mr. McArthur wrote in his notepad, "I suppose I will have to be a witness in the case now, in order to add this to the testimony. Thank you, Mr. Mendez. You're making my job very easy."
With that Mr. McArthur smoothed out his suit jacket and turned on his heel to leave. Mr. Mendez shouted a few choice curse words as the lawyer left. Mr. McArthur, once he was past the stairs of the group home and near his car, sighed deeply in despair. His wife, who was in the driver's seat, could see her husband looked utterly broken.
"Brian, what happened?" She asked, her head leaning out the window.
"They didn't find him," Brian replied dejectedly, "Barbara, this is no place for children, and it might take years to shut them down."
"I'm sorry, dear," Barbara said sympathetically, "But we can't give up. Billy is still out there somewhere. We have to find him."
"And then what?" Brian asked curtly, "He's still under the guardianship of ABC Land, and there's no way they'll allow us to adopt him now. Besides, he's been missing for two weeks. An 8 year old boy alone, unreported, for two weeks. The truth is, ABC Land probably did more than just neglect the boy. He's probably already dead, but there are 18 other children still living in that chamber of horrors. Right now, what I have to do is fight for them with everything I have."
"And what I have to do is drive home as quickly as possible," Barbara retorted, "I've already used three barf bags since we got here. I hope 9 months goes by quicker than it sounds. Pregnancy is the worst."
"Hm…Barbara, let me take care of those for you."
Brian then picked up his wife's barf bags and walked up to the porch of ABC Land. He considered throwing them at the door, letting them know what he really thought of them, but his better senses reminded him that was a bad idea. It was a misdemeanor and little more, but he couldn't afford to damage his reputation before filing a case against these people. So, with a growl and barely contained rage, Brain found the trash can and chucked the bags in there instead.
Soaking wet from the rain, Brian McArthur got back in the car, and his wife drove them away. They still needed to stop by the babysitter's house to pick up the girls. Then he would have to get to work. He needed affidavits from the other children, which would require a warrant. The judge was a friend of his, as were several police officers, so it probably wouldn't take long.
He also needed to talk to Commissioner Milford about filing a missing persons report for William Williams. It probably wouldn't get very far. That man was known to be prejudiced against green people, and little Billy was not only green but also a cyclops. Townsville PD was stretched thin with all the crime and villainy in their midst, so they probably wouldn't look that hard for poor Billy.
There were so many moving parts, and Brian McArthur didn't know how everything was going to play out. He did know one thing however: ABC Land couldn't be allowed to continue hurting innocent children.
Present day…
Nightfall blanketed Townsville with a soft dusting of stars. Ace stood outside the shack, smoking the last cigarette in his pack. Grubber was asleep inside, and the other three boys were nowhere to be found. Ace knew by this point, they weren't in the dump.
Just as he stomped out the dying flame of the cigarette, Ace could hear the footsteps of his three friends coming home. Finally. He didn't want to go back inside by himself and risk waking up Grubber. Between card games, Monopoly with no hotel pieces, and charades, Ace was getting tired of playing stupid party games with that hunchbacked nuisance.
Arturo, Snake, and Billy all looked sad and forlorn as they walked home, their heads hung in shame.
"Lemme guess, you got busted for shopliftin'?" Ace asked lightly.
"No," Arturo sighed, "We…uh…"
"Fluffy won't come home!" Billy moaned.
"Fluffy?" Ace asked, "Yous guys put her up to this?"
"We tried to get her back," Snake explained, "Sssorry we didn't tell you. We almossst got shot by her grandpa."
"Yeah, dude's a real piece of work," Arturo added sourly, "He even threatened to shoot our imaginary dog."
"Yer what?" Ace asked in confusion, "Hold up, hold up. You mean yous three tried to kidnap the kid we just got rid of?"
"Si," Arturo replied glumly, "We failed too. The old man's a cop."
"She'sss gonna die, isssn't she?" Snake hissed quietly.
"You ain't gonna believe dis," Ace chuckled, "The kid was here."
"Huh?" All three asked in unison.
"Yeah. Marny showed up a couple hours ago," Ace told them, "By the way, her family's maid is real cute, in that ditzy girl from the suburbs kinda way. Anyway, Marny came back for her backpack. I gave it to her, and they left. No harm, no foul."
"Fluffy went home?" Billy asked.
"Yeah Billy, Fluffy went home," Ace replied patronizingly, "Now, we should get inside. We got drinkin' to do."
"Accce," Snake spoke up, thought he knew it might be a bad idea, "We can't jussst let thisss go. The kid isss gonna get killed sssoon. We know she isss abusssed. We know the danger she'sss in."
"It ain't our problem," Ace insisted, "She's 7 years old, and if she wants to survive, then she's gonna have to toughen up. We did."
"We're boys," Arturo pointed out, "Girls usually take longer to toughen up, if you don't count The Powerpuff Girls. Marny probably won't live that long."
"We gotta save Fluffy!" Billy pleaded.
"Shh! Not so loud!" Ace said harshly, "The garbage men might be lurkin' around here. Okay, just for the sake of argument, let's say we tried again to rescue the kid. Do ya really think breakin' into her house and gettin' shot is our best plan?"
"It was our best plan," Arturo winced nervously, "Heh heh heh…"
"Dudes, you're thinkin' too small again," Ace scolded his friends, "When The Gangreen Gang can't beat up a problem, what do we do?"
"Sssurrender?" Snake guessed.
Ace punched Snake in the nose and scowled at the lot of them.
"No," Ace finally said, "When you can't go for the muscle, go for the con. We gotta use our heads to solve this puzzle. Look, go inside, get some beer, and leave the plannin' to me. This time tomorrow, we'll know what we're doin'."
Ace seemed confident enough in his idea, so the others did as they were told and went inside. Ace looked up at the stars, wishing he had another cigarette to smoke, and tried to think.
Manipulation required a party that was easily swayed. The old man was a cop, so he was probably inflexible. No, Milford couldn't be sweet-talked, bought, or threatened. That meant Ace would need to use an angle that worked around Marny's grandpa instead of directly confronting him.
That was when he remembered. B.W. McArthur. She was the family's cleaning lady, and had access to their home. She also seemed to care a great deal about the kid, so she would likely be easier to sway for the scheme. But what kind of scheme could Ace come up with that would ensure the girl's safety, punish the grandpa, involve the maid, and be so rock-solid that the gang wouldn't get in trouble for it?
Bit by bit, the plan began to form in Ace's twisted mind. He smiled up at the stars as his machinations came together. The pieces formed perfectly, and it would be fun for him and his friends too. Yes, finally, Ace had a plan…
B.W. McArthur came home after a long day of school. She has the day off from her after-school cleaning job, and she was looking forward to just zoning out on the couch and watching Futurama. She hoped that Marny would be okay for one day without her. That girl sure knew how to get herself into some dangerous situations.
When B.W. entered the house she heard the typical noises that burst through the front door every day. Her two older sisters Bethany and Brittney Jay were screaming at each other about something, her mom was talking on the phone while cooking dinner, and Brian Jr. was trying to get their mom's attention about something.
"I can't believe you could do this to me!" Brittney Jay shrieked, "You knew I liked him, and you still made me look like a fool!"
"I didn't need to help you look like anything," Bethany replied haughtily, "Perhaps if you didn't stare at him so much he wouldn't have asked me what was wrong with you."
"Mom! Did you hear what Bethany said to me!?" Brittney Jay shouted accusingly, "Mom!"
"Shh, shh, shh! Honey, I'm on the phone," Their mom said as patiently as she could manage, "Yes? … Well, I suppose we could defer, but I'm not sure how much longer they'll wait for payment. … I know, but everything's just been so tight lately. Oh, hold on. B.W.! Can you help your brother with his homework?"
"Uh…that's a good question," B.W. replied less than confidently, "Um, okay. Brian? What did you need help with?"
"I'm trying to figure out the multiplication tables," Brian Jr. explained.
"Already? But you're like 7!" B.W. exclaimed incredulously, "Oh, alright. I guess I can-"
"No! No no no no no!" Her mom panicked before B.W. could even finish her sentence, "Bethany, honey? I already have the noodles boiling for the lasagna, but I just realized I forgot to buy ricotta cheese at the store. Can you walk down to Malph's and grab one?"
"Mom, I can't!" Bethany protested, "I'm supposed to live stream tonight. I'm sorry, but this has been scheduled all week, and we need the money."
"I'll go," B.W. offered.
"Oh honey, you're a lifesaver," Her mom said gratefully.
"No problem," B.W. replied in obvious relief, "Anything beats homework."
Well, so much for Futurama and dinner. These things would have to wait. B.W. didn't complain about helping out though. Ever since moving to Townsville everyone was a little on edge, and getting out of the house to walk for a while seemed like something that would do her some good.
Citysburg seemed like a worse city than Townsville in a lot of respects, but B.W. still missed living there. It wasn't just that their house was nicer and she had more friends. No, her nostalgia cut a lot deeper than that, in more than one direction. The downside of not having her family's chaotic yelling around was that she had to think about everything that was missing.
She wondered if her dad would have liked Townsville. To be fair, he had a bad opinion of Townsville because of how it used to be. Full of crime, full of corruption, and full of hopelessness. Some of that still simmered below the surface, but ever since their local heroes The Powerpuff Girls arrived on the scene, everything in Townsville felt a lot nicer than before.
Heroes… B.W. sighed to herself as she approached an alleyway. Two years. How could two years have passed already? She felt like she didn't get enough time to know her dad, but she knew what a hero he was. Brian Jr. was only 5 years old when the murder took place. Would his dad still be a hero to him when he was a teenager? Would he find new heroes, and would they actually be worthy of such a title? Would she someday forget what Brian McArthur Sr. looked like?
Thinking about heavy topics like this hurt B.W.'s head. She didn't want to dwell on it anymore. As another alley approached she checked her phone to see how far away Malph's was. She didn't have the best sense of direction.
As B.W. looked down at her smartphone, an arm reached out from the alley and grabbed her!
She was pressed against the wall of a building, a hand over her mouth, and she found herself staring into the black void of a pair of pointed sunglasses.
"Well would you looky here?" Ace smirked, "Just the girl I was lookin' for."
B.W. punched Ace in the face immediately, and when he backed against a dumpster she started throwing crates, rocks, and anything else she could find at him. She even tried to kick at him, but he dodged just in time.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Ace cried out while dodging blows, "It's me, Ace!"
"I know!" B.W. shouted, unmoved.
She continued to try to punch and kick him, and when one punch landed he slammed hard against the opposite wall from where she had been. Ace staggered to his feet, and B.W., rather than run away, clenched her fists and readied herself for round two with the green gangster.
"Hey, hey, calm down!" Ace held up a hand defensively, "I just wanna talk."
"Oh," B.W. replied simply, "Okay."
"Whew!" Ace sat down on a crate before continuing, "Dang, I ain't been hit that hard since the last time I messed with Buttercup. You work out?"
"Uh, yeah. McCracken High School wrestling team. Go Squids!" B.W. said, clearly flattered, "So, uh, what did you wanna talk about?"
"I wanna talk about your boss, and that sweet little girl caught in his crossfire," Ace said as he made himself comfortable, "You know the old man's doin' a number on her, right?"
"A number?" B.W. replied obliviously, "I don't know what you mean."
"You know, smack her around, burn her skin, and just in general see how much damage she can take without him gettin' caught."
"You…you're accusing Mr. Milford of abusing his granddaughter?"
"You got it, sweetheart," Ace lowered his shades a little to look her in the eye, "If somethin' ain't done, the kid probably won't survive. Problem is, dude's a cop, and a high ranking one at that. Good luck makin' the charges stick when the only witnesses willin' to come forward are a bunch of tough guys with a record the size of City Hall. No proof, no way to help the kid. You see what I'm sayin'?"
"So…what can we do?" B.W. asked, her voice small and lost, "Commissioner Milford is pretty mean, but you're right. He has a lot of friends."
"Yeah, besides, Townsville PD is too freakin' busy to deal with a domestic case like this one," Ace added, "That's what got me to thinkin'. You know what kind of cases can make a police officer's career?"
"Murder?" B.W. guessed.
"Let's hope it don't come to that," Ace replied half-jokingly, "Nah, babe. Supervillains. Cops love workin' in Townsville because supervillains are high profile, and yet they don't gotta work the case alone. If you got supervillains, you got the media, super heroes, and the public watchin' with bated breath. So, I got a plan that can save the kid, get her out of the home, and maybe even get her gramps punched in the face. It's perfect!"
"Does it have to involve face punching?" B.W. asked nervously.
"Hey, whose plan is this, anyway?" Ace challenged.
"Why should I even help you?" B.W. countered, "I don't even know if you're telling the truth. After all, you kidnapped Marny in the first place."
"It was a misunderstandin'!" Ace yelled, but then tried to calm down as he said, "Look…I know this seems like a scam, but I'm tellin' you, we just wanna help the kid. Accordin' to Snake, Marny's stomach has a burn so bad on it that it looks infected. Tell me you can ignore that, and I'll go. We'll never have to talk about this again. Promise."
"You expect me to take your word, and the word of a guy named Snake, at face value?" B.W. asked skeptically, "This is serious, Ace. We're talking about separating a little girl from the only family she has left. If I was going to have anything to do with this, I would need to be absolutely sure."
"Did she wanna go home last night?" Ace asked point blank.
"Well…no," B.W. admitted, "She didn't."
"And did she seem scared of me?" Ace added, "No. She loves me. Compare that to how she treats her grandpa."
"She actually seemed kind of angry at you," B.W. observed.
"Tomato, tomahto," Ace waved it away, "The point is, if we frame Milford as a supervillain, then the cops will actually look into the case. A little investigation reveals the child abuse, and Marny gets a one-way ticket to a new family that won't use her for an ashtray."
"Well…" B.W. bit her cracked lip pensively, but then finally said, "…What do you want me to do?"
"Two things," Ace said, flashing a victorious smile her way, "First, record every conversation you can. Find the words that suit the story best, and uh…clean 'em up. Make it convincin'."
"You mean you want me to edit the audio so it sounds worse than it is," B.W. said uncomfortably, "I don't think that's legal…"
"Is attempted murder legal?" Ace retorted, "Because that's what we're talkin' about. Look, you're doin' a tiny illegal thing now, so that Marny's bloated corpse don't end up on TNN. Capiche?"
"Okay, okay, I get it. This is serious," B.W. replied shakily, "So, what was the other thing you wanted?"
"Costumes," Ace replied conspiratorially, "Supervillains wear flashy costumes. So, here's what you do. You buy three identical villain-type costumes, and you plant them in his closet with all his other normal clothes. Maybe even next to his police uniforms for dramatic effect. Then you take a few pics of the 'evidence'. Think you can do that?"
"What if all the costume store has is something stupid like gorilla costumes?" B.W. inquired.
"No gorilla costumes," Ace said flatly, annoyed that he even had to say it, "Just somethin' cool lookin'. Maybe a cape, or some sparkles, or whatever. Just somethin' that says 'look at me! I'm evil!'. Basically turn him inside out, metaphorically speakin'."
"That better just be a metaphor," B.W. admonished, "So, costumes and doctored audio footage. I don't think that's gonna be enough."
"It won't be," Ace confirmed, "But that ain't all they're gonna have. After all, what villain worth his evil laugh don't got a doomsday device of some kind lyin' around?"
"But Mr. Milford doesn't have a doomsday device," B.W. scratched her head, "Does he?"
"Not yet," Ace grinned, "It'll take some doin', but in a couple days the boys and I will have a doomsday device, hand delivered and ready to be planted in the Milford home. Between that and your 'evidence' we should have everything we need for a classic frame-up. It's perfect."
"I don't know…" B.W. tensed up, "I know this is for a good reason, but there has to be a better way. What if the cops find out it was us?"
"They won't," Ace insisted, "Not if you keep your trap shut. Now, are you gonna help me save that little girl, or are you gonna let her die alone and scared?"
"…I…I still don't know if I believe you," B.W. repeated, rubbing one of her arms to console herself, "You could be tryin' to con me so you can rob the Milfords blind. After all, you gang banger types only care about money."
"Hey, I'm not sayin' I wouldn't do somethin' like that," Ace conceded, "But I ain't this time. Look, Big Billy, he's a member of my gang, he loves this little girl. Poor sucker's a few eggs short of an omelet, I mean Rain Man levels of stupid, and he don't understand why this is happenin' to his friend. Now, how am I supposed to explain to that poor innocent soul that I stood back and let his new friend get hurt? Maybe even killed. What sort of friend would I be? Huh?"
B.W. didn't reply for a moment. She just stood there with her head hung and her fists clenched. Ace was patient, he knew if he was going to get a valuable co-conspirator that he would have to make her think this was her idea, or at least her decision. After a moment, she took a deep breath and turned her head Ace's way.
"Well…I guess I better make sure to delete some cookies from my phone," B.W. finally replied, "Need the space if it's gonna record all day."
"Perfect," Ace grinned wide, "You won't regret this. Trust me, we're doin' good work here."
"Uh huh," B.W. nodded like a bobble head, trying to convince herself to trust him, "Listen, um, Ace? I need to go to Malph's to buy cheese. You, uh, wanna walk with me?"
"Why?" Ace asked suspiciously, "You tryin' to scope me out or somethin'?"
"No, I just get lost easily," B.W. admitted, "I haven't lived in Townsville very long, and I don't know that many people. You're shadier than an umbrella, but at least you don't seem to wanna hurt me."
"Hurt you? Ms. High School Wrestlin' Team?" Ace teased, "Come on, you know we're cool. After all, we're workin' together to put away a lowlife scumbag, right?"
"Well…when you put it that way…yeah," B.W. blushed, "I guess we are."
B.W. cautiously walked in the direction of Malph's, and Ace walked beside her with a much more confident stride. After walking for about a block, Ace grabbed B.W.'s hand. She didn't pull away, but she did start walking a little faster.
Ace smelled bad, and she didn't know what his real angle was with Mr. Milford, but B.W. knew deep down that something fishy was going on in the Milford home. Ace was probably right, which meant working with him was the fastest way to save Marny. That being said, she really hoped he didn't try to build the doomsday device himself.