Chapter 20
And Then They Fight!
-LILA-
"Well, then, Oso. Shall we dance?"
Oso cracked his neck back and forth. "You sure you wanna ask that?" he responded, grinning. "Cause ain't no one done the Betelgeusian Tango with me and lived to tell the tale."
"There's always a first time," I replied, hoping I sounded as confident as I wanted to. Confidence is not something that comes easy to me. The appearance of confidence, sure. That's my whole deal, everybody's always going on about how I'm perfect. Let me tell you, that's a colossal load of manure, and having grown up on a farm, I know colossal loads of manure when I see them. Nobody's perfect. Least of all me. I am riddled with flaws. Chief among them, the whole need to live up to what everyone expects me to be. They see me as perfect, so I'm compelled to be perfect, and it's a never-ending cycle, and I'm getting "oh-so" tired of it. If I really was as confident as everyone thought I was, I'd be confident enough to break out of this mold I've forced myself into. But I'm not.
Confidence, though, was what I needed right here, right now, so I did what I normally do… I tried channeling the most confident person I know. Which happened to be Helga Pataki.
We slowly circled each other around the quarry floor, taking our measure of each other. At least, I assume that's what he was doing. It's not like I would know what to do. Mainly, I was stalling, hoping he would make the first move. After all, it's not like I would. I mean, what would I do, anyway? I've never so much as thrown a punch. I was really out of my depth.
It wasn't long before he made the first move. A simple charge, probably a feint to see how I'd react. Well I didn't have much in my wheelhouse besides dodging, so I jumped for it, using my wings to carry me upward and over him. As far as I could tell, he couldn't really fly, so up here I had the advantage.
Or so I thought, until I hit an invisible barrier above me, which pushed me back down.
"Uh uh uh," he said. "No flying away, red. My perimeter force field's gonna make sure you stick around. Just keepin' things fair is all."
"Uh huh," I remarked. "Fair. "
"Yeah, see, you got a flight advantage. Can't have that. You already outnumber me in the fist department, but… " He produced a huge knife. "Let's see if we can't take care of that advantage too."
He leaped at me, swinging the knife in a clearly-telegraphed attempt to relieve me of one of my lower set of arms. I banked to the left sharply, allowing him to sail past me. "A knife? I asked. "Seriously? This is your 'fair fight'?"
"Well, yeah," he said. "Fair for me. I couldn't care less about you."
"Well, if that's the way we're playing it…." There was one very useful thing I was holding back for just the right occasion. I didn't want to show it off yet because it would be a perfect ace in the hole to catch him unawares later on. But Oso looked like he wanted to skip to the end, where I got dismembered, and I wasn't particularly interested in that. It was time for the gloves to come off.
"…then get a load of this!"
Metaphorically, I mean.
I twisted around and whipped my upper hands in his direction, unleashing a blast of concentrated sonic energy that caught him directly in the solar plexus area, knocking him back on his butt. That's what I mean by "metaphorically." The blasts are focused by speakers built into my gloves. Without 'em. I'd just be blasting unfocused noise in all directions. Powerful, yes, destructive, yes, but difficult to use effectively.
He stared, dumbfounded, for a moment. "Ka'Thaari can't do that," he protested.
"Well, I can."
All four of us have basically the same base abilities in common… the flight, the strength, the reflexes, and so forth, but each of us also developed a unique power that the others don't have. In my case, it's sound projection. Now, when Arnold's mom, Dr. Shortman studied us early on, she developed a few theories about these powers and where they came from. One was that they didn't come from our alien DNA, but were something latent locked away in the human genome, and that the merger of human and alien DNA released the potential we already had. I suppose that makes sense. I have a few of my own theories about why we developed the specific powers that we did. Helga, for example, alternates between burning passion and aloof coolness; her personality runs hot and cold, and consequentially, so do her powers. Rhonda is dynamic, charged up, always pushing forward, giving her a natural affinity for electricity. Phoebe is scientifically minded, making her a perfect fit for commanding a fundamental force.
And me? Why did I get the powers I got? Me, sweet, demure Lila Sawyer? Why the power to make loud noises? That would seem to be the exact opposite of the kind of powers you'd expect me to get.
If I had to speculate, I would guess that my powers reflect not who I am, not the Lila Sawyer I am, but the one I wish I could be. If the space virus that gave us our powers releases inner potential, then in my case, it released my inner, suppressed personality potential. The part of me that wants to be brash and loud, like my friends do.
Of course, in this costume, I'm not me. I get to be someone else. So why not let that part of me shine through?
Oh, will you listen to me. Going on about all this philosophical stuff when I'm in the middle of fighting for my life. Well, I had found my advantage, and I wasn't about to give it up. The next stretch of the fight was basically all about hurling blast after blast in Osos's general direction. I wasn't sure how long I could keep it up before I tapped out, but for now, it was working. The blasts that weren't hitting were forcing him to constantly dodge and stay on the defensive.
Eventually, though, I noticed that he was starting to be less and less affected by my blasts. Either I was weakening, or he was adapting. …no, it was definitely me. I could feel my inner reserves draining. I knew soon I would have to change tactics. And tactics were something I just didn't know about. But I was going to have to learn quickly. Just keeping up the barrage wasn't going to cut it. I needed to use my powers more strategically.
And then I saw it. The vibrations from my blasts had begun to form cracks in the rough walls of the quarry. If I could back Oso against the wall, I could possibly bring some of those loose boulders down on him. I wasn't sure if it would take him out, but it would at least slow him down enough for me to maybe buy enough time to free my girls.
So, then. Let him think maybe I've run out of juice until I can get him in a position to surprise him. That was the plan. I dropped the barrage and immediately began to dash to the side while he shook it off. He grinned. "So, fuel tank's empty, huh," he said.
"Oh, I've got plenty left," I lied. "It was just getting boring." What can I do now – ah! Right. This was a quarry. There were weapons all around me. I scooped up some loose rocks in my lower hands and started pelting them at my opponent. Rocks plus super-strength equal some pretty nasty missiles. He certainly seemed to think so, since it was actually starting to push him back. Good. He was almost where I wanted him…
When he was finally close enough, I put everything I had into one final blast. It struck true and knocked him right into the far wall the impact dislodging the boulder above and bring them down on his head. For a brief moment I worried that I'd actually killed him, but a groan from beneath put those fears to rest. Good, I didn't want a death on my conscience, even if it was the death of an alien who wanted to kill me, dismember me, mount my head, and probably sell off the rest of me as meat.
Okay, next order of business, free the girls. I made my way to where they still stood, frozen in Oso's stasis field. Something had to be projecting it, and there had to be some way to shut it down. I scanned the area. There were four small, blinking orbs that screamed "alien technology" surrounding it. I bent down to examine one of them. It was a simple red sphere that was oddly cold to the touch despite pulsing with light, and didn't seem to be made of any earthly sort of material. I could find no buttons, switches, touch panels, or anything of the like on it; it was just one seamless piece of material. It was fused to the rocky ground through some unknown means, and I couldn't pry it loose no matter how hard I tried. Destroying the thing, whether by crushing it in my own hands or smashing it with a rock, also proved impossible. I sighed. If there was a means to deactivate the field, it was likely on Oso's person and, like it or not, that would mean I was going to have to dig him out.
"This is gonna suck," I muttered to myself. Nobody was listening. No need for "oh-so's".
…heh, I'm literally fighting a guy named Oso, while lamenting my tendency to say "oh-so" all the time. Life couldn't give you a better metaphor than that, could it?
All right, it was time to bite the bullet and dig him out of there.
Well, it wasn't going to be as simple as that. Oso picked exactly that time to get his second wind, dig himself out, and fling one of those big boulders at me, giving me only enough time to roll out of the way.
"Good trick, Red," he commented. "Won't work a second time. From now on, I ain't holdin' back." He was holding back? Ohhhh, crap.
To punctuate his point, he produced a device from his belt and flung it at me. Naturally, I wasn't going to hang around to see what it was. I sprinted to the right as it detonated to the left of me in an explosion of unidentified energy. Bad move. He anticipated my dodge and threw a second one directly in my path. I was able to stop myself, but not in time to completely avoid the grenade's shockwave. It hit me like a truck, knocking me back on my own butt for a change.
"How'd ya like my sonic grenades?" he asked, though I could barely make it out. My ears were ringing, my head spinning. "Figgered if you were gonna use sonics against me, I might as well return the favor." He advanced, seeming to sway back and forth… no, wait, that was the entire world around me. I shook my head to try to steady myself and stop everything from spinning. He was coming up fast, swinging his fist on a direct course for my face. I ducked just in time.
"You're only delaying the inevitable, sweetheart," he taunted.
He was right. I was only going to be able to keep dodging him for so long, and my sonic powers were still on cooldown. As much as I dreaded it, at some point I was going to have to throw a punch.
Well, if I had to, I was going to make it count. I swung my upper right fist as hard as I could, connecting firmly with his jaw. And immediately regretted it. Unlike the other girls, I did not know the right way to throw a punch, and throwing a punch the wrong way hurt.
Still, I had scored a pretty good hit. I connected with a satisfying crack, knocking the alien's head back. He stood dazed for a moment, as if surprised less by the pain I'd inflicted than the fact I'd actually physically struck him at all. His jaw was slightly askew; it looked like I'd actually managed to dislocate it. He forced it back into place, grunting in pain, and spat a brown bloody loogie to the side. "Uggh… that really hurt. You're getting' to be a real pain, ya little green trulg." I didn't exactly know what trulg meant, but I assumed it had something to do with my sexual proclivities and the ease with which they could be acquired.
"I'm just getting started, asshole," I replied, rubbing my knuckles. Holy crap, I just said the A-word. Out loud. To another person. It felt so weird coming out of my mouth. I've wanted to say it, sure… lots of times, but Lila Sawyer would never say such crude things!
And yet I had and the world hadn't ended. In fact… I felt more alive than ever.
He produced his knife and lunged once again, this time going directly for the throat, but somehow, that punch had awakened something primal in me, something that maybe didn't know how to fight in the formal manner, but did know how to make someone hurt. I dodged his knife arm as it stabbed toward me and grabbed his wrist with my two right hands, twisting it as hard as I could, forcing him to drop the knife. I followed that up by slamming my lower-left fist into what would be the solar plexus on a human. It turned out whatever species he was had something like that too, since he reacted just like a human being would. Hoping for at least one other similarity in human and alien anatomy, I brought my knee up into his crotch. A cheap shot, to be sure, but anything goes when you're fighting for your life. Another pained grunt rewarded my gamble.
This final kick knocked something loose from his belt. It was some kind of boxy thing, with a red blinking light that matched the exact blink rate as the four field generators and it probably wasn't too wild of an assumption to guess that it was the control device. I pushed Oso aside and lunged for the device as is skidded across the floor of the quarry.
"Hey!" he yelled as I snatched it up. "Give that back!"
"So I'm right. This IS important. What happens if I press this panel…"
The device responded with a chirp and immediately the shimmering field around my friends faded away."
"-rap metal!" shouted Rhonda , discharging a blast of electricity from her hands at nothing. She shook her head, disoriented. "Wait, wasn't he over there? And when did Lila get here?"
Helga rubbed her temples. "Is it just me, or did everything taste sort of red there for a moment?"
"Forget this," Oso declared. "If one of you is this much trouble, I ain't dealin' with four at once. I'm outta here." He whistled for his space bike and leapt up to jump on it as it streaked by.
"Could someone please tell me what just happened?" demanded Helga.
"I kinda have to get back to my babysitting job," I said, "but I'll give you all the details later. But the short version is… I just kicked that guy's ass."
The three girls stared. "Did… you just say-" stammered Phoebe.
"Yes, Phoebe… I'm certain I did," I replied, a shit-eating grin on my face. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like someone to catch me because I'm ever-so-sure I'm about to keel over from exhaustion."
Well, I did manage to stay upright, but Rhonda was nice enough to give me an escort back home.
"You're sure you're all right?" Rhonda asked as she dropped me off.
"A bit tired, a bit dehydrated. Nothing a sports drink and a nice sit won't cure."
"Seriously though. You simply must tell us how you beat that guy."
"Later. I promise I'll give you girls the full play-by-play. For now…" I let myself in. "Oskar!" I called. "I'm back! Did you behave yourself while I was-"
"LILA!" Oskar practically tackled me (to the extent a six-year-old can tackle a super-strong teenager) hugging me tightly. A far cry from the standoffish boy from earlier in the day. "Didja beat that ugly green guy?"
"Of course I did. I told you I'd be fine. Now, be a dear and get me a Nutra-water from the fridge. I am completely wiped out."
As if suddenly realizes how mushy he was being, Oskar suddenly let go. "I wasn't worried."
"I know," I said, flopping down.
"…but I'll go get you that drink now," he said scurrying off.
"So that's Oskar?" Rhonda asked. "Rhia was raving about him when I stopped at home to change."
"Oh really," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Young love?"
"Who knows. Speaking of… I… have to admit something. This is going to be difficult for me…" She took a deep breath. "You were right. The orange costume does look better on you. I… was wrong. About fashion. Ugh. I feel dirty now."
"Confession is good for the soul, Rhonda," I assured. "And anyway… I think I may need your help in that regard very soon."
"You do? You always seemed very happy with your look."
"Yes, well… I've felt like it's been time for a change for a while now. And I don't just mean going from two braids to one. I mean something major.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes, I'm ev – yes. Come September, South Hillwood High is going to see a new Lila Sawyer."
A.N.: What does she mean? You'll find out soon enough. She's not going to go bad or anything… I think we've seen more than enough of that. But we'll be seeing a whole new side of her.
Jose: Good idea, but not quite how things worked out.
PenguinLord: I hope not. Lawyers are expensive! But yeah, I was pretty shameless about it.
See you all next time!