5/14/22

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Cursed

Chapter Forty-Three: Prove Your Worth

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6 o'clock comes sooner than I would've liked. I feel nervous about not being allowed to bring my whole team, even if 8 would be a crowd. But it has to be done. It's not like we have any other options. As much as I would've liked the opportunity to show Madame Rouge my leadership potential, I can still do that with a smaller team. I'll just need to pick one I can manage.

If that's truly my goal, then I would need to pick a team that would follow my lead without question. This would probably leave me with See-More, Private, and Mammoth to choose from, leaving Gizmo, Billy, and Kyd behind along with two from the previous list. My first choice would be to bring Cheshire and Mammoth, but at the same time I don't feel like I can fully trust See-More and Private to be left in charge. I could bring Mammoth and Gizmo, then, for old times sake, but that won't work either since I want to keep Jade with me. But See-More was the only one who listened to me during the incident that brought us here in the first place. Shouldn't that be rewarded?

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. It's almost as if Madame Rouge is testing me. Maybe power is the answer? That would probably leave me with Mammoth and Kyd. I glance up, noticing a vase of flowers sitting on a window sill. My mind wanders to the flowers Kid Flash left me. I wonder how he's doing...

What does your heart want?

I bite my lip, considering this question. What I really want is to bring the allies who have been with me from the beginning. Jade. Baran. Mikey. I steal a glance at the three of them. I would still need to leave one behind, though.

I stand up, ready to break the silence. 6 pairs of eyes, and one single eye, turn to my attention. My team. My family. If Madame Rouge isn't impressed by this, I'm not sure what would impress her.

"I've made my decision. Gizmo, Cheshire, you're coming with me. Mammoth is in charge."

Mammoth seems surprised.

"Uh... why me?"

I smirk, patting him on the shoulder. "I think you've got this. Besides, it's not like I can leave Gizmo in charge."

Gizmo scowls, stomping his foot on the ground. He thrusts his arm out and points at Jade angrily. "Why do I have to go with her?"

I can practically hear Jade sticking out her tongue behind her mask.

"You know, if you don't want to go I can always take Mammoth and See-More with me and leave Cheshire in charge."

Gizmo crosses his arms, sinking back into his chair.

"Fine. But this doesn't mean I have to get along with this fart head."

"Fair enough, stink brain," Jade says casually.

Maybe this was a mistake. Why did I do this to myself?

I sigh, grabbing both of them by the wrists and dragging them with me. "I'll see the rest of you after the meeting. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"No promises," See-More says, cementing my regrets.

I try not to worry about it as we approach Madame Rouge's office. While this is certainly a less than impressive team I put together for the mission, Gizmo and Jade will, at the very least, keep me company. Besides, I need to play favorites right now. I'm thinking about Kid Flash too much. I need to remind myself of what I would be leaving behind.

At least, that's how I'm rationalizing things today.

"Ah, you're here. I see you've brought the assassin. Excellent choice. The inventor? Not so much."

I gulp, taking my seat. Gizmo and Jade sit on either side of me, one clearly more annoyed than the other. I fold my hands in front of me, resting them on the table. Be confident, be confident, be confident...

"So, I heard you had a mission for me?" I say, voice cracking.

Annnnd I blew it. Time to pack my bags and move to Switzerland.

"That is indeed correct. Why would I bother greeting you otherwise?"

Madame Rouge slides a thick folder in front of me. I open it, revealing a few thick packets as well as an unassuming family photo. In the photo, a middle aged man is standing in front of a house, holding an absolutely angelic looking baby. Two equally adorable children stand on either side of him; the boy cuddling a worn blue blanket while the girl sticks her hand out, presumably holding hands with an imaginary friend. It's cute. Really cute. I try to hide my smile.

"I will cut to the chase. I need your help in Switzerland."

Oh.

"Recently we have learned of an attempt to create a sanctuary for orphaned meta children. The goal of the sanctuary is to turn them into more crime fighting children, which is the last thing the Brotherhood needs. For the moment it is small, but we must destroy it before it can grow larger."

Jade drags a claw along the edge of the table. "We're not hurting the kids, are we? I may work for the League of Shadows, but I do have standards."

Madame Rogue brushes her off. "We will discuss the details when we arrive. Assuming your pitiful "standards" do not get in the way, we leave on the 14th. If you are too pathetic to listen to reason, there is a young woman named Angel who would be happy to do things under my terms."

My stomach churns at the mention of Angel. Of all the people, why her?

Madame Rouge smirks. Clearly she did this on purpose.

"I will leave you to discuss this now. Be aware that I expect an answer when I return."

With that, she leaves us to our thoughts, alone in the office. There's an awkward silence as we process her request. Though she said we would learn more about the mission when we get there, the subtext for what's really happening is clear. I stare at the picture in front of me. The kids look so happy, blissfully unaware of the targets on their backs. I wonder if I was ever that happy before the Witch took me.

"So clearly that snot-brain wants us to kill them," Gizmo says, crossing his arms.

"I don't like this," Jade says, her voice betraying the slightest bit of fear. "I won't hurt kids."

I bite my lip, avoiding their gazes. "I don't like this either. But it's not like she told us that's why we're going. We all went to Junior Hive. I know it isn't around anymore, but maybe we're just sending the kids somewhere like that."

Gizmo snorts. "In that case, what are we waiting for? If we don't go, that crud-muncher Angel will get all the credit!"

Jade hesitates, clearly uncertain.

"What is it?"

"This is the first time I've ever had a choice."

"I thought you said you had standards?"

Jade shakes her head. "It's just something I've never had to do. Not something I've ever refused to do."

I frown, tracing my finger along a crack on the desk. Jade has the advantage here. She's killed before- Gizmo and I haven't. But like I said, it's not like Madame Rouge told us we'll have to kill them. We just assumed that and stuck with it. This must be another test to prove my loyalty. Just like our final confrontation during the Kid Flash incident. That's all it was- a test. This must be another one.

But if proving my worth to Madame Rouge is all that matters, how far will I go for someone who already let me down?

Is it worth it to lose my humanity?

I brush away the nagging feeling of guilt and turn back to Jade.

"We don't know for sure that she'll make us kill them. And no matter what we decide, Madame Rouge's mission will be completed by someone, even if it isn't us. Shouldn't we go anyways just to spite Angel?"

I try my best to keep my tone gentle. My usual approach for getting the boys to listen won't work here. It must work, because Jade finally agrees.

"Okay, Mal. But only because I trust you. Don't make me regret this."

….

Hi again! And with that, we begin the Hide and Seek arc! If anyone thought the description of those kids sounded familiar, you'd be right ;)

We'll also be seeing Kid Flash again soon. And Mallah, in case anyone was wondering why he isn't around in his own episode yet. And a quick little appearance from Jinx's uncle. Lots to look forward to here, especially since the next chapter is already half-finished ;)

Quote of the day:

"Discus fish will die from stress if they see a new plant in their tank. Meanwhile goldfish are like, 'Dirty pond water! Heck yeah!'" - a meme I saw on a fishkeeping forum

(Clearly my new betta fish has occupied 90% of my thoughts lately if that's the first quote I can think of. I can't help it that she's adorable.)

May the odds be ever in your favor,

Spectrobes Princess