6/5/22
….
Cursed
Chapter Forty-Four: Mistake
…..
The wall between us still remains.
A thick, shimmery, transparent barrier stands between me and Kid Flash. He pounds on the glass, screaming my name, but his voice is distorted and wobbly. His mask is gone, as always, but his face is blurry. Used to, after my dreams I could remember the details. Every feature of his face, from the exact shade of his eye color to the shape of his nose. I would've been able to pick him out of a crowd even out of uniform. But now this barrier has stood between us for so long that we would be strangers. I don't even remember what he looks like without his mask on.
This makes sense, really. It's not like I've ever seen him without a mask in real life. I didn't even realize that he was Kid Flash at first. But I still feel like something is missing, as if my soul has been ripped from my body.
The barrier thickens, distorting his face further. I push my hands against the barrier. It feels like nothingness. Not that it feels like it isn't there, no, quite the opposite. It feels concrete, yet there is nothing physical to touch. I know it is there, and my hands feel something, yet whatever that something is is beyond what I can comprehend. My head spins, and I take a step back. Kid Flash, or what I can still see of him at least, becomes frantic, slamming into the barrier with his whole body in an attempt to break through. He's screaming, but his voice has become so distorted that I can no longer make out the words. But I do hear one voice; a whisper, faint and raspy.
"Just as according to plan. Soon I will be free from this eternal des- wait, no! What are you doing?!"
"Behind you!"
My heart thumps in my chest as I finally hear what Kid Flash is trying to say. I don't want to turn around. I know that the source of the whispering voice is behind me. I know that it's my mother- not the kind one who took me and Felicity in, but the cruel witch who cursed me and made me the monster I am today. I reach my hand out to steady myself against the barrier, only to nearly vomit in shock and disgust once I see what has become of it. My arm has become paler- so pale that I can see blood red veins coursing through it.
I nearly collapse to the ground, but I keep my stance. Panting heavily, I force myself to turn around and face the Witch. Instead, I see not one, but several figures flickering in and out of my vision. My head begins to spin as I look for the Witch, but instead my gaze focuses on the man standing in the front. He is almost as pale as my new skin, with messy dark hair. I reach out to him in one last effort to save myself, and much to my surprise he catches me.
"It's time for you to wake up now," he says, emotionless. "You're not safe here tonight."
Before I can respond, my eyes snap open.
I hyperventilate, scanning my surroundings frantically. I try to calm myself down, rationalizing that I'm safe on Madame Rouge's private jet, but my heart rate refuses to slow. I take a sip of the bottled water in front of me in an effort to calm my nausea, but it does little to help. In the end, I make it to the trash can just in time to avoid vomiting all over the seat.
"Look what you did, fart face! Jinx is so sick of you she literally barfed herself!"
"Oh, shut up baldy! You're the one who smells like he hasn't showered in a week!"
I groan, resting my head against the wall of the plane.
This was a mistake.
"Calm down, knuckleheads. I just had a nightmare," I say, wiping my mouth with a tissue.
My heart still thumps erratically, and I still don't feel totally safe. I close my eyes for a moment, trying to picture the face of the man who saved me. He felt familiar, like I've known him my whole life, but I've never met him before. I would've remembered a face so terrifying. In fact, he almost reminded me of the Witch. But that's impossible. He was helping me, not her.
It's then that I realize that the room (well, plane) has gone quiet at my revelation.
"What?"
"Are you sure you're alright?" Jade asks.
"Did you need some water or something?" Gizmo follows.
A smile creeps onto my face, in spite of everything. Even if they're a pain in my side sometime, my team really does care.
"I'm okay. I just need some time to think," I admit, returning to my seat.
I slouch against the window, pressing my forehead against the glass. As I watch the clouds below me, I try not to think about Kid Flash. It's pointless to worry about his safety- after all, it was my dream, not his. But I still feel uneasy. Sure, they're just dreams, but what if I'm being warned about something? What if they're prophetic? After all, I met Kid Flash after years of seeing him in my dreams. What if these dreams are predicting some oncoming disaster?
I shake away the thoughts, taking a long sip of water to wash the taste of vomit out of my mouth. I'll need to brush my teeth as soon as we get to the hotel. It's unusual for me to literally scare myself into getting sick, but I'm sure it was a one time thing. I'm just nervous, and not used to flying. The dream must've had nothing to do with it. I'm too old to be scared of a bad dream, right?
...
Soon enough, the plane landed and our unpleasant ride came to an end. Gizmo and Jade stayed quiet for most of the ride, but unfortunately their squabbling resumed soon after landing. The lackey in charge of piloting the plane left as soon as we got off, but luckily the packet Madame Rouge gave me contained instructions for our next steps. We boarded a nearby train, exiting at the stop she listed in the packet, and followed the map until we reached a shady hotel.
The receptionist eyes us up-and-down as I present her with a wad of cash and a sheet of paper that were found in the packet. Our uniforms, Gizmo's tech, and Jade's masks are all in our suitcases, but my appearance is still unusual enough to attract attention. I feel nervous about this, wondering if I'll give us away, until the receptionist responds.
"Is Madame Rouge arriving separately?" she asks in a bored, monotone tone. She produces two room keys, laying them on the desk.
The tension melts off my shoulders. She must be an ally.
"Naturally! She was too busy to come until later, but she'll be here soon!" I say with a confidence I previously lacked.
The receptionist removes one of the keys from the desk, pushing the other towards us.
"You're in room 7 on the left."
Gizmo is clearly not impressed.
"You mean I have to share a room with this flea brain!" he shouts, angrily pointing to Jade.
"Why does Madame Rouge get her own room when we have to share with Giz-no?" Jade complains.
I turn back to the receptionist. "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you think we could get a crib for our room? Apparently, we also have two infants."
"Sorry," Jade and Gizmo mutter together.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
...
We settle into our room quickly, unpacking just enough to stay comfortable while still remembering that we're only here for two nights. Gizmo claims the bed closer to the wall, leaving Jade and I to share the bed by the window. I send Jade with money for take-out since she'll be the most likely to blend in, and the three of us eat our dinner in front of an ancient TV that barely works. We flip through the three channels provided until settling on a nature documentary, interrupted by 30 seconds of static for every minute of normal watching. It's a crappy set-up, but I've been through worse and the company of two of my closest friends more than makes up for it.
A video call from Madame Rouge interrupts the peace. The three of us crowd around the communicator Madame Rouge provided me with, waiting to hear from her. I push away my nerves, reminding myself that this is the very thing I've been working for all these years, but something still feels wrong.
"Good evening, Madame Rouge!" I manage to squeak.
Madame Rouge doesn't seem impressed.
I clear my throat, then continue.
"We made it to the hotel."
"Yes, I see that. I did not think you were so incompetent as to not even reach our destination. I would not have hired you if I believed that to be the case."
"She says that but she's not even here yet," Gizmo grumbles. Jade stomps on his foot, causing him to squeal in pain. I clench my teeth, hoping that Madame Rouge doesn't notice.
If she was paying attention to any of that, she doesn't mention it. Instead, she gets right to business.
"Repeat to me the details of your mission so I know you read the file."
"Of course! You're luring the owner of the orphanage off to a charity gala so you can dispose of him. Meanwhile, Gizmo, Cheshire, and I will be posing as your adopted children who are responsible enough to babysit. Once their caretaker has been eliminated, we'll bring the kids back to the Brotherhood's headquarters," I recite. My smile drops. "But what's happening to them afterwards?"
Madame Rouge sighs, clearly disappointed in me for asking. "The children are being sold to a research facility for experimentation. Thus it is of utmost importance that you-"
My heart stops.
"Sold?" Jade asks nervously.
"Experiments?" Gizmo stutters.
"I will admit you brought up a valid concern when you expressed distaste for their being killed. It would have been a waste. This way we will at least make a profit."
I bite my lip, glancing away from the camera. "Couldn't we at least train them to be villains like us?"
"It would require too much effort. With the shutdown of Darkway Preparatory and the Hive Academy, it would be too much work to raise them ourselves. You should be content that I followed your suggestion."
"Yes, but-"
"There will be no more questions. We are selling the children, and that is final. I will see you tomorrow."
With that, the communicator screen goes black, and Madame Rouge's scowling face vanishes from my sight. A heavy silence overtakes the room, with no one daring to say anything. My stomach twists and turns, feeling sick once again. But unlike my nightmare from earlier, this is real. I think back to the Witch's basement, where I was held captive and transformed into the monster I am today. Could I really lead more innocent children to the same fate?
"This was a mistake."
…..
And with that, yet another seed of doubt towards Madame Rouge has been planted in Jinx's head.
Side note, I started a Let's Play of a Pokemon FireRed randomizer, if anyone is interested in that. The starter options were taillow, gothorita, and galarian slowbro, so it seems like we'll be in for an interesting time. My channel name is Katniss Ever-meme, and the first episode is currently uploading (so given the not-great speed of my apartment's wifi I would say it'll be up in an hour or so).
Quote of the day!
"Everything in this room is eatable. Even I'm eatable. But that is called cannibalism, my dear children, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies." - Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
May the odds be ever in your favor,
Spectrobes Princess