Chapter 21: Girl Fight
It was well past midnight when Riley found herself sitting alone at a table in Home Bases' large cafeteria. After the harrowing events of that evening, the AVL had elected to let the Big Hero 9 to spend the night at Home Base, setting up cots for the heroes and their family members. But try as she might, Riley found herself unable to sleep, and after spending some time tossing and turning, she had elected to get up and wander through Home Base's largely empty halls until she had found her way to the cafeteria.
Currently, Riley sat staring at the space in front of her, trying her best to banish the images that were still running through her head.
"Fear, you need to calm down!" Sadness said in Riley's mind, "You're overloading the system!"
"Calm down!?" Fear screeched back, loud enough to make Riley wince in pain, "Calm down!? How do you expect me to calm down when, for all we know, we're still trapped in some endless nightmare by a supervillain!?"
"Literally nothing is happening right now!" Disgust screamed, "You freaking out right now is just making everything worse!"
"Alright, come on guys," Joy spoke up, clearly trying to hide the worry in her voice, "We're okay."
"I'm okay," Riley repeated as she closed her eyes, hoping against hope that if she believed it strong enough that it would become true, "I'm okay."
"You okay?" a voice asked, causing Riley to start in surprise.
Opening her eyes, Riley found Tip standing next to her, looking at her with a concerned expression.
"Not really," Riley admitted with a tired tone, "Couldn't sleep?"
"Nah," Tip replied with a shake of her head as she sat down next to Riley before rubbing gingerly at her neck.
"How's your throat?" Riley asked with concern.
"Alright," Tip answered with a shrug, "It only hurts when I talk, eat, drink and breath."
Riley didn't need to be an empath to note her friend's bitterness.
"You want to talk about it?" Riley inquired.
"Are you even in a position to talk about it?" Tip questioned in return as she arched an eyebrow at Riley.
"It will take my mind off things," Riley replied with a shrug, "So what's bothering you?"
"I got hurt real hurt tonight," Tip explained with a sigh, "This is honestly the first time I've really felt like I could die doing this stuff. And my Mom seeing all of it just made it ten times worse."
"Does your mom want you to stop?" Riley inquired.
"No," Tip answered with a shake of her head, before amending, "Well, yes. But in the same way that I'm sure your parents do. She worries about me, but she couldn't ask me to stop because she sees all the good we do."
"So, what is it?" Riley asked.
"It's just….tonight….I felt so….so powerless!" Tip replied, frustration clear on her face, "I'm not like the rest of you. I don't have anything to fall back on without the van. I'm not special."
"Of course you're special," Riley insisted, "You're the only one who could ever pilot that van."
"That's not true, and you know it," Tip argued, "The only reason I've ever been able to fly that van is because Oh designed the controls after a video game literally hundreds of other people have played. Without the gear, you guys still have superpowers or super smarts or even martial arts. I've got nothing."
"Well, we can fix that," Riley pointed out, "I mean when it comes to martial arts, you have my tai chi, Wasabi's karate or Go Go's taekwondo to pick from. Any of us would be willing to teach you. And beyond that, I'm sure Hiro or Oh would be willing to whip you up some tech to help you if you ever get in situations like this again."
"I guess," Tip answered with a shrug, looking uncertain.
"Tip, you're a big part of this team, whether you want to acknowledge it or not," Riley said as she reached out and laid a hand on Tip's shoulder, "We couldn't do any of this without you."
"Thanks," Tip replied as she smiled at Riley and laid a hand on top of the one the other girl had on her shoulder, "You're really good at this stuff. You should be a psychiatrist or something."
"I suppose my powers do give me an edge with that," Riley observed before her expression turned morose, "Speaking of which, I should probably be looking to go back to my psychiatrist after everything that happened tonight."
"Ugh, tell me about it," a new voice said as Lucy suddenly sat down at the table with the girls, a haggard expression on her face and a cup of coffee in her hand. As the girls blinked at her in surprise, a look of chagrin passed over Lucy's features.
"Sorry, that was a private conversation, wasn't it?" Lucy questioned apologetically.
"It's alright," Riley answered with a shrug before a pensive expression spread across her features, "Agent….Wilde, right?"
"Yeah, but you kids can just call me Lucy," the redhead replied with a shrug, before pointing at them individually, "Riley and Tip, correct?"
"Yeah," Tip confirmed as she and Riley nodded.
"Isn't it a little late for you two to be up?" Lucy questioned as she brought her cup up to her lips, "Not that I'm one to talk, obviously."
"Couldn't sleep with all the crazy stuff that happened tonight," Riley explained.
"I hear that," Lucy replied as she took a sip of her coffee, "I'm up late because I'm the one who has to figure out this whole undercover idea, which is turning out to be way more complicated than even I expected it to be."
Sighing, Lucy leaned her elbow against the table and propped her head up with her hand, before a thought seemed to come to her as she looked at the girls.
"Hey, crazy idea," Lucy said, "But we're all on the same team now, and I think there's a part of this that you two could help me with. You think you guys could help me out?"
"Um, sure," Riley replied uncertainly, glancing at Tip who shrugged and nodded in agreement, "But what could you need our help with?"
Lucy's only reply was to smile knowingly.
The next day,
Margo sighed as she walked through the halls of her school, looking around with an anxious expression. She was currently dressed in a black t-shirt under an olive jacket, along with a plaid skirt and red sneakers. As she continued her search, Margo paused by a window, her eyes going wide as she saw something outside.
"Oh no, no, no!" Margo exclaimed as she quickly ran from the window.
A few moments later, Margo ran out of the school and onto the field behind the building. Before her was a group of girls surrounding two others. While the girls forming the circle were all Margo's age, the two in the center were younger. The older of the two had Caucasian features, blue eyes and spikey blonde hair. She wore a pink and magenta striped sweater with a matching ski hat, along with a mauve skirt, maroon leggings and white shoes. The younger girl had Caucasian features, brown eyes and jet black hair that she wore in a short ponytail at the top of her head, held in place by a red scrunchie. She wore a yellow and black striped t-shirt and a pair of denim overalls, along with white shoes on her feet.
"Give it back!" the blonde shouted angrily as she tried to snatch the backpack that the girls were tossing back and forth to keep out of her reach, "Quit being jerks!"
"Who's going to make us?" one of the other girls, roughly Margo's age but about a head taller, dressed in blue jeans and a blue jacket over a white t-shirt, asked in a mocking voice, "Your parents? Oh, that's right, you don't have any!"
By that point, Margo had reached the group, and hopped up to snatch the backpack out of the air as the bullies passed it to one another. Stepping into the center of the group, Margo quickly handed the backpack to the youngest girl before standing between the girls at the center and the tallest bully.
"Oh good," the tallest bully said as she placed her hands on her hips and sneered down at Margo, "The third little old lady is here."
"Leave Edith and Agnes alone, Ashley," Margo growled as she glared back at the bully.
"And like I said before, who's going to make me?" Ashley replied, "Your parents?"
"Newsflash, stupid!" the blonde girl shouted angrily, "We got adopted."
"Edith!" Margo hissed in warning as she glanced back at the girl.
"Yeah, well, we'll see how long that lasts," Ashley observed, "I'm sure whoever adopted you will come to their senses soon enough and toss you in the garbage just like your real parents did."
Snarling in fury, Edith aggressively stepped towards Ashley, but was stopped as Margo reached out and placed her hand against the younger girl's chest. Seeing this, Ashley smirked and turned her attention back towards Margo.
"Of course, I guess I can't say the same thing about you, can I, Margo?" Ashely questioned, "After all, your parents wanted you. They just, you know, died."
At this, Margo's face paled and her eyes went wide.
"It happened right in front of you, right?" Ashley questioned as she leaned down so she was level with Margo, "That's why you cry sometimes in class, isn't it? Because you watched you watched your mom and dad die."
Margo said nothing in reply as she continued staring at Ashley, her breath increasing in pace as her hands balled into fists.
"You remember that time you wet yourself in gym class?" Ashley inquired with a stage whisper, "Crying for your dead mommy and daddy like a little ba-"
It was at that moment that Margo punched Ashley square in the face, wide-eyed shock still plastered across the smaller girl's features Letting out a cry of pain and alarm, Ashley stumbled back while clutching her nose, while all the other girls stared at her and Margo in surprise. After a moment, Margo snapped out of the daze she had been in and seemed to realize what had just happened.
"Run!" Margo yelled as she spun to face the other girls and gestured emphatically for them to flee, "Runrunrun!"
"Don't just stand there!" Ashley shouted as she recovered and looked around at the others while Margo, Edith and Agnes ran away, "Get them!"
At that, the bullies sprang into action and chased after the three girls, Ashley running along with them. The chase continued off the school campus, down the street and into a nearby park. Glancing over her shoulder, Margo saw that the group of bullies were catching up to them and came to a sudden stop, prompting Edith and Agnes to stop as well.
"What are you doing!?" Edith asked in confusion as she and Agnes looked back at Margo.
"Take these!" Margo replied as she took off her glasses and quickly handed them to Edith.
"What?" Edith questioned as she instinctively took the glasses, looking even more baffled then she had been before, "Why!?"
"So they don't get broken!" Margo answered quickly before she gave Edith a small shove, "Now go! Get Gru!"
Reluctantly, Edith and Agnes continued running in the direction they had been going in previously while Margo turned to face the group chasing them with her fists raised. Seeing this, Ashley and her friends stopped in front of Margo.
"Oh, so now the little crybaby wants to fight?" Ashley questioned as she grinned savagely at Margo while her friends fanned out around the smaller girl.
Suddenly, Ashley lashed out, punching Margo in the face, causing the girl to fall to the ground.
"Alright," Ashley said as she stood over Margo, "Let's fight."
Meanwhile,
Sitting in the backseat of a blue sedan, Riley quietly watched as the picturesque suburban scenery rolled by with Tip sitting in the seat next to her.
"So, I have to ask," Megamind said from the front passenger's seat, currently wearing his human disguise, "How were you able to track down Gru so quickly?"
"It wasn't as hard as you might think," Lucy answered from the driver's seat as the car slowed to a stop.
Looking at the house the car had pulled in front of, Riley's eyes widened in surprise. Unlike the nearly identical, white-washed houses that surrounded it, this house was largely black in color, with a decrepit and gothic appearance. Looming a story taller than the surrounding homes with a dying, yellow lawn, the house made Riley think of a vulture perched among a flock of pigeons.
"This looks like the type of house that eats people," Fear muttered.
"Oh please," Joy admonished, "It's just an old house."
"No, I think he's onto something," Disgust spoke up.
"Well, it definitely looks like a supervillain lives here," Tip commented as she looked at the house before glancing over at Megamind as the group exited the car, "You sure this guy is on the up and up?"
"Well, it depends on what you mean by up and up," Megamind replied as the group walked up to the front door, "I don't believe he will kill us on sight, if that's what you're worried about, but you still must be on your guard. Gru is one of the most dangerous criminals on the planet, after all."
Reaching the front door, Megamind rang the doorbell, which could be heard echoing through the house.
"Coming!" a voice called from the other side of the door.
A moment later, the door opened and Gru was revealed, now dressed in a pink apron over a grey turtleneck and black pants, flour staining both the apron and the tip of his long nose.
"Look, I have cookies een ze oven, so I'll keep zees quick," Gru said as he opened the door, not having looked at the group on his doorstep yet, "I am not interested een hearing about vhatever messianic figure you are preaching about, so please, go-"
Gru cut himself off as his eyes finally fell on the group before him, who were all looking back at him with various expressions of confusion. Glancing over at Riley, Tip arched an eyebrow at her friend, receiving only a helpless shrug in reply.
"Oh, you are not who I zought you vere," Gru commented with an awkward chuckle, "Can I help you?"
"Agent Lucy Wilde, AVL," Lucy said as she pulled out her badge and flashed it at Gru, "We-"
Lucy was interrupted as Gru quickly moved to close the door. He was stopped, however, as Megamind stuck his foot into the doorway, yelping in pain as the door slammed against it.
"Gru, wait!" Megamind cried as he grabbed the door and stuck his face as far he could into the crack, "Wait, wait, wait! It's me!"
"Who ees me?" Gru demanded as he stuck his head into view and glared at Megamind.
"Ollo," Megamind replied as he wiggled his fingers in greeting and flashed Gru a friendly smile.
"Megamind!?" Gru asked in shock as he opened the door fully, "Ees zat you!?"
"Yeah," Megamind confirmed as he held up his arm and pointed at the watch on his wrist, "The newest model of my holowatch works great, don't you think?"
"I can not believe eet!" Gru said with a laugh as he stepped forward and embraced Megamind, which the hero happily returned, "Eet's been so long since I last saw you!"
As the two pulled apart, Gru's expression turned awkward.
"So, I know you are doing ze whole superhero zing now," Gru said as he glanced over at Lucy, "Are you here to arrest me?"
"No, no, no," Megamind replied with a quick shake of his head and wave of his hands.
"We're here to recruit you," Lucy answered.
"Recruit me?" Gru parroted in confusion, "Recruit me for vhat?"
"That's something that we should probably discuss inside," Lucy replied as she gestured towards the door, "If we can come in, that is?"
As Gru hesitated, Lucy let out an exasperated sigh.
"I promise I'm not going to arrest you," Lucy said with an annoyed tone.
"Vell, in zat case," Gru replied as he held the door completely open and gestured for the others to come inside.
As the group entered, Gru seemed to take notice of Riley and Tip for the first time.
"Um, ees zere a reason you have two leettle gurls vith you?" Gru questioned as he looked at the two in confusion.
"Right, these are friends of mine," Megamind said as he gestured at the two in turn, "This is Riley and Tip. I had heard rumors about some girls that had come into your life recently, and I thought they might be able to keep them company while we talked."
"Vell, ze gurls aren't here right now," Gru explained as he looked at Riley and Tip thoughtfully, "Zough zey veell probably be coming home any-"
"Gru!" Edith exclaimed as she and Agnes came barreling into the house, "Gru! You have to come quick!"
"Vhat?" Gru said as he looked at Edith in confusion, "Vhat happened? Vhere ees Margo?"
"She's getting beat up by a bunch of bullies!" Edith answered, "We have to help!"
"Vhat!?" Gru shouted, his expression turning furious, "I-"
"I'll help," Riley volunteered as she stepped forward.
Everyone paused in surprise at this, Edith and Agnes seemingly taking notice of the others for the first time. During this pause, Riley glanced at Lucy who smirked and gave her a small nod.
"Who are you people?" Edith questioned in confusion.
"I don't think we really have the time to answer your questions right now," Tip answered as she stepped up next to Riley, "Can you take us to this Margo?"
While Edith continued to look uncertain, Agnes quickly stepped forward and grabbed one of Riley's hands.
"Come on!" Agnes shouted as she began dragging Riley along, prompting Edith and Tip to follow as she ran back out of the house.
"I should probably go-" Gru began to say, a worried look on his face as he watched the girls leave. He was interrupted, however, as Megamind reached out and placed a hand on Gru's shoulder.
"Don't worry, old friend," Megamind said, giving Gru a reassuring smile as he turned to look at the alien, "The girls can handle this."
Gru didn't look so certain, but made no attempt to break free of Megamind's grip.
"Come on," Lucy spoke up, gesturing towards the kitchen as Gru turned his attention to her, "Why don't we have a seat so we can talk?"
Gru nodded in reply and began leading the others to the kitchen, sparing a worried glance towards the still open front door as he went.
Later,
Margo grunted in pain as she fell back onto the hard concrete, a fresh bruise forming on her cheek.
"What's the matter, Margo?" Ashley questioned with a mocking tone as she flexed one of her hands, "You going to cry?"
"Screw you," Margo spat, squinting her eyes in an attempt to focus her blurry vision.
"I guess you're going to take a little more convincing," Ashley sneered as she leaned down and cocked her fist back to throw another punch.
Just as she was about to throw the punch, Ashley heard the sound of feet pounding against pavement a moment before someone grabbed hold of her arm. Turning towards the person who had grabbed her, Ashley found herself face to face with a glaring Riley.
"Back off!" Riley said sternly as she shoved Ashley in the chest, causing the other girl to stumble back a few steps. As Ashley's friends caught her, they all stared at Riley in shock while Tip, Agnes and Edith ran up to Margo's side.
"You okay?" Tip questioned as she crouched down next to Margo while Edith handed the girl her glasses.
"Yeah, thanks," Margo replied as she put on her glasses before looking at Tip in confusion, "Who are you?"
"We don't know," Edith admitted with a shrug, "They were at the house."
"They said they could help!" Agnes declared hopefully.
"Is she alright?" Riley asked as she looked at the others. As she did, Ashley began marching towards Riley with a furious look on her face.
"Look out!" Margo shouted as Ashley threw a punch at the back of Riley's head.
Before the blow could connect, Riley stepped to the side before reaching out and grabbing Ashley's wrist as it passed her head. Riley gave the girl's wrist a sharp twist, causing Ashley to hiss in pain as Riley spun to face her.
"You know, I had a really bad night last night, so I'll give you a break," Riley said as she jerked Ashley's arm against the girl's chest and shoved her back again, "You have a choice. You can take your friends and leave."
"Or what?" Ashley snarled as she caught herself again, nursing her injured wrist.
"Or I make you," Riley replied coldly.
"Pick option two," Anger muttered, "Pick option two."
"We didn't come here looking for a fight, Anger," Joy argued.
"Says you," Anger retorted with a snort.
"Get her!" Ashley shouted as she gestured the other girls forward.
Running forward, one of the girls threw a wild punch at Riley's face. Riley easily ducked the attack before shoving the girl in the back as the momentum of her missed attack spun her around. Two other girls quickly ran around the first and they both tried to punch Riley, but the blonde easily caught both attacks. Frustrated, both of the girls threw punches at Riley's face at the same time with their free hands, which Riley dodged by leaning backwards, using her grip on the girls' arms to keep her footing. Pulling herself upright, Riley used the girls' arms to slam them together before shoving them away, sending the two girls stumbling into the first who had attacked her, causing all three to fall to the ground in a heap.
Their eyes wide in surprise, Ashley's two remaining lackeys circled around Riley and took up flanking positions on either side of her. Stepping forward, one of the girls threw a punch at Riley, but she easily sidestepped the attack, grabbing the girl's outstretched arm with one hand while palming her attacker's face with the other. As the other girl rushed forward to kick her, Riley moved the first between them, causing the girl to take the kick full in the chest.
Releasing her hold on the first girl as she fell to the ground, Riley turned her attention towards the second, catching first the bully's right then her left as she tried to punch the blonde. By that point, one of the girls who had first attacked Riley moved to strike her from behind. Sensing this, Riley twisted the girl in grasp around so they were standing back to back, letting her take the kick that had been meant for the blonde before using the momentum to flip the girl over her shoulders and onto the ground.
By that point, Ashley had recovered and rushed towards Riley, throwing wild punches at the blonde, who quickly backpedaled away from the bully. At the same time, one of Ashley's lackeys rushed at Riley from behind and threw a punch at the back of the blonde's head. Sensing the attack, Riley ducked under the punch and grabbed hold of the girl's arm, twisting it behind her back before shoving her at Ashley, knocking them both to the ground.
Ducking under a punch throw by another bully, Riley shoved her in the chest with both hands, sending the other girl sprawling. Spinning around, Riley caught a punch one of the bullies threw at her before blocking the bully's follow up knee strike. With Riley still holding her wrist, the bully threw a desperate punch with her free hand, but Riley merely ducked under the attack, the momentum of her attack causing the bully to twist up on herself. Still gripping the girl's wrist, Riley spun the girl around, untwisting her and causing the bully's free arm to flail out and slap one of her compatriots across the face.
Spinning the bully back towards her, Riley maneuvered her so she gripped the girl's wrists with one hand while cocking her free fist back. As the bully flinched from the expected blow, Riley paused before sighing as she released the girl and gently shoved her away. At that moment, Ashley ran up and threw a punch at Riley, which the blonde instinctively deflected by slapping it to the side, causing the bully to accidentally backhand the lackey Riley had just released across the face. Ashley and the other girl stared at each other in shock for a moment, before a third bully charged at Riley, prompting them to attack the blonde as well.
As Margo watched with wide eyes, Riley effortlessly fought off the trio of bullies at once, moving among their attacks like a river flowing around rocks in its path, graceful and untouchable. As Ashley threw a punch at her, Riley easily blocked it inside the taller girl's guard, before doing the same with the cross the bully threw with her other arm. Then, grabbing her, Riley twisted both of Ashley's arms before shaking her sleeves so the girl's hands were trapped in her jacket. As one of the other bullies threw a punch at her, Riley blocked it with Ashley's sleeve before using it to trap the girl's arm and entangle her with Ashley. Riley performed the same action with Ashley's other sleeve as one of the bullies tried to kick her, leaving the girl hopping on one foot, her arms pinwheeling as she fought to keep her balance. As Ashley and her two lackeys continued to struggle to free themselves, Riley shoved them at the other three in their group as they rushed at her, sending all six falling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
As the bullies managed to untangle themselves, they all turned their attentions towards Riley as she stood over them.
"Are you girls just about done?" Riley questioned as she placed her hands on her hips, "Because, personally, I think it's time for you to leave."
"We'll be done when I punch your face in," Ashley snarled as she rose to her feet, ignoring the hesitant expressions her lackeys wore.
"I said," Riley replied, her brow furrowing as she glared at Ashley, "Leave."
With that final word, Riley pushed a sensation of fear into all of the bullies' minds. Instantly, Ashley's face paled and her eyes went wide while her lackeys scrambled to their feet.
"I-I'm sorry," Ashley quickly apologized with a shaky voice, "I didn't….I didn't mean to-"
"Leave!" Riley cut her off as she fired another pulse of fear, causing the bullies to scream in panic before fleeing.
Riley watched the bullies run with a smirk for a moment before she hissed in pain and grabbed the side of her head as images of the illusion Mezmerella had trapped her in flashed through her mind.
"Fear!" Joy shouted from within Riley's mind.
"I'm not doing it!" Fear replied, "Something's causing my console to glitch!"
"Stop it," Riley muttered as she scrunched her eyes closed, "Stopitstopitstopit."
"You okay?" Tip whispered, surprising Riley as she appeared next to the girl and laid a concerned hand on her shoulder.
"Y-Yeah," Riley replied shakily, "Think I overdid it a little."
Tip didn't look like she bought this explanation, but before she could push the issue, Margo, Edith and Agnes ran up to them.
"That was amazing!" Agnes declared with childish glee.
"You kicked their butts!" Edith added as she began throwing punches at the empty air, "You were all like bam, blam, kablam!"
"How did you do all that?" Margo inquired, her expression a mixture of shock and awe.
"Anyone can do that," Riley replied with a shrug, "It just takes some practice."
"Sure," Tip replied with a dismissive snort as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm Margo, by the way," Margo said as she held a hand out to Riley, "I take it you've already met my sisters."
"Yeah," Riley replied as she shook Margo's hand, "I'm Riley and this is Tip."
"So, what are you doing here?" Margo questioned as she quirked an eyebrow at Riley, "Not that I don't appreciate your help but I'm pretty sure I've never seen you around school before."
"Yeah, we're actually kind of here to see Gru," Tip explained.
"Gru?" Margo asked in confusion, "Why are you here to see Gru?"
"It's kind of a long story," Riley replied, "How about I fill you guys in on the way back?"
"Sounds good," Margo said with a friendly smile, "Let's go."
A/N: Been awhile since I updated but still had a lot of fun putting this one together. Hope you all enjoyed it as well! As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!