Brian Goodman stewed in his cell, staring at the grimy grey walls as he sat in bed. He could hear the cries and moans and angry yells of other prisoners kept here, locked up far away from others. How completely embarassing it was to find himself among murderers and gang members. It didn't help that upon finding out her husband was a thief, his wife immediately started to file divorce papers. Another couple thousands of dollars of debt to worry about, wonderful! Why doesn't she take the house, too? And all HIS belongings? It's not as if he had anything ELSE to worry about!
His hand clenched into a fist as that damned woman's laugh echoed through his mind again. Damn that Siren. Damn her for catching him in the act! Damn her for ruining his life! Damn her, damn her, damn her, damn her!
"Yes. It's all her fault, isn't it? That fey does have quite a knack for ruining lives," a voice refurberated through the room.
Brian stood up in a flash, shocked as he looked around for the source of the voice. None of the other prisoners seemed to react, and the last thing he wanted was to cause a scene by yelling out, "Who's there?!"
"Why, me, of course! Down here, beside you."
He looked down and around himself before he stopped. He saw his own shadow waving at him, friendly as could be. That wasn't normal, was it? Was he waving at himself?
The shadow chuckled and folded its hands behind its back. "So good to see you at last! The Shadow, was it not? I have heard so much of your accomplishments! Bravo, I say! But your most recent attempt fell short due to the meddling of a certain fey, correct?" Brian nodded, and the shadow laughed. "Ah, a common enemy we share, then! You see, she ruined my life, as well, and I intend to reclaim the debt she owes to me. But I cannot interact with the world directly, for I am merely a shadow of the person I once was.
Through shadows, I speak with you, and through shadows, I move. Won't you provide the body I desire to enact my revenge? I can give you power beyond your imagination, speed to match an Olympiad, and you can truly become your namesake. I can aid you in your mission, allow you to take as many gems as you could carry, so those loans that oh-so-burden your mind will become naught but a distant memory. This Siren would be no match between us, as two minds are better than one, is it not?
Should you truly and honestly desire this power, shake the hand of your own shadow, and allow me to give you the things you truly and utterly deserve."
Brian watched as his own shadow stood up in front of him, extending a paper-thin hand. And oh so eagerly, he grabbed it, shaking it fiercely with a toothy grin. The shadow grinned, as well, before the darkness swallowed them whole.
----------------------------
Brilliant lights shined down on the massive crowd of people at the Augusta Shopping Centre, the red carpet rolled out for the most extravagent people to arrive. Footsteps echoed through the two story building, as did the laughter of costumed women. Sammy could hardly believe that most people actually dressed up as royalty, with actual, feathery masks pressed against their faces. Even Diana managed to bring out her best green dress and mask, which made her roommate feel rather out of place with her casual clothing.
Sammy could see a real, live orchestra playing off to the side, as some people took to the pearly floors and began to dance. Diana bolted off to join them, finding a particularly cute woman in a blue wig to waltz with. Sammy couldn't help but feel bad, being at this rather extravagent event and yet not really enjoying it as much as everyone else. She was glad that Diana gave her some space, and wandered away from the action in search of Carlos.
It wasn't too hard to find him, really. He was one of the few people not dressed up for the occasion, casual as could be. There was a fancy, blue haired woman with a purple mask beside him, wearing a simple, yet elegant blue dress and holding up a purple, feathery fan to her face.
"Oh, how the people sing my praises!" the woman said with a laugh. "They parade in their costumes in my honor, and dearly wish to meet the hero that spared them from a world without the beauty of precious gems! And who am I to refuse their offer? Why, I should grace them with my presence as we speak!"
Carlos shot her a glare and snapped, "You can't; the only reason the Mayor is even letting you stay at my place is because I agreed to keep you a secret from everyone! You know how most people react to fey gracing their presence, and the last time you tried to show off, you nearly drowned several guys at the community pool!"
With a huff, the woman put her hands on her hips. "I don't understand why you humans even react as such! We are merely beauty incarnate, born to grace their presence and bless them with everlasting happiness! It is a great dishonor to hide from them for so long, and have another human masquerade as myself!"
"You do know that the whole beauty thing was the reason you got captured by a lunatic banker, right? You know, that experience I would rather not experience again if I could help it?"
"He was human garbage, anyhow, with how he treated all he captured. And his own son, oh... Poor child! He deserved a father much more appreciative than trash that lived amongst him!"
Sammy swore the woman's eyes lit up, burning like a flame. Whatever it was, Carlos wasn't impressed one bit. "Point taken, but the whole reason we keep quiet about it is to stop idiots like those who would capture you, and those who would take advantage of you and blow up the city with your powers. Also to keep demons away, because you know, the last thing we need is a bunch of lycanthropes at my door trying to kill me to get to you-"
He stopped, finally noticing that Samantha was standing there for the past few minutes. "Oh, hey, Sammy," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with a free hand. "D-didn't see you there. Sorry about that." A quick pause. "So, how is everyth-"
The woman's eyes lit up with glee. Sammy blinked once, then noticed that the woman wasn't there anymore. An arm wrapped around her shoulders as the woman dramatically reappeared next to her, whirling around to get a good look at her. "Ah, so this is the little friend you spoke of, dear Carlos?" she asked with a grin. "How adorable! Perhaps it is your... paramour?" She clasped her hands together and sighed dreamily. "To know that Carlos, after several years deep within the pits of lonliness, has finally found someone to share his heart with! Ah, love! Truly the most powerful forces on this beloved planet~!"
"Uhm," was all Sammy could manage to say, brain unable to process the other half of what this mysterious person was saying.
Her friend didn't seem too happy about it and grumbled something under his breath as he dug through his pockets and pulled out some cash. Holding it out, he said, "Please, just leave before you scare her off. Maybe you can actually buy those gold coins you wanted."
The woman was more than happy to snatch the cash and break out into a grin. "Some alone time, to whisper sweet nothings in her ear? Of course, of course! Gold coins, you shall be mine! OHOHOHOHOHOHO!"
Both Sammy and Carlos watched as she made a mad dash towards the nearest Dollar Store. How she could run in heels like those was beyond Sammy's imagination, but she wondered about those silvery, thin wings on her back. Figuring that it was just a part of the costume, she turned to her attention over to Carlos and said, "That was one helluva way to say hello. And I'm okay, I guess! Wondering how an orchestra got here and stuff..."
"Only the finest for Siren Day," he responded before he let out a sigh. "Sorry about my friend; she's unusual even on the best of days. Kind of hoping she... didn't embarass you too bad. "
"I have no idea what a paramour is, so hell if I know, bro!" Sammy walked over to Carlos's side, then gave him a gentle smile. "Guessing that's the actual Siren hero? She looks pretty cool! And you said she's fey?"
Carlos nodded, looking down at the group of people dancing below. "Yeah, she's from the Feywilds. Beautiful, smart, and eccentric. Just like everything is out there. And if you're wondering how she got here... long story short, some banker tried capturing her, I saved her, she didn't want to go back and be alone in the Feywilds, so I petitioned to have her stay at my house, on the condition that she not make herself a giant target and flaunt herself to everybody." A groan escaped his lips. "Harder than I make it sound, believe me."
Sparks flew from Sammy's hands again, excitement coursing through her veins. "Woah, that's awesome! How'd you save her? Like, bro, that's some Sarah Sister level shit right there!"
"Nothing I'd want to talk about right here, but thanks." Carlos's cheeks were tinged pink for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck a little more as he turned his gaze away from his new friend.
"Also, gold? Bro, you gave her twenty bucks! What kinda gold she buyin'?"
"Don't tell her I said this, but the gold she was looking at? Bags of chocolate coins. You can buy plenty of those for twenty bucks. Fey are easily attracted to anything shiny, and Siren is no exception." Carlos winked and added, "Although you didn't come here to hear me talk about fey today. You wanted to hear me talk more about psychics in general, right?"
The sparks became little lightning bolts as Sammy nodded her head furiously. "Spill the deets, bro! Everything you can!"
"Alright, alright! Now, let's see." The elder psychic cleared his throat before he spoke in a more calm, collected voice. "The basic thing you need to know is that our powers come from the mind, and is affected by our mental state. It takes a bit of concentration to use these powers actively when you're dealing with monsters. At higher levels, though, you can activate it with hardly a thought. Psychics are usually sorted into two groups: Psychokinetics and Telepaths. The first group involves actively changing the world around you. I'm part of that first group: I can move and bend objects with my mind. You, too, are also part of that first group: you affect electricity and all. The second is more focused towards communication... or basically, mind reading and speaking.
No matter what group you might be in, the strength of those powers are designated by five greek letters: Alpha, Beta, Delta, Sigma, and Omega. Alphas are the weakest by far, mostly because they are newly awakened psychics. Omegas are the strongest, capable of using different aspects of their powers to their fullest extent. Also more prone to murdering just about anyone with just a thought, but I haven't met one myself. Otherwise, I'd probably be dead."
"Nah, broseph, I bet you coulda handled it fine!" Sammy assured him with a pat on the back. "You told me I'm an Alpha.. what's your power level? I bet it's like, Sigma or something!"
"Prepare to be massively disappointed in me, then," Carlos said, giving her a nervous smile. "I'm only one level above you: Beta. Good enough so that my powers doesn't actually risk killing me and that I have some sort of control, but not strong enough to be considered 'average' by any stretch of the imagination. I've only actively honed my powers for about two years, now. One of those years being when I moved in. So if you were expecting me to be strong enough to crush a man's ribcage or deadlift 700 lbs with my mind, I am so sorry. Really, truly sorry."
"Hey, it's better than nothin', right? Least you have this cool power and can handle it good enough to kick a banker's ass. I mean, it's pretty amazing what your mind can do, aside from like a thousand SAT questions!"
Samantha heard him laugh softly, although he didn't look too happy at all. "I guess," he replied. "It's helpful, but sometimes... I kind of wish that-"
Screams pierced the air as both psychics were startled by the sound of glass shattering. "The fuck was THAT?!" Sammy asked, looking down and watching the crowd disperse in a panic.
"Nothing good, I'm sure," Carlos said with a grimace. Something buzzed in his sweater pocket, and he pulled it out: a phone, vibrating furiously as it played what Sammy recognized as Megaman X music. With a press of a button, he picked it up and asked, "Heya, what's up? Abnormal energy readings at the Shopping Centre? Well, what do you know, I'm actually there and people are freaking out! Funny how trouble seems to find me, huh?"
The color drained out of the elder psychic's face as the conversation went on. "You're kidding, right? Brian escaped out of prison? But HOW?! You guys don't have any idea, either? Dios mio, why today of all days?! Yeah, I'll take care of it somehow. Yes, I'll pray that it's not a demon and it's just Brian snatching gems after breaking out. I can't promise anything about the chocolate, especially anything with the name 'Godiva' in it. Alright, alright, see ya."
Beep. Sammy peered over Carlos's shoulder, curious. "Yo, bro, what's the situation?"
"As you can see, someone tossed a turd right into the fan," came the grumbly reply. "And since I'm already here, I'm their best option of handling this without anybody getting hurt." He shot her an apologetic look and added, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate the hel-"
Before he could say another word, sparks burst forth from her body, Carlos's hairs standing on end from the shot. "DUDE, HELL YEAH I'M GONNA HELP! LIKE, I CAN'T TURN THIS DOWN AND I'D BE LIKE, AN ACTUAL HERO OR SOMETHING!"
"That settles that. Just please, try to stick close to me. Even if you are excited, you're still an Alpha level psychic. I don't want you getting into deep crap if your powers fizzle out for no good reason."
With a thumbs up and a smile, the two took off towards the source of the chaos. A place both may consider a living hell if they stayed there too long...
A Macy's.
No comments:
Post a Comment