Chapter Two: Meet Ruby or when you meet a kid that's belligerent and bulletproof

Meet Ruby, a wannabe gangster that gets into fight everywhere she goes. The team meets Charles, Cascadia's one true king... as he robs a jewelry store.

Ruby strode through her neighborhood with two other girls, her bat dragging on the asphalt. It wasn’t the best neighborhood, but Ruby kept it safe from other gangs. It was mostly houses, practically suburban, except for the strip mall. Nobody seemed shopped at the strip mall, yet it stayed open with its Wally world, hardware store, and gas station.

            She lectured her subordinates as they did their patrol. “Alright, now you never approach a Walter. They assume you want some s**t and be pissy just by you showin’ up. So, don’t bother them. Wait for them to come to you.”

            One girl, somewhat resembling a bear due to her height and stony gaze, nodded. “But what if I need something from them?” The other asked.

            Ruby turned to glare at her, forced to look up at her waifish face. The girl looked down at her with wide, worried eyes. Ruby clicked her tongue dismissively and started walking, heading towards the strip mall. “If you got to ask a Walter something, bring them something to soften them up. Best case scenario, they’ll hear you out instead of shooting you right away.”

            “Oh,” She responded quietly, her eyes downcast.

            Ruby crossed the street, moving her bat to rest against her shoulder. “I don’t want to owe the Walters anything and don’t want them to step on our territory.”

            She paused, spotting two men at the corner of the gas station.  Both were in business causal, wearing jeans and a sports jacket. Tensing, she knew something was off with them. She saw golden bird pins on their lapels and figured it out. She stalked closer, shouting, “What the f**k are you doing here?”

            The two men faced her, blasé to her outburst. The one in a blue sport jacket stepped forward, while the one in grey hung back. “What do you mean?” He asked, adjusting his cuff and showing off his bulky rings like brass knuckles. “This is our territory.”

            “Says who? Walter?” Ruby growled as she swung her bat off her shoulder.

            The men looked less amused. The grey one placed his hands on his hips, replying, “Sure, so back off little girl.”

            “Little girl?” Ruby repeated angrily. “F**k you!”

            She ran closer as the blue one pulled out a gun. Too late to stop, she hoped that she would get in close enough to hit him before he fired. With a steady hand, he shot her. Ruby collapsed on her knees, clutching her chest. She heard the slap of shoes on pavement, realizing that it was her friends running away. She pawed at her chest, searching for a bullet wound.

Finding nothing but a hole in her hoodie, she stood up. The blue gangster was confused, firing again. The impact of the bullet on her shoulder knocked her back. There wasn’t any pain, though. She smiled. The grey gangster drew his gun and started shooting.

She was slowed down by the pushy bullets, but eventually got close enough to use her bat. She hit the gun out of blue’s hand. Swinging again, she nailed him in the shoulder. He fell down. She held him down with a foot to his chest as the grey gangster shot at her back.

“The notorious RBG can’t be stopped!” Ruby shouted as she slammed her bat down on his forehead.

Skin split, and Blue’s face was quickly covered in blood. She stepped back to let the man scramble to his feet. Grey steadied him and wiped blood out of his eyes. She posed with a satisfactory smile, patting her bat against her hand. “Now get the f**k out of my neighborhood.”

“This isn’t over,” Grey grumbled.

He slipped Blue’s arm over his shoulders and walked him away. Ruby intensely watched the duo get in a car and drive off. She slung her bat over her shoulders before admiring her holey hoodie. She turned around and swaggered off to go find her friends.

+++++

            Paul parked in the academy’s faculty lot while worrying about his first day. Opening the car door, he grabbed his box of office supplies from the passenger seat and slipped out of his car. He walked into the building, heading directly to the main office. Behind the linoleum-covered counter was a well-dressed man. “Good morning,” Paul greeted, setting his box on the counter. “I’m Paul De La Rosa, the new counselor, maybe.”

            The man stood up and shook his hand. “Maybe?” The secretary repeated affably. “I heard about the situation and I’m sure you’ll do great. I’m Arturo Joseph, secretary and assistant extraordinaire. I’ll help you in any way I can.”

            “Thank you so much,” Paul said, smiling. “Uh, do you know where my office is?”

            Arturo pointed to a hallway behind the counter. “Second door on the left,” He answered before snapping his fingers. “Oh, and here are the keys for the room and filing cabinets.”

            Arturo set the keys on top of Paul’s box and held open the small gate, so Paul could get behind the counter. Paul walked to his office, unlocking the door. He admired the simple set up; a desk with two chairs in front of it and a few filing cabinets against a wall. It gave him plenty of room to work. He set the box on his desk when a someone knocked on his door. “Come in,” He responded, checking out his desk.

            The door swung open, revealing two people, a teacher and a student. The student was stout and by her expression, stubborn. Her long, curly hair was kept out of her face with a crimson headband. The teacher goaded her into the room before leaving suddenly. “Uh, hi,” Paul said, immediately feeling awkward.

            The girl stalked to a seat and plopped down. “Hey, you aren’t Dr. A*****e,” She replied.

            Paul uneasily shifted his weight back and forth, watching as the girl crossed her arms. “Yeah, no, I’m the new counselor, Mr. De La Rosa,” Paul explained. “The former counselor quit their job very suddenly from what I gather.”

            “Good.”

            Paul nodded uncomfortably, unsure whether he should sit or do something else. Tapping his fingers together, he admitted, “I haven’t really had an orientation on how to do my job…”

            She rolled her eyes, but for some reason decided to help. “You counsel. In cases like mine, I’m in trouble, so you get to decide my punishment based on previous events and s**t like that.”

            “Okay.”

            Paul walked over to the filing cabinets, noticing that they were arranged numerically. “Uh, you guys have student numbers?”

            “Yeah, 58008.”

            He found the right cabinet and took out the corresponding file. Its width, like a national newspaper, was off-putting. He went to his desk and flipped it open, taking in the first page. “Oh no,” He muttered.

            The girl sat up in her seat, glaring as if she knew what was wrong. “Oh no what?”

            Leaning on his desk, Paul covered his mouth with a hand. “What’s your name?” He asked, his hand muffling the question.

            “Ruby,” She answered. “But that’s not what it says, is it?”

            “No, and I’m so sorry,” Paul said, rubbing his wrinkled forehead. “This is a huge breach of privacy. You shouldn’t be outed to me just because… I’m going to change this right away… Well, I guess after I finish talking to you, but I’ll definitely bring it up to the principal when I see her.”

            Paul made himself a note to talk to Hudson about it. Ruby seemed taken aback with her raised eyebrows and slack jaw. “I’ve never heard anybody respond like that,” She said, regaining her composure. “I’ve been asking Dr. A*****e to change it like every time I’m in here.”

            “Well, I’m not like the former counselor,” Paul responded. “I would hope to say, I’m more open-minded.”

            He smiled gently at her and changed the subject. “So, what brings you in? How are you doing?”

            Staring at him, she seemed to contemplate how honest her answer should be. “I’m fine,” She answered with a shrug. “Some b***h started a fight, and since I’m still conscious, I’m the one getting in trouble.”

            “If I may,” Paul started before putting a hand over his heart. “Damn girl, what was the fight about?”

            “She was talking s**t, so I hit her.”

            Paul looked down at her file, flipping through it and getting the gist that she was a brawler. “What kind of things did she say?”

            “Stuff I can’t repeat to you,” Ruby said stubbornly, moving her hands behind her head.

            That was when Paul spotted the switchblade. “Whoa, you’ve been stabbed!”

            He jolted out of his seat. Ruby glanced down and saw the knife embedded in her hoodie. She pulled it out. “Oh this? It was that b***h’s.”

            Paul held out his hand and she reluctantly put the blade in it. He examined it closely, noting that there was no blood on the blade. “Are you hurt?”

            Ruby scoffed. “No.”

            “May I see your side?” Paul asked politely.

            Ruby nodded and stood, pulling up her hoodie to show an unmarked abdomen. His hand hovered over where the blade should have impaled her. “Amazing,” He commented as he returned to his desk. “How long have you known you had this power?”

            “About a week,” She said bluntly.

            “How did you find out?”

            “Why should I tell you?”

            Paul lifted his arms and summoned his vines. He used them to set his box on the floor while looking intently at Ruby. They disappeared into his sleeves as he rested his arms against his desk. He smirked at her wide-eyed response. “S**t man! You’re Ink!” She exclaimed.

            Paul dramatically adjusted a cuff and asked, “So, how did you find out about your power?”

            Ruby’s countenance quickly changed. “Fine,” She said sullenly. “I was shot by a dumbass gangster, but it didn’t hurt me, so I beat his a*s.”

            “You were shot? You must have impenetrable skin.”

            “Yeah, pretty cool, right?”

            Leaning forward, Paul smiled as he got an idea. “Do you want to join my team?”

            She raised a doubtful eyebrow. “What? Your ‘league’ of heroes? Not my game.”

            “Come on, it’ll give you a place to practice and explore your powers, instead of getting into street brawls with thugs and bratty school girls with knives.”

            “I’m going to be on those streets anyways,” Ruby replied, crossing her arms. “Those are my streets, my neighborhood, my territory. I’ve finally scared away all the gangs. I’m not going to back down for some f*****g superheroes.”

            Paul sighed and pulled out his clincher, “What you did, or rather have been doing, seems like criminal activity. That combined with your power, would be more than enough to have you arrested.”

            “B***h, you wouldn’t-”

            Paul shrugged. “I’m sure coming to our practices wouldn’t hurt you defending your neighborhood. And I’m sure practice will only make you a better guardian.”

            Ruby glared at him. After a moment of silence, she said, “Fine, I’ll go to one of your bitchass practices, but I’m not doing any hero s**t.”

            “I’ll sweeten the deal by making sure you’re not expelled for this fight.”

            “Thanks man,” She said somewhat sarcastically. “My parents would kill me if I got expelled. We good?”

            She stood. “Sure, Saturdays at Aspen Spring Park around 9pm,” He answered, shutting her file. “Oh and, I don’t mind the swearing, but be careful in class. I’d hate to see you back here in ten minutes cause you said something inappropriate to a teacher.”

            Ruby chuckled and left his office.

+++++

            Kris wandered the bland white halls of Flare. The slippers they provided her clacked satisfactorily against the tile. She desperately wanted to find a phone. As her nurse told her, Fridays are call days. She longed to hear Q’s cheery voice and tell them that the plan has already been waylaid.

            She noticed a person appear at the end of the hallway. He looked ragged and fidgety, his feathery blonde hair in disarray. Moving closer, she heard him mumbling incoherently to himself. She grimaced and tried to turn around when he spotted her. “Oh, a newcomer, hello,” He greeted in a timorous voice.

            Kris forced a smile and raise a mitt. “Hey.”

            He walked closer and Kris consciously tried to appear open, placing her arms behind her. He seemed to be trying to make eye contact, glancing up intermittently to meet her eyes. “Johnny says hi,” He said.

            “Are you Johnny?” Kris asked politely.

            He shook his head rapidly, surprising Kris. “I’m Mø,” He answered, making a smile that twitched like the rest of him. “Who are you?”

            “I’m Kris.”

            “How- how are you liking it so far?”

            “Drugs are nice,” Kris said with a little laugh. “I’ve never felt quite like this. Everything else is okay. You are the first patient to talk to me.”

            He scuffed his shoe on the floor, nodding. “Not everyone is too keen on making friends,” Mø commented.

            Spoken like a true veteran around these parts. Trapped in the conversation, Kris chose to ask about it. “How long have you been here?”

            “Only a few months,” He muttered. “I came in a few days after Orange Day.”

            “Oh really, is that related to why you are here?”

            “Yeah, after Orange Day… I started hearing voices… Why are you here?”

            “For s***s and giggles,” Kris said, evasively changing the topic. “Hey, I’ve been looking around for a phone. Do you know where one is?”

            Mø smiled and giggled, replying, “I’ll show you where if you tell me the truth.”

            Kris weighed her options. She decided it wouldn’t hurt her if a schizophrenic, fellow patient knew the truth. “I was putting myself in danger,” She admitted neutrally. “So, I decided to put myself in here for my own good.”

            Mø nodded, though his smile had faded. “That’s a really good reason. I hope you get better.”

            “Same to you, I guess. I don’t really know if you want to get better or… something else,” Kris answered hastily, rubbing her mitts against her arms. “Now where is a phone?”

            Mø grinned and tilted his head to the side. “This way.”

            He turned around and led her to the commons room. She gazed around the room where a half dozen people sat around a TV, a pair played chess, and some others stared out windows. There were three phones bolted to the wall next to a guard post behind glass. “What’s up with that?”

            “The guard?” Mø asked, looking where she was pointing. “Why wouldn’t he be there? He’s there to keep us safe if anything happens.”

            “More like to overhear phone conversations,” Kris muttered.

            “You got the crazy, paranoid thing down,” He joked before shaking his head. “Sorry, Quinn thought it would be funny.”

            Kris chuckled, though it was a little morbid. “It is funny. Don’t sell your voices short.”

            She walked over to a phone and picked it up, dialing her cellphone. Kris listened to the outward tone that mentioned the call was coming from Flare. Q picked up. “Hello, Kris. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

            Kris gave Mø a thumb up. “Hey honey, I’m just calling to check up on you. How are you doing?”

            “Oh, I’m fine. I’m just worried about you of course.”

            “Aww, that’s cute. Don’t be, cause I’m doing fine too. Although, I can’t talk to Dr. Horns until next Wednesday.”

            “That sucks, I’m sure the time will pass quickly.”

            “Yeah,” Kris responded, nodding.

            “How are you feeling, mental health wise? Are they treating you nicely?”

            “Yeah, the, um, antidepressants are helping a lot and I made a friend on my way to the phone, so things are turning up roses here… But I haven’t forgotten why I’ve come here.”

            “I didn’t think so, but you know, take the opportunity to improve your mental health while you’re there.”

            A nurse strode up to her and placed a hand on her. “Curfew is in five minutes,” She said quietly.

            “Oops, well I gotta go,” Kris said to Q. “It’s beddy bye time in the loony bin. Good bye, I love you.”

            “Good night,” Q said quickly. “I love you!”

            Kris hung up with a sigh. She nodded to the nurse, who gently led her back to her room.

+++++

            Q opened the door to let Paul in to the apartment. “Hey friend, you are the last to arrive,” They said.

            Paul walked to the center of the space to see Tae, Theo, and Alicia sitting at Kris’s dining table. “Where’s Kris? In bed?” He asked, facing Q.

            Avoiding his eye, they went and sat by Tae. “She is on a mission in Flare,” Q explained, trying to keep their voice steady.

            Paul loomed over the table. “Why?” He asked calmly.

            “Kris went in to try and find my identity,” They answered, playing with their hands. “We did something illegal, which she didn’t want to tell you about, to get Leslie’s file and found evidence of another person involved with Leslie at Flare. But the name was blacked out, so Kris was hoping that there would be a normal copy of the file in Flare. She got herself put in there to find that file.”

            “Dios mio,” Paul pouted, crossing his arms. “I wish she told me before she left.”

            “She thought you would try to stop her.”

            Paul smirked and shrugged. “Fair,” He responded before clapping. “Alright, to the purpose of the meeting.”

            “There is this man who has left temporarily insane people in his wake as he robbed high end clothing stores. Those witnesses refer to him as the King, which must be a part of his powers. We will case the upper-end streets of downtown like Broadway and Hollywood. Basically, the Marble District. We can go on patrol at 9pm. Any other pressing issues?”

            Theo raised his hand. “I had an idea,” He started, waiting for Paul to give him the go-ahead nod. “I was thinking that we should keep files on all the super-powered people we encounter.”

            Alicia added, “We were talking about this during our last patrol and I think it would make sense, especially if we need to connect unsolved crimes together. More and more people seem to be coming out of the woodwork, so it would be best if we catalogued all of them.”

            “That sounds like a great idea!” Paul commented.

            His hand tapped against the table. “Oh, that reminds me,” Paul declared. “I got a job at a high school and one of my students, named Ruby, has powers and is coming to practice next week. So, I guess we should include her in the database.”

            “I’d be happy to help,” Tae put in.

            Half the team was invested, so Paul didn’t have to put his hand in that honey pot. “Great,” He said. “Go nuts and work on that. Send me the files when you’re finished.”

            Theo nodded, taking out his phone to plan. “What can this student do?” Alicia asked.

            “She has rock-hard skin that has withstood bullets and knives, which is pretty badass.”

            “Hella,” Q commented.

            Silence fell on the group. No one had anything more to add, so the meeting came to its natural conclusion. “Bueno, I guess you guys are free to go and suit up,” Paul declared. “Let’s meet at the Marble district.”

            Alicia and Theo stood up and left after saying goodbye. Paul watch Tae go, conflicted about talking to him. He waited for Q instead, who simply pulled out a phone to transform into their costume. Q hovered by Paul as he asked, “Is Kris getting real help at Flare?”

            Q shrugged. “I know she is getting medicine… She said it’s helping.”

            Paul nodded. “Good.”

            Paul suddenly patted Q’s shoulder. “Don’t worry for her. She’ll be okay. Now come on, I can drive us to the Marble district.”

            Q’s eyes widened to saucers. “You got a car?!”

+++++

            Alicia and Q made tedious rounds up and down the streets closest to the river. Alicia listened to the police phone on her radio as they walked. Her head was on a swivel, trying to detect any misdoings in the vicinity based on eyesight alone. “So, Kris is in Flare?” She asked in a matter-of-fact tone that didn’t imply it was a question.

            Q nodded, face downturned. “She told me she was going to be unavailable because family matters,” Alicia explained, looking at Q. “Why would she lie to me?”

            “Maybe she didn’t want you to worry,” Q offered, unsure.

            Her uneasy laugh echoed down the street. “You know I’m gearing up to do surgery on her, right? I’m already worried for her wellbeing.”

            “I don’t know,” Q said. “Maybe, she doesn’t think of it as a lie. I could be the family with matters.”

            Alicia chuckled a little at the play on words. Patting their shoulder, she reassured them, “It’s okay… I just wish I got to say goodbye before she left. That and tell her the results of our research.”

            “Into her venom?”

            She nodded. “Also, our other data,” Alicia answered before laughing again. “Oh man, I haven’t really been informing you guys of the data we have gotten from our Orange Day research.”

            Q wrapped their arm around Alicia’s and batted their eyelashes. “You can tell me.”

            “To start, it appears that everyone has this extra bit of DNA inserted into their thirteenth chromosome, but only people with powers are expressing them. Which means that anyone could develop powers, but not everyone had the right trigger for some reason.

“The extra bit seems to vary in length based on the powers a person develops; for example, my addition is longer than Tae’s and we think it is because mine is complicated by a cognition aspect. I have to exert will on object whereas Tae must have some special cells that generate lightning, probably by separating ions and creating potential.”

            Q smiled. “You lost me at potential,” They declared firmly with a tinge of amusement. “But the DNA part makes sense.”

            Alicia grinned. “Good, that makes me hopeful that everyone else will understand it, too,” Alicia said. “Currently, Pagel and I are having the DNA additions of everyone sequenced to see if there are any similar sections. We are also doing ‘regular’ research for the Institute by seeing if mice models will react the same way to Orange Day as the humans did.”

            “Mice like Lawrence and Nicki?”

            She stopped walking. “Yeah, how did you know?”

            “I visited them when you guys were doing a CT scan on Kris. The mice were very cute.”

            “I’m sure they were,” Alicia replied warmly.

            Q turned to face her, to ask a question, but spotted an odd sight instead. “What’s that?” They whispered, pointing to something across the street.

            Alicia looked over to see a person-sized hole in a cement building. “That’s not good,” She commented, running over to it.

            Q followed. They watched, confused, as Alicia kneeled to touch the substance covering the hole. “It’s moss,” She said. “Just like before.”

            “Before?” Q repeated, stepping closer.

            Alicia pulled out a small bottle out of her utility belt as she answered, “When Light and I were on patrol, we found a moss-covered hole like this. But, we didn’t get to check it out because cops were coming.”

            Alicia ripped a sample of the moss off the wall and put it in the bottle. She returned it to her pouch, replacing it with her phone. “We should have time to check it out. I’m going to tell the other where we are.”

+++++

            Tae and Theo waited outside the Grand Kattegat Hotel in the southernmost area of the Marble district. Tae admired the solid glass façade of the building. The glass allowed him to see the half-dozen gold covered chandeliers and fine leather furniture strewn about the lobby for people to lounge on. “Man, how much do you think that costs?” Theo asked, checking out the building.

            “Over a thousand a night,” Tae answered shortly.

            Tae glanced at Theo who had an earbud in. He nudged Theo’s arm and jerked his head toward the sidewalk. Theo stared at the hotel once more before starting to walk down the street. “Your database idea is good,” Tae commented.

            “Thanks,” Theo said, smiling abashedly. “I’m not sure how to go about it though. Should I put it all on a thumb drive? I’m not sure if that is secure enough and then there’s the problem of if I lose the thumb drive.”

            Nodding, Tae considered the problem. “You could make it an online database,” He suggested. “Everything could be linked together and organized by powers or affiliation.”

            “It would need to be password protected.”

            “Doable.”

            “Then, we should definitely work on it together.”

            “I have rehearsals during the first half of the week, so Thursday?”

            Theo fiddled with his earbud. “Sure, where do you want to meet?”

            Tae shrugged, offering, “My apartment, I guess. I bet you don’t want your grandmother to meet me.”

            “What? No, you should totally meet her. You can come to my house.”

            “Okay.”

            They lapsed into silence as they passed by a shopping center. Tae kept peeking over at Theo, waiting for him to say something was on the police radio. Theo smirked. “Hey, remember what Espe said at practice?” He mentioned.

            Tae felt his face get warm. “What? Paul ‘liked’ me? That could mean anything.”

            Theo nodded exaggeratedly as if indulging in Tae’s fantasy. “What do you think of it, regardless?”

            “I don’t know,” Tae answered. “He’s attractive, happy, and kind. When we first met, he seemed… I don’t know…”

            Tae wasn’t willing to admit that he felt something for Paul from the start. After a few months of platonic interactions, he had put it out of his mind that Paul had a mutual interest in him. Yet, Paul’s little sister seemed to think otherwise. “I think it’d be cool,” Theo said lightly. “Q and Kris have each other, and Alicia might start dating one of her coworkers. It might be nice have someone.”

            “What do you think about that?” Tae asked, uncomfortable being the center of attention. “You have met a bunch of new people in this short period, are you interested in anyone?”

            Theo laughed, startling Tae. “You don’t know, do you?” He responded good-humoredly. “Well, why would you know? I’m asexual, but I’m glad I’ve made friends like you.”

            Tae smiled. “I’m glad you’re my friend too,” He replied, bumping his shoulder against Theo’s.

            Theo’s phone buzzed with a text. “You know the jewelry megastore on Third?” He asked, picking up his pace.

            “Yeah, five blocks up and a few to the right, why?”

            Theo started running. “Alicia found some moss.”

+++++

            Queen B stepped through the hole slowly, checking the surroundings. It was a hallway for bathrooms beside the main show room. She crept to the far wall and gestured for Q to come in. Q crawled over to her as she slipped off her coat and jeans. Q followed her lead, slipping on their mask. When they were ready, Queen B nodded.

            They moved forward to the end of the hall. A room opened before them. Glass display cases separated the large space into channels. Queen B motioned for Q to stay before sneaking over to a case. She peeked over it.

            She saw three people. One was a woman wearing green with hip-length, walnut hair. She stood stationary by a man wearing all white. Alicia recognized it as an orderly’s uniform. Their eyes appeared to be glazed over as if they were disinterested by the affair. Both were passively holding gaudy, gold jewelry. Holding it for the other man.

            He was wearing an ill-fitting suit. His shoes wore on the back of his slacks and only his fingers were visible from his sleeves. He shuffled about, pulling at his untucked shirt and eyeing the cases. “This one!” He suddenly shouted in a hoarse voice.

            The woman walked to him while putting the jewelry in her pockets. She placed a hand on the case. Green spread from her hand, quickly covering the top of the case in moss. She patted it and the moss receded, leaving a burned out mossy edge. “Good,” The man said, waving her away.

            She returned to her post by the orderly. Queen B thought about the situation. It would be easy to bind the duo in the jewelry they held, but the other had some power. Queen B looked back at Q to see the rest of the team. She crept over to them.

            She held up three fingers, then tapped two against her chest. She pointed to where the people were in the room. Ink nodded. He placed a fist in his hand. Ink stood up and walked into the room. Queen B rolled her eyes, mildly irked by his lack of planning, but charging out alongside him.

            “Bind!” She ordered, the word coming out as a bullet.

            The jewelry the orderly held jumped into motion, melding together and wrapping him up. He fell. Jewelry from the woman’s pockets emerged and she struggled with them, turning them to moss as they touched her skin. She wasn’t going to be stopped easily.

            Queen B ran at her with Eon a few steps behind. “Hey! What are you doing?” The bedraggled man asked, stalking towards them.

            Ink intercepted him, wrapping him in his vines. “You are under arrest.”

            “Arrest?” He repeated with mild surprise. “You can’t arrest a king.”

            Ink felt a headache come over him. “You can totally arrest royalty,” He countered. “And you’re no king.”

            The man struggled in Ink’s grip as the woman unleashed a new power. Placing a hand on the ground, she summoned moss to trap the others. It spurted from the ground beneath Queen B’s feet, binding her feet. She tried to pull her feet out of it to no avail. She looked over to see Eon and Light in a similar situation. “Burn,” She said.

            It burst into flames. She allowed herself a satisfactory smile before rushing to help Light as the moss crept up to his calves. Eon placed his hands together, causing his hair to stand up on its ends. The moss making its way up his legs browned and withered. Freeing himself, he decided to attack the woman while she was focusing on growing moss.

            “I am King Charles!” The man shouted. “Dauphin to Cascadia! Kneel before me.”

            A worsening pain in his head brought Ink to his knees, releasing the King from his vanishing vines. The others collapsed as the woman diligently kneeled. “I can forgive your transgressions,” The King said genially. “After all, not everyone has heard of my return… Soon as my preparations are complete, all shall know.”

            The pain faded, leaving behind a daze. Ink couldn’t be bothered to move through the fog in his head. His eyes rolled to the side to see that his teammates were immobile as well. “Moss, my dear,” The King called, waving her over. “I think it’s best if we go.”

            Moss walked over and bowed. “My liege, they destroyed most of the jewelry you picked out,” She responded dully.

            The King sighed. “Free the guard and grab what you can… Before they go mad.”

            Moss bowed again and strode over to the orderly, melting the jewelry chains into moss. They quickly gathered up most of the untouched jewelry before following their King out of their escape hole. Ink watched them go, unable to feel the anger that he normally would due to the haze. He thought of getting up, but remained frozen, kneeling.

            Minutes passed and the stupor slowly faded. Ink stood, turning to the others who were recovering. Queen B helped Light free himself from the moss. “What happened?” Light asked, rubbing his legs.

            “That must have been his power,” Queen B said. “But I thought he was supposed to drive people mad.”

            “I don’t know,” Ink replied. “Maybe he didn’t spend enough time with us to drive us mad. Do you guys feel that pain when he spoke?”

            The others nodded. Q stepped closer to Ink, holding their head. “It was the worst headache I’ve ever had,” Q commented. “Do you think that’s part of his power? The pain?”

            “Probably, or maybe a side effect? I don’t know.”

            Ink straightened up. “But we’ll do better next time...”