Chapter Nine: When a caged birds sings and a stray cat prowls

Kris finds herself in a new room. Paul finds out who the Siren is. There's also a baby! And then, there's the Lioness.

Kris opened her eyes to a plain cement ceiling with a weak, fluorescent light. She rolled off a thin cot to see matching cement walls. She groaned when she saw the metallic barred door. Approaching it, she spotted a guard outside. She wrapped her hands around some bars, examined the outside. It was painted brick with faux lighting, so they might be underground. “Hey bud,” Kris called to the guard. “Where am I? How did I get here? What time is it?”

             He didn’t answer, turning away and disappearing from her sight. Kris sighed. She rattled the bars in frustration. “Is anybody out there? Please? Where am I?”

             “You’re still in Flare,” A disembodied voice said.

             It was weird as if the person whistled as they talked. “Who are you?” Kris asked, pressing her face against the bars. “What’s your name?”

             “They call me Cyrano,” The airy voice said. “I also have a friend here, Verne.”

             “Hi,” Another voice croaked.

             “Where are we in Flare?”

             “This is where they keep the super-powered people,” They answered.

             That didn’t answer her question, but maybe Cyrano didn’t know precisely. “Oh, what can you do?”

             Cyrano chittered. Kris was thrown off by the odd laugh, almost missing their answer. “I can fly,” They said.

             Kris chuckled. “Hey, me too,” She replied before jumping to the more pressing topic. “How does this ship run?”

             Kris waited in silence and eventually heard a quiet, “What? I don’t understand.”

             “Umm, how do things work around here? What’s the routine?”

             “Oh, okay,” Cyrano responded. “We get three meals. They have books if you ask for them. Bathrooms are in the cells… Showers are elsewhere and they will take you there if you ask. However, they will try to limit you to one a day.”

             Kris nodded out of habit, knowing that Cyrano couldn’t see her. She looked around her cell to see the sad, metal toilet in the corner. She scrunched her nose up at it. Kris focused on getting more information. “Could I see you? Is there any socializing?”

              “No, I am sorry,” Cyrano said. “It has been a long time since I have seen someone who was not a guard.”

             “What?” Kris said with stunned outrage. “How can that be legal? That’s on par with solitary confinement.”

             Cyrano didn’t respond, making Kris feel more uncomfortable. “How long have you been here?”

             “Too long, I have stopped keeping track.”

             There was an unfathomably sad tone to their voice. Kris felt a pain in her chest as her panic rose. At least, she had a backup plan, an emergency exit. “Do you think I could call someone?”

             Dr. Horns walked into her view, seeming to invade her somewhat private conversation. “No, you cannot,” He answered.

             “Hey doc, what’s happening here is not legal!”  She shouted, unable to feel true anger about the situation over her growing fear. “We’re not criminals.”

             Dr. Horns put his hands in his pockets, and he sighed. “Well, they’re not,” He replied, referring to Cyrano and Verne probably. “But you, my dear, are a murderer.”

             Kris froze. “What?”

             “The man, a mister Thomas Payne, you killed him.”

             Kris banged her head against the bars. “I was an accident,” She admitted softly. “I didn’t know I had that power.”

             “And yet you used it to attack one of the orderlies,” Horns responded dryly.

             “Is he okay?” The words rushed out of her mouth, her voice cracking, as she gripped the bars tightly.

             “Yes, he’s fine,” He answered. “I acquired coral snake antivenin as soon as you came to Flare, so I treated him right away.”

             She gaped, unable to think of how he knew what happened. “You knew this whole time?” She asked surprised. “Why bother with the charade? Why not have them arrest me and detain me here?”

             “I was hoping we could address your issues enough to get you to confess,” Horns explained, pausing to sigh again. “And for you to want to serve your time here… But you resisted until it couldn’t go on anymore.”

             Frustration bubbled up in her. This man had been playing with her, trying to manipulate her from the very beginning. “Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?” Kris said bitterly. “What? Do I still have to talk feelings with you?”

             “Well, I’m afraid you’ll be sitting in that cell for the foreseeable future,” Horns replied. “We can still talk, but it’s up to you.”

             “What the hell?!”

             Kris quickly moved past her irritation. Her mind went to desperation as Horns turned to go. “Wait, please,” Kris pleaded, causing Horns to stop and face her. “I need to call people and inform them that I’ll be here longer than I thought.”

             “I will inform them for you.”

             Kris knew that that was the best she was going to get. She complied to his standards, politely requesting, “Can you call my girlfriend, Hazel? She’s not on the record, but I can tell you her number.”

             “Sure,” He conceded.

             Horns waited and listened as Kris told him the number. He repeated it back to her to show her that he would remember it. He asked tiredly, “Anything else?”

             Kris wracked her fraying mind, blurting out, “Don’t call my cousin, Molly. She doesn’t know I’m here.”

             She watched as Horns rolled his eyes. She knew he had been holding that back during the entire conversation. Yet, she couldn’t be bothered to care at this point. He answered, “Alright. I’ll see you Wednesday?”

             Kris looked around at her empty cell and the empty hall. “Here?”

             “You aren’t going anywhere, so yes, here.”

             “Fine, whatever.”

             Horns nodded and left. “Until then,” Kris heard from afar.

             Kris returned to her bed, where she worried relentlessly. Here only time and her thoughts moved.

+++++

             Paul decided to call all his students to his office for a discussion. Tae had come in with him this morning, ready to help capture Siren. Everyone arrived around the same time, filing in quietly. They formed a circle around Paul’s desk as Tae sat in one of the chairs. Tiên was upset that they were being pulled away from class, while Ruby commented that she was relieved that she got out of answering a question. Cheyenne had a confused expression on her face as she tapped away on Paul’s desk.

             Tiên looked sympathetically to Paul. “How is your arm?” She asked.

             “It’s good,” He answered warmly. “Looks like it never happened.”

             Cat caught on quickly, inquiring, “Were you hurt?”

             Paul rubbed the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed. “I was shot during one of the team’s patrol,” He admitted.

             “Damn, man,” Ruby replied, whistling. “You’re tougher than I thought.”

             Cheyenne looked at Paul, her eyes widening with worry. “Oh, everyone,” Paul said, as if realizing something. “This is Cheyenne, our resident speedster. She hasn’t been able to come to practice yet.”

             John waved silently and Tiên nodded. Standing up, Paul declared, “Alright to business.”

             He slowly met the gaze of everyone in the room. “Would any of you be willing to join the team full time?” He continued. “As in, go on patrols with us.”

             John spoke first while shoving his hands in his jean pockets. “I can’t,” He said plainly. “I’m too busy with sports.”

             “Same,” Ruby interjected. “I’m hella busy patrolling my own turf… I can keep my area safe though.”

             Paul nodded, accepting their responses. He looked to Tiên, who was conflicted. “I am busy with academics,” She said quietly. “I’m trying to take college courses next semester. But, I won’t turn away injured people, so maybe we can work out a compromise.”

             Paul smiled at her, trying to reassure her. “I’m sure we can take people over to your home whenever we need your healing powers.”

             Paul faced Cat and Cheyenne. Cat shrugged. “I don’t care either way.”

             “I’m taking that as a yes,” Paul replied cheerily.

             Cheyenne blinked and quit tapping. “Sure,” She said. “But I don’t know what that means.”

             “Well, generally we go on patrols a few times a week at night,” Paul explained. “The patrols involve walking around and listening to the police radio. Currently, we are trying to find a certain man who is attacking the Pearl district, so we have been patrolling that area.”

             “Who’s the man?” Cheyenne asked.

             Paul’s eyebrows scrunched together as he contemplated how much he should say. Tae nodded to him and gestured he should share it all. “We have been calling him the King because he has a delusion that he is the king of this land or something. He also has two accomplices. He is pretty scary because he has some sort of mind control abilities… He was able to stop us all with a sentence.”

             Ruby scoffed and crossed her arms. She responded, “Why don’t you wear earplugs?”

             Paul paused, processing her response, before laughing. “We didn’t think of that,” Paul commented, glancing at Tae who bemusedly shrugged. “Hm, last time we came across this guy, the police came… We might’ve been at a disadvantage if we couldn’t hear what the King was saying to them. But that could definitely work.”

             Paul thought about the new tactic. The King could shout and be heard or maybe the person didn’t need to hear the King to be affected by his words. It’s not perfect, but it would be worth a try. He realized that the students were waiting around. “Oh, sorry,” He said. “Thank you for your time. You guys are free to go.”

             The teens turned to go, Tiên being the first out of the door. “Hey, Cat and Cheyenne,” Paul called as Ruby and John left. “We can get you uniforms later this week.”

             Cat nodded as Cheyenne replied with a dopey smile, “Okay, cool.”

             Paul smiled and bade them a good day. Once they had left, shutting the door behind them, Paul met Tae’s gaze. He smiled nervously. “You can change in here, while I step out to talk to Arturo about Miranda,” He said, stepping out from behind his desk.

             “Alright,” Tae replied.

             He stood up, grabbing his small duffle bag. He waited for Paul to leave before locking the door. Changing quickly, he stuffed his old clothes into the bag. He dug out ear plugs in a plastic baggy, smirking to himself. Tucking it in his pocket, he stowed his bag. He unlocked the door and waited. Paul reappeared in a hurry. “Come on, we gotta find somewhere to hide you,” He said.

             Tae looked around exaggeratedly before raising an eyebrow at Paul. Paul felt his face get flushed as he nodded. “You’re right,” He responded. “Uh, you can hide under the desk and I’ll just stand in front of it. Sounds good?”

             Tae gave him a thumbs-up and disappeared beneath his desk. Paul smiled before being startled by a knock on the door. He went and opened it. A makeup-covered teen with big glasses and a perplexed look stood there. “Miss Sanger?” He inquired. “Come in and have a seat.”

             Paul shut the door behind her and went to lean on his desk. Sitting down, Miranda pushed her glasses onto her head to hold back her bangs. She stared at Paul with that same expression. “What is this about?” She asked.

             Paul crossed his arms. “Not much,” He assured. “How did you do on your chemistry test?”

             Smiling haughtily, she played with her hair. “Practically perfect,” She answered.

             “That’s interesting,” Paul commented. “Because you haven’t been doing so good on other tests.”

             Her eyes narrowed, her smiling fading slightly. “I studied really hard this time,” She said steadily. “I even got help from my teacher.”

             Paul didn’t believe her, but he wasn’t ready to press her further. “That’s great,” He replied before changing topics. “You are the first chair soprano in the school choir?”

             She nodded. “Not a lot of people are happy with that,” He continued. “They think you cheated or bribed the teacher.”

             She rolled her eyes. “Those people are just jealous they don’t have my talent,” She responded dismissively.

             She seemed a bit suspicious, being unnecessarily defensive. Paul knew he ran out of questions that weren’t too nosy. “Do you know Metis Ionia, the man who broke into the school?”

             Her jaw dropped, her eyes popping. Her reaction nearly elicited a smirk from Paul. “No,” She answered, failing to hide her surprise. “Why would you ask?”

             Paul resisted feeling overconfident as he addressed her. “Because these things are connected,” Paul said, shifting to rest his hands on his desk. “It’s all connected to your power. You can sing and entrance people to obey your will.”

             Miranda tensed, digging her manicured nails into the armrests. “That’s crazy,” Miranda declared, bristling. “Why would you think that?”

             “I just listed them,” Paul started, steadying himself. “You cheated to be a lead singer in the choir. You tried to get Mr. Ionia to steal test answers for you and when that failed, you went to the source, manipulating the teacher.”

             Miranda’s face became unreadable. She looked down, thinking. She finally growled, “Who would believe you?”

             “The man can identify your voice,” Paul said simply. “And I have connections with the police.”

             Miranda’s nose quickly scrunched as her face morphed into a mask of rage. She opened her mouth to sing. Paul banged on his desk. Tae sprung out from his hiding space. He tackled her out of the chair, causing her glasses to fly. Pinning her to the ground, Paul rushed over to cover her mouth with duck-tape.

             Tae skillfully rolled her over to put hand cuffs on her. Now incapacitated, Tae stood up and brushed off his costume. He took out his ear plugs. Paul sat on his desk, rubbing his shoulders. “Thanks, mate,” Paul said with a sigh of relief. “We need to hand her over to the police.”

             He paused, picking up a pad and pen. Scribbling down something, he continued, “I think I’ll call them and leave them an anonymous tip… Give them this note,” He handed Tae a piece of paper. “It has Mr. Ionia and the chemistry teacher’s contact info, so they can testify.”

             Tae looked at the paper. Circled several times at the bottom of the page was “Be careful with her voice!” He smiled at it, nodding. He tucked it in his pocket. “Do you want to come?” He asked.

             “No, it would draw suspicion to my identity,” Paul answered, appearing genuinely disappointed to say no to him.

             Paul walked over to Miranda. “Would you stand up?” He requested. “You have been detained and there’s little chance of escape, so it’d be best if you complied.”

             Miranda glared at him. Tae bent over and wormed his arms under her armpits. Picking up her deadweight, Tae gave Paul a look. “Be careful with my friend here,” Paul said to Miranda. “He’ll give you a real shock.”

             Paul smirked at his stupid pun, telling Tae, “There’s a back exit if you take a right out my door… I’ll check to make sure it’s clear before sending you out. Um yeah, I’ll tell the police that you are at the fast food place across the street. If you need any backup, call Queen B.”

             “Okay.”

             Miranda struggled in Tae’s grip as he dragged her away from the door. She quickly realized that her shoes would be ruined this way and stood up. Paul poked his head out the door, seeing that it was all clear. He stepped out, leaving the door ajar for Tae to sneak away. Paul turned to watch him go. Tae didn’t look back, calmly keeping ahold on Miranda as she walked to the door. “Thank you,” Paul whispered before going back into his office.

+++++

             Espe ran down the hospital hallway, carrying a big bag. Yellow balloons dragged a few feet behind. Paul followed at a slower pace with the same feeling of excitement. He decided to bring flowers. Paul arrived at Bree’s room to see her holding her baby and Espe fawning over them. He noticed that she abandoned her items at the door.

             Paul smiled as Espe stuck her face close to the baby. “Hello,” She cooed.

             The baby gurgled and touched Espe’s face with its tiny hands. Espe laughed, holding out a finger for the baby to grab. Paul went to the other side of the bed while watching Espe play. He set the flowers down on the nightstand and Bree thanked him. Paul asked, “What’s their name?”

             “Carter,” Bree answered. “It’s a family name.”

             “I like it!” Espe declared, petting Carter’s fuzzy head.

             Paul placed a comforting hand on Bree’s shoulders. “Where is Soman?”

             Bree directed Espe’s hand away from Carter’s soft skull to play with his hands. Espe happily got him to “dance” by moving his hands. “He stepped out to work on your order while you guys were visiting.”

             “That’s kind of him,” He replied before gesturing to the bag. “We brought you guys plenty of baby goodies. Like several dozens of diapers, some onesies, and some toys.”

             “Thank you,” Bree responded, giving him a warm smile. “That’s so generous of you.”

             “It’s the least we could do,” Paul replied. “If you ever need a babysitter, we could visit little Carter.”

             “Yes!” Espe agreed enthusiastically.

             Carter looked taken aback by her loud voice. She made little chirping noises to try to endear herself to him. She stuck out her tongue. “That would be great,” Bree admitted. “But not for a while yet.”

             “You know, Espe is nearly eleven… By the time you want a babysitter, she’d be old enough to do it.”

             Paul reached out and carefully stroked the baby’s downy head. “How long are you allowed to stay at the hospital?” He asked as the baby wriggled to look at him.

             Espe pouted as the baby focused on Paul. “Oh, they want me gone by tomorrow,” Bree joked. “Better for me, because being stuck in a bed for a whole day is going to drive me crazy.”

             Carter reached out and grabbed Paul’s thumb in a tight grip. “Have you talked to Alicia?” Paul said quietly, knowing Espe would pry.

             “She’ll be by tomorrow before I leave.”

             The unoccupied Espe easily overheard the conversation, asking, “Why is Alicia visiting?”

             “She wants to see if the baby has superpower genes,” Paul answered, meeting Bree’s gaze. “We currently believe that everybody has these genes by not everybody’s genes are active.”

             Bree’s doubtful expression suggested that Carter has done no supernatural feats yet. Maybe parents without active powers have kids without active powers as well. Espe started jumping. “So, I could have super powers?” She said excitedly.

             “Yep,” Paul replied with a smile.

             Espe ran around the bed to grab Paul’s arm. She looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes. “Can I get my genes tested?”

             He ruffled her hair with a hand. “Sure, it doesn’t hurt to know.”

             He froze as his eyes widened with realization. “Ah man, I should get the kids to do it too,” He added to himself.

             “Kids?” Bree asked, somewhat uneasily.

             Paul looked at her mildly worried face. He waved dismissively. “Not exactly kids,” He assured. “I work with teens and some of the teens have powers, so I’ve been training them alongside the team.”

             Bree’s look didn’t change as she inquired, “Is that who the new costumes are for?”

             “Yeah-”

             “Do you think that’s a good idea?” Bree interrupted. “Bringing those kids out on the street with you just puts them in danger.”

             Paul understood what she was getting at immediately. He wondered why he didn’t think of this moral quandary sooner. “Well, I’m not making them do anything,” He responded, trying not to feel defensive. “The two that said yes are fully aware how dangerous it is out there.”

             Paul felt tired all of the sudden. He slumped into a chair against the wall. “I know it’s dangerous,” He continued. “But the person we’re after… We need more people to catch him. Without Kris-”

             Without Kris, Paul plowed ahead without questioning his use of teens. Like an idiot. “We are trying a new strategy,” Paul finished. “We should be safe, but you’re right. I won’t ask them to help in this instance… It’s too dangerous.”

             Paul rubbed his arm, recalling what the last time was like. Bree appeared more sympathetic, but she also had a hint of confusion on her face. Rarely did people backtrack so heartily on an issue they felt attached to. Bree had no words. Espe was puzzled, looking between the two adults. She moved past it, deciding to play with the baby more. Paul sat in silent contemplation until Espe wanted to go home.

+++++

             Ink and Light went on patrol disguised as runners. They didn’t bother with their costumes underneath their sports clothes. The person they were looking for would recognize them more for the foam masks in their pockets.

             They ran through one of the poorer parts of Kattegat. It was dominated by government housing, rundown apartment buildings, and abandoned parking lots. They would occasionally pass another person in the night; they tended to wear dark clothes and avoided being seen directly. The people made Ink uncomfortable, but he recognized that they had a reason to be out and about and it probably wasn’t to harass him. Nobody took notice of them as they made their way down Gresseham.

             They passed a convenience store and spotted something happening in its partially fenced parking lot. They heard a distinct, guttural roar and knew. Light nodded and they put on their masks. Walking into the lot, they saw the Lioness in all her majesty.

             She had found a car jacker in the midst of jumpstarting a car. She pulled him out of the car through an open window. She held him up by the scruff of his hood. Alarmed, he waved his gun haphazardly, trying to take aim in this off-kilter position. Ink snatched the gun out of his hand with a vine. The Lioness switched her grip slightly, so she could slam this man against the pavement.

             There was a crack and a sharp exhale of air. Trembling, he stayed frozen on the ground. The Lioness growled, glaring down at him. “Do this again and I’ll eat you for supper,” She threatened in a voice as rough as sandpaper.

             He nodded vigorously before scrambling to get up. He ran away as the Lioness stepped closer to the observing duo. In the ambient light of the parking lot, Ink could make out her feline features. She clearly wore a cheap, foam mask of a female lion. But, she also had bizarre hands with long hooked claws. She seemed to have a real tail as well. Ink was unsure if her legs were misshapen due to the shadows that covered her lower half or if it was a trick of the eye.

             “Animal mask gang,” She greeted, though Ink was unsure whether it was friendly or hostile. “It’s been a while since you showed your faces in those masks.”

             Ink smiled, trying to be amiable. He realized she couldn’t see it and cursed his old mask’s style. Pushing past that, he held out a folded-up piece of notebook paper to her. “Let’s talk sometime,” He said mysteriously.

             She took it and unfolded it. She read it quickly before looking up at the pair with sharp brown eyes. “Sim, aqui,” Lioness said. “I will see you there, Eagle and Bear.”

             Ink was tempted to correct her and give her their real names, but didn’t want to get on her bad side. She stalked away to the fence, easily leaping over it. When she was out of sight, Paul took off his mask and looked at Theo. “I think that went well,” Theo commented, tucking his mask away in a pocket.

            Paul shrugged, resisting his natural optimism that bubbled under his rational façade. “I think we’ll have to see in a few days.”

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