Chapter 6 - Best Friend's Brother

A group of young adults with superpowers team up to fight a villain from another world as well as other small villains. A nice mixture of shopping and dragons.

A couple days later, Kethri was getting ready in her room. Until they made sure she had fully recovered, Azaria had let Kethri and Cael stay in the guest bedrooms. So far Kethri hadn’t been able to do much under the watchful eye of Sasha, but she had finally gotten her to agree to a little shopping trip. Azaria had offered to replace some of Kethri’s clothes since, currently, all she had was the outfit that Azaria had let her borrow. It was cute, but she needed more clothes than that. She also needed fabric since her old “outfit” had been confiscated by Darktalon.

Kethri put on her one outfit and walked out into the foyer. “There’s still one missing!” She heard Amari yell.

"I swear we found them all!" Antain yelled from another part of the house.

"What are they talking about?" Kethri asked Azaria, who was standing off to the side, munching on popcorn.

"Amari’s ducks. Antain thought it would be funny to hide them around the house," Azaria answered.

"No, I’m still missing Quackers of Borg, and if you don’t find him, you’re dead!" Amari yelled back, throwing a rock up the stairs.

Azaria sighed. “Come on, guys, we need to go if we want to have time to shop before all the stores close. We can find Amari’s duck later.”

"What’s going on?" Cael asked, walking up behind Azaria and Kethri. He was fully dressed, but his hair was sticking out like a chia pet.

"Antain lost one of Amari’s ducks," Kethri answered. But then she saw movement behind his back and saw that he was holding a gray colored duck with Borg mechanics on it. "Cael!" She said, exasperated.

"What?" He asked, trying to pull off an innocent face. The duck disappeared. Kethri shook her head. She would have said something, but the situation was pretty funny.

"What did you do with my duck?" Amari shouted up the stairs.

"I didn’t do anything with your duck!" Antain answered back.

"BOTH OF YOU, BE QUIET!" Azaria glared both of them down and they looked at their feet.

"Now, Antain, go away. Amari, let’s go shopping."

"But what if I want to go shopping, too?" Antain said with puppy dog eyes.

Azaria huffed, exasperated. “Fine. Whatever.”

"Oh, if he’s going, I want to go, too," Cael said brightly.

Azaria threw her hands in the air. “I don’t care who’s going, I just want to get the show on the road!”

"Show on the road…" Cael said slowly. "Does that make you my new ringmaster?" Azaria rolled her eyes.

"Why would you two possibly want to go shopping?" Amari asked.

"To pick up cute girls, obviously," Antain answered, looking pointedly at Amari.

She missed her cue completely. “You’re such a boy,” she said, opening the door and heading out to the garage.

When Kethri walked in, the others thought that her eyes were going to pop out of her skull. “Is that a DeLorean?” She asked, running over to it.

"Yep," Amari answered, thoroughly enjoying Kethri’s obvious love of cars. It was something she could connect with.

"Hey, hey," Kethri whispered, nudging Azaria with her elbow. "We should take the DeLorean."

Azaria sighed. “The DeLorean doesn’t have a back seat. We’re taking the Lamborghini.” She picked up the keys and shepherded them towards the car.

"We’re not all going to fit," Amari said, struggling against her friend who was trying to push her into the back seat.

"Then it’s time to get cozy," Azaria said.

"This is a bad idea…" Amari said, looking skeptically at the car.

"Good idea!" Antain jumped in and pulled Amari in with him. She squealed and fell forward, not expecting to be moved from that direction, and still off-balance on her damaged leg. It was already almost healed since she recovered quickly, but it was still painful when it was suddenly jerked out from under her. Cael squeezed in after them.

Kethri paused at the door. “What?” Azaria asked.

"Can I drive?" Kethri asked, still in awe of the car.

"No!" Azaria yelled, getting frustrated. "Now get in the car."

"But…but…but…"

"I said no!"

Kethri pouted but got into the front seat. Azaria rolled her eyes, got into the driver’s seat and took off.

The first few minutes of the trip were calm, but that didn’t last long at all. Nothing but trouble could come from having Amari, Cael, and Antain trapped in the back together.

"It’s so cramped in here," Amari complained.

"If you want to sit on my lap, I wouldn’t mind," Antain suggested to Amari.

Amari considered this for a moment, something she wouldn’t have done if her legs hadn’t been squashed against her face. “Alright,” she said finally, scootching over and stretching her legs. “But no feeling me up,” she warned.

Antain wrapped his arms around Amari’s waist. “What about feeling down?”

"No!" Azaria yelled from the front seat. "I don’t want anyone in this car to touch another person as long as you live!"

There was dead silence for a moment. “Are we there yet?” Antain asked, joking around.

Cael, Kethri, and Amari laughed, but were soon silenced by Azaria pulling out a knife and holding it in the air. “If you value your lives,” she said in a low growl, “You’ll stay silent.”

The silence was instantaneous. All that could be heard was the gentle whirring of the engine. Everyone looked out their respective windows as they drove through town. After a minute, Cael yelled, “Blue one!” And punched Amari in the shoulder.

"Hey!" Amari shouted back, trying to punch him in the face. He put his hand out and caught her fist before it could make it there.

"Nobody hits my Amari and gets away with it!" Antain called, reaching around Amari to get at Cael.

"Hold up, hold up," Amari said, moving to sit back between them, facing Antain. "Your what now?"

Antain looked casually up at the ceiling. “Nothing,” he said slowly.

Azaria screamed in frustration. She pulled over to the side and stopped. “Everybody, out!” She yelled, pointing at the door.

"But I didn’t do anything!" Kethri said.

"Out!" She yelled again.

"Why?" Amari whined.

"Because we’re here."

All heads turned and looked out the window. “Oh, so we are,” Antain said.

Kethri opened the door and stepped out. The mall was huge. For Kethri, who had never really been to a store, it was like paradise.

Antain and Cael immediately broke away from the rest of the group.

"Just where do you think you’re going?" Azaria asked. They both pointed at the food court. She sighed. "Alright."

Cael and Antain ran off but stopped after about ten feet and exchanged looks. Antain ran back with puppy-dog eyes. Azaria sighed and pulled out a fifty dollar bill. “Fine,” she said, handing it over. They ran off again and disappeared into the crowd.

Amari walked over to Azaria and gave her the same puppy eyes that Antain had just used. “What do you want?” Azaria asked, resigned. So this was how the day was going to go.

"I need money so that I can get more food for Kuzco."

“What do I look like, and ATM?” Azaria asked, shaking her head and handing over another fifty. Amari took off.

"Kuzco?" Kethri asked.

"Amari’s pet ferret," Azaria answered.

"Oh." For a moment, Kethri was torn between asking more about the ferret and starting shopping. Finally, shopping won. She could ask more about Kuzco later. "Let’s go!" She said, pointing forward energetically. She buzzed off, feet barely touching the ground.

"I have all the money!" Azaria called after her, walking casually over.

"I can still start trying things on!" Kethri yelled back over her shoulder as she went into the store.

Azaria rolled her eyes. By the time she got to Kethri, a poor young employee had been roped into carrying a stack of her clothes taller than his head. “Alright, you can go put those down in the dressing room,” Kethri said. She turned around and saw Azaria standing there. “Oh, hello again.”

"Poor guy. Do you really need all those clothes?" Azaria asked.

"Azaria, dear. I’m building an entire wardrobe. I’m going to need a lot of clothes. And I’ve never had a lot of clothes. I’ve pretty much had two outfits in my entire life. I’d like some variety. Besides," she added. "He was all too willing."

Kethri went into the first store with nothing and came out with more bags than she could carry. She and Azaria met Amari in the main entrance area and headed to the second store.

 

… . .

 

Meanwhile, Cael and Antain sat at a table in the food court, each with a hamburger, two slices of pizza, fries, a drink, and a slice of cake. “What about that one?” Cael asked, pointing to a girl who was looking at sunglasses.

"She’s pretty, but I’m more interested in that one," Antain said, pointing in a different direction.

Cael followed his finger. “Who, Amari?”

"What?" Antain said, starting. He hadn’t really realized who he was pointing to. "No. The one next to her."

"Isn’t that your sister?" Cael said, one eyebrow raised.

"No! The…the one next to her."

"The mannequin," Cael said, his voice flat.

"Crap." Antain looked down at the table, starting a staring contest with his food.

Cael laughed. “Just keep digging, buddy.”

Antain sighed and focused on his food, his face slightly more pink than usual. Cael shook his head and started in on his food. As they were eating, they sped up, eating faster and faster, trying to finish first. It was a photo finish.

They glared at each other for a moment, trying to decide whether it was worth the fight. “Let’s go find the girls,” Cael finally said, standing up.

 

… . .

 

They joined the girls as they were headed to the third store. Kethri started handing things to them. “Here, carry these.” The bewildered boys just stood there as bags began to appear on their arms. When Kethri’s hands were empty, she said, “Alright, next store.”

It took three more stores before Kethri was satisfied. She had bags upon bags of clothes and shoes and accessories. Everybody’s arms were full as they went to leave the mall.

They were just about to walk out the doors when they heard a scream and whirled around in unison. Kethri instantly snapped into action, dropping her bags and pulling a fabric mask out of her pocket. “When did you get that?” Amari asked.

"Oh, I made it last night. It’s not nearly as cool as my last one, but I’m working on it. I had to have something for my first day out, though. Never know when you might need it." Before she even finished talking, she started hovering, and by the time she did finish, she was flying away.

Amari chased after her. “Hey! Wait up! I wanna help.” She took off and everyone else followed.

The scream had come from a small bank inside the mall. Kethri arrived to find the two clerks being held up by two men with black masks and guns. “You know,” she said, coming down on them. “There are so many other places with more money on hand than this place.”

One of the men whirled around to see her there, hovering a few inches off the ground. “Y-yeah, and who are you to tell us otherwise?” He said. He was trying to be brave but his voice was shaking.

"Whirlwind," she said, matter-of-fact. "I thought my name had spread more than that. I guess I’m going to have to try harder. Although," she added. "I’m not properly dressed. I really need to remake my outfit."

The man looked at his partner and then pointed the gun at Kethri. “Whirlwind? Yeah, we’ve heard of ya. What’s it to us?”

"Well, it means I’m going to kick your butt," Kethri retorted.

"Just you?" The man snorted.

Kethri rolled her eyes. “Obviously you missed the part where I’m flying through the air.”

"Also, she’s not alone," Amari said, coming up beside her wearing a random gold mask that she had grabbed on her way. She could put it back when all this was done. "What?" She added when Kethri looked at her. "I couldn’t let you have all the fun."

"Oh, no, now I’m really scared," the guy sneered. "I -" He never got a chance to finish his sentence because Amari ran in and punched him in the face.

After his friend hit the ground, the other guy dropped his gun and ran for the exit. “Not so fast,” Kethri said, flicking her first and middle fingers back. A gust of wind pushed the robber back, knocking him to the ground. “That’s what you get for trying to rob a mall in broad daylight!”

Amari had the other guy pinned to the ground with his arm twisted behind him and her knee in the small of his back. “What do we do now?” She asked.

"We tie them up and leave," Kethri answered.

"What? Why? Don’t we need to wait for the police?"

Kethri shook her head. “Trust me, we don’t want to be here when the police come. Only major league, well-known heroes like Iron Man can be seen by the police. We’re still just vigilantes. The police would take us in just as soon as they would these guys. And even though we could probably get away, I don’t really want to fight with the police.”

Amari sighed. “Alright.” They found a couple of scarves and tied up the robbers before leaving as quickly as possible. Amari put her mask back and Kethri took hers off as they rejoined the rest of the group.

The car ride home was much calmer than the ride there, but that was mostly because everyone was squished in with Kethri’s multitude of bags. Amato had to come help get the bags up the stairs. “How many clothes did you think you needed?” Amato asked.

Kethri spent the rest of the day in her room, first unpacking her new clothes into her closet, and then working with the fabric she had gotten and a sewing needle.

 

… . .

 

Late that night, very close to midnight, Kethri slipped out of the house. She made it all the way down to the driveway before she heard her name.

"Kethri!" Amari called from behind her, running up. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"Um…" Kethri hesitated. She figured she could trust Amari, but this was one secret that she had been very careful to protect. Not even Ksenia knew about this. And she knew just about everything. "I’m…I have something I need to check on."

"Can I go with you?" Amari asked, her eyes alight with excitement.

Kethri thought for a moment. But then, Amari would find out about it eventually. This would be a pretty hard secret to keep from her new friends. “Sure, I guess.” She smiled mischievously. “Best get ready to run now.” She took off flying.

Hitting the edge of a forest, Kethri paused and looked back. She could see Amari was still pretty far in the distance, but had kept up better than Kethri had expected.

"Why are we here?" Amari asked when she reached the edge of the forest. She was barefoot, so she had been able to run faster, but she was still a little out of breath.

"I have someone I need to pick up," Kethri answered, walking forward.

"Someone?" Amari said, following her into the forest. Kethri just held up a finger to her lips and walked into a clearing. Amari followed and gasped when she saw what was sitting in the middle of it. "Is…is that a dragon?" She asked.

Standing in the middle of the clearing was a glorious dragon. It was almost as tall as the trees around it. Its scales were dark blue and glimmered in the moonlight. Black spikes stood on its back. Large, blue-green eyes gazed down on Amari. She took a step back. “Um, Kethri…”

Kethri was busy flying up to the dragon. She sat down on the dragon’s head. “What?” She asked.

"He’s not going to eat me, is he?" Amari asked.

Kethri laughed. “Only if I tell him to.” Amari took another step back. “I’m just kidding. I won’t tell him to. Down, boy,” she commanded. The dragon but his head on the ground and Kethri slipped off. “We need to make you travel size,” she told the dragon. “Kamus.” Amari watched, her mouth hanging open, as the dragon shrunk down until it was about the size of a cat.

"What did you do to it?" Amari asked.

"Well, shrunk it, obviously." Kethri reached down and picked up the dragon while Amari rolled her eyes. "Now, let’s go home."

"What, no late night adventuring?" Amari’s face fell. She had really been looking forward to fighting some bad guys.

"Don’t worry, we’ll go adventuring later. I really shouldn’t be out. If Sasha knew either of us was here, she’d skin us both alive. I just wanted to make sure my dragon was okay."

Amari opened her mouth and then closed it again. She had a ton of questions in the works but they hadn’t quite formulated into sentences yet. “Alright,” she said with a sigh. They walked back to the house.