By: Kerro Starbane
Hope.
Rikki clung to the picture of Fidget. He knew she was ok, lost somewhere. Maybe she did fall onto X’s ship while it was cloaked, like what had happened to Alex in Washington so long ago.
Hope was all he seemed to have right now, hope that told him she was safe.
Darla quietly came in. She didn’t want to interrupt Rikki, she never did. She remembered Fidget Wilson; very popular among aspiring camera women. She was a role model to young girls who wanted to go into photography, and not have any fears. Fidget Wilson caused rebellion, and that’s all there was to it, rebellion.
Rikki put the picture back in the album, and closed the cover. He turned and saw Darla.
“Need something?” he asked more mournful than he intended.
“Uh, no. I was just wondering where you had gone off to, that’s all... She turned and walked out.
He sighed, pulling out his laptop. A quick entry helped every now and then in his digital diary. No one ever saw it, so, no need to think about what they would see. He ended with a small, but heartfelt question, “is Fidget all right?”
**
Fidget stretched her aching back. She seemed to have fallen asleep thinking about her, her what? New world, new life? None of it made any sense.
A rap on her door. It wasn’t Tempest, he just sometimes barged right in. Well, not barged, but he said something at least. Asazi never came to bother her either, because the two women had really nothing to talk about. This only left one person.
She didn’t want to open the door. All her encounters with X had been bad, and those had always had Alex there to rescue her. But with no Alex, was she helpless?
She grabbed one of her lightning rods and slowly eased the door open, keeping the rod hidden behind the door.
Dr. X smiled, showing… kindness?!
“And how are we today, Miss Fidget?”
“Uh… huh?”
He frowned, and then sighed. “Don’t think Tempest hasn’t told me you are living here on board the Airship, for he has. And I have been watching you practice.” A Trilobug crawled down his arm, and waved its’ front legs at her. “And have you ever thought of not sleeping in a storage closet?”
She shook her head. ...Well, of course I have... She shot out.
X laughed. “Then move to one of the other quarters. There are some open ones.” He gestured to the radio and Alarm clock, along with the one lightning rod on the cot. “It shouldn’t be too hard to move, now should it?...
She stared, almost dumbfounded. He had gone from Villain to Miss Susie Homemaker in a few moments. She dropped the rod in her hand on the cot, and sat down heavily next to it.
...Is something wrong my dear?” he leaned against the door frame, looking at her.
...X!...
Tempest skidded to a halt in the hallway.
“I’m sorry, I should have told you the moment I found out she was here, but I didn’t want to get her in trouble.” He panted.
“It is quite all right Tempest. This is all going to be resolved, along with another problem that has been bugging me. Now, Fidget, how about we move you to a bigger… room?” he said, taking in the surrounding closet, calling it a room for her sake probably.
“Sure.” She turned to pick up the radio/alarm, and her lightning rods. She stood up, balanced, and was ready to go.
X turned from the door and led the way down the hall and up a flight of stairs. He stopped outside a door marked with a 6.
“This should work for you.” He placed his palm on the side panel, and the door slid open, revealing a larger room than the closet she had just been in. A twin bed was leaning against the far wall; a desk was next to it with a computer consul built in.
Fidget walked in, setting her stuff on the desk. She turned to X in amazement.
“Dr. X…” She was about to ask about all the times he fought with Alex, but decided against it. “Thanks.”
The doctor nodded, and left.
Tempest stepped into the room. He sat on the chair in front of the desk. “Well… I have never seen him act so nice to anyone before. Maybe it is just what he has planned… Any way, what do you think of your new room?”
Fidget lay back on the bed. “Much better than that storage closet.” She crossed her legs and put her hands behind her head. “I could get used to living in here. You can leave anytime now.”
Tempest stared at her. “Leave? But I thought—“
“Don’t start with me, kid. I’m years older than you are… now out, this princess needs some sleep.” She rolled over onto her side, her back towards him.
Tempest sighed. She would always call him ‘kid.’ “Well, just so you know… my room is right across the hall.” He turned and left her alone.
Fidget sighed. She was still alone, still among enemies, with no sense of hope to escape… or to be rescued. They may be her new team… but still felt like enemies. Two months with them, and half of her wanted to say they are friends, but the other half said once an enemy, always an enemy.
“Way too confusing.” She whispered.
She decided that sleep was not what she wanted right now. She got up and looked at her room again. From her bed, to the left, literally in the wall, was her desk, and from there, the door outside. To her right, or left of the door, was another door, smaller, probably leading to a bathroom. There was a standing closet next to the bathroom door. The door was open ajar.
She got up and looked in it. A chain mail shirt, almost identical to the one Tempest wore, hung on a hanger. She scratched her head, and ended up giving her self a little shock. When she rubbed the spot, she shocked herself again. She stopped messing with her head and grabbed the little note attached to the shirt.
Fidget, It has surprised me on how long you have gone with out shocking yourself… so just incase, this chain mail shirt is designed to keep you from doing just that. It absorbs the energy, and releases it away from you, harmless like rain. There is an outfit (compliments of Asazi) in the drawer on the bottom.
She looked down and saw a drawer. She opened it and found a pair of gray pants, and a light blue tank top. There was a darker blue vest, with holders for her lightning rods.
“Well… you people sure thought of everything to keep me here…” she said, pulling everything out and setting it out on her bed.
She decided to change into her new uniform. When everything was on, everything except the chain mail shirt and vest, she looked in the mirror that was mounted inside the door in the closet.
The pants hung on her hips, but where perfect on her frame. The tank top was a slightly tight fit, but seemed to stretch. When she pulled the chain mail shirt on, she felt the small shocks that she had kept giving herself stop. That was a relief. She pulled the vest on, which hung rather large, but still fashionably well.
She put her lightning rods in their holders on her back. Looking in the mirror showed that they showed over her shoulders, in easy access.
Something more in the closet caught her eye. Reaching in, she pulled out a silver cape with a hood.
“What in the world is this for?” she asked the cape in her own wonderment.
“Its part of a plot X has.” Came a venomous voice from the door.
Fidget turned and faced Asazi. “How long have you been standing there?” she snapped
“Just as you pulled out the cape. Now, with your hair… those colors look good on you.” She said, stepping into the room, letting the door slide shut behind her. The green clad assassin smiled. “I think Tempest would like to see.”
“So what if he does… that kid would just go google eyed.” Fidget spat back. “So, what’s this cape for anyway?”
“You’ll find out.” Asazi said. “So… have you heard the news?”
Fidget frowned. “Nah… never paid much attention to it. Why?”
Asazi turned the computer on with a press of a button on the desk top. “Let me show you. This clip was taken about a month and a half ago, a week after you joined us.” She opened a video file, and the news cast ran on the screen.
“This is Mike Bensen with you four ‘o’clock news. News from Team Extreme is that their Camera Woman, Fidget Wilson, has mysteriously disappeared. Manager Rikki Syngh-Baines says ‘During a stunt, she fell out of the hatch.’”
Rikki’s face came on to the screen. “She was just half hanging out of the hatch, her camera in hand, no safety gear hooked up, when Big Air took a sudden roll, and she just tumbled out.”
It went back to Mike Bensen. “There is no comment from Alex Mann, or their mechanic, Desmond Sinclair. Mr. Syngh-Baines has also informed us that they will be hiring a new camera woman with in the coming week.”
The news cast ended, or more-of was stopped recording.
Fidget sat heavily on the bed, staring at the screen. ‘They think I’m dead? That’s not right… I know Rikki… he wouldn’t think that… Wait—Alex wasn’t doing a stunt… he was fighting Dr. X… but… we can’t tell the media that… or anyone else. So… I’m dead to them… well, fine... I’ll play dead, my friends… and see how you like a ghost crawling up your ass.’ During her thoughts, her stund reaction turned into a vicious smile.
“What’s this plot Dr. X has?” she asked, looking at her shoes next her he feet.
Asazi sat in the chair. “Planning on using you to lure Action Man here. Other details... he won’t give out. But if Lover-boy thinks your dead, then why would he bother with a ghost?”
Fidget put her shoes on. “Well… look at my outfit. Gray, blue and silver… ghostly colors, I could even be a ghost. And Rikki would talk him into it.”
Asazi raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Paranoia? Are you so sure?”
Fidget looked at her. “I know Rikki, he would do it.” She tied the laces, and stood up. “Thanks for the outfit…”
The older woman chuckled. “No problem. I, personally, don’t like blue, but with your blonde hair… it looks good on you.”
“Ya know, you’re not such a bad person after all.” Fidget stated, picking up her old cloths and storing them in the drawer.
“It took you this long to figure that out?”
“Well… yeah. I mean… when we’ve spent the last year or so fighting one another, I’ve always seen you as a bad person.” She said, closing the closet door. Turning around, Asazi was still looking at her.
“I can see why he protects you.” She said quietly.
“Who?” Fidget asked, putting her hands on her hips.
She shook her head, green locks flying. “Alex, and Tempest… they both care for you, but you just don’t seem to realize it.” With that, the hired assassin walked out, the door sliding shut behind her.
Fidget stared at the closed door. What in heavens name was going on? Asazi starts making sense, and Dr. X acts extremely against his nature, and Tempest has a crush on her…. And Alex cared for her? That wasn’t something new… but in this day and age… who knew?
She sat down at her computer. The screen still had the video clip up; she closed that, and tried connecting to the internet. When the browser was about to load, her screen went black, and green lettering wrote itself on the screen.
Miss Fidget, please do not try and connect with the internet… can’t have any one finding out that the Airship exists. I’m sorry if this puts a damper on what you wanted to do, but when we stop for fuel, feel free to use it then. We will be refueling in about two hour’s time. We will be in the town for about one day, that should be ample time.
The letter remained on the screen for two minutes, and then erased itself, returning her back to the desktop.
“No need to tell me who wrote that anyway, X, I’ll kindly oblige and follow this rule.” She got up from the computer, something shifted on her screen.
Thank you very much, Miss Fidget.
She stared at that. “Bu… huh?” she backed away from the computer… ‘He’s watching me, I know it! He’s some freaky person if he thinks he can scare me.’ She thought, hitting the button to turn the monitor off. She sat back in the chair, forgetting why she had gotten up in the first place.
She had been on the air ship for two months so far… learned how to control the power of the storm, and had found out that Team Extreme didn’t care. She reached for the radio/alarm clock and recharged the batteries with a touch of electricity. She had figured that out when the batteries had died on her, and she had no extra ones, or a way to charge it.
She flipped the dial up, and heard something she didn’t expect to hear.
………
Why should I care,
Cause you weren't there,
When I was scared,
I was so alone.
You, you need to listen.
I'm startin' to trip,
I'm losin' my grip
And I'm in this thing alone.
Am I just some chick you placed beside you,
To take somebody's place?
When you turn around,
Can you recognize my face?
You used to love me
You used to hug me,
But that wasn't the case,
Everything wasn't okay.
I was left to cry there
waitin' outside there
grinnin' with the lost stare,
that's when I decided--
She turned it down again, chocking back a sob. “Avril… how in the world do you know what to sing? Not even I could have put it in to better words.”
**
Tempest watched Fidget practice with her lightning staves. She was becoming very experienced with them. Her moves became a dance, a dance he couldn’t begin to describe, but as he watched her, something she said awhile back sparked its own smidgeon of power from him. She called me fourteen. I’m not fourteen, I’m sixteen.
“Did you say something?” she asked, turning to look at him.
He couldn’t help but stare at her. She looked better in that outfit than her normal cloths, and even with the chain mail shirt on, she still had a beautiful form.
“No, I didn’t.” he replied, shaking his head and picking up his own staves. She went back to practicing, swinging herself around, and hips swinging in time to her own music. He couldn’t help it… just something about her.
Things between them hadn’t changed, well, except maybe a little of the stone she used as a shield had kind of chipped off, and their relationship had grown. It was weird to feel these things toward her, but since that kiss awhile ago, the feelings had flared. I wonder if she feels the same way.
Fidget sat next to him, picking up a towel. She giggled, seemingly at random. “Ya’ know—“
“Ya’ know, ya know what? Ya know, I’m getting tired of that phrase, can’t you think of a better way to start a conversation?” he snapped back, totally without meaning to.
She stared at him, aqua-blue eyes wide. She began giggling, then out right laughing. “Ok, I have a better way to start a conversation. I have a twin sister, a mother, and three half brothers. Candice is about 6 seconds older than me; my mom has changed her name from Wilson, to St. Germain, because of when she divorced my father. And you kinda know who my half brothers are.” She said, looking at him. “Tell me about your family.”
Tempest looked at her. Unbelievable. Out of the blue like that too, freaky. “Well… uhh… I’m an only child, my mom is Naomi, my father is Dexter—“
“Dexter? Your dad’s name is Dexter?” Fidget asked, suppressing another giggle.
“So? But anyway, my parents never really cared about me… unless I achieved something… but they didn’t love me like they should have, I guess you could say they were, and always have been, bad parents.” He hung his head, but then was startled back when Fidget put a hand on his shoulder.
“I guess that makes us really different—“
An announcement came over the PA system. “We will be arriving at New Berge within 15 minutes, please be ready to go.” The voice was computer generated. It had done that every time they landed... announced the 15 minute warning.
Tempest growled. His Airship didn’t need refueling… they just needed supplies… since Fidget was another person to feed, but still, that didn’t matter. X was the one that made the ship give that warning… probably to remind himself.
The teen sighed; knowing full well that an hour and forty-five minutes of practicing was making him restless… since he had been practicing almost all the bloody time Fidget had been on the ship… What was he blaming her for? She made him feel not so egotistical… but more human. Oh sure… before he thought of her as annoying, but in all reality… she now made him feel whole. His parents didn’t care enough, that was true, and now they were dead, hopefully. If his mom was alive… she probably wouldn’t approve of him being with Fidget… but he didn’t care now, they were gone, out of his life for good, thank god!! Now the Council of Doom was his family… and after Fidget completed her first task—if that will be possible, considering Action Jock—then she would be the fourth member of the Council. It seemed strange, thinking of her as a work partner, an as kind of a girlfriend. Girlfriend? Did I just think of her as a girlfriend? I must be going crazy—wait a minute… no I’m not… this a perfectly normal… all guys my age go through this at some point in their lives… but she is like 4-5 years older than I am…IDEA!!!
“Uh… Fidget, uh, just outta curiosity, how old are you?” he asked, looking up at her from where his eyes had fallen to the floor. She looked back at him, a playful smile on her face. His eyes lowered, and settled on her chest, which quickly made him look up at the ceiling. He felt his cheeks go red with a burning blush.
She seemed to have noticed his eyes roving, but chose to ignore it, probably thinking something like ‘hormones’ or something girlish like that. She simply shrugged and said openly, as if she was asked her age all the time. “I’m 19, turning twenty, I think… in three months.”
He stared. She was only three years older. Not that bad, actually. But in all reality, normally the guy is older than the girl by about three to five years; it was just common that way. But now she was older than him…
“What? Am I too old for little Tempy?” she asked mockingly, jabbing him lightly in the shoulder with a finger. She giggled, then leaned against him
Tempest felt like moving away from her, but he couldn’t. She was just so random, though… so full of energy. Perhaps, even if he tried, he couldn’t get away from her… well… before, he didn’t leave her alone, and is just seemed that she was turning the tables on him.
“Uh, no... You’re not too old—“ He started to say, but was interrupted by her shout.
“Did you just call me old?! I’m not old!!! Nick Masters is old!! X is old—“
He stopped her a little too late, placing his hand over her mouth; she had said what should not be said, not on the Airship anyway. X had ears everywhere, the Trilobugs were everywhere…
“Shh… never call X old.” He whispered in her ear, looking about the room for any sign of a little purple bug, even one. “You’re lucky you’re alive… because he could have killed you earlier today if he wanted too. So show some respect.”
She glared at him, and then growled. She removed his hand, saying: “but it is the truth, though… he is old.” She stood up and picked up her lightning rods. “Anyway… I have something I need to take care of. Bye, Tempy!” she left the room, the door sliding shut behind her.
At least she didn’t call me ‘kid’, and her family is more interesting than mine, but I never figured she considered Action Jock and his crew brothers… did they consider her a sister? He thought, looking at the door she just past through.
“We have arrived at New Berge, UK. Please prepare for docking.” The computer voice said.
He sighed again, getting up. He picked up his lightning rods; then put them in their holders on his back, and then left the room, the lights turning off and the door closing behind him.
~~~
A/N:: sorry it took forever to write this one up, but when the muse of inspiration deserts you in a time of need, it stinks.