FicWad

Chapter 6



A stern voice was now heard over the communicator. "He wants to do what?"thundered Bruce Wayne.

"Here, let me give you to Rue," he said, and handed her the communicator. She explained the whole thing, including how she sidestepped the issue. There was certainly more at stake than a cave theater. Their new headquarters also lie within its bowels, and there was no way that the six were going to surrender that. Bruce further added, "With Luthor involved there has to be an ulterior motive. There is more than just that plot of land involved. Tell me, has he been snooping around the area lately?"

"He was here at the school a few days ago," added Rue, "conferring with the headmaster."

"I'll lay you ten cents to the dollar that he wants the school as well,"answered Bruce.

"How is he going to do that?" asked Rue, "The school is essentially owned by the Kinkan family, run by a board of trustees. They are the ones that manage the money and investments that keep the school going. Good luck in trying to buy out that!"

"That all depends," said Bruce, "If he was able pour a ton of money that was as big as or bigger than the trust, and they accepted the 'donation,' then he would have essentially bought the school."

"If they accepted, what would happen then?" inquired Rue.

"He would rebuild the school elsewhere," responded Bruce, "However, things like that are on his expenditure list in such that, if there are losses to the company, he would liquidate the trust, close the school, and pay off his losses. He loves having things like that around. Trust me: he does not have the school's best interest at heart. The only holdout would be you, and that would cause some...other things."

"What do you mean 'other things'?" probed Rue, not liking where it was going.

"Let's put it like this;" answered Bruce, "He has a way of getting what he wants. If the school would not capitulate, as I expect that you would not, then certain 'incidents' have a way of happening to his objectives. If they were to cause damage to your campus, then he would graciously offer to rebuild the losses, and in time, the whole campus would be a Lexcorp construction site, and he thus has his bargaining tool. He then can go back to the board and hold his 'charity' over their heads like the sword of Damocles, they take the donation, and he gets what he wants anyway. However, note that, once he is spurned, he is less that cordial. He would shut down the school without athought to rebuilding it as an example to all that would resist his will with Lexcorp. Therefore, we have to find out what is so special about that land that he wants both the theater and the school. If you can do this, that would help. In the meantime, let me work some 'magic.' I think I can upset his fruit cart."

She thanked Bruce, and then hung up. She then explained to the others what was going on, and they all agreed that the theater was not for sale. Billy then said, "Leave it to me to find out about the land."



Dr. Savannah now had a team in the area again, except this time they were there to find the shallowest point, or to find a spot where the oil may be coming up, and to get some samples of the crude. Even though the field was large, they still had to find out if the oil had aged enough for use. Believe it or not, even if crude exists in a spot, nature has to have it cook for a time before it was ready. Therefore, he had to take some samples. He was traveling through the Thinking Woods at that time, looking for a good spot, but he was unable to find any that day. However, his actions were not unobserved. Elly had gone into the woods again to work on some more artwork, both for assignments, and for her own love of art, and came across the group working. She distinctly remembered the day before a similar group like that making their way through the forest, and she was now curious as to why. Concentrating, she approached the men as if they were not even standing there. In fact, she was going along as if she was a part of the entourage, and they did not see her. Every once and a while, the group would stop, a man would test the soil, they would take areading, and then move on. A few of the men had clipboards, and Elly was also interested in them. However, she did not need to lean in, because she already knew what was on the papers. It was not as if she had read them, but somehow she knew-a gift that had come forth during the time she was ill. She filed all this away, hoping to ask her roommates later on if they knew of any reason why people like this would be snooping around in hopes of knowing more properly to inform. With that, she collected her goods, found a spot, finished what she hoped to accomplish, and returned to the dorm to find her roommates.



That year's Fall Festival was going to be a group deal for the music, voice, and dance departments. It was decided that they were going to attempt something new: Fantasia Live. In other words, they were seeking to do a live performance of those things in the Fantasia films, and that would involve some work. Ahiru went to the library to check out both films and brought them to her room. Mary, Mai, and Nana joined Ahiru and Yuma to watch and see if there were any ideas that they could come up with. Normally, the AP class would not have much to do with that show, for their grades would be based on different matters. However, because of the task that this might turn out to be, they were asking the AP class to help, and requested that the Pas De Six be a part of the show as well. The three graduates were more than willing to help, and now the after class team practices would now consist some of preparing for that show. Therefore, they were intent on getting a feel for things early. Just as Stoikowski was about to start the /Toccata and Fugue in D minor/, it was then when Elly returned. She saw the group engrossed with the film, and decided to let them be for the time being. She was not sure how important the information she held was, but she did not figure it was enough to disrupt the movie. Once the first one had ended, they then noted that Elly was back and preparing for bed. Once they greeted her, Elly said, "Oh, I almost forgot. Iwas out in the woods today, and I saw a bunch of men with equipment snooping around, checking this spot of the ground or that. Once I saw what was on their notes, I realized that the fools were looking for oil, of all things. I didn't figure the hills out here would have anything like that."

Ahiru froze, and she said, "Do you remember specifically what you saw on the papers?"

Elly wondered why that mattered, and Ahiru said, "Do you remember?"

"Oddly enough, I remember as if the papers were still in front of me," Elly answered.

Ahiru looked at her with a serious look and said, "Tomorrow, I need your help. There are a group of people I would like you to meet that would love to know what you know."



Trouble of another kind was brewing inside Fawcett City at that moment. In one of the more upper crust clubs in town, Abigail was taking some time to relax. She was the prima donna for the Fawcett City Ballet, and she was a girl that was doing very well for herself. She was 28 years old, and she had come a long way from her days at Kinkan. She was a good dancer, but she was humble and ahard worker. She was the kind that was always there to help any young dancer advance. Now the fruits of her labor were paying off, and she was taking the time to relax after her hard day's work. She also appreciated how that there were now three other alumni from her school working with her. Some prima would feel threatened by their presence, especially the young girl that came with the group. She was only 18, but highly skilled and pretty. She easily could have competed for her position. However, she was not jealous, and she knew that the new girl already had a deal going. Rue Kuroah was a part of a great act already, so she felt no threat. Besides all that, when the time came where she had to relinquish her position as the prima, she knew that Rue waited in the wings, knowing that an act like that could be gone tomorrow, or it might take 50 years. However it went, one thing was for sure: she could work with her and make Rue her handpicked successor. Yes, life was good, except for the fact that she was still single. Her life had been so busy that time for a husband did not play in yet. However, she was hungry for companionship, and she was there to find Mr. Right, or at least, Mr. Right Now. After about 20 minutes of schmoozing, she took the drink of her choice and sat down in a nice lounge chair, deliberately trying to look pretty in order to attract the right kind of eyes. Within ten minutes, her hook caught. A handsome young man came up and said, "Is this how you normally look, or are you deliberately trying to look sexy for a reason."

That caught her attention. She had heard many pick up lines before, but this one was unique, and actually good. He was handsome, strong, clever, and had agreat smile and attitude. He just might do. He took a seat next to her and introduced himself. "My name is Marcus," he said, extending his hand. "Abigail," she responded as she extended hers, and he deftly kissed it. "And he's a gentleman as well," she thought, "This has some potential."

She then said, "Come here a lot?"

"I come here enough to see you here a bit."

She then though, "He also has a great eye. Hope he's not a stalker."

She tested this by saying, "You must see others 'quite a bit.'"

"True, but not many have the poise that you do. You seem like a dancer."

Again she thought, "Okay, he has a REALLY good eye. I wonder how much he knows."

She then said to him, "What gave me away?"

"You are light on your feet, like you walk on a cloud. Every move is precise and deliberate, done with grace and flair. You move like a bird of paradise, and everything about you says 'bon vivant.' You always seem to have a smile, you are warm, outgoing..."

Her heart was racing now. This man had a velvet tongue, and he was very handsome. He was also complementary, and there was something about his eyes. They were not just a pair in which she could get lost; they seemed to drag you in. They were almost hypnotic. She felt giddy, and, she had to face it, the guy was turning her on. He continued, and said, "...and you seem to have..." but she cut him off, and said, "You had me at 'like you walk on a cloud.'"

She extended her arm as she stood, and she said, "Come on, we can talk more about this at my place."



The next morning, at the Fawcett City Ballet, rehearsals for a new show were about to begin, but their prima was not there. She did not even call in. This was very odd for her, because she had never failed to call in if there had been a problem. After a time, some people began to ask around in the studio if anyone knew where she was or what might have happened. Worry began to creep in. Had this been anyone else, they might have written it off, and given her aday. Perhaps that person may have forgotten to call. Yet, this was Abigail. She never missed a rehearsal, and if she were that ill, they would have had to send her home. She never failed to call. It was decided that someone should go over and see what had happened. However, when word got to Fakir, Rue, and Mytho, they were already changing and heading out. Since her apartment was not far from the studio, they could get there quickly. Claire said that she would transport in and that they should catch up. If there was trouble, she could subdue it; tell them about it when they arrived, and then assist in helping her. Claire transported into the apartment and began to look around. Immediately, she knew there had been trouble by the looks of the apartment. It had the signs that a struggle took place, and she began to worry. She remembered her training with the Justice League, and remembered not to touch anything if she assessed that there had been a possible crime. While it is true that she would want to look for clues, in a situation like that, it was best to have the police there as well, lest she botch their aid by destroying clues in the process of her search. Thus, she carefully walked around, stepping over anything that was there, making sure even to not step on awrinkle in the carpet, lest she ruined something there. She went into the kitchen, and she saw the knife draw open-already she feared the worst. "Abby,"she hollered, "It's Rue, (taking a chance to use her real name so she would know that there was someone she knew in the house.)"

She began to follow the path of what seemed like the struggle down the hall. By this point, the Chess Knights arrived, opened the door, (of which they were surprised was unlocked,) and White Knight was about to close it. However, Black Knight said, "No! Leave it. You may have already messed up prints on the outside, so we do not want to disturb those."

Already they felt the trouble that must have come that way, and one did not need to be an empath like Mytho to know that there was a problem. However, the empath in Mytho immediately detected the fear, stress, shock, and immediate sadness from the life pattern he knew the best-Rue. Just as he was sensing this, he heard a scream, "OH GOD, NO-NOT ABBY: PLEASE, NOT ABBY!"

As fast as they could go without disturbing anything, they found Claire on her knees, bawling her eyes out from the ghastly sight that sat before them. As soon as White Knight entered, she practically tackled him and was wailing profusely. The boys saw, and then looked away. Black Knight grimly and stoically pulled out his communicator and called the police. When they answered, he said blankly, "This is the Black Knight. I need to report a murder."



Claire was in a mild state of shock as the police were giving her some coffee, putting a blanket around her, and doing what they could to console her as they sat on the couch. They would have to calm her down to get a statement from her of what she had found and how she found it. In the meantime, the boys were hip deep in the investigation, aiding the police in finding any clues. Yet, Black Knight need not have been worried about finger prints, because they could find none. There was no sign of a forced entry, so a robbery was out. By the knife they found in the bedroom, they knew that she had been killed with what was missing from the kitchen. Therefore, the murderer may well have been unarmed. There had to have been some familiarity with the killer somehow, or else he never would have gotten in. Besides, it had to be something more than a lover's spat, because of the way she was killed. The initial work of the medical examiner showed that she had been brutally raped, disemboweled, her face marred with cuts all over, and her feet were cut off. This had the signs of the last thing they wanted to investigate. Sadly, this could not be avoided, because, as the bedroom was being searched, White Knight found a note, done with the letters cut from a magazine. Again, the find yielded no prints, and the note read, "All dancers are naughty and dirty. They need to be punished. I will kill all the naughty girls and queer boys."

This was followed by the word "dance" inside a circle with a diagonal line going through it. "Oh great!" sputtered the detective on the site, "There has only been one of these, and I fear there is going to be more."

White Knight did not need to ask. "It is a serial killer, isn't it?" asked White Knight knowingly.

"It has all the markings," said the detective, "Worse, because of the lack of workable clues we may have to wait for him to strike again before we can act. What disgusts me is the fact that we may have to wait until after he acts, which means someone else may have to die."

"I certainly hope not," said White Knight.

"With no witnesses, no clues save this note, we have nothing to go on," said the detective.

Black Knight had been overhearing the conversation, and he said, "I may have an idea."

"I'm all ears," said the detective, knowing that it may be better than anything else they had.

"I know of an upper class club where she liked to go," said Black Knight, "I have friends who are dancers. Maybe someone saw something last night?"

"That's the first break we've had!" said the detective, "We'll stake out the place tonight, and ask around for witnesses."

"Once we calm down Princess Clair, we can come in disguise tonight and help,"said Black Knight, "Perhaps Claire could flush him out."

"It's all we have, so I can look for you tonight?" asked the detective.

"We'll be there," he responded, and plans were made.



Because this was going on, another odd thing happened that was not nearly as severe, but was a concern nonetheless. There had been a robbery in two suburban houses the night before, and the thieves had been thorough. They had cleaned out all the gold, silver, any cash on hand, and in each case, acollector's doll had been stolen as well. Because of their value, the police only thought it made sense that they would go missing. However, the odd thing was the fact that everyone was at home and asleep. There was no forced entry, and it was too efficient, with robberies even taking place in the master bedroom without anyone knowing or hearing anything. It was going to be one interesting fall in the city.