FicWad

Chapter 9



A week had passed, and nothing had changed. Apparently, the killer knew that they police were onto him, and he decided to lay low for a bit, as is the pattern of most serial killers. He just sought to bide his time, and wait until the guard of the general public was down, and then he would seek to strike. However, by this happening, as the rash of thefts and burglaries were increasing, the police were now giving it more notice. Everywhere, the pattern was the same: no forced entry, amounts were taken that, though not great in size, they were great in value. Worse, it seemed that some of the thefts had taken place while the families were home and were sleeping. There were no prints, and in fact, in some cases, lock boxes were not picked into, but were open with the keys. No one in the house could be blamed, because those involved would be asleep at the time. The police wanted to keep a watch, but the thefts were too widespread and random, and they did not know for what to look. This also caught the attention of the Secret Six, and they wanted to do something about it. However the curfew that was being run made it hard for them to do anything as a team.



In reference to the curfew, indeed, the security company from Lexcorp was there to watch over things. However, their flavor of security made the students feel like they were living in a police state. It was bad enough that their presence was there, but they were also armed. Mr. Johansen was apprehensive about this at first, but Luthor assured him that, due to the nature of the situation, this had to be done. Yet, having armed guards around like that made everyone quite nervous. They were very forceful about getting people on campus in time before the gates closed, and they were also very nasty if a student was not quite in the library or dorm at the proper time. Their presence on campus was so bad; you could not turn a corner without running into one of the security men. Even poor Poe was being questioned. Certainly, they had not seen anything like him before. He was splitting his time between the Raven's Nest and the girl's dorm, assuring that the new home would be ready in time, and assuring the girls that their black feathered guardian angel would still be there for them. The first time he flew in and landed, he tried to walk in, but they pulled guns on him, and they were ready to blast him to Kingdom Come. If Rue had not been there at the right time, it may well have happened. After a couple of days of harassment, he decided to just fly in from the back, carefully, and walk to the dorm. It was a hard time.



The first weekend of the curfew was coming up, and the students were hoping for the first dance that night. However, due to the way things were set up, it could not happen. Now the students were becoming a bit agitated. It was hard to go to the gym with everything the way it was, which was the only real place they could go for recreation since they had to be back before sunset. Boredom was overtaking the students, and the only thing that they could do was turn to their arts to vent steam. Considering that the fall variety show was coming up, many students focused their efforts on preparing things for that, so at least there was that. Mary, Billy, and Ahiru were stewing over what they wanted to do that Friday evening before sunset when Fakir, Rue, and Mytho came by. Mary was ecstatic. Because of the way they had to be apart, being together was difficult. As soon as she saw Fakir, she ran up and jumped onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist and planting a big kiss on him. "Glad to see you too!" said Fakir, as he set her down. Ahiru was now curious, saying,"What are you guys doing here?"

"It's Friday night," said Rue, "I figured that going out was in order."

"Is it just for tonight," asked Billy.

"Actually, no," said Mytho, "We were arranging it so that you could spend the weekend with us. After all, we have to work on an act for the fall variety show."

"You can be in it?" asked Mary.

"Why not?" said Fakir, "It's good publicity for the school, and we are alumni."

"There is also the matter of the 'other reason,'" added Rue.

As this discussion was going on, Elly and Nana came out of the dorm, seeing the conglomeration, and Nana said, "What's going on?"

"Oh, the six of us were heading out for the weekend," said Ahiru.

Both girls looked dejected, "Great, that means we'll be trapped here all weekend," said Elly, "There are only so many sketches of the campus that I can do."

The six conferred, and then Mary said, "Why don't you guys come with us? It would be no problem!"

They did not wait for someone to say it again. In a flash, the two of them were upstairs and putting together weekend bags for themselves. The sun was just about set when they came down, and Mytho had already contacted the headmaster, insuring that their stay would be cleared. Mr. Johansen was fine with it as long as they did not leave the group. Any relief that he could give the students he was going to do. He was now regretting the security measures he had taken, but in order to keep Lexcorp from doing something to the school,(though what it could do he did not know,) he tolerated it. "Elly," uttered Rue, "I hear that you wanted to do portraits of us for the new theater."

"Well, I was asked," Elly stated.

"Then you can use this chance to get the job started," said Rue, "At least you have some excuse to be off campus if anyone rides you about it."



The conglomerate were now heading for the gate as it was about to close. The security saw them, and said, "Sorry, we're closing up. You can't go."

Fakir did not like the posturing of the guard in his face, and he said, "Excuse me, but three of us are not students, and they all have permission to come with us."

"Do you have the paperwork for that?" asked the guard firmly.

"We have the headmaster's clearance," said Mytho, "What else do we need?"

"We need to see permission slips before that happens," answered the guard, posturing even more. Suddenly, Mytho began to feel like he was facing the Gestapo. This was not too dissimilar to, "I am sure that your papers are in order, yes?"

Rue came in and said, "I don't believe that was required in all this."

"Well,/we're/ requiring it!" he snapped, "This way, there is complete accountability, and if anything happens, it is all duly noted, and everyone is covered. Sorry, but you'll have to leave if you don't have the paperwork to show that they can leave, and you can be here."

"But, they're alumni," argued Mary, "They can do..."

"That means that they are not students," he stated, as the other guards were noticing this and coming over, "and they are not supposed to be here! Now everyone get to where they are supposed to be before we force you!"

"Then I guess you'll have to catch me," said Elly, now standing on the other side of the gate. No one even saw her pass. Now everyone began to turn to her, and that is when everyone decided to walk out. As this was happening, Rachel was heading back to the dorm, and she did not like what she saw. She stepped up and demanded to know what was going on. They snapped at her to go to the dorm, and now they were forcibly grabbing people. They shoved Fakir as the flung Mary back inside. She hit hard, skinned her hands and knees, and she started to cry. At that, Fakir saw red, and belted that guard dead in the face. The guard was out before he hit the ground. Once this happened, two more guards found themselves on their backs as Billy and Ahiru flung off their guards. Ahiru may have been a bit more timid as Tutu, but for some reason, that did not carry over into her standard self, and in that state, she was more aggressive. The rest of the guards now forgot about Elly and pulled their guns on the three "strangers." At that point, two ravens showed up: Poe and Rachel as Raven. She had slipped off, changed, and came back. Poe jumped the guard that had a bead on Rue, and Raven shot energy bolts at the remainder of the standing guards. She then said, "I do not think that this is in line with company policy, gentlemen. Leave them alone, or face the wrath of the Raven!"

The guards that were not unconscious started to back off seeing who was before them, and then Raven called for Poe, Elly, and everyone else to gather around her, saying, "We shall see you at the end of the weekend!"

With a wave of her cape, they were gone. The few left conscious were not sure how they were going to report this.



In almost an instant, they were at the Schmidt's apartment, all safe and sound. Everyone was stunned at what had happened. "That was amazing!" said Nana, "How did you do that?"

"It's a family secret, kiddo!" joked Raven.

It was now about 5:30 that evening, and it was time for dinner. Billy said that he knew a nice place not too far from there, and it served great Italian food. Dinner was on him. Everyone cheered and prepared to go. Ahiru then said, "If only Mai and Yuma were here, the whole gang would be together."

"Maybe next time," said Rue, "We can only do so much. By the way, Mary, how is Mai?"

"Oh, I've been working with her," answered Mary, "She has really grown her hair long now, and she is really starting to get in touch with her feminine side. She even said that she and Yuma were going to do something for the show."

"Why not include them," said Mytho, "I know what we could do!"

"What do you have in mind?" asked Billy.

"We have enough that we can do our own mini-Moulin Rouge!" said Mytho, "You girls could do the Can-Can, the boys could do some ballet in authentic Parisian wear, and maybe Fakir and Mary could the dance a l'apache."

Elly thought for a moment, and said, "Then maybe I can do your portraits for the new theater in the style of Toulouse Lautrec?"

"Sounds great!" everyone said, and they were off to dinner, as Poe stayed back to mind the house. Since there were going to be several people, he went about setting up the best sleeping arrangements for everyone, and even set up some snacks for them when they returned.



The restaurant was about what you would expect in a fine Italian restaurant. It was comfortably lit, with fine tables, artwork and pictures all over the wall from Rome and Venice, even a wandering violinist. However, Rachel decided that this would be a great chance to get into the head of Elly. Her mind pattern showed some interesting things, and she wanted to get to what the deal was. No one saw her walk out, but Mytho and Rachel certainly sensed her going by. There was something to that, and what she had seen in her head. If this was some kind of special ability, maybe there would be a way to foster it? As the captain walked them in and a large table was being put together, Rachel made sure to get a seat by Elly. As they waited for the menus, conversation began about the current situation, school, and other things. Rachel then said,"Say, that was a neat trick that you did, going right by everyone without being seen."

"Everyone seems to think so," said Elly, as she was paroozing the menu, not looking up.

"You seem so nonchalant about it," probed Rachel.

"I just never put too much thought into it."

"Do you realize that you are not seen?"

"Well, I don't turn invisible or anything."

"How do you know?"

"I can see myself."

"Could it be that you could cause it that people cannot see you?"

Elly now cocked her head and looked at Rachel out of the corner of her eye. "Okay, what brought this on?" Elly said suspiciously.

"Well, it's just interesting, that's all," said Rachel, trying to cover up, "I just wanted to know how you did it."

"I have a guess, but I really don't know," responded Elly.

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Ever since I came out of my illness, people have noticed this."

"How long were you ill?"

"I was ill for about two years. I slept through almost all of it. It was touch and go there for a while. It's nicer this way, because it is easier to keep track of time this way."

Rachel began to think for a moment, and she began to wonder if something happened while she was ill. By this point, the waiter came up and everyone began to order. When it came to Elly, she said, "I would like the Pasta Fasul, garlic bread, the soup, Coke, and a chocolate sundae to finish."

Everyone took a look at her, surprised at the order, and then went back to their ordering. As things were being friendly, Elly mentioned something else. "Another neat trick I learned was that, somehow, if papers are left open, I can read what is on them no matter where I am-even if I cannot see the writing."

Rachel was now almost certain that something happened in her head. "That is interesting," responded Rachel, and decided not to pursue the matter anymore. She figured that later on would be better to find out, after she had fallen asleep.



They arrived back at the apartment at about 8 P.M. and Fakir broke out Pictionary. However, Fakir said, "This is not going to be as normal. This was a game that some of the dancers at the company taught us to help us improve our pantomime. The game is called Pictionary Charades. Instead of drawing the words, you act them out. This can be interesting for certain words. Iremember the night Rue picked 'Madrid' as her word. They almost needed to use oxygen to bring us around because we were laughing so hard. So, we make two teams, and then we begin."

Everyone was laughing so hard it began to hurt. For example, Nana got the word"stadium," and it was a trip just watching her try to act this one out. Near the end of the game, Rue got the word "duck" and started to act like Ahiru. When everyone on her team shouted "DUCK," Ahiru realized what was happening, and biffed Rue with a pillow. Rue got that evil look in her eye, grabbed one herself, and swung at Ahiru, but hit Poe instead. He cawed, but caught the game, grabbed a pillow himself and started in. Before you knew it, the pillow war was on. However, Elly was already worn out from the first game and slunk away to get some sleep. Rachel took this opportunity while everyone was distracted and went up to Elly and linked with her mind.



As Rachel rooted around, she found going from one spot to another was a bit easier. She could not figure out why this was, and decided to make a thorough examination of her brain in the area of connections. What she found was interesting. There was a small area that had a connection that was dead where it should not have been. She then found that it had connected itself again through areas of the brain that are not actually used for anything. She then began to tap into her memories, and tapped into the subconscious. While all this was going on, Elly was having dreams about that time, and she did not know why. It was not a comfortable sleep at all, but she did not realize that it was Rachel's rooting around that was causing this. As Rachel looked, what Elly did not realize was that, during that time, there was a two week period where she was actually in a coma in the hospital. The doctors did not know why the brain failed in that area. All they knew was that it was gone, and it caused the coma. However, the brain righted itself, and apparently tapped into something when it reconnected. Elly was home before she awoke, so she had no memory of any of this. Meanwhile, Elly was dreaming about the hospital and the conversations around her. She began to twist a bit in her sleep, and Rachel decided that this was enough for the night. She tapped into more pleasant memories in Elly's subconscious so that she could sleep better, and broke contact. Rachel did not know if Elly knew any of this, but she would have to ask in the morning. It was interesting indeed. She would use the chance in the doll shop that the girls were going to visit the next day-someplace called"Otto's Doll and Wonders Shop." Maybe she could get Elly to look at the potential artwork that could come with the dolls, and then use that as a chance to ask about all this.



Meanwhile, during that week, in that same shop, interesting things were happening. Uzzura was learning at a frightening pace, and she now had the mind of a four year old child. She was precocious, and liked to drum on things. Because of that, Drosselmyer added a snare drum to her ensemble, so she could beat on that instead of everything else! Yet, on that very Friday, that afternoon, something happened that worried Drosselmyer. Uzzura saw the amount of silver, gold, and jewels that were floating around. She asked, "What is all the pretty, shiny-zura?"

Drosselmyer was not sure how to answer that, and thought for a few moments on how to answer. He did not want to make it sound like he was doing anything wrong, because he was not sure how she would react to it. However, because he took more time than she cared for, she started to hit the drum rapidly and yell, "Uzzura want to know-zura!"

"Okay, okay child," he responded, "These are just pretty little treasures that all your friends in the shop get for me."

"How do they do that-zura?" she probed.

Drosselmyer began to fish around again, and then said, "They go to...special places...yes...because that is their purpose, and bring me these things."

She thought about the "friends" in the shop-the dolls-and she was not sure she liked them. She saw that they moved, and she wanted to talk to them, but they did not react to her. Then, when the words "their purpose" hit her electric ears, something in the programming that he had put in her clicked in, and she said, "What is my purpose-zura?"

Drosselmyer went stiff for a moment, shocked by the question. Was she becoming"aware" already? "Your purpose is to do what I tell you, to learn as much as you can, and to make me happy?"

However, this did not satisfy the criteria of the question the programming was bringing out, and in fact, it was hitting the parts of the programming that dealt with self-awareness, self- esteem, self-examination, and self-worth. What she was really asking, (but did not know how to say it,) was, "Why am Ihere? Why am I alive? Who am I really?"

She probed again, and said, "What is my purpose-zura?"

Now, Drosselmyer was at a loss. He now did not know what she meant, and did not know how to answer. He then was relieved when he heard the chimes over the door ring, meaning that someone had entered his store, and he went to see those people, just to get away from the 3rd degree he was receiving. As he left, her circuits and pinions in her head were churning, trying to cope with the strange stirrings within her. She did not know that the churnings are what we would call feelings, and she was trying to come to grips with this, and she did not realize that she was trying to find herself. Then, something pretty caught her eyes in the pile, she went to it, but then she began to think again. Back and forth her thoughts went, from the baubles to her feelings, and Drosselmyer had no idea that his Achilles Heel was standing in his workshop.