DemonSlayer:
Animated Batman Adventures
Chapter 1: New Love
By Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins
Spoilers: "I've Got Batman In My Basement."
Characters: Nick, Sherman, Roberta, Frank, Batman are all owned by Warner Brothers and DC comics, Skymouth and Shauna are my characters
Rating: PG with a touch of R at the very end for descriptive violence
Summary: The kids learn that there are more dangerous things in life than solving crimes… love. Told from Nick's POV.
After that incident with the Penguin, my friends Frank, Sherman, and Roberta and me have been pretty much inseparable. We've managed to bond and form a group despite our previously rocky relationship. Truthfully, me and Frank had never really known Sherman and Roberta before that. We knew them only in passing and that they were easy and fun to mess with. They still are easy prey for some of the bigger kids at school, but both Sherman and Roberta know now that if anyone messes with them, they can come to Frank and me and we can bail 'em out. It's funny how things work out, sometimes.
I'm gonna be sixteen before the end of the year. First thing I'm gonna do is get my drivers permit. That's gonna be the best! Frank still has almost a whole year and Sherman and Roberta have about a year and a half more. Watch out Gotham!
"Nick! Are you paying attention, or what?" That was Sherman. He sounds agitated again. I think he's still keyed up over that fight he and Roberta had over what direction our group should go with this crime solving stuff. Sherman wants to take on more cases and Roberta thinks we are getting in too deep. Those two, I swear, they fight like they're boyfriend and girlfriend sometimes! They ought to hook up, is what they ought to do.
"Yeah, yeah, interview who was in the art studio's at school and see if anyone saw anything suspicious." I say.
Sherman looks at me funny. "Nick, what's with you, lately? You used to like doing this kinda stuff. Now you sound bored."
"Come on, Sherman." I decide to come clean. Frank and Roberta are here too. "The first couple of years, it was kinda fun and even exciting sometimes. But lately, I dunno, the cases have gotten pretty lame. Next thing you know, we'll be rescuing cats outta trees."
"What's wrong with cats?" Roberta demands of me.
"I'm just saying that if we're gonna do this, let's take on some cases with more meat on them." It's true. We're in a rut and we need something to shake us up.
"And what do you suggest, Nick?" Frank asks me. "The police and Batman handle all the big stuff."
"That's just it. There's too much big stuff! They can't be everywhere at once."
The others are quiet for a moment. I see the look in Sherman's eye. I can tell he is excited. Frank is looking undecided and Roberta just glares at me like why did I have to put such an idea in Sherman's head in the first place?
Just then, the phone rings and Sherman picks it up since it IS his basement.
"Hello." Sherman answers. Now he's the one who sounds distracted. Pause. "But, Kevin was my lab partner. Our project's due in two days." Another pause and I don't like the look on Sherman's face. "Are you sure? No, I haven't seen him at all." He hangs up the phone, looking downright distraught.
"What is it?" Roberta asks concerned.
"Kevin is missing. Never came home Friday night." Sherman tells us. "That was his mom, seeing if he'd been over here the whole time."
"But it's Sunday." Frank says worriedly.
Sherman shrugs. "Well, Nick looks like you get your wish. Mrs. Landers wants us to trace Kevin's usual steps on a Friday and see if we can find anything that might give us a clue on where he is."
Easier said then done. We've hardly ever any outsiders in our group in the past couple of years. Birthday parties, sleepovers, homework study groups, you name it, no strangers allowed. We had been satisfied with the arrangement. It suited us. No one at school really understands us anyway. We are kind of the outcasts at our Junior High.
"And how are we gonna do that? Hire a physic?" Frank asks.
"Maybe." Sherman says and he has that 'I'm thinking' look on his face again.
Roberta looks thoughtful too. "Well, we COULD go and find Batman. Ask him if he has any way of helping."
So we go off in search of Batman. That isn't as impossible as it sounds. He still checks up on us every now and then. Maybe he does that out of payment for us helping him save his butt. Yeah, that's right, a couple of kids saved Batman's life. Us, let something like that go to our heads? Never… yah right!
We finally find him. We've learned how to search for him long ago. He's on some stake out, as usual, using the Bay Bridge as an inconspicuous base. Even though his full attention is on what's going on at the docks below, he notices us coming and spares us a glance.
"It's late. Don't you kids have school tomorrow?" Batman says to us. You know, the usual, syrupy greeting he gives anyone. What is he, our truant officer?
"Monday's a holiday, Batman." Roberta reminds him.
"What are you kid's doing here?" He asks us impatiently. I think we caught him at a bad time.
"A friend of ours from school is missing. Has been since Friday. Have you heard anything?" Sherman asks him. He's never one to beat around the bush.
Batman spares us a longer glance. "What's the name?"
"Kevin Landers. He's fifteen and goes to our school. Lives near the financial district." Sherman replies.
"That's not far from here." Batman says, almost to himself. "If the timetable I was given was correct, I should be finished here around ten. Then, I'll go see what information the police have on the case, alright?"
"You'll let us know if you find anything, right?" Roberta asks him.
Batman nods his head solemnly. Jeeze, I wonder if the man ever smiles? There's nothing else we can do tonight so we all go to our separate homes.
Monday I get a call from Sherman. I hurry over on my bike. Sherman had called all of us. I'm the first one there since I live closest.
"What's the word, Shermanator?" I ask.
Sherman's on the front steps waiting for us, he looks grim. "I'd better wait for everyone."
I shrug. "Have it your way." I sit on the steps and wait for the others with him.
Roberta and Frank soon arrive and we all head to the basement. Once there, he sighs and spills the beans.
Sherman is really unhappy, "Kevin isn't the only kid gone missing on Friday. Seven more are officially missing, all around the same time. Different schools, different backgrounds, different lifestyles. Only thing that links them is they're all fifteen." I don't like the way they all turn and look at me. "A curfew has been set for everyone under seventeen. No one out after dark, until this is solved." That brings a collective groan from everyone.
"I suggest one of us be with you at all times, Nick." Frank says to me nervously. "For the next few days, just in case."
I shake my head and fend them off with a wave of my hands, "Heck no! What is this, house arrest? I'll be fine! I don't need you guys to baby-sit me! No way!"
"Someone seems to be after the fifteen year olds in Gotham, Nick." Roberta says as if I could forget. "Whether you like it or not, you are in danger."
"Look, this all happened on Friday. It's probably blown over by now." I tell them.
"It's gonna be for your own good, Nick." Sherman says and puts a hand on my shoulder.
"We're your friends, Nick. We're just trying to protect you." Roberta adds.
I sigh. Three against one, unfair odds. "Fine. Whatever."
"So, got any bright ideas on what we're gonna do?" Frank asks Sherman who is usually the one who does come up with all the bright ideas.
"Well, I think Kevin usually hung around Wizards Quest Arcade on Fridays. We can go there and ask the regulars and employees if they saw him there." Sherman thinks aloud.
"Wouldn't the cops have thought of that?" Roberta asks with disgust.
"Yeah, but I bet you they didn't get anything out of the kids at the arcade. Those kids don't talk to cops, and if they do, they lie to them. They'll talk to us." Sherman sounds so sure I sometimes believe him.
"We'll go with that idea." I say to forestall any comment Roberta may have to that.
We have to take the bus to get there. It's still early in the afternoon, but maybe some of the late evening kids will be there on a holiday. We get there and the place is packed! So this is where all the A group hang out. Who knew? We elbow our way past the group hanging out in the lobby and arrive at the front desk.
Sherman hands the clerk a picture of Kevin that he got out of the yearbook. "I think he's a regular here. His name is Kevin. Was he in here Friday?"
The clerk studies the picture. "Yeah. Always plays MobWars. He's in here all the time, lately. This new curfew is gonna play Hell with our revenues this month."
"Anything else?" Sherman asks.
"There's a group of kids he hangs out with. I think they may be over at the virtual Surfing Safari game."
"Thanks." We steer our way through the crowd and find the surfing game. There's a group of well-dressed kids surrounding it. Yes, this was Kevin's crowd all right. But would they talk to us?
Sherman goes up to one of the girls on the outside ring of kids. He taps her on the shoulder and she turns around… oh my God! She's gorgeous! She has shoulder length, slightly curly brown hair that makes me want to touch it because I know it's gotta be softer than anything I've ever touched before. She has the brownest eyes and I wish that they are looking at me instead of Sherman. When she looks at him, she has this funny blank look, almost like she doesn't even see him.
"Hi," Sherman says to her with more confidence than I feel at the moment. What, is he blind?
That seems to have done the trick, though, and she blinks and notices all of us. I like to think her eyes linger on me longer than anyone else. I don't like to think I'm deluding myself, but I swear as she's talking to Sherman about Kevin that she keeps looking over his shoulder at me. I don't hear a word said between them. Never felt like this before.
"Gonna wipe that drool from your chin, Nick?" Frank whispers at me into my ear.
I'm embarrassed. Didn't think I was being THAT obvious. Flustered, I look away across the room, hoping that something else will catch my eye. I hear Frank chuckling at my expense beside me. No, I wont look at him or at her. But, there's nothing of interest to me in this place, except for her.
"Hey, Nick, hello!" Roberta's voice startles me.
"What?" I say a bit more crossly than I should have.
"Shauna asked you a question." She says, raising an eyebrow.
"Who's Shauna?" And I'm rewarded with one of Roberta's looks that make me feel like an idiot. Seems to happen a lot. It must be that girl's name. Bliss, at least I know her name now. How had I missed it before? "Oh."
"You're in the ninth grade, right?" Shauna is asking me. "I've not seen you around our side of the cafeteria at lunch."
The students had set up this sort of pecking order in the cafeteria, just like in the bleachers during pep rallies and other events. Kind of a grade segregation thing and I don't know if it's done consciously or what but it seems to work. Seventh graders at the front by the doors, then the eighth graders in the middle, and the ninth pretty much wherever we want but usually on the far side of the cafeteria. I was the only one in our group in ninth and tended to sit with the gang instead of my fellow ninth graders.
"I sit with my friends." I manage.
"We're planning the ninth grade dance, why don't you join the planning committee? We could use more people. It'll be fun." She smiles at me and I know I can't resist.
"Um… sure." Is all I can think to say. Where did my so clever tongue suddenly go?
"And as for Kevin, yes, he was here on Friday. Left at closing but not with us. We were having a party at Troy's and he said he had to go home and work on some science homework or something." She is frowning as if she disapproved of Kevin's priorities.
"He's my lab partner." Sherman says to her frowning back. "You sure he went straight home after the arcade closed?"
"I'm not sure of anything except what he told us." Shauna replies. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's my turn next." And she jumps upon the surfboard to start the game.
Sherman shakes his head. I stare at her and wonder if she can ride a board just as well as she could make my head feel dizzy. We ask a few more regulars some questions and truthfully, my mind is not on the business at hand. Me…on a planning committee? And not one of the gang ribbed me about it… at least, not yet. Shauna was going to be there too. It's the only reason why I agreed to something like that.
At school I stay after so I can go to my first planning meeting. I enter the room full of kids that are not exactly my kind of crowd… except for her. I see her sitting at a table working on a big poster board with magic markers and nervously walk up to her. She notices me and gives me a big, heart-stopping smile.
"You came! I'm so glad! Not many guys would be caught dead doing this stuff!" Shauna says.
I laugh nervously. I sound stupid, I know, but I can't help it. Just looking at her makes my IQ dip down below a hundred. "Uhhhh… so, what do you want me to do?" Run my fingers through your hair? I think to myself.
"You can help me with these decorations. The theme is going to be Fantasy Nights. Kind of along the lines of Midsummer's Nights Dream, with fairies, satyr's, you know, the fey people and all. It's going to be so cool." Shauna hands me a blank poster board and some markers.
I have no idea what she means but I just nod anyway to humor her. That's not my kinda thing. So there I am, making some dumb posters and feeling a little out of place. I'm the only guy in here. Great. Oh well, it wasn't like I have this jock reputation or any kind of reputation for that matter to worry about.
At the end of the session it's getting dark and we start cleaning up the mess in the room.
"You want a ride home?" Shauna asks me, totally surprising me. "With the curfew set, you'd never make it home in time."
"You have your drivers license?" I ask, impressed.
"Yes. I'm sixteen and got my drivers Ed out of school. So, is that a yes?" She is still smiling at me.
"Um, yah, yes! SURE! Ah, thanks!" Why do I have to turn into a gibbering idiot whenever she says something to me?
We walk out after straightening up and her car blows me away.
"A 'Vett? Wow! Is it yours?" I ask as she unlocks the red Corvette.
She nods and I open up the passenger door and listen to the leather squeak and sigh as I slide into place. If only the gang can see me now. This is so cool! She steps on the gas and we speed out of the school parking lot. This thing is FAST! I swear, if we just stayed parked we'd still probably get a speeding ticket, it looks that fast! She can drive too!
"You ARE coming to the dance this Friday, right?" She asks me.
"I… um, don't have a date." I admit to her.
"Yes you do, me. If you want to go with me." She tells me.
I'm dumbfounded. The most beautiful girl I've ever seen has just asked me out on a date! I'd never been on a date before. "What about the curfew?" Great. It sounds like I'm turning her down. I must be nuts.
"Commissioner Gordon has okayed it and is going to send security especially for the dance." Shauna assures me. "So, is it a date?"
"Yes! Of course! That'd be… uh, great!" I stutter and know she notices me blushing. I wish I can just melt into the floorboards and disappear.
"Okay. It'll be fun!" She says and we sped through a yellow light.
We pull up to a stop at the curb in front of my house. I see Sherman waiting there on the front porch, and I only now remember that I am supposed to be under their surveillance and had ditched them for the committee.
"Thanks for the ride. I… um, gotta go." I say with my hand on the door handle, but I'm looking at her.
"Don't forget our date." She says and then she grabs my jacket collar and drags me closer. My mind freezes but the rest of my body seems to be on fire as she kisses me. Not an unsure, chaste kiss, but a kiss that you see in those kinds of movies that makes girls cry. It is my first kiss and I don't know what the heck I'm doing, but she doesn't seem fazed about it. She lets go of me and I'm breathless and speechless. She waves good-bye at me and I fumble at the door handle and nearly fall out of her car. I watch as she speeds away.
Sherman startles me from behind. "That was some kiss. Now I know why you didn't want any of us around you after school today."
I can't keep from blushing again. Great! "Look, I didn't know she was sweet on me, okay?" I try to keep a cool exterior but on the inside I'm jumping up and down in ecstasy.
"Sure thing, Nick. Come on. Your mom has dinner fixed." Sherman steers me into the house and shakes his head.
I know I look horrible the next day. I had trouble falling asleep. I couldn't keep that vision of beauty out of my mind. It was hard to concentrate at school. I keep reliving that kiss over and over again. At lunch, I meet up with the gang and just fiddle with my food.
"Aren't you hungry, Nick?" Frank asks me.
"Huh?" I forgot they are there.
"Nick's in love." Sherman tells them all.
Roberta and Frank grin at me.
"So, Nick… who's your new girlfriend?" Roberta asks, taking obvious pleasure in teasing me.
"That Shauna girl from the arcade." Sherman is really having a good time with this. "You should have seen them kiss! Should've gotten an Oscar from that performance."
"Come on, you guys. Give me a break!" I try to be angry but I don't really feel it. "Um, you guys aren't going to the dance, are you?"
"It's a ninth grade dance. We aren't on the list." Frank frowns. "Wait, you mean you're going? With that girl?"
"Oh! Nick's got a date!" Roberta giggles. "Our little Nick is growing up!"
"Thanks a lot, you guys." I sigh.
"I didn't know you knew how to dance." Sherman says to me.
I stare at the table. "Um, I don't."
"I can teach you if you want, Nick." Roberta volunteers. "And I can answer any other kind of special questions you may have." She is grinning again and I know what she means. Any kind of girl questions I have. Roberta's the only girl I've ever hung out with. I may have to take her up on that.
"Okay, but no laughing at me, alright?" I say to her and she nods and looks like she's having trouble keeping in the laughter. I sigh again. I know I'm asking for it by getting them involved in my budding love life.
At home, it's Roberta's turn to baby-sit me.
"Okay, Nick." Roberta sets up the stereo and starts some dance music. "Now, you want fast or slow dance instructions first?"
"Anything would be, um, helpful." I say and she takes my hands.
"Jeeze, you're hands are awful sweaty, Nick." Roberta observes the obvious.
"So sue me, I'm nervous." I say and yank my hands away. I try to rub them dry on my pants leg.
"Wait." She runs to the bathroom and comes back out with a wad of toilet paper. She hands it to me. "Stuff this in your pants or coat pocket. Before you dance, just put your hands in your pockets and grab hold of this. It'll help."
"Thanks." I mumble and stuff it in my pants pocket. I'm still nervous as she takes my hands again and I remind myself that Roberta is just a friend that happens to be a girl. It doesn't help. Stupid hormones.
I don't know what's come over me, but this past week, I've been noticing all the girls at school. Even Roberta is looking good to me. I gotta dunk my head in some ice or something because this is getting ridiculous. It feels like I have a flame burning in my whole body since that wonderful kiss. It's like suddenly, since Tuesday, my hormones have gone into overdrive. At lunch, I make sure Roberta's on the other side of the table from me.
"Dance is tomorrow night. You ready, Nick?" Frank asks from beside me.
"No. No I'm not. I got two left feet. Roberta tried to teach me to dance but I'm hopeless." I groan.
Roberta tries to console me. "You aren't that bad. You only stepped on me a couple of times."
Thank God she didn't mention the time I fowled us up and we ended up collapsing into a heap on the ground together. I had been on top of her and for a few major embarrassing moments, I wanted her and I think she had felt it too. Jeeze, I couldn't help it! Then she had pushed me off and we had taken a break from the slow dancing lessons. I'm surprised she hadn't slapped me or something. But she seems to be cool with it now.
"You'll do fine. Don't think on it too hard is all." Frank said.
"Just too bad a Corvette doesn't really have a back seat." Roberta kids me and I fold my arms on the table and cradle my head in them, groaning at her comment.
"Yeah, big guy." Frank picks up on Roberta's taunt. "Don't forget to bring any protection!"
Sherman laughs and grabs my arm from across the table. "Oh come ON, Nick! We're just having a bit of fun. Don't take it so personally! Really, we hope it works out for you."
"You're all heart." I mumble. I still have my head buried in my arms so I don't have to look at my friends. I am blushing again. Come prepared, Frank says. I know what he means and I KNOW I'm not ready for something like that, no way! Maybe just a good kissing session or something, but not much beyond that.
"Oh, come on, Nick. Eat your lunch." Sherman insists. "We wont bother you about it anymore… at least not until after you finish eating."
I hear Roberta and Frank laugh and slowly lift my head.
"And look who's come to join us for lunch, Nickipoo!" Frank points to my left.
I ignore Frank's new nickname for me because I have a pretty good idea what kind of surprise he's talking about and I turn around in slow motion. My mouth has suddenly gone dry and my eyes widen as I take in the vision of the Goddess now sitting beside me.
"Shauna!" I almost croak. I can't believe it. She's sitting here with us.
"I got my dress for the dance. I can't wait for you to see it! It's strapless." She gushes.
Frank is elbowing me from the other side as I struggle to find something halfway intelligent to say.
"Great!" Is all I can think of.
Roberta rolls her eyes at me again.
"I hope you choose something that accentuates that handsome face of yours." Shauna says to me.
"Um, o-o-okay." I stutter and run my hand through my dark hair nervously, refusing to look at my friends whom I know are just eating this up and storing it for later use against me.
She finishes her lunch and scoots her chair back. But before she gets up, she leans in and I am helplessly drawn towards her and she kisses me again… right in front of the gang and at the moment, I don't care. All I'm really aware of is the two of us. She smells great. She tastes great. She looks great. I feel like I belong to her. I had no idea this was what falling in love was like. It is the greatest thing in the world! I let out a satisfied sigh as she releases me and leaves us. I stare after her, my mind blank.
"Earth to Nick, Earth to Nick." Frank shakes me from behind. "Class starts in five minutes. You gotta return from cloud nine, bud!"
"He's got it real bad." Sherman chuckles.
Roberta laughs with him, "I think we're losing him, guys!"
I'm still in a fuzzy, dream-like state and Frank helps me stand. I am dimly aware that my friends are gently chiding me and I don't say anything about it. The rest of the day goes by and I don't really remember anything about it. The only thing that sticks in my mind are those lips.
DemonSlayer:
Animated Batman Adventures
Chapter 2: Survivor
By Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins
Frank is helping me get dressed for the dance. I'm so nervous I'm shaking. He has to button up my dress shirt for me; I can't get my fingers around the buttons. I have a cumber bund, for Christ's sake! Roberta had picked out an appropriate corsage for me to give Shauna.
"Stand still while I do your tie." Frank pesters me. I'm fidgeting and keep glancing at the clock on the wall in my room. "Hey, settle down. It's not like your getting married or anything."
"Easy for you to say." I reply and find the tie ungodly comfortable.
"Ready for your coat?" He asks me.
I nod. It has tails, if you can believe it. Me… in a three-piece suite and a coat with tails! Man! A week ago, if you were to have told me I was going to dress up like some European high class gent, I'd've told you that you were outta your mind! Love sure makes you do strange things! I wanted to look unforgettable for Shauna. She hinted at a knock out strapless dress that I couldn't wait to see.
Roberta and Sherman come into my room to see how I am getting along.
"Wow! You look really great!" Roberta says as if she is surprised that I can pull something like that off. And despite my less than gentlemanly behavior during the dancing lessons, now she looks at me, her eyes softening… really looking at me as if for the first time. "You may even turn out to be a real good looking man. You never know!"
I'm embarrassed and don't know what to say to that. Was that a compliment?
"Knock 'em dead, buddy!" Sherman grins at me.
I nervously grin back. "If I can survive long enough 'till the dance starts. I feel like I'm about to pass out."
"Just breathe slowly." Roberta says. "You are remembering to breathe, right? Important first step."
"I can barely remember how to walk and chew gum at this point." I admit.
"Are you sure you don't want one of us along? This thing with Kevin still has me unnerved." Sherman asks me with concern.
"I'll be fine. There's going to be a ton of kids there. What could possibly happen?" I tell them and try to breathe slowly.
Roberta and Sherman walk out and Frank stops me before I walk out of my room. He hands me a tiny square of foil.
"What's this?" I ask as I take it.
"Better safe then sorry." Frank tells me. When I keep looking at him to explain further he shakes his head. "It's a condom, genius!"
I suddenly feel real self conscious and start to hand it back to him, "I-I wont be needing it."
Frank refuses to take it back, "Look, better to have it and not use it than wishing to God you took it."
I blush for the umpteenth time today and put it in my pocket. At least Frank had spared me by waiting until Roberta had left the room before giving the thing to me. Things seemed to be moving so fast. I had just met the girl. But I can't get her out of my mind. I hate to admit it, but part of me hopes I will need the condom tonight. That flame burning in me flares up again just from thinking about her and I almost collapse from the onslaught.
Frank steadies me. "You okay, bud?"
"Yeah. Just didn't get much sleep last night." Partially true anyway since I had hardly a descent nights sleep since that first kiss. It was as if she was always with me, caressing me in my dreams. I'd wake up and feel like I'd been hit by a semi truck every morning and be in an exhausting daze all day. But when I'd see her, it was like she was my guiding light and I was the moth to her flame. Corny, yeah, I know, but it's the only way I can properly explain it. But I can't tell the gang that.
I hear Roberta's voice from my living room, "Guess who's here!"
My heart starts to beat faster and I wobble into the room where my friends are waiting. My throat is dry and my tongue plastered to the roof of my mouth. I think I'm starting to sweat. Through my living room window I can see her car. She steps out and my eyes nearly pop out of my head. She's wearing a blue sequined, skin tight, and very strapless dress that barely covers anything of importance. I can't see how she is able to walk at all in the thing… not that I'm complaining or anything.
"Oh man!" I hear Frank's awed expression from behind me as we are all looking out the window and witnessing this Goddess approach my front door. "Aren't you glad you took it now?"
I ignore him. I had been dying to see her in that dress and now, I'm dying to see her out of it, if you catch my drift. I fly to the door and open it before she can even place one spiked heel on the front step. She smiles at me and I didn't realize an IQ level can go negative, but mine suddenly did.
"Hel-" I start to say 'hello' but never finish. She grabs my dress shirt collar and drags me in for another one of her hellacious kisses. It's long and I am having trouble breathing, but I don't care. She is the center of my universe and she wants me!
"Wow." I exhale the word when she releases me.
Shauna is smiling and nods to my friends who huddle just behind me. "I'll take real good care of him."
"Have fun, kids." Frank pats me on the back and shoves me out the door.
I am speechless as we drive up to the dance. When we do get there I almost fall out of the 'Vett. There are a ton of kids there. We join the crowd plowing into the auditorium and the thumping of music hits me like a fist when we enter. The place is decorated like a forest, with one-dimensional paper trees and streamers acting like vines strung throughout the rafters. I see mythological cut out drawings of unicorns and half goat, half man creatures taped along the walls. There's a dragon and fairies out the kazoo. The punch bowls are wrapped in faux ivy. It actually looks kinda cool.
"We got Student Council to help us out with the final setting up." Shauna replies with her lips close to my ear so I can hear her over the music.
"It looks great!" I say enthusiastically, relishing that I have to practically tongue her ear to be heard.
She takes the lead and pulls me along to the dance floor. It's crowded and loud and the flashing disco lights in the darkness make it difficult to tell dream from reality. The cut outs seem like they can spring to life at any moment. Then she takes both my hands and leads me in a dizzying dance that leaves me disoriented and sweating. I have no idea how long we dance before she starts to lead me from the dance floor. I am so wrapped up in it, I'm not aware of how exhausted I am. My legs feel weak and I am dying of thirst. But she isn't steering us towards the refreshment area, more like out towards the rest rooms. I guess she needs a potty break.
But, to my horror, she drags me into the girl's rest room and locks the door and places a trashcan in front for added caution after she makes sure all the stalls are free and clear.
"Y-y-you don't need any help in there do you?" I ask, having trouble swallowing suddenly.
She looks at me and raises her hand and waves me to her side. She wraps her arms around my waist and draws me in, forcing my groin to press into her.
"Um, look, I don't know if we should-" I was going to say 'do this' but she cuts me off again and plants another long kiss over my mouth. I succumb to her apparent need. She must want me worse than I want her.
It feels good to be needed like that. I feel a quiver of unexpected pleasure as she begins to range her hands down my back and to my butt. She squeezes it and I grunt in her mouth. I take that as a cue and mimic her hand movements with my own, feeling her bare back, then the strange scale-like feel of the sequined dress and down to her perfect rear. She begins to move her hands more frantically now and shoves her tongue into my mouth, kissing me harder and seemingly trying to draw me into her through some strange form of osmosis.
Then she pulls away from me and I try to hug her close to me again, not wanting to release her. But my fear is unwarranted because she is forcing me to lie down on the cold tile floor. She is leaning over me and I smell her perfume. I begin to tremble slightly when she lies on top of me and I feel her nails against my skull as she runs her fingers through my black hair.
I let her run her hands all over my body and she goes where no one has ever gone before. My brain is in a pleasant daze that I don't want to come out of. But there is this annoying pounding that wont stop in my head.
When the outer bathroom door is broken down, I only barely realize the pounding hadn't come from in my head but some one who must've really needed to use the rest room. I glance down and am startled to find that my pants had come off and are shoved down to my ankles. At least my boxers are still on, but from what Shauna was about to do, it didn't look like they were going to stay that way for long. But she isn't looking at me at the moment, even though her hands rested achingly close to my groin, she is looking at someone in the doorway. Shauna looks pissed. I'm not all that happy about being interrupted either. I'm not quite fully back into myself to feel embarrassment yet at being found in such a position. When it hits me that it's probably a teacher standing there, I slowly start to gather my senses.
"I've found you at last!" The woman, tall, blonde, and angry looking startles me and leaps at Shauna with arms outstretched and hands prepared to grab.
The attacker bowls Shauna over. Shauna had been straddling me at the time so I was accidentally kicked by Shauna's spiked heel when she is knocked off of me. I try to struggle to my feet but forget my pants are around my ankles and fall on my side when I try to stand. Shauna is on the ground and the blonde is on top of her, punching her with expert blows. I'm afraid for Shauna but she seems to be taking the blows with more bravado then I ever could. She and the strange blonde woman are yelling something at each other, but it's in a language I don't understand. They act like they know each other. I roll over to my knees and slowly attempt to stand from that position. Once I'm up, I struggle to bring my pants up and fasten them once more. I really should do something.
So I lunge at the blonde and grab her hair, pulling it back. She barely gives me a glance and continues to wail on my Shauna. I yank on it again, jerking it back and forth repeatedly so she knows I'm there. It makes me mad that she thinks I'm not a threat. Fine, I'm going to amend my promise I made to my mom years ago that I'd never hit a girl. This one SO deserves it!
The blonde is too busy walloping my Shauna to see my right cross. My fist completes the round about and I pop her in her pretty jaw. She is startled, not expecting me to actually join in. I'm annoyed that my swing only produced a scowl from her. But it distracts her enough that my Shauna is able to finally retaliate. Wow, my girl really knows how to fight! She raises her legs and flings the blonde over her head in one smooth move. The blonde rolls over and gets to her feet at the same time my girl jumps to hers, no worse for wear. She still is full of fight, despite the beating the blonde had given her. They lunge at each other again and I decide to join in. I go for the blonde and try to get her in a bear hug from behind to allow Shauna to give back some of what she had taken.
I grab the blonde from behind and get her arms pinned.
"What are you doing?" She has the nerve to ask me just as Shauna let's her fists fly into that face that will probably need plastic surgery after we're finished with her.
"You attacked us! I bet you're the one that got Kevin and all the others!" I whisper fiercely into her ear.
She takes the blows Shauna offers gamely, "Listen to me, you stupid boy, I'm trying to save your life! She is the one who steals young boys, not me!"
"Liar!" Shauna screams at her. "Killer! It was you! You're the one with blood under your nails!"
I didn't get as close to her hands as Shauna had, so she would be the one to know. I squeeze her arms more tightly to her sides. She takes the punches like they were fly swats. She doesn't struggle against me. This is too weird.
"Listen to me, boy," she tells me between punches, "there are things you do not understand. She is the boy killer. I only kill the likes of her."
Then, suddenly, she shrugs me off like a coat, despite the grip I have on her. No wonder she didn't struggle, she could have gotten away at any time.
To my horror, the blonde pulls out a long bladed weapon from somewhere on her person. "Foul creature." The blonde hisses at Shauna. The blonde jumps at Shauna and my Goddess dives to the ground in a swift dodge.
"Wait! Stop!" I plead and the blonde chases after Shauna into an empty stall.
"Nick! Help me!" I hear Shauna scream my name as the two fight on top of the toilet.
Forgetting my own safety, I leap over into the stall where the girls struggle. I see the blade glinting in the fluorescent light and grab at the arm that holds what looks like a short sword. I slip on a puddle of water on the floor and the blonde comes down to the floor with me. My head hits the stall divider and then I feel a burning pain in my shoulder as the blade slices through my rumpled coat and shirt. I cry out and the blonde lands on top of me. I hear the sword clatter into the next stall.
My shoulder is in agony. I'd never felt such pain before. The blonde is fighting to find some ground to stand on but keeps stepping on me instead. I hear Shauna's triumphant cry and I grunt as she lands on top of us.
The three of us are struggling in the very small space. My aching shoulder gets shoved painfully against the porcelain bowl and when I move away, I can see my blood smeared along the surface. It's the blonde. She killed Kevin and the others and now she is after Shauna and me!
I can barely move, I have two girls fighting right on top of me. Shauna keeps landing punch after punch on the blonde. A few times she misses as the blonde repositions herself and I receive the blow. We writhe in the confines with my shoulder getting jolted painfully many times so that tears come to my eyes. I wish I had never come. I wish my friends were here. I wish I could reach that stupid sword! A million things were going through my head along those lines. Who knew that having a girl friend was such a deadly thing!
The blonde leans to the left and tips us all over and we spill out of the stall, the swinging door hitting us several times as we come to a stop.
"I'm telling you, boy, this is not what it seems." The blonde continues to try to lie to me as her and Shauna square each other off, "This is not even a human girl. Tell him what you are, Thyla."
Shauna grins at her and it's frightening. "Tell him yourself, Skymouth! He won't believe it!"
The two are circling each other like sumo wrestlers. "Fine. I am Dracos imperious. A shape shifter… and this creature you believe you are in love with is a demon, a succubus. She is sucking the very life from you through sexual energy. I have been sent by the Vatican to kill her and her kind. She is the cause of the other disappearances. She sucked the life out of them, and you were going to be next. If I hadn't come along, you would never have gotten back up from that floor again."
I look at her. She's completely crazy! A nutter escaped from the asylum. A very deadly nutter. Did she expect me to believe that?
"I didn't mean to cut you. But you DID get in the way." The blonde continues.
Yeah, right!
"This is nuts! I'm going to call the cops and they're going to send you right back to Arkham or Stone Gate or wherever you escaped from!" I shout at her and am torn between helping Shauna and running to get some help.
"You shouldn't have interfered, Skymouth." Shauna says to the blonde with a funny name.
"Shauna?" I ask her. I have a very bad feeling all of a sudden.
"She's telling the truth, I'm afraid." And my girl looks at me and her beautiful brown eyes transform. The pupil starts to bleed into the brown and now the white until her eyes are a frightening, pure depthless black. "My real name is Thyla and I must feed on a very specialized food… young boys like yourself. It's a pity we were interrupted. I would have given you the ultimate pleasure so you would not even have felt or cared about death. It is a very painless way to go." She looks disappointed. "But now I'll have to change my plans no thanks to this interloper!"
I back away, holding my burning shoulder. I feel weak and exhausted. Was that the effects of the fight or Thyla's charms or both? I can't believe it! I look over at the bruised blonde who stares fearlessly back at the demon who didn't quite hold my attentions like she had a moment ago. I sink to the ground, confused and frightened as I watch the fight continue.
The blonde, sorry, Skymouth was now without a weapon. That was my fault. I glance over at where the short sword lay and crawl slowly over, unnoticed by the two enemies. Along the way, I chant the mantra 'Why me?' to myself.
I grab at the hilt and the blade slides noisily over the cold, wet tile. I take one more look at Shauna and wish that it had turned out different. Shauna looks at me. Her lovely face changes, melting and mixing like molten wax and then turns into something that is straight out of Hansel and Gretel. Her body still looks like a young models but now her face is that of an old hag and I scuttle backwards a few paces in shock.
"You see, boy?" Skymouth tells me. "Succubus. You were helpless to defend yourself. You were completely locked into her trance while she slowly drained you over the days."
I shake my head and I remember the sword as I try to absorb this revelation. Shauna, um, Thyla charges Skymouth and the two go at it again with renewed fierceness. I stand there, with an ache in my shoulder and now my gut as I realize my first love is a lie. I was a fool and I was played like one. I was such a sucker! I toss the short sword to Skymouth when the two weren't grappling each other. Skymouth catches it and tosses a grin my way and I have to turn away as I see the sword come down. Thyla doesn't scream but I hear the sound of a blade sliding into flesh, a strange, muffled sound that I don't want to hear again.
I think it's over. There's no more struggling from behind me but I don't look back. I hear footsteps approach me from behind.
"I'm sorry, boy." Skymouth lays a hand on my shoulder. She really does sound sorry.
"My name's Nick." I tell her, my voice expressionless. "Is she dead?"
"Yes. Perhaps it is best that you do not turn around. Here, let me see your wound." She comes around me and pushes the sliced cloth aside as she inspects my sliced skin. I wince when she presses it with her fingers even though she is gentle. "I can patch this up with out you needing to go to a hospital." She looks into my eyes. "Do you trust me?"
I don't know. She just killed the first person I ever fell in love with. She isn't what she seems. Skymouth had said she was a shape shifter of some sort. And a Dracos something or other… I'll have to ask Sherman what the heck that is. I shrug. I feel like crap. My heart is broken and my love is lying dead on the floor behind me. Why hasn't anyone come in to investigate?
"Whatever." I mutter. What could she do to me that was worse than what had just happened?
She closes in on me, bracing me so I can't move away and I shudder when she licks my wound it's entire length. She does it very slowly and through the pain, a little bit of twisted excitement leaks out. I try to draw away but she holds me there, licking my wounds like a dog does.
When she lifts her head up from my shoulder, she is looking at me with a kind of sympathy I didn't expect from someone who can fight like her. "It will be closed in an hour or two on its own. My saliva has a special healing agent in it. You will not need stitches. I'm so sorry you had to get caught up in this. The world's a bigger place than any of you mortals can possibly know and it's just better to leave it that way." She runs a hand through my hair, combing it smooth again, I am still in her grip but I don't struggle, "Go home, Nick. It's over."
"What about-" I croak but cannot finish the sentence.
Skymouth understands. "The succubus will be taken care of. You don't have to worry about it anymore." She looks at me for what seems like forever then reaches into her pocket and pulls out a business card. "Use this, if you have trouble sorting this out or still have some nightmares. If you like, I can place you under my protection. Not many mortals have been able to claim such an honor. Consider it, please. For once you have come in contact with the supernatural, they keep coming to you. They will be drawn to you. You will need someone on your side to help you deal with it."
I stare at the card and think about what she's offering. Why not? I take the card and look at it. It's a phone number. That's all. No name or anything else.
"Call anytime you need to. It's my cell phone, untraceable. Tell no one about me." She is looking at me for confirmation.
I nod, feeling lost and alone. I don't know why, but I lean in and hug her. I had to. I grip her tightly hoping to fight off the feeling of loss and growing sense of fear. She is startled at my reaction, I can tell. She doesn't know what to do and I feel her stiffen. I let her go and stare at the floor.
"I've never been hugged before." She admits to me. She reaches a hand to me and puts it on my cheek. She sighs. "Go home, Nick. Clean yourself up and go home."
I do as she orders, splashing some water on my face and groan when I realize that walking home at night with a curfew on and a bloodied and torn shirt is going to be bad news.
"Oh yes, that's right. Okay, I'll take you home. I'll call someone to take care of this." Skymouth realizes my dilemma at about the same time. "I have connections you wouldn't believe."
"What about the dance? People are going to come in here." I say to her.
Skymouth shakes her head, "No they wont. I placed a barrier in the way. Everyone will think this bathroom is out of order. Also, I have some GC: PD guarding the way. No one will get in here that I don't want to."
She walks off through the door and leaves me here with the body. I have yet to look at Thyla/ Shauna. I want to cry suddenly. It has yet to really sink in but it's getting to the breaking point. I want to go home. I want to be with my friends. I want… I want Shauna back to the way it was meant to be. My legs go to jelly and I collapse on the floor, sitting there on the hard tile forcing the tears to back off at least until I get home.
Skymouth comes back with an over coat and I put it on, over my bloodied clothes. We wait until a small group of uniformed people arrives with all sorts of black bags.
"Clean up crew's here. We can go now." Skymouth ushers me out the bathroom. We weave our way through the unsuspecting student body and I'm relieved when we make it out into the night air that had gone chilly. She takes me to her car. I shake my head. It's a black Bentley. It's an older model. She helps me inside and I tell her the way to my house. It's a quiet drive. Neither one of us say anything. I stare out the passenger door window and wonder when my life suddenly took this horrible turn for the worse.
We get home without incident. She pulls up to the curb.
"Nick. It'll be okay." She tells me before I get out.
"Will it?" I say back to her. My life will never be the same now. Not ever. There were new nasties out there. Well, maybe not new, they were old, very old, very nasty and now they were going to keep coming at me. How am I going to tell the gang this, and without telling them about Skymouth? I go home to where my friends are waiting. I go home, changed forever and wonder if it's indeed a bad thing.
End
Animated Batman Adventures
Chapter 1: New Love
By Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins
Spoilers: "I've Got Batman In My Basement."
Characters: Nick, Sherman, Roberta, Frank, Batman are all owned by Warner Brothers and DC comics, Skymouth and Shauna are my characters
Rating: PG with a touch of R at the very end for descriptive violence
Summary: The kids learn that there are more dangerous things in life than solving crimes… love. Told from Nick's POV.
After that incident with the Penguin, my friends Frank, Sherman, and Roberta and me have been pretty much inseparable. We've managed to bond and form a group despite our previously rocky relationship. Truthfully, me and Frank had never really known Sherman and Roberta before that. We knew them only in passing and that they were easy and fun to mess with. They still are easy prey for some of the bigger kids at school, but both Sherman and Roberta know now that if anyone messes with them, they can come to Frank and me and we can bail 'em out. It's funny how things work out, sometimes.
I'm gonna be sixteen before the end of the year. First thing I'm gonna do is get my drivers permit. That's gonna be the best! Frank still has almost a whole year and Sherman and Roberta have about a year and a half more. Watch out Gotham!
"Nick! Are you paying attention, or what?" That was Sherman. He sounds agitated again. I think he's still keyed up over that fight he and Roberta had over what direction our group should go with this crime solving stuff. Sherman wants to take on more cases and Roberta thinks we are getting in too deep. Those two, I swear, they fight like they're boyfriend and girlfriend sometimes! They ought to hook up, is what they ought to do.
"Yeah, yeah, interview who was in the art studio's at school and see if anyone saw anything suspicious." I say.
Sherman looks at me funny. "Nick, what's with you, lately? You used to like doing this kinda stuff. Now you sound bored."
"Come on, Sherman." I decide to come clean. Frank and Roberta are here too. "The first couple of years, it was kinda fun and even exciting sometimes. But lately, I dunno, the cases have gotten pretty lame. Next thing you know, we'll be rescuing cats outta trees."
"What's wrong with cats?" Roberta demands of me.
"I'm just saying that if we're gonna do this, let's take on some cases with more meat on them." It's true. We're in a rut and we need something to shake us up.
"And what do you suggest, Nick?" Frank asks me. "The police and Batman handle all the big stuff."
"That's just it. There's too much big stuff! They can't be everywhere at once."
The others are quiet for a moment. I see the look in Sherman's eye. I can tell he is excited. Frank is looking undecided and Roberta just glares at me like why did I have to put such an idea in Sherman's head in the first place?
Just then, the phone rings and Sherman picks it up since it IS his basement.
"Hello." Sherman answers. Now he's the one who sounds distracted. Pause. "But, Kevin was my lab partner. Our project's due in two days." Another pause and I don't like the look on Sherman's face. "Are you sure? No, I haven't seen him at all." He hangs up the phone, looking downright distraught.
"What is it?" Roberta asks concerned.
"Kevin is missing. Never came home Friday night." Sherman tells us. "That was his mom, seeing if he'd been over here the whole time."
"But it's Sunday." Frank says worriedly.
Sherman shrugs. "Well, Nick looks like you get your wish. Mrs. Landers wants us to trace Kevin's usual steps on a Friday and see if we can find anything that might give us a clue on where he is."
Easier said then done. We've hardly ever any outsiders in our group in the past couple of years. Birthday parties, sleepovers, homework study groups, you name it, no strangers allowed. We had been satisfied with the arrangement. It suited us. No one at school really understands us anyway. We are kind of the outcasts at our Junior High.
"And how are we gonna do that? Hire a physic?" Frank asks.
"Maybe." Sherman says and he has that 'I'm thinking' look on his face again.
Roberta looks thoughtful too. "Well, we COULD go and find Batman. Ask him if he has any way of helping."
So we go off in search of Batman. That isn't as impossible as it sounds. He still checks up on us every now and then. Maybe he does that out of payment for us helping him save his butt. Yeah, that's right, a couple of kids saved Batman's life. Us, let something like that go to our heads? Never… yah right!
We finally find him. We've learned how to search for him long ago. He's on some stake out, as usual, using the Bay Bridge as an inconspicuous base. Even though his full attention is on what's going on at the docks below, he notices us coming and spares us a glance.
"It's late. Don't you kids have school tomorrow?" Batman says to us. You know, the usual, syrupy greeting he gives anyone. What is he, our truant officer?
"Monday's a holiday, Batman." Roberta reminds him.
"What are you kid's doing here?" He asks us impatiently. I think we caught him at a bad time.
"A friend of ours from school is missing. Has been since Friday. Have you heard anything?" Sherman asks him. He's never one to beat around the bush.
Batman spares us a longer glance. "What's the name?"
"Kevin Landers. He's fifteen and goes to our school. Lives near the financial district." Sherman replies.
"That's not far from here." Batman says, almost to himself. "If the timetable I was given was correct, I should be finished here around ten. Then, I'll go see what information the police have on the case, alright?"
"You'll let us know if you find anything, right?" Roberta asks him.
Batman nods his head solemnly. Jeeze, I wonder if the man ever smiles? There's nothing else we can do tonight so we all go to our separate homes.
Monday I get a call from Sherman. I hurry over on my bike. Sherman had called all of us. I'm the first one there since I live closest.
"What's the word, Shermanator?" I ask.
Sherman's on the front steps waiting for us, he looks grim. "I'd better wait for everyone."
I shrug. "Have it your way." I sit on the steps and wait for the others with him.
Roberta and Frank soon arrive and we all head to the basement. Once there, he sighs and spills the beans.
Sherman is really unhappy, "Kevin isn't the only kid gone missing on Friday. Seven more are officially missing, all around the same time. Different schools, different backgrounds, different lifestyles. Only thing that links them is they're all fifteen." I don't like the way they all turn and look at me. "A curfew has been set for everyone under seventeen. No one out after dark, until this is solved." That brings a collective groan from everyone.
"I suggest one of us be with you at all times, Nick." Frank says to me nervously. "For the next few days, just in case."
I shake my head and fend them off with a wave of my hands, "Heck no! What is this, house arrest? I'll be fine! I don't need you guys to baby-sit me! No way!"
"Someone seems to be after the fifteen year olds in Gotham, Nick." Roberta says as if I could forget. "Whether you like it or not, you are in danger."
"Look, this all happened on Friday. It's probably blown over by now." I tell them.
"It's gonna be for your own good, Nick." Sherman says and puts a hand on my shoulder.
"We're your friends, Nick. We're just trying to protect you." Roberta adds.
I sigh. Three against one, unfair odds. "Fine. Whatever."
"So, got any bright ideas on what we're gonna do?" Frank asks Sherman who is usually the one who does come up with all the bright ideas.
"Well, I think Kevin usually hung around Wizards Quest Arcade on Fridays. We can go there and ask the regulars and employees if they saw him there." Sherman thinks aloud.
"Wouldn't the cops have thought of that?" Roberta asks with disgust.
"Yeah, but I bet you they didn't get anything out of the kids at the arcade. Those kids don't talk to cops, and if they do, they lie to them. They'll talk to us." Sherman sounds so sure I sometimes believe him.
"We'll go with that idea." I say to forestall any comment Roberta may have to that.
We have to take the bus to get there. It's still early in the afternoon, but maybe some of the late evening kids will be there on a holiday. We get there and the place is packed! So this is where all the A group hang out. Who knew? We elbow our way past the group hanging out in the lobby and arrive at the front desk.
Sherman hands the clerk a picture of Kevin that he got out of the yearbook. "I think he's a regular here. His name is Kevin. Was he in here Friday?"
The clerk studies the picture. "Yeah. Always plays MobWars. He's in here all the time, lately. This new curfew is gonna play Hell with our revenues this month."
"Anything else?" Sherman asks.
"There's a group of kids he hangs out with. I think they may be over at the virtual Surfing Safari game."
"Thanks." We steer our way through the crowd and find the surfing game. There's a group of well-dressed kids surrounding it. Yes, this was Kevin's crowd all right. But would they talk to us?
Sherman goes up to one of the girls on the outside ring of kids. He taps her on the shoulder and she turns around… oh my God! She's gorgeous! She has shoulder length, slightly curly brown hair that makes me want to touch it because I know it's gotta be softer than anything I've ever touched before. She has the brownest eyes and I wish that they are looking at me instead of Sherman. When she looks at him, she has this funny blank look, almost like she doesn't even see him.
"Hi," Sherman says to her with more confidence than I feel at the moment. What, is he blind?
That seems to have done the trick, though, and she blinks and notices all of us. I like to think her eyes linger on me longer than anyone else. I don't like to think I'm deluding myself, but I swear as she's talking to Sherman about Kevin that she keeps looking over his shoulder at me. I don't hear a word said between them. Never felt like this before.
"Gonna wipe that drool from your chin, Nick?" Frank whispers at me into my ear.
I'm embarrassed. Didn't think I was being THAT obvious. Flustered, I look away across the room, hoping that something else will catch my eye. I hear Frank chuckling at my expense beside me. No, I wont look at him or at her. But, there's nothing of interest to me in this place, except for her.
"Hey, Nick, hello!" Roberta's voice startles me.
"What?" I say a bit more crossly than I should have.
"Shauna asked you a question." She says, raising an eyebrow.
"Who's Shauna?" And I'm rewarded with one of Roberta's looks that make me feel like an idiot. Seems to happen a lot. It must be that girl's name. Bliss, at least I know her name now. How had I missed it before? "Oh."
"You're in the ninth grade, right?" Shauna is asking me. "I've not seen you around our side of the cafeteria at lunch."
The students had set up this sort of pecking order in the cafeteria, just like in the bleachers during pep rallies and other events. Kind of a grade segregation thing and I don't know if it's done consciously or what but it seems to work. Seventh graders at the front by the doors, then the eighth graders in the middle, and the ninth pretty much wherever we want but usually on the far side of the cafeteria. I was the only one in our group in ninth and tended to sit with the gang instead of my fellow ninth graders.
"I sit with my friends." I manage.
"We're planning the ninth grade dance, why don't you join the planning committee? We could use more people. It'll be fun." She smiles at me and I know I can't resist.
"Um… sure." Is all I can think to say. Where did my so clever tongue suddenly go?
"And as for Kevin, yes, he was here on Friday. Left at closing but not with us. We were having a party at Troy's and he said he had to go home and work on some science homework or something." She is frowning as if she disapproved of Kevin's priorities.
"He's my lab partner." Sherman says to her frowning back. "You sure he went straight home after the arcade closed?"
"I'm not sure of anything except what he told us." Shauna replies. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's my turn next." And she jumps upon the surfboard to start the game.
Sherman shakes his head. I stare at her and wonder if she can ride a board just as well as she could make my head feel dizzy. We ask a few more regulars some questions and truthfully, my mind is not on the business at hand. Me…on a planning committee? And not one of the gang ribbed me about it… at least, not yet. Shauna was going to be there too. It's the only reason why I agreed to something like that.
At school I stay after so I can go to my first planning meeting. I enter the room full of kids that are not exactly my kind of crowd… except for her. I see her sitting at a table working on a big poster board with magic markers and nervously walk up to her. She notices me and gives me a big, heart-stopping smile.
"You came! I'm so glad! Not many guys would be caught dead doing this stuff!" Shauna says.
I laugh nervously. I sound stupid, I know, but I can't help it. Just looking at her makes my IQ dip down below a hundred. "Uhhhh… so, what do you want me to do?" Run my fingers through your hair? I think to myself.
"You can help me with these decorations. The theme is going to be Fantasy Nights. Kind of along the lines of Midsummer's Nights Dream, with fairies, satyr's, you know, the fey people and all. It's going to be so cool." Shauna hands me a blank poster board and some markers.
I have no idea what she means but I just nod anyway to humor her. That's not my kinda thing. So there I am, making some dumb posters and feeling a little out of place. I'm the only guy in here. Great. Oh well, it wasn't like I have this jock reputation or any kind of reputation for that matter to worry about.
At the end of the session it's getting dark and we start cleaning up the mess in the room.
"You want a ride home?" Shauna asks me, totally surprising me. "With the curfew set, you'd never make it home in time."
"You have your drivers license?" I ask, impressed.
"Yes. I'm sixteen and got my drivers Ed out of school. So, is that a yes?" She is still smiling at me.
"Um, yah, yes! SURE! Ah, thanks!" Why do I have to turn into a gibbering idiot whenever she says something to me?
We walk out after straightening up and her car blows me away.
"A 'Vett? Wow! Is it yours?" I ask as she unlocks the red Corvette.
She nods and I open up the passenger door and listen to the leather squeak and sigh as I slide into place. If only the gang can see me now. This is so cool! She steps on the gas and we speed out of the school parking lot. This thing is FAST! I swear, if we just stayed parked we'd still probably get a speeding ticket, it looks that fast! She can drive too!
"You ARE coming to the dance this Friday, right?" She asks me.
"I… um, don't have a date." I admit to her.
"Yes you do, me. If you want to go with me." She tells me.
I'm dumbfounded. The most beautiful girl I've ever seen has just asked me out on a date! I'd never been on a date before. "What about the curfew?" Great. It sounds like I'm turning her down. I must be nuts.
"Commissioner Gordon has okayed it and is going to send security especially for the dance." Shauna assures me. "So, is it a date?"
"Yes! Of course! That'd be… uh, great!" I stutter and know she notices me blushing. I wish I can just melt into the floorboards and disappear.
"Okay. It'll be fun!" She says and we sped through a yellow light.
We pull up to a stop at the curb in front of my house. I see Sherman waiting there on the front porch, and I only now remember that I am supposed to be under their surveillance and had ditched them for the committee.
"Thanks for the ride. I… um, gotta go." I say with my hand on the door handle, but I'm looking at her.
"Don't forget our date." She says and then she grabs my jacket collar and drags me closer. My mind freezes but the rest of my body seems to be on fire as she kisses me. Not an unsure, chaste kiss, but a kiss that you see in those kinds of movies that makes girls cry. It is my first kiss and I don't know what the heck I'm doing, but she doesn't seem fazed about it. She lets go of me and I'm breathless and speechless. She waves good-bye at me and I fumble at the door handle and nearly fall out of her car. I watch as she speeds away.
Sherman startles me from behind. "That was some kiss. Now I know why you didn't want any of us around you after school today."
I can't keep from blushing again. Great! "Look, I didn't know she was sweet on me, okay?" I try to keep a cool exterior but on the inside I'm jumping up and down in ecstasy.
"Sure thing, Nick. Come on. Your mom has dinner fixed." Sherman steers me into the house and shakes his head.
I know I look horrible the next day. I had trouble falling asleep. I couldn't keep that vision of beauty out of my mind. It was hard to concentrate at school. I keep reliving that kiss over and over again. At lunch, I meet up with the gang and just fiddle with my food.
"Aren't you hungry, Nick?" Frank asks me.
"Huh?" I forgot they are there.
"Nick's in love." Sherman tells them all.
Roberta and Frank grin at me.
"So, Nick… who's your new girlfriend?" Roberta asks, taking obvious pleasure in teasing me.
"That Shauna girl from the arcade." Sherman is really having a good time with this. "You should have seen them kiss! Should've gotten an Oscar from that performance."
"Come on, you guys. Give me a break!" I try to be angry but I don't really feel it. "Um, you guys aren't going to the dance, are you?"
"It's a ninth grade dance. We aren't on the list." Frank frowns. "Wait, you mean you're going? With that girl?"
"Oh! Nick's got a date!" Roberta giggles. "Our little Nick is growing up!"
"Thanks a lot, you guys." I sigh.
"I didn't know you knew how to dance." Sherman says to me.
I stare at the table. "Um, I don't."
"I can teach you if you want, Nick." Roberta volunteers. "And I can answer any other kind of special questions you may have." She is grinning again and I know what she means. Any kind of girl questions I have. Roberta's the only girl I've ever hung out with. I may have to take her up on that.
"Okay, but no laughing at me, alright?" I say to her and she nods and looks like she's having trouble keeping in the laughter. I sigh again. I know I'm asking for it by getting them involved in my budding love life.
At home, it's Roberta's turn to baby-sit me.
"Okay, Nick." Roberta sets up the stereo and starts some dance music. "Now, you want fast or slow dance instructions first?"
"Anything would be, um, helpful." I say and she takes my hands.
"Jeeze, you're hands are awful sweaty, Nick." Roberta observes the obvious.
"So sue me, I'm nervous." I say and yank my hands away. I try to rub them dry on my pants leg.
"Wait." She runs to the bathroom and comes back out with a wad of toilet paper. She hands it to me. "Stuff this in your pants or coat pocket. Before you dance, just put your hands in your pockets and grab hold of this. It'll help."
"Thanks." I mumble and stuff it in my pants pocket. I'm still nervous as she takes my hands again and I remind myself that Roberta is just a friend that happens to be a girl. It doesn't help. Stupid hormones.
I don't know what's come over me, but this past week, I've been noticing all the girls at school. Even Roberta is looking good to me. I gotta dunk my head in some ice or something because this is getting ridiculous. It feels like I have a flame burning in my whole body since that wonderful kiss. It's like suddenly, since Tuesday, my hormones have gone into overdrive. At lunch, I make sure Roberta's on the other side of the table from me.
"Dance is tomorrow night. You ready, Nick?" Frank asks from beside me.
"No. No I'm not. I got two left feet. Roberta tried to teach me to dance but I'm hopeless." I groan.
Roberta tries to console me. "You aren't that bad. You only stepped on me a couple of times."
Thank God she didn't mention the time I fowled us up and we ended up collapsing into a heap on the ground together. I had been on top of her and for a few major embarrassing moments, I wanted her and I think she had felt it too. Jeeze, I couldn't help it! Then she had pushed me off and we had taken a break from the slow dancing lessons. I'm surprised she hadn't slapped me or something. But she seems to be cool with it now.
"You'll do fine. Don't think on it too hard is all." Frank said.
"Just too bad a Corvette doesn't really have a back seat." Roberta kids me and I fold my arms on the table and cradle my head in them, groaning at her comment.
"Yeah, big guy." Frank picks up on Roberta's taunt. "Don't forget to bring any protection!"
Sherman laughs and grabs my arm from across the table. "Oh come ON, Nick! We're just having a bit of fun. Don't take it so personally! Really, we hope it works out for you."
"You're all heart." I mumble. I still have my head buried in my arms so I don't have to look at my friends. I am blushing again. Come prepared, Frank says. I know what he means and I KNOW I'm not ready for something like that, no way! Maybe just a good kissing session or something, but not much beyond that.
"Oh, come on, Nick. Eat your lunch." Sherman insists. "We wont bother you about it anymore… at least not until after you finish eating."
I hear Roberta and Frank laugh and slowly lift my head.
"And look who's come to join us for lunch, Nickipoo!" Frank points to my left.
I ignore Frank's new nickname for me because I have a pretty good idea what kind of surprise he's talking about and I turn around in slow motion. My mouth has suddenly gone dry and my eyes widen as I take in the vision of the Goddess now sitting beside me.
"Shauna!" I almost croak. I can't believe it. She's sitting here with us.
"I got my dress for the dance. I can't wait for you to see it! It's strapless." She gushes.
Frank is elbowing me from the other side as I struggle to find something halfway intelligent to say.
"Great!" Is all I can think of.
Roberta rolls her eyes at me again.
"I hope you choose something that accentuates that handsome face of yours." Shauna says to me.
"Um, o-o-okay." I stutter and run my hand through my dark hair nervously, refusing to look at my friends whom I know are just eating this up and storing it for later use against me.
She finishes her lunch and scoots her chair back. But before she gets up, she leans in and I am helplessly drawn towards her and she kisses me again… right in front of the gang and at the moment, I don't care. All I'm really aware of is the two of us. She smells great. She tastes great. She looks great. I feel like I belong to her. I had no idea this was what falling in love was like. It is the greatest thing in the world! I let out a satisfied sigh as she releases me and leaves us. I stare after her, my mind blank.
"Earth to Nick, Earth to Nick." Frank shakes me from behind. "Class starts in five minutes. You gotta return from cloud nine, bud!"
"He's got it real bad." Sherman chuckles.
Roberta laughs with him, "I think we're losing him, guys!"
I'm still in a fuzzy, dream-like state and Frank helps me stand. I am dimly aware that my friends are gently chiding me and I don't say anything about it. The rest of the day goes by and I don't really remember anything about it. The only thing that sticks in my mind are those lips.
DemonSlayer:
Animated Batman Adventures
Chapter 2: Survivor
By Brenna "Snakelady" Dawkins
Frank is helping me get dressed for the dance. I'm so nervous I'm shaking. He has to button up my dress shirt for me; I can't get my fingers around the buttons. I have a cumber bund, for Christ's sake! Roberta had picked out an appropriate corsage for me to give Shauna.
"Stand still while I do your tie." Frank pesters me. I'm fidgeting and keep glancing at the clock on the wall in my room. "Hey, settle down. It's not like your getting married or anything."
"Easy for you to say." I reply and find the tie ungodly comfortable.
"Ready for your coat?" He asks me.
I nod. It has tails, if you can believe it. Me… in a three-piece suite and a coat with tails! Man! A week ago, if you were to have told me I was going to dress up like some European high class gent, I'd've told you that you were outta your mind! Love sure makes you do strange things! I wanted to look unforgettable for Shauna. She hinted at a knock out strapless dress that I couldn't wait to see.
Roberta and Sherman come into my room to see how I am getting along.
"Wow! You look really great!" Roberta says as if she is surprised that I can pull something like that off. And despite my less than gentlemanly behavior during the dancing lessons, now she looks at me, her eyes softening… really looking at me as if for the first time. "You may even turn out to be a real good looking man. You never know!"
I'm embarrassed and don't know what to say to that. Was that a compliment?
"Knock 'em dead, buddy!" Sherman grins at me.
I nervously grin back. "If I can survive long enough 'till the dance starts. I feel like I'm about to pass out."
"Just breathe slowly." Roberta says. "You are remembering to breathe, right? Important first step."
"I can barely remember how to walk and chew gum at this point." I admit.
"Are you sure you don't want one of us along? This thing with Kevin still has me unnerved." Sherman asks me with concern.
"I'll be fine. There's going to be a ton of kids there. What could possibly happen?" I tell them and try to breathe slowly.
Roberta and Sherman walk out and Frank stops me before I walk out of my room. He hands me a tiny square of foil.
"What's this?" I ask as I take it.
"Better safe then sorry." Frank tells me. When I keep looking at him to explain further he shakes his head. "It's a condom, genius!"
I suddenly feel real self conscious and start to hand it back to him, "I-I wont be needing it."
Frank refuses to take it back, "Look, better to have it and not use it than wishing to God you took it."
I blush for the umpteenth time today and put it in my pocket. At least Frank had spared me by waiting until Roberta had left the room before giving the thing to me. Things seemed to be moving so fast. I had just met the girl. But I can't get her out of my mind. I hate to admit it, but part of me hopes I will need the condom tonight. That flame burning in me flares up again just from thinking about her and I almost collapse from the onslaught.
Frank steadies me. "You okay, bud?"
"Yeah. Just didn't get much sleep last night." Partially true anyway since I had hardly a descent nights sleep since that first kiss. It was as if she was always with me, caressing me in my dreams. I'd wake up and feel like I'd been hit by a semi truck every morning and be in an exhausting daze all day. But when I'd see her, it was like she was my guiding light and I was the moth to her flame. Corny, yeah, I know, but it's the only way I can properly explain it. But I can't tell the gang that.
I hear Roberta's voice from my living room, "Guess who's here!"
My heart starts to beat faster and I wobble into the room where my friends are waiting. My throat is dry and my tongue plastered to the roof of my mouth. I think I'm starting to sweat. Through my living room window I can see her car. She steps out and my eyes nearly pop out of my head. She's wearing a blue sequined, skin tight, and very strapless dress that barely covers anything of importance. I can't see how she is able to walk at all in the thing… not that I'm complaining or anything.
"Oh man!" I hear Frank's awed expression from behind me as we are all looking out the window and witnessing this Goddess approach my front door. "Aren't you glad you took it now?"
I ignore him. I had been dying to see her in that dress and now, I'm dying to see her out of it, if you catch my drift. I fly to the door and open it before she can even place one spiked heel on the front step. She smiles at me and I didn't realize an IQ level can go negative, but mine suddenly did.
"Hel-" I start to say 'hello' but never finish. She grabs my dress shirt collar and drags me in for another one of her hellacious kisses. It's long and I am having trouble breathing, but I don't care. She is the center of my universe and she wants me!
"Wow." I exhale the word when she releases me.
Shauna is smiling and nods to my friends who huddle just behind me. "I'll take real good care of him."
"Have fun, kids." Frank pats me on the back and shoves me out the door.
I am speechless as we drive up to the dance. When we do get there I almost fall out of the 'Vett. There are a ton of kids there. We join the crowd plowing into the auditorium and the thumping of music hits me like a fist when we enter. The place is decorated like a forest, with one-dimensional paper trees and streamers acting like vines strung throughout the rafters. I see mythological cut out drawings of unicorns and half goat, half man creatures taped along the walls. There's a dragon and fairies out the kazoo. The punch bowls are wrapped in faux ivy. It actually looks kinda cool.
"We got Student Council to help us out with the final setting up." Shauna replies with her lips close to my ear so I can hear her over the music.
"It looks great!" I say enthusiastically, relishing that I have to practically tongue her ear to be heard.
She takes the lead and pulls me along to the dance floor. It's crowded and loud and the flashing disco lights in the darkness make it difficult to tell dream from reality. The cut outs seem like they can spring to life at any moment. Then she takes both my hands and leads me in a dizzying dance that leaves me disoriented and sweating. I have no idea how long we dance before she starts to lead me from the dance floor. I am so wrapped up in it, I'm not aware of how exhausted I am. My legs feel weak and I am dying of thirst. But she isn't steering us towards the refreshment area, more like out towards the rest rooms. I guess she needs a potty break.
But, to my horror, she drags me into the girl's rest room and locks the door and places a trashcan in front for added caution after she makes sure all the stalls are free and clear.
"Y-y-you don't need any help in there do you?" I ask, having trouble swallowing suddenly.
She looks at me and raises her hand and waves me to her side. She wraps her arms around my waist and draws me in, forcing my groin to press into her.
"Um, look, I don't know if we should-" I was going to say 'do this' but she cuts me off again and plants another long kiss over my mouth. I succumb to her apparent need. She must want me worse than I want her.
It feels good to be needed like that. I feel a quiver of unexpected pleasure as she begins to range her hands down my back and to my butt. She squeezes it and I grunt in her mouth. I take that as a cue and mimic her hand movements with my own, feeling her bare back, then the strange scale-like feel of the sequined dress and down to her perfect rear. She begins to move her hands more frantically now and shoves her tongue into my mouth, kissing me harder and seemingly trying to draw me into her through some strange form of osmosis.
Then she pulls away from me and I try to hug her close to me again, not wanting to release her. But my fear is unwarranted because she is forcing me to lie down on the cold tile floor. She is leaning over me and I smell her perfume. I begin to tremble slightly when she lies on top of me and I feel her nails against my skull as she runs her fingers through my black hair.
I let her run her hands all over my body and she goes where no one has ever gone before. My brain is in a pleasant daze that I don't want to come out of. But there is this annoying pounding that wont stop in my head.
When the outer bathroom door is broken down, I only barely realize the pounding hadn't come from in my head but some one who must've really needed to use the rest room. I glance down and am startled to find that my pants had come off and are shoved down to my ankles. At least my boxers are still on, but from what Shauna was about to do, it didn't look like they were going to stay that way for long. But she isn't looking at me at the moment, even though her hands rested achingly close to my groin, she is looking at someone in the doorway. Shauna looks pissed. I'm not all that happy about being interrupted either. I'm not quite fully back into myself to feel embarrassment yet at being found in such a position. When it hits me that it's probably a teacher standing there, I slowly start to gather my senses.
"I've found you at last!" The woman, tall, blonde, and angry looking startles me and leaps at Shauna with arms outstretched and hands prepared to grab.
The attacker bowls Shauna over. Shauna had been straddling me at the time so I was accidentally kicked by Shauna's spiked heel when she is knocked off of me. I try to struggle to my feet but forget my pants are around my ankles and fall on my side when I try to stand. Shauna is on the ground and the blonde is on top of her, punching her with expert blows. I'm afraid for Shauna but she seems to be taking the blows with more bravado then I ever could. She and the strange blonde woman are yelling something at each other, but it's in a language I don't understand. They act like they know each other. I roll over to my knees and slowly attempt to stand from that position. Once I'm up, I struggle to bring my pants up and fasten them once more. I really should do something.
So I lunge at the blonde and grab her hair, pulling it back. She barely gives me a glance and continues to wail on my Shauna. I yank on it again, jerking it back and forth repeatedly so she knows I'm there. It makes me mad that she thinks I'm not a threat. Fine, I'm going to amend my promise I made to my mom years ago that I'd never hit a girl. This one SO deserves it!
The blonde is too busy walloping my Shauna to see my right cross. My fist completes the round about and I pop her in her pretty jaw. She is startled, not expecting me to actually join in. I'm annoyed that my swing only produced a scowl from her. But it distracts her enough that my Shauna is able to finally retaliate. Wow, my girl really knows how to fight! She raises her legs and flings the blonde over her head in one smooth move. The blonde rolls over and gets to her feet at the same time my girl jumps to hers, no worse for wear. She still is full of fight, despite the beating the blonde had given her. They lunge at each other again and I decide to join in. I go for the blonde and try to get her in a bear hug from behind to allow Shauna to give back some of what she had taken.
I grab the blonde from behind and get her arms pinned.
"What are you doing?" She has the nerve to ask me just as Shauna let's her fists fly into that face that will probably need plastic surgery after we're finished with her.
"You attacked us! I bet you're the one that got Kevin and all the others!" I whisper fiercely into her ear.
She takes the blows Shauna offers gamely, "Listen to me, you stupid boy, I'm trying to save your life! She is the one who steals young boys, not me!"
"Liar!" Shauna screams at her. "Killer! It was you! You're the one with blood under your nails!"
I didn't get as close to her hands as Shauna had, so she would be the one to know. I squeeze her arms more tightly to her sides. She takes the punches like they were fly swats. She doesn't struggle against me. This is too weird.
"Listen to me, boy," she tells me between punches, "there are things you do not understand. She is the boy killer. I only kill the likes of her."
Then, suddenly, she shrugs me off like a coat, despite the grip I have on her. No wonder she didn't struggle, she could have gotten away at any time.
To my horror, the blonde pulls out a long bladed weapon from somewhere on her person. "Foul creature." The blonde hisses at Shauna. The blonde jumps at Shauna and my Goddess dives to the ground in a swift dodge.
"Wait! Stop!" I plead and the blonde chases after Shauna into an empty stall.
"Nick! Help me!" I hear Shauna scream my name as the two fight on top of the toilet.
Forgetting my own safety, I leap over into the stall where the girls struggle. I see the blade glinting in the fluorescent light and grab at the arm that holds what looks like a short sword. I slip on a puddle of water on the floor and the blonde comes down to the floor with me. My head hits the stall divider and then I feel a burning pain in my shoulder as the blade slices through my rumpled coat and shirt. I cry out and the blonde lands on top of me. I hear the sword clatter into the next stall.
My shoulder is in agony. I'd never felt such pain before. The blonde is fighting to find some ground to stand on but keeps stepping on me instead. I hear Shauna's triumphant cry and I grunt as she lands on top of us.
The three of us are struggling in the very small space. My aching shoulder gets shoved painfully against the porcelain bowl and when I move away, I can see my blood smeared along the surface. It's the blonde. She killed Kevin and the others and now she is after Shauna and me!
I can barely move, I have two girls fighting right on top of me. Shauna keeps landing punch after punch on the blonde. A few times she misses as the blonde repositions herself and I receive the blow. We writhe in the confines with my shoulder getting jolted painfully many times so that tears come to my eyes. I wish I had never come. I wish my friends were here. I wish I could reach that stupid sword! A million things were going through my head along those lines. Who knew that having a girl friend was such a deadly thing!
The blonde leans to the left and tips us all over and we spill out of the stall, the swinging door hitting us several times as we come to a stop.
"I'm telling you, boy, this is not what it seems." The blonde continues to try to lie to me as her and Shauna square each other off, "This is not even a human girl. Tell him what you are, Thyla."
Shauna grins at her and it's frightening. "Tell him yourself, Skymouth! He won't believe it!"
The two are circling each other like sumo wrestlers. "Fine. I am Dracos imperious. A shape shifter… and this creature you believe you are in love with is a demon, a succubus. She is sucking the very life from you through sexual energy. I have been sent by the Vatican to kill her and her kind. She is the cause of the other disappearances. She sucked the life out of them, and you were going to be next. If I hadn't come along, you would never have gotten back up from that floor again."
I look at her. She's completely crazy! A nutter escaped from the asylum. A very deadly nutter. Did she expect me to believe that?
"I didn't mean to cut you. But you DID get in the way." The blonde continues.
Yeah, right!
"This is nuts! I'm going to call the cops and they're going to send you right back to Arkham or Stone Gate or wherever you escaped from!" I shout at her and am torn between helping Shauna and running to get some help.
"You shouldn't have interfered, Skymouth." Shauna says to the blonde with a funny name.
"Shauna?" I ask her. I have a very bad feeling all of a sudden.
"She's telling the truth, I'm afraid." And my girl looks at me and her beautiful brown eyes transform. The pupil starts to bleed into the brown and now the white until her eyes are a frightening, pure depthless black. "My real name is Thyla and I must feed on a very specialized food… young boys like yourself. It's a pity we were interrupted. I would have given you the ultimate pleasure so you would not even have felt or cared about death. It is a very painless way to go." She looks disappointed. "But now I'll have to change my plans no thanks to this interloper!"
I back away, holding my burning shoulder. I feel weak and exhausted. Was that the effects of the fight or Thyla's charms or both? I can't believe it! I look over at the bruised blonde who stares fearlessly back at the demon who didn't quite hold my attentions like she had a moment ago. I sink to the ground, confused and frightened as I watch the fight continue.
The blonde, sorry, Skymouth was now without a weapon. That was my fault. I glance over at where the short sword lay and crawl slowly over, unnoticed by the two enemies. Along the way, I chant the mantra 'Why me?' to myself.
I grab at the hilt and the blade slides noisily over the cold, wet tile. I take one more look at Shauna and wish that it had turned out different. Shauna looks at me. Her lovely face changes, melting and mixing like molten wax and then turns into something that is straight out of Hansel and Gretel. Her body still looks like a young models but now her face is that of an old hag and I scuttle backwards a few paces in shock.
"You see, boy?" Skymouth tells me. "Succubus. You were helpless to defend yourself. You were completely locked into her trance while she slowly drained you over the days."
I shake my head and I remember the sword as I try to absorb this revelation. Shauna, um, Thyla charges Skymouth and the two go at it again with renewed fierceness. I stand there, with an ache in my shoulder and now my gut as I realize my first love is a lie. I was a fool and I was played like one. I was such a sucker! I toss the short sword to Skymouth when the two weren't grappling each other. Skymouth catches it and tosses a grin my way and I have to turn away as I see the sword come down. Thyla doesn't scream but I hear the sound of a blade sliding into flesh, a strange, muffled sound that I don't want to hear again.
I think it's over. There's no more struggling from behind me but I don't look back. I hear footsteps approach me from behind.
"I'm sorry, boy." Skymouth lays a hand on my shoulder. She really does sound sorry.
"My name's Nick." I tell her, my voice expressionless. "Is she dead?"
"Yes. Perhaps it is best that you do not turn around. Here, let me see your wound." She comes around me and pushes the sliced cloth aside as she inspects my sliced skin. I wince when she presses it with her fingers even though she is gentle. "I can patch this up with out you needing to go to a hospital." She looks into my eyes. "Do you trust me?"
I don't know. She just killed the first person I ever fell in love with. She isn't what she seems. Skymouth had said she was a shape shifter of some sort. And a Dracos something or other… I'll have to ask Sherman what the heck that is. I shrug. I feel like crap. My heart is broken and my love is lying dead on the floor behind me. Why hasn't anyone come in to investigate?
"Whatever." I mutter. What could she do to me that was worse than what had just happened?
She closes in on me, bracing me so I can't move away and I shudder when she licks my wound it's entire length. She does it very slowly and through the pain, a little bit of twisted excitement leaks out. I try to draw away but she holds me there, licking my wounds like a dog does.
When she lifts her head up from my shoulder, she is looking at me with a kind of sympathy I didn't expect from someone who can fight like her. "It will be closed in an hour or two on its own. My saliva has a special healing agent in it. You will not need stitches. I'm so sorry you had to get caught up in this. The world's a bigger place than any of you mortals can possibly know and it's just better to leave it that way." She runs a hand through my hair, combing it smooth again, I am still in her grip but I don't struggle, "Go home, Nick. It's over."
"What about-" I croak but cannot finish the sentence.
Skymouth understands. "The succubus will be taken care of. You don't have to worry about it anymore." She looks at me for what seems like forever then reaches into her pocket and pulls out a business card. "Use this, if you have trouble sorting this out or still have some nightmares. If you like, I can place you under my protection. Not many mortals have been able to claim such an honor. Consider it, please. For once you have come in contact with the supernatural, they keep coming to you. They will be drawn to you. You will need someone on your side to help you deal with it."
I stare at the card and think about what she's offering. Why not? I take the card and look at it. It's a phone number. That's all. No name or anything else.
"Call anytime you need to. It's my cell phone, untraceable. Tell no one about me." She is looking at me for confirmation.
I nod, feeling lost and alone. I don't know why, but I lean in and hug her. I had to. I grip her tightly hoping to fight off the feeling of loss and growing sense of fear. She is startled at my reaction, I can tell. She doesn't know what to do and I feel her stiffen. I let her go and stare at the floor.
"I've never been hugged before." She admits to me. She reaches a hand to me and puts it on my cheek. She sighs. "Go home, Nick. Clean yourself up and go home."
I do as she orders, splashing some water on my face and groan when I realize that walking home at night with a curfew on and a bloodied and torn shirt is going to be bad news.
"Oh yes, that's right. Okay, I'll take you home. I'll call someone to take care of this." Skymouth realizes my dilemma at about the same time. "I have connections you wouldn't believe."
"What about the dance? People are going to come in here." I say to her.
Skymouth shakes her head, "No they wont. I placed a barrier in the way. Everyone will think this bathroom is out of order. Also, I have some GC: PD guarding the way. No one will get in here that I don't want to."
She walks off through the door and leaves me here with the body. I have yet to look at Thyla/ Shauna. I want to cry suddenly. It has yet to really sink in but it's getting to the breaking point. I want to go home. I want to be with my friends. I want… I want Shauna back to the way it was meant to be. My legs go to jelly and I collapse on the floor, sitting there on the hard tile forcing the tears to back off at least until I get home.
Skymouth comes back with an over coat and I put it on, over my bloodied clothes. We wait until a small group of uniformed people arrives with all sorts of black bags.
"Clean up crew's here. We can go now." Skymouth ushers me out the bathroom. We weave our way through the unsuspecting student body and I'm relieved when we make it out into the night air that had gone chilly. She takes me to her car. I shake my head. It's a black Bentley. It's an older model. She helps me inside and I tell her the way to my house. It's a quiet drive. Neither one of us say anything. I stare out the passenger door window and wonder when my life suddenly took this horrible turn for the worse.
We get home without incident. She pulls up to the curb.
"Nick. It'll be okay." She tells me before I get out.
"Will it?" I say back to her. My life will never be the same now. Not ever. There were new nasties out there. Well, maybe not new, they were old, very old, very nasty and now they were going to keep coming at me. How am I going to tell the gang this, and without telling them about Skymouth? I go home to where my friends are waiting. I go home, changed forever and wonder if it's indeed a bad thing.
End