Chapter Twelve: When you meet a king in a limousine

The team goes on patrol to disastrous results. Kris has another talk with Nicki.

The team went on patrol the night after practice. Light and Queen B decided to walk along their favorite street in the Pearl district, 23^rd. It had Light’s favorite chocolate cafe and Queen’s favorite eclectic antiques shop. Queen passed a coffee place and peeked inside. It had closed hours ago. “What are the odds we’ll find the King?” Queen asked him.

             “Absolutely nonexistent,” Light answered, looking ahead. “None of these stores are fancy enough for the King’s taste.”

             Queen kicked the ground and pressed onward, making Light jog to catch up. “Then why are we here?”

             “Because we have to patrol the district,” Light replied patiently. “Eon and Q are patrolling near the river, and Ink is flying around. This is just our lot.”

             Queen harrumphed, and they crossed a desolate street. Light watched as she scanned their surroundings relentlessly. He wondered if she was as nervous as him. “How are you feeling, Queen B?”

             “Worried,” She said, not looking back. “This plan is tenuous at best.”

             “What do you mean? I think the ear plugs are the best we can do.”

             “I feel like we don’t have enough information,” Queen responded quickly. “What if his power doesn’t work on words alone?”

             Light was at a loss for words as she continued, “The more I come to understand my power, the more I realize that it isn’t my words that get things to happen, it’s my will… What if it’s the same way for the King? His convictions trap us regardless of if we can hear him.”

             “If that were the case, then it would be impossible to catch him,” Theo commented. “We’d have to keep trying and hope to get lucky.”

             She stopped and faced him. Her eyes seemed wider than usual and she wore a tight-lipped frown. “That can’t be the case, right?” Queen asked fretfully. “It’s one thing to control inanimate objects, but to control humans… It must take something else, something more.”

             Light shrugged. “Siren only had to sing for Metis to become enthralled… How else could he maintain control over his henchmen for this long?”

             She rocked on her heels as she thought. “I don’t know,” Queen responded, eyes downcast. “Maybe it’s his presence or delivery that affects the strength of it… We don’t fall under his control until he opens his mouth and the ‘spell’ fades soon after he leaves.”

             “There you go, maybe it’s not as omnipotent as we think,” Light said, putting on a happy tone. “As long as we have a rock-solid battle plan, we can’t lose.”

             His confident statement drew an uncertain look from Queen, but ultimately, she nodded and started the patrol again. “Speaking of a rock-solid battle plan,” She said. “How are you going to take out the guard?”

             “Since it’s just me,” Light began thoughtfully. “I was hoping to just tackle him and handcuff him before he could start to fight back. I know that he’d probably still be able to fight with his feet, but maybe cuffing his feet would work too. What about you?”

             Queen walked by her favorite store without looking at it. “I have Q to assist, but I don’t know if I can use them… I think it’ll be hard to fight off Moss because she can turn anything into moss.”

             She carefully stepped over a large crack that would’ve tripped up Light if she didn’t notice it. “Last time,” She continued. “I tried to bind her in jewelry, but it’s like she disintegrated it with moss. So, what could I trap her with?”

             “Oh, you know what’d be scary?” Light interjected before finishing his thought. “If she could turn people into moss.”

             Queen nodded vigorously. “That’s another worry of mine,” She said with a chuckle. “I think it’d be best to lure her away from the King to break her out of the spell.”

             “Huh, that could work for the guard, too,” Light commented. “That’d just leave the King to Ink and Eon, which is pretty... stressful.”

             Queen raised an eyebrow. “I think Eon is very proficient. He’ll be able to take out the King with no trouble.”

             Light made a noise like a doubtful hum. “That or accidentally kill him.”

             Queen pushed him with a hand. He grumbled in protest as Queen said, “That’s kind of rude, dude. He’s made serious progress with his powers.”

             Light hung his head in shame, knowing that his reasonable fear may be misplaced. It had been a while since Eon’s last incident with telepath Mason, and he’d surely gotten better since then. But the sight of Mason on the ground, reeking of burnt hair and gasping for his life, stuck with him. “You’re right.”

             Light’s phone started to ring. They froze. He dug it out of his pocket and answered it. “Hello?”

             “I spotted him in the limousine lot where Riverside meets 17^th. How soon can you be there?”

             Ink didn’t bother with a greeting, and his statement made it clear why. The King was out but only for a limited time. Light met Queen’s gaze with a nervous smile. “Twenty? I don’t know, we’ll run.”

             “Alright, see you soon.”

             Ink hung up. Light turned to cross the street and started running east, down the numbered streets. Queen lagged behind by a few feet. She didn’t have to ask what the call was about. There was time to process the park they passed or anything else. Her brain focused only on the person running in front of her.

             They reached 17^th street where a gym met the corner. They took a left, heading north. Queen could hear Light panting as they strained their bodies to keep up the pace. They couldn’t let the King slip through their fingers. She hoped they wouldn’t be too tired to fight when they arrived.

             Light slowed down when he saw an expansive, chain-linked fence. Beyond the fence was rows of limos. They crept to the fence and walked its perimeter, peering inside. Queen B pointed to the King, who strode amongst the vehicles. Light silently nudged her and jerked his head toward an anomaly in the fence. Moss, a way in. Queen B nodded her head.

             They went to the hole and slipped into the lot. Keeping their bodies low, they maneuvered around to find their respective targets. Light spotted the guard on the far side of the lot, near the gate. Queen B couldn’t see Moss, but guessed that she’d be near the King. Queen B and Light locked eyes momentarily before taking out their earplugs.

             They split up. Light snuck through the limos, making his way to the gate slowly. Glancing up, he saw something flying in the sky. He knew it was Ink, but thought he was hardly recognizable as a human from that height. He flew directly over the King. Light held in a laugh; the King wouldn’t notice him unless he looked up. Light got into position, hiding behind a vehicle near the stationary guard. He watched Ink for the signal.

             After a few seconds, Ink plummeted from the sky. Light leaped into action, sliding over the limo’s hood. He tackled the guard before he could turn around. With a knee on his back, Light reached for his handcuffs. “You can hear me!” He heard the King shriek.

             Light tensed as a headache struck him. He struggled to put the cuffs on the guard as the King kept talking. “I am getting sick and tired of you rebels interrupting my shopping.”

             Light turned to see the King shouting in Ink’s face, Eon moving in slow motion nearby. “Stop moving!” The King snapped at Eon, and it froze the others as well.

             The guard pushed Light off him. Light collapsed, immobile. He strained his eyes to watch the King from the ground. “What would get you all to stop harassing me?” He grumbled, frustrated.

             He paced maybe hoping that the cops would come like before and he would get his execution squad to do it right this time. But, no one had called the cops as far as Light could tell, so he wasn’t going to get what he wanted. Surely, he was thinking up some backup plan.

             The King stilled before approaching Ink. Theo held his breath as the King reached out and caressed Ink’s cheek. “You want to jump off a cliff, don’t you?” The King asked lightly.

             Ink’s eyes glazed over before he nodded. The King smiled triumphantly. Ink started shuffling towards the gate, while the King watched him intensely. When he reached the gate, the King looked around at Ink’s frozen companions. “Join him, won’t you?” The King commanded.

             Light felt his body move to follow the King’s orders. He tried to fight it in his haze, but it was easier to go along with ride. His eyes rolled wildly in their sockets as he tried to spot his friends around him. He wanted to panic, to hyperventilate. His body only gave him lethargic breaths.

             The guard opened the gate and the team walked out. They moved slowly towards the riverside, passing by closed stores and deserted streets. Theo knew the closest cliff was the cement levy over the river. Alicia hoped the thrall would break before they reached it. Paul prayed that he would live to see his sister again.

             They climbed up a grassy knoll leading to the cliff. Paul dully felt his shoes sink into the muddy grass as he took steps closer and closer to where the grass ended. Three steps away, he could see the river below them, massive and slow-rolling like the sea. It was impenetrably dark. It would swallow their broken bodies whole.

             Two steps away, he could see the steep, solid “hill” leading down to the river. It looked impossible to stand on without stumbling all the way to the bottom. To jump would resign themselves to crumpling and tumbling to the bottom, where the river would be happy to devour them. Broken bodies would be washed away never to be seen again.

             One step away, he stopped.

             He felt the daze of the thrall fade away. He took a heaving breath and fell to his knees. Pulling off his mask, he began to cry unreservedly.

             He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Tae, tears running down his cheeks. Q collapsed beside Paul, wrapping their arms around him. He could feel them shaking. Paul pulled Tae down to join the trembling huddle. Tae willingly held the pair tight. They cried together until they tired of it.

             Paul turned his head to see Alicia and Theo leaning on each other behind him. He looked down at the river. “What can we do?” He said, his voice hoarse. “We’ve tried so many times… What if,” His voice cracked. “What if next time, we don’t make it?”

             Theo kneeled behind him, placing a hand on his back. “We have to keep trying,” Theo said softly. “The King could do this to the rest of the city… We are the only ones who can stop him.”

             Paul exhaled, his body deflating. “But we can’t even stop him… What if no one can?”

             No one had an answer. Cops tried and failed and would keep failing if they try to take the King alive. They hadn’t managed to capture him before his words captured them. They were unsure what it would take to stop him; maybe they needed to be faster or smarter. They sat in thought until Paul couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up before helping the others.

             “I’ll drive everyone home,” He said somberly.

             He led a slow march to his car on 12^th Street. The trek was enveloped in silence. They passed flashing pub lights and shuttered stores without a thought. Arriving at the empty parking lot, the team went to the only car there.

             They clambered in as Paul turned the ignition. Q took comfort in Theo, who they nestled against. He wrapped his arms around them protectively and Paul shifted gears. He paused and shifted it back to park. He turned to face everyone and said, “I think we should get Kris back.”

             “Why?” Alicia asked.

             “If we can’t catch him,” Paul started before sighing. “We could kill him.”

             “I’m not sure she will be up for that,” Q commented, muffled by Theo’s arms.

             “We are running out of options,” Tae replied.

             Paul looked at each person. Doubt was etched in each face, but he could see the hope in Q’s eyes. Maybe they just wanted to see her again. That was good enough for Paul. “Very well, let’s bust Kris out of a mental hospital.”

+++++

             A deadweight Kris was dragged into a familiar interrogation room by two orderlies. Her mitt-covered hands were chained together, leaving her feeling like a useless worm. The orderlies set her on a chair and connected the handcuffs to it by another chain. She sighed and rested her head on the table, unable to bother struggling.

             The door shut behind them, allowing Kris a moment of peace before it opened again. Kris could guess who it was. She felt a folder hit the table and decided it was prime time to get whatever it was over with. She looked up to see Nicki.

             Kris couldn’t help laughing. “Hey Nicki,” She said with all the warmth she could muster. “Long time, no see.”

             Nicki’s stern expression dropped in surprise. She sat down, saying, “How do you know my name?”

             Trying to touch her hair, Kris accidentally pulled on her chains. The sound jolted Nicki, who thought there was more to the noise. “You interviewed me a few weeks ago.”

             “I didn’t tell you my first name,” Nicki replied, slowly building up her poise.

             Kris rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but you said you recognized me,” She answered, staring at Nicki for an unsettling amount of time. “I recognized you too.”

             She watched as the confidence and composure Nicki had crumbled. “From where?” She pressed.

             “It doesn’t matter,” Kris said with a shrug. “Let’s talk about what you came here to discuss.”

             Nicki reluctantly nodded. She seemed to transform again, straightening her posture and putting back on her serious expression. She opened the folder and pulled a pen out of her coat pocket. “Why did you lie about your abilities?”

             Kris scoffed, responding, “Why wouldn’t I? I came here to deal with my depression, not my abilities.”

             “What happened with that orderly then?”

             Kris felt a weight in her stomach as she heard the question. Her shoulders bowed and she knew she looked pitiful. And it hurt. “It was an accident,” She said softly before trying to sound like her normal self. “I had a mental break you could say.”

             She paused as an ironic chuckle forced its way out of her. She really wanted to touch her face, stroke her hair, scratch her arms. “And I lashed out unnecessarily,” She continued. “If I didn’t have my powers, I’m sure I would have gouged his eyes out or some other horrible thing.”

             Feeling that her head was too heavy to hold, she dropped her forehead to the table. She could no longer see Nicki at least. Nicki and her judging eyes. “Look,” Kris said suddenly and too loudly for her own taste. “I’m tired. And no offense, I don’t want to talk to you, Nicki. I would rather talk to my psychologist.”

             “One last question,” Nicki said quietly. “Do you have any other powers?”

             “Sure, I can fly,” Kris replied with sarcasm so strong she thought Nicki wouldn’t believe her.

             She heard a pen scratch against paper briefly before the folder slapped shut. Nicki’s chair shrieked as she got up. Her heels clacked their way to the door and it shut silently behind her. Kris sighed and waited. She had lost her sense of time in the basement of Flare. She was unsure if the guards fetched her minutes later or hours later. She missed the sun.