(Another short Chapter. But in this one, the villain is revealed!!)
(…Or is he?)
A TYPICAL SUBURBAN HOUSE, LOCATED SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA:
…The room was semi-dark, but it was definitely a teenage girl’s; there were posters of rock stars -goth-punk ones, mostly- and clothes lying all over the place. There was a curious smell of incense in the place, and objects that looked like they belonged on a witch’s parlor laid on a small desk.
There was one unkempt bed in the room.
Lying on the bed, was a teenage girl.
She had long red hair, tied back, and deep black eyes; her clothes were black, and definitely had a goth-girl look to them. And her expression was one of anger, with her stare focused on the ceiling.
Her name is Eva. She’s a mystic, born with a sensitivity to the natural forces around her, and certain psionic powers. Furthermore, she had trained herself in the dark arts.
For most of her life, she had tried to find her place in the world.
But her abilities had caused her to be spurned. “Freak” and “Witch” were among the least offensive things they’d called her.
So, she learned to hide what she could do.
But even that didn’t help.
Other kids avoided her, somehow feeling that she was- different.
There were those that DID accept her. Social outcasts, themselves.
But they just wanted to use her. She could tell, thanks to her gifts. And that made her angry.
Eventually, she found a group that accepted her. A group of freaks, themselves, thought they didn’t see themselves that way.
They called themselves the Righteous Protectors of Good Causes. She wondered if they ever realized how annoyingly self-righteous their name sounded.
But at least they accepted her. They didn’t judge her.
And their lifes were, if anything, even stranger than hers. Some had powers that dwarfed hers.
And they lived on the edge. Always looking for danger, for the next thrill. THAT she liked.
And yet… something was missing. She STILL felt like she didn’t belong.
What was it? Was it their sanctimonious ways? Or… did she feel they were too GOOD for her?
She didn’t know, and it made her… angry.
-“Anger is good” a creepy voice said from behind her.
Eva bolted upright on the bed, and looked at where the voice was coming from.
Someone was sitting on the only chair in the room!
A chair that had been empty a second ago!
The figure was hard to see in the gloom, but it looked like a man wearing a dark robe. Only the lower part of his face, and his skinny hands, could be seen.
-“Who the devil are you??” she snapped.
-“Not quite” was his answer, “but close enough” he said with a wicked smile.
Most girls her age would have screamed at this point.
She just got pissed.
“Look, mister, I don’t know who you are or how you got here. But if you think I’m going to be an easy prey, you’re going to find out how wrong you are!” she snapped, and began to call on her psychic powers. Energy began to crackle around her.
The figure in the chair didn’t seem bothered in the least.
-“Oh, I know how dangerous you can be, Eva. That is precisely why I came to meet you.”
Eva was not impressed by his strange behavior. “OK, mister, you have ONE second to explain yourself. Otherwise, I’m going to drive a lighting bolt up your butt!”
-“Ooh, that would hurt, no?” he said in a mocking tone. “Very well, allow me to explain myself.”
Common sense told Eva that she should just blast the intruder.
But there was… something else- her own curiosity, perhaps- that made her decide to wait and listen to him.
-“I’ve been known by many names” the hooded man began to explain, “but for now, call me… Laufeyson.”
The name meant nothing to Eva. Yet… it sounded oddly familiar…
-“I’m a- games player. Except- I play for REAL stakes. Like people’s lives” he said carefully, weighting her reactions to his words.
-“Actually, in my opinion, ALL of life is a game- those that have the power play games with those under them” he continued. “It’s the way things are. The way things have always been.”
Eva was silent.
-“So, I decided: if Life is a game, I would be the greatest player of all. I would never be a pawn. I would be the Grandmaster! Wouldn’t you agree?”
-“So? Even if I did, what’s it to you?”
-“I’m looking for players for my game. A game where the World itself is at stake” he allowed his words to sink in for a moment. “The Righteous Protectors are my opponents. And I would like you to join the game- on my side.”
-“The Protectors!?” she gasped. “You’re nuts. They’ll kick your ass!”
-“Ohh, I’m sure they would, would I be foolish enough to just face them. Except- I came up with a gambit, one that increases my odds while lowering theirs.”
“I have made half of them join MY side!”
-“What? I don’t believe you!”
Laufeyson laughed.
-“You have by now heard about the Saiyan’s attack on New York, I assume?”
-“That Galloway guy?” Eva said, raising an eyebrow. She had recognized him on TV, and was wondering just what had driven him to do that.
-“He works for me. Or at least, he does now.”
Now Eva was surprised. This man was able to bend a Saiyan to his will?
-"…Let’s say I believe you. What’s in it for me?"
-“Anything you decide. After all, to the victor go the spoils. Power, Revenge, Riches… your darkest desires, made true.”
Eva was silent for a moment. She felt torn. She had, of course, no reason to trust this man- if it WAS a man. For all she knew it could be a demon (thought she did not feel any such vibes from him.) Yet… SOMETHING told her that he meant it. That something BIG was going on- and that this was her chance to be part of it.
“…Let me see your eyes” was finally her decision.
She prided herself on her ability to “read” a person’s soul just by looking into his or her eyes.
…“Very well” Laufeyson finally said. He stood up, approached her slowly, and slowly pulled down his hood, revealing a wizened face, like an elf’s, with pointed ears, long black hair, a devilish smile, and piercing, dark eyes.
Eva stared at them for a moment.
What she felt inside him was…
Madness.
Chaos.
-“No, forget it” she said, walking away from him. “You cannot be trusted.”
Laufeyson was NOT amused.
-“And here I was hoping that you, of all the Protectors, would join me willingly” he said bitterly, then pulled a- jar? out of the folds of his robes.
Before Eva could even react, Laufeyson pulled the top of the jar off, and a sickly-looking, oily grey mist began to pour out.
-“WHAT IS THAT??” Eva shouted. All her psychic senses were on fire!!!
-“Just a little something to assure your alliegance” the wicked man said, similing.
Eva tried to run, but there was no room. Laufeyson blocked the way to the door, and before she could run to the window, the mists surrounded her.
-“You won’t get me that easily!!” she spat at him, then called upon her powers.
The window EXPLODED, as a bolt of lighting smashed its way into the room.
But laufeyson just lifted a hand and blocked it, like it had been a squirt of water from a squirt gun!
Eva gasped in shock, at the power she felt coming from him…
…And then the mists wrapped themselves around her.
Eva felt herself, falling, falling… into a dark, bottomless Abyss.
But in reality, only her soul fell.
Her body was still in the room-
-and at Laufeyson’s mercy.
-“Come, my dear” he called to her.
And she did.
-“Good, good… now let’s go meet with… the others.”
And then he exploded in laughter.
(NEXT: The good guys start getting organized!!)
(About time! :hahaha; )
(Note: yes, Laufeyson IS this character’s name- but it his LAST name. It’s his FIRST name that everyone knows him by, and that I want you to guess!)