FIVE: ONCE UPON A TIME... IN A BOWLING ALLEY

𝙊𝙉𝘾𝙀 𝙐𝙋𝙊𝙉 𝘼 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 𝙄𝙉 𝘼 𝘽𝙊𝙒𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙀𝙔, I sat with my best friend and felt ready to use him as a flame thrower while waiting for jalapeno poppers. I wouldn't say I was angry - I would say I was miffed.

"The heroes are losing by six points," Kai told me as he handed me my soda.

"I can't believe Icarus dragged me here," I muttered before going back to my history homework. Kai stole my textbook from me and gave me a reproachful look.

"No homework tonight. It's the first game of the month, at least try and look amused."

"I'll look amused once the caffeine kicks in," I bit back. I sighed and grabbed my textbook from his hand. Heroes always tried to do the right thing - whether or not for the best reasons was always up in the air; however, sometimes Kai went a bit too far in his hero complex.

(Like now for example. He should just let me be miserable and leave it at that, but he didn't.)

So, once upon a time in a bowling alley, my best friend decided to do something extremely eighties-movie-esque and commandeered the D.J. booth. I would say that I was amused but I really wasn't until he decided to go full on John Hughes. "This is for the best friend I ever had, and I hope you won't spit in tea tomorrow morning for this!"

"GET DOWN FROM THERE!" I exclaimed over the thundering of pins falling to the floor.

He gave me that mischievous, boyish grin and I sighed one of those weary sighs that only came from knowing that you couldn't change someone's mind once it was set. Familiar chords began to play and I was thrown back into freshman year of high school and how Fay and I would make up after really bad fights.

(That damned bastard.)

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𝘿𝙐𝙍𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝘼𝙔𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝘽𝙀𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙎𝙐𝙉 𝙍𝘼𝙔𝙎 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝘾𝙊𝙊𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙍𝘼𝙄𝙉𝙎, I was young. Fourteen, just about, and my sister was just about sixteen. Alfie was the normal one out of the three of us. He made friends easily and they all played video games and slept over each other's houses and ate candy until they were all sick. Alfie was beautifully ordinary and young and ignorant. How Fay and I tried to protect him from our world with a vengeance.

It was before she left.

It was always before she left.

I felt bad, I called her a monster. An uncontrollable monster when she accidentally burned my journal filled with half-written stories that I promised myself to finish one day to a crisp. It really wasn't her fault. She was practicing transmutation at my encouragement and then it got somewhat out of control - but not enough for me to be unable to stop it. My book was the only casualty.

(But I was young and emotional and thought I knew what was best.)

If we had been more honest with each other at that point, maybe I would've known how much I hurt her. Or I wouldn't.

Who knew?

Still, I made her an entire batch of cupcakes and played "I Think We're Alone Now" loudly in the kitchen. It was our apology ritual. It took her a few seconds until she came out of her room and joined me in mouthing the words to the classic from the eighties. We opened the windows to our apartment, and let in the heat from a midsummer Sunday. Everyone was weary and tired and going about their days in the heat, yet here the two of us were, dancing to a song before our time on repeat.

Our very own, private dance party.

  It was then, after I blinked myself back to reality and out of still-growing fourteen-year-old body that I saw Fay walk up to me. Her eyes filled with sorrow - and some form of apology. I couldn't exactly understand what was going on.

"I'm sorry for leaving, Fia," she told me. It was so quiet that I barely heard it.

Now, if I wanted to be cool, I would say that I knew what was coming and that one of the rogue villains that don't prescribe by the League's villain laws ended up on the floor before they even touched me.

Now, if I wanted to be honest, I would say that I ran out of the bowling alley as I felt the room cave in on me. I needed to escape because my breathing was speeding up to an uncomfortable rate and I could barely keep the air in me. I bolted because I knew if I stayed any longer I wouldn't be able to handle it.

I paced the sidewalk and felt someone behind me. Before I even could chew the person out for interrupting my spiral, everything faded to black and I swayed on my feet.

 (I guess honesty won out.)

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"𝙒𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘿𝙊𝙄𝙉𝙂, 𝙉𝙄𝙆𝙊𝙉?" I asked as I tried to cross my arms - and failed. Right my arms were tied behind my back. That explained my pain in my shoulder area. My eyebrow quirked instead.

"I need you."

"The hell for? You do know that you can't take any hostages during the bowling week, right?"

"You do know that I don't give a damn about your rules, right?"

"You do know that I can and will kick your ass if I need to, right?"

Nikon laughed at my threat. I growled and worked on trying to untangle my hands from the rope. "You aren't scary, Red," he sneered at me. "Just be a good damsel and wait for someone to save you."

"I do not get paid enough for this," I gritted my teeth after saying. Both the Organization and the League better up my D.I.D bonus for this. Nikon turned his back and sauntered down the hall. His long leather cape flapping in the wind, as if that was intimidating. I went up against literal gods and won. I instilled fear in one of Odin's favorite sons. I was a friggin badass! Like hell was he going to keep me here!

When the ropes fell to the floor, the middle of the room opened up and a pool filled with sharks rose to the surface.

(Oh damn, maybe he could keep me here, but, still - the sixties called and they want their Bond villain trap back.)