Normal is Boring

Goren wasn't about to miss this chance. So when he stepped into the hospital in his long black coat and heeled shoes, he was in his most confident state. He smiled as he saw a scrawny-looking boy holding a girl in the centre, cornered by all the guards just like he had asked them to.

"Lovely… lovely." His deep voice rang around the white walls.

Tiara's head turned to meet Goren's black, glinting eyes. "You."

Goren laughed and stepped closer, tracing his thick fingers against her jawline. "My, my, haven't you grown to be a lady. Too bad you missed it all thanks to me."

"Get your hands off her," Percy rumbled, stepping back.

Goren raised an eyebrow. He had a square face and he wore partially shaded glasses that made him look like some movie gangster. "Or what?"

Percy didn't answer and Goren flared, slapping him across the cheek. "Percy!" Tiara squeaked, clutching his shirt with her one free hand as he stumbled, almost falling.

"Go away Goren!" she screamed at him like any kid would do. Goren shook his head. "I didn't come this far to do that." Then unexpectedly, the next second, Percy felt something cold against his forehead. He trembled as he saw Goren holding a gun to his head.

Goren turned back and looked at the guards in a warning look. In that one swift look, they stepped back and closed all doors leading to that area. Goren really had the entire hospital under control… and it wasn't the only one.

"Any last words?"

"There's no use killing me," Percy mumbled. "Mitchell will make Doctor Zha Huang's order come true."

"Order?" Goren's curiosity peaked. "What order?" He still pressed the gun tightly against Percy's skull.

"To wipe out the Lightning Dragon Sect. You blame us for extending the quality of life a little when you steal lives to power your own desires yourselves!"

"We…" Goren tilted his neck like he was talking to a kid, "…do not steal lives to power our desires. It's what the Gods want. As their disciples, it is our duty to please them."

"And you think your Gods, whoever they are, are right?"

Goren's eyes flared and his hold on the trigger tightened. "And that will be your last words." Goren said through clenched teeth.

He almost pulled the trigger. Almost.

But before he could, his eyes rolled up inside his head and he fell to the ground like a blanket. His lank frame covered the cold floor like a piece of rotten meat. "What—" Percy stared at the unconscious body with wide eyes, then he looked at Tiara huffing, holding an empty syringe inside her hand. She looked up at Percy. "Why didn't you tell me you brought these with you? I had to feel your pockets to find out."

Percy almost dropped the girl in sheer surprise. "You felt my…ahem. Well." One guard brought in a wheelchair and Percy sat her on it. "At least you were useful that way."

Tiara looked away at the body on the floor. "I can't believe we actually met again. This jerk…" she tutted. "If I had my legs back, I would beat the pulp out of him."

"Then thank heavens you don't have the legs," Percy sighed, watching the nurses take his body away. The guards stood like scared pigeons, staring at what the young girl had just done. Their guns trembled in their hands, unsure of what to do. Percy smirked, "You can go do your daily jobs folks. Don't waste your time with us."

Hesitantly, they started retreating, but one guard tried to be a little brave. "Actually, we might get fired if we leave you like this." His voice shook. He held his gun in front of him, still a little shaky. Kill an innocent life or keep his job? He was unsure. Percy saw that reluctance in his eyes so he just stood straight, facing the gun point. "You're actually going to pull that trigger? Won't your little 6-year-old daughter be disappointed in you if she finds out you got to keep your job by taking a life?"

The guard's hands and eyes trembled even more and his short grey hair stuck to his forehead. "How did you know I had a 6 year old girl?" He slightly lowered his gun, instantly regretting it as his darling girl's face came into his mind. No, he can't kill another with that face in his mind.

Percy nodded his head. "Good, you will be respected, sir." He turned around to push Tiara out of the hospital in the wheelchair. "Let's get out of here."

The girl looked up at her Partner in sheer surprise. "Do you know that guy?"

Percy kept his eyes straight forward as he wavered through the streets, pushing the wheelchair, for no doubt attracting a bit of attention from the passersby.

They were seeing a wayward boy pushing a girl in pajamas in a hospital wheelchair in broad daylight, what's there to not worry about?

"Nope," he said, stopping for the zebra-crossing light to turn green.

"Then how?" Curiosity filled her voice.

He looked down at her and smiled. "That's my rare brain disease, Tiara. Uh, it's weird to say this out loud." He ran a hand through his hair before looking down at her shining face again. "I can see glimpses of a person's life on sight. More like a third eye."

"Oh my God," her face showed more concern than amusement. She clasped her cheeks in fright. "What happened?" Percy asked. He had expected her to be amused or even say that this was amazing like a kid.

"Oh no Percy you are abnormal. I feel so sorry for you."

He laughed. And it was the first time she actually heard him laugh, right there in front of everyone with his teeth and his dimples creasing against his cheeks. She smiled at that. It was nice seeing him do something as simple as laugh.

"Nothing wrong with being not normal is there? Normal is boring."

Tiara gasped, shaking her head. "No it isn't! That's what all of them say. Normal is what some people are, Percy. Normal is being ourselves and if you say that's boring, then what else can we be?"

Percy hummed. "So you're saying you're normal."

"Very much so," she held her head high and one could almost see her nose poking out like a mountain top.

"We are total opposites. I don't know why the Doctor wanted us to be Partners." He shook his head and pushed the wheelchair farther, to take Tiara safely back home and never step out of that place again, just as Hazel had written in the note. Anywhere outside that studio flat is far from safe. And who knows if that Goren will find them out again?

"Hopefully by the time he finds out our location, your brother and Hazel will be back." Percy said later, unlocking the room door. Tiara nodded. "I want to talk to Mitchell."

That's when Mitchell remembered the call. "Ohhh. They both are on a mission, your brother and Hazel. He said he will call when they are done."

A frightening thought shot through her head. "What? A mission? He is at it again? Is he with that gang of his too? Is it dangerous?"

Percy frowned, "I didn't ask…"

"Why not? Do you not care if he jumps into danger?"

"Uh…" Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "No? I mean, he's your brother, not mine."

"Ugh," she pushed her hair back, "You have no compassion at all."

Percy smiled cheekily. "Let's dive into the game. Don't worry, Mitchell probably knows how to handle himself."

"Probably," she rolled her eyes and held out her hand for Percy to inject the liquid inside. Once it was all in, she went limp and her mind drifted away, her decision to cultivate all coming back to her. Percy sat on the bed and did the same, his decision to take the Qi Test forming again.