Chapter 22: Bugging Out
'How did I get in this situation?'. This was the thought of June as he was about to get punched in the face.
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{June}
"So how far until we get there? And also...." June said. "Niki, how the fuck do you know how to drive?!". They were in a large minivan and were letting Niki drive. "I managed to sneak in a few driving lessons from Damian." She said proudly. June was in charge of knowing which way to go, Zira was in the passenger seat in case of emergency, Carter was sticking his head out the window, and May was scrolling through a phone.
.... We all know where this is going. They then heard a small whistle, and the car started slowing down. "No no no no no no!" Niki said stepping out the car. "FUCK!". She goes over to everyone else and says "Sooooo.... We have a flat tire-" "WHAT?!". June looks at it and facepalms. "Just when things were going well. Why can't the chaos ensue AFTER we've gotten what we want?" Carter says.
Zira starts stretching her wings and says "We aren't too far from the border. We just have to camp out tonight!". June then says "Well, things couldn't get worse.". At that exact moment Carter whips his head around to see a horse riding towards them. He recognizes the smell and gets behind Zira. A lady jumps off it and says "Carter, Carter. It's SO nice to see you again!".
The woman in question had the same complexion as Ace, dark brown hair, brown eyes, freckles, 5'9, and was wearing a cowboy themed outfit. "Oh shit-" Carter says getting down. "Oh? Are these your new friends? I'm sure they'd like to play too! I'm Star! And that, is my target behind you!" She said gesturing behind Zira. June sighs and says "Alright lady, just tell us what you are and we can get this fight over with.".
Her eye twitches and she says "I'm.... Nothing.". June gives her a puzzled look and then processes. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! You're human?! This is gonna be easy!". She pulls out two revolvers and puts on a pair of specialized goggles. "I've only come for the cat. Please don't make this easy.". June pulls out his sword and smiles. He goes at the woman and she dodges his swing and shoot a blue colored dart into him.
June then falls to the ground and he says "That hurts! What the hell is this, and why can't I move!". "Tarantula hawk venom. I wasn't sure if it would work on someone like you, but I guess it does!". The Tarantula hawk it a type of parasitoid wasp. The venom it injects is painful and is used to paralyze it's victims long enough to drag them into it's den to leave for it's larvae.
"I've got a HUGE bounty for Carter's head. And do you know what that is up to at the current moment? $150,000!". Niki and Zira both looked at Carter and he said "She's lying! I've never done anything to achieve such a high amount-" "HAVE YOU?!". Star walked over and said "Let's take a trip down memory lane shall we? At the age of 7 you were stealing purses. At 10 you were top of the line in poaching. And just a year ago you put a few very bad people in the ground!".
"At least I've changed! You've been the same since we were children! Shoot this, shoot that. NOTHING HAS CHANGED!!!!!!!!!!!!" Carter yelled at her. She was then knocked away by June. "I only have a little feeling in my wings so I would appreciate it if you could get that car up and running!". A light bulb in Carter's head went off and he said "I have an Idea!". He pulled out his staff and stuck it into the engine of the car. It roared to life and Carter's eyes glowed black.
"Come on!". They all got in the car and he let out a yell, teleporting them all.
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".... CARTER?!". Carter shot up with black gooey tears leaking from his eyes. His shoulders were grabbed by May and she said "CARTER! Sorry, but you kept leaking that weird stuff!". He wiped off his eyes and saw a black gooey substance. "Must be a side effect of teleporting so far.
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(June POV)
Me and Zira were looking around for anything that might lead us to the gauntlets. "Are we sure it was a good idea to leave Niki and May at the car?" She asked me. "I'm sure. The two of them have the most experience in treating wounds, so Carter will be fine." I reassured her. The land of Insects had cities and towns made of giant trees, and at night would glow from some of the more nocturnal species.
"We should be careful, this isn't like the other placer we've been." Zira warned me. I'm not worried though. It's just a few bugs- "GET DOWN!" Zira yelled tackling me and a large explosive blast went past us. We both looked up to see someone running with a handbag. He then just gave it to me and ran. "JUNE!" Zira said as I processed. "Uh.... Who's bag is-".
A white fist with steam coming off it burst out in front of me and right before the impact, I thought to myself 'How did I get in this situation?!'. The sword went large like a shield and then blocked the impact. I looked from behind the sword to see a girl who was slightly taller than me, had long black hair with a 2 white stripes and a white spot in the middle, blue eyes, looked strong, 2 small black antennae on her head and she was wearing a black shirt with white shorts.
"Where is my bag?!" She asked me furiously. I could hear her hands crackling with power. Zira brought it over with concern and she took it. "Now where is that dumb ass bug that took it-". She went quiet as Niki walked over holding the guy. "Zira darling.... This asshole right here, tried to rob me on my way to look for you!". Her and the girl from earlier locked eyes and she said "NIKI?!". Niki stared in shock as she said "NOVA?!".