Crazy World: FEaEEI (Part 2)

In an alternate future, superheroes aka mutants working under the government, are not only common place, but have over saturated the public. Among one of these masked heroes is one Captain Psychotic, aka 15 year old Jimmy Donovan, a crass, rude and otherwise insensitive telekinetic and telepathic. Without special medication, his telepathy will run rampant and he will be unable to block out the various thoughts of everyone within a mile radius and be forced to be institutionalized. Therefore, much to his complaining and moaning, he is forced to fight crime. But things aren't easy when he's sidekick to a bossy super girl named Straight Arrow (aka Chloe Sanders), his devoutly Catholic and bigoted mother, Katherine, and a world that hates psychics. These are his adventures.

Just as things are getting easier for Jimmy and Chloe, they run into a deadly trap. The four psychics they've battled before, the Precognitive, Fortune, Gravity Manipulator, Grav, Pyrokinetic, Arson, and Technopath, Cindy, as well as a new villain only known as 'Godsend', ambush the two of them and their newest member, the archer Cornelius. However, the three teenagers are easily overwhelmed and Cornelius is left critically injured. Now, he lies under an operating table in a matter of life... and death.

FFaEEI

Crazy World: Friends, Foes and Everyone else in between

Chapter 2

Divided, We Fall

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Thursday, April 22nd

St. Joan's Medical Ward, Waiting Room, 12:01 AM

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The emergency waiting room was chaotic. It was already filled with dozens of wounded patients from the five criminals when Chloe and Jimmy watched as the doctors took Cornelius away in a gurney. Dozens of voices filled the room.

"Doctor...," A nurse said. "he's losing blood fast. We have to get him to the operating table."

"Bad news: we've got five more patients coming in."

"There's some kind of rabid white horse trying to get in. Keep it out of the ER!"

Jimmy and Chloe suffered through the slow progression of the clock on the wall as the waiting room gradually emptied. Finally, they were relieved to see Cornelius' doctor walk in.

"How is he?" Chloe asked.

"Not good," the doctor said. "He's got a broken femur, collar bone, hip fracture, and two cracked ribs." We found several lacerations around his torso and face and lot of bruises. But the most peculiar thing is the three holes in his stomach."

"Bullet holes?" Chloe asked.

"No. they're too clean and there are no burn marks. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were... finger holes."

"I... understand," Chloe said, letting the doctor go back to Cornelius. Jimmy, however, became impatient.

"Can't you do something?" Jimmy said to Chloe, his voice becoming louder. "What about your blood? I've seen you regenerate fast. Can't you give him some of your healing powers?"

"It won't work," Chloe said, doing her best to keep calm. "The antibodies from my bloodstream could see his organs as foreign entities. Combined with my alien cells, they could-"

"Speak English!" Jimmy screamed.

"It could kill him!" Chloe screamed back. It was so loud, the windows shook and the staff looked in her direction.

"Sorry..." She whispered. The staff returned to their tasks.

Chloe sighed. "My immune system only works for me. I've... tried to transfer blood in the past. But my white blood cells are too strong. Maybe for... my dad it could work. But for a normal human being, they... can't handle it."

Jimmy sighed. He then winced in pain and held his shoulder.

"We've been through this before," Chloe said. "Go home, get some rest, and we'll talk tomorrow."

Jimmy, too beaten and sore to argue, nodded his head and went home. He didn't get a moment's rest that night.

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Thursday, April 22nd

Abandoned House, 3:03 AM

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On television, a telepathic battle is depicted as two psychics staring at each other making funny faces.

Within the astral realm, however, it was as real as one's perception allowed it to be. There, Nick wandered the dark void, a place without any light. He even looked to his feet, as if he were walking on an invisible floor. Impatient, he yelled into the pitch-black of nothingness.

"You've realized you've lost, haven't you?" Nick screamed. "I have a precognitive with perfect vision, a manipulator of gravity and a pyrokinetic of unbelievable power. The smallest of my army can send a rain of nuclear fire down upon you! And what do you have? Some middle class spoiled child who can't even block out thoughts? No, that would mean you had him in your possession. Face it; you have nothing!"

Silence.

"Your tricks won't work on me, my former Master!" Nick yelled into the void. "My powers affect flesh and blood. All you can do is conjure illusions. No matter how real it feels, sounds or looks, they cannot harm me."

"If that is what you believe," A voice said, almost snake-like in its tone "You are a greater fool than I thought."

AT once, a silhouette appeared behind him. Nick summoned a sword out of thin air, a representation of his malice. He stabbed the shadow, bringing a smile to his face. However, the shadow revealed to be dozens of doves, which all flew away.

"More tricks?" Nick cried. "Then again, you were little more than smoke and mirrors."

"Am I?" The voice said. Nick gasped, seeing a white tiger growl at him. Keeping calm, Nick pulled a cape from out of thin air, covered the tiger and pulled off the sheet. Where the tiger once stood, it had now revealed to be the shadowed figure.

Nick grabbed the shadow and locked the body into a coffin. Then, he pulled out one sword after the next. Slowly, he stabbed the box with each sword. He pushed into the coffin, one by one, until the box was stabbed at all angles.

Nick opened the box, only to reveal the ends of the swords but no corpse.

"Still a novice..." The voice taunted.

'Suddenly, Nick felt his arms being twisted around his body as though he were hugging himself. He suddenly realized he'd been put in a straight jacket which had instantaneously materialized around him. He yelled and struggled trying to get out of it.

"Let me out," Nick said. "Let me out!"

Nick's vision blurred to reveal the run-down house they were stationed in. He looked to see his five soldiers before him.

"What-Where-" Nick said instinctively, taking a second to realize his surroundings. "What time is it?" He asked, running towards a clock.

"We're fine," Fortune said, sarcastically. "Thanks for asking."

"Where's Captain Psychotic?" Nick said.

"We had to escape," Fortune said.

"You failed?" Nick said, his voice rising.

"We had no choice!" Fortune replied. "The cops would've brought more meta-humans!"

"Idiots!" Nick screamed, mentally lifting a coffee mug and smashing it against a wall.

"Hey, why are you blaming us?" Grav barked. "Godsend's the one who broke the battle plan."

"For once, the moron is right," Cindy replied.

"Hey!" Grav replied.

"You blame us for something that was not our fault."

Nick turned around and groaned. He then took a deep breath and sighed.

"Remember the list I gave you?" Nick said.

"Yeah?" Fortune replied.

"Use it," He said. "With the archer out of the picture, locate and track the others. Grav, find David. Fortune, get Mayumi Sato. Cindy, locate Emmett."

"Why isn't Godsend coming?" Grav asked.

"Persuasion is not one of his... strong points." Nick replied. Nick signaled Godsend to return to his side.

"He's not the only one..." Cindy said, throwing a stare at Arson.

"Fuck off," Arson said.

"What about you?" Fortune asked Nick.

"I'm going to be preoccupied by a certain assailant. Rendering me helpless for the time being."

Nick left for the other room, but only after he said one last thing.

"To win this war, we will need soldiers. Gather them and we shall triumph."

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Thursday, April 22nd

Downtown Manhattan 4:10 PM

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Chloe couldn't help but visit the crime scene. Dressed at Straight Arrow, she avoided the press who wanted to speak with her on the street. Already, construction crews were on the scene making immediate repairs to the street where last night's battle took place. Years ago, the idea of repairing streets in a day was considered ludicrous. However, considering meta-humans and their unintentional collateral damage they caused, the government worked together to hire privatized insurance companies who specialized in making rapid city repairs.

If only such a thing existed for medicine. She sighed and rubbed her head. Even though she'd done everything according to protocol, she felt miserable because she had failed to capture any of the five convicts.

"So, this is real life..." Chloe thought to herself. Her recent string of victories made her overconfident. A near-perfect arrest record made her believe she was ready for the big leagues. She felt water come to her eyes and tilted her head up to avoid crying.

Chloe winced, seeing a glimmer of light. Squinting, she saw something reflect to her face. She gasped, realizing it was an arrowhead. She flew upwards and saw a note attached to the shot arrow. She gently removed the arrow and on its tip was a piece of folded paper. Chloe unfolded it and gasped. Cornelius didn't miss; he was hiding a vital piece of information for them.

"Cornelius..." She said to herself. "You did all this? Thank you."

Her first step was , of course, to go straight to headquarters and deliver this vital piece of evidence. However, Chloe hesitated before deciding to make one quick stop somewhere and then returning to HQ. Chloe returned to the department. Even as she walked the halls, various office workers and costumed agents were yelling and screaming. Chloe looked at the various television screens, all showing last night's battle. She entered her mother's office, only to find her pacing back and forth on her telephone.

"No, sir." She said. "This will not interfere with elections. No, sir, we do not require homeland security to check in on this. Yes, sir. I will resolve this matter as quickly as possible."

Cree hung up the phone and sighed. "I need a smoke."

"Are you alright?" Chloe asked. The lines on her mother's face were the result of a late night in the office.

"Do you realize the position we're in right now?" Cree said. "I just gave a speech to a gang of reporters about how we have cleaned up the streets. Instead, four psychics level a police squadron, the most secure state prison was broken into and there's enough egg on my face to cook an omelette!"

Chloe, breaking protocol, went over and patted her mother on the back. Cree shrugged her off and sighed.

"What's our plan for retaliation?" Chloe asked.

"Retaliation?" Cree answered. "There is no retaliation. As far as I'm concerned, you and your partner are dismissed for the time being."

"But, sir-" Chloe said, standing up.

"But, nothing. The department is spread thin enough as it is. I can't send a convoy to baby-sit the two of you while you go off on a wild goose chase."

Chloe took a moment to calm down, "I assure you, we are capable of handling ourselves."

"Capable?" Cree said, pulling up her tablet and showing Cornelius on his hospital bed. "You call this capable?"

Chloe felt a punch in her stomach. She hadn't expected her mother to show Cornelius so soon and Chloe wasn't able to stomach the sight of her squad mate still injured.

Cree sighed, "I understand your frustration. But the reputation of the department is riding on this. We can't do anything that might make us look any worse in the public's eye. I am asking you to be patient for the time being."

Chloe spoke up once more, "May I at least disclose my combat experiences to other officers?"

Her mother shook her head, "That won't be necessary. We've all seen the tapes; we should be able to figure it out from there."

Chloe nodded. "There's one more thing." Chloe took the piece of paper from her pocket and handed it over. "I found this in the crime scene. I believe this may give insight into the criminals' next step."

"Doubtful, however, I will take your evidence into consideration," Cree said, taking the list. "But for now, we are going to develop a wait-and-see approach. We don't need to give the press any more fuel to feed on."

Chloe nodded, handed over the list and excused herself.

Outside, she pulled out a copy of the list she managed to make. Staring at the names, Chloe sighed.

"I'm sorry, Mom. But, I'm doing the right thing."

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Thursday, April 22nd

St. Joan's Medical Ward, Waiting Room, 5:20 PM

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Jimmy sat by Cornelius. He had been there for at least an hour. He watched as the breathing apparatus and heart rate monitor showed Cornelius' condition. Jimmy couldn't take his eyes off Cornelius' bruised face.

"You know when I know it's a bad day?" Jimmy scoffed. "When everyone yells at me, but all I can think about is your ugly mug."

Jimmy sighed and rubbed his forehead. It could've been me, Jimmy thought to himself. It should've been me.

He looked up to see Chloe, standing in the doorway.

"If you've come to yell at me," Jimmy sighed. "Get it over with. I prefer to be miserable all at once."

She said nothing for a while. Then, she asked one question.

"Have you been able to hear his thoughts?" Chloe asked.

Jimmy looked up and glared at her. "Oh! Read his thoughts? What a brilliant idea!"

"Jimmy..."

"That hadn't occurred to me for the last 10 seconds!"

"It was just a question..." Chloe said, trying to calm him down.

"No, I haven't been able to read his thoughts!" Jimmy screamed, his neck veins visible. "You think I would be here, looking like a depressed child if I could? I've only thought about what happened since all day today! I-"

Chloe interrupted him by walking over and bringing him into a hug. Jimmy panted before breaking into a sob.

"I just kept joking around..." Jimmy said, tears running down his face. "If... I had taken things more seriously, maybe he'd still be okay..."

Chloe released him, letting him sit down. "If you had done that, he'd have told you to lighten up."

The two sat in silence, Jimmy hunched over in grief. Chloe broke the silence.

"Jimmy... Those five were after us."

"So?" Jimmy said.

"We can't take them alone. The director's taking a wait-and-see approach to this, but the department's spread thinly because of this manhunt. If Cornelius doesn't pull through-" Chloe said.

"Don't say that!" Jimmy said, rising from his seat. "He's going to make it!"

"We have to prepare for the worst. If he doesn't make it, God forbid, we need to make preparations for a new team."

"How?" Jimmy said. "You just said the department's spread thin."

Chloe unveiled the list she had been carrying. "This was found on the scene of the crime. Do you remember that arrow Cornelius shot? It had this list attached to it."

Jimmy leaned forward and read the names off the list.

Captain Psychotic

White Knight

Emmett Thompson

David Douglas

Miyuki Sato

Corporal Punishment

Minerva Cumberbatch

"How come the first two are hero names but the rest are normal?" Jimmy asked.

"Maybe… they don't know the rest of the identities?" Chloe asked. "Perhaps they found the names, but not the people. But… They know about David?"

"David?" Jimmy asked.

"A… meta-human. Like us. Thing is, he doesn't have a civilian life. The name is strictly for documentation. But, these other names, they're students from McKinley."

"Our McKinley?" He asked.

Chloe nodded. "Definitely. I've read some of these names in the school paper. Do you know them?"

Jimmy scratched his head. "Emmett's that brainiac who aced all the tests and Mayumi's that fob- I mean foreigner who sits in the back of the class. Don't recognize this Corporal Punishment. Do you?"

Chloe stepped away, ignoring his concerns. "If this is a list of meta-humans, we have to assume that maybe they're targets. We have to find them."

"What good is that? I thought your mother said we're not supposed to get involved."

Chloe shook her head. "We're the only ones capable of doing this. The director is not thinking clearly. She sees liabilities. I see recruits."

Jimmy scoffed. "Do you think we have time to play meet-and-greet with a bunch of people we don't know?"

Chloe grabbed Jimmy by his shirt collar. "And what's the alternative? Getting killed? Cornelius risked everything to get this information to us. Are you going to dishonor his wishes?"

He stood silent, watching Cornelius breathe through his apparatus. The slow beeping of the monitor made Jimmy clench his fist.

"Are you sure about this?" Jimmy said. "What about your promotion?"

Chloe then pulled out a chain bracelet from her pocket. The bracelet read "WWMUD?"

"What good is a title if I can't uphold the ideals that it comes with?" Chloe said.

Jimmy turned to look at Cornelius, still unconscious.

"Hold on, Bookworm. We'll kick their asses for you," He said. The two left, hoping to find a single ally against the five enemies they now faced.