It’s still short compared to the first two, but it’s longer than the third one. Behold! Episode 2B!
Warning- this chapter does have some violence in it, and there’s a little bit of blood.
Episode 2b: Altercations
Raven opened the door, hoping to see Phoenix. Instead, Schrödinger was standing on the doorstep, licking one of his paws.
“Phoenix wanted me to shift over here and inform you that he’s on his way. He shouldn’t take long.”
“Vi, who is it?” Helen called from the living room, stretching her neck out in order to be able to see the door but finding no one visible.
“It’s, uh… his super-powered cat,” Raven said, turning bright red due to the absurdity of what she’d just said.
“I can introduce myself, thanks,” Schrödinger said with an annoyed flick of his tail, and before Raven could even blink, he was already standing in the living room. She rushed into the room, picking him up while chiding, “Bad kitty.”
Schrödinger rolled his eyes and shifted back into the living room. “I’m Schrödinger. I’m a cat with the ability to basically teleport and phase through things at will.”
Bob and Helen looked at Schrödinger as though a giant block of Parmesan cheese had just crashed through their roof without warning.
“BAD kitty!” Raven protested, forming a forcefield around him and throwing it across the room. When she turned back, Schrödinger was sitting atop a chair, glaring at her.
“Really? Is that the best you can do?”
Raven was about to drop-kick the quick-witted cat when she heard crashing noises coming from outside.
“I’m guessing that’s Phoenix,” Raven muttered, going toward the door. Bob was about to stand, but Helen shook her head.
The knocking on the door prompted Raven to open it, revealing the redhead on the other side.
“Hey, Phoenix. Your cat showed up, and he’s really annoying. You smell kind of singed, did something go wrong?”
Phoenix scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, my rocket boots are prone to malfunctioning, and they did about halfway through the trip over here, and there was some fire, but it’s okay now.”
Raven stared at her partner in almost disbelief for a few seconds before moving out of the way to allow him access. His attention span seemed to be scattered as he glanced about erratically, never paying attention to any one object for more than one point five seconds. Raven counted.
Naturally, it didn’t take long at all before they were in the living room. Helen stood, putting on an almost-believable smile for the former nemesis of her entire family. Thrusting her hand before him a little too forcefully, she gave her forced homemaker smile and said through barely gritted teeth, “Hello, Phoenix. I’m Violet’s mother. Please make yourself at home.”
“Violet? Oh,” Phoenix said, waving his hand upward in what seemed to be a gesture of recognition, “that’s Raven’s given name. I’m sorry for whatever I’ve done to make you so angry at me, and I hope that someday we’ll be on good enough terms so you won’t have to strain to smile when I’m around.” The former supervillain grinned in what seemed to be a sincere manner as he shook her hand, which disoriented Helen more than a bit.
Bob, on the other hand, hadn’t even made an effort to put on a façade of gentility. His mouth was in a deep scowl, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white. Phoenix’s eyebrows raised in a combination of surprise and fear as he looked at the hulking hero.
“Um, Raven? Is something wrong with him? He seems to be a lot angrier at me than your mom.”
“Uh…” Raven looked between her partner and her father. “Rick didn’t tell me that I could tell you what went on between you two without you regaining memories, and if you did I’m pretty sure he’d kill you… again.”
Despite the obvious danger, Phoenix approached Bob anyway. “Well, I’m sorry for whatever I may have done, and I know that doesn’t make it better, but- urk!”
This final sound effect was caused by Bob rising from his seat, grabbing Phoenix by the throat, and lifting him up; paralleling the manner in which he’d choked Mirage so many years ago. When the hero finally spoke, it was in a low growl that Phoenix could barely hear even at his proximity.
“If you hurt my daughter, I will make you so miserable you will wish you’d never been born.”
Phoenix nodded as much as he could, still clawing futilely at his throat in an attempt to get the super-strong hand away from his windpipe.
The redhead fell as Bob dropped him, staring down at the coughing form that he detested so much with contempt.
“I, uh, wasn’t planning on it,” Phoenix mumbled as he stood, his knees shaking beyond belief.
“How did you survive?” Bob was still clearly angry, his voice not raising to any higher pitch or volume.
“Um.” Phoenix glanced around nervously, not wanting to get hurt for a wrong answer. “As far as I know, very few of my organs and tissues were damaged by the main accident, most of the damage was from the burns of the explosion. The NSA didn’t take long to find me, because for some reason they were already in the area. I guess they had to relocate somebody. They took me into their medical wing and got me back into… working order within the past few years. That’s what I’ve been told, at least.”
It seemed like it took a while to process in Bob’s mind, but when it did, Phoenix was flying into the adjacent wall, courtesy of the superhero’s right hook.
“Bob!” Helen berated, noting that Phoenix’s forehead had a little bit of blood running down it.
“I didn’t hit him that hard!” Bob protested, his fists finally unclenching in order to form a ‘what’ position as he spoke. Helen’s glare at Bob in response was more of a “you shouldn’t have hit him into the wall” glare than a “you shouldn’t have hit him” one.
Raven, rather than arguing, grabbed a few tissues and pressed them to Phoenix’s head. The inventor grinned weakly.
“Well, I guess I had that coming after everything that happened, didn’t I?”
“There’s a lot more where that came from,” Bob muttered under his breath.
“Where did the cat go?” Raven asked, looking up to find that Schrödinger had long-since disappeared from the chair.
“Probably home,” Phoenix mumbled. “He doesn’t like being around fights. I don’t feel good.”
“Somebody should probably call Rick,” Raven said, still wiping blood off of his forehead. “I’m getting the feeling that this won’t end well.”
And I don’t mean to flatter you with that statement, I give praise when it’s due (and criticisms when it’s deserved!). How long have you been writing fanfics?
I’ve been actively writing fanfics since around fifth grade, but they only really started to improve since I’ve gotten into high school.
Scrhödinger is my new favorite character! I liked this chapter, especially how Nix says that who is now is who he really was all along, underneath his childish, cynical and evil exterior. I’m interested to see what happens next. Is Raven going to tell her family about Nix? Will he ever remember anything from his past? Can Schrödinger be trusted? Will I ever stop asking questions? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
You manage to keep everyone in character very well too.