Chapter Forty-Nine: Acceptance
Bill Masters wiped down the restaurant bench, watching his niece play with Lizzy Begly. Technically Lizzy SHOULD have been washing dishes, but who was Bill to deny the baby Madeliene her favourite babysitter?
The pair were happily reading a book together, while Bill prepared for a huge event being held at his restaurant – some 90thbirthday party for one of Pleasantvilles big families. He was hoping it would go off without a hitch, business had been waning since the appearance of the Emerald Mobsters, who made life a bit more difficult for the citizens of the besieged city. Going out was more a mission than anything, and most people played it safe in their homes.
The television droned on quietly in the background as Lizzy read aloud to Madeliene, who was fully focused on the story before her. Bill was about to start getting the cutlery out and onto the tables, when a news alert came on.
“The Death Valley Mobsters are attacking Pleasantville Central Apartments, from what we know they're after one of the residents about a owed debt!” The reporter yelped. “HERE'S CHUCKLES AND GIGGLES!”
“Oh Belle!” Bill groaned. “Don't you go getting yourself OR Charlie hurt!”
Lizzy watched the television as Chuckles got thrown by one of the Emerald Mobsters into Sir Dark and Sir Lionheart, knocking the latter two down while winding the former. She desperately wanted to help, but her mind was still scattered. Thankfully her sister and Hugo were away that week, making her feel a little less pressured.
“I wish I could help.” Lizzy sighed.
“Best not to.” Bill advised, tweaking something within the young Begly. “You wouldn't be much help when they're already outnumbered by Emerald Mobsters, especially with Marion and Revolver keeping tabs on things. Those two will make life so much more difficult…Liz?” Bill looked around. Lizzy had disappeared. “She's gone. Huh. ARGH MY EYE!” He suddenly grabbed at his eye, which was now violently and uncontrollably twitching.
–
"We're completely outnumbered and there's only so much Emerald power I can absorb before I get sick!" Giggles groaned to Lady Luck.
"We have to do something, those residents can't save themselves!" Lady Luck looked out of the window at the Emerald Mobsters who were trying to break in.
"Where are those Outer Knights of the Last Order, they'd have this sorted out quick-smart!" One of the older residents poked his head out of his apartment.
"Thanks." Giggles replied dryly.
"Hey guys, we managed to secure all of the doors." Sir Dark came running up the stairs with Sir Hedgehog close behind him.
"That Lady Silent sure is good with technology." Sir Hedgehog said appreciatively. "She managed to get into the security system and locked the place down tight."
"She's good like that. Where's everyone else?" Lady Luck asked.
"Sir Lionheart is downstairs with Chuckles at the front door and Sir Hyper is with Lady Courage at the loading bay." Sir Dark replied. "Although we probably have a little bit of time until they break through."
"If they don't think of cutting the power first." Giggles looked out of the window, narrowly avoiding a bullet from Master Revolver.
"Wouldn't work, the building is designed to become a fortress when the power is gone. Funnily enough, it was designed by the firm that Mr. Jones owns." Sir Hedgehog grinned.
"Poetic." Lady Luck replied.
Suddenly out went the power.
"I thought you said that cutting the power to this place would turn this place into a fortress!" Giggles yelped.
"Well…a very airtight fortress…" Sir Hedgehog replied sheepishly. "They might not be able to get in, but we can't get out either. We're trapped."
"Are you telling me," Lady Luck glared at him. "That they could now blow up this building and we'd have no way to escape?!"
"Looks like it. I think we fell right into a trap." Sir Dark tried to calm his girlfriend down.
Meanwhile, outside, celebrations were starting.
"We did it!" Master Revolver grinned at Mobster Marion. "We finally trapped the Knights of the Last Order and those bothersome pests Chuckles and Giggles!"
"FINALLY!" Mobster Marion smirked up at the building. "And once they're dead we can finally have the Lions Claw Blade and the Lucky Seven Gun back!"
"Can't we just blow the building up already?" Ruby Daryl groaned from behind them. "This waiting is BORING!"
"These things take time you little brat, do you want to blow us up too?" Mobster Marion chided. "Besides, we blew up the transformer between this grid and the main power plant, there's no way those brats can escape and there's nothing anyone can do to save them!"
A few metres away, hidden behind another building, Lady Starlight heard every word of the plan. Her heart sank. She was going to lose her brother and the woman who was like a sister to her, before she'd had the chance to make things right with them. She was going to lose her beloved Sir Hyper, who inspired her and looked out for her.
She felt something vibrating in her pocket. It was her phone, and more specifically, a phone call from Bill.
"ARE YOU INSANE?" He hissed over the line. "Get your scrawny little behind back to the restaurant NOW!"
"My brother is going to die. I have to save him!" Lady Starlight replied quietly. "If I could just restore the power to the place then everything would be fine!"
"Impossible, the transformers have been completely destroyed." Bill told her sternly. "Although, there IS the secret passageway to the dam but that's been abandoned for-,"
CLICK. Lady Starlight knew what she had to do. It was time to activate the Improbability Clause and get her brother out of that building!
She poked her head out. The first order of business was to get past the Death Valley Mob and that moron Ruby Daryl. Then she had to communicate that fact to her brother.
Communication was easy, she could just send a text message. She quickly relayed her plan via a couple of hurried text messages. Now to deal with the DVM, and hopefully give her friends time to get out of the building.
"Be careful with those explosives you fools, they're volatile and could kill us all if you drop them!" Ruby Daryl snapped at a nearby Emerald Mobster, who glared at him.
"We're Emerald Warriors, our suits protect us!" The
Emerald Mobster replied sneeringly.
Lady Starlight smirked, and threw one of her Throwing Stars at the Emerald Mobsters arm. She scored a direct hit, and the Emerald Mobster quickly dropped his load, causing a huge explosion in the middle of the empty road.
"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!" Ruby Daryl roared angrily, his Ruby Shield protecting him.
"What the hell happened here?!" Master Revolver ran over.
"Something hit my arm and I dropped the explosives." The Emerald Warrior pulled the Throwing Star out of his arm, dripping blood.
"DON'T pull it out you idiot, you're just going to damage yourself more!" Ruby Daryl groaned.
"That's a Throwing Star! The Outer Knights of the Last Order have arrived!" Master Revolver yelled. "Lady Starlight threw that no doubt about it!"
"Well where is she then?!" Ruby Daryl quickly got his guard up. "She's the most dangerous of the three."
"Damn straight I am." Lady Starlight muttered to herself, throwing another star at another Emerald Mobster who was carrying explosives.
"IF YOU DON'T MIND!" Mobster Marion yelled after the following explosion. "WHAT are you idiots doing?!"
"Lady Starlight is around somewhere trying to blow us up!" One of the Emerald Mobsters complained bitterly.
"She has to be close by. I'll go look for her while you lot clean up – and TRY not to waste any more of those explosives, we need them for getting rid of Chuckles and Giggles!" Mobster Marion snapped, getting out her small katana. She began to make her way to where the two Throwing Stars had come from. Lady Starlight saw her and quickly made a dash for it over a nearby fence and around the back of another building, where she could still keep an eye on proceedings and make sure her brother didn't die that day.
Seeing another Emerald Mobster head towards the building with more explosives, Lady Starlight launched another Throwing Star, causing yet another explosion.
"This game is getting tiresome Knight! I WILL find you and when I do, you're going to PAY." Mobster Marion fumed, running back to the site of the explosion.
'This is easy! I can keep this up all day until they run out of explosives!' Lady Starlight grinned to herself as she set up explosion after explosion.
"I bet you're feeling pretty proud of yourself right now aren't you?"
Never mind – she'd just been discovered by Ruby Daryl!
"I've beaten you before Ruby, and I'll happily beat you again!" Lady Starlight cried, pulling out some more Throwing Stars.
"True, you HAVE beaten me, but can you beat me AND the Emerald Warriors without your little friends?" Ruby Daryl clicked his fingers, summoning the ten Emerald Mobsters to deal with the Outer Knight of the Last Order!
"I'm sure I can make your life hell until Chuckles and Giggles get here with the rest of the Knights!" Lady Starlight smirked, trying to appear braver than she felt.
"Chuckles and Giggles aren't going anywhere brat, and now, neither are you!" Ruby Daryl readied a Ruby Shard to incapacitate Lady Starlight with, with the Emerald Mobsters following suit with various Emerald weapons.
"Not good!" Lady Starlight backed off slightly. Ruby Daryl grinned and threw the Ruby Shard, which never made it to its intended target.
"HOW?!" He roared in fury. Lady Starlight almost cried with happiness.
"GIGGLES! You're safe!" She yelled.
"Thanks to you Lady Starlight, you've done great!" Chuckles also appeared, holding the Lions Claw Blade ready for action.
"What the hell?" Master Revolver saw what had happened.
"No point blowing that place up now, there's no one in it!" Giggles laughed at the look of fury on her hated enemies faces.
Mobster Marion grimaced. She glared at Master Revolver and Ruby Daryl, as if this was somehow their fault.
"We're leaving. You win this time, Chuckles and Giggles!" She ordered her forces back.
"I'm glad you see it our way!" Chuckles waved pleasantly as the Death Valley Mobsters left. "And now we're going to head home too."
"Yeah, home sounds good around about now. Although I don't think your Uncle is going to be very happy with me." Lady Starlight made her way to the tip with her two companions.
"Why?" Asked Giggles.
"Hey Bill…why is your eye twitching?" Peter Masters walked into the restaurant to pick up his daughter. "And where's Lizzy?"
"The stupid freaking CLAUSE!" Bill roared.
–
"So that's why I've decided that I'm going to focus more on my studies and leave the superhero stuff to Belle and Charlie." Lizzy explained to her sister and Hugo that night.
"You've always been on my side when it comes to that stupid Code and that ridiculous Clause, when did you start talking nonsense?!" Izzy cried in hurt and anger.
"When I found out it wasn't so much nonsense as it was common sense and team work." Lizzy shrugged.
"Whatever. Looks like we'll have to give up the hero caper too if you're not going to join us." Izzy sighed in resignation.
"It's a shame, we were having such fun." Hugo agreed with Izzy.
"Yes, well, it's not about fun, it's about doing the right thing and making sure that Pleasantville has a future." Lizzy told them.
They were sitting in the living room a few days after the dramatic rescue, and Lizzy had finally worked up the courage to tell her sister the truth. It had been hard, and Izzy wasn't thrilled about it, but what was done was done, and it couldn't be changed.
"I don't know why you had to go and change your tune though. I guess that baby has had more influence on you than I thought." Izzy slumped back into the lounge.
"Amongst other things." Lizzy shrugged. Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" Thomas walked from the kitchen to the front door. "Hi Sam, how can I help you?" Thomas opened the door to Sam, who was looking particularly handsome that day.
"Good afternoon Mr. Begly, I was wondering if the lovely Miss Lizzy would like to come out for a walk to the dam?" Sam poked his head in the door, looking for Lizzy, who had gone bright pink.
"I reckon 'Miss Lizzy' would love to go for a walk." Charlie poked his head out of the kitchen to needle his sister, who poked her tongue out at him.
"I'd love to go for a walk." She got up and smiled at Sam, who grinned back.
"Have fun on your walk Miss Lizzy." Izzy teased.
"Don't be home too late Miss Lizzy." Betty called from the kitchen.
"Don't forget your hat Miss Lizzy." Thomas grinned, handing his daughter her hat.
Lizzy couldn't help but chuckle, and yes, she did enjoy her walk with Sam very much indeed!