Adventures In Parodyverse: Triumphant Part 1

Adventures in Parodyverse - Triumphant Part 1

    It was raining and dark in Paradopolis making the usually moody atmosphere at the Fatal Toilet seem even more moody and atmospheric. It was unusually crowded in there, as people who fit its constant state slipped in there to hide from the cruel world, have a few drinks, and talk to someone who appeared to listen, either because they worked there or were too drunk to get up.

    Every once in a while, however, there was an actual conversation between the patrons about current events. The Parody War was foremost on everyone's mind but that was a subject that was too dark for even the Fatal Toilet. Instead they took solace in discussing smaller things of lesser consequence.

    "They say he went mad," a mysterious trenchcoated man with a vague British accent said as he tossed back a shot of scotch. "He was doing his show on the telly one night and he tortured and killed some poor catgirl while broadcasting live. Nobody knows why."

    "Ooooh," a woman with pink hair and purple eyes, wearing a black cloak and hood, laughed ironically. "That's not true at all."

    "Her name was Violet or something," the trenchcoated man continued. "She screamed and cried, till the network pulled the plug. Supposedly he was usin' pins or blades or someth'."

     "Nooo!" the pink-haired hooded woman mocked him as she gently sipped her margarita. "They were swords. Definitely swords. And he wasn't mad, he was--"

     "How would you know?" the trenchcoated man interrupted abrasively. "You look like the kind of girl who's workin' as a stripper during prime telly viewing time."

    The woman frowned and lowered the hood of her black cloak, freeing her pink hair. It was immediately clear at that point she was a catgirl. "Cause I'm the unfortunate Violet, that's why! I still have the sword scratches on my arms and legs! I kicked him in the nuts and escaped before he sacrified me to...to...whatever he was sacrificing me to!"

    Big Thick Eddie, sitting at the end of the bar silently so his very large form was nearly blocking the hallway to the bathroom, turned to look at the tiny catgirl. "You were on Marvellous Marv's show?"

     "Yeah!" she scoffed, sitting up suddenly. She then slouched again and added more quietly, "I thought it would give my acting career a boost."

     "Oh yeah. She's a stripper." the trenchcoated man mumbled.

     "Shut it, Con Johnstantine!" Violet screeched. "Yah, I know who you are!"

     Con looked up and raised an eyebrow as he emptied another glass of scotch. "You of all people in here should," he said quietly with a wink.

     Violet threw her margarita class at him, but he ducked and it shattered against the wall. She ignored the angry look from the bartender. "And you're a liar!" she added. "'You're in luck, I'm a casting agent', she mocked in a false British accent. "Yeah, right!"

     "Didn't say what I was castin' for," Con truthfully replied.

     Violet looked for something else in her reach to throw, but alas, the bartender was one step ahead of her and had cleared the area around her. Instead she angrily slapped a few bills of currency on the bar and slid off her stool. "I'm outta here!" she growled.

     "Here, luv." Con shoved a small business card in her face just as she was about to leave.

     "I'm not taking any more favors from you!" Violet grumbled as she angrily walked past him.

     "It's a friend of mine," Con kept talking as she headed to the door. "A female friend. Who recently aquired a theater downtown."

     That finally stopped Violet in her tracks. She turned and stared at him for a moment as he continued holding the card, motionless. She snatched it from him and turned to the door again.

     "Got a ride home, luv? Taxis don't just come by this time of night in the rain."

     She bristled at the sound of his voice, but then sighed and calmed herself. "I have a motorcycle," she said triumphantly, thinking that freed her of Con's offer.

     Only she had it backwards. "Good," Con applauded her, sliding off his stool. "I'm a little drunk, you see, and I don't think I can walk home myself."

     Violet gritted her teeth hard enough for them to feel like they could shatter. With a growl at the base of her throat she looked at Con and thought about telling him to go drown in a puddle. But she was always a sucker for helping someone who was stuck. "Fine," she said, "But I'm taking you to your apartment, not mine."

    "Mine's being painted, y'know," Con added.

    "Then breathe fumes." Violet led the way outside. There were limits to how many excuses she would allow him.

---

    The police were still in cleanup mode outside WPDTV studios. The glass lobby had been smashed to bits, and glass covered the street outside. It was evening, and the rain magnified the sea of flashing blue and red lights. Police officers in rain gear manned barricades at both ends of the street and at every alley.

    They made no arrests after the incident, but they did temporarily detain and question the victim, beyond alleged because there were so many witnesses and so many recordings of the live television event.

    A previously unknown heroine seemed unphazed by the spotlight as she entered the building an hour ago. When she did every media outlet in the city had already converged in front of the building trying to get a sliver of coverage. And coverage they got, as an airborne blonde in a black costume with white accents landed gently at the foot of the few steps with s light splash and looked around her, seeming unconcerned about the coverage, before entering the glass lobby.

    A few minutes later she was thrown by an unseen force through the tall glass door to the lobby, showering the press with shards just as the police and fire department started to arrive, and getting her soaking wet as she fell into the street.

    That made her angry. She shoved aside a reporter who shined a camera with a spotlight in her face, and approached the steps again. Inside there was a gently increasing glow coming from the lobby like something building up to critical mass. The look on the blonde's face was a mix of fear and anger at that point. She turned for just a tiny moment, and that look made the news that night.

    It was a look of concern, not fear. The headlines paired with that look would emphasize the mystery blonde protecting the city's most valued press, police officers, and firefighters. Except for the Daily Bugle, who's headline read "Sexy Sensational Blonde Saves Station". Even the skeptical super hero hating J. Jonah Jerkson couldn't resist the pull of the city's newest blonde sweetheart.

    To the blonde, however, she only remembers losing her temper. Outward from her hands came a powerful burst of energy that collapsed the stairway, smashed every pane of glass in the lobby into powder, and hit the newly powerful Marvellous Marv so hard that his clothes were ripped from him before he was sent careening through a concrete wall into the stairwell.

    The worst part was that Marv was never recovered by the police. They moved so cautiously through the building that he escaped before they got to him. It wasn't expected, though, because the silence in the building convinced them that Marv was neutralized rather than that he had escaped.

    Lara's public reaction, however, cemented her moment of fame among the press. Just before she left the press questioned her - and instead of blaming the police she commended them for trying to protect the public, and only wished she had done a better job for them. She never told them her name, though, so that mystery persisted.

    "I met her, y'know," Violet told Con as she stopped the motorcycle in front of the police barricade, watching the police file in and out of the television station. "They carried me out on a stretcher, and she looked at me and told me I'd be ok, and she smiled. There's something about her...makes a person feel good." Violet nodded and then turned and drove away from the scene.

    "That's nothin'." Con countered quietly as he deftly lit up a cigarette while balancing on the back of the motorcyle. "I know the girl's name."

    Violet frowned visibly, even through her body language. "Don't try to tell me you nailed her too, Con, you liar."

    "No, no." Con laughed. "She's far too classy a dame for the likes of me. No, she's staying with the Lair Legion. I've seen her around."

    "Hmm." Violet scoffed.

    "She touched you, eh?" Con asked. "On your hand, or your wrist?"

    The motorcycle stopped again, this time more abruptly. Violet turned around. "How did you know?"

    "That's how she heals you, luv. That's why you didn't bleed to death."

    Violet shivered, and not just because the rainwater was starting to run into the rain coat she wore as she rode the bike. "Yah, it was kinda creepy, how I was bleeding and then I wasn't--" she shook her head from confusion and started driving again.

    As promised, she stopped in front of Con's place and waited for him to climb off the motorcycle. Except it wasn't Con's place, the name on the mailbox next to the door read Shepherdson. Violet was afraid to say anything though, in case Con might admit it wasn't his apartment and ask for another ride.

    "If you want to talk some more," Con said as he headed to the door, "I'll be at the Fatal Toilet tomorrow."

    By that time all the anger she felt at having to drive him home had long faded away. "Sure," she agreed. "Unless I get an acting job tomorrow!"

    Con stared at her for a moment and took another puff of his cigarette. "I'll see you there," he said, implying that her exception was virtually impossible.

    Violet sighed sadly, picking up on the subtlety of his response as she started the motorcycle back up and drove away.


TO BE CONTINUED?

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2007 by Jason Froikin, and may not be
-- reprinted without permission.
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
-- Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
-- Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin

Post By Anime Jason Sat Jan 13, 2007 at 07:35:29 pm EST	Subject Adventures In Parodyverse: Triumphant Part 1

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