Gravity Rises (S1)

MM: Part Ten

Wendy Valentino slouched across the street, glowering at everything as she passed. The sun was too bright for a winter day; the weather was chilly, but not that cold. Even winter couldn't get it right in this backwards town.

Wendy settled against a brick wall, the spray paint cans in her hoodie pocket rattling slightly. She'd lean against this wall until she got the inspiration for her next greatest achievement. Her best ideas were reserved for paint and canvas, but any idea that could be expressed to the public on a nice, graffiti-free wall was an idea that needed to be shared. Wendy often wished she could live somewhere with a subway or train station where graffiti was never cleaned off, where street artists like her were immortal. But, at the same time, she liked being the only graffiti artist in town; that way, people could really admire her work. Until they scrubbed it off, of course.

She could feel an idea itching at the back of her brain. Another few minutes of patiently waiting and it would be realized. She could almost. . . see. . .

"Wendy! Wendy I need your help!"

Wendy was pulled out of her trance, and she blinked wildly before growling. She had almost had her idea! How did people know the perfectly wrong time to interrupt her?

She looked down to see none other than the little Pines squirt that had been hanging around with Robbie last night. Mabel? What an old lady's name. "What do you want?" Wendy grunted, folding her arms and glaring at the girl.

"Please, you have to go visit Robbie right now, otherwise something terrible will happen. You gotta stop it!"

"Stop what?" Wendy asked, bewildered.

"Please just come! I don't know how to explain." Mabel clasped her hands over the dark blue broken-heart symbol on her shirt. Huh, it looked kinda like the stitched heart on Wendy's hoodie.

"I'm busy, kid."

"You're just standing here!" Mabel said. "C'mon, please? You don't want me dating Robbie, do you?"

Wendy stared at the girl incredulously. "What does that have to do with anything? Why would a kid like you ever date Robbie?"

"I wouldn't!" Mabel replied. "But if you don't come I might! I mean. . . please just come! There's no time to waste!"

Wendy blinked. She was very confused. But, now that her creative process had already been interrupted by the squirt, she might as well go pay Robbie a visit. "Fine, fine. Calm down, kid. We can head over to the Museum."

"Thank you, thank you!"

Wendy put out a hand to shut her up and started towards the Museum; it was just down the street.

Mabel bounced up and down impatiently as Wendy ambled down the road until Wendy stopped and shot her a look. "Are you wanting me to go faster, kid?"

"Yes, please!"

What was with this girl? She wasn't half this energetic last night. Wasn't her brother the hyper one or whatever?

Mabel suddenly took off running, shouting, "Come on!" over her shoulder. Wendy grumbled to herself as she picked up her speed, jogging down the street until she came to the Museum, where Mabel had already torn the door open and run inside.

Wendy entered the Museum to see Robbie behind the counter, talking to. . . Mabel?

The two turned and looked at her, and Mabel's face quickly turned from happiness to thinly veiled anger. "Hey, Robbie," Wendy said casually, leaning against the doorjamb.

"Hey, Wendy! I thought you were painting."

Wendy shrugged. "No ideas." There was going to be one, but somebody had ruined that. "What exactly is this game you're playing, kid?" she said to Mabel.