Villains Rise

Chapter 22 -- A good day for brain damage

How do you trust a woman who says she's on your side, but she has you pinned to the gravel of an alley walkway?

Quick answer: you don't.

I push her off of me with all of my force. I'm about to run away again when something peculiar happens.

Is this a force field?

She points her finger at me, and that's when I see she's the source of the bubble encasing me. I begin to panic, and I can feel beads of sweat pouring down my face. I hear her clear her throat, but she must be behind me now because I can't see her.

"Would you stop trying to run? I have some important information you'd probably like to know. Besides, it doesn't matter if you run. I think it's pretty obvious I always find you." She rolls her eyes, like she always has to explain this to people she shoves into alleys.

Suddenly, the force field is dropped and I can move again. This time, I don't run. I wait for her to explain herself. The side of my face is stinging, but I try to stay attentive.

The woman flips her long, black hair over her shoulder. She looks to be in her mid-40s. Her tan colored heels click as she paces.

"Those papers you found? You can't show them to anyone. It will ruin my whole plan." She shakes her head and cups her hand around her forehead.

"Who are you?" I ask cautiously. I make sure I don't move an inch.

She turns to face me, "My name is Melissa Michaels."

I tilt my head to the side, the first movement I've made in a minute or so. "You're related to Mickey?"

Melissa nods, then takes a shaky breath, "He's my son."

I freeze. Mickey's real mother. That means he has to remember her because he was only six when his dad died. Unless, for some reason, his mom wasn't in the picture beforehand.

There's a brief moment of silence as I mull this over, but she interrupts. "That's beside the point,"

No, actually, that's the whole point.

"All you need to know is this: I'm putting an end to The Undergrounds one supervillain at a time. You going AWOL doesn't make my situation easy."

I stare at her, dazed in confusion. "Are you asking me to return to The Undergrounds as a villain?" Who does this woman think she is? I've been on my own for a day, and there's already chaos? First Jonas is kidnapped, now Mickey's mother is hunting me down?

"I can't go back to The Undergrounds." I take a step back, taking my chances by making a slight movement.

She crosses her arms defiantly, "No, you just can't go back to Owen," she mocks, "I can't believe he tried to pull that stunt. He knows better."

I'm not sure if she's implying that he was wrong to forcefully kiss me or for trying to cover our faces because she already knew who we were. I stay silent. Asking questions would probably result in more gravel being indented in my face.

She sharply turns to face me again, "You know what you have to do, Della. I expect you to comply with my request." She doesn't add an 'or else,' but it's implied.

I stand up straight, and glower at the woman in front of me. If she thinks she gets to boss me around, she has another thing coming. Della Abram does not 'comply with requests'.

"No. I'm not going back to The Undergrounds. I will do whatever it takes to keep my friends and family safe. I will go to every length to take down The Undergrounds. But I will not," I step dangerously close to her, "Work for Blacklight again."