Raving Mad

Chapter 12 [https://www.rellawings.com/superluminal/chapternum/chaphead_12.jpg]

Emotion-laden symphonic rave music was audible by anyone up to a full city block away from the abandoned grocery store that served as this rave’s makeshift auditorium.

There was a melody that sounded very familiar to Leona that floated in the air, but she wasn’t entirely sure.

It still differed from things she had heard at certain points, but despite this, she decided that this song was heavily inspired by a piece Leona knew well, at least rhyming with its catchy beat that she knew all too well.

If she didn’t know any better, Leona would have almost thought it was her sister playing, but when they entered, she instead found some random guy she’d never seen before standing on the temporary main platform working his deck.

Whatever counted for a production crew here had cordoned off a big square area immediately in front of the platform that formed the designated dance floor. There were about a dozen young men and women swaying to the music. The rhythm was slow and steady, but not at all gentle. The powerful tones were elongated and deep, prompting the dancers to perform more fluid Tai-Chi style sways and sweeps than aggressive jumps or high-tempo head bangs.

Ambient strobing lasers and other light effects made the moving bodies seem to teleport from one statuesque position to the next in shutter time.

Impressed by the unexpected ambiance, Leona gaped and turned to Quinn. “Wow—that guy’s almost as good as you.”

Quinn scoffed, glancing up at the stage. “Pfft, just another pretender to my throne. Ripped off some of my best stuff. Doesn’t take much to hear me in there, right?” She chuckled mirthlessly. “Oh well, I can’t afford a real copyright and at least he’s not actively trying to rip me off.”

“Don’t they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?” Leona asked as Quinn led her to a nearby wall where the two could watch the stage.

“True enough. Robbie up there’s not a bad guy in the end. His music’s definitely an outlet for something though, it just screams deep-seated emotional issues. They say that music expresses our hearts and souls, and his beats tell me he thinks there’s something missing.”

Leona nodded. “Yeah—I always feel your emotions when you play, sis.”

With a shake of her head, Quinn looked at Leona. “I still got plenty of room to grow too. I’m not trying to knock him too hard. Anyway, you feeling thirsty yet? By the sound of things, we weren’t nearly fashionably late enough. He’s still gonna be up there for a good forty minutes.” Quinn started moving away, not waiting for a response. She muttered to herself, just barely audible, “I just hope he figures—”

Leona nodded and smiled at Quinn’s back, waiting right where she was. Her eyes tracked her sister’s sure steps until they took her between the dancers and out of sight.

Despite having just gotten there, she was already feeling a little lethargic, so Leona slid down the wall and smiled ruefully. Of course, she knew that when they went to a rave, they wouldn’t get to spend the whole time together since her sis was there to play the gig, but that didn’t give her much to do during this unexpected down-time.

Leona looked forward to when Quinn would get up on the stage, but the elder Ramses’ hobby was taking her sis places that didn’t really have room for her. Leona just didn’t fit in at this kind of scene like Quinn.

As Leona listened to Robbie’s music, tears filled her eyes. Geez, this was one of the few times besides Quinn’s stuff that music got to her like this. Or maybe it wasn’t just the music—

*THUMP*

A loud rumble sent a tremor through the floor and walls.

Geez, the sound system is really holding up to the music.

A well-crafted song never failed to fill Leona with awe, but there was something deep and pain-filled about this tune. It went beyond the saddest stuff Quinn played.

Perhaps how emotive his beats were was why she’d automatically compared the two upon hearing it. Her big sister had mentioned that he had deep-seated problems. Maybe people who were musically sensitive could quickly pick up these vibes.

Wiping her eyes, Leona looked up and fastened her gaze onto the stage in search of the man responsible for making these beautiful sounds and discovered that his expression was firmly fixed on his deck and his aura shrieked intense focus. There was not an iota of emotion to be found there, but his music was laden with it.

*THUMP*

That’s strange—

This time, the tremor was much more pronounced and wasn’t in time with the music. It was like a heavy impact had happened down the street.

Though some of the audience had noticed it and started looking around, trying to figure out what that exactly was, Robbie remained utterly immersed in his playing.

Whatever that had been mustn’t have been anything special because nothing else unusual happened after a couple of minutes—

In her periphery, Leona saw a disturbance in the crowd of dancers and grinned broadly. That had to be Quinn pushing her way back through the press of undulating bodies with the drink she’d mentioned.

But this disturbance in the crowd wasn’t heading in her direction. Instead, it was making its way toward the stage.

It wasn’t until people’s bodies went flying in every direction for no apparent reason. At the same time a keening, despair-filled cry filled the air that drowned out the music; Leona knew that something was very, very wrong.

“ROBBIE!”

With the bodies of just about every dancer flung out of the designated dance floor, Leona finally got a clear view of what was going on. A single teenage-looking young man, wreathed in crackling red, yellow and white energy, stood in the center of the floor—and, boy, did he look pissed!

“You liar!” The young man, seemingly the same age as Robbie, roared.

Some kind of force accompanied the roar, a sensation that Leona couldn’t really describe, but she definitely sensed it. It was like every person in the room had been tilted on a 45° incline and was ‘pulled’ away from the young man.

If she hadn’t already been so low and near the wall, she would have tumbled back like so many of the surrounding people.

It was also at that moment the music loops played in the background, fully cut out.

Quickly picking himself back up, Robbie stared at the newcomer with a wide-eyed expression. “Oh God, Jeff—what happened to you?”

“You fucking want to know what happened to me, Rob? YOU HAPPENED TO ME! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!”

It took half a second, but Leona’s brain finally registered what the two were talking about. The young man looked awful. Like, one-foot-in-the-grave,-sick with-every-illness-known-to-man awful. He was gaunt and pale. His eyes were sunken in but remained pronounced thanks to the deep dark circles that ringed his sclera. He only had half his hair, too. Not in the sense that it was a hairstyle, more like handfuls had been falling out.

Clearly, this guy hadn’t always looked like this. Something terrible must have happened to him. And he clearly blamed Robbie for it.

The hypochondriac figure crouched and the surrounding energy shifted to mostly red as it rippled across his body, his teeth setting as he snarled.

“Jeff—calm down. Please,” Robbie pleaded, even as he looked in every direction, seeking escape.

“No! I’m done listening!” Jeff hissed. “I went through hell itself and you still FUCKING DUMPED ME! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THEY DID TO ME?” Springing forward, the gaunt young man vaulted himself onto the stage with inhuman velocity.

Oh, crap… San Isidro had had little meta activity in the last ten years since Gravitas. That was part of why most considered El Aguilla a half-baked hero. There just wasn’t much for him to do. That and he was an arrogant jerk who lorded his meta abilities over everyone he met. The era of peace that had persisted since Gravitas’ attack and his own ego drove the twin cities’ only hero to seek greener pastures. That he had ticked nearly everyone off before he left meant that no other cities or teams really wanted to take him in. It had been a pretty unpleasant situation, and now there weren't any professional heroes left to deal with the attack of a new villainous meta like what was unfolding right in front of Leona tonight.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

Leona’s expression firmed. Well, if no help was on its way, someone had to defuse the situation. While everyone in sight was groaning in pain, cowering, or fleeing the scene, she took a step forward.

Step by step, Leona pushed herself against that ‘pull’ towards the stage where the two men stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Robbie’s already sorrow-filled eyes gradually filled with terror while Jeff’s own remained unchanged. His eyes were flinty orbs possessed by a deep anger and thick resentment.

The red sparks of energy around Jeff became more excited and took on a red tint as he lifted himself off the ground—In the sense that he floated up into the air and moved forward. Jeff crossed the distance between himself and the target of his rage at a comparatively slow pace.

Once Jeff was within reach, with obvious dramatic flair, the rage fueled meta lifted Robbie by his shirt, one-handed. “You! You broke my heart, man!” His eyes practically bored a hole through Robbie’s head.

“Please stop this. I didn’t forget… I—” Robbie looked away. “I did it for you!”

“Shut the fuck up! Don’t rationalize what you did to me! You ratted me out! You abandoned me to that place, you piece of shit!”

“D—Don’t—n—no——Je—rghhh—” Robbie’s voice gurgled as Jeff applied more force around his throat. Jeff reached his other hand up and clearly began wringing the life out of his former beau.

By now, Leona stood in front of the stage, ready to vault up despite how dangerous the gaunt man clearly was. Tingles were racing up and down Leona’s spine —chills.

*CRUNCH*

As a sickening squish echoed through the room and Leona’s eyes widened in shock, Quinn suddenly darted from the side and tackled Leona to the floor.

Jeff looked down at the two girls, catching their movements across the floor in the corner of his eye and with a snarl, his eyes narrowed as he turned his head towards them. With a callous flick of the wrist, Robbie’s limp body was discarded. His revenge taken, he slowly floated toward the two apparently helpless girls.

As he stood at the edge of the stage, a blur of blue streaked across the grocery store’s floor and a figure materialized right in front of the sickly young man.

Another meta? Could it be a hero!? Here?

She wore her classic blue and red costume, blue all over with red piping patterns chasing across the tight body stocking, reminiscent of vehicle parts.

That's—! But what is she doing here?! San Isidro was a long way away from Redline Racer’s home city.

—She must have been in the area for some other reason and then must have received a call related to those earlier tremors. Whatever the reason, Leona would not complain. She was about to see a main team Sentinel in action!

Before the young man could say anything, Redline Racer was behind him. Kneeling down beside Robbie, she checked to see what had happened to him. “You crushed his throat!” She exclaimed as she looked up at the unstable meta. Her eyes hardened as she broke into motion after her lips stopped moving. With a blurring motion, she stuck her face in Jeff’s.

Jeff’s eyes narrowed as he stared down a full-blown heavy-hitting hero without a trace of fear on his face. “What of it? What’s a cape without a cape gonna do about it?”

Redline shook her head, disbelieving. “Youdont’needacapetobeaherodon’tyougetit? —You really wanna be a villain? If he dies, there’s no going back!”

“Who the fuck cares? Not you. Not him!” Jeff pointed at Robbie’s prone form with a slightly shaking hand. “I don’t know you, so why should I give a flying fuck about what you say?”

While the supers were having their pre-fight back and forth, Quinn pulled Leona quietly across the floor to the rear swinging doors. Everyone else had had that idea long since and had cleared out. Leona wasn’t being too helpful, however, as she couldn’t take her eyes off the scene as they slipped through.

I wish—damn it… If only I could have done more—

Leona peeked inside to see the villain lunging at Redline Racer, the same way he’d grasped Robbie’s shirt. With movements Leona couldn’t fully see from where she was, Redline intercepted his grasping hand and threw Jeff judo-style, causing him to spin midair.

When she let him go, rather than spin and slam to the ground like he should have, Jeff’s fall slowed and slowed until he landed lightly. Even though Redline Racer had catapulted him using her force born of super speed, he just dusted off his t-shirt, looking like nothing had happened.

“Heh—that all ya got, bitch? I think I’ve got your number.” He turned his eyes on Robbie across the floor from him, whose throat was leaking blood onto the floor in a pool. “Just one more piece of trash left to throw out tonight.”

“Oh——?Just-cause-it-looks-like-you-got-some-kinda-speedster-power, too?” Redline Racer laughed softly. “—but you’re still a noob.”

Closing the distance near-instantly, Redline Racer’s fists were moving faster than the eye could follow as she rabbit-punched the villain’s chest with a series of crippling strikes surgically placed all in the same spot with increasing velocity. Leona recognized it as a move that had humbled many a tougher villain in the past.

Jeff groaned for a moment, but started laughing raucously as he started tensing his stomach’s muscles.

“Weak!” Jeff bellowed derisively in Redline’s face, “I’m Control, personified. Who are you supposed to be?”

Leona gritted her teeth. Even though it was foolish, she was almost at the point of charging in again, but before she could do anything else, her wrist was firmly grabbed and Leona was hauled off.

“C’mon!” Quinn whispered loudly, with an edge to her tone, “Goonie’ll kill me if you get hurt being a total idiot. Hanging around the site of a supervillain attack, are you nuts? Leave that shit to your superheroes. I know it’s killing you inside, but we have to get away, NOW.”

scenebreak [https://www.rellawings.com/superluminal/scenebreak/wingsbreak.png]

“What the hell were you thinking!” Quinn was mad. Seriously mad.

Leona said nothing. There was nothing to say. She hadn’t been thinking before she acted. She simply felt she needed to do something.

It had been a couple of hours since the incident. Quinn had managed to drag Leona almost a full block away before the girl finally accepted that there wasn’t anything she could do and willingly followed her elder sister. They’d ended up in a crowd of other ravers about a half-dozen blocks away from the grocery store before the cops pulled up the street with their lights flashing and sirens blasting to intercept the refugee ravers.

It had taken Redline Racer about ten minutes to deal with this new meta, right before the local authorities streamed into the area. That both parties could control speed in opposing ways made saying whether the fight was quick or slow tricky to call.

The cops that stopped them were canvassing the area for any witnesses and only really wanted the youngsters’ statements before eventually letting them go. Thank goodness for small favors. If Goonie picked up the phone and learned what happened from a police officer, she would have flipped her lid. Nah, she’d have flipped either way.

After she’d given her statement, Leona couldn’t help asking about Robbie, to which the officer said he wasn’t sure but that he’d heard Robbie was alive and that the paramedics had taken him to a nearby hospital for triage. As far as the officer knew, his condition wasn’t particularly good, but at least Robbie looked like he had a good chance of making it through.

“Leona, please. Look at me. Don’t you ever, and I mean, ever, do anything like that again. You’re not your Mom.”

Again, Leona said nothing as her eyes misted. There was nothing to say to that.

“Sigh. If you breathe a word about what happened to Goonie, I’ll literally kill you.” Quinn continued with a thumb sliding across her throat gesture. Tact much!? “If you do, we’re never going to see the outside of our rooms ever-ever-never-ever again. That was just a freak thing. A weird, only-happens-once-in-a-lifetime freak kinda thing.”

It certainly was a freaky thing to witness. “We shouldn’t lie to Goonie,” Leona finally said stiffly.

“I get that it’s close to lying by omission, but Leona… I’m just one gig away from having enough to buy my own car. If it makes you feel better, I won’t drag you to any more raves until I’m down in SoCal… So please—for my sake, just please keep what happened to yourself.”

“I don’t think I want to go to any more raves after that.” Leona felt sick after witnessing a villain attack. To have seen someone maybe die—

Her sense of complete powerlessness coupled with visions of Jeff’s neck being crushed before her eyes were fueling the turmoil that was tying her stomach into knots.

“Like I said, I’m not going to force you. You don’t have to go if you really don’t wanna,” Quinn sighed and ran fingers through Leona’s hair. “But I promise that what happened won’t happen again. In the literal years I’ve been going to them. Oh sure, people get into fights. But not with superpowers!” She raised a finger to punctuate and added, “And, seriously, this is one of those classic ‘get right back on the horse’ situations. So Leona, come with me to the next one and forget the foul taste of what just happened.”

With a sigh, Leona shook her head uncertainly.

More than ever, she still wasn’t sure raves were her thing, but this was her last opportunity to witness her sister jamming on her deck for a crowd before she went off to college. When thought about like that, through the prism of losing her sister at least for a while, Leona mustered her determination.

She would not let her fear control her.

Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s about doing things despite it.

scenebreak [https://www.rellawings.com/superluminal/scenebreak/wingsbreak.png]

And so a week passed and there they were again. Well, different location, but out to check a new rave.

Ahead of the sisters, a typically abandoned warehouse that was now full of people and music that pounded loud enough to make little puddles on the ground outside ripple to the rhythm. To the side, a small group gathered around some tricked-out cars and in front, a long line of ravers had formed up in front of the entry doors.

The sisters walked towards the throngs of ravers inside that were eagerly awaiting their chance to witness a certain dubstep prodigy’s performance.

As promised, this rave had some real-deal security, unlike the last fiasco.

However, unbeknownst to either young woman, thousands of miles northeast among shadow-cloaked majestic mountains and at this same time, a life or death conflict that would sow the seeds for profound change in Leona’s life.

A battle that had been brewing for a long time was now finally raging between a pair of airborne super-powered titans above a lonely mountainside graveyard.

scenebreak [https://www.rellawings.com/superluminal/scenebreak/wingsbreak.png]