40 Looking for Stuff

Lucy cautiously peeped around the corner. Usually, she would just stroll in, acting happy-go-lucky. Today, she needed stealth. As far as her father was concerned, she'd gone out and just hadn't returned in a timely fashion. That had caused appropriate punishment.

Lucy sighed. He hadn't even missed the minion who'd tried to kidnap her. Her mother hadn't noticed either, subsumed in her new stack of jewelry and hyena pups. Well, she didn't blame her mother about the pups. They were adorable! Simply adorable! And the fact that they would grow up and be able to snap a guy's leg with one bite just made them all the cuter!

She sidled around the corner, breathing out a sigh of relief. It looked like her father and mother had decided on another crime spree. She wondered just what they were after this time. Lucy didn't think she'd be up to getting another tiara or even a bracelet. If her father didn't think it was the crème of the crop, she would have let Court and San dismantle it for parts and used the money to fund their little enterprise.

Unfortunately, the tiara was hotter than hot. Who knew that someone had had the same idea at some point and had substituted the diamonds for modern ones with serial numbers. Lucy had been beyond hot when San pointed that out. Of course, they'd had to find a microscope and loupe to verify and then calm San down, but still…how dare someone mess with her score!

Lucy paused in front of her father's lab. A slow grin slowly curled the edges of her lips. She wasn't after the completed grenades or smoke bombs. She needed the actual recipe for the laughing gas itself. She even knew where it was since her father had brandished it around one day, ranting that he needed to develop a stronger version.

She'd kept any eyerolling to herself. Lucy had no clue why he needed a stronger version, but it didn't matter to her. Her invulnerability to poison just grew stronger the older she got. It was to the point that painkillers were beginning to not work at all.

Lucy worried about that, but Court said that once they located Jebediah, he'd get him to whip up something for her. Even Court didn't think it was okay for her to not have painkillers.

Lucy frowned at that thought as she stood on tiptoe to reach the highest shelf in the lab. It wasn't where her father kept the recipe, but it was where he kept his favorite remote control. She just barely snagged it out of its hiding spot. She blew out a relieved breath. You couldn't use a chair or ladder to reach the spot; she'd watched one spy be blown up by the mini-charge under her feet. Her father had thought it was hilarious.

She aimed the remote at the far wall and clicked. With nary a sound, a small panel slid aside, revealing a tattered notebook. Lucy pulled out her phone as she hurriedly walked over. You couldn't run in the lab. The whole floor was mined with pressure sensitive plates. Only a fast walk was permitted if you were light on your feet. She'd considered using the shelves as walkways, but they wouldn't hold any more weight than they already did.

Lucy gingerly pulled out the notebook, flipping through the pages. Finally, she located the recipe she wanted. A few clicks later, she was replacing the notebook, a thoughtful look on her face.

Then Lucy shook her head. She still had to get the remote back into place and leave before her parents showed up again. She'd think about all of it later.

***

Court restlessly paced. He had found that it was indeed a soothing endeavor. Lucy had said that it helped clear her mind. He'd thought she'd been pulling his leg. No, instead the activity was very useful, especially since he didn't have to go outside to do it.

He glanced at San from the corner of his eye as he passed him. San was sitting on one of the sofas, watching some cheesy drama with Aarti. Aarti was turning out to be a media junkie. No drama, soap opera or even news report escaped her interest. Court found that pretty worrying.

It wasn't as worrying as the chips that San kept popping. Court had taken a look while San was busy with other things, and those weren't potato chips. It'd taken him a while to figure out just what they were, though.

Now he knew. Obviously, the chips had hit the club scene while he'd been locked up. Now they were spreading everywhere, and the cops were only just now catching a clue. The chips, the brainchild of some brilliant underground chemist, were highly addictive and provided what some were calling 'an explosive, awesome high!' Court paused and massaged his temples.

He wasn't sure how to break the news to Lucy or Aarti or even Dawnie. He was positive that Don already suspected but had put it low on his current list of priorities. Don had always been that way; current crisis first and think about the others way down the line.

Court wished that he could do the same. Aarti and San were their muscle, and only Aarti could contend with San if he went out of control. Dawnie didn't have the muscle mass or ability to deal with San, and Don was smart enough to not even bother to try.

He and Lucy were just normal kids. Well, enhanced, but their skills didn't lie in super-strength, super-speed or super-anything. Court was getting increasingly worried about the whole thing.

The addition of the weird door-opening hat wasn't improving his mood. As long as they had coordinates, they could use the hat. The only caveat in Aarti's explanation was that they were stuck here on Earth because Euphemis didn't really believe in other worlds. Most of the Amazons thought of the alien incursion as a demon invasion of some sort.

The fact that that was how they were quantifying it to themselves had left all of them speechless. Aarti had just shrugged it off. The older Amazons didn't really think that way, but the younger ones found comfort in the lie.

Just the thought of an army of sword wielding maniacs charging at a bunch of guards made Court's soul freeze. He still remembered Liberation Day, and it was only his habit of leaving flowers at the memorial every year that allowed his previous capture by authorities.

Court had no regrets about going to jail. He had regrets about not cleaning up his mess prior to that, though.

Court blew out a breath. He'd gather Lucy and Aarti together when Lucy got back. Lucy had gone home to get some sort of recipe. She claimed that it was going to be useful once they met up with Jebediah.

Court thought that she was probably right. Jebediah was one of the smartest of them all, and he loved chemistry to a point that just wasn't right. They'd always had a cautious truce, and if they could get there first, they'd get a strong ally in the struggle to come.

Because something told him that the overlords weren't going to give up Ella or any of the other kids they'd taken without a big fight.