Unordinary : the rebirth of the Joker

Chapter 20 - Lion's den - Part 1

Writting and art : MaguyChan / Beta-reader and correcter : Epsilon231 / Help-translater : Fyora_

*** Quick review:

The writings in italics are the thoughts of the characters :
Easy!

The communications in square brackets are those that pass through technological devices:
[ Hello? Maguy Chan speaking! ]

The writings in brackets are telepathic exchanges,
(« So, Karon is around! »)

... In normal font when they are voluntary,
(« It's Ok? You get it? »)

... or in italics when the telepath captures thoughts without the knowledge of his target,
(Why did I have to complicate my writing with such power? ToT)

... and in bold for telepathic orders,
(« Enjoy, comment and don't forget to vote for the chapters you like! Have a good read! »)

***

Thursday, May 5 - 4:00 pm

"Okay... so... let's summarize:
    - Evie stoned Hower,
    -Gavin and Meili beat the crap out of each other,
    - Zeke's crew clobbered Sib,
    - John clobbered Zeke's crew,
    - Terrence, who was hanging around, also got beat up,
    - Seraphina disappeared,
    - John knocked out Gavin...
    - ...to join a gang!
    - Now the low-tiers are either euphoric or terrified,
    - while the middle-tiers are angrier than ever.
    - There' s talk of revolution in all the corridors...
    - ... And we are on day two of our reign...

... IS THERE A PILOT IN THIS PLANE?!" Isen give in.

Remi sighed desperately. Blyke bit his fist nervously. No one answered. Isen was new to his role as Jack, but obviously his more experienced friends in royalty didn't know what to do either. The Safe House was gradually filling up as the classes finished. Soon, The royal trio would no longer be isolated to decide what to do next. The reporter was about to verbally shake his friends, exasperated to see them as helpless as he felt himself... when Terrence entered, cutting short his thoughts.

John hadn't missed him.

Because of his broken nose, purple bruises stained his lower eyelids. Plasters covered his cheek on one side and his chin on the other. When he greeted the royals, Isen noticed a broken incisor. And all this after the Doc's care...

Isen knew Terrence from the newspaper's club: he was a discreet little guy, who particularly liked to write about the Wellston's high ranks. His analyses were so accurate that Isen sometimes feared he would steal his front pages... not to mention that the youngster often arrived at the press office with scoops out of nowhere! Like that time when he reported that Arlo the indestructible had gone to the infirmary on the sly to have some injuries treated... Who could have imagined at the time that the Blond King had just been beaten up by John the cripple?

Terrence had quickly become one of Cecile's favorites, much to the jealousy of the hunter. Nevertheless, the boy had always paid a lot of respect to his senior at the Journal. He was even showing a growing interest in him. This was a consolation to Isen's ego, who found himself more and more often in his best friend's shadow. He and Terrence had had off-the-cuff discussions at the safe house, about the evolving high school hierarchy, juicy gossip, media events, even more philosophical topics like the principles of equality and justice.

Finally, Isen had also grown fond of the young journalist. He felt sick to his stomach to see him so battered.

« Terrence, how are you doing? he asked him with concern.

- I'm feeling less pain thanks to the nurse's remedy. But I have to stay under supervision to avoid dangerous consequences of head trauma. So... to say that I'm fine... would be a lie.