The Underbelly (First Draft)

Grounded

Without giving Chaz a backwards glance, I walked back towards the gate of the Underbelly. I heard him scrambling after me and I saw him coming up in my periphery vision. He was silent for a moment before he spoke, "what do you expect your father to do when you say what you say?" I threw my hands up in exasperation, "honestly I'm not sure, and I'm just hoping that if I tell him how hopelessly outclassed he is that he will listen to reason." Chaz snorted, "you do realise who you'll be talking to?" I growled in response to his irritating question.

We were silent as we walked through the doors into the reception with the fake prostitution rooms. The young guy was still there, he acknowledged Chaz but ignored me, obviously my gift was still working on him. Chaz gave him a confused look, "why are you ignoring him Terry?" I coughed before Terry could speak, "he can't see me Chaz, I made him forget me."

Chaz turned to me incredulous, "you made him forget you?! How is that even possible?" Terry looked at him in total bewilderment, "what are you talking about man? Who are you talking to?" A sudden realisation came over him, "ah, is the stress of the job getting to you dude? When's the last time you took a holiday?"

He continued babbling on in the background but Chaz was ignoring him, skewering me with his hostile dark eyes, "how on earth am I supposed to trust you if you wield this kind of power?" I opened my mouth to reply but Terry finally caught on that something strange was happening to him, "whoa man, you mean one of those mutants did this to me? Since when could they go invisible?!" Chaz looked at him darkly, "she's not invisible, she went out for a little walk but didn't want you to stop her so she did something to you."

Terry's face went a deathly pale colour and his voice was hardly above a whisper, "whoa, am I like dying man?" Chaz raised an eyebrow at me and I threw my hands up again, "for crying out loud, it's only a temporary block, it should be gone by the time he wakes up! But since you're both so worried I'll get rid of it now. Jeesh."

I walked around the desk that Terry was sitting behind, Terry was following Chaz's eyes trailing me and his eyes widened when he saw Chaz looking at me beside him, "whoa dude is she like beside me now?" Chaz nodded and Terry began to back away but I gripped his arm firmly and then he began to really freak out, "dude! I can't move my arm! Why the fuck can't I move my arms?!" I jerked him over to me and he began to scream.

I heard a bang and I saw that a door had burst open and the small weasel man who was here when I came through the first time with Jeffery and commented on my hair. He looked at Chaz and began roaring, "what is the meaning of this?! Girl, why are you bothering Terry?" Terry tried to turn around but I pressed my fingers to his forehead and drained back all of the residues of my gift. Terry looked at me, the girl who had just materialised in front of him, "oh, you're that chick who came here the other day to meet the bossman." I smiled and turned to walk away back towards the lift. The lift opened with its customary groan but dutifully kept open until Chaz and I were inside. The last thing I saw before the doors closed was Terry looking at me with a hint of fear in his eyes and the weasel man looking at me with narrowed suspicious eyes.

We were silent as the lift continued its laborious journey back to the Underbelly but I could sense the agitation coming from Chaz. I was tempted to tackle the thoughts in his mind now but I had a feeling that he was a man that liked to have his thoughts ordered before he hashed them out. So I gave him time.

The lift stopped and opened. And my father was waiting there. I suddenly felt like a little girl who had just been caught sneaking out. He sent me a level gaze, "come." That single word spoke legions, oh crap.