Super Secret

Chapter 4- Off The Rails

"Are you sure we've got the right place?" 

Susan looked the building up and down, eyebrow's raised in disbelief at the grand hotel that towered before them. The establishment was distinguished and lavish in every single sense, it's tall, arched windows glimmering in the soft daylight like something out of a renaissance painting.

"It's hard to believe- but yep," Eleanor stood shoulder to shoulder with Susan, blinking against the bright sunlight, "These are definitely White's coordinates."

"So, what? Is this guy rich or something?" Susan turns to her teammate with drawn brows, "What does he want with Mr Colour if he's living in a place like this?"

"It's a hotel, Susan," Eleanor deadpans.

"And?" Susan shoots back, "He could own it."

"Maybe. But I don't buy it, look, y'see that?"

Eleanor points out the bustling crowd of esteemed guests swarming about the hotel entrance, chattering amongst each other excitedly. The two girls narrow their eyes to get a better look from their snooping spot on the opposite side of the street; each guest could be seen grasping onto a piece of paper covered in an elegant scrawl.

"I think there's a party going on," Eleanor evaluates, "And those pieces of paper? Are the invites."

"So what, you think our guy is gonna be at this party?" Susan looks to Eleanor, intrigued.

"Precisely."

The two girls stand in wavering silence for a moment, watching as another wave of elegant-looking visitors joins the growing crowd of guests.

"So how do you propose we get in?" Susan eventually pipes up, "I'm guessing that's what White sent us here to do."

Eleanor ponders for a moment, fingers stroking her chin in thought. "We could get in through a window maybe? But we'd still be drawing too much attention to ourselves."

Susan snorts, gesturing to their brightly coloured uniforms. "Look at us El. We look like Super clowns, of course people are gonna notice."

"Then we need to think of something else."

Susan then finds herself becoming particularly drawn to a lady in an immaculate ballgown, arms linked and happily chattering away to a man in a suit as she waited outside the hotel. The gown was as deep as the night's sky, whirls of dark blue's and purple's gloriously flowing out around her feet. Every time she moved, Susan felt her breath hitch as the sun caught the diamonds embedded in the dress, reflecting a thousand dancing light beams across the pavement. Susan couldn't take her eye's off her.

And then suddenly:

"We need dresses."

Eleanor spins round, finding herself half choking on air. "What?"

"Oh come on El, it makes sense doesn't it? We'll blend right in!" Susan crosses her arms, a smug smirk playing on her lips.

"And where exactly are we gonna find these dresses from?" Eleanor counters.

Susan shrugs nonchalantly. "I was thinking we could knock two of them out and go from there-"

"Susan, we're superheroes, not vigilantes, are you crazy?"

"Not in the slightest," her caramel eyes challenge Eleanor head-on, "You got any better ideas?"

Eleanor finds herself at a loss for words, her mouth opening and closing with empty responses. She hated when Susan was right. 

"Shouldn't we at least wait for Ellie?" she instead points out, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks, "We promised we would."

Susan groans. "Ugh, Ellie this, Ellie that- yadda, yadda, yadda, ya snooze, ya lose, baby!" The girl then spontaneously heads out into the road, swerving the oncoming traffic with ease. "She can catch up!"

Eleanor frantically rushes out after her, trying hard not to wince at the loud car horns blaring around them, "I hate you sometimes, you know that?" she frustratedly calls out after her teammate.

"You love me really!"

* * * *

After leaving base Ellie head straight home, and lucky for her, she didn't live too far away. A good twenty-minute walk in the warm summer breeze wasn't something Ellie was opposed to, in fact, the girl felt like she needed some fresh air to clear her mind.

Since finding out about Mr Colour this morning, it had been an incessant rush where constant thinking was required. Ellie hadn't allowed time to properly think for herself, becoming too caught up in trying to create a decent plan with Eleanor whilst dealing with Susan's frequent side-comments and closeness in general. Even though it was a distraction, it had started to feed into her growing headache.

But amongst the mess, one stubborn thought continued to remind her that it was going to be quiet at home. For once.

Her mother was going to be at work, and her Dad would be out day-drinking meaning she would be going home to an empty house, free of verbal abuse. Which was a nice change, one that Ellie wouldn't mind growing used to.

But deep down she knew she wasn't coming home to soak in the peaceful atmosphere. As soon as she got in, she was simply going to grab her suit and bag and then be on her way. Maybe grab a quick snack if there was enough time. She had to focus on being as fast as possible so that she could get back to meet Susan and Eleanor at the coordinates in time.

She couldn't afford to be selfish.

Swiftly letting herself inside, Ellie was instantly hit by a wave of complete and utter silence. The girl allowed herself to briefly linger in the moment, indulging in the strange, peaceful bliss.

She couldn't help but appreciate the little things. The low hum of the radiators from around the house, the tiny creaks in the floorboards as she moved about, the faint conversations from the neighbours sifting through the walls: things that would usually be masked by her parent's incessant yelling.

But Ellie knew she couldn't afford to dwell on it for too long. Quickly shaking off those thoughts before she could get too sad, she began to ascend the stairs, making a sharp turn into her bedroom once she reached the top floor.

Ellie's room was certainly not as clean as she remembered it being. If she were being honest, she hadn't exactly had the time to fit a spring clean into her schedule with mission demands and her ever-growing pile of school work. And it's not like anybody else apart from her came into the bedroom anyways. But still, she couldn't deny the obvious reek of teen angst radiating from her room.

Scanning amongst the scattered piles of clothes and schoolbooks, Ellie soon located her suit and bag in a heap stashed beside her bed. Even despite the catastrophic mess, the alarming green colour was pretty hard to miss. It had never really done her any favours when they were on important missions, especially when the opposition could always see her coming from a mile off. Susan had teased her about it constantly.

Ellie hastily tip-toed around the messy piles before lunging to make a quick grab for her suit, shortly after beginning to strip. But as the girl began to unzip her uniform, her ears pricked at an unfamiliar creak sounding from just outside her room. Ellie's body turned stiff with sudden fear.

Could her Mom or Dad be home early? 

She anxiously lingered on the thought for a brief moment before deciding to take the gamble and call out.

"Mom? Dad?"

But to Ellie's surprise, she was met with an unstartling silence- something she would usually bask in, but now, sends an unnerving shiver down her spine. Her parents may not be home, but Ellie knew one thing for certain:

She wasn't alone. There was someone else in the house with her.

She'd been followed.

--

Hello Readers!

I apologise for the hiatus with this story, I've had massive writers block since Christmas, but now I feel back on my game, so expect more from this story very soon!

If you liked this chapter and are enjoying the story so far, please consider giving this chapter a vote or leaving a comment below! It's very much appreciated and encourages me to keep writing! Thank you for reading! ~River