Chronicle XXIX
Alice stared at Lunar Lightning for a while before fully digesting what he was suggesting. C.K. stood there with a smug grin, as if he just sold LL on the idea of tracking down her mother. Which he totally did. She looked at him with contempt due to his actions. There was no way she would join up with him to find her mother as LL proposed. Her pride prevented her from engaging with him, so she spoke about him to the masked hero.
“Lunar Lightning, why would I want to go find my mom with a psychopath?” She held a cross face.
“You believe me to be a psychopath?”
“Him.”
“C.K. has been reasoned with. His aggression was only a means to communicate his desire.” Lunar Lightning explained.
“He threw me out of a building.”
“You’re fine.” C.K. scoffed at her complaint.
“Would you feel better if he expressed remorse verbally?”
“You mean apologized?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not apologizing.” C.K. quickly shut down the idea.
Lunar Lightning looked at Alice, who was visibly irritated. He then turned to C.K. and grabbed him, spinning his cape to teleport them both to the moon. The suited man was confused; they just came back from the moon. This time, LL separated from him and used his cape to return to Alice.
“Where did you go??”
“Home.”
“Where is C.K.??”
Lunar Lightning held up a finger as an answer to Alice’s question. He then returned to the moon and brought C.K. back to her.
“Sorry.” C.K. sighed.
“What did he do to you?”
“He left me on the moon.”
“Oh, good! Thanks.” she smiled warmly at Lunar Lightning, then back to C.K. “I’ll help you find her… if you tell us what C.K. stands for.”
“I felt it too wordy to have everyone call me Cassius Killmove. C.K. saves so much time.”
“Cassius Killmove? No wonder you’re like this.” Alice said.
“Where do we begin?” Lunar Lightning asked.
“Lullaby vanished, and the only trace she left is you.”
“What good am I? The phone is broken now… and I have no idea where she went. Don’t forget, I spent years of my life looking too.”
“We don’t need the phone.” Cassius jittered forward. “We need your memory.” Both LL and Alice looked to their new ally to hear him out. “She told you lullabies as a child, no?”
“Yeah, none that I can remember, though.”
ZAP! Lunar Lightning directed a bolt of black electricity at Alice’s forehead.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”
“Try again.” Cassius said, grinning before LL could answer. He shrugged, “It might work.”
“No.”
ZAP!
“STOP!” Alice demanded.
“You have the memory?” Lunar Lightning asked.
“NO… WHAT?!”
ZAP!
“YOU HAVE TO S-” Alice paused for a moment as a memory flooded her mind. “Actually… hit me again.”
“I knew it.” Cassius watched eagerly.
ZAP!
“I have something.” Alice teared up slightly. “I think it’s the last time I saw her.”
“What did she say?” Cassius asked.
Alice’s voice came from deep within. It had a deeper tone and the words could be felt as they left her lips.
“Rest my young one,
And feel it’s true.
I will always
Be part of you.”
“That doesn’t help.” Lunar Lightning said. ZAP!
“OW!” Alice yelped through tears.
“Wait…” Cassius looked at Alice, pensive.
“What?” Alice asked.
“...she’s part of you.” Cassius continued.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does.” Cassius paced around, flashing back and forth in the backyard of Mundo’s mansion. “Because of her great power, people were hunting her down to use her.”
“Like you.” Lunar Lightning chimed in.
“Sure.” the suited man stopped pacing. “You have her power, Alice.”
“Maybe… but…”
“You’re my only chance. You have to fix my condition.” he zipped close to her and held her strongly by the sides of her arms.
“That’s why you wanted to find her?” LL asked.
“Do you see me!?” Cassius let go and jittered across the yard again. “It’s torture. I can’t live a life like this.”
“I’ll help.” Alice stated. “What do I need to do?”
“Tell me a lullaby. Just like your mother would.”
“Okay.” her voice was nervous, up until she began the lullaby. Again, her voice transformed.
“Cassius Killmove
Tortured soul
Release your curse
And become whole.”
C.K. looked down at himself and back to Alice - no change. “Try something else.”
“Cassius Killmove
Stuttering motion
Allow your body
To flow like the ocean.”
“Not good.” Lunar Lightning said as he watched C.K. burst into salty water and wet the immediate area under him.
“Ummmm” Alice looked to LL. “How do I fix it?”
“Say another.”
“Cassius Killmove
Now as water
Return to form
With the feet of an otter.”
The water that comprised Cassius reformed into his full form, but with Alice’s words,
he had otter feet. He looked down at his flippers as he caught his breath from the exhaustion of reintegrating.
“Please… stop.” he begged. “Why the flippers??!”
“I guess it has to rhyme.” Alice answered.
“Yes. It seems rhyming is crucial to this power.” Lunar Lightning chimed in.
“Thanks, master of weird powers.” C.K. said.
“Okay, let me try again.
Cassius Killmove
Moving wrong
Correct it now
With a gentle song.”
“Ooh.” Lunar Lightning cooed as a soft symphony played in the air.
“Did it work?” Alice asked.
Cassius Killmove stepped forward, no stuttering whatsoever. He did so a few times and then looked back and forth between the others. “It’s fixed!” He moved towards Alice, but as he did so, his body skipped a few frames. “NO!”
“Oh no. I’m sorry. I think whatever made you like this can’t be fixed.”
“You’re wrong! Take us back. Take us to when I became this.” he grew close to Alice and went to grab her.
Lunar Lightning stepped between them and filled the furious Cassius Killmove with electricity. It didn’t stop him. He dashed forward with such force that the electricity ran through him and out through his fist as he unleashed a powerful punch to Lunar Lightning’s midsection. The moon man was sent flying into Mundo’s mansion walls and into the middle of the street on the other side of the lot.
Alice sprung into action and quickly recited a lullaby to be able to stop Cassius.
“My body a weapon
Indestructible and quick
A perfect tool
To do the trick.”
Spiked crystals formed around Alice’s entire body. She leapt forward at C.K., who dodged her with ease. He turned around and dashed to attack her. His fist got punctured by the crystals and he recoiled in pain.
“Stop.” Lunar Lightning flew over the mansion down towards them. As Cassius looked at him and Alice saw him ready to attack him, she launched herself at the flipper-footed man. With a spiked fist, she bashed Cassius on the side of the head. He was sent into the wall of the mansion and fell onto the floor. Lunar Lightning grabbed him and teleported him to the moon. This time, he had no intentions of retrieving Mr. Killmove.
“Back on the moon?” Alice asked as LL appeared beside her. Her body was slowly returning to normal form.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Can I ask you… She’s a part of you. Does that mean you know how I came to be? Cassius believed me to be one of her creations.” Lunar Lightning questioned Alice.
“I’m sorry. I don’t have her knowledge.”
“I understand.” Lunar Lightning said. “I’ll bring you home. You should let Mundo know about his house.”
“I will.”
Alice thought hard on LL’s request and decided to whisper a lullaby to herself as they flew.
“Lunar Lightning
The moon’s hero
Reveal to me
How you came from zero.”
A vision flashed in Alice’s head, showing her exactly how Lunar Lightning was created. As he placed her down in her apartment, she looked at him and gave him an idea where to look.
“Hey. You’re real. She didn’t make you.”
“How do you know?”
“I saw it.”
“What did you see?”
“It’s better if you find out for yourself.”
“Where do I look?”
“Where do you think?” Alice looked up at the moon. For a moment, Lunar Lightning looked at his home and heard Alice whispering quickly. When he looked down, she was gone. As he admired the moonshine above, he realized he’d have to deal with Cassius Killmove if he went home.