Nine

Chapter 9 in which the gang stumble upon a mystery...
"What the what?" 

was my only reaction upon stepping out of the ship, and gazing upon the sights before our party. 

'Twas a large wide-spread area..bright, but dreary-feeling.

The ground was gravel and crunched underneath us as we shifted and turned, studying the area with curiosity.

There weren't many colors to speak of--I couldn't even spot a sun.

Same goes for clouds. 

It was as if the sky were just a white canvas sitting up above.

As for the things on ground level, we saw not buildings..but tents.

Large tents, and wagons, were lined in rows on either side of us, seemingly used for merchandise.
I didn't spot anyone at that time, but there was a distant sound of some kind of activity coming from far off, well out of sight. 

I lowered my eyebrows as I stared at the foreign land I had zero recollection of.
The name of this place was a complete blank. 

"What is this place? Why would the T.A.R.D.I.S. take us here?"

Master shrugged his shoulders uneasily and cricked his neck, as he stepped ahead of us like a boss, stuffing his hands into his giant hoodie pocket. 

"It's a marketplace. On a distant planet, somewhere in a whole nother universe." 

I froze and looked down on the ground I was standing on. 

Ha...whole nother universe...haha...okay. 

"So it isn't a character world, eh?" Joker hummed, casually folding his arms behind his head.
"Tough break for you, kid." 

I sagged. 

"There's still the question of why our ship has chosen to land us here." Bane intelligently pointed out. 

He turned his head to the Master, "What is this so-called marketplace for, Mr. Saxon?" 

Master nodded and cleared his throat, once again cracking his stiff neck.
He abruptly started forward, jumping quite a few feet ahead of us. "Follow me." 

- - -

Follow him, indeed. 

Despite never being there before, Master seemed to know exactly where he was going.
So the rest of us trailed behind him silently. 

I swear, he looked like a hoodlum. 

Meanwhile, Joker looked like a psycho clown- which is precisely what he is- Jim looked like a confused business man, Bane looked like the signature villain of a slasher flick, and I looked like a miniature anime character that sprung to life. 

Bless us. 

Everywhere we go, no matter what we do..we always look like a crazy variety pack of roleplay knickknacks.

.....Yes, I did just call us that.

The noises we had been hearing from the distance was getting louder and louder, the more we traveled down the street.
As we approached the end, it got pretty darn loud-
we turned the corner and saw why.
The area was flooded with...people.
My first instinct upon seeing them was to flinch and jump back.
It was loud and obnoxious and intimidating, seeing such a crowd, and I wanted to hiss and claw.
But what made the matter all the more disturbing was that it wasn't just people, like me or you.
Ya know, in the traditional sense..
The boys may be from other worlds or dimensions or whatever you wanna call it..
but at least they look human.
Some of the beings inside the market were quite frankly not  human. Catching glimpses of many that passed, I saw that they were like a giant bag of trail mix; there were all sorts there.
Slimy types, googly types, entities that lifted off the ground, with transparent or rubbery skin, or ghostly bodies..many looked like straight up aliens, or lizards, some with electricity pulsing through their skin, some had bug eyes, and yes, I've seen dragons and Orcs and giant spiders, but bruh.
Legit aliens were in front of me.
That looked  like aliens.

I was losing the ability to breathe, help, I can't breathe.
I lost the ability to can, as well, and began staggering back.
"Where in the actual heck?!"
"My thoughts exactly." Spouted Moriarty.
"Doubtful."
"You're not my mind."
"Thank the Lord above for that."
"But you could be, if you wa-"
"Master, explain yourself."
Master glanced at us with lowered brows and a tightened jaw.
"I told you, it's a marketplace."
"Yes, we already established that. A marketplace for what?  Why the frickety frick frack are there a bunch of people compiled on a distant planet in a different universe to shop?"
"Girls are desperate."
I pointed a finger at the handsome clover. "You be quiet."
"It's a market for travelers like us. They come here for parts, food and items from different planets. Vehicles, fuel, you name it."
"Basically, it's a pit stop."
"Egad, it's a galactic gas station."
"Unfortunately, we have everything we need." Jim muttered, in the manner of a bored 6 year old.
"'Ey, then why would the ship take us here?"
"It's just a ship,  don't be daft!"
"Demens is right. The T.A.R.D.I.S. wouldn't just take us to a place without there being a reason. .
I'm going to ask around."

Just as the hoodlum stepped forward, I snatched his sleeve and yanked him back, bouncing him against the rest of us.
'Parently, I don't know my own strength, puh.
He looked at me offendedly because of this, but idc.
"Oh no, you don't. After these last two ventures, we are sticking together! I don't wanna be losing you dorks again."
His jaw dropped. I squinted.
"As offensive as that was, the kid's got a point. I don't care for another wild goose chase. Best we stay on eachother's heels for this one."

Master glared at the Joker for a few seconds, before turning his head and finally sagged his shoulders.
"Fine. But if it's necessary to split, let's at least break into groups."
"Fair enough." I let go..just as he gave me a look.
I shrugged my shoulders uneasily before stepping back and gesturing at the crowd,
"Shall we go, princess?"
He cut me a very hateful, murderous look that should have made me nervous, but instead,
I only grinned. As if challenging him.
There are too many times in my life where I'm on the verge of either sheer stupidity or pure insanity.
It's very hard to tell which is which.

His attention turned back to in front of us and we soon copied him.
The alarmingly populated and busy scenery of people had decreased and spread out a bit enough for us to bravely step forward and start off into the uncomfortable menagerie.
My body tensed as we did so.
It was quite an ordeal-- not only did I not know or trust anyone here, but I couldn't even fully trust the men walking beside me that served as my companions.
And that's a rather menacing realization to have.

I looked around at the faces passing us by and my eyes widened at their features and differences.
"Where do all these peeps come  from?"
"Different worlds..dimensions." He said, quietly.
"Are they all alien?"
"To you, yes. But surprisingly, many of these come from different versions of Earth."
Different earths, what even.
We all looked around a bit-- searching for any clues as to why we were brought here.
"Why would it take us here..what could possibly be going on.." I whispered to myself.
"That's what we've got to find out."
Rude. That was a private conversation.

Master looked back at us, solemnly.
"Keep in mind, this very well could be a trap. We might have been brought here by our enemies. Any person here could be against us. So watch, learn, find out what you can. But keep to yourselves. Blend in. Don't talk to anyone. Keep your eyes to the ground. The more we attract attention, the more risk we bring to ourselves. That goes double for you, lizard."
He gestured at Jim, and the Irish bug flexed an unreadable facial expression in response.
"He means no flirting." Joker teased, poking his side.
I wanted so badly to scream the hypocrisy, but alas.
Now wasn't the time.

No more words were spoken; our party kept our heads down and charged through, a large wave of the market's visitors just then coming our way, that systematically split around us to avoid collision.
I tried desperately to keep my eyes down and focus my attention on my boots. . but I fail at most things, especially at what I am told to do, so I inevitable found myself staring at everyone and everything. My eyes scrolled to the left and that's when I saw it.
A large white tent with giant vibrant rainbow polka dots and a poofy red bunch for a top that flickered with the cool wind. It was scrunched in between other tents and wagon-shops, and was closed off everywhere but the middle, that was a big gaping dark hole leading into the core,
and a large enough platform stuck out of it.

Standing atop it were two figures that were busy practicing their talents.
The first I spotted was a female..one look at her and you could tell she was alien.
She had shoulder-length blue and purple striped hair, with tattoos covering every inch of her skin, and wore a rubbery skin-tight costume that obviously looked uncomfortable, so I slightly pitied her.
But only slightly.
She served as both contortionist and acrobat, apparently, for she was currently bending her entire body backwards, as if she didn't even have a spine, with complete ease and gracefulness.
Her body moved like an ocean wave as she almost seductively motioned around to no doubt impress the passing gents below her. Like, look at me and my talents, love me, I'm different.
But nobody paid her any mind.

I've never seen a contortionist, nor  an acrobat in person prior to her, so I was rather mesmerized.
Different people fascinate me.
I kinda jumped when she suddenly bent her body forward again, without even having to use her legs, and she slid back up straight. Her eyes, dark and twinkling with something a bit malicious, were right on me. And as her face became clear, I saw she had on a satanic smirk that did me a concern.
Did this chick intend to kill? Cuz it sure seemed like it.
One look at her and I sensed that something was up with her...something not good.

I had enough of her, so I turned my eyes to her fellow performer.
This guy was a hard one to read. He had absolutely no skin showing...not a face or neck or hands...nothing. His entire body was covered by a skin-tight material similar to that of a burlap sack; tan, dirty and scattered with patches. The outfit came to an end only at the head, the top of which sporting a curly tip. The rest of his get-up enclosed around his body like a bandaid and it looked almost painful to take off. His 'mask' was a little unnerving..two black patches were in place of the eyes that even though were not real  eyes, you could still feel his dark gaze loud and clear and it was not okay.
As for his mouth, well..it was rather strange.
As he opened his mouth, the head part of his outfit literally opened up, wide and full of blackness, and when it closed, jagged zig-zags traced across his mouth area, that disturbingly resembled some kind of crocodile grin..and uh, stitches.
I started to wonder if that was even a costume at all...perhaps, it was his real body.
And oh yes. He breathed fire.
He took a long oily torch that was wildly burning with crazy flames and lowered it down into his throat, as he held his head all the way back and I was internally screaming over his well-being.

He kept lowering it and lowering and it wouldn't stop and I almost chirped my concern before he finally inhaled, deeply and strongly, and I spotted smoke flood out of his mouth as if the fire had been put out; then almost immediately, a frightening geyser of fire shot out toward the sky.
Once it was done, he pulled the torch up and out and it was now flameless and smoking, completely extinguished. My jaw dropped, especially when he looked at me.
heeber jeebers creepers, I loved  these people.

Clapping seemed cliché, and would probably only draw attention to us, so I just gave them both a quick thumbs-up with a goofy open-mouthed smile planted on my face.
Yes, hi, I'm from Earth, and a complete idiot, I am here to present my country, Sanfro.

In that very same instance, I felt eyes on me. And I shuddered.
For good reason.
For as I looked ahead at the circus performers, next to the tent, I spotted someone.
Someone with black shaggy hair. My heart raced for only a second as I waited for him to stand and show the rest of him. Whoever he was, he was working on a motorcycle, and his shaded eyes kept shooting back to me. As he finally stood up and revealed himself, I now saw him clearly...
I deflated.
Phooey.
It wasn't...him.
This guy was a total stranger to me. But he was nonetheless attractive.
He had some facial hair, in the form of a little manly scruff (similar to the Master's amount), had bright blue eyes, clad in black, and he wiped off his fingerless gloved hands with a dirty rag.
This dude certainly fit into the category of my type, but there was something strongly off-putting about him. As if his existence was merely there to try  and impress me...but he just failed.
His eyes were right on me and I panicked, so I quickly looked away.
No bikers for me.
Besides...he looked to be a total delinquent.
His gaze was a bit unsettling, almost animalistic. Like he had ulterior motives.
And I had enough of that from my villain companions.

Me feeling uncomfortable didn't stop there, though.
As I turned back to in front of me, I saw that the crowd was gradually growing.
And they all seemed to be coming in our direction. Master noted anyone here could be our enemy.
So when I felt the others start to distance, cuz I had been lagging, I quickly picked up the pace and found myself gravitating to Bane. Out of the four, I felt the most safe with him, as strange as that sounds. And also, if something did go wrong, I'd much prefer the muscle to be my muscle.
Once I got as close as possible to him, my eyes returned to the people.
As I mentioned, many of them looked to be a different species.

But despite that..their eyes were on us.
Directly on us. More particularly, on me.
Like out of all of us, I was the freak.
Like they just knew I didn't belong there. Like a virus in a system, they sensed I was foreign.
They all come from other worlds and dimensions, but I was the one who was alien.
With the others, it made sense. A little more sense, at least.
I was the only one that came from a world where none of this was even supposed to exist.

When their glued gaze became annoying, I decided to finally do as I was told and look to the ground, as the others had already done. And our small foreign company trudged on through the market as the people that we passed turned right back around and stared after us.
Apparently, our scent of freakishness was so strong, it wreaked.
It was a long few minutes of uncomfortable pacing before I abruptly bumped against Bane and my eyes shot back up, only to see that the Master had come to a halt.
The path no longer continued forward, for an obstacle that resembled a small silver trailer lay ahead of us..on the horizontal side, a single window was opened, with a shady cloth propped at the top of it.
Below it stood a man behind a counter top, filled with small black items that scattered all over the surface. The man, who had a bald head, slightly resembled a human, only he had inhumanly enormous eyes-- that made it look as though he were wearing glasses, only he wasn't-- and he was steadily passing tiny objects to many a people, who were crowding the counter and outstretching their arms to grab whatever it was he was selling. They were making quite a ruckus.
I had stepped ahead of the others to witness this, before looking back at them.
Half of me was asking them what the blazes these people were raging about..
the other half had to look at another out of pity for these sad saps.
Why were they so desperate??

"Buy one, get one free!! These newly arrived gems originate all the way from Earth! That's right-- EARTH!"
I gawked. What even?!
Which Earth do they speak of?!
And what gems?!
I listened more carefully to the man.
"That's right, buy one, get one FREE!"
BUY WHAT?! WHAT?!?
"Enjoy the following...'Put On a Happy Face', 'Love Is a Battlefield', 'Baby Baby'--" oh gawrd.
"'Fly Like an Eagle' and so many more!!"
I swung my head around behind me.
All the people that were staring at us had broken away and scattered off to do this and that.
I turned back, tossing my arms in the air. "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"
I went unanswered for a few minutes, which did not amuse me, until I soon felt a different presence join us and that presence was next to me.
"I see you've found our music shop."
I shot my head at the guy. He looked quite human, and mildly handsome at that, with slicked back gelled-up black hair and old-time New Yorker clothes, as if he were in the Newsies or something.
His hands were casually stuffed in his pockets, as he avoided eye contact with me and stared straight ahead at the scene.

"Music shop?" Questioned Master.
The dude nodded. "This is where you get the latest songs from across the universe. Little knickknacks travelers pick up on their visits that they sell to us in exchange for other provisions."
"Us?"  Jim leaned in, suspiciously.
The dude turned his head to him, finally acknowledging one of us, and he tipped his head.
"You can call me Claud, sir. I'm Mr. Wisener's assistant. We sell all kinds of songs, if you'll be needing one."
"We won't. We'll be moving on now."
Master took my arm to lead me away, but I yanked it out of his grasp.
"How does this song thing work?"
Claud looked at me and blinked a couple of times as if I were crazy for not knowing, before straightening his back and clearing his throat professionally.

"The travelers record songs onto small devices native to their technology. Then they take them to us, sell them..and we convert the audio onto tiny microchips. Then we insert the chips into sound bytes. The sound bytes are miniature devices designed to play the audio, loud enough for you to put it to your ear. Budget wise, sound bytes are as far as we can go. Our customers may do what they wish with the songs afterwards, including trying to get earbuds or even speakers from the store next to our's. But very few can afford getting both, let alone even one."
As he finished saying this, many of the customers broke from the line as they obtained the chips and they tapped a tiny button before bringing the sound byte to a single ear.
Several closed their eyes to allow themselves to get absorbed in the music as they pleasantly smiled at what they heard.
"Unfortunately, the songs that come in are very far apart..we sometimes go months without a new batch."
"And they're all random?"
"That, they are. From different timelines and generations, from different musicians. It's all so scattered. And we sell what we have so quick, we have no time to archive or put anything in order. They're gone almost as soon as we have them."
He gestured at the whole of the market.
"As is the case of all of the items we have here. We never know when we're gonna get new material. Films, though...heh...films are the rarest of them all. We're extremely lucky to get one of them. I've seen a total of two films in my lifetime. And heard only 4 songs, fragments at that."
My heart was broken. Those poor things.
I've always known people can take things for granted. Not appreciate what they have until it's temporarily unavailable or gone for good.
But this takes things to a whole new level.
The people in my world can easily get stuff if they try hard enough, cuz they're on the same planet.
These people would be lucky to even hear of such a thing's existence, cuz the origin of that thing is from a different galaxy.

Claud broke my thoughts once again, this time with something a little unnerving.
"Er...I know this is a bit of a dumb question to ask...but uh..you folks aren't from around here, are ya?" I glared up at him.
He bit his lip, sensing he went into a territory he shouldn't have.
"I mean, I don't mean to be nosy. You just seem to be really unfamiliar with the way things work...plus I've never seen your faces around here before."
The others weren't answering.
They gave Claud suspicious glances, so I turned my head away.
Back to the raging customers, hungry for just that one song.

Nah, bro. Nah. I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't let those people stay like that, not when I was around. Just imagine being stuck with nothing but certain musicians who shall not be named, like, kill me now..say no to terrible music.
I at that moment stepped forward and pulled out Kai from my pocket, earphones and all.
And I held it up high in the air. "Hey there!"
Their eyes instantly, eerily, turned to me.
Master automatically sprung forward and leaned in close to whisper in my ear..ok, more like hiss.
"What  are you doing?!"
I ignored him, "Who here wants to listen to straight up music--not in singles, but in albums. No tricks, no strings attached, it's all completely free. Whatta ya say?"
Their faces were unreadable. Completely dropped and blank, their minds no doubt teeming with questions. About who I was and what I meant...until they suddenly dropped their sound bytes and charged in like a killer stampede, straight towards me.
I jolted and staggered back, quickly tapping the play button..making sure to have it set to play all my songs..and they surrounded me, wildly trying to snatch it from my grasp.
"Hey hey, no grabbing! And don't you hog it up! Pass it on.."
Bravely, I handed my little iPod to the first one standing in front of me and I hurried away, just as he inserted the earphones into his...ear slits.
I backed up into the wall of the trailer and watched as he grinned wide and bobbed his head to my tunes, the others all crowding around him, listening in.
Mr. Wisener's jaw dropped at the scene taking place, not being able to even blink.
"Are you trying to put me out of business?"
I grinned.

The alien was a good sport and took turns when he was finished, passing it around to everyone else.
They looked delighted. It made me feel pretty good.
Making someone happy..it's one of the things I strive for in this life.

The volume was up so high, I could hear it from 10 feet away. As a result, I found myself bobbing my head to my own jams. Claud, meanwhile, had snuck around the crowd and was approaching me with a huge grin on his face. "That was an amazing thing you did! You have any more of those there devices?" I frowned. "Sorry, man, that's it.." I shifted up straight and peered around.

". . don't you have any CDs or something? Record players?"
"Oh, I wish. Most everyone here can't even afford music. As I implied, many haven't even heard it. Which is why these people are so desperate."
He gestured, "These are luxuries."
Egad, my soul was officially crushed.
My head and shoulders sank as I sighed deeply. I felt like a terrible person for not being able to HELP them help them. That's when I noticed the crowd was starting to get fussy and grabby and I would have none of that with my precious Kai,
"Yo, ya scratch that, I charge ya!"
After a few reluctant glances, they calmed down.

The boys pushed past everyone and shuffled over to me..half looked like they were utterly confused, the other half looking like they wanted to kill me.
I think you can probably guess which is which.
"Say nothing." I immediately shot out.
The usual three out of four sighed. The one half simply turned and stood next to me, while the other rolled their eyes. I leaned my tiring head against the wall of the trailer, watching the large swarm of travelers roaming about. I felt so distant from them..they had knowledge that I did not about the universe. They knew for a fact that there were other planets with other forms of life out there, while my planet still questions the existence of a man-sized ape living in America.
I, being a freak amongst my own, have always believed in things simply to defy the rest of humanity.

These people were free to travel with their own free will.
I had to hitch a ride with fictional villains, with the threat of being killed if my secret got out.
oh, how I wish I could tell them.....
what a joyous life I live...

"Didn't you say there's a shop next door that sells speakers?"
Claud shifted, "Yeah, but they're pricey."
"Maybe I'll get a discount for my intergalactic cute looks."
I uncrossed my legs and stood up from my leaning position, heavily planting my black combat boots back into the gravel ground, and I started forward in the direction of the music-loving aliens.
I casually pushed through the crowd, the rest soon parting to clear me a way, and I stepped over to the bobbing-headed fellow. With one hand, I swiped Kai from his grasp, earphones and all.
I caught a short glance of him casting his head at me and gaping in shock, but I turned away from him with little feeling or care, and immediately marched the few yards away to the speaker shop, located directly to the right (or left?) of the music shop trailer.
The owner was seated upon a stool and was rocking his legs back and forth, in a relatively bored manner. He had an old face, but a pleasant young glow emanated from him, with a small flat-cap on his head. Once he saw me coming, he sprung up to his feet and did a polite little bow.
"Welcome!" He chirped, excitedly. His voice even sounded young, which led me to believe that he must've been alien, seeing as how he seemed unnaturally youthful yet had an old looking exterior.
Quite peculiar, indeed.

I was about to respond before I was suddenly blinded by a powerful light rising ahead.
My squinted eyes darted to the horizon of the once blank white sky, which was replaced by a beautiful ray of gold and red...a sun. Not unlike our's, either.
Admittedly, it was quite stunning. Enough for it to make me stagger in surprise, for I didn't even expect the planet to have one. Travelers here and there turned to gaze at it as it climbed up, desperate for everyone to see it. Either the people had never seen the sun before, or it was a very rare occurrence for it to appear. Whichever way, I was yet again pitying them.

I shook my attention back to the speaker shop owner and walked the rest of the way.
"Hey there...I was wondering..do you have anything that can hook up to this, for everyone to hear?"
The man got a little closer and took a quick look at my small device..he himself started looking a little confused. "What chya got there?"
I looked down at it, as if I were just discovering it's existence.
"An iPod. iPod Nano, to be precise. It's a music device, that plays...music."
Excuse me while I mentally slap the back of my own head.
His eyes lifted, intriguingly. "From Earth?"
I nodded once. He perked up.
"Well, I'll be! You're in luck, missy! I've just the thing that I've been saving for a very  special customer!" He then reached in behind him and pulled something from a pouch located on his back, and he held it out for me to see. I leaned in.
It was adorable. A tiny silver object that looked like it was meant for plugging into something and clip into place. Like a USB or memory card, except it was stouter, about an inch downwards and an inch and a half across, conveniently big enough to perfectly fit Kai.
"What, may I ask, is it?"
"A very unique little gadget I think you'll find quite useful. I recently came upon it from a handsome young traveler who exchanged it for a few cases of gasoline for his ship--"
"That's fascinating- what does it do?"
He cleared his throat, getting the message, and nodded.
"It's a device used when you wish to play music anywhere you want, it'll do that thing--if there are any speakers, satellites or basic electrical equipment that can project sound, you'll be able to hijack the frequencies and play through it."
I shot my head at him, gaping like an idiot. "Get out've town!"
He rose a hand, "No lies!"
With the same hand, he pointed. "You don't even have to stick with the iPod..you can clip it onto anything and the sound will project just the same!"
I eyed it, mesmerized by all the possibilities flooding my mind.
"Seriously????"
"Yep! It's a universal beauty."
I laughed. That word now has a whole new meaning.
I shall henceforth put all those universal gadgets I come across to the test.
are you really universal?

My eyes then cut at him, nervously.
"Er...how much is it?"
He leaned back and let his face get shrouded in shade as the sun shone blindingly behind him.
"Absolutely free."
My eyebrows crinkled, "How dare."
"Nope nope, no tricks. I'm being serious. This is your's to take, missy! I know what you're using it for..such a thing as that is more valuable than money. Take it as a gift from our planet. A souvenir!"
"Holy sound bytes, I can't." My mind was boggled, I staggered.
"I've gotta give ya something!"
"Don't you even dare! It's a present. Now accept it or I'll sic the authorities on ya!"
I zipped my lips. His threat of police was enough for me to see that the man was serious.
"I...I...I just...I can't even...whoa, son..like, I dunno what to say! I'm flabstercated."
"I don't know what that means..but why don't you try it out?"
My brows lifted and I looked back at the small device.

With two simple fingers, I brought the tiny new gadget to the bottom of Kai and click, he was plugged in with a new friend. A soft pitch immediately whizzed in the air, as if it were a mix of light static and someone grabbing a microphone to begin testing it.
I gave the speakers a glance before I scrolled through my songs, adjusted the volume, and the moment of truth finally came as I pressed the play button.
My heart jumped.
The largest speakers the man had to offer started booming to the rhythm of U2's "Elevation".
Loud gasps of astonishment filled the air.
  The crowd gazed at the direction of the speakers in wonder as the song began..and once it got exciting, they all let out a shout and a laugh and they woo'd happily, at once getting close and starting to jump and dance to it.
"HOLY COW!" I exclaimed through my own excited laughs. It worked!

The music was attracting attention from all of the market.
The ones that clearly never heard it before widened their eyes, and soon allowed themselves to be drawn to it. I backed up just as the crowd began to get closer.
More and more people were steadily piling in to investigate the commotion.
I bobbed my head to the wild parts and caught myself jumping a few times.
Hey, it's a good song!
And it's easy to get caught in the moment when such a large group is jamming to the tunes.

I felt a swift bump behind me, but didn't bother to turn around.
"You had one  job." Master spoke loudly in my ear, trying to shout over the music.
"I told you to stay low--this is NOT staying low. This is the exact opposite of staying low!"
"Oh, Harry, calm yourself. You'll have a heart attack."
"This is drawing too much attention!"
"Ugh, I don't CARE! So what if it does? I ain't afraid o' no ghosts!"
I swiftly elbowed him in the chest, which he abruptly grunted and wheezed to, holding the pained area with one hand.

"Besides, if anyone is against us here, I'll kick their tails!"
"But-" "And this crowd!" I gestured at everyone with showman-like hands.
"With these peeps on my side, we'll have a fighting force! I've made them happy..I've given them something they love, and they actually like me now. They'll rush in like a mob if someone tassles with me." I glanced at each of the boys with a wink. "Perks of being nice to people. You should take notes."
The Master put on a grumpy face, which I naturally ignored. It was becoming a habit of our's.

Bane turned his head to the people, as did the Joker, who seemed just a tad bit bored by the whole venture so far; but Jim had been steadily bobbing his head up and down with a huge grin on his face, that I honestly have never seen him with before.
"This is stupid." Grumbled Master. He talks a lot.
"But at least she's got good taste in music!"
"You're a U2 fan, I take it?"
Jim chuckled. Irish. I should've known.
"You like the Cranberries, too, don't you?"
Another chuckle. Why did I even bother asking.

At this moment, when everyone was distracted by the music, I found my attention turning away from the ruckus and on to other things. It's a vicious habit of my Pops and I's, scanning the area around us for any danger or suspicious activity. We always seem to separate ourselves from large portions of people and stand on the sidelines. While everyone else focused on the big picture, we'd look for the threats against that picture. Either it's us being our warrior selves or just being plain nosy butts, idk.
But my own little watch of the area paid off, enough for me to see that Mr. Motorcycle had returned.
The handsome young creep had snuck his way beside me and the boys while we were distracted with everything, and was now leaning against the trailer as I had been.
Although his attention was not focused on just me..it was also on the boys.
His eyes kept bouncing from me to them, and he hardly blinked.
I didn't know what to do with him, he was freaking me out. Was he a threat or was he just..creepy?
This was by far worse than Mystery Boy..at least I enjoyed being stared at in his case.
This guy made me cringe.

To put more detail into his description, he had a black shirt (the sleeves of which were noticeably torn off), punky cargo pants, boots similar to mine, greasy looking shaggy black hair with auburn hints here and there as if he played around with it's color..partially tanned skin, shriveled looking black fingerless gloves..and one distinct thing about him was the hardcore looking wolf tattoo located below his right shoulder. His eyes were a piercingly bright blue, but still had a hidden darkness to them that that burrowed deep into my brain every time they met me.
This dude definitely gave me the willies, especially since he smelled like smoke. Cigarette smoke.
He..he just...I dunno. He was cool to an extent and probably considered to be a "hot guy", according to the majority of the female population, and yes, he was handsome and all, but..he just...there was definitely something wrong with him. I just couldn't quite put my finger directly on what it was.

He wasn't the most interesting thing there to witness, though. And he wasn't doing anything, at the moment, besides stare. So I moved on from him.
What interested me next was the crowds swarming in for the music, among them the circus performers. All the hype was obviously too much to pass up for them and they had to investigate.
The acrobatic contortionist girl and the ragdoll fire man were front and center, with a few other performers I hadn't seen yet trailing behind them. They strolled forward, creepy looking as ever, the girl's arms casually folded behind her head, a huge crazy smile on her face, while the ragdoll man's attention fluctuated between the music to the people to little old me.
The residents of this planet were doing a mighty good job at making me feel uncomfortable.

Soon, they joined the back of the crowd and watched the speakers as if something was going to happen. My companions returned to my side, with the Master being the closest, giving Mr. Motorcycle a dirty glare. "That bloke's been staring at you, and us, ever since we got here. I'm suspicious."
"Meeee, too." Jim sung, suddenly putting a protective arm around my shoulders, while giving Mr. Motorcycle a mean look. I sighed, rolling my eyes to the sky.
I'm not even bothering to fight it anymore.

Master looked back at me, his hands still in his pockets.
"I'm going to go ask around, see what I can find out further about this place."
"That's right, you do that. You get the best info from the gossip of the people!"
 His brows flexed, irritatedly. "You stay here and enjoy your music show. I'm taking Bane and the Irish bug. Clown, watch her."
"Go forth and ask the commoners, my good ma---waitwhatno, no no no"
"Let's go, gentlemen."
He jerked his head for the other two to follow. Jim reluctantly slid his arm away from me, and Bane gave Joker uneasy glances while still edging towards Master.
NAY, DON'T LEAVE MEH.
"STOP, COME BACK!"
"Why do I  get stuck with her?" "Yeah, why does HE get stuck with me- hey, hold on now."
"Deal with it."
*FLURRY OF RANDOM GIBBERISH*
The three walked away from us and kept getting further and further.

Joker had jumped beside me and was desperately trying to protest, but he was only left sputtering at the air, as the rest of our gang disappeared.
When half-silence ensued, we looked at eachother simultaneously.
I gulped.
oh, dear...

"Now you've done it." He said, crossly and accusingly.
"I  didn't do anything." I might have put a little too much attitude in that one, but it didn't much matter. Joker and I were alone. I was under his care.
There goes my life.
Before I spoke again, I sidled back a few steps, to gain some distance between us.
"Listen...J...I think this is the perfect time to...BURY the old hatchet. Bury it deep. Underground. Near the earth's core. Never to be used again. Ever. I have no animosity towards you. In fact, I'm hoping we can be pals!" I stood, nervously shrinking, feeling like a vulnerable bunny in the crosshairs of a hungry bear. I had no idea what he was going to do and I was internally screaming.
 
But he just stood there, staring at me. Lots of staring.
The makeup on his face was smeared and fading, in desperate need of re-appliance.
But the black eye makeup he had was reflected upon by the sun, making his sockets darken with eeriness. I cringed. I could tell thoughts of murder dwelled excitedly within his mind..
the thought of which brought a few chills to my spine.
All of my supporters had abandoned me, to the care of the one member that wishes to kill me the most for crossing him. My breath was shaky.
I failed to notice 'til then that Elevation had long been over and another song was playing.
One from my party mix. Not that I attend, nor throw, any parties.
Everyone began dancing around like wild monkeys and having the time of their lives.
It would've been an amusing thing to witness, had it not have been happening in the midst of Joker giving me a very uncomfortable and concerning scowl.
I felt like shrinking into a germ and flying away into space.
Until he finally spoke, his high-pitched voice rich and clear,
"Whatever."
Aha! Whatever! A universal declaration of friendship!
"I'll just buy another hatchet."
Annndddd my spirit dropped and I felt like crying.

Even so, I smiled wide at him, which was painfully forced and obvious I was itching to get on his good side. I was clearly annoying him, enough for him to suddenly walk past me and wander towards the crowd. I blinked. "Where are you going?? Master said to--"
But my voice was drowned out by the enormous speakers, and he went in so deep, I could no longer see him. A bit panicked from this, I turned my head and cautiously looked around.
At Mr. Motorcycle, at the clowns, at everyone. Once again, I gulped.
I may be a crazy gun-toting, silly, ridiculous, completely capable, independent penguin that can take care of herself to an extent...but that doesn't mean I don't get concerned from time to time.
I ain't afraid o' nothing. But I'm not stupid.
I know I have my limits and there's things out there I just can't handle on my own, and I could easily be swarmed and overpowered. Anyone can.
There are things that are mighty concerning, and I'm just one little potato.

Mr. Motorcycle, for instance, looked like he wanted to come and talk to me.
Typical. My boys were away, so he found the bravery to take action.
The guys who've flirted at me do that with my dad, too.
IT TAKES A MAN WITH COURAGE TO CHASE AFTER A GIRL IN THE PRESENCE OF HER BODYGUARDS, YO.

I was fully prepared for him, though. Bring it on.
But then, like, I spotted a dude beyond him, infront of a large, important-looking tent.
The dude was flagging me down. Or at least I THOUGHT he was.
I blinked a couple of times as I watched for more to happen, and I stood in utter awkward confusion.
He was close enough for me to examine his appearance.
Slightly tanned skin, with a manly, clean-shaven jaw, squinted eyes with a color I couldn't make out, and a brownish hair color that looked a little sandy in the light, shaped in a rather odd style.
Almost like a small arch, the back of his hair coming down to his neck.
And he was dressed in a very expensive looking suit, blatantly too expensive and too big for a crudhole like this.
He had a fancy glass in his hand, opposite of the one he was using to wave at me with, that had a yellowish liquid with a couple of ice cubes plopped in it.
I rose an eyebrow when his flagging continued and finally pointed a finger at myself.
He confirmed that it was indeed me that he wanted with a clear nod.
I looked over at Mr. Motorcycle to check his status....but the young-looking creep had vanished.

I looked back at Joker's direction- "J, I'm gonna---"
He wasn't in sight.
I couldn't spot him in the crowd, that had grown too much for me to see anything clearly.
So I shrugged. Oh, well. Immortal.

I proceeded forward, directly toward the fancy-suited man, and as I did so, he smiled and nodded at me. "Yo-lo." I greeted first, doing a single gloved wave.
He waved back, "Hello, indeed! My, my...you're taller up close!"
I rose my eyebrows, surprisingly. "Really? Huh..funny...that usually is the opposite of what I hear.."
He smiled again, his teeth exposed, that looked perfectly white and perfectly perfect, like they weren't even real and I mentally made a jealous grumpy face over the fact that I have such a weird smile and a complete stranger doesn't. umph.
I could tell pretty quickly that this guy was NOT from the marketplace.
He looked like he had a good amount of dough in his pocket.
"Whew, it's noisy out here. And a bit blinding. Mind if we step inside, miss? I'd like to have a word with you. And don't worry, I'm not a creep. I swear."
"Good, cuz I'm armed."
He chuckled, "I wouldn't expect it any other way!"

I know you must still be thinking I'm either idiotic or crazy for trusting this guy, and coming forward to talk to him. But hey..the others were investigating...why can't I? ;)

"Yeah, sure, whatever."
I strolled right in.
The instant I entered, my eyes transitioned to the darkened inside of the tent..
and I knew now that the guy was MOST DEFINITELY rich.
The inside had a flipping AC, for one. The graveled ground was covered by a wood flooring that looked to be polished recently. And in turn, had fancy rugs placed over it.
He had hard wooden walls set up that made it look as if it were a building.
There were various electrical items and shelves here and there, and sitting across from the entrance was a counter, that looked to serve as some kind of bar.
There were other decorations and what not that didn't much matter, for they were the mere products of a rich man and therefore serve absolute no purpose in this story.

As soon as I acclimated to my new environment, the man now stepped in and walked around me, heading towards the other side of the counter. "I tell ya..what you just did was magical. Simply magical. Not a lot of folks that pass through here would come even close to doing something like that. Nobody really cares about eachother here..just passing faces to them..."
He opened the top of a bucket and scooped up a couple of ice cubes using a mini shovel, to drop into his glass. "Want something, kid? Whiskey, tea, water?"
I made a mental face at the first one...sigh. People. Alcohol. Just why.
Since becoming an adult, I have been around other adults who drink, so I can honestly say it didn't make me as uncomfortable to be around another at the present moment. If anything, it annoyed me.
If he started acting stupid, I was out've there. For the present moment, it seemed he was just doing so casually. Why can't people just drink soda, though, kjjkjkjw
"No thanks..." I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, looking around awkwardly at my surroundings, as I awkwardly clicked my awkward boots together, awkwardly.
I cleared my throat...awkwardly.
"Excuse me, sir..I don't mean to sound rude..but why am I here?"

He closed the bucket top and lifted his hand up, with an embarrassed smile on his face.
"I'm so sorry, of course..where are my manners? Harvey Thorton, at your service, ma'am."
He reached in and shook my hand, graciously.
I blinked. "..Sarah."
He nodded, smiling wide again, as if posing for a camera, and he let go.
"Right..forgive my way of bringing you in. I couldn't help but notice you five as you came to the market..I was watching when you strolled on in. You created quite a stir."
"Wonderful."
Master was gonna kill me.
He took a quick swig of his drink, noticing that the drink itself was making me edgy.
"You'll forgive me for saying..you all don't seem like you belong here..you're different from the rest...like you're..special."
I shifted, uncomfortably, trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible.
He chuckled. "I get it..strange guy, asking you here alone. I would've called both of you, but your buddy ran off...and I had to act quickly before that one weirdo went to talk to you."
hmmmmmmm...he took another quick swig and slid the glass away from him.
"Erm.....if you don't mind me asking...how old are you? 13? 14???"
"NINEteen, thank you very much." I folded my arms, sighing. Blasted eternally youthful baby face.

He rose his brows in utter surprise, "Oh gosh..I'm so sorry. I didn't realize..I...erm...uh...have you..traveled long..with those men?" "....yes..."
"And they're..your friends, right?" I slowly nodded my head.
He nodded back and looked down, "ah..right..just wondering."
"...Wondering...what?"
"..Well..making sure you weren't kidnapped. Happens a lot around here. Can't tell you how many stolen souls I've come across, taken by the slime of the universe."
I shifted, uncomfortably. lolllllll, if only you knew the truth, bub.
"No need to worry about me. They're my traveling companions. And my friends--at least on my part."
"How'd you meet?" I gave him a look. He lifted his hand up in defense. "Don't mean to pry."
I let my shoulders sink as I breathed. "On my planet. Earth. We made a deal with eachother, and being here is basically a product of it."
He perked up, suddenly. "..Did you say-- Earth?"
I paused. "..yeahhh."
"WHICH Earth?"
...???

"Whatta ya mean, 'Which Earth', the ONLY Earth. My home planet, Earth."
"Well, kiddo, I'd hate to burst your bubble, but there is certainly more than just one Earth."
jdjowdowiodwoidoiwoidowidopwifo
NO MORE. I COULDN'T TAKE ANYMORE.

"What are you saying to me?!"
He chuckled. "Basically, there are various versions of Earth. From different dimensions and solar systems, and each one is unique. I might be able to tell which Earth you're from..have you invented the Moomba yet?" I lowered my brows in confusion. He softly shook his head.
"That's Earth 1.785. . . do you ride turtles to war?"
". . . . . . ."
"Is Kim Kardashian your president?"
"Burn that planet."
"Take that as a no. Do you talk with your brains? Is it legal to have six eyes? Do you openly practice time-travel? Are boxes endangered? Is the United States a giant pancake? Are dinosaurs still alive? Can you jump like you have zero gravity? Do you HAVE gravity?"
"No to all of these! Except for gravity and dinosaurs, yes, we do have gravity and we do have elderly people." "Huh...have you ever made contact with alien life?"
I looked around. "Where I come from, THIS, would all be impossible."
He jumped back, with widened eyes. "Egads!!"
I shot my head back.
"You LIVE on the original Earth?!"
My jaw dropped. Original Earth. I was so done.
"Original  Earth? Ok, now I'm starting to need that drink..."
"It's a long story.."

He got me out a glass, plopped in a couple of ice cubes and went to pour me a drink, before I pointed to the water. I staggered into the stool in front of me and shakily seated, grabbing the glass.
"I'm from an Earth quite similar to your's. Earth 2.606. Except we openly believe in extra terrestrial life. We trade often with neighboring planets, and even allow immigration."
I cut my eyes at him, suspiciously. "You mean there's aliens on Mars and the Moon?"
He nodded, with a smirk.
"I knew it."  I whispered, looking away as I sipped my water.
"I'm one in charge of space travel. I own a ship. Command base, if you will. Out in one of the nearby galaxies." I perked up and snapped my gaze at him.
"SAY WHAT?"
He smirked once more, "General of the United States Space Military, at your service."
I held my head. "Wow..."
"And what are you, if I may ask??"
"...uh...traveler.."
"An adventurer? Excellent! I do so love fellow explorers."
I sat up straight again and took a deep breath.
"Sorry for being so vague...it's just, well..we've ran into some shifty characters (lol), and..we came here a bit unexpectedly, and we're trying to figure out why--"
"And you don't know who you can trust yet."
I nodded. He nodded back.
"I understand perfectly. No need to apologize."
My head sunk. "So what are YOU doing here?"

He stepped back a little, taking another sip. "One of our outposts is stationed here. Which is what you're standing in. And it being a place where aliens and humans alike stop by on a daily 24/7 basis for supplies and what not, I thought it'd be a great place for resources and intel. Lots of criminals stop by here, too. Ones chased by bounty hunters, mercenaries, war lords, our military..some pay pretty prices to those that apprehend them." "Lovely. Looks like your work's cut out for you here, then. No wonder you've made it such a luxury." "Yeah, no kidding."

He abruptly scooped up two more cubes for his glass, but this time got out some tea.
"So these friends of your's...they don't cause you trouble, do they?"
My eyes slowly rose to him and I made a lopsided frown.
"Well...sorta..just a little. But I can take care of myself. I can handle them and anything they throw at me..I've admittedly grown quite attached to them..."
"Mm, it's just a little strange for them to be traveling with a kid your age."
"Believe me, that's not their intention. They don't care about me, really. They've got their own reasons. They think I'm------uh....they took me, cuz they believe I'm special."
He looked at me a minute as he hovered his glass in front of his mouth.
Then he sniffed a laugh.
"I'll say...and hey...kid...just want you to know..if anything happens...you can trust me. I'm on your side." He rose his glass as a sort've 'Cheers' gesture, and I did the same.
"Thanks..I appreciate that."
"Ahem."

I shot my head at the entrance.
Standing there was my prodigal clown, who looked quite upset at me and the scenario, his scars betraying his grumpy exterior with a disturbing residue of a smile.
"If you're finished with your little date...mind stepping out, kid?"
I lowered my eyebrows at him and his rudeness and stood up, setting my glass on the counter, and bowing my head in respect. "I apologize, Mr. Thorton. I must be going now. Thank you for the water. Good luck with your job."
He nodded back, politely. "Any time."

I turned around and followed after J, stomping grumpily as I passed the exit, when I suddenly ran into someone. "There's a man there." Joker stated dryly, giving me a brief glance.
I shot him a glare before looking back at the guy.
"Sorry, man, I didn't see you. Are you--" "I'm fine."
The guy said it hurriedly and curtly, and tried to get out've my way fast.
But as soon as he passed, I noticed from the corner of my eye that he looked back at me, with a very bewildered expression. I gave him a freaked out glare before he bolted into the tent.
I was close to walking completely away when I suddenly heard..
"Hey boss, wasn't that Sarah D--" "SHHH!! Idiot! Keep your voice down!"

I jerked to a stop and shot my head back, my jaw dropping.
what in the actual!
But whatever they were saying now, it was too low for me to hear, and I couldn't just backtrack and eavesdrop. Like, how rude. Pft.
So I simply walked away.

Ahead of me, Joker had regrouped with Master, Bane and Jim, who were all standing next to the shop next door, staring after me. I made sure to approach them all the way before speaking.
"What'd I tell you about running off and causing trouble?"
I squinted my eyes at the Timelord, who simply sighed and shook his head slowly, in disapproval.
"Who was that?"
It took me a second to determine whether I wanted to be sassy or respectful.
"..The Pope."
Sassy, it is.

He rolled his head and finally huffed at me.
"Fine. Have it your way. Meanwhile, I lear-" "What'd you learn?"
. . . . . . . . . heeeeeeee wanted to kill me very badly.
He stared at me so crossly and so blandly, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He turned his head away, "We learned that there are all sorts around here, including our kind of lot. Murderers, thieves, scoundrels all the way..there's even talk of an assassin just recently coming into town." I perked. "An assassin?! That's hardcore!"
"Yeah...and he's got his sights set on one bloke in particular."
I sunk at this. "....Does anyone know who it is?"
"Who...the bloke?" "No, the assassin."
"Oh...nah...he's a mystery. His identity seems to be well-guarded. Perhaps everyone's afraid of him. I might come to like the man." "A mystery...just waiting to be cracked."
"Don't get any ideas. Or heroics. We are NOT staying. I just need a little more information."
"C'mon. There's a guy that's gonna be assassinated, and that's often not a good thing. We've gotta help 'im!" He groaned. Obviously, he wasn't the only one of our company learning to just give up the fight.
I stepped closer to him, "Who is it, by the way?"
"Who, the assassin?"
"No, the ballerina-- you fool, the GUY, who's the GUY?!"

I'll be honest, Claud popped into my mind. And I hoped and prayed he wasn't the target, though it would be strange if he was. What if it was one of the circus performers? How sad.
But uh, yeah, no.
"Harvey Thorton."
! ! ! ! !

I blinked. Stood up straight. My mouth fell.
I blinked even more. And my head slowly turned back to the tent.
 . . . .  I just met a man who was gonna be assassinated.

- to be continued -