Ten

Chapter 10 in which the mystery continues...

"What do you mean you met  Harvey Thorton?!" 

Shouted the Master, as I snagged his sleeve, leading him and the others away to privacy, whilst explaining to him what happened. 

"We were gone for only a few minutes! What did you do?" 

I turned to him, "He served me water and asked me questions. What more you wanna know?" 

"What kind  of questions?" Joker pushed with narrowed eyes. 

I shot him a glance, 

"The kind you ask. The POINT is-" 

Back to the Master. 

"The guy in that tent over there is the man you're talking about. He's a general for the space military and he has a command base out in a nearby galaxy or something like that. He keeps a lot of order here and arrests a lot of hooligans." 

The boys exchanged glances at one another at this. 

"Military..peachy." 

"That only means he makes a lot of enemies." 

"Duh. Makes perfect sense that someone would want him killed. Maybe by one of our  enemies, perhaps? That would explain why-"

"Demens." Master abruptly sprung forward and took hold of my shoulders..
which shut me up instantly. 

"Did he say something else? Anything to indicate that someone might already be here?" 

I cut my eyes at his hands, shriveling into a bug.

The man was trying to soften me up, how dare. 

I blinked slowly and tried to slink away, but I couldn't move my muscles. Must be some kinda hypnotic Timelord voodoo. "How do you mean?" 

"Did it seem like he knew more than he let on?" 

I slightly bowed my head at this, in disappointment.

"I..dunno. Joker came in before I could get anything good out've him." 

Moriarty and Master simultaneously swung their heads at him and I wanted to laugh. 

"Good going, clown!" "Some use YOU are!" 

Even Bane was cutting his eyes at him in judgment. 

Joker's head traveled to each of us in confusion, as if we were accusing him of some crime, and he lifted his hands up, defensively.

"WHAT?!" 

Master lowered his brows at him as he turned his head back to me and his grip on my shoulders tightened, even throwing in a little shake. 

"Are you SURE? Nothing else?!" 

I shook him as my muscles tightened and it got too overwhelmingly uncomfortable being held onto by a villain. "I'm sure." 

His arms slowly slunk back to his sides and his eyes fell back to the ground. 

"Then we have nothing to go on..."

My eyes lifted back up,
"Not so! We have a whole market full of people to ask. Harvey included! There's a lot to ask and lots of people TO ask."
He moved his head up enough to make eye contact with me again.
"Detective work is not our forté, Demens."
I rose a snarky eyebrow, "I know..killing people and destroying things is."
The lot exchanged somewhat offended glances.
"Prejudice little wench, isn't she?"
At this, I started off alone with a snicker, sliding right past the criminals like a snake.
"You just bring it out of me so well, boys. It's usually much more tame."
They each proceeded to follow after me out from our little whispering spot.
As soon as we stepped out of the shadows and back into the enormous crowd, I could feel a change.
An unsettling feeling that I had turned away as soon as we arrived that I mistook for me being around a bunch of people. Now that I realized just what fowl thing was causing this feeling to fester inside of me, I saw now that everything was being made clear for me.
Someone..something..was watching us.

From the minute we set foot in that market, I could feel it's eyes follow my every move.
Trying to obey Master's warning to keep my eyes down was tricky, indeed.
And I failed miserably.
I was pacing back and forth the same three steps, moving my head in all directions without blinking like a bird, attempting to locate our fiendish stalker.
My fists jiggled nervously, my muscles beginning to tremble from my adrenaline rushing.
"Do you guys feel it?"
Their heads perked. Their expressions were ones of slight confusion and intrigue.
I gestured with my head, "Like a bunch of wandering sheep; we're being watched."
At once, they turned their attention to our surroundings.
I narrowed my bright eyes as I scanned along with them.
"Now that you mention it, I DO feel a bit stalked." Joker said with a slight ounce of paranoia.
"I feel violated." Jim uttered.

"We can now confirm it." Bane's British Vader voice croaked and hummed, as his eyes gravitated to me. "Whoever inhabits this area does not want us here. They are using primitive tactics of fear to intimidate us." His eyes grew in size as he fixed them on me and mine grew along with them.
"What's that, ol' pal?" J spurted out before slapping his hand onto Bane's shoulder.
Bane moved from him and slowly began to approach me, his deeply emotional eyes still enlarged and engaging. Half of me felt like he intended to kill...so I gulped a little loudly and felt myself tensing as I watched him come closer and closer with his tall, menacing self.
But that's where he stopped right above me, towering over me like a tree to a rock, staring down like I was a midget. "They are targeting you..miss Demens."
There was something malicious hidden in his voice..the way he said it was strange.
Villainous, like he took delight in that sentence.
I've never heard him talk like that towards me since I came to know him personally.

This shift to his true personality...made me start to wonder.
I shrugged uneasily as all their eyes soon fell on me.
"...Uhh...why...me?"
Bane cocked his head like a curious dog.
I gulped as I realized my error. "Oh yeah.."

Master turned back around after a few spins, switching his gaze on each of us, and he tightened his jaw. Never a good sign. "I can't detect anyone..not anyone among the size of this crowd."
"Human or alien?" "EVERYone's an alien."
He inhaled and exhaled deeply, shifting his cunning eyes around intellectually.
That's when he sniffed. He started with a few snorts, then next took a big whiff of the air, nearly using his entire body. The rest of the boys and I gave his peculiar behavior concerned glances.
"I can't..." He squinted. "I can't..I just..can't.." He deflated, his head and back falling towards the ground. "Their scent is too scrambled. I can't pick them up."
I pouted a lip and stepped slightly forward to reach his shoulder..which I then patted.
"That's ok, boy. You'll get 'em next time."
He gave an enormously heinous glare, to which I merely grinned at.

Joker crossed his arms, thoughtfully, while he pressed his tongue against the insides of his cheeks.
"Could it be our mysterious assassin? The one after that Thorton hack?"
Jim stuffed his hands in his pockets, clearly bored with the conversation, and the situation.
"Bor-ing.  Let's just go already."
"Now hold on-" I let out as I got closer to the four and lifted my hands up.
"Think about this a minute. Put the clues we have so far together."
I took a quick breath.
"Ok, one..the T.A.R.D.I.S. took us to a random, non-character-oriented location. Where a bunch of humans and aliens- a.k.a. TRAVELERS- show up to buy stuff at a galactic market. The entire transport was loony and uncalled for, so obviously, the ship MEANT to take us here. Or..we've been summoned. Two..the minute we arrived here, I felt like I was being watched. Which leaves me to believe that whoever it is, they were expecting us. And I'd like to personally name the biker guy and the circus performers as our primary suspects. They've been watching me like a pack of hungry dogs and it ain't a nice feeling. Three...."

I stopped.
They waited for me to continue.
I turned my head and waited for them.
At first, they seemed bewildered by me not going on.
But they soon caught on that I was waiting for them to pitch in, like the smart little crooks they are.
And they jerked into action.
"THREE-" Master bellowed. "Harvey Thorton is a galactic army captain who maintains order on this planet and keeps it from becoming a crime-infested hole, using it to monitor criminal travelers...much to my own disdain."
"FOUR-" Jim shrugged. "Rumors have surfaced of the old boy potentially getting assassinated."
"FIVE-" Joker coughed. "---there are more clues than I thought we had."
We cut our eyes at him, giving him sassy, so-done looks.
"Six.." Bane cut in. "Mr. Thorton knows of miss Sarah."
His eyes turned to me. I blinked, dumbfoundedly.
"huh?"
He replied with a nod, "He called you to him. Seemingly because of sheer curiosity of our presence. But perhaps he was seeking something else.. what you know. Who you are traveling with. Mr. Thorton seems to be aware of more than he cares to share." His gaze flickered to the others.
"Perhaps it is best, gentlemen, if we interrogate him ourselves.."
Joker's demonic grin appeared out of nowhere so suddenly and menacingly that I shivered.
"Now THAT sounds fun."
Master and Moriarty also had a look cast over them that gave me a frighten.
It's times like these that you are reminded they are not cuddly, heroic embodiments of laughter and love. They're serial killer scum that take pleasure in torture and murder.
And they're my only protection, kjkwjejowj

"NowholdonI'mnotdone."
I waved my arms around like a protesting chicken. My action was met with rolled eyes and heavy sighs. I took a deep, long breath to regain my confidence.
"SEVEN- this entire venture can be used to our advantage. If we track down the assassin and save Thorton's life..he might reward us!"
At that, the boys' interest was regained, which made me wiggle my eyebrows.
"Reward?" Master rose one of his. "Since when did you start caring about profits?"
"Not THAT kind of reward, blondy. I'm talking information."
More exchanged glances. I waggled my finger.
"Now now, don't be clueless, boys. It should be quite clear by now that a lot more's going on than just us five. The clues to which have been heavily scattered these past two adventures. Maybe even before that. Maybe it was no mistake you were revived..no mistake the ship led you to me. No mistake we've all been brought together. Saving all those people and their worlds. Perhaps something is happening that is WAY beyond us. After all, I do believe everything happens for a reason."

At this, I took a step closer to Master, who fixed his squinted brown eyes at me and I tilted my head down as I spoke to him, staring back with my huge bright, glistening eyes.
They always glisten in the sunlight, darn things.
"The answer, the solution, is obvious. Thorton does know more than he's telling us. So it'll be smart to acquire that knowledge. But if we do, we do it my way. Which means no torturing. As far as the assassin goes...he might know something, too. But unlike Harvey, he's not a decent man. So you can do what you want with him. Either he's one of our mysterious enemies or he's connected to them somehow. There has to be a reason for all of this.."

I could tell I had struck him with a very tempting offer.
But the level of concern in his expression had not changed.
He stepped an inch closer to me, violating all privacy laws, to whisper rather irritably at me.
"You need to stop trying to make heroes out of us."
But I only responded by putting on a most devious little smirk that the lot brought out of me more than anyone else. "And you need to stop trying to intimidate me. It's not working."

Me stepping back, the Timelord was left staring down at my tiny self with a dulled expression.
I was clearly getting to him. He just didn't want to show it.
Didn't want to show that a small human was besting him and bending him to his will...and a girl at that. I'd be offended, too.

The villains looked to one another, obviously questioning among themselves what they should do.
I smiled as I watched them and the sun shone in my eyes...
hey, wait a minute..
I was so busy with the four handsome lobsters that I failed to realize there was sunlight coming from both sides of us. O.O
I looked about all the angles and let my mouth drop to a relatively low distance as it was confirmed to me. There were two suns. TWO SUNS.
TWO FLIPPING SUNS

This place was getting weirder and weirder.
Thankfully, they were bright, but they honestly weren't very hot.
Merely a pleasant warmness that's presence was evident to the skin, but it didn't do any real damage at all. Which led me to believe that this wasn't the type of sun I was used to.
Quite peculiar.

"Oy!" I reached out and snatched the arm of a passing alien, stopping him dead in his tracks.
After he jerked a little, he swiveled his head to me- a head that had a couple of weird flipper horns at the top- and he squinted his giant pink eyes, that both lacked any irises or pupils to speak of, and a low, threatening growl escaped from his throat as he barred his bony alien teeth.
I ignored him.
"Could you kindly tell me why there are TWO suns?"
But the dopey creature merely continued to growl at me.
I tilted my head at a different angle and enlarged my eyes a little.
"Perhaps I got that translated wrong...is that an actual answer or are you just spouting out random nonsense?"
The alien still did not answer me. Instead, he leaned in, bringing out his other arm, clearly readying for an attack. But I straightened myself and sighed and let go, looking away from him like he was pointless. Which, honestly, he was.
"Fine, go on, be useless."

The fool retracted his arm and gave one final growl before spitting out "BEEDLE NIPER!"..
which I have no idea what that was supposed to mean...before actually spitting, and finally walking away, soon merging into the crowds of strangers.
Master abruptly bolted forward and snatched my arm, jerking me backwards like I was a troublesome child. "You want to avoid starting fights with the locals?!"
But I simply waved the matter off with a "Bah!" and swung around.
"I ain't afraid o' them."
"You should  be, midget." Joker insulted.
I casted him a nasty glare, "I'm not afraid of anyone. I'm not afraid of anyTHING. Not of you, not of them, nothing. Ya know why?"
He inhaled and exhaled and had on the most bored, tired, unimpressed face ever.
"Enlighten me."
"Cuz EVERYthing has a weakness. So why should I be afraid of something that's just as vulnerable as me, in it's own right? It wouldn't pick a fight with me unless it had something to prove."

With that, I cracked my gloved knuckles and snickered at my companions, a tad bit crazily.
"And I'm good at spotting someone's weakness."
Quite unexpectedly, the Joker sent out a loud, disturbing laugh, as he leaped towards me and slapped an arm around my shoulders, bringing me in close, and I suddenly changed my mind about being afraid, I was very afraid.
"The more I hear from this kid, the more I like her!"
He jiggled me around and I felt uncomfortable.
You know that moment before you're about to go on a super duper grown up amusement ride and your chest and body tighten and you clench on to whatever you can to hold on for dear life and you quit breathing for the longest time as you wait in anticipation for your death, and your head spins and your vision blurs and you feel like you're about to pass out?
That's what it's like to be loved on by the Joker.
...not that I've been on grown up amusement rides.........I've heard things.

No one came to my rescue, either, so I just stood there like a helpless goose with my mouth hanging open as Joker kept his surprisingly strong grip around my shoulders.
I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing it was over, his hard, ear-numbing high-pitched laughter stabbing my ears, making my teeth clench together.

"Excuse me, were you just asking about the Twin Solars?"
My eyes popped open and I blinked.
Infront of me and the boys stood the same dude that I bumped into earlier.
The one that somehow recognized me. The one that worked for Harvey.
I blinked again as he blinked. "What?"
He realized his fault and tilted his head down at the awkward silence, starting to shift.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to be rude. I just overheard you asking and I..uh.."
"Ah! Ah! Yes! The two suns."
I then cocked my head to the side as I recognized the words that he said.
"...Err...twin...what?"
"The Twin Solars." He gave a nervous smile. "They're two separate suns that orbit around the planet, keeping it in alignment. They're not actual suns, however, which is why they don't produce actual heat. They're more like great big balls of light. Like light bulbs, essentially. The people here call them solars. Twin Solars. Many of the travelers have never seen that type of thing, so they do get pretty awed when they show up."

The boys and I looked to the suns and examined their great mysterious-ness.
"What's their purpose?" Jim wondered aloud, looking confused.
Master shrugged. "Like everything else, they HAVE no purpose. They have no meaning. They're pointless." "You shush with that. They do so have a purpose. EVERYTHING does."
He made a face and I made a face back.
"She's right." He, the nameless guy, cut in.
"Their light keeps it day 'round the clock. When they don't pass over us, their light is so bright, it basically leaves a white shadow behind over the opposite side of it, so that the light lasts and lasts."
I made another face, this time at him.
"Daylight, 24/7? BLEGH!"
"That's what made this planet such an ideal marketing destination. Who wants to shop in the dark?"
I DO!

I folded my arms and pouted at this new knowledge, like an unhappy 6 year old at a birthday party.
At least my planet has the decency to kick sunlight out and give space and the moon a day in the...I mean, night in the spotlight. I mean, gosh..that's the only real time humans can actually see what's out there. Space...stars...even other planets or milky-ways, depending on where you are.
That was many times the highlight of my day back home.
Seeing the night sky. It always gave me hope..made me wonder..kept my belief in the impossible alive.
That there was something out there even WE couldn't touch.
We can mess our own planet up all we want, but for generations upon generations, since Earth began, that was the same sky...same space..same moon and sun that sat above us always.
And yes. I'm getting deep again, del wid et.

Moriarty abruptly cleared his throat and rolled his head in my direction, snapping me from my thoughts. In reply, I jerked my own head toward the nameless guy, blinking several times, trying to speak again. "You. Guy. Dude-man."
He lifted his head up, raising an eyebrow questionably.
"You work for Harvey, don't you?"
At this, he started to shift uncomfortably.
"Um...yes, ma'am."
I nodded. "Good. Take us to him. We've got something to say to him that he'll wanna hear."
The boys nodded their heads at this, seemingly in agreement. The dude appeared a little perplexed, however. Like..what could five freakish hoodlums like us possibly want with an established general? What could we have to offer, tangible or otherwise?
In fact, he gave us such a critical glare, I wanted to punch him. But hey, to be fair, you know me by now. I wanna punch everyone.
Just as the guy began to stutter, Joker jumped a step ahead and butted in,
"No, coot, we don't have an appointment."
The dark-haired little lackey (who wasn't actually very little at all; he was standing at J's height, so he was roughly 6-6'1, the lamppost) suddenly looked confused and uncertain and I didn't blame him. He obviously had a duty and that duty had something to do with looking out for his boss.
But unfortunately for him, this was an urgent matter (for me, though, it's always an urgent matter, you drop everything for me, fool).
We didn't have time for protocol or petty affairs.

Before I had a chance to smooth-talk the guy myself, however, J suddenly jumped ten steps ahead of me and left me stunned as he charged at him, before proceeding to violently grab the back of his neck and bringing his head close to his. Which caused Mr. Nameless to tighten his muscles and widen his eyes in justified fear.
"--But we need to get in there NOW, so we don't have time for any of your pointless little crap games. Now, I think you might want to step aside and let us take care of our business....unless...you want things to get ugly....."
In a flash, the crazed man had his switchblade drawn out, which he now was pressing roughly against the guy's throat. Making me wince.
"It'd be a shame to ruin such a scarless, handsome face."
This made nameless guy panic, especially when J pat the side of his head. He panicked so much, he was starting to hyperventilate and began desperately looking around for help.
Despite my own caution around the Joker, our little relationship being rocky as it is, I could tell he was getting knife-happy, as he repeatedly licked his lips and couldn't seem to stand still, therefore..I couldn't let it continue.
He was zoning out back into his world, and getting mighty too comfortable with what he was doing.
I needed to keep a tight control on the four. I couldn't let them slip back into their natural psychopath state. This needed to stop. Immediately.
"Or maybe, I need to show you just how serious the situation really is--"
"Down, clown."

..He held perfectly still, and there was an uneasy silence for a few long seconds...until I heard a soft growl grow from within his throat as he gained an eery, stale expression only he could make, and glared behind him, directly at me.
Without a word of protest, however, he released his grip on the guy's neck and withdrew his blade, snapping it closed and slipping it back into his pants pocket.
He steadily stepped backwards, back to the others, letting me go forward.
I got up close to the guy as he held his throat, the cold touch of the switchblade no doubt fresh on his skin, topped with the residue of terror Joker casts upon you when he intends to kill.

To sooth his condition, I had to take a much more soft approach, despite my natural aggressive self wanting to break through.
"Look...I'll be frank with you...I know you know me."
His eyes instantly flashed to me.
I nodded, half-smiling due to my intensifying snarkiness.
"I heard you and Harvey from outside the tent when I was leaving. Why you lot are treating it like it's a secret, you got me. But if you know who I am, then you surely know who THEY are--"
I gave a quick gesture to the four standing to my right.
"Now, I keep them as tamed as I can....but sometimes...they can just slip...I don't think you wanna see what happens if I lose control of my pack of psychos. Say what you want about their bad attitude and..over enjoyment for what they do. They are, so far, quite obedient. But even I can't hold them back when they have strong enough impulses."
I smiled a little to try to be as sweet and encouraging as I could be, half coaxing, half threatening.
But I'm afraid I only raised his already high blood pressure and filled his mind with increased levels of fear. Even so..dude wasn't budging.
I had to persevere.
I once again gestured at the boys, but with my whole arm.
"I'm sure you're familiar with their exploits, yes?"
He gulped.
"..T.. There's no need for that..I'll take you right to him.."

Finally, cooperation.
I gave him a genuine smile this time and nodded in gratitude as I stepped back.
He sniffed a couple times before straightening his tie and slicking back his shiny black hair.
Bravely, he reached out his arm and took my hand for a shake, "Brian"
I almost laughed out loud, but instead only gave him an odd expression.
"Brian? That's very..um..normal....I wasn't expecting that."
"Well, what's YOUR name?"
He knew, of course..the scoundrel was just trying to prove a point. And I fell right into it.
I looked at him with narrowed eyes and a tightened jaw, knowing full well I underestimated his sass meter. "Sarah"
He was infuriatingly snooty. "Not what I was expecting."
*flurry of random gibberish*
"Point proven, ya uncultured cabbage. Now get in there and grant us an audience."
There was nothing else to say.
I shooed him away and he obeyed.

As soon as he disappeared into the tent, I sidled back to my boys and casually rested an arm against J's shoulder..which was awkward, since I'm 5'5 and he's 6'1, oy.
9 inch height difference, my friends.
Tall people are not nice.

"See, boys, ya gotta learn a little something I learned. A little something by a character called Hawkins in a little show called Jericho. It's the FEAR of torture that gets them talking. Or in this case, moving along. Actual torture only works in the movies."
Master quickly rose an eyebrow at this.
And I quickly cleared my throat.
"Of course, that's probably invalid now, but the point is, you don't always have to be so direct and literal to get what you want. Sometimes simple threats can do just fine. A man can be swayed by a single word from a seductive lady and wind up offering her the world, without her having to do a single dang thing. Ya get my drift?" "No."
"Wonderful, I'm glad we had this talk."
Obedient my arm, they are the most stubborn mules I've ever come across.
That's the last time I compliment them.

He then gave the boys an untrusting glare.
"But only YOU, miss Demens. Not them."
The boys immediately froze in place after just stepping forward to enter.
Surprisingly, their heads innocently turned to me, with great pitiful confusion, as if they were puppies not allowed to enter a restaurant.
It made me feel bad.
My mouth fell open, "What's this? Why??"
"He has his reasons."
"And I have mine. They go with me. Period."
"Miss De-" "PERIOD"

Brian fell silent.
There wasn't much he could do or say and he knew it. Therefore, he merely sighed, rolled his shoulders, and walked on ahead of us, clearly deciding to escort our strange little party.
The boys and I exchanged satisfied glares and smirks, and followed after him.

........

Inside the tent stood Harvey, who was casually sifting through his papers in his palm, looking a tad too bored with his life, as I imagine he would be, stuck on such a dull planet.
I also saw he had a new glass of ice water waiting by my former seat on the counter.
I felt bad, still, for walking out when I did, even though it really wasn't my fault.
"Here they are, Mr. Thorton."
His head lifted as me and the boys stepped into the cool interior of the tent.
But instead of the welcoming cocky approach he used on me, his face flooded with an instantaneous expression of sheer horror and panic. He started to stagger back, dropping the papers that were still in his hands. "Brian, I told you STRICTLY only her!!"
Brian looked nervous. He kept fondling with his hands and loosening his tie, gulping profusely at the thought of screwing up. "I apologize, sir, but....but.....but s-she ordered me to...sir..."
I almost broke out in laughter.
Harvey flashed him such a glare, one that made me want to laugh even more, as if Brian were an idiot.
"Order?! She's NINETEEN YEARS OLD!!"
"Bahhhh, that don't matter with me." I broke out, stepping forward.
"I have an influence on people. I can't help it, I just say something, and they gotta follow through."

Not wanting to bother any further with the matter, I pressed on to business, clearing my throat and rubbing my gloved hands together.
"Now Harvey, I'm here to t-" "YOU KEEP AWAY FROM ME"
He fled far back to the opposite side of the tent, as I jerked my head back at his behavior.
He was pointing. Not at me, however. At the boys.
"I'll have you arrested on the spot, if you take another step!"
The boys shot their heads back and forth at me and him, just as confused as I was.
I only could raise a brow. "Harvey, what gives?!"
He flashed his wild eyes at me and I once again jerked my head back in surprise.
"Do you know who they are?!"
I glanced over at them to make sure we were addressing the same individuals.
"..Yes."
"DO you?!"
"I said yes, what more do you want from me?"
"I don't think you do!"
"Uh, I know what I think, and I think I do, so I think I know I think I do, thank you very much."
"Get away from them!!"
"You can't order me around, you're not my father."
"They're dangerous!"
"Who isn't, dude?"
"How are you so calm about this?" Brian questioned.
I pointed, "Zip it, Igor."
"For God's sake, Demens, don't argue!" Yelled Harvey.
"Since we're talking about 'dangerous', though, how about you tell me how in the frick you and Fidget over there know my last name?"
This hit home for him and he held still, tensing up his body.
"....You told me."
I rose an unconvinced eyebrow, "No. I didn't. I was careful with what I told you."
The strange-haired general man shook his head at the matter, however, and changed the subject rather hurriedly. "THEY are not only criminals of the worst kind, but are freaking FICTIONAL CHARACTERS!!" "Took you long enough!"
"They're not even supposed to be here!" "But they ARE. Accept it!"
The boys, remaining quiet about the situation, migrated to the side of the tent, watching the two of us as if we were an episode of Days of Our Lives.

"Now look, I don't have time for this! I came here to tell you something, and by God, I'm gonna tell you it! But if you don't want my help after that, then I can just leave."
Harvey was about to protest, no doubt, but Brian abruptly spoke up,
"What is it, miss Demens?"
I slowly turned my head at him, briefly cutting my eyes at Harvey, before turning my attention back to the assistant, who was the only one of the two with common sense.
"...There's an assassin. He's coming after Thorton."
A few seconds of silence.
"You're worried about an assassin?"
Back to Thorton. "I ain't worried about anyone. He's not after me. He's after you. There'd be no sense to be worried about an assassin not after myself."
"You're worried about an assassin...when THEY'RE murderers!!"
..I blinked.....well..............
I raised up a finger and opened my mouth to speak, but only managed to inhale as I was a bit lost for words. "........WHILE you have a point.....you shouldn't worry about them, cuz they're not gonna do anything, trust me. This guy actually means you harm."
"I looked them up, Demens. I found out who they are. Why are you NOT fearing for your life?! You're out of your mind, traveling with them!"
Tell me something I don't know.

"As I told your lackey, I have them under control! We've been to THREE flipping worlds and they have only went after who I directed them to! As I said..you do NOT have to worry about THEM. THEY are not the issue here."
It took a few minutes of awkward silence and him staring at me and the boys with a blank expression, until Harvey finally relaxed a little and came a few steps closer.
His eyes darted to them and narrowed, suspiciously. "I should have them arrested...."
It was my turn to take a few moments of silence and a few deep breaths before standing up straight and gesturing with my hands. "Then how will I get home?"

Harvey did not expect this. His guys glared to the boys, who were all lounging about casually, but watching him intently. Master was sipping from a cold can, Jim was lazily laying back on a couch next to Joker, who was playing with his knife, and Bane stood in the corner with his arms crossed.
"..The T.A.R.D.I.S. is our ship. I'm using it to travel to other worlds. In exchange for me helping them get what they want. Then they take me home. That's our deal."
His eyes fluctuated to me. "Take it from me, a government general. Deals can be broken."
"I won't let that happen."
..He sighed.
"..Just please. If you won't trust them, at least trust ME."
Even more awkward silence. Lots of that going on.
But I could see I was getting to him. He didn't really seem sure of what to do next.
He kept cutting his eyes over at the boys and sighing heavily.
I waited patiently for him to make a decision...and then he did.
He nodded his head and turned around, "Go on, tell me about this assassin."
Bingo.
I sighed in relief.

"Well then.." I took a giant leap forward, as he started off towards the back of the tent.
"I don't know much about him yet. I don't even know if it's a HIM to begin with. But the people were whispering about someone arriving on the planet that intends to kill you, old boy."
I didn't want to tell him I was getting the information directly from the boys themselves.
For obvious reasons.
"And, uh..yeah."
"...Wait...that's it?"
He stopped and swung around. "..That's all you got?"
Once again, I felt like a useless little fool. My eyes wandered around the area.
"..It seemed like I had more in my mind...."
"..Kid, you know how many assassination attempts I get on a DAILY basis?! People are ALWAYS out to kill me! It's part of the job!"
"What KIND of people?" I crossed my arms, stubbornly.
He stuttered, "Well...y-you know....all kinds..."
"WHAT kinds?" "All sorts!" "Be specific, man!"
He grumbled under his breath. Pretty sure I was cussed out in some capacity.
"I'm willing to bet you merely have a load of idiots coming at you, which is why they're so easy to catch. If you had REAL assassins putting you in their crosshairs, you'd have a much bigger challenge in your hands. They're mostly angered street thugs, aren't they?"
He didn't respond and he didn't have to. I nodded, knowing I was right.
"Well, newsflash, Harvey. Our ship took us here and it was for very good reason. It wouldn't take me to a place just to buy a few cheap things I can pick up on my own planet, or to take out a few simple street thugs. It brought us here because someone or someTHING monumental is going on and WE are the ones to put an end to it. That means that whoever's after you, they're bad news. And they're not to be taken lightly. And honestly...you may not be able to handle it. So until we track this guy down, I wanna be on the safe side, and have you stay HERE. Capiche?"

I saw now that I was annoying him and his life and he gave me the most heinously grumpy expression, whilst stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You're very bossy for a youngster."
"I'm a Viking. We take charge where ever we go. Especially if we're not wanted."
I smiled wide, trying to be adorable, even though it wasn't working.
And he sighed, defeatedly, clearly realizing that he had lost this battle.
"Very well..I'll indulge you for the time being. But be careful. If he's as dangerous as you're led to believe, then I want you all to run back here and grab some reinforcements. Got it?"
I gawked offendedly at this. "SIR, I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I SAVED TWO-"
"I DON'T CARE HOW MANY WORLDS YOU SAVED. Just do as I say, kid!"
...Well.
No foolish fool with a wiggy hairdo is gonna tell ME what to do! Pft!
"We gotta find the dude first, Mr. ThorninmySIDE!"
I ended the convo with a snooty huff, shot my head up at the air and snapped my fingers for the boys' immediate attention. Forward I marched. They followed right along.

.....


Soon, we were back outside, with a glorious entry of "Bohemian Rhapsody" blaring from the speakers, making me feel powerful. I forgot that I never turned my iPod off.

"Well, that was amusing." Master declared, putting his hood up.
After a couple of sniffs, he put his hands in his hoodie's pockets and turned to me,
"So what now, Demens?"
"We do what I said we would. We find the assassin."
"Oh, but that sounds like soooo much work..."
I shot Jim a glare..soon raising a brow when I saw that he had donned his sunglasses, that stylishly complimented his black wool coat. His skin, like mine, was glowing in the bright sunlight.
Dang porcelain dolls.

"Then you four lumps can stay in the T.A.R.D.I.S.. As for me, I said I was gonna do something, and I intend to do it."
"uuuGGGHHHH, the heroism is practically LEAKING out of you!"
"I can say something similar about you, clown!"
He didn't respond, so I turned to Bane.
"What about you, ol' Bane ol' chap?"

He didn't really acknowledge the matter...I frowned.
"...Very well... I see how it is."
I shrugged my shoulders and stood up high, pivoting over to the Master.
"You boys can just hang low, then. I have work to do."
When I noticed the Master wasn't really paying attention to me, I snapped at him, and he shot his head at me. "You hear me? And you WAIT for me, understand?"
.....yet again.....he zoned out.
...I tapped his head. "MASTER."
"......I'm so hungry...."

I froze. A chill ran down my spine, and I felt my muscles begin to tense.
That is never a sentence I want to hear come from the Master. Ever.

Trying to avoid showing him panic, I stuffed a wad of cash into his curled hands.
"You stop that."
He looked down at it.
"Go get a burrito or something."
He looked back up at me. "You do realize I GAVE you this money, yeah?"
"Keep the ship running."
"We have more money than YOU do."
"Bring it in closer in case I need to get something or an emergency occurs."
"Are you even hearing a word I'm saying?"
"Stay out've trouble. Don't get into fights."
"Of course, what am I saying, it's you, you never listen."
"Off with you, then."

He returned this with a silent, deathly glare...then he inhaled, exhaled, rolled his tongue along the inside of his cheek, jerked the money into his pocket, then brushed past me, stomping away like an upset teenager. Though to be perfectly honest..he IS an upset teenager.

Joker saluted me a farewell, Bane respectfully nodded his head, and Jim blew me a stylish kiss, before they all three followed after the Timelord, disappearing into the crowd of humans and aliens.
Traitors.