Raven & Josie - Chapter 13

Relaxing at home, Kim is caught off guard by an unexpected visitor.

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"Come here!" Kim screeched, her frigid tone prodding her butler, who had just delivered soup, into a trot to haste back to her.

"Ma'am." The aging yet gentle-looking man humbly bowed his head, trying not to show how out of breath he was from running up all the flights of stairs after hearing Kim's call. He was already on his way to the kitchen three floors down when Kim's voice put him to a standstill.

Lying leisurely in a bed that, in terms of surface area, was vast enough to offer gym class to a group of toddlers, Kim gazed up with deep contempt at her butler.

"You've brought me soup," Kim said.

The butler glanced uneasily at the bowl of tomato soup, steaming its heat into the air he just served her not a minute ago. It rested on a platter beside Kim's stretched-out legs on the bed. “Uhm, yes I did, Ma’am. Just like you've ordered."

"Is it edible?" Kim asked.

"I… presume, yes. Why wouldn't it, ma'am? The in-house cook is great, and this particular dish is one of his specialties."

"That's not what I asked." Kim retorted. "I want to know if it's edible."

"I haven't tasted it, ma'am. So, unfortunately, I do not know."

"Then do so, my sweet old man. Taste it." Kim smiled sweetly and gestured toward her soup.

"With all due respect for your wish, ma'am, but wouldn't I then taint your soup with my tongue?"

"Taste it, Alfred! Or would you rather prefer to leave and never set foot in this house ever again?"

"As you wish, ma'am." Alfred walked up to the soup, bent over, and was about to reach out to take a sip, but paused and looked into Kim's eyes, puzzlement written on his face. "Where is the spoon, ma'am?"

"You ask me?" Kim replied. "You're the one who served it, not me."

The servant flashed an apologetic smile as he realized his mistake. "I believe I forgot to bring it along, ma'am. My sincerest apologies."

Kim straightened her posture and looked at him with an earnest glare. "That's the second time in a decade that you pulled off something like that, Alfred. The first time was on my ninth birthday, do you remember? What a horror that was. I'm anything but pleased with your performance in this house. I think I'm going to have a chat with my parents."

Alfred raised a brow. "Excuse me for saying this, ma'am, but does it warrant such intense emotional distress over something so trivial?"

"That and your disgusting habit of checking out my backside whenever I comb my hair in front of the mirror."

 Alfred's eyes widened, and his cheeks turned glowing red.

Kim flashed a finger at her butler. "So you are checking out my butt!"

Alfred sank to his knees and grasped Kim's hands with a tight grip. "Can we please keep this between us, ma'am? I beg you. I have no other place to go. I regard this house as my home." He looked up at her like a pleading puppy, tears welling in his eyes.

Kim dabbed a finger against her chin, taking a thinking pose. "I don't know, Alfred. Perhaps if you're like, really really nice to me. Like, Like, smuggling some booze to my chamber later this evening. I'm going to hang out with some friends."

"Kim, that's illegal and only allowed by your parents when you're 21," Alfred reminded her.

 "I know. That's why I need you to get it for me." Kim smiled slyly.

"But, that will get me in trouble, ma'am," Alfred said. "Your parents will most certainly dismiss me when they discover I supply their daughter beverages that intoxicate the brain and make her do things she'll regret in the morning."

 "You'll only get into trouble when you refuse to heed my command!"

 "Command, miss?... You've never spoken to me like –"

"Yes, command, servant! Do as I tell you, or I will scream right now and tell my parents you tried to rape me, got it?"

Alfred leaped up, swallowing deeply. "As you wish, ma'am."

Kim smiled wickedly as Alfred dashed off, hurrying to fulfill her demand. Her hand reached out to grab her phone. Her thumb was poised to dole out demeaning remarks on social media to those beneath her, which basically meant every other person on the planet.

Kim's ears pricked, and her attention was drawn to the sound of laughter coming from her balcony, where curtains swayed with the breeze. She shrugged after listening for some moments, and nothing was heard and resumed her favorite hobby of insulting others and making them feel insignificant when the same laughter flared up again—unmistakably louder this time. Kim was now sure that she wasn't imagining anything.

Sitting tense in bed, she called, "Who goes there?" At the same time, her right hand groped about to take hold of a taser she kept beneath her mattress in moments of danger. Her fingers wrapped around it tightly.

A loud crash suddenly echoed through the room when some object fell on the floor, triggering a shriek of shock coming from Kim's throat. Her heart pulsed. She was getting afraid now.

"A-Alfred? Is that you?" Kim's voice quivered. Despite her fear, she pushed herself to stand up to take a look. 

With the taser at the ready in hand, Kim slinked her way toward the balcony door. "Alfred? This isn't funny anymore!" She took hold of the curtain obscuring the balcony, took a deep breath, and yanked it away while pointing her taser in front of her to ward off any potential threats that may have been lurking beyond it. Her eyes darted every which way as she scanned the balcony. No one was there.

Kim gave a burst of relieved laughter. "It was just my imagination."

"You really are a despicable character, are you not?"

That voice, it can't be!

Kim spun around and, in her dismay, saw Josie sitting on her bed, taking a sip from her soup while fumbling with her phone!

"What the?… How did you?... Give that back right now!" Kim rushed up and snatched her phone out of Josie's hand.

"Woah! Feisty girl, aren't you?" Josie said as she took another sip of the soup and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Mmm, this soup is delicious. You should try it. It is even better without a spoon, I think."

Kim poised the taser and held it in front of Josie's face. "Look, I don't know how you managed to get in here, but you're going out right now, runt. Or I will electrify that cute nose of yours." To back up her words, she pushed the button and sparked electricity before Josie.

Josie gaped at it with wonder. "Wow, that's a taser, right? The police use these things to incapacitate criminals, am I right? Give it to me. I want to try it."

The taser was already in Josie's hand before Kim's brain could prod her body into action, taken from her by Josie in less than the blink of an eye due to her superhuman speed.

"Hey! Don't you dare to…" Kim started, worried that Josie might use the weapon on her. Her voice trailed off when Josie stuck her hand between the two electrodes.

She was going to use it on herself!

Foolish girl! Kim thought in amusement.

Josie's glare of curiosity churned to a look of boredom as an electrical spark battered the skin of her hand. "I don't feel shit!" Josie sounded disappointed.

 Kim flinched as Josie's petite hand crumbled the device into an unrecognizable pulp. 

                "Hey! That thing cost more than $1500!" Kim said.

 Josie snorted while letting the remains of the taser drop from her hand on Kim's bed. "An amount an entitled brat like yourself never has to pay for. Just like everything else in this room, isn't it?"

 "Why are you here, anyway?" Kim said, stalling time while groping about in her back pocket where a hidden button could alarm the security personnel of her house in times of danger.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Josie said, as her penetrating eyes looked straight through Kim's abdomen, where she saw her thumb snaking its way toward the emergency button.

                Kim smiled. "Scared? Then get the hell out of here!"

"Scared?" Josie sputtered with a chuckle as she rose from Kim's bed. "Not exactly, no. More concerned for the security officers who will have to respond to your plea for help and face me."

 Josie smirked as she watched Kim take a step backward. It must have looked comical from a bystander's perspective to see a girl back away from someone almost a head shorter than her.

"Scared?" Josie asked.

Kim took a deep swallow while weighing her options. Running away? Attacking the wench? Pushing the emergency button despite Josie's warning? Oh my god! What if that wench was able to…

"Rest assured, Kim. I cannot read thoughts." Josie said as if reading Kim's thoughts. Kim stepped away, pushing her back against the wall like a scared rabbit as Josie the lioness strode past her, strolling towards the balcony.

Leave, bitch! Just leave! Kim thought in desperation.

 "I can do plenty of other things, though." Josie grinned and glanced over her shoulder at Kim.

Kim croaked out her question. "W-why are you here? What do you want from me?"

Josie gave a meager shrug. "Nothing special. I'm only here to bring a message." Josie stepped upon the balcony and rested her hands on the railing, surveying the cityscape sprawled out in front of her.

"We're on the dawn of a new age, Kim. Can you sense it? Yeah, you're a smart girl. You can sense it. My sister, Raven, is a pessimist. But I believe that everything is possible."

 Kim gasped in awe as she saw Josie ascending into the sky, soaring a few meters above the balcony with her hands on her hips. 

 Josie smiled, reading Kim's look of amazement. "Yeah, I know. I'm awesome, aren't I?" She tittered. "Anyway, you, my dear Kim, as an ordinary person, have the honor to see the new me."

Kim's eyes bulged and she wanted to scream as Josie's eyes lit up. It was a frightful power Kim had seen Infinity Woman do on occasion on television. The wench could melt solid steel with those beams. What would they do to her?! Kim shrieked when two blazing red beams shot out of Josie's eyes and began burning the wall above her head. She dared to peek her eyes open and saw Josie writing something on the wall, scratching letters with seething hot beams. 

Dark Tempest, It read.

"There," Josie's eyes turned back to normal. "Behold, the name of my alter ego who will take the world by storm. And if anyone dislikes it then they can go fuck themselves."

Then, almost quicker than Kim could register what had happened, Josie shot into the sky and shattered every window of Kim's bedroom with a violent shockwave. All that remained of her was a vanishing dot in the sky and the echoes of her laughter that got carried away by the wind.