Lost but not forgotten (Open to friends and acquaintances of EW/Jenny)

It was sad to wake up knowing there was one less hero out there trying to make the world a better place. She had seen it in the newspaper just yesterday. Energy Warrior aka Jennifer Necowl was found dead. A memorial service was being held this afternoon followed by a funeral. All of her friends and acquaintances were invited. At least that's what it said on the obituary ad. Mav was on her way there at that very moment.

The venue was fairly small, but despite the few times EW had mentioned she didn't have many friends, the number of people gathered there today said otherwise. Mav couldn't help but smirk. They did not always agree, but EW was definitely a good person. The girl clad in blue walked up to the casket and took off her cap, something that very rarely happened, to pay her respects. She then walked back to the small crowd, looking for other members of Link who were sure to show up today. They didn't meet as often as team normally would, but this was definitely one of those times when attendance was a must. As she put her cap back on and briefly glanced around, she recognized some of the more well-known faces. That girl, she definitely got around.

Jemmy approached the coffin slowly, and ended up standing next to Maverique. The Lord of Chaos was wearing a black dress and a black hat. No balloon accompanied her today, for balloons were for jovial times. Instead, a necklace with a red jewel dangled in front of her collarbone.

Jemmy didn't remember going to a funeral before. She wasn't quite sure what you were supposed to do at one. Everybody seemed so sad. There were tears on just about everyone's faces, but Jemmy wasn't crying.

Jenny had been her friend. Even in the short amount of time since Jemmy had wiped her own memory, Jenny had managed to befriend her. Of course, she took her job as a hero seriously, but the teen could have fun, too. Indeed, Jemmy would miss her close friend, but Jemmy wouldn't cry about it at this time. Jemmy didn't know how to deal with loss, so she would do what she had always done throughout countless ages. She would forget, so that there would be no pain.

Jemmy leaned in towards Maverique and spoke in a quiet voice. She hoped that this wasn't a stupid question. "So, um...when will she...you know, be coming back?" The question sounded like the innocent thoughts of a child, but Jemmy didn't see it that way. She herself had 'died' before, but death was rarely permanent for a Lord of Chaos. Understanding the human concept of death was difficult for her.

Keri slowly walked up next to Jemmy and Mav. She was at a lost for words, and her feelings were all over the place. It was just the other day when she last heard Ew's voice. She felt her heart ache just as much as when her mother had passed. Ew was the one that found potential in her, the one who helped her, and was going to continue to help her improve. The first to not see her as a kid, or a burden.

Keri was clad in a fit and flare black dress with her blonde hair in a simple curly pony tail. When she saw EW's body in the casket she couldnt help but bite back a whimper or sob. She could feel the tears prick at the corners of her eyes, but she was trying hard not to be a big cry baby, no matter how much she just wanted to collapse into the arms of her team mates and sob. "Let's just say, we wont be able to see her in a very, very long time. Even for you Jemmy" she whispered softly Jemmy's question, her voice cracking.

What as Link suppose to do without EW? They were in the middle of getting everything organized, getting their base set up. Even though Mav was EW's successor, everything was going to be so different without EW. Keri couldn't help but lean her head on Mav's shoulder. She was tired from staying up crying and fighting her demons within her own room.

Mav was joined by her two fellow members of Link. They were probably dressed more appropriately for the occasion, but it just wasn't her style. In terms of feelings, she wasn't going to lose out. Though admittedly, she was probably the least close to EW among the three of them. Jemmy asked a strange question. It was strange because Mav thought of her as someone more knowledgeable than that. She wondered if Keri was humoring the girl by giving her a vague response. But Mav being who she was would give a more straightforward reply.

"You don't normally come back from dying. That's the whole point of it: life coming to an end. That's what being mortal means."

She wondered if that sounded cold. If it did, she didn't mean for it to be. That just goes to show how she wasn't in her best condition at the moment. Of course she was affected. She was calm and composed, but she was affected.

"It's a little frustrating. It feels like we've only just started and already we've lost something important."

Humans normally didn't come back from being dead? Of course, Jemmy must have known this, but it was completely different to see someone she actually knew die. Keri's words brought a dark look to Jemmy's face. She had lost a friend forever, and Jenny's part in this struggle had come to an end.

So this was what it was like to be mortal. Jemmy's thoughts drifted to the girl she had met earlier, Annie. The girl was her adopted sister, but she was also destined to die, just like Jenny had. Jemmy found that sad. There was no fun in loss of life. It meant there was less Chaos running around this world. Less freedom. Less excitement. Fewer friends. Jemmy wondered if it was worth making friends, only to have them die and leave you behind. Eventually, would Jemmy be left alone? She shook her head. That was a bad thought.

Maverique said that she was frustrated that the team had already lost someone so important. Jemmy looked at the teenage girl. "That's right. You're the second in command, aren't you? I guess you're in charge of the team now. Honestly, though..." Jemmy looked down and kicked at the ground lightly with the tip of her shoe. "Jenny was the one I knew the best. I joined the team because she was my friend, and I wanted to do her a favor. I'm sure you're all good people, but I don't really know you all that well. I don't even know myself anymore. I hope you won't be mad at me if I quit the team."

The Lord of Chaos looked up at Maverique. "This just isn't fun anymore. People are dying and stuff." A tear formed in Jemmy's eye, and she wiped it away. She was surprised. She hadn't planned on crying here today.

That's right. Mave was second in command, so by default, she was now leader, but Keri wished that the reason why she became leader was that EW quit, and not.... you know.... Keri then started listening to what the petite Lord of Chaos had to say about Link. She began to stare at the ground, as she fidgeted with her fingers because of her anxiety. Keri was empathetic towards Jemmy, because she too had joined because of EW, and EW was the only one that Keri kinda really knew. However, when Jemmy began to mention that she was considering the possibility of quitting the team, Keri's fidgeting stopped, and her head snapped up as she locked eyes with Jemmy.

"You can't be serious," she whispered softly. The expression on Jemmy's face, made Keri want to go and give her a big hug, but she resisted the urge because she began to feel upset with the fact that Jemmy wanted to quit now. "We just lost EW, we can't loose someone else, even if they are quitting" Keri said, eyes locked with the Lord of Chaos. "Yes, people are going to die, but if we don't do anything together, more and more people are going to get hurt, and potentially die" she said. "EW chose you specifically for this team. She has her reasons why, and I feel like I am obligated to trust her judgement about you, even though I don't know you that well. And because we dont know each other that well, doesn't that compel us to get to know each other?" She asked rhetorically, but seriously at the same time. "I don't know about you, but because of EW, I feel committed to this team, and regardless of what happens, I will try my hardest to help keep this team together, because we owe it to her, as well as ourselves, to do so. Ew wouldn't have wanted this team to fall through."

"Well of course she wouldn't want that. No one makes a team with the intention it'll disband." The speaker had been sat in the recesses, busy pretending he was entirely engrossed in a pamphlet explaining the schedule for the day. That pamphlet flew away from his face with an exaggerated expression. Beneath was the cubic visage of a computer sprite. (￣^￣)

"My condolences for your loss. I gather that you all knew her well. Since you're here channelling her advice from beyond the grave." It was a scathing comment directed at Keri's nonchalant way of using her dead friend to advance her personal opinion. No one would dare refute the wishes of the girl lying in the coffin. It was a social taboo. The recently deceased were beyond criticism. An unfair and underhanded way to win an argument. The leader of HIVE approved.

Pix didn't rise from his seat, instead opting to lean one arm over the back of his chair and speak from there. He was dressed for the funeral, but his suit and tie were now pixelised. Not many people had paid him mind, too consumed by their own memories of the deceased. That had suited Hugh well for the time being, "I however didn't know her at all. But I'm well acquainted with her assassin." And now he welcomed the limelight.

Mav clenched her fist. All of a sudden there was talk about leaving the team. Of course there was. That was one con she had considered when she first raised her hand to support the idea of having a leader. If anyone had joined for the leader's sake, then they were likely to leave as well if that same leader was no longer around. Link had a lot of freedom at the cost of being less organized and formal. Still she wanted to believe that at least those who considered themselves members trusted the others to come to their aid or watch their back when they were in trouble.

But then where was Link when the very leader herself was fighting for her life? Was she even fighting? From what little Mav knew of EW, she wasn't stupid. If anything, she was capable of judging if a situation called for backup. She didn't want to think of such things until after the funeral but somehow her thoughts just seemed to flow in that direction. Before she could say her piece about Jemmy's possible departure though, someone else decided to speak. He was obviously eavesdropping on their conversation.

Mav had intended to reprimand him to mind his own business. He was hardly being helpful to the situation with his remarks and the last thing she needed was a busybody interfering with their affairs. His last line however took his meddling a little too far. The blonde heroine was not known for losing her cool. In fact she would probably be more famous for keeping calm and composed in the worst situations. There are a few very rare times though when the pushing gets too close. This was probably one of those times. She took a deep breath to alleviate the pressure building up.

"You shouldn't even be joking about that."

That was all she could say. Rather a long-winded scolding, those few words probably conveyed her feelings the best. Nothing much visibly changed besides her now glaring at the man who spoke. But for anyone with sharp intuitive senses, they would notice that the atmosphere around her certainly felt different.

Jemmy listened to Keri's words. It was a very good speech, like the motivational words in a movie, right before the final conflict. But this wasn't a movie, and Jemmy did not like the word commitment.

Before she could respond, however, a man she didn't recognize started to speak. He wasn't a member of Team Link. Was he a friend of EW? No, that became clear soon enough. The man said he hadn't known EW at all, but claimed that he knew her assassin.

Mav stayed calm, but Jemmy did not. She glared at the man as soon as he said the word assassin. "What?" The little girl's feet lifted off of the ground, and she floated over to Pix, grabbing the collar of his shirt, if he let her. "You know the person who killed her? Tell me who it was, because I'm going to kill them. They need to know how it feels."

Maybe these weren't things that you were supposed to say at a funeral, but Jemmy didn't care. She felt guilty for allowing her friend to die. Jemmy should have been there. She should have been able to save the heroic leader of the team. Maybe if she killed the assassin, that guilt would go away, and then she would forget. She would forget all of this.

Keri's frustration was slightly washed down by the chilling voice of the man that was listening in on their private conversation. she turned around, her blue eyes big and wide. She didnt know what to say, she didnt know waht to do. But she did know that she wanted to find who did this to EW and to ask why... why did they kill such a good person?

She didnt hold Jemmy back, she didnt use her powers to attack, she just stood there, wide eyed, just like when she was little and found out her mom was murdered for the sake to allow Keri to live. She was somewhat slightly shaken by this mysterious man

Predicting Maverique's reaction to the news had been simple. Given analysis of her personality, Pix wouldn't say she was particularly remarkable. A girl with morals, yes, but with nowhere near enough pluck to fill the shoes of Energy Warrior. A hero that she would now be obliged to replace as leader of her little group. Maverique was reserved and thus it followed easily cowed. She would cave quickly to HIVE's demands.

Unfortunately the sprite failed to accurately predict Jemmy's uncharacteristically emotional response. His previous dealings with this Lord of Chaos had led him to believe her an unempathetic soul. Instead her reaction was charged. A little girl she may look but Pix suppressed a squeak as the cosmic entity snagged his collar. He realised he may have started a little strong. If Jemmy was going to pretend that she was capable of caring about this girl then his task had just gotten far more perilous.

The original plan had been to give his own name and omit Kristoff's. That way he heightened his own notoriety at the expense of his subordinate's. Hugh had a sudden change of heart regarding that decision, "Zero! The guy's name is Zero! He works for the mercenary group HIVE." -which I am leader of; Pix noticeably omitted to add. Being humble was a pleasure, not a chore. ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ

The sprite's body rippled and suddenly the section grabbed by Jemmy split into its constituent parts, allowing him escape. Pix landed on his feet and tried to straighten his pixelised tie to regain composure. The confrontation had draw eyes of other mourners. He was loathe to continue showing his fear. "B-But surely you know that. If revenge is to be taken on anyone it is the contractor, not the assassin." (￣◇￣; )

As if playing his audience, Pix waited for the exact question he was encouraging. He had prepared his answer beforehand, "You owe us seventy-five thousand dollars, Shivering Jemmy."

Revenge? Mav couldn't honestly say the thought didn't cross her mind. That was normal. What separated the good people from the bad people was how they acted on that impulse. She definitely wanted to take him down, but the courts would do the rest. That man there was bringing them one step closer to that. Or he was making fun of them. But she doubted it. Few things were scarier than Jemmy holding you by the neck. At the very least she could gamble they were half-truths.

HIVE. The last time she heard that name was from a broadcast of a press conference just days after California became its own country. Something about them contributing to the downfall of the alien threat. Now she understood why the man who spoke then seemed intent on disassociating himself from that group. It should have been obvious to her from the start. She knew mercenaries. And if there was one thing she learned about them, they were always gray, sometimes black, and never white.

"A killer is no less guilty than the man who hired him. And this really isn't the time or place to be having this discussion."

True enough, that commotion had gotten the attention of the nearby mourners. Them not knowing what was going on, they simply received piercing stares. It was the kind one got when doing something blatantly rude in public.

"Jemmy, for Jenny's sake, do you mind if we take this somewhere else?"

She didn't even bother commenting when the man started talking about money. Mercenaries were all the same. Instead she waited for Jemmy to make her move. She was sure she could take them all to a different place if she wanted to.

Zero? It was a strange name, but who didn't have a strange name in Jump City. Jemmy would kill him for sure. With a weird name like that, he couldn't hide from her for long.

Pix partially broke into pieces and floated away from Jemmy, allowing him to escape her grasp. Jemmy didn't care. She had gotten the information she needed out of him, the name of the assassin and his guild. At least, she thought that was all she needed, until Pix mentioned the contractor. That made sense. Somebody must have hired the assassin to kill Jenny, although, as Mav said, the killer was still just as guilty. He hadn't needed to take that job. He hadn't needed to be an assassin in the first place.

Pix then asked Jemmy for money. A lot of money. Jemmy raised one eyebrow and floated closer to Pix. What did he mean by that? "What? Just for that one name? That's a big price for..." Mav suggested that they move this discussion to another place, but realization hit Jemmy at just the wrong moment. She waved Mav off and surged towards Pix, getting face to face with him and clenching her fists. "Are you saying...are you saying that I hired the assassin? You...You liar!"

For all Jemmy knew, Pix was telling the truth. She had no memories from before a few weeks ago. She had no idea what her personality had been like or what she had been planning. But was hiring an assassin really something that Jemmy would ever do? How could she have done that to someone as nice as Jenny? If she had hated Jenny, why hadn't she just killed the teen herself?

The more Jemmy thought about it, the more she believed it, and she wasn't sure why. It was just such an absurd thought that Pix couldn't have made it up, right?

Jemmy started to shiver, violently. She held her shaking hands up, as though holding an imaginary weapon between her and this pixelated man. Shivering Jemmy was angry. "You're a fool, little man. Even if what you say is true, you are only more of a fool for trusting a Lord of Chaos!"

Suddenly, in Jemmy's open hands, a sword appeared. But this was no normal sword. It was twenty feet long, dull as a log, and...quite noticeably, the blade was made entirely out of lava, suspended and solid in form but definitely molten hot. This was the Molten Sword, and Jemmy would use it to destroy this human who had angered her so.

Jemmy swung back over her head before bringing the massive, 5 ton blade at Pix. If he behaved like a good mortal and stay put, he would soon be flatter than a pancake, and twice as cooked.

Things were escalating quickly. Keri needed to remain calm in order to help as much as possible. What Mav had suggested was correct. This was not the time nor the place to be discussing such foul things. Keri noticed that spectators were beginning to stare and murmur, as well as giving displeasing expressions. Their eyes bored into the four of them.

"I agree, can we please take this somewhere else? More than likely a place where normal people aren't gathered at" she suggested along with Mav. Suddenly, the strange man mentioned something about Jemmy owing money.... and suggested something. Did this man accuse and falsely charge Jemmy for sending an assassin after Jenny?? He would be insane if he thought any of us believed that she would ever, in the right mind do anything like that!

"How dare you - " Keri began as she took a step to interrogate this man, when all of a sudden, Jemmy pulled out her massive molten sword. Keri gladly took two steps back because the Lord of Chaos could be fairly hot tempered when she wanted to. "Jemmy!" She called out. "Can you teleport us somewhere else?" Keri suggested as she noticed that all the spectators for the funeral, and those in the near by vicinity began to panic, and become frightened. As she was speaking, she held out her hands, ready, just in case anything serious happened. "Who are you?! And who sent you here?" She asked the male stranger.

In case anything serious happened? IN CASE ANYTHING SERIOUS HAPPENED?! A sword of molten magma had been drawn in the middle of a funeral to slay the hell out of a gentleman who had just freely volunteered information as to the assassination of the deceased. And Keri was gonna stand there and let the supposed instigator behind it all reduce their sole witness into a pile of molten slag. Good superheroing! Disbelief in his claim is one thing but the next step was not accessory to murder. While her questions were the next logical step, Pix was currently too busy staring DEATH IN THE FACE to answer. Yeesh, you'd think she'd seen people getting skewered with lava every day.

Back to rational thought; Shivering Jemmy had in no way sought to harm her team. This fabrication was a ploy engineered by Pix. He knew full well that the Lord of Chaos had lost memories and wouldn't be able to definitively deny these accusations. Without confirmation to the contrary, no matter how much they said they didn't believe, someone would be forced to consider the possibility. Whether it was the team that ostracised Jemmy or Jemmy who questioned her own motives, the result would be the same. A gaping chasm which could not be bridged. Necessary if HIVE was to continue what Zero had started; wiping out Link. There was prestige to be gained from annihilating a team of superheroes. Even the B-listers. "It's not just one name." Hugh hinted. He wanted to elaborate but first he had to press home his latter revelation.

Pix responded to Jemmy's outright denial with insistence, "Liar? Yeah it was a bit unusual. But you're a Lord of Chaos. Emphasis on chaos. Questions weren't asked." The sprite was prepared to continue justifying his reality at an alternate location like Maverique suggested but it seemed Jemmy had heard enough. In what must have been his biggest oversight to date, the cosmic entity decided that everything could be solved if Pix simply stopped living. Immediately. A decision the sprite would fiercely rebut, only he was rendered speechless. (╹д╹; ) There were many things his metahuman body would allow him to live through. Incineration wasn't one of them.