█▓▒▒░░░ THE SILENCER ░░░▒▒▓█

I laid on my bed, my blond hair forming a halo above my head. I had just finished telling Bose my story, and the room had gone quiet. Looking over, I noticed he had an expression of shock on his face.

He opened his mouth before closing it and reopening it. “She's my best friend.” I whispered before he could say anything. Tears welled in my eyes as I sat up and put my head in my hands.

“You're right. She is your best friend.” Bose nodded, seeming to be thinking hard. I sniffled and looked over at him, waiting.

His eyes met mine, and he smiled. “That's why it's going to be okay.”

My lip trembled before he pulled me into a hug.

❂

“Alright, simmer down, everybody! Let's cut the chatter!" Ray announced as he walked in with a folder. I frowned and closed my book. None of us were talking.

Chapa lifted the black cowboy hat off of her face and wore it properly. 

"No one was talking." Mika trailed off as she looked up from the gun she had in her hands. Her hair was tightly curled and shorter than yesterday.

Bose nibbled the outside of a gummy burger, and he quickly twisted it every second.

"Yeah, man. No chatter to cut." Miles said from where he sat on his sister's desk. He was eating a hot dog – which I presume had come from the same pink box Bose had on his lap – and a white cup that he drank from.

"Oh. Well, I kinda had my heart set on telling you guys to cut the chatter so…" Ray said as he frowned in disappointment. "Can I come in again? And maybe hear some chatter."

"I didn't realize we were here to meet your needs." Miles said as he lifted his styrofoam cup to him. I then noticed that Ray had one just like Miles had in his hand.

"Well, guess what, you are." Ray sassed.

"Then we can do that." Miles nodded as Ray returned to the closet. Bose walked over to his desk and placed his box of food on it. I spinned around to face Chapa as everyone started talking. Our words jumbled together into loud nonsense as I smiled at her.

"I like the hat." She grinned in return and tipped it to me with a wink. "Well, thank you, Angel." I blushed and shifted in my seat. Chapa had a new level of confidence ever since she learned I thought she was pretty.

Unknown to Phoebe, Chapa had set a goal for herself to see how many times she could make the blond blush. The numbers, however, were known to Phoebe.

The shorter girl had also started to notice how I would always give her my direct attention when she spoke and how I would always move closer to her

Thankfully, she didn't pick up on how I would stop whatever I was doing with the team when she walked in or how I would just admire her for no reason or claim certain outfits as my favorite. Chapa definitely did notice how sometimes my breathing would hitch when her hand would brush mine.

Only hours ago, when Chapa wasn't around, Bose said my love language was physical touch. Mika disagreed and said it was Chapas actions that made me – and I quote – swoon like a simp. Soon, Ray had joined in, saying it was how Chapa spoke with anger and violence that I loved. Next thing you know, everyone is arguing while I'm just wanting a hug.

Chapa said something next, but I didn't hear it because Ray kicked the door open and walked up to the podium. I moved to go to my desk when two fingers pulled my chin in the opposite direction. My breathing staggered as I locked eyes with her.

Chapa held back a smirk as my face reddened, and I gulped. She leaned forward and took off her hat, and placed it on my head. She softly smiled as she pulled my blonde hair over my shoulders and bushed flyaway strands from my face. "It fits you more than me."

"I said cut the chatter!" Ray yelled as he sipped his drink. I quickly scurried away with a pounding heart.

"Alright, whadda ya got for us today, Cap?" Bose asked as he kicked his legs up onto his desk. "What I got is a big steaming bowl of crime chowder." He said as he held up a file with lots of papers in it. "So grab your spoons… Let's eat."

Chapa, Miles, and Bose all barked at him as Mika pointed to the screen and said something I couldn't hear. I giggled at the three antics as Ray asked about the papers.

"Recycle them?" Mika said as if it was obvious. Ray laughed as he shook his head, "Absolutely not."

"Throw them away." Bose shrugged as Ray nodded, "Better." Ray dropped them in a maroon bin. "Burn them." Chapa smirked.

"Best!" Ray smiled as he pulled out his laser blaster and shot the papers. I ignored Mikas' protest as fire licked the papers. The yellow and orange colors took over everything. MIka sighed as I watched in awe.

She picked up a fire extinguisher and walked towards it as Ray talked about garden gnomes, slowly putting out the fire.

"Uh, somebody stole books from the swellview library." Ray blew a raspberry and gave a thumbs down.

"Stole books from the library?!" Mika shouted as she slammed her hands on her desk.

"Someones gonna fry tonight!" Chapa hissed as she stood up, and her hands sparked.

"Are you guys serious?" Ray hesitantly asked.

"Yes!" I shouted, and I stood up next, also slamming my hands on my desk. Everyone looked at me in shock from my outburst. I was usually the quietest of the group and disliked loud sounds, so me being loud came as a surprise.

Mika smiled over at me and nodded towards my hands, “Feels good, doesn't it?” I gave a small shrug, “It's not unpleasant.”

"Libraries are a treasure trove of infinite knowledge." Miles nodded from his seat.

"And adventure!"  Bose said with jazz hands.

"All of them?" I asked myself in horror. "How are people supposed to cast spells with Hermione? Or escape the maze with Newt and Minho?"

"What..?" Ray asked as everyone gave him a look. "Stealing books is not just a crime against one person." Mika pointed. "It's a crime against the whole community."

"How are people supposed to choose their factions with Tris or Four?!" I yelled as I slammed Chapas hat on my desk.

"And it will not stand!" Chapa yelled as Bose literally stood. "Okay, please tell me there's some kind of sick turn coming?"

"The only thing coming is me with Nico Di Angelo's stygian sword!" I yelled as my hands glowed green. Everyone looked at me with a hint of fear as Chapa moved closer. "Phoebs?"

I ignored her as my fist clenched. "They took away books like they took Prim for Katniss!"

"The crime is already in our shopping cart. Just hit checkout!" Mika glared. Ray scoffed as he called us nerds. Ray sighed as he pulled up the details. "See, they didn't steal all the books! They left, like, ten copies of that one." Ray said as he gestured to the screen.

"Hey, what book is that?" Miles asked as he walked closer. Ray hummed and zoomed in.  His face fell as he noticed the classic red, blue, and gold coloring. "Oh. My. God."

"Is that you on the cover?" Chapa asked as she placed her hand on my elbow while I resisted the urge to rip myself away from her. "Yes."

"And they left it there?" Mika winced. "Yes." Ray almost cried out as he gripped the podium with one hand. "All ten copies?"

"Yes." He gritted out through clenched teeth. "They literally stole every book in the library except yours." Miles clarified.

"Someones gonna fry tonight!" Ray yelled and smashed one of three donuts. The jelly shot out and splattered on Bose. He gasped and slowly fell backward, "I'm hit!"

I winced as a thud hit the floor. I sighed and walked away from Chapa. I crouched down beside him and shook my head, "Bose, it's just-"

"This is the end for ol' Bosey." He gasped out as he squirmed on the floor. "Confession time; I'm the one that stole that garden gnome."

He dramatically collapsed on the floor as I giggled and nudged his shoulder. Chapa peered over my shoulder as I poked his cheek, "Dude, you are fine. It's just jelly."

He sat up and scrapped some of the red goo off his neck and licked it, "So it is. Raspberry if I'm not mistaken." I laughed more as Chapa held her hand out to help me up. My arm tingled as she pulled me too hard, and I crashed into her.

I squealed as I bumped into her side with a blush. I ducked my head and turned around, but I didn't let go.

❂

"Alright, who's ready to break some teeth?" Ray asked as I tied my hair in a ponytail.

"Always!" Chapa called from beside me. I slightly smiled and shook my head, my long hair flying in the air. I locked eyes with Chapa as I pulled it around my shoulder. She watched me with a smirk and wiggled her gloved fingers in hello. The action made me blush once again.

"We don't even know whose teeth to break yet." Mika sighed from her chair. "Wrong, I just uploaded a list of likely suspects."

I turned to the screen as 9 locations popped up on the swellview map.

1. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘳.

I winced at the thought of the man-child. For some reason, he made me uncomfortable.

2. 𝘋𝘳. 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘢𝘬

I nodded at the list, even though he didn't have a motive. Stealing wasn't his type of work. He usually focused on science based plans, like floating my ex away in a chair of balloons and using a species of bugs to take away Captain Man's powers. All with the help of his hot nurse.

3. 𝘈𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘺

I admittedly can't remember who it was, but the name was cool.

4. 𝘓𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘢 𝘋𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘢

Lula E- Wait a minute. "Why is Chapa listed as the fourth suspect?" I asked as Chapa raised her eyebrows.

"Well, where were you last night?" Ray asked. "Out stealing every book in swellview except mine!"

"I don't steal books, I'm not a monster!" Chapa yelled as she stood up. She towered over him on the couch with a glare. Ray narrowed his eyes and took a few steps back. "We'll see." He darkly said as he caressed a tool.

"I have a better way to find the criminal." Mika chimed in as she watched the interaction with me.

"Better than spending six to eight days walking all over town, collecting criminals and their teeth to get that sweet sweet coin from the Tooth Fairy until we randomly happen to walk upon some criminal that admits to stealing the books? I'd like to hear it!" Ray asked in one breath as I stared, quite impressed at the run-on sentence.

"Well, you know that place, the beating dungeon?" Mika asked us all. "I barely know where I'm at right now." Bose smiled as he grabbed his toes. He sat on the floor with Miles, stretching. I frowned and shook my head.

"The beating dungeon is where villains and superheroes get together to fight each other for fun." Ray explained. I frowned at the idea, but I didn't say anything.

"𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘢𝘵𝘵! When do we go?" Chapa asked as she threw her arm around my shoulders. I didn't think much of it as Mika spoke up again. "Tomorrow, its villains only night."

"So?" Ray asked. "So we get Schwoz to make us some bad guy costumes…" Miles trailed off as he glanced at us, "We head down to the beating Dungeon…"

"And we adopt a rescue dog that we bring home and say in a way, he rescued us!" Bose finished for Mika.

"So close." Chapa muttered, "Was he?" Miles said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm fine with getting a dog." I smiled in agreement.

"Or… We hang out and see if any criminals are bragging about stealing books from the library." Mika looked at Ray.

"In."

"Let's do this!"

"I wanna break some teeth." Everyone gave me a weird look as I zoned out over Bose's shoulder. He glanced behind himself before sliding closer to Mika.

I didn't realize how much I was in my head until someone shouted in my ear. "𝙎𝘾𝙃𝙒𝙊𝙕!"

I shrieked and almost fell off the couch. I looked at Miles with wide eyes as he cringed and smiled in return.

"Yes?" Another voice asked, making me jump. This time, it also scared everyone as they screamed. "Can you paint faces?" Miles asked. "Yes."

"For free?" Mika asked as she stood up and walked closer. "Yes."

"We need you to go to the beating dungeon tomorrow night." Chapa said as she dragged me over to the rest. "𝘏okay." Schwoz said as he tapped his harness and disappeared into the roof.

"And can you make us bad guy costumes?" I called up to him. "𝘏okay!"

"And you gotta let us adopt a dog!" Bose smiled. "𝘕okay."

"Fine! " Bose snapped, "But if I steal another garden gnome to fill the void inside me, it's your fault!"

I quietly giggled as Chapa and I joined the rest with linked arms. She wore a fuzzy sweater with black jeans, and I was slightly obsessed with the look.

"I wanna be Bad Bose." Bose said with dramatic hand gestures. "That's definitely bad but not in the way you're thinking." Mika said as she stared at him, making me snort. Chapas head snapped towards me as I covered my mouth in embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm not thinking at all. That's my secret." Bose swayed on his feet with a smile.

"It took me all night to make these bad guy gum balls, so the rule is 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘜𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵." Schwoz said.

"Don't tell me how to feel!"

"I deserve the right to be upset."

"I don't completely understand."

"Okay!"

I ignored whatever Schwoz was saying and grabbed the darkest gum ball. Bose had already chosen his, so I went with the pure black one, despite the other all being a yellowish white color.

My body tingled as I blew my bubble, and I squeaked as I looked down at myself.

My outfit was extremely dark, like the gumball color and not an inch of my skin was shown. I was covered in leather, mesh, and other fabrics. It sort of itched, but I noticed I was now taller than everyone else.

As I wiggled, I noticed my hands were now gloved. I calmed my thoughts and finally figured out what I was wearing.

I had a tight black turtleneck on. The fabric was slightly see-through but covered up any detail about myself. My pants were more like cargo pants with lots of pockets, zippers, and chains. I had leather straps running all over my body and buckles to things I couldn't see.

I reached back, and I grabbed whatever was strapped to me, feeling my way up to two handles. As my leather covered hands grabbed them and slowly pulled them out, it made a soft 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 sound.

My jaw dropped open as I shifted the Katana in my hand. I lowered it to my side and pulled down the back mask on my face. As I pulled it down, a strand of my blonde hair fell in my face. It was one of the only identifying traits you could see.

"You are weird beard." Schwoz told Miles from the end of the line. "Because your 𝘷eard is 𝘷eird." Miles groaned and threw his head back. He was dressed in a red country shirt and jeans. He wore a cowboy hat and had a rug rolled on his side. But his main issue was the 4 foot long beard he had.

"Why is mine so scary?" Mika whimpered as Schwoz walked over to her.  "Because you're a villain. The Mangler!" Schwoz said in a 𝘥𝘶𝘩 tone. "I know, but does it have to be so scary?" Mika asked."What if I was something like 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘯𝘺 or just 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘗𝘰𝘯𝘺?" Schwoz picked up a bat with barbed wire and handed it to her. "You are The Mangler. This is your Mangling s𝘩tick."

"You are El Stabador." Schwoz said to Chapa. I took in her outfit as she spoke to him in spanish. Her hair was neatly styled into a mohawk, and half of her face was covered in designs. She was in a black button-down shirt, a cropped puffer jacket with spikes and a cape.

"You are the silencer." Schwoz turned to me. Chapa glared at him before doing the same thing. She froze as she looked up at me. I slightly frowned at the sight but turned my attention back to Schwoz as he spoke up again. "El Stabador is your other half. You never speak, and she's the only person who can understand you." I slightly smiled at the irony. "You're trained with all weapons but mostly prefer your two-"

"Katanas?" I asked as I held up the weapon. Everyone gasped at the shiny blade in the air. "Yes." Schwoz nodded. "You and El Stabador never leave each other's side, and you don't show your face to anyone but her. So, put your mask back on."

I turned to Chapa and said my last words before going mute. "Seems like you're stuck with me now." I pulled the plain black fabric up and smiled underneath it.

She blushed and opened her mouth to say something before deciding not to. My heart skipped a beat as she took my hand and pulled me away.

"Caw-Caw!"

Scwhoz sighed, "Oooh, forgot about Ray."

"Ray no longer exists… He's been rehatched as. Hawkfist." Ray said in a Batman voice,

"𝘾𝘼𝙒-𝘾𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝙒𝙒𝙒𝙒𝙒!”

✩░▒▓▆▅▃▂▁𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑▁▂▃▅▆▓▒░✩