Bab 5: Swimming
QJ studied his mom's handwritten notebook while Angel swung upside overhead. "The pictures really help."
Angel nodded in agreement. "Your mom is a surprisingly good artist, and her handwriting is very neat."
"You should see my dads." QJ laughed at his own words, Quinn left a note on the fridge once, and it had taken four people to figure out what it said.
"Of course, he uses a secret code that only the Nemesis can translate." Angel had been part of the group trying to interpret the note. The end of her dark ponytail brushed against the top of QJ's head as she swayed back and forth.
QJ glanced up; Angel's warm green eyes were staring intently, her expression serious. "Mom calls it chicken scratch."
"Chicken code?" Angel pursed her lips slightly. "Genius... I don't know anyone who speaks poultry."
"Me neither," QJ replied.
"What are you two doing?" Tal's familiar voice spoke from the hallway. She smiled at the duo; Angel and QJ were almost always together.
"Oh..." QJ turned the notebook to the last page, where he was allowed to doodle. "Just scribbling a bit."
Tal noticed the small movement but hid her smile with a cough. "You can have that QJ; I've already digitized it."
QJ popped up from the chair he was sitting in, the notebook tucked under one arm. He headed for the door a moment later, following the scurrying spider queen back to his room. Unfortunately, he was snatched up by his mother.
Tal's blue eyes laughed at his attempt to duck under her reach. "Trying to escape?" she asked before kissing his cheek.
QJ sighed loudly and kissed the side of his mom's face; experience told him that she wouldn't let him go unless he did that. "Good?"
Tal nodded. "You're too young to be standoffish."
QJ laughed a made a fish face with his lips. "Stand fish?"
Tal's laughter filled the hallway. "Close enough. Turn in your homework and practice piano after lunch."
QJ ushered Angel into his room, pausing in his doorway. "Then I can log in?"
Tal nodded. "Then you can log in."
A few hours later, the young duo arrived outside Remmy's workshop in Ravenwood. Angel switched to her Ba'Avriel form because the space was too small.
"Remmy!" Angel grinned widely before pouncing on the pink-haired gnome. She hugged her tightly from behind.
"Careful!" Remmy sat down the wiring schematic she'd been drawing, her dimpled cheek smile lit up the room. "Let me turn this off."
As soon as Angel released her, Remmy spun her stool around to face her visitors. She picked up a small remote and pointed it at the jetpack that was idling on the far side of her work table; it shut down immediately.
"That seems quiet," QJ noted. The one he was building was substantially louder.
Remmy nodded. "I've rerouted the manifold through four perforated exhaust tubes."
QJ pursed his lips slightly, he'd spent hours learning the names of the individual components that made up the jetpack. "Sound dampening?"
Remmy stared at QJ for a handful of seconds before nodding.
[Ravenwood: Remmy] Does QJ know what sound dampening is?
[Ravenwood: Jaded Ice] How could he?
[Ravenwood: Q] I don't even know what that is.
A short while later, Angel struggled to keep up with her partner in crime. Neither of her forms was made for low-crawling through the dense brush that banked the Ravenwood River. "What are we doing?"
QJ paused long enough to hold a finger to his lips. "Silent comm only," he whispered.
[Spider: Angel] Are we on a mission?
[Spider: QJ] Yep. Our mission today is vengeance.
Angel silently clapped her hands together before settling her furled wings under the low-hanging branches.
[Spider: Angel] That's my favorite kind. Did somebody wrong us?
[Spider: QJ] The cake thief.
Angel looked confused for a moment before her warm green eyes glowed. Quinn's birthday party at the Songbird a few days earlier had been a family affair. Of course, Q considered all his friends as family. Several people brought cake but one, in particular, stood out from the rest.
[Spider: Angel] Do we know who swiped the orange cake?
[Spider: QJ] Yes. I overheard the thief telling Ren how good it was.
Angel rubbed her hands together while putting on her best diabolical expression.
[Spider: Angel] Why are we near the river? Is the thief going swimming? Wait... Is it Leah? I don't want to mess with the Apple Princess. That never turns out well.
The steady drone of approaching jetpacks caused the pair to hunch lower against the ground.
QJ flipped on a small device and readied it.
[Spider: Angel] Did you steal Remmy's remote?
[Spider: QJ] Of course not, stealing is bad. I only borrowed it.
Any further conversation was paused as the Songbirds approached their position. Flying in single file, they hugged the river's surface closely. They blurred toward the hidden duo with Nightingale leading the way.
[Spider: QJ] Cake stealers must pay.
QJ closed one eye, aiming the remote carefully before pressing the button. A moment later, the middle flier's jetpack shut down, sending its pilot facefirst into the water. Robin skidded on the surface like a flat stone for several meters before sinking.
[Songbird: Lark] Wow... Four skips, that was impressive.
[Songbird: Nightingale] What happened? Did you get too close to the water?
[Songbird: Robin] No, my jetpack turned off.
Angel stared wide-eyed, both of QJ's hands covered her mouth to silence the Spider Queen's erupting laughter.
[Songbird: Ori] It stalled? Maybe the new manifold has issues?
[Songbird: Nightingale] This is why we field test. Dry off and we'll go again.
An hour later, a thoroughly disgusted Songbird sat on the rocky bank of the Ravenwood river. Her clothes and orange hair were plastered against her skin, the result of her jetpack failing three straight times.
[Songbird: Ori] Guess you got the bad one...
[Songbird: Robin] Think so?
[Songbird: Lark] Tough luck, Robin.
[Songbird: Thrush] On a positive note, I recorded the last two malfunctions.
[Songbird: Wren] Copy, please.
[Songbird: Lark] Same here.
[Songbird: Nightingale] Me too.
[Songbird: Robin] Hilarious.
[Songbird: Nightingale] We brought a spare, switch jetpacks and we'll go again.
[Songbird: Robin] That junk is on the bottom of the river, if Remmy wants it back she can go swimming.
QJ bit carefully into the ripe peach he held, wiping the juice that ran down his chin with the back of his hand. "How's that orange cake taste now?"
Angel squeezed his free hand with hers, both of them were red-faced from laughing.
[Spider: Angel] You're the best.
[Spider: QJ] Thanks!
[Spider: Angel] Is the cake stealer giving up?
[Spider: QJ] Dunno, but she left the jetpack in the water.
Quick as a flash, QJ wiggled out of the brush and ran to the water's edge. A shallow dive into the clear river yielded him the submerged jetpack. He was dragging the water-logged device onto shore when his sharp hearing picked up a familiar noise.
[Spider: Spider] They are coming back, drop it, and get over here.
[Spider: QJ] I got time.
QJ waded onto the bank, pausing to duck his shoulder into one of the straps he carried the jetpack deep into the brush before assuming his original position beside Angel.
Angel pulled QJ closer, despite him being soaked to the skin. Together, they watched the approaching Songbirds.
[Spider: Angel] We letting her off?
[Spider: QJ] Cake stealers must pay.
"SON OF A BITCH!" Robin surfaced with a scowl, slamming her hand against the surface of the river. Team chat was filled with the laughter of her sisters, even Nightingale was unable to form a coherent sentence.
QJ and Angel withdrew silently amid the shouted obscenities from the orange-haired Songbird. Once out of sight, the two jumped up and started walking normally.
They held hands, swinging their arms back and forth as they headed back to Ravenwood.
Angel stole a glance at her partner in crime. "That was some good vengeance."
QJ nodded in agreement. "The cake thief paid."
The Spider Queen grinned at the sentiment. "Indeed. Are we returning the remote now?"
"Yep. Don't forget to pick up the jetpack later," QJ replied.
Angel frowned slightly, the downside of hanging out with QJ was his limited time. "I'll get it after it's dark. Need help with your homework?"
QJ nodded with a straight face. Angel's help consisted of looking up obscure facts on her hud while he studied. "Of course."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone