Beatrix and the Betrayer
by Holly Braendlein, age 16
Beatrix had her gloved hands tied behind her back. She tried to squeeze her hands out of the thick rope, but the rope was tight, and it was chafing against her wrists, making her unable to use her ice powers. She was suspended in the air with a harness. Below her, in a wide pit, she heard the hissing of venomous snakes, waiting for their prey to drop down, mainly her. Beatrix’s heart hurt. She had been put into this by a friend. He was much more than a friend, and he had betrayed her. She thought back to when she was getting ready to leave school …
***
Beatrix walked to her locker after the school bell rang. She enjoyed learning how to use her powers and abilities for good. Superheroes could do this easily on planet Fortis. She could not imagine turning into an enemy and using her powers to destroy life, although sometimes that happened among students.
Frederick came up beside her, opening his locker.
“Hey there, Ginger Locks. How ya doin’?” Frederick was more like a brother to Beatrix than a classmate. He always called her Ginger Locks because of her red hair.
“Good,” replied Beatrix. “Hey, have you seen Louis? He hasn’t been at school for three days now.”
“I dunno.” Replied Frederick. “He said he was busy, but with what, I have no idea.”
Beatrix walked toward her apartment on East Fonse Street. Busy? Beatrix pondered. With what? She wanted to believe that she was concerned for him as a friend, but in reality, she had had a crush on him since 5th grade. She had grown to like him. A lot.
Beatrix shook her head and reached into her pocket for the keys and unlocked the door to her apartment. The first thing she heard was her Enemy Alarm beeping. She rushed to her computer and clicked the location. It appeared to be in some sort of warehouse on Earth. She had hoped to rest a while from school, but villains had no respect for that sort of thing.
She grabbed her superhero apparel, which consisted of a blue leotard with equally blue gloves and boots. She then set her watch to the scene of the crime and instantly disappeared.
***
Beatrix found herself in a dark, musty warehouse. It smelled of animal urine, but from what she could not tell. She wrinkled her nose. What devilish plans were being plotted here? She explored the area.
Suddenly, out of the darkness, a fist came at her and punched Beatrix squarely on the jaw, knocking her down. She lifted her hand to her lip and found blood. She looked around, but couldn’t see clearly through the dark.
She got up. “Alright!” Beatrix shouted into the darkness. “I know you are there! Show yourself!”
Her momentum was thrown off balance as something heavy and rubbery flew onto her back and proceeded to strangle her. She gripped at its arms, trying to wrench them off. She clutched on and froze them in place. She easily slipped the frozen mass over her head. It crashed to the floor. Ice splintered everywhere, to reveal a man. He had on a green suit. He had shaggy hair and appeared to be made of elastic, for he was extremely flexible. The man got up and shook the icicles off.
“That was a nice trick there, girly.” said the man. “I’ve run into a lot of different powers, but that one is exceptional. Not one that will take long for me to beat, though.” He smirked.
“Okay,” said Beatrix. “Enough with the compliments. Who are you?”
“I am Fleximan, as if it wasn’t obvious enough.” He stretched his hand across the room and flicked her cheek. Beatrix grabbed his arm and froze it. “Try that again, will you?” She retorted. Before she could wholly encase him in ice, someone appeared behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She glanced back to see who it was and was sent flying across the room with a sore nose. She groaned as she lay on the ground, feeling the room spinning. She sat up and thought she saw a flickering person before her. He seemed to be fading in and out of being, which was commonly called “phasing” back on planet Fortis. A person with this power could go through obstacles easily.
“Louis?” Beatrix gasped.
The room cleared, and standing before her was Louis. He had a dark look on his face. His eyes flickered, as if he recognized her for the first time. He offered her his hand. She rejected the offer and stood up.
She looked closely at him. “So this is what you’re doing? Being a villain? Louis, what’s going on?”
Before he could answer, Fleximan stepped in. “Ah, I wish we could let loose our dire secrets but unfortunately, that is not how this ordeal works. It’s not a surprise when you gab on and on about it, now is it?” He looked toward Louis.
“No, sir.” Answered Louis. He gazed down at his feet.
Fleximan stalked Beatrix until she bumped into the wall of the warehouse. “And we certainly don’t want to have our plans spoiled, now do we?” He shot his arm forth, pinning her throat to the wall. Louis phased over to her and grabbed her, wrapping her in a thick rope. He made sure her hands were well-tied as well.
Louis dragged Beatrix over to a big pit that was in the corner of the room. It stank, and she distinctly heard hissing. Fleximan took Beatrix and hung her from a harness, directly above the pit. She looked down and saw … SNAKES.
Fleximan dusted his hands off. “Well, now that you are properly taken care of, we will be on our way. Come, Louis.” He walked away.
Louis looked at Beatrix. “Look, I didn’t think you would be here. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry enough to let me go?” Beatrix asked skeptically.
Louis lowered his gaze.
“Why?” Beatrix said. “What is so appealing about being a villain?”
Louis looked up and squared his shoulders. “Freedom, Beatrix. I am not told to do something I dislike doing. I get to have fun and be a man.”
“But, Louis …”
“And a little creep like you is not going to stop me.”
And with that, he left Beatrix hanging there.
***
This is hopeless. Thought Beatrix to herself. Her heart hurt. She had sincerely thought that he was the best boy out there. She had been blind and had gotten her heart broken in the process. But what was she to do? She still loved him, and yet he was on the wrong side. She knew the code when it came to defeating villains; put the lives of the people you are protecting first and foremost. She had to think of the civilians before her own crush.
The snakes down below her were getting restless. There was debris down in the pit, making it easier for the spitting creatures to reach her. She twisted away as one such snake tried to leap at Beatrix. Suddenly, her eyes rested on a desk not far away from her. A lightbulb swung overhead, casting an eerie glow on what seemed to be blueprints. There was a corkboard that had notes and drawings tacked on. From what she could make out of the drawings, they depicted a series of events surrounding a big school. She saw bottles of gas sizzling on the table, and underneath it were crates of explosives. Beatrix gasped. They were planning on sabotaging a local school! She had to get out of there!
Beatrix wriggled her hands free of the rope. The snakes were getting even more restless. One leaped at her leg, mouth wide open and fangs exposed. Beatrix quickly did a little twist in the air, and from behind her, shot forth ice, freezing the snake in a capsule of ice. She then took hold of the rope and hung on, making it crumble in frosty shards. She unhooked her harness and swung to safety.
Beatrix rushed to the desk. She had to figure out which school was in danger. A slip of paper slid onto the floor. It revealed the answer: Lions High School.
Beatrix dialed Frederick’s number on her watch. “Hey, Fred! Look, I need some backup. Two villains are planning on destroying the Lions High School here in Manchester. From what I can make out from their blueprints, they plan to release drowsiness gas into the school, and then blow it up. I need you to get everybody out of that building. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Gotcha!” Fred said, before hanging up. Instantly, the wall dissolved, and Fred walked right through.
“Speedy,” Beatrix said jokingly.
Fred opened the wall again, and they both stepped through into the Lion’s High School.
***
Students were everywhere, and they had no time to lose.
Fred rushed over to the fire alarm and pulled the handle. The school was a mass of confusion right then. Fred opened a portal in the wall and shouted, “Quick! Get out of the building! It’s going to blow up!” All the students screamed and hurried into the portal, which took them to the high school lawn.
Suddenly, a hissing noise ensued, and gas started pouring in from the vents. Beatrix gasped. Fred covered his mouth and nose with his forearm and tried to hustle the teens out of the building, but it was too late. Students were already starting to droop.
“Quick!” Shouted Beatrix. “Open the floors!”
Fred nodded and opened a huge portal in the floor. Everybody dropped out of sight, safely on the lawn.
Beatrix swiftly covered all the vents with ice, stopping her from getting too drowsy. Then she had to find the bombs. She looked in each classroom, with no results. She looked in the lockers. Nope. Then she looked up where the security cameras were. Bingo! She shot a thick blanket of ice onto the bomb. Hopefully that holds, she thought.
She was on her way to the next one when she ran into someone and fell flat on her backside. She looked up and saw Louis phasing before her. He scowled fiercely at her.
“Louis!” cried Beatrix. “You are about to kill innocent teenagers, teens like yourself! Are you nuts?”
“No, Beatrix,” growled Louis. “They are nothing like me. And, yes, I am nuts, nuts enough to stop you from interfering in our plans!” With that, he lunged at her. Beatrix quickly rolled out of his way and froze him. He phased out of the icy mold and stalked toward her again. On his intercom, she heard Flexi say, “Ten seconds to get out of the building before it blows up. Hurry, boy!”
Ten seconds?!?! She had to get out of there. But what about Louis? She closed her eyes and shuddered. She didn’t like to do this, but she knew it was the right thing.
Beatrix whispered to Louis as he stopped in front of her. “I’m sorry.” Louis looked puzzled. Then Fred appeared and knocked him to the floor.
Two seconds left.
Fred opened the wall as Louis struggled to get up. Beatrix and Fred rushed through the portal just as the building exploded. By then, everything had gone black for Beatrix.
***
Beatrix opened her eyes and blinked. She found herself lying by a bush. She sat up. It appeared to be outside the Superhero High School. She wasn’t on Earth anymore. She was back home. Fred walked over and offered her a hand.
“Are you okay?” He said, pulling her up.
“Yes,” she said, then, “No. My heart hurts.”
Fred pulled her into a hug, and let her cry into his shoulder. “You did the right thing, Ginger Locks.”
Before leaving for their apartments, they stood there in the afternoon breeze, praying, praying.
About the Author
Holly Braendlein is a young girl who wants to use her writing for God’s glory. She is 16 and lives in Kent, WA.
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Image: Black snake, Pearson Scott Foresman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
