There Is a Sky part 6

       She became a Planeteer after a tragic accident claimed Ma-Ti. Her name was Pearl, a pretty little Hawaiian with long violet tresses and beautiful brown eyes. Due to one secret she ended up sharing an intimate experience with the most vile of the Eco-Villains, Verminous Skumm.

        "Ah, so you came," Skumm's voice came up behind her.
        Pearl bit her lip as she gripped the handle of her bag.
        "So you agree to the terms, you didn't tell the others what was going on did you?" His hand glided through her hair.
        "No," she said sadly.
        "Good, now slowly back into the alley."
        She did as was told; as soon as she was engulfed in the shadows his arms came around her.
        "I had to make a lot of sacrifices for this," he growled into her ear. "Just remember that."
        Skumm led her to the other end of the alley where a brand new dark green Yukon stood waiting. He threw her bag in the back as she got in the front. He glanced over at her as he strapped himself in. He was not used to a car over his usual Skumm-o-Copter, just one of his 'many' sacrifices. Not only had he bought the Yukon but he also got help from Plunder in buying a moderate house in a nice, 'clean' (he winced at that word) neighborhood.
        All this for her.
        Pearl sat with her hands clasped in her lap, her dark violet tresses hung loosely about her shoulders. His eyes lowered to her stomach, wondering how long before she showed signs of pregnancy. God, that was another thing to get used to. His kid was growing inside her.

        He had noticed her right away. A replacement for that other brat with the power of Heart, who he later learned had suffered from a tragic sickness when returning home to South America.
        "Served him right," he muttered.
        Anyway, this new girl looked in her early 20's, a pretty little Hawaiian. He had heard the others talking about her, especially Plunder, who had taken a fancy to her as well. The first time he had actually encountered her was at an abandoned mine. They had split up and she walked right into his hiding place, when he went to grab her he hit a weak spot in the floor and tumbled into a pit.
        "Are you OK?" She peered down at him.
        Three words that were the last thing he thought he would hear coming from a Planeteer brat.
        "Hang on and I'll get you out." She left.
        Not long afterward a rope was lowered to him and he climbed out. Pearl gave him a warm smile as he stood before her.
        "Uh, thanks," he blurted out before he could stop himself.
        "You're welcome," she said sweetly.
        "But this doesn't mean I'll stop what I'm doing," he pointed out.
        She shrugged.
        The other Planeteers found them not long after, and Skumm's plan was ruined.

        The next time he saw her was in New York City in Central Park alone at 10:00 pm. She was sitting on one of the many benches under a lamp post wearing an exquisite dark blue kimono. A sketch book lay in her lap as her head tilted to the sky, exposing her slender neck. For a while he didn't know what to do. She was a Planeteer for crying out loud; he could make it so they never called Captain Planet again.
        "Hello." She broke the silence.
        He met her eyes, eyes that didn't look at him with disgust.
        "Where's the rest of your group?" he asked.
        "Not with me," she replied flatly as she started sketching.
        "Kind of dangerous out here all by yourself, my pretty Planeteer."
        "Why's that?" She kept her eyes on her pencil.
        "Well," he sat beside her, "Central Park is rather big, something could happen to you and no one would ever know."
        "Are you threatening me, Verminous?" She quit what she was doing and turned towards him.
        "Why do you say that?"
        "I mean, you are technically my enemy; you could make it so we never call Captain Planet again." She read him like a book. "Am I right?"
        She gazed at him in fear as though waiting for him to attack her.
        "What are you doing here this late at night?" he wanted to know.
        "Do you want to do something?" She closed her sketchbook and placed her pencil behind her ear.
        He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
        "Like you said," she put in, "something could happen to me all alone in a place like this."
        "Didn't your friends tell you about me?" he leaned closer to her. "After all-" He traced her jawline with a rugged fingernail. "-Like 'you' said, I could make it so you never call Captain Planet again."
        "Have you ever ridden in a Corvette?" she said shakily, "I know where we can rent one. It'll be fun. Besides, if you insist on being a threat to me, all I have to do is contact my friends and they'll be here in a matter of minutes."
She was right, she could notify her crew any second and that would spoil his evening and it wasn't everyday a beautiful young girl asks to go joyriding with someone like him. In your face Plunder.
        "Corvette, huh?" He backed off of her. "Alright, my pretty Planeteer, your offer interests me."
        "Oh." She stood up and clasped her hands together. "You won't regret this Verminous; you'll have the greatest time of your life."
        "I don't doubt it," he said slyly.

        That night was fun. He smiled as he thought back on it.
        "What are you thinking about?" Pearl suddenly spoke the first words ever since she got into the car.
        "I was just remembering the time we rented that Corvette."
        "Oh, yeah." She gave a small laugh. "I almost got ourselves killed a couple of times that night."

        "Weee, isn't this fun?"
        The red sports car zipped in and out of traffic.
        "If what you mean by fun is seeing your life flash before your eyes then yes it is!" Skumm gripped the dashboard.
        Suddenly a siren sounded off.
        "Speaking of flash, now you'll see what this sucker can do!" She floored it.
        "You're going to try to outrun the cops?" Skumm looked back at the white streak closing in on them.
        "Not try, will!"
        "You're out of your mind." He gritted his teeth as she darted underneath a semi trailer and out the other side.
        "Whoops."
        "OH, SHIT!"
        Headlights came straight for them. There was a blasting of horns as she did a 180 to fit with the flow of traffic and sped up when red and blue lights lit up the car.
        "Hold on!"
        The car did a sharp left onto the next street as two more cop cars were seen heading towards them.

        "Are they gone?" Pearl asked as Skumm peered through the bushes.
        "They're towing the car right now."
        "That's going to be a hefty fine if they find me." She got up and started to walk into the trees.
        "Wait a minute!" He started after her. "Where are you going? The highway is this way."
        "Cops are patrolling the highway looking for us, remember? We better lay low till morning."
        Who was this girl? After two hours of walking they came across a small lake.
        "Wow, doesn't that look inviting?" Pearl stopped in her tracks.
        "Yeah, to pollute," he spat.
        "Well, before you do, I'm going to take a swim." She stripped down to her white undergarments and dove in. "C'mon, Verminous, forget that you're an eco-terrorist for once and join me."
        He looked at the kimono on the ground then at her. "What the hell," he sighed and jumped in. When he surfaced he was greeted by water splashed in his face then a giggle.
        "Why you little..." he lunged at her.
        She went under evading him, surfacing she found he was nowhere in sight. "Verminous?" She looked around.
        "Gotcha!" His arm came around her neck as his other one reached around and threw water in her face.
        "You know what, angel wings, you're not bad," he said as they lay next to each other at the edge of the lake.
        "Neither are you," she answered.
        "This doesn't change anything you know." He turned on his side to face her.
        "Yeah, I know." She gave him a weak smile. "But I had fun anyway."

Part 2