Who Is She, Anyway?
Chapter Five: Personality Clash
Pizzazz was the first to regain her composure. Registering in
the
dim light that the stranger that had crept up on them was alone she
folded
her arms, leaning casually back against the mangled fusebox, her brows
knitting
into an expression which Roxy and Jetta quickly identified as her
'don't
mess with me' look.
"What's it to you?" She demanded. "I'll do what I want!"
"Not where my show is concerned you won't." Chimera was seething.
Everything had been going so perfectly and then the lights had cut out
and there had been immediate confusion. Guessing quicker than most what
must have happened, and knowing the layout of the nightclub implicitly
from her days working there
she had hurried downstairs in the hope of catching the culprits
redhanded. It was one thing to mess with her work, after all, but she
was especially protective when it came to Sakura's.
"Your show? Hah. You're just a kid!" Pizzazz was scornful. "Who
do
you think you are anyway?"
"They call me Chimera." Chimera folded her arms, resented the remark
about
her age. "And I'm not a kid, all right? Age isn't important, not
compared
with maturity." She paused to shoot her companions a disdainful look,
"Which
clearly none of you understand."
"Why you little brat." Roxy's eyes narrowed and she raised a fist. "You
better
watch your tongue, whoever you are, because nobody in their right mind
messes
with us."
"Like I'm really scared." Chimera rolled her eyes, for she did not know
Roxy
well enough to know that the Philadelphia girl would quite happily
carry
out her threat. She paused, her eyes narrowing. "Hang on a moment, I
know
who you are...you're Misfits!"
"Woo, big deal." Pizzazz retorted. "Beat it, will ya?"
"Yeah, you're totally wrecking our fun." Roxy agreed.
"Well, while you have your fun, I'm gonna go call my supervisor and the
club
owner!" Chimera snapped. "Noone is going to blow this for me! I don't
know
why you're here or what you're playing at but it stops right now!"
"Big words for such a little girl." Pizzazz mocked. "You really think
you
scare me, Chimera or whatever your name is? My father is Harvey Gabor,
and
he's a big shot in this city. One word from me and you could never work
in
this state again, let alone in New York City." she leant closer to the
indignant
Chimera, forcing the younger girl to take a step back, despite herself.
"Now,
be a good little girl and shut your mouth, huh? It wouldn't do you or
your
career any good at all to make the mistake of telling anyone you saw us
here."
Chimera scowled at both the manner and the thinly veiled threat in
Pizzazz's
words but before she could snap back a retort something in what the
other
girl had said penetrated deeper and she stared at the singer in
surprise.
The name Harvey Gabor meant something to her, and, startled by where
her
thoughts were leading, she fixed Pizzazz with an odd look.
"You're Phyllis Gabor?" she demanded.
"Only people who want doing over call me that." Pizzazz snapped. "I'm
Pizzazz
to you, you got that?"
Chimera paused, thinking this over carefully. Then,
"What brings you to New York then? I thought the Misfits came from
California."
"Not all of us, ducks." Jetta responded dryly. "An' in any case, it's a
free
country, we can travel if we like. No law against it."
"You're Jetta...I read about you." Chimera's gaze fell on the sax
player. "The fourth Misfit, from Britain. You're the one who helped in
the capture of that jewel thief a while back."
"We all played our part, not just Jetta." Roxy protested.
Jetta, who
had had to rely on the clout of Pizzazz's father to keep out of the
press
the fact that the infamous jewel thief was also her own elder brother
shrugged
carelessly.
"Yeah, I did. So what?"
"And you...you're Roxy...you play bass." Chimera's mind was working
fast,
trying to find a way to turn the situation to her advantage and
attempting to stall the culprits long enough for someone else to find
them. She knew that Pizzazz's father was indeed a powerful man and
someone she didn't want
to cross. "Where's the other one?"
"Stormer stayed behind to work." Roxy grimaced. "As usual."
"Why all the nosy stuff anyway? So you know who we are? Big deal."
Pizzazz
grabbed Chimera by the arm. "It ain't gonna get you anywhere, the fact
you
can identify us. In any case anyone with half a brain cell would know
who
we are, we're stars. Much better than those no-talent Stingers you're
playing
the fool for."
"Then why are you here sabotaging them?" Chimera shot
back.
"Causing trouble is what we do, duh." Roxy retorted. "And the Stingers
deserve
it, anyway. They're mean, low-down, cheatin' and arrogant...bunch of
losers."
Chimera eyed the three Misfits thoughtfully at this, raising an
eyebrow.
"I see." Was all she said, however. "Well, whatever they are, they
might
well prove to be my ticket into the music film business and I'm not
letting
it go wrong. It's not important to me whether they're nice people or
not,
what matters to me is getting the contract for their videos, that's
all.
I'd appreciate it if you'd get lost and leave us all alone. I won't say
anything
to my supervisor, so long as you go, but I'm not letting go of my big
chance
for anyone."
"You gotta get some taste, girl." Pizzazz snorted, but Jetta put a hand
on
her shoulder.
"'Ere, come on. We've done enough...for now." she murmured. "Best do as
she
says."
"I was getting bored anyway." Pizzazz shrugged. "Bye bye, kiddy...don't
work
too hard! C'mon, Misfits, beat it!"
As she watched them go, a strange expression came over Chimera's clever
face.
Somehow she knew that she'd not seen the last of the Misfits, and that
they'd
be back to cause more trouble on this tour.
"And I had no idea that the Misfits' lead singer was really Phyllis
Gabor."
she frowned. "Maybe Mom was right after all, maybe I do need to tread
carefully.
Harvey Gabor has a huge fortune locked away and a finger in every pie.
I
can't afford to upset his daughter too badly else I'm finished in this
business
before I've even begun. Damn her for knowing it, too! Ooh, I hate those
Misfits!
Why did they show up here, anyway? They're signed to the same music
company
as the Stingers, why come all the way from California just to make
trouble?"
She clenched her fists. "Well, they're not doing it again. I'm on my
guard
now. Watch out, Misfits, you gotta get up pretty early to outsmart me!"
"Chimera?"
Startled by the intrusion into her thoughts, the young artist swung
around,
blinking in the glare of the torch beam.
"Chimera, I thought you might be down here...has a fuse gone?"
Sakura. Chimera took a deep breath, calming herself. She shook her
head.
"No...the wires have been cut." she replied. She heard Sakura gasp.
"But...who would do such a thing?" she asked. Chimera paused, then,
"They got away...Kura, if I tell you what happened, will you promise
not
to tell Mark?"
"Of course." Sakura agreed immediately, balancing the torch on a ledge
as
she examined the damaged fuse box. "Ah, I see the problem...I can fix
it."
"Good." Chimera sighed, then slowly outlined the exchange.
"The Misfits?" Sakura's brown eyes registered horror. "But why? What
have
they to gain?"
"I wish I knew." Chimera shrugged. "All I can think of is there must be
some
bad blood between them and the Stingers, but I can't think what. I
mean,
they're signed to the same music company, aren't they?"
"Didn't it used to be Misfit Music? And now it is Stinger Sound?"
Sakura suggested
as she began to carefully repair the wiring. "It is good that there is
a
backup for the power, the lights are on again upstairs now, but I must
not
leave this like this, it could be dangerous!"
"Yeah, it did!" Ignoring the comment about the fuse box, Chimera
snapped her
fingers. "Kura, you're brilliant, I bet that's it! Darling Miss Gabor
didn't
like her thunder being stolen out from under her nose when the takeover
went
through! I bet that's it!"
"Miss...Gabor?" Sakura turned surprised eyes on her friend. Chimera
nodded.
"Yeah...Pizzazz of the Misfits is Phyllis Gabor." she replied.
"Oh!" Sakura was silent for a moment, then, "As in..."
"Yes, worse luck. Harvey Gabor is her father." Chimera groaned. "Which
is
why I can't tell Mark what happened here today. She more or less told
me
that if I dared then she'd get her father to put a stop to my career,
in
more ways than one. He doesn't know that I exist...the last thing I
want
is more complications for Mom. She went through enough already."
"Do you think she knows about this?"
"Who? Mom or Pizzazz?"
"Pizzazz."
"I doubt it." Chimera spread her hands. "I'm not going to be the one to
tell
her, either. If that's Phyllis Gabor, well, I can do without her in my
life,
thank you."
"The Misfits have a reputation for trouble, I think." Sakura observed
quietly.
Chimera nodded.
"Yes, I've heard that too." she agreed. "Tiresome as working with
Riot's ego
is, I reckon we picked the right horse to back, if you get my meaning.
I
just hope we've seen the last of those troublemakers...but somehow I
have
my doubts."
(The Misfits and Holograms and other animated Jem characters are copyrighted to Hasbro Inc. All characters who do not appear in Jem episodes are my own creation. This story is copyrighted to E.A Woolley (2001)