Moon Girl 2: Bell Toll

By Briony Rose Smith

The Weapons of the Round have been defeated and their leader is behind bars. Dreda, Tim and Clair continue to investigate into Project TRICKSTER while rumours of Trick granting bells sweep through the city. Villains are scrambling for the extra power, trying to get their hands on the source. Investigating the bells leads Dreda to revelations that shatter her reality when she learns the exact nature of Tricks and Tricksters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Briony Rose Smith
• Release date: Aug 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005570651

Briony Rose Smith

Hello!My name is Briony Rose Smith, Author of superhero's and hopefully other things in the future and will think of a better bio here in the future. It's all fun and games writing about fantasy but when it's me it's hard, ya know?

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Moon Girl 2:

Bell Toll

Copyright 2021 Briony Rose Smith

Published by Briony Rose Smith at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright © 2021 Briony Rose Smith

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored, in any form or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Table of Contents

1. Fortuna Nagel

2. Undertaker

3. Noah

Interlude 1

4. Duality

5. The Mansion

6. Guns and Gangsters, Bells and Feathers

7. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

8.Truth

Interlude 2

9. Aken Daniels

Interlude 3

10. Alice in Wonderland

11. Test Drive

12. The Visit

13. Thirteenth Floor

14. All Hell

15. Backup

16. Family

17. Corruption Demon

18. I’m a Dragon

Epilogue

Dreda Toth.

Came the call for a twitchy red head in the waiting room of Iwon city prison.

Shakily, Dreda took a breath and rose from her seat after pulling her twiddling thumbs apart. Striding past a few others waiting for their call, she pushed her way through a single blue door on the other side of the room.

The room she entered had a wall splitting it exactly in half, the separator itself made of halves. The top half glass, the second half wooden desks with partitions on each side. At each desk was a cold, hard, steel stool. All the ones on Dreda’s side were taken except one.

She took that seat, then with a glance to the brunette on the other side of the glass she picked up the phone wired to the wall.

Hey, She said awkwardly.

Hi, The brunette answered,

So, Dreda gave a small smile, Fortunna Nagel?

One,

Excalibur,

And now Fortunna Nagel. Leader of The Weapons of the Round Table that threw the city into chaos only a few weeks ago.

How did they turn the city upside down? They powered up an illusionist and put the entire city to sleep. It didn’t sound like something that was particularly deadly but the death toll was insane. Too many kids fell off climbing frames and broke their necks. Too many cars crashed. Too many patients in the hospital went unattended.

Too many died.

And those responsible got away. Escaped and faded away, lost until they made their next move.

The city streets were lined with flowers now, but the city was starting to recover.

Dreda, Tim and Leo had recovered nicely from nearly having a warehouse dropped on them and were back in the field. Tim sadly didn’t escape permanent damage. When he and Dreda tried to wake other heroes from this cursed sleep to help them, Pandora had woken from a nightmare. Sadly, with her Trick her scream was so loud it took out Tim's hearing completely and in order to get it back, he had to risk infection by putting in hearing aids before his ears had healed. They did get infected and, though Tim could now hear it wasn’t very well. He had to wear the hearing aids most of the time now. Luckily, his mask hid them as Frigid Hack so the public hadn't noticed and Tim had been reluctant to accept them. He took them off at every opportunity.

During this, the only one they managed to capture was Fortunna. Leader of The Weapons and Product One. The only survivor from series one of the mass murdering, Project TRICKSTER. Someone who meant a lot to Dreda, someone who had been through hell longer than she had.

After everything happened, Dreda kept thinking about Fortunna. Tim's father was a villain who he had gone to visit countless times so even if she was a hero there was no reason she shouldn't visit her. But the anxiety was hard to beat. What if she didn’t want to see her because she got her arrested? What if she was mad because she stopped her plan? What if she just didn’t care about her anymore?

It was, in the end, stupid anxiety. During their fight, the two had come to an understanding but sometimes Dreda's mind liked to work against her.

A few times she tried to go, telling herself it would be fine. She'd had her keys, gotten to the door, but given into the anxiety at the last minute and stayed home. She was only here now because she made the mistake of mentioning wanting to go to Tim.

The moment she did he saw straight through her and drove her here himself. As nervous as she was, as much as she tried to talk him out of it, she was glad for the push.

She was surprised to find that Excalibur had given her name as Fortunna Nagel. She’d never heard her use that name but after a search on the name it came up. A missing person’s report from the year 2000.

I’m surprised you remembered your name after everything that happened, Dreda admitted since most didn’t, including her.

I was determined not to forget. I would repeat it to myself often during our time in hell. You can call me Fort for short if you want. Fortunna is a bit long. Fort told her with a small smile.

Dreda nodded, a treasure like a name was precious to The Products, she wasn’t surprised she protected it to the point she never told anyone. She smiled to herself a little, knowing somewhere One was more than happy to call herself Fort. A tough, impenetrable, protective barrier.

And what do I call you here? You don’t want to be called Four and I’m sure you don’t want me saying your other name in here. Fort asked her, tilting her head.

Dreda, Dreda answered, Dreda Toth.

Tim had advised her to go ahead and use her real name here. Excalibur was basically family to her and it kept the prison as far away from her hero persona as she wanted to keep her real life.

Suits you. Fort nodded in approval, Why’d you come here, Dreda? She asked using her name for the fun of it.

Just… Dreda wasn’t sure, Just wanted to see you, I guess.

Fort smiled warmly, We missed you too.

Dreda smiled back, glad to hear it. They may have been on separate sides when it came to their last confrontation but they still had a strong bond. Even if their history was complicated, they were family. Fort was the Selena to Dreda's Pandora.

And like long lost family, they didn’t really know anything about each other now and sat in an awkward silence trying to think about what to talk about.

Have the others done anything since you put me in here? Fort managed to find something, even if it wasn't exactly a conversation topic.

Dreda titled her head, No, Why? Did you have anything planned?

No, I’m just a bit worried about them, that’s all, Fort answered leaning back in her chair.

Why? Three will keep things- She stopped when Fort gave her a look, a look of utter disbelief, What?

Three couldn’t lead the blind! Fort snapped, As soon as someone says no, he'd say okay. The guy can't stand up to protest he's a push over. You know who’s really going to be in change with me gone.

Dreda’s body stiffened and her blood ran cold. She hadn't thought about it when she took Fort in. She thought she'd just slow The Weapons down by taking away their leader but in retrospect, landing Fort in prison may be have been a mistake.

Exactly, Fort crossed her arms in a stern fashion, the look on Dreda’s face giving her all the reply she needed, You know Two won’t be as restrained as I am with his methods. I don’t want to know what he's coming up with as we speak.

No, Dreda took a calming breath and hardened herself.

Looking up to Fort with fire in her sea-blue eyes she declared, I'll stop him. Me and the other heroes will stop him if he makes a move. We can look into him, though, just to make sure we are ready. What does he go by now?

One took a few moments and stared at the girl on the other side of the glass. Once upon a time, this girl hid behind her when Two entered the room. Once upon a time, this girl would start crying when she knew she had to spend a day with him. The eyes that looked back at her now could have been a different person. They were hardened sapphires now, compared to the shattered glass of years ago.

She could see her resolve, her determination and though there was still some fear at the topic of their conversation she had confidence that Dreda could face Two and stop him from his chaotic stupidity. Fort smiled a proud smile. But,

What’s in it for me? She asked.

What? Dreda was taken aback.

One of the ways you could stop him is by getting me out of here. I can keep him in line. It’s a guaranteed way to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. She pointed it out.

I'd like to let you handle him but I can’t. The only way I can say he won’t cause trouble is for you to help me stop him. Dreda spoke trying to push her finality, not letting the older woman move her an inch on this.

Worth a shot. She sighed, Michael Duff.

Thanks, Fort. Dreda nodded her gratitude.

They were awkward for a while, again, as neither knew what to say. They stared around. Fort resorted to asking about the weather.

But soon, with a complaint about the food in prison, they managed to get a conversation going about the wonderful food discoveries they made outside of The Project. Apparently, Six had gotten himself a little cookie addiction.

And Three likes to go to this Spanish tapas place with his girlfriend.

Whoa, wait. What?! Dreda stopped her,

It's like this type of dining they have where they have little bits of lots of stuff, Fort explained completely missing what Dreda was shocked out.

No, I know...well, I didn't know that, but a girlfriend? Dreda spluttered.

Ooh, Fort nodded realising what she meant then frowned a bit, We are allowed to have lives now you know, even if we do class as villains.

I know I just...

Dreda tried to process it. She was still panicked at the idea of her potential romance and was glad Tim seemed too embarrassed to ever bring up the whole sleeping beauty scenario again. But then Three wasn’t her and he was always the most laid back. She sighed.

What's her name? She accepted it.

Don't know. Fort shrugged, He's smartly keeping her as far away from us as possible. All I know is it's female.

Dreda nodded still curious, but seeing it was a dead end.

What about you? Dreda asked slowly and curiously.

Me? Again, Fort took a moment to realised what she meant and sat back with a bit of shock at the question when she realised, Oh, no, no. Hell, No. What about you and Frigid Hack? She quickly deflected the question.

Dreda's cheeks flared as she struggled on the rebound.

What do you mean? There's n- her mind went back to the kiss, Damn it, why did you have to ask?

Fort looked at her shocked.

Wait, so there actually is something between you two?

Dreda was too flustered to hear the hint of annoyance in Fort's voice.

No. No. Dreda stated, calming herself down, ...Or at least...not yet. She muttered on the end.

Fort gave a loud sigh, slumping forwards onto her arms.

What? Dreda frowned even though she knew what she was about to say.

I don’t like him. She stated.

Somehow, I thought you wouldn't. Dreda smiled at the irony.

She had always noticed. Fort didn’t like people like her. Not as in other fire Tricksters, obviously, but as in her personality. Cold, smart, proud.

She didn’t have to speak to people to tell. Fort just met people like her and suddenly she didn’t like them.

I don't think you should either. She stated and Dreda just nodded knowing it was best not to fight Fort's protective instincts.

Not long after the unexpected girl talk Dreda was called out, her time up. Fort was taken back to her cell. She felt sorrow weigh down her chest when she watched the woman being taken away but there wasn’t anything she could do. She had to stay here, at least until Dreda maybe managed to talk her out of being a villain.

Dreda left the prison, picking up her keys at the front desk since they apparently classed as too sharp to take in and headed outside. She emerged from the prison that on the inside always seemed perpetually grey, squinting as the sun attacked her eyes.

She couldn’t tell if it always seemed dark in the prison because of the lighting or the prisoners feeling of being trapped affecting the atmosphere. Probably the lighting and she had far too much time to think as she waited for her call.

In the car park, Dreda made her way to a familiar small blue car. When she opened the door to the passenger seat, the driver, Tim, peeled his eyes away from his phone and took a good look at her. He didn’t talk for a few moments, watching her face carefully. He was relieved to see there were no signs of any dark feelings after her chat with Fort.

In fact, he was happy to see a small smile.

How'd it go? He asked as she took her seat.

Good, Dreda answered with a smile as she clicked on her seat belt, I'm kind of sad to leave her here, though.

Gotta serve your time. Tim shrugged, remembering the feeling himself when he had to leave his father here the first few times.

At this point, he was used to it. Whenever he left his father in prison now he just hoped he'd set a new record for days in before breaking out.

The prison really needed to up its security against Tricksters…

Yeah, she did bring it on herself. She nodded but frowned when she remembered something she needed to bring up, But she made a good point actually. I'll need you to look up what you can on a guy. If that's okay?

He raised an eyebrow curiously, Why?

One, sorry, Fort-

Fort?

Her name is Fortunna but she prefers Fort. Dreda quickly explained and with Tim's nod she carried on her request, Fort pointed out with her gone Two is gonna be in charge of The Weapons, which is very bad. I managed to get the name Two is going by from Fort. Hopefully, you should be able to look him up with it and see what he's doing, if anything.

Try to stop him before he does anything. Tim nodded, Looks like I've got my work cut out for me.

Sorry, Dreda apologised as Tim put on his seat belt and turned on the engine,

It's fine. It's kinda fun having a reason to hack other than boredom. He reassured her.

She shook her head. Tim had been hacking a lot lately and mainly because of her. He'd been looking into her parents and the charity Project TRICKSTER had been funded by. Dreda was shocked when Tim told her The Project had been funded by a charity. When he explained that it would make the government look good to be giving money to this so called 'charity', it made sense but that didn’t stop her feeling ill to think she was tortured under donation.

She shook her head of it. She had to worry about stopping what might happen and what might be happening rather than sitting in the darkness of what had already passed.

So, what's his name? Tim asked as they pulled out the parking space.

Michael Duff, Dreda answered.

I'll look at it after our meeting. Tim nodded.

The meeting. Dreda took a calming breath at the mention. The meeting had been called by Clair. She had wanted to call the meeting as soon as Dreda agreed to help them stop The Project but they had decided it was best to wait. Give them some time to recover. Give Tim some time to dig up some information.

Clair had also called the meeting after telling them she had help in her investigations so far. It seemed their little anti-Project TRICKSTER team had a fourth member they didn’t even know about and knowing that made Dreda nervous. Clair had assured her it wasn’t another hero which was good, it meant she didn’t have to face anymore awkwardness at work but it was still unnerving to think more knew.

Of course, more knew. There were other scientists, other Tricksters, police who dealt with it.

She glanced to Tim who had quickly gotten them into the city centre and was finding a parking space.

He was a bit of a safety blanket to her at the moment. Meeting this new person will be fine, she'd be fine. As long as he stayed by her side.

Words she would never say out loud because she had to quickly get the red off her cheeks for having thought it in the first place. He pretended not to notice as he stopped the car.

You okay? He thought he'd make sure before they got on the way.

They were early anyway and the peaceful secluded feeling in the car made it easier to have these kinds of conversations.

Nervous. She admitted as she took off her seat belt, But okay. If Clair trusts this person it should be okay.

Tim nodded and Dreda found him unusually quiet. She watched him take his seat belt off and slump back in the car seat.

I'm a bit nervous too if I'm honest. He admitted, struggling a bit.

Dreda had gotten used to admitting her emotions to a point. She'd made Tim and Clair worry too many times when she tried to hide it so she did her best, to be honest with them. Well, as honest as you could be to someone you couldn’t tell your real name.

Tim on the other hand. He wasn't good at talking about his feelings at all. He did his best to keep his icy exterior on at all times which made it easier to keep up his hero persona since it was the same but hard to deal with things like this.

Dreda was honoured he made the effort to open up to her. She expected it was because of when he first found out about