Night Lights

Chapter 2: Identities and general mayhem

The girl had curled up silently on Kenny's bed, as the teen tossed down his mask, leaning against the wall of his apartment. He sighed, shaking his head slowly, and pinched the bridge of his forehead.

Think, McCormick. Are you really going to be able to take care of a orphan….at least, you assume it's a orphan – what if those were her parents, then you can't let her free, they'd….god, they'd….it's best not to even think about it.

Okay. Organize your thoughts.

Describe the girl.

Blonde – most likely dyed. Dark skin-tone, most likely mixed heritage. Green eyes. Short….not sure of the exact height. Most likely around the age range of 5-9. Apparently a mute, probably from trauma. Attackers were white, a tall woman and a short man. Both escaped, although they were bleeding pretty heavily, so who knows if they're still alive or not.

My options being that I could keep her here, and take care of her myself, but….another would be to turn her in to the police, but the authority here couldn't do shit, and she'd most likely end up being killed in their hands moreso than anyone else's.

But—

A small whimpering escaped the room, and Kenny walked over, peeking inside. The girl had curled into the blankets, looking around her, terrified. Kenny walked inside and kneeled down next to the girl, and she scooted away, scared. He rubbed his chin, then ran out, put on his Mysterion mask, and walked back in. The girl, at this, jumped out of bed and ran towards Mysterion, hugging him tightly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked. The girl looked up at him, with tears in her eyes. "Did you have a nightmare?"

The girl shook her head.

"…Do you not know where you are? You're at my home, if you're—"

She shook her head again, and then pointed all around her, clinging onto Mysterion tightly.

"You're afraid of the dark?"

The girl nodded slowly, and then closed her eyes tightly, as if to hope that it would be light when she opened them. Mysterion got up, and then turned on the small lamp next to the bed before the girl opened her eyes. Feeling the light, the girl opened her eyes and smiled weakly, grateful. Mysterion smiled down at her, and then placed her back on the bed.

"Now, rest, kay? We'll talk in the morning; it's too late for kids like you to be up." He chuckled, about to shut the door, as the girl reached out her hand, and then faltered as if she were scared, once again. "What? The light's on."

The girl stared at him as if awaiting something more.

"…You want me to stay 'til you go to sleep?"

The girl nodded, and Mysterion walked over, lying beside her, as the girl curled up against him, and smiled once again, feeling safe at that moment, at least. Mysterion sighed gently, and then closed his eyes weakly as he heard the girl's faint snoring.

Whatever you do, though, don't get too attached.

Waking up in the morning – if there was one thing Kenny was grateful for, it was that it wasn't a school day - seemed to look as though life had returned to normal. Kenny woke up alone, rubbed his eyes, although he still felt the mask on his face, he took no mind until he heard the sound of a sink running in the other room. The girl stepped out, still wearing her somewhat-bloodied clothes with the two pink bows in her hair keeping her hair into pigtails.

"…Mornin'." Mysterion smiled down at the girl. She nodded as if to return the greeting. "We're gonna have to talk today. Just go to the living room and sit down on the couch. I'll make us some breakfast in a sec."

The girl smiled and then ran off, her small feet making small pits-and-pats against the floor of the apartment. Mysterion—Kenny—washed his face off in the bathroom, then brushed his teeth and walked out to the small living room/joint kitchen that he'd rented out. The girl stared up at him as he entered, and he nodded.

"You do like pop-tarts, right?"

The girl nodded slowly – although it was pretty obvious that she would have taken anything – and watched Kenny closely as he got her some of the chocolate pop-tarts that were stashed in the pantry, and got some strawberry ones for himself.

"Sorry I don't have much more – I'm pretty poor." He chuckled. "Always have been, so…"

The girl waved her hands as if to communicate that she seemed to be in the same level of income – although considering how she was found, it was pretty obvious – and she didn't mind. Kenny handed her a plate and sat down next to her, eating his strawberry pop-tarts.

"Alright. So. Let's talk. You have a name, right? Calling you kid might just be weird."

The girl nodded slowly.

"Alright, so what is it?"

The girl looked down helplessly, and Mysterion nodded, putting his plate down on the third seat next to him and grabbing a notebook with a pen out from a small cabinet.

"Here, write it if you remember it."

The girl took the pen weakly, and began to write, ending up with scribbles on the paper.

"…Um…how about I just call you K-I-D-D. Kidd." Kenny smiled weakly, trying to decode the scribbles, but coming up with nothing.

The girl smiled, as if to agree that that was okay.

"So, do you have any place to live, Kidd?"

Kidd shrugged, and then pointed to the ground, grinning.

"Smart one, I meant another place." Kenny rolled his eyes.

Kidd then paused and shook her head.

"Alright…any family?"

Once again, this resulted in Kidd shaking her head.

"…No one? You've got no one?"

Kidd nodded, and Kenny sighed.

"So you want to stay here."

Kidd nodded quickly.

"Well….I've got school, and I've got criminals to catch. You'd have to either come along, or you'd have to take care of yourself a good chunk of the time. I think school won't be much of a problem, South Park Elementary will take you and I think there's a babysitting service the—"

Kidd pouted at the usage of the word 'baby'.

"Oh, fine, a day-care service." Kenny rolled his eyes. "You could probably stay there and I'd come pick you up after a while, but…you probably can't stay here forever, I know for sure I wouldn't be a good parent." He ruffled Kidd's hair, and she sneezed, giggling. "But for the time being, you can stay with me for a while." She raised her hands in celebration, and hugged Kenny tightly. "Now, don't call me Mysterion in public, okay? I'm Kenny McCormick, and you're Kidd McCormick, my little cousin."

Kidd nodded in understanding.

"Me being Mysterion is secret. Make sure to remember that, Kid—"

"Oi, Kenny!"

Kenny blinked, and then turned to the door, staring at it, hearing the knocking.

"Today's our game day! Cartman, Kyle, and even Butters are here, along with me! Come on, I know you're there!"

And with that, Kenny quietly pushed Kidd off to his room, bracing for the impact he was about to let into his small apartment.