posted
Dirk saw the light come shining in as the door opened. The guards expected him to cringe at the light, but he didn't--he'd been using his powers on and off to make sure he remembered what light was. Such was Dirk Morgna, the Sun Boy.
They threw in a tiny girl, the size of his hand. Now, he knew, he truly had gone crazy. It was almost comical. How long had he been here? Who knew? No one spoke to him in days. (Weeks? Years? No, it couldn't have been). He thought about a lot of things. About his life. About the surrealistic life of a male super-model. How drab that compared to this new life. About how nice Bruce Wayne had been to him and virtually changed his life three years ago. About the current life he ws living with these strange, but wonderful people. Then he thought about movies. And music. And football (soccer to his American friends). Then, for no reason, he recited to himself the entire history of Prague, Bohemia, the Czechs, and then Germany, the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church, and then on and on and on and on and on...
Now, a tiny girl. Yup, he'd lost his mind. She was coughing. No, she was dying. Poisioned. (In his madness he must have gained medical expertise he thought). Should he talk to her? Would that be like admitting he was mad? Or would it be funny, and thus a way for him to beat his madness. She was kinda cute in a six inches kinda way.
He picked her up. "There, there now," he said. "You need to open your lungs. If you were my height, this wouldn't be a problem. Then it would barely phase you." She looked right at him, tears running down her face. The coughing continued. And then quite suddenly, she grew.
Seconds later, Dirk had a full-grown teenage girl (in a very flattering purple costume) on his lap. She had her hands on his shoulders and was breathing as hard as she could, sucking in clean air. She was trying to speak. "...*cough*...panicked...should have grown to normal size...*cough*...too scared...*hack*...almost died until you said *cough* that...lungs are much bigger, able to survive...oh God..."
Dirk, when he realized this should have been the exact minute he really fell over the edge, really lost his mind, really went totally loopy, suddenly felt calm and at ease. "Shh," he said. "Don't talk. Breathe for a minute. Let the air in. You're OK now."
"Thank you," she whispered, still breathing hard. She leanred forward and put her arms around his neck, and her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," she repeated. The hug felt amazing. He didn't realize it yet, but he needed it more than she did.
---------------------------------
A brief time later, she sat next to him.
"So, the Legion of Super-Heroes. A very grand name."
"Yes...it is," she said. She seemed a little embarrassed by her earlier willingness to hug him while sitting on his lap. "You've been in here for a long time."
"Only days I hope." He seemed concerned about this.
"Yes, or you would have starved. That reminds me! I have a granola bar in my pouch. You can have it," she added, giving it to him.
His hunger hit him all at once like a ton of bricks. "Violet, I could kiss you," he said. She seemed even shyer at that comment. He couldn't help but like that. "I still might" he said with a bite.
"We're going to get out of here. Valor has a plan, and he and Catalyst are in the cell with your friend Hasim. Spirit is still out there too, she hasn't been caught yet. This is a tougher situation than we planned for (we're all still kind of new at this), but we'll make it out."
"Good. My friends...I can only imagine what terrible things they've done to them. Bastards."
"They're alright, but its only going to get worse. They've been through some terrible things, but I don't think Nardo has progressed to the truly horrendous yet. He builds to it...its part of his torture techniques. I'm...worried. I want to get out of here. My being caught wasn't part of the plan. What if it doesn't work."
"Violet, you just told me we'll make it out. I believed you. Now you're doubting yourself. I think I believe what you said before. We will make it out. I know it."
"I know, I know..." she faded off. "Torture. What a terrible thing. What a terrible world..." she seemed to be a bit in shock over being poisioned still.
"Yes. But people like you are changing that. I know you're worried. Believe me, I know."
"Sorry," she said with a smile. "I've been here thirty minutes and you over a week, and I'm the one freaking out. I just...just want to make sure it doesn't end here. Not now. There's still so much to do in life."
"Like what?" said Dirk. He was enjoying this conversation. It was his first in a long time.
"I don't know...see the Cubs win a World Series. I need to read books I've kept putting off. I...I've never even kissed a boy." She had no idea why she was being so open.
"No?" said Dirk, quizzically. He looked at her strait in the eyes. "Violet, look at me. We're going to make it out of here, ok?" His face was right near hers. He could feel her warmth. "Ok," she whispered. "You can read those books and watch the Cubs..." he whispered back. "Ok," she said. "And..." he faded off. And then he kissed her, slow and softly.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
"Oh no, oh no, oh no," said Spirit. She was panicking. They had Shrinking Violet now. That was definately not part of the plan. She phased from one room to the next. "What am I going to do...?"
She moved throughout the Stalag, ducking past guards, with no destination in sight. "Everyone but me is captured..." She moved towards the main hall, and found herself back tracking towards the entrance. "Wait, wait, wait," she thought. "Get a grip Tina. What, are you leaving now? Calm down. Think it out. That just means you'll have to free them. Sure, no big deal right? It'd be like sneaking your friends out past their parents. And hell, you're the best at that anyway." She wandered closer to the main doors. This was the most heaviliy guarded of the room.
She stuck her head outside. Snow everywhere. Ice on the ground. It looked biting cold. "Hm...how are we going to get out of here once I break them out? Definately should have that figured out in advance." She wandered a bit more. "Its no use. This is going to be as hard as it gets. Oh well, I signed up for it. Time to face the music. Its only my friends lives at stake." She smiled. "Confident you may be," she sound aloud, "but you're such a drama queen."
"You look like you could use a hand," she heard and turned. And there before her was the strangest site: a girl, no older than herself, standing regally before her, like a Princess. Another girl to her left, wearing a white robe over her clothes, silent but with a determined look. Floating above them, a heavily muscled boy--no, young man, holding a spear. And the strangest of all: a creature made completely out of rock. "Good thing too...because we need a guide to get us in there," said the Princess.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
"And so, I have given you this chance, something I would rarely do, to achieve better quarters and a decent meal, for yourself, and two of your companions. All you simply have to do...is kill the other one." Nardo spoke so loudly, and took such great pleasure in how his disfigured face made others nervous, that he was beaming at himself. He couldn't get started fast enough.
There stood all the guards, in the hallway between cells, with Nardo on one end and Tsuyohi on the other. Condo did not feel good about this. The kid, Hasim, had said nothing. NOTHING. They wanted to plan a way to use this to their advantage, to break everyone out, but Hasim said nothing. Val quieted up after that too--Condo thought Val might be thinking of his own life too now. No, this was not how they wanted to do things at all.
"Bring them out," said Nardo, and the opened the cell. Condo didn't move. Val rose to his feet, and for the first time in days, Hasim did as well. Hasim looked terrible. Like a beaten, malnurished dog. But his eyes. His eyes looked like fury. He wanted to kill. He was going to kill. Only then did Val realize how dangerous Hasim was.
"Your name, Legionnaire," said Nardo to Val.
"Valor."
"Hm. Sounds impressive. Yours, young killer?" he said to Hasim, referencing the fact that Hasim had already killed two guards.
"Nemesis," said Hasim coldy.
"Ah! You too have a special moniker! Perfect!" yelled Nardo laughing. One guard looked at another like he was mad. The other guard gave a 'yup' look.
"Well then," said Nardo, slowly, drawing it out. Tenz and Tatiana moved towards the bars. Condo did too. "...begin."
WHACK. Hasim sucker punched Valor with a right hook to the face, knocking him backwards. The guards started to howl. Val couldn't believe he'd just been nailed like that. Hasim was on him immediately, fighting in close. Val double backed with a chop and a elbow to the ribs. Hasim came in hard with a blow to the lower spine. "He's playing for keeps" thought Val, "then so will I." He hit Hasim back with a viscious blow across the chin. The went toe to toe at this point.
"No!" Condo yelled, and Tenz and Tatiana looked horrified. Nardo was laughing. Tsuyoshi looked uncomfortable. The soldiers were screaming with delight. Hasim lept at Val and Val fell backwards, caught Hasim, and flipped him ten feet down the hall, almost nailing Tsuyoshi. Hasim stood up, and a soldier grabbed him--he turned and broke the soldiers neck. Val leapt at him. The soldiers scrambled, moving into fray indignantly, not believing one of their own just went down too.
Nardo could be heard above all, "all's fair boys! He shouldn't have jumped in! Let them fight!" It was to no avail. The tide was moving and the fight continued in that direction on its own. Crack! Hasim nailed Val. Val nailed him back with a kick in the thigh, sending him to the ground. A guard grabbed Val. Val chopped him so quick it sent the guard reeling.
Pure chaos was breaking out. Hasim vs. Val vs. all the Dark Circle Soldiers. They all started getting into it. Evidently, over a week of hearing Nardo torture teenagers had unnerved them to the point where they'd been itching to do something, even if it meant a small riot. The fight continued down the hall.
"Are you crazy?!" said Val, grabbing Hasim by the throat. Val was covered in blood and bruises.
"Its working, isn't it?" said Hasim angrily. Val stopped. So, this was an act? Or was Hasim just playing it by ear at this point? It didn't matter anymore. They were far enough from the cells. Time to forget this Nemesis vs. Valor fight--it was time to fight the Dark Circle.
----------------------
And quite suddenly, with Nardo running after them, the soldiers were all gone.
"Is that...Is that part of the plan?" said Tatiana to Condo across the hall.
"I guess," replied Condo.
"Good enough for me," said Tenz, yanking back the bars he had chewed threw. It was a small hole. Tatiana fit through with ease--ten days of starvation had not been kind to her thin waste.
"You too Tenz. It probably will be just as easy," she said. They turned to Condo.
"No worries," he said, using his power to accelerate the rust at an incredible rate. "I've been doing this to the bars all day. They're useless. Hi," he added, breaking out of his cell and meeting them face to face, "they call me Catalyst."
"Tatiana Mallor," she said, and a smile came across her lips for the first time in what felt like eternity, "and this is Ten Zil Kem."
"Charmed," said Tenz hurrying, "but what about in there?" He was pointing towards the cell with Dirk and Vi.
"On it," said Catalyst quickly, as he laid his hands on the hinges. "I have some degree of increased strength, so once I rust the hinges, I should be able to yank it off. We need to be fast before the soldiers realize what's happened."
---------------------------
Valor and Hasim now stood back to back, against all the soldiers. One by one, the Dark Circle began to fall.
"Nardo, you fool! This is your fault!" yelled Tsuyoshi
"Yes, but look at their unity," he said, "its amazing. Who would have thought? I'll remember this for the next time--"
"Next time? Everything is ruined! Are the other prisoners even being watched--?"
BOOM!
"What the--?"
A burst of pure, white light entered the main entrance of the stalag, and gusts of freezing cold icestorms breezed in. Standing before them was Maziah bint-Mordru bin-Ahmad Al-Nayal. The White Witch. And before they could react, Monius Elysius, carrying Tatiana's spear, flew in at top speed, past them all, grabbing them one by one, and ending any chance of conscious thougth.
--------------------------------
Dirk and Shrinking Violet first heard the creaking and moving of the door, and felt a strange anticipation build. And then, not so suddenly or quietly, it was ripped off. Before them stood Condo, Tatiana and Tenz. Dirk just smiled. Vi helped him to his feet and he came over and hugged his friends.
"Dirk...we were so worried," said Tatiana, not being able to hold back a tear. Tenz hugged him twice as hard.
"Lets get the hell out of here," he said, and they moved forward.
"Need a hand," said a voice and they turned to see Spirit, phasing into the room through the door. She had a bright smile on her face. "Consider this jailbreak in full effect. She went solid and kicked open the door. Jacquie walked through. "Yes, it definately is," she said with a smile. Her smile left her lips though when she saw her friends. She ran over and gave Tatiana and then Dirk a hug. They looked terrible--starved, beaten and exhausted.
And then without warning, Nardo walked into the door. And he saw them all, shocked, and dropped his baton. Quickly turning, he ran out of the room. "NO!" yelled Dirk, and he was after him. They followed.
--------------------------------
Mon-El, Maziah and Blok continued to round-up as many Dark Circle members as they could while Hasim and Valor fought on. Hasim stopped for a minute, catching his breath, and up ahead he saw none other than Tsuyoshi watching Maziah. He ran at him.
Tsuyoshi pulled a gun out and aimed it at him. "Fool! I'll still kill all of you if I must!"
It was no use. Hasim had a strange power--he could defeat any one opponent. The gun misfired and Hasim had it out of his hand so fast, Tsuyoshi had no idea before Hasim used it to crack open his face. Tsuyoshi whispered something about it not being over, but for him it was--Hasim had been pushed too far. Crack!
--------------------------------
"Dirk, wait!" screamed Jacquie, but Tenz grabbed her arm.
"Its too late Jac. Let Dirk go."
"You're not going Tenz?" said Tatiana, knowing full well the extent of torture Tenz had gone through.
"No. I just want to leave here."
"Let's go then," said Jacquie. Up ahead they saw Blok.
He was solemn. "Let us leave now," he said. And then in an act of humanity, he reached down and scooped up Tatiana into his arm, and then Ten Zil too and carried both of them out.
-------------------------------
Nardo was out the door and on the ice before Maziah and Mon saw him run by. Everyone was pouring outside at this point, and Dirk knew why. Mon-El and Maziah were going to destroy the base completely. They would raze it to the ground. Good. But he wanted Nardo.
Nardo ran across the ice and knew he was in pursuit. He turned, and saw Dirk Mornga running after him, just in time to see Dirk fire a blast of pure heat towards him, knocking him off his feet and onto the ice hard.
Dirk started to slowly walk forward now. "You are filth, Nardo. Pure filth." He wanted to say more, but just didn't have the words anymore.
He began to heat up the ice Nardo was standing on. Nardo watched defiantly. "You won't do it. I'm not afraid of you burning me alive! I've done far worse! Haha!" He was a lunatic.
"Goodbye," said Dirk, and Nardo realized his plan. The ice gave way underneath and Nardo fell into a watery pond out in the middle of Nowhere, Siberia. It was ice cold. Dirk continued to melt the ice around him. It grew in size. It would take a miracle to pull him out. Slowly, Nardo sank.
Dirk walked back.
-----------------------------------
With a show of incredible force, Mon-El and Maziah shut down the Siberian Dark Circle base--permanantly.
"Here," said Tina, helping everyone onto a truck she had stolen. They managed to get one out, but the others were destroyed. They had blankets and rations for them. Condo was driving, but the inside was saved for the coldest (Tatiana and Hasim). "We'll get you whatever you need," said Tina now, taking charge.
They left the Dark Circle soldiers there in the midde of Siberia, at the destroyed base, with their leaders dead and gone. "Let them figure out how to survive," said Tenz.
No one said anything for some time.
Mon turned to Tatiana and handed her the spear. She took it and he held her. She was too weak to reach all the way up arond his large frame, so he held her. Dirk finally let go and collapsed in the blankets. Vi held him tight also. Val and Hasim nodded at each other, and there appeared to be some animosity. Perhaps Hasim had been so ready to survive he would have killed Val? Jacquie wrapped her own personal cloak around Hasim and had him sit in the truck next to her. He was asleep in minutes. Blok could have journeyed through the Earth to wherever they were going, but stuck it out, adding warmth to the back of the truck. Tatiana reached out her hand to Tenz, who took it. She smiled at him.
"Where are we going?" said Condo
"Train station some ways away from here, but its there. We'll drive all day if we have to," said Val. "As long as we leave here."
-----------------------------------
Nardo floated for some time, freezing to death in the icey cold water. This death was a torturous way to die. That, he had to admit, was slightly humorous. More than slightly.
And Nardo enjoyed a hearty laugh.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Previously: "You're going?" Tom sounded shocked.
"Tom, you've known for ages I needed to go, and I've waited too long as it is. I'm more grateful than you could know for what you and your family have done for me, but if I don't go soon it'll be too late to save everyone else who didn't escape McCauley's clutches."
Tom swallowed, "Then I'm coming with you."
***
She dropped to the ground lightly, and said "hi." The big guy instantly headed the other way, tossing and tumbling up ten stories before he caught himself.
Tikhik thought for a moment, shrugged and said, "Hello, I'm Tikhik Miraz and my friend-" he indicated with one of his pincers the guy who was now trying to control his descent "-is Tom Kallor."
"Ming Sul, pleased to meet a couple of fellow warpies."
***
"So let me get this straight," she spoke up again after a couple of minutes, "...this guy turned you..." - she gestured at Tikhik - "...into a bug, killed a lot of people and brainwashed another lot and you want everyone to know about it. And you're..." - she looked at Tom - "...going along to help him because you won't let him go alone."
"Essentially," said Tikhik.
"Then I'm coming too."
[...]
"Better pack plenty of warm clothes and blankets," said Tikhik as Tom looked shocked, "we're going to end up in Siberia or Alaska or both before we reach our destination."
"Okay, wow."
"You get used to it"
"Do NOT ask me where we are. I haven't a clue."
Sul, Tom and Tikhik had emerged from the teleport gate into a crowded street, choked with cars and people. A few gawped, but most carried on through without blinking.
"Sul, can you read that sign?" Tom pointed out a cardboard sign on a lamppost, written with oriental characters.
"Uh-uh. English and Cantonese only. I don't think it's Mandarin though, so it might be Japanese. Might."
"Are you two planning to stand here all day? I don't want my tail crushed underfoot."
"Where do we go?" Tom shrugged. "I don't see any open spaces we can stop on, and there's no friendly people stopping to help us like Ming did in Hong Kong."
"One of these days, I'll drum into you that "Ming"'s my surname, even if it comes first... watch this," Sul sighed, took her huge backpack off and proceeded to shimmy up the nearest lamppost. She clambered back down with bad news. "Tom's right, there's nowhere unclogged at ground level as far as I can see. If we need somewhere to stop for five minutes, we're..."
"Not leaving this city, I couldn't manage another long-distance gate right now."
Sul muttered a non-English word, while Tom said, "We need to go somewhere - find an empty house, a warehouse, somewhere we can sleep tonight..." after which he and Sul looked at Tikhik.
"I am not teleporting blind into people's houses on a vague chance their houses might be empty. People have a right to privacy."
"Tik, let's just look around for a while before we get arrested for standing about like this then, huh? We're a bit noticeable." Tom finished.
"Fine, but I'm only going in if the place looks completely empty." ___________________
As they stepped through the gate into the fifth apparently-empty flat they'd tried, Tikhik gasped, "If this one isn't it, you can carry me out. No more portals."
"You said that last time," said Tom, squinting into the dark apartment.
"...and the time before," added Sul, whose enhanced night vision meant she could see clearly even in the low light. "Looks promising, hang on a minute."
She dashed through the apartment quickly and came back to where the other two stood a few minutes later. "This looks like it - it's been stripped bare apart from a small pile of junk in one corner. There's cold water and a toilet but no power or hot water. Should be okay for an indoor campout for a couple of days without getting disturbed - the dust is about an inch thick!"
Tom put his rucksack down on hearing that and began feeling around the outside pockets for a torch, but Tikhik, absolutely exhausted from teleporting just crouched down, pulled the bedroll off his back and was asleep within seconds of crawling inside. ______________________________________
When Tikhik awoke, it was near-enough midnight local time. Walking through the open door - his night vision wasn't as good as Sul's, but it was still more than human - he found Sul and Tom sound asleep in the next room, sleeping bags wrapped around themselves, the camping stove they'd used to cook their meal of tinned beans & sausage still lying there, along with the remnants of the meal itself.
After the uncomfortably lengthy process of a visit to the toilet, he stopped and wondered what to do. He was wide awake and not particularly hungry, but he was nowhere near ready for the next long jump even if Sul and Tom had been.
Coming to a decision, he walked back into the room he'd slept in and proceeded to open and close a gate there a few times, increasing the size of the "scar" and ensuring he could easily teleport back. He then opened a gate properly, and exited to go for a walk... _____________________
He exited onto a side-street, far quieter than where they'd landed earlier, yet still not deserted despite the hour. Ignoring the glances from passers-by, which he was used to by now - a thought which depressed him in and of itself, he walked with no direction or destination in mind for some time.
Eventually, he noticed the pavement traffic start to thin, but didn't think much of it as he turned down a side-street and then into another one. There, he stopped abruptly upon seeing a teenage girl, lying unconscious on the ground, being kicked by a gang of six or seven youths.
Instinctively, he immediately opened a portal beneath her and teleported her to his side, wincing slightly as she fell to the ground beside him. The gang spun around, looking for their prey. When they saw her and the giant insect standing over her, several of them shrank back from a confrontation with the demon with glowing eyes. Others, braver or stupider, charged at Tikhik. However, Tikhik opened a pair of specific portals, and the leader fell, stuck halfway, his legs waggling uselessly in the air behind him and almost kicking him.
"‹Leave now.›" Tikhik spat the Russian words at them. Though they could not understand the words, they understood the tone and those who were able scarpered, while the final one followed once Tikhik widened the portal and allowed him to fall to the ground.
"‹Barbarians...›" Tikhik muttered, relieved he hadn't been forced to follow through on his implied threat as he looked at the girl he'd saved. Close up, she was older than he'd thought - 16 or 17, although her slate-grey hair made her look older still - and didn't look or feel badly injured by the boots of her assailants, although his claws were not the best means of detecting such injuries. What she did look and feel, however, was dirty, malnourished and in a baggy lilac poloneck and brown ankle-length skirt that had seen far better days... _____________________
Tom yawned as he awoke. Sleeping on the floor with an air-mattress and sleeping bag was more comfortable than Sul's tiny couch and he didn't have a crick in his neck on waking up for the first time in three days. The bare window showed that it was still dark outside, and Sul was still fast asleep in her own sleeping bag.
He yawned again, stood up and stretched before looking at his watch. No wonder he'd woken up before Sul for once, he'd only been sleeping for four hours. Wondering what woke him up, he grabbed a torch and decided to look in on Tik. When he did, he got a surprise in the form of a girl with grey-black hair lying on the floor beside Tikhik.
Before he spoke, Tikhik turned and looked at him, "Tom? Thank fairness - help me put her on my bed, gently."
Without a word, Tom set down the flashlight where it would still help him, and tried to get his hands under her armpits to lift her, before pulling back with a yelp. Tikhik looked a question at him, and he explained "I got an electric shock off her sweatshirt - it must be nylon or something." He pulled his jumper down over his hands and did it again, and started to shift her in the right direction - when the torch failed. Instantly, Tom froze, planning to set the girl down gently before moving her any further in the dark.
"Leave it." Tikhik opened two gates above them. While the green glow from them wasn't hugely bright, it was enough for even Tom to see by, and he completed setting her on Tikhik's bedroll without further incident.
"So who is she?" Tom finally asked his friend, who explained the circumstances in which he found her. After listening patiently, he said, "I get why you couldn't take her to a hospital, and obviously you couldn't just leave her on the street, but what now?"
"I don't know. She has no broken bones that I can tell - there are a few cuts, and some bruising may show soon, but I think I found her just at the moment they started."
"I meant..."
"Hi guys." Lost in thought and talk, they hadn't noticed as Sul walked in, stretching. Noticing the girl lying on the floor in the early daylight coming through the window, she said, "Do you make a habit of picking up girls everywhere you go? I'd just like to know now."
"I went for a walk, after an hour I found her under the boots of a gang kicking her to death. Do I need to give a blow-by-blow account?"
"Shouldn't you be taking her to a hospital then?"
"If you know how to find one, explain to the staff what happened and pay the bill without speaking or reading a word of the language or having any of the local money, of course. Besides, I don't think she's badly injured, I caught them just as they were starting."
At that, Sul bent down to feel the girl's forehead, before pulling her hand away with an "ow" as a spark jumped from the girl. Intrigued, Tikhik touched the back of his claw to her forehead, but the spark that resulted was smaller and he didn't feel anything.
"Your shell must be non-conductive," Tom mused.
"I think we guessed that," muttered Sul, sucking at her sore finger. "Hang on a minute," and she left the room briefly before returning with two pairs of rubber gloves. "I spotted a packet of these on the junkpile earlier," she explained as she tossed one pair to Tom. "Warpies, warpies everywhere... that must be why your thugs were 'kicking her to death'."
"What do we do then?" Tom asked, putting the gloves on too.
"We wait." Tikhik replied. "I'm not leaving her here in this state with a group who tried to kill her not far away. With luck..."
Just then, the girl stirred. Moments after her eyes flicked open, she was standing, her back against the wall, metres away from them having moved faster than even Sul could follow. Her mouth opened, but it may as well not have for all they understood her. Even over and above their inability to speak her language, she was speaking at a rapid-fire pace they would have struggled to understand in their native tongues.
"Slow down, we are not going to hurt you," Tikhik said in English, before repeating it in Russian just in case and Sul followed, saying the same thing in Cantonese.
A look of intense concentration covered her face, and she answered in English at a very slightly slower pace, "Itsnotjustme-Idontwanttohurtyou"
"Why would you?" Tom asked
"ElectricityOverchargedBoom."
"Boom?" Tom looked at his two companions
"What's your name?" Tikhik asked quickly
"NorikoAshida-Nori."
"Nori, could you discharge safely if I got you to an open space?"
"I thought you said there WERE no ope..." Sul began to say before being cut off with a look from Tikhik.
"Yesbut..."
"Right," Tikhik opened a portal in front of her, which made an unusual sucking noise, "Tom, I need you to make her light as soon as she's through the portal. Lean through after her if you need to. Nori, walk through at normal speed now."
Nori visibly tried to keep her speed down, but still went through at tremendous speed, when Tom immediately tried to obey Tikhik's instruction, but Nori's scream and Tom's "What the bugger?" rang through.
"TOM!" Tikhik yelled, worried he had let Nori fall as he lent through the portal himself, which exited above the thin cloudline.
"I've... got her, but so has the wind," Tom muttered through gritted teeth, and I don't know how much longer I can keep her up before she's out of my range."
"You won't have to," Tikhik muttered himself, clamping his beak tight shut as he opened a wide portal to catch Nori from being swept away, then strained to keep it and the closer partner portal open as well as the ones they were leaning through. "NORI. DISCHARGE!" he yelled, and in response had a tremendous flash which blinded both him and Tom for a moment. When his vision cleared, he saw Nori falling, but managed to create a portal under her in time, which she entered vertically and exited horizontally toward them at tremendous speed. Tom desperately reduced her weight as she tumbled toward him, but still fell backward as she hit him, fortunately not causing significant injury to either. After the ordeal was complete, all three collapsed - Tikhik and Tom exhausted from the strain, and Nori out cold.
"What now?" Sul asked after she thought she'd given Tikhik and Tom enough time to recover.
In response, Tikhik sighed and said, "We wait until we can ask her some questions. Given that she's starving, dirty, overloaded, in danger and quite possibly homeless though, I will not just leave her here to die."
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Thankfully, it was only a days ride to a train station. A day driving in the freezing cold, holding on to one another for warmth, trying to smother each other in blankets. Mon stayed with them and Blok stayed with them--they needed the warmth. But they finally got to one.
They were twelve now, but there was plenty to do. Tenz, Tatiana, Dirk and Hasim had been starved for ten days. Luckily, the Dark Circle had supplied them with enough to water so they wouldn’t drop dead. They needed to eat, but too much too quickly would overdo it. Jacquie saw to this. Mon couldn't believe how tiny Tatiana looked. It was breaking his heart. They were all frozen too…there was a genuine concern that they would come out of this with pneumonia or something worse. It was Dirk’s power of course that saved them from that—he kept generating enough heat to ‘warm them up’.
The four Legionnaires did everything they could. They checked train schedules, did a count of all the stuff they had (a lot of what they had with them had been lost). Blok, of course, could not come near the station, despite it being out in the middle of nowhere. Maziah stayed with him on the outskirts.
“They’re all so close,” said Condo to Tina. “It’s like each one is best friends with the other.” They were watching as Jacquie made sure they were all eating. Mon, usually serious and tense, was actually laughing and trying to keep the mood light, between rubbing Tatiana’s shoulders and then rubbing Tenz’s with his ‘super-strength’ to make him squirm.
“They’ve been through a lot together. I hope the Legion grows more and more like that,” Spirit replied. “I’m not sure why this group doesn’t just join the Legion here and now. It makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does. But apparently they have sort of mission to attend to, and it stems from Nura’s sister.”
“Maziah. Where is she?” asked Spirit.
“With the rock creature. He seems to be the one guiding them on this mission.” Condo looked over and Vi had joined the group, sitting next to Dirk and Jacquie. She was motioning Val over to sit with them, and he did, next to Jacquie. Condo noticed a lingering animosity between Val and Hasim. Hell, there seemed to be a hidden animosity between Dirk and Hasim too. Some type of mutual dislike and mistrust.
“That’s our cue Condo,” smiled Spirit. “When Vi gets the courage to sit with the other group, it means you and I should be mingling too. We’re all in this together for a little while longer.”
Hasim was next to Jacquie, who was making sure he was eating. He liked being close to her—and didn’t like anyone else being so. Jacquie, however, was acting more maternally than anything, at least in Val’s mind. As if she was making sure Hasim was being fed and taken care of, because the rest of group was not paying any attention. Val liked Jacquie immediately. She was strong and a definite leader, but she was very feminine and beautiful too. Val remained somewhat quiet, but not too much like Vi. She was the first to walk over but she said little. In fact, she kept paying attention to the Morgna kid more than anything.
“So, you’re Dirk Morgna, famous super-model?” said Tina sitting down with that easy-going smile. She sat next to Tenz, who uncharacteristically became nervous.
“Yes, that’s the Sun Boy,” said Hasim for him, with a snicker. Dirk shot him a look.
“I guess you don’t like being called ‘Sun Boy’ anymore?” said Condo.
“No, I hate it,” smiled Dirk. “It was OK when I was fourteen, but I’m over it.”
”You know Bruce Wayne too?” asked Tina.
“Yeah, he’s a great guy. Not much older than us really…”
“You know, our group has all codenames, and there’s people with similar names to ‘Sun Boy’,” said Val suddenly. “We have a ‘Cosmic Boy’ and a ‘Kid Quantum’ to name a few.”
“You think we should have codenames?” asked Tenz. “But we’re not Legionnaires.”
“Not yet,” said Tina, still smiling. “But I’m thinking maybe you should be.”
“No, I don’t think so,” said Mon suddenly, and quickly. He evidently didn’t want them to seriously consider this. “From what I’ve learned of your group in the last day, it sounds very idealistic and something that could be truly beneficial to this age. But we have our own concern right now. Unfinished business that must be taken care of. Although she’s not with us right now, Maziah, and Blok for that matter, is never far from any our thoughts.”
They all seemed intrigued, Tina especially so. “We’ve heard about this a little. But Maziah is Nura’s sister, who is also a Legionnaire. It seems to me the two paths don’t have to be mutually exclusive,’ she said. Before anyone could reply she added, “but there’s no need to commit to anything now. Just a thought. Super-powered teenagers that act like heroes…it just seems to fit,” she finished.
It was quiet for a minute.
“I think Dirk should be Sun Boy,” said Tenz finally. They all laughed.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Not soon after, they all boarded a train, heading out of Siberia and into Europe again. Siberia, to them, would always be neither Europe nor Asia. It would be a cold, lonely, frozen hell on Earth.
“Those were some incredible fighting skills,” said Val to Hasim. He was passing him in on the way to the bathroom. They had a whole train car to themselves.
“Thanks,” said Hasim. He did not return the compliment.
“What’s his problem,” whispered Vi to Dirk. She was sitting next to him again, this time on the train car. Hasim was near them, but sitting by himself. Jacquie was talking to Mon in the back.
“We don’t know,” said Dirk. “But I’m glad you noticed it! Up until now Tenz and I thought we were the only ones.” He smiled at her. She still remained very shy, but they definitely shared a ‘moment’ at Nardo’s Gulag. She was very pretty.
Farther back, Condo was talking to Tenz. “Still thinking about codenames?” said Condo.
“Not really no,” said Tenz. “I’m thinking about super-hero uniforms. You guys have these cool ones. I thought they would look a lot stupider in real life, but they seem to work pretty well. We should have them too.”
“But, I thought you guys weren’t going to be super-heroes?”
“I’m not sure if eating matter in all forms is a real super-power…”
“Are you kidding me?” laughed Condo, “that’s the most original power ever! You’d be like the Sex Pistols of Legionnaires!”
Farther back stood the massive form of Blok. It had gone on long enough, they had decided, that Blok had to sit farther away from the group. Tatiana couldn’t take it anymore and simply used her darkness to cover him, leading him directly onto the train. Maziah seemed to think this should have been her responsibility, so she cast a minor spell so only the eleven of them could see him. She now stood by his side. Blok and Maziah had no problem with the rest of them telling the Legionnaires about Mordru and their story. After all, they were Nura’s friends and allies. But they did not tell the story themselves.
Blok looked slightly different now. More rounded and curved, almost slightly more human. His old form had been completely destroyed by Vykros, and it was of some comfort to know that Blok could live through such an attack and still be the same old Blok.
“This is all so amazing Blok,” said Maziah. “First Marla Latham tells us all about these Legionnaires and now we meet them. And Nura is such an important part of their group!”
“I agree Maziah,” said Blok ominously. “Surely this is a sign that we have a chance against the strength of Mordru? After all, where both large armies and countless individuals with amazing abilities have tried, it make take a Legion of these amazing individuals to defeat him this time.”
Maziah smiled at him. She had grown to trust him so much. “You smile as if you had some hand in this meeting, Blok. I fail to see how that could be so, but your mysterious to me even now.”
“My apologies Maziah,” he said.
“I don’t mind it,” she smiled back.
The two of them were supposed to be listening as Jacquie spoke to Spirit, with Mon-El and Tatiana as well. It appeared that Spirit had taken on the role of ‘field leader’ for the four Legionnaires and was doing all that she could to help plan their next moves.
“I guess we always just figured England would be were we’d be going,” said Jacquie. “Back to Tatiana’s manor.”
“To be honest,” added Tatiana, “we really had no real plan after that. Just get home and then make our plans on how to deal with Mordru.”
“Well, the UK is still a far way off,” said Spirit. “I am from Austria, and my mother is a diplomat there. If you’d like, we can all head to Austria and stay there for a brief period, so that you’re not constantly on the move. You can stay there all you like, we’ll even stay with you. Since you would only be returning to England to plan, you can plan there.” There was a genuine since of wanting to help on her part, and it was that honesty that made them trust her. Otherwise, it might have seemed to she was asking too much.
“That might be a good idea,” said Jacquie. “After all, it doesn’t matter where we are, as long as it’s safe.”
“I have no need to go back home,” said Tatiana. She held Mon’s hand tighter. She had found her place in this world. The kiss with Mon back in Sakkim was still never far from her thoughts. “Will it be a problem for us to show up unannounced?”
Tina thought about it for a moment. “Not if I can get there ahead of time. I don’t think it will be a problem at all. I’ll make sure all accommodations are taken care of—my family is very well off so there won’t be any problems,” she finished. She turned to Mon, “I’m sorry about before. I don’t want to seem pushy…I just wanted you to know what I thought…” she drifted off. Mon could be intimidating in his seriousness upon occasion.
He smiled at her. “I understand.” He turned to Jacquie and Tatiana. “If it will save time, I can take Tina to her home and get there in less than a few hours. That should more than enough time to give us the head start we need.”
”You can?” asked Spirit.
“I’m very fast when I fly,” replied Mon. He turned to Tatiana. He was unsure, but she seemed very put-off suddenly.
“That sounds like a good plan,” said Jacquie. “You two go on ahead and will take the connecting trains into Austria. Just a nice day or so of train rides through Eastern Europe…” she said, letting them see her exhaustion for the first time.
“We all need rest,” said Tatiana. “This will give us a good opportunity to get some.”
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
“Where’s Mon?” asked Tenz when Tatiana sat back down next to him.
“Gone. He flew up ahead.” She did not look happy.
“Hm, good thing you seem so OK about it,” said Tenz.
“He’s with ‘Tina’,” she said, making a face as she did it. “You know, little Ms. Perfect Legionnaire.”
“Uh, yeah…” said Tenz, realizing this might not be the best time to joke with Tatiana. “…I, er, didn’t even notice her before…”
Tatiana couldn’t help it. She was mad. She desperately wanted Mon to stick around. After all that just happened to her, she just wanted some comfort…some time with him. But no, he has to run off with the cute little Legionnaire while she stayed her with her ‘blue-skinned, tortured self’. As she thought those last words to herself, she cringed at her own annoyingness, even to herself.
“I don’t blame you,” said Condo to her quietly. “Tall, chiseled, strong jaw line? That Mon-El is a babe,” he smiled at her.
“Waitaminute,” said Dirk to Vi. “Val teaches you all how to fight? From what Tenz told me, the guy kicks ass like no one else.”
“Yeah, he’s trying to help out a lot of us that never really have been in a fist fight before,” replied Vi.
Dirk looked over at Val. He was in the seats behind Hasim and Jacquie. Jacquie had finally fallen asleep, and now Hasim was awake next to her. Even when he thought no one was watching him he looked mean. Dirk thought he was guarding Jacquie like some crazed German Shepard. Then, surprisingly, Dirk saw Val try to look over and see what Jacquie and Hasim were doing…why was that? Ah.
“Val,” whispered Dirk. “I here you teach the Legionnaires how to fight.”
“I do,” said Val. “Do you have any training?”
“No, but I was hoping you could teach me too. I’m tired of getting captured and beat-up.”
“I would gladly teach you,” said Val with a small nod.
“Great. I’ll do what I can for you in return…” he said with a smile, and then a nod in Jacquie’s direction.
“Children,” said the voice of Blok suddenly. He was hovering over them all. “I would recommend you use this time as the Princess has, and get some rest. You are all exhausted and need it. Even you Hasim.”
There was a finality in his voice that made them not want to question him.
“When did he get all fatherly?” asked Dirk to Vi and she giggled.
“Blok, you didn’t go to Austria ahead of everyone too?” asked Tatiana. “You usually do that.”
“I know,” replied Blok. “But I wanted to stay with Maziah right now…she’s been through a great deal.” He walked back to his seat.
Tatiana fumed.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Extract from the diary of Ming Sul, age MYOB
Been a couple of days since I last wrote in here. Since then, we've moved on from Japan, and Tikhik's promise that we'd end up in a very cold place at some point has held true. We think it's Siberia, but a fact I've learned quickly is that we're never sure where we are unless some "Nice Person" tells us - or at least Tikhik's not, and that extends to the rest of us, in practice.
Even with the absolute, bone-chilling cold of the place though - and it doesn't matter what you do, you're ALWAYS cold - one thing it's got going for it is the view. It's so absolutely barren, it's spectacular (it wouldn't be for long if you were stuck here, I guess, but for a couple of days - Wow).
So, yesterday was pretty simple in theory, a pain in the butt in practice. When we arrived, me and Tom set up the tent, Tikhik and Nori went inside, then me & Tom got to bury it under a thick layer of snow to keep it warm. Joy. After we were done and Tik let us in with one of his gates (since we had to bury the entrance too), I was only good for letting off ZZZs.
Then, this morning when I woke up, Tik was already awake - which reminds me, I need to have a word with Tom on how much Tik sleeps. I think I've only seen him sleep once since I met him, and that was between the big jump from Hong Kong to Tokyo and then making him teleport us round the city for somewhere to stay. At most, he goes to sleep after me, and wakes up earlier, and I'm a light sleeper & an early riser (unlike Tom...), so, although I can't really speak for snow-shovelling day, he can't be sleeping much, and that can't be good.
Anyway, Tik was already awake, so I got him to let me out (once I'd suited up against the cold even more...) and went out to have a look at the view and wake myself up properly. Once I got back (with, I swear, iced sweat on my forehead! Honestly), I saw what he'd been doing - trying to get Nori to eat some soup, and not doing very well.
Ever since he found her the way he did, he's been... well, not obsessed, since that sounds creepy, but it's like he's trying to be her dad or something. I think he might be transferring all his I-want-to-save-the-captives energy to her until we get to a place he can. Maybe I don't understand him as well as I think, but I think he's got a huge saviour-complex. He can't save himself from being a bug, so he has to save everyone else instead...
As for Nori herself, she's like a different person from the hyper-screwball she was in Japan. There, of course, she had electricity up the yin-yang, but here, there's nothing or near-enough. So, where there she was mad (her brain was fried or something from all the electricity running through her), here she can barely lift her head, and she's sleeping like 23 hours a day. We've managed to get more than the tiny bit of sense we got out of her here that said, because of it. At least she's coherent right now for the time she's awake.
Apparently, she really was homeless when Tik found her, like he thought. Her dad kicked her out when her powers emerged - which, besides how unfair it was, was a double blow since she usually can't think straight, since when there's mains electricity about, it goes to her head and scrambles her brains. She says she literally doesn't know how she's survived all the time on the streets, since she can't remember much of it, but the reason she speaks English so well is because her father demanded it and brought in tutors when she was a young kid to make sure her and her younger brother, Keitaro (I'm guessing the spelling) did. He sounds like a real bastard.
Guess I did get lucky - all I get is the odd broken glass when I forget my own strength. Tik & Nori got it rough with their powers, and saviour-complex or no, Tik's right when he says we're going to have to see if we can help her when we hit civilisation again.
No Great Insights on Tom - he's the same Tom, heart-on-sleeve and all. I'm not even sure there ARE any Great Insights to be had on him - which isn't to say he's shallow, more that he's so honest he can't hide anything to become a Great Insight later.
Anyway, the rest of the day was boring as hell. Tik looked worried over Nori while she was sleeping, Tom slept quite a bit, we couldn't really go out in the cold, so we just sat, talked a bit, I read a bit (Tom couldn't, since we can't use the torches with Nori around, since the batteries go flat in less than a minute), and I'm catching up on this.
Hopefully, we'll be moving on tomorrow, and it should be a bit warmer - it can't get any colder anyway. Fingers crossed!
"I can see his nose!" Mick exclaimed while staring at the Ultrasound scan.
"Behave Mick," Laura slapped her husband's hand down as his overexcitement threatened to have him take to the air, wiggling slightly at the cold jelly on her stomach. _______________
One Year Ago...
"Insect Queen... Behind you!"
Laura turned straight into a kiss from her new boyfriend. Mick was the town's resident hero - not that a small town like San Drew really needed a superhero - even big cities like New York and Metropolis didn't have any super-... well, anything, making the news yet, but the mayor still dubbed Foreman the Town's Official Hero, he was an official Deputy in the sheriff's office, and he flew overhead regularly on the lookout for what little crime there was.
And now she regularly joined him in flight. The serum's effect on her had been undeniable. The most important thing her new body had given her wasn't the looks, it was the confidence that came with them. Before, she'd always hidden at the back of the class, in the corner of a room, alone in her bedroom. No more - now she'd given herself the confidence to Stand Up And Be Counted, and the little mishap with her turning into Were-Bugs could be shrugged off just the same, once Mick had saved her. Now she was in control of her powers and her life, and she was in love. What more could she want?
She giggled and chased after Mick, her wings making a deep buzzing sound as she flew at top speed. _______________
Eight Months Ago...
"I now pronounce you Man and Wife. You may kiss the Bride."
He spent a second looking the new Mrs. Laura Russell straight in the eyes before pulling her tight in a deep, passionate kiss, to which she eagerly responded. The clapping and cheering from their relatives didn't even register.
He remembered their first kiss like this, when she had been the one to grab him. It was when the STAR Labs technicians, who had tested him after he'd first gained his powers, said they'd found a way to stabilise her, with a ring that pulsed on a frequency that kept her form stable the way she willed it. It had been such a surprise - first that she'd kissed him at all, and then when he found out how he'd been her crush for years and years, but she'd been too shy to tell him. Obviously, that had changed.
As the kiss progressed, he phased into remembering his own "origin," when he'd been jogging just outside town when he saw a meteor land just over a ridge. Entranced, he touched the glowing object... and woke up the next afternoon in a STAR Labs facility. They'd tested him thoroughly for powers - unbeknownst to him at the time, they were testing him for psi-powers as part of a massive program they were participating in with two deep-black government agencies¹, and were disappointed at his lack of mind-manipulation powers, as he'd found when looking for information on other fragments of the meteor that might have empowered others. What he did get were super-strength and flight, his two fantasy powers, which he used to become Foreman, hero of San Drew. But the confidence was an act, until she kissed him and said she loved him.
The kiss broke only when they started to run out of oxygen. The night was even more special. _______________
Four Months Ago...
"Well? Come on, come on..."
"Wait just a minute Mick."
"Well?"
She sighed. Sometimes, he was so enthusiastic he came across like a little boy. It was one of the things she loved about him. "It's changing..."
"Well?"
"Yes it is, it's changing."
"Well? Come on, come on..."
She looked up, stony faced. His own face fell, and on seeing that she couldn't contain her smile any longer. "You're going to be a daddy."
Some reports later suggested his cry of delight could be heard from the moon. This is of course arrant nonsense - there's no air on the moon. _______________
Now...
He clasped her hand tightly as she strained and the head started to poke out, whispering words of encouragement to her as she finally came to an end of the marathon labour. Once the baby was out, the midwife took care of the placenta and handed the exhausted Laura her baby boy, wrapped in a white towel. Mick bent down to look at his newborn son, whispering the name they'd chosen to him. "Welcome to the world, Christopher Charles Russell."
Both proud parents smiled. A couple of weeks before, they'd heard of the forming of a Legion of Super-Heroes. If it had come a year earlier, both would have considered going for membership. But now, they were happy where they were, in San Drew, with each other, and their new son.
Footnotes:
¹ - Cadmus and Checkmate. STAR were looking for additional recruits for the program that begat Tela.
posted
The private jet came in to land perfectly on the runway at Workforce HQ.
"Nice jet," Polarity called as his brother stepped off.
"Brande leant me it, along with his pilot for the day," Cosmic Boy replied.
"Hope you thanked him."
Cos sighed. "'f course. Ready?"
"As I'll ever be...," hoisting his bag over his shoulder, Polarity stepped aboard the plane for his flight home. Getting time off for this had been a nightmare, and there was no-one to see him off as the plane left the runway empty once more. _________________________
"So, when'd it happen?"
"They're not sure exactly. They found her around 7am, and think she'd been lying there for two or three hours."
"Geez..." _________________________
Three Hours Earlier:
"Cos, wait..."
Walking across the helipad, ready for his trip to the airport, he turned to see the three Trinities rushing towards him.
"Lorna?"
"You didn't think we'd let you sneak away without making sure you're okay, did you? Losing a gran isn't something we'd wish on anyone." "We just wanted you to know we're thinking of you." "And if you need someone to come with you, as a friend..."
"Lorna," He took Trinity-Neutral's hands in his, "the best thing you can do for me right now, as a friend, is to get yourself sorted out. Go and see Irma. Deal with your lost fortnight. Please." _________________________
Four Hours Earlier:
Spark saw Paul get the call in the rec room. She couldn't hear what was said, but she could see from Paul's face that whatever it was it was Bad News. As soon as he walked across, shoulders slumped, she rushed to see what was wrong.
"Paul, what..."
Briefly, he remembered he technically wasn't talking to her over her reaction to his relationship with Enrapture, but Meta wasn't around - and wasn't exactly a shoulder to cry on anyway - and he needed to talk to someone. "It's my gran... t-they think she's had a stroke."
Ella instinctively threw her arms around Paul, comforting him for a minute before pulling out to have her hands on his shoulders. "How - when...?"
"I don't know, I think Rex mentioned the details, but I-I didn't catch them properly. He's going to call back when he's made travel arrangements if he can."
"Do you want me to come with you to see McCauley?"
"W..." Polarity was cut of in mid-sentence by a cough from Enrapture as she entered the room, and Spark noticed an instant change in his demeanour, as he stopped trembling.
"Hi Meta," he sad, kissing her on both cheeks. Listen, I can't see you tonight, my gran's been taken ill and I'll need to go and see her. Sorry..."
"Don't worry about it Paul, I'm sure there will be other times. You go and see your gran, okay?" Her tone struck Ella as being like nothing more than patting an obedient pet, as Paul left the room without taking any further notice of her.
After he left, Ella walked towards Meta, who didn't flinch in the slightest at the shorter girl approaching her. "Can I help you, Eileen?"
"I want to know where you get off playing with Paul's mind. I didn't think people like you really existed until I met you."
"'People like me'? How interesting. If you're that jealous, perhaps you shouldn't have said you weren't interested."
"My exact words were 'I don't think of you that way.' And I don't, I think of him like a brother. And, it might be news to you, but you don't bone your brother."
"Really? I thought where you came from it happened all the time."
In the corner, Andromeda tensed, ready to intervene if things got any worse, with sparks flying from Ella's eyes as it was, but Ella controlled herself enough to say, "If I see one sign from now on that you've played with his mind in any way, or you do anything to hurt him, you'll be on the receiving end of enough electricity to light up New York for a year. Understand?"
"Completely. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be out of here in half an hour and there was something I wanted to do." Meta calmly pushed Ella out the way, walked over to a computer terminal and sat down, while Ella seethed where she stood. _________________________
As Paul and Rex approached the hospital room, neither quite knew what to expect. At the door, Paul made an "after you" gesture to his big brother, and reluctantly followed him in.
"R-R-R-Re-x-x-x-x! P-P-P-au-l-l-l-l-l!"
Their gran was sitting up in bed, a bandage over a significant cut on her head from where she'd fallen, but she didn't look too bad all things considered. Her new, terrible, juddering stutter, however, meant Paul struggled to hide his wince. Their dad, at her bedside as they arrived, shot a "don't mention it" glance at him.
In the meantime, Rex was speaking, asking her how she was, and she replied in the same juddering voice, making her impossible to understand.
Paul sat there, not quite silent but not saying much, for half an hour in extreme discomfort. When he eventually excused himself to go to the toilet, Rex followed after a couple of minutes and found him sitting on a toilet seat, crying in an open cubicle. He crouched down in front of him, forced a smile and clasped his shoulder in reassurance, but a few tears ran down his face too.
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
posted
Igor Kuria was the easygoing type. Being the child of a Russian woman and Kenyan man who had grown up in Canada made him unusual already. Wasn't all that made him unusual though.
A tall guy and pale-skinned Asian woman came into his repair shop together one day, one with a Aussie accent and one with an accent he couldn't place but wasn't Canadian. More unusual.
"Hi," said the woman, "we were told to come here if we needed, ummm... 'unusual tech.'"
"'Pends what you mean by 'unusual'. I had one woman come in the other day asking for a v'brator with six hundred settings and option for extensions. Not the sort of thing I do, but I do do stuff other folks can't. What is it?"
"It's for a friend of ours," replied the guy, "she needs help, and..."
"Whoa - not a doctor friend."
"She's not ill - well, not in the conventional medical sense anyway, so a hospital couldn't help her, and she's tried enough times."
"It's hard to explain," continued the woman, "could you some and see at least? We'll pay you for the time even if you can't do anything."
Igor was tempted. Mostly out of curiosity, true, but still... "Sorry, don't do house calls. If your friend would come here, then maybe..."
"She can't. That's part of the problem. If..."
They saw his face, looked at each other, shrugged, and the woman leaped over his head while the guy pointed at him and pinned him to the ground. In return, Igor pointed at the guy's ankles, and a trail of green technology spurted from his finger, wrapped around the guy's ankle and pulled him down, freeing himself.
"We" the woman was making him dizzy "-didn't-" with the way she was jumping around him "-come-", keeping out of his reach "-here-" after she saw "-to-" what had happened to the guy "-fight!" who came with her.
"Doing a good impression of it sister, since you went for me first. So if you would stop hopping like a cricket, I'd be much obliged."
She stopped and looked at him cautiously. "What we said was true. Our friend needs help - her powers are killing her. She needs something to stop her absorbing electricity out of the air and overloading herself, and that's why we came to you for help. We didn't know you were superhuman yourself or we'd have explained earlier."
"Okay, okay, I'll come."
"Thanks. I'm Sul, by the way, and this is Tom."
"Name's Igor, but my friends call me the iGod."
Tom and Sul blinked at him, clearly trying not to laugh.
He noticed their response. "Ah, go ahead. Doesn't work on them either"
They sniggered. ___________________________________________
As they knocked and were let in to the locked and empty warehouse they were staying in by one of Tikhik's portals, they saw he was standing protectively over Nori, who was twitching uncontrollably.
"She's getting worse," he said as they walked over to him, "after being uncharged for days, suddenly being in the middle of power lines was too much for her, and she's already too overloaded to safely discharge." Suddenly, he registered Igor. "So who's this you've brought anyway?"
In response, Igor let out a stream of Russian words neither Sul nor Tom understood. Seeing their surprised looks, he said "C'mon - the name's Igor. Mom would never have forgiven me if I hadn't learned the mother tongue."
"You just said you'd 'had a large amount of me'," Tikhik groused. "Now shut up and help her."
Igor let it go and his arm suddenly shifted into a mass of green machinery. Tikhik blinked.
"I'll explain later," Igor's smile was gone now, and he was focused on his task. The other two had explained Noriko's problem on the way over - she absorbed electricity from nearby things; electrical appliances, power lines, you name it; and couldn't control it. And when she got overloaded, she started talking too fast, and then she thought so fast she became incoherent, then she ended up like this. And the only significant way of getting rid of it were massive blasts which weren't really an option.
Gingerly, very carefully, he extended a tendril from the midst of his disassembled arm. This was going to be tricky to do without overloading himself, and he mentally created resistors, transformers and circuit-breakers along the length of the tendril, bulking it up, to protect himself from the surge that came as he made contact.
The pain was worse than he'd expected, given his precautions, but it was bearable and he could tell that he could take it safely for a while. Now came the first of the tricky parts, as he extended the tendril around her neck until it joined up with itself and pulled it tight. Somewhere on the periphery of his consciousness he heard Gates shout something, but it didn't really register as he extended mini-tendrils from the main one into her skin, concentrating on avoiding nerves and significant blood vessels on his way to her brain.
Gradually, the longer it went on, and the deeper he got, the more he could filter out the signals from the electrical storm assailing his senses, until he could feel her mind brushing against his. He shouted her name into the maelstrom, trying to get her attention, unconsciously speeding up his perceptions to match her own. He tried again, and was rewarded with a whisper, almost indistinguishable in the storm, and he chased for the source. Then he saw her, or a representation of her, curled in a foetal position and barely aware of what was going on in the storm.
Reaching her, his avatar touched the shoulder of hers, and she turned to look at him. Her first words were confusion - who was he, how was he here.
"My name's Igor," he said gently. "Your friends looked me up to help you, and that's what I'm trying to do."
"Can you... take this away. Let me think clearly?" Her avatar shifted slightly as she said this. It had matched her real-life self, with lank grey hair, but her hair now shifted to an electric-blue bob.
"Sort of." He spent a moment feeling for his other tendrils, and confirming what he'd thought. "I can calm this down temporarily - I'll leave you with a collar like this" a green circlet, covered in rough circuitry, appeared in his hand, "linked into your brain, it'll fool your body into keeping you at a safe level, instead of the overcharge/undercharge mess you have just now. But it won't last forever - in two-three months, it'll be burnt out with the voltage you channel."
"What then?" Her oversized purple poloneck shirt had faded to a tight white crop-top as she got excited, but the poloneck began to reappear as he told her it was only temporary.
"Up to you. I can feel it - you can control your powers Nori, you just never had the chance to learn how with the way they turned up. I'm giving you that chance. Whether you take it is up to you..."
Her face looked confused for a moment, then determined.
"One more thing. I've leeched enough electricty off you for you to wake up now. When you do, there's a pole in front of you. Grab it and force all the electrity you can through it. You'll probably conk out afterward, but when you wake up, you should be clear-headed enough to say thanks."
He severed the tendril, woke up and fell back. He wanted to lie down, but it wasn't safe and he got up and motioned the others away while he ran, as Nori woke up, grabbed the pole as he'd told her, and discharged into it in a blinding flash. Once the flash was over, he saw her collapsed on the ground and motioned the others to go back now. The pole itself was melted almost to slag, but the electric field around Nori herself appeared to have protected her...
posted
Nori woke up, and the first thing she did was pick at her collar. She knew she needed it, and was grateful for the chance to think clearly for the first time in... and she couldn't believe this... three years, but she had an itch she couldn't scratch all the way around her neck.
"How yo feelin'?"
She turned to look at Igor, "Stop faking that stupid accent."
"Hey, I..."
"You didn't in my head, you were being honest there, you're faking it here."
"But..."
"Enough. We're not tourists and this isn't one of your acting classes cueball."
"How..." Igor looked completely flabbergasted.
Nori just shrugged. "You were in my head. You must have left some info behind. Thanks for the fix, by the way."
At that moment Sul stuck her head round the corner and said, "Ah, you're up & about. Tik wants a word if you've got a minute."
Nori shrugged "Sure" and was gone from Igor's sight between eyeblinks, leaving him confused. _________________
"You were asking about me?"
Tikhik jumped as he heard the voice behind him, as if from nowhere, and turned to see Nori grinning at his reaction, putting any and all thoughts momentarily out of his head. _________________
"So what's your story?" Sul asked Igor, breaking him out his trance.
"Grandparents on my dad's side were Kenyan, but they emigrated to Canada when they were in my twenties with my dad. When my dad grew up, he met my mom, who was a, well, defector not to put too fine a point on it, from the old Soviet U and they got married and had me. When I was five, I tripped and fell - nothing unusual, except that instead of forming a scab it got covered in this green machinery, which got covered over with skin and everything was alright. Except I could feel it, stuff shifting inside of me - never told them though. Then, three years ago, they both died in a car crash. Been on my own since." _________________
Nori knelt down opposite Tikhik, leaning back against her heels, while he got his head in order.
"So, how are you?" he finally asked.
"Weird - I mean, I feel weird. This collar-thing's itchy & just having my head clear & working at its proper speed after all this time, its, well," she spent a moment searching for an alternative word, then just shrugged and finished, "weird!"
"How much do you remember?"
"Not much. The occasional thing here and there, but 99% of the past three years is just gone. I do remember an impromptu skydiving lesson though, and you spending what seemed like a whole day trying to get me to eat soup while I was frozen and wiped."
"You looked hungry," Tik shrugged.
Unconsciously, Nori tilted her head slightly to the side slightly on hearing the way he said it, but what she said was "Whether I was or wasn't then, I'm starving now. I don't think I've eaten actual food in the last three years, so..."
"Go and have a word with Tom then - he's over there - since he's the one who normally heats food up for us. Just don't eat too quickly if you've not..."
"Ta..." and Nori was gone.
"You can't said much for someone who's spent the last week panicking about her." Sul's voice caused Tikhik to jump just as he was about to settle into one of his "brooding periods", as she'd taken to calling them.
"She's alright, and that's the important thing," Tikhik said, before adding, "Were you listening to us? I thought you were talking with Igor..."
"He was just telling me his family history, nothing that can't wait, and I wasn't too bothered about hearing it; so when I heard that crackle she makes when she's running so quick, I came to see whether you'd really fallen out within five minutes of actually meeting her."
"She was hungry, and I sent her over to Tom to have some food."
"Ah-hah. Right."
Tik just shook his head... _______________________
The next day, Tom woke up late as usual, and looked around the warehouse. While the only windows were at roof level, they lit the warehouse up fine, and it looked like there was no-one around at first, until he eventually saw Tikhik on a gantry up near the roof, looking out through the windows.
While the steel platform itself looked solid enough, Tom didn't trust the slimy, rotted stairs that led up to it, and expected that Tik hadn't either, so he walked over to just below the gantry and concentrated. He'd been working on levitating without the wild tumbling that had characterised his earlier attempts, and had just about got to the point where he managed to keep the centre of gravity low enough to prevent that without risking pulling his feet off his legs, but this was higher than he'd tried before and he was nervous all the way up, until he managed to grab the edge of the gantry and pull himself onto it.
Tik didn't seem to notice his arrival, but Tom knew from experience how faraway his mind could get when he was staring out like this, and shook his shoulder to get his attention. "This what you do when there's no sea around?" he asked.
"I'm fine Tom, just thinking..."
"I guessed. Where is everyone?"
"Sul and Nori found some Japanese banknotes in one of Nori's pockets, and went to see if they could exchange it for local money, then get some new clothes for Nori which fit her. Igor just went home last night after you went to sleep."
"I thought he was interested in coming with us?"
"From what I saw, he was more interested in Sul. Apparently, she's still coming with us though, and he may or may not come back to go with us as well, and if he does, I suppose he would have to be at least somewhat interested in what we're trying to do."
"Right. So when are you planning to eat something?
"I..."
"Don't give me that Tik, I know you too well. For the past few days, you've been teleporting big chunks of food away when you think no-one's looking. Specifically, what is it? McCauley, Nori, nerves, what?"
Tikhik looked at his best friend, "All of those in their way, but mostly I was just thinking again, looking down there at this town - I'll never be able to do that again, ever. I can't go home - my parents would never believe it was me, and even if they did, how fair would it be to them?"
"Tik, I'm sure..."
"No, they'd be like Nori's parents. I never quite fit in - that's why I went on that trip to the US, to try and fit with my classmates. And now they're dead, and I'm like this. And how many others did McCauley kill, maim or mutate? I saw someone turned into a misshapen monster with two front legs and a huge tail. I saw someone locked in a spacesuit because they couldn't breathe normal air. I saw, I sau,..." his voice cut out. It didn't tail off, it just stopped halfway into the last syllable.
Tom put his hand on Tik's shoulder. "Deep breaths, come on. I know it was horrible, and I know we can't put right what he did wrong, but we can stop him doing any more. We WILL stop him."
Tikhik's voice finally broke back through, in the form of a loud sob. "Yes," he finally forced out, "we will." ________________
"Slow DOWN!"
Ming Sul could outpace any Olympic athlete over any distance. As she shouted, she was running at 30 mph and had been constantly for almost ten minutes.
Noriko Ashida was leaving her trailing.
"NORI! Slow..."
"...down?" Suddenly, Nori was running alongside her, backwards, small bolts of electricity bouncing from her bare arms to her exposed torso and back again, easily matching her for speed despite jogging backwards. She had a wide grin on her face.
"Okay," Sul panted slightly as she slowed, Nori slowing with her, "okay..."
"Sorry," Nori's grin dropped as they slowed and she saw how flushed Sul was.
"S'okay," Sul gave herself a minute, and pushed her long black hair, matted with sweat, out of her face before continuing, "just the first time I've ever been outrun, ever. How fast were you going?"
"I don't know - it's the first time I've ever been able to stretch my legs like that - ever. Felt good, especially being able to feel the wind on my skin without all that stuff weighing me down."
Indeed, Nori was barely recognisable as the girl Tikhik had rescued from the gang a week earlier. Besides the fact that she was clean, her too-big poloneck and skirt had been replaced by a white croptop, slightly baggy jeans and white trainers. The single biggest change, though, was in her hair. Her lank grey hair, which had obscured her face, was gone, replaced with a short bob. Dyed electric blue - as she'd said to Sul when picking it, how could she resist? She also wore a rucksack with some extra clothes, including a jacket and underwear, within - her old clothes having been dropped off at a charity shop, on the offchance someone would want them.
Sul had recovered her composure by this stage and looked around the chilly country road. "We'd better be getting back - it's starting to get dark."
"Fine..." Nori sped off, before running back and saying "Come on," and starting off again at a slightly more sedate pace.
Sul just shook her head and started running. __________________
They arrived back at the warehouse just as the sun was beginning to disappear and the western sky was a dusky blue, and on knocking hard the way they'd arranged, a green portal appeared to let them in.
Of the three, Tom was the first to notice Nori's new look as Tik and Igor talked. Not that he actually said anything, more that he boggled at the difference.
Igor, when he looked, was less shocked as it resembled the look her avatar had had as it got more optimistic, but still muttered something about the degree of change. Tikhik just said, "Nice haircut," and left it at that before announcing that they were leaving the next day and Igor was going with them. And that, with luck, they would be in range to teleport within the day when they landed, and they needed a plan. Sul, exhausted, slumped down beside them as they talked. Nori wasn't sure how she should take the responses as she sat down too.
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
posted
Micro shifted against the squishy thing to his left. This wasn't going to be pleasant. He proceeded to close his eyes as he saw the huge three-pronged metal implement head towards him and scoop him up. As soon as he felt the damp warmth close around him and the shifting of the soft ground, he grew.
In moments, prisoner M11811W194's head was scattered around the walls of his cell in 3003 seperate solid pieces, to count nothing of the innumerable blood splashes and leaks accompanying it as his heart continued to pump for several moments, blood gushing out of the gaping wound that was his neck, small amounts leaking down his windpipe and foodpipe as it did so.
"Justice is served, huh?" Micro mused aloud as he, enclosed from head-to-toe in a black drysuit with blood-splattered one-way mirrored mask, jumped to the window, grabbed the bars, and shrunk down to minisule size, before growing for the descent into the black hole which appeared in mid-air. ___________________
Mano looked at the camera. This was going perfectly, damn it. All the information they'd been given suggested that the group who had shot Ultraboy was small, a close-knit group of ten to fifteen people, although they were well organised and made free use of the "Second Amendment."
The member who'd actually shot Ultraboy had already been assassinated by Micro, who was in the home of another member now, waiting for a chance to hitch a ride on him, unnoticed, to allow them to track the meeting place. Intel suggested a meeting was due tonight, triggered by the gunman's death ironically enough, suggesting that their sense of self-preservation was on the blink.
It would be one to remember. ___________________
Micro reported in. They were all there, little ducks in a row.
Wolf checked his claws.
Tellus sighed audibly.
Mano just stared straight ahead.
The three rushed out their van, and Mano vapourised the door of the ordinary-looking domestic residence.
"Good evening gentleman."
Every single man in the room went for his gun - only to inexplicably drop it on the floor in response to a pulse from the nodules on Tellus' back. Micro grew and went to join the others.
Mano continued, "recently, you tried to send a signal to Leonard McCauley. Mr. McCauley doesn't take "signals" very happily, so he's asked us to RSVP to you in person. I am truly sorry about this, but I have no choice."
Mano began the rout immediately, grabbing someone with his left hand of Pain, and crushing his throat one-handed as the man tried to scream.
Micro was more creative. He shrunk down so he could walk into the pores of someone's leg. He then expanded his arm, shattering his limb. He then repeated the procedure with the man's other four limbs... and then left him to bleed to death.
Tellus crushed another's skull with his club-like tail and used his telepathy to give another man a fatal aneurysm,
Wolf slashed another in half, crotch to sternum, his claws rending both flesh and bone easily, leaving only his head and upper neck intact as the man screamed in his last moments.
Mano continued, using his Right Hand of Destruction to clear the path to someone's heart, then ripped it out with his left hand and held it in front of the man for the thirty seconds it took for the light to fade from his eyes, as the beating slowed and stopped.
Wolf and Tellus double-teamed someone else, Wolf sundering his legs from his body before Tellus caved his chest in with his tail.
And so it continued, until all that was left of the group was a pile of corpses, several in bits or with holes in them, lying on the floor, blood staining the carpet and floorboards beneath. ____________________
The four walked calmly out to the van and drove off afterward, to a pre-determined safehouse. They wouldn't make contact with the outside world for at least a week to prevent directly linking the massacre to McCauley. Each had their own thoughts in the matter - Mano had no particular sympathy for their cause, but hated to do anything at McCauley's pleasure. Wolf, now the red mist was fading, was troubled. Tellus closed his eyes and slept, and Micro listened to techno-rap.
A successful mission.
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Andromeda lay curled in her bed. She'd heat-visioned the door to seal it - probably a mistake, but the least of her worries right now, with the dry red stain still on her gloves. Blood still on her hands.
The day replayed itself in her head yet again. It had started innocuosly enough - Polarity was away visiting his sick gran, and had been due back later in the day, so there had been only six at breakfast, which went quietly. She'd been paired with Enrapture for the day, and had made a note to ask her at some point about the current situation - her and Spark fighting wouldn't help anything, but it wasn't something she'd got round to.
It was at the third and longest call of the day It had happened.
There were no photographers or anything of the sort, amazingly enough. It was an arms manufacturing depot which had called them in for half a day, to get her to scan for spy-devices and Enrapture to scan for infiltrators, having suspected something was going on.
An hour in, she'd heard an odd buzz in the background and had investigated, tracking it down to the middle of a crowded area. After prompting Enrapture to scan the area, someone had recoiled momentarily from the probe, then suddenly moved at a speed only Andromeda could follow, shifting his arms into guns. At that moment she'd seen it - a silver necklace, with a Triangle-shaped pendant glistening white in the light. The gunman had moved toward Enrapture, displaying his immunity to her telepathy now he was ready for it. He'd raised his "arm" - then his head had blown into a million fragments. At the end of Andromeda's fist.
Shocked at what she'd done, she'd frozen while Enrapture took charge of the scene, scanning for others. Andromeda then excused herself, calling HQ to pull Dragonmage off his PR stunt and send him in as a backup before taking off, flying high. She'd had the power to stop the guy, she'd killed him. And, and...
Even as she arrived back, however, they already had the news that they greeted her with - there wouldn't be any charges, the local PD had "understood" the need for the force used in the light of an apparent terrorist attack. "In a post-9/11 world", they "understood" that you couldn't be too careful when dealing with terrorists, especially super-powered ones.
If they understood it, perhaps they could explain it to Andromeda.
Trinity stood at her window, watching the pouring rain, the three of her brooding silently, thinking about what Cos and Shifter had said.
Her talk with Shifter had pointed out to her the inconsistancy in her refusal to get help, that she couldn't explain, and Cos' plea for her to get help even as he was going off to see his gran's possible death weighed on her. She felt trapped in an ever-tightening box, and wanted out.
She envied the Legionnaires who could fly. New York city streets weren't equipped for going for a proper walk, the canyons formed by the skyscrapers combining with the sheer mass of people to ensure she, after growing up in a small town, just couldn't lose herself in a walk. But flying... she'd only done it once, before the flight rings were confiscated, but even then, in formation with the other Legionnaires...
She remerged, turned and headed down the corridor, intending to pay someone a visit... _________________________
"What flight rings? Remember - they were all taken."
"Lyle, if you and your boyfriend didn't secretly make a hundred new rings to replace the confiscated ones, I want to know who you are and what you've done with Invisible Kid."
Lyle blushed slightly at the reference to Catalyst as his "boyfriend," but not at her expectation. His silence told Trinity all she needed to know.
"Where?"
"Lorna, they're for emergencies. I've not been going off flying every five minutes - and I've wanted to often enough." He saw her face and knew what it meant. "I can only give you one anyway - we didn't make anything like a hundred."
"One'll be enough. Thanks, Lyle." __________________________
Soaring through the air, rain lashing across her face, Trinity was free. Only, she wasn't. Even there, in mid air, she still feel the weight of her problems pulling her down to Earth.
"Well, what did you expect?" Purple's nagging voice, denied physical expression by the danger of splitting in mid air, cut through her reverie, "that we'd get into the air and all our troubles would just suddenly *be* so far away?" Instantly, her other selves started to argue with Purple, and her head threatened to explode. She couldn't split to relieve it, and she could barely keep aloft through the internal conflict.
Floating in mid-air, her tears added to the rain on her cheeks. __________________________
Irma was sitting with Garth on her couch, arms around each other, when she heard a knock at her door.
Disentangling herself, she walked over and opened the door to see Trinity standing there like a drowned rat.
"Help."
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
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