Hygeia wished the rest of the team were here, in the magnificant monuments of Angkor.
Or at least anyone but the impish Quislet.
She cringed as he carelessly morphed the ancient stone walls near them to ensnare another pair of hypnotized guards. She quickly ran up to them and gave them a mild dose of the sleeping sickness.
She could have felled them on her own, but it would have taken much longer. On the other hand, Quislet lacked the ability to finely control earth and rock as well as he did machinery. They needed each other.
And she was glad Quislet was there to watch her back. At least the imp had finally agreed to restore everything he morphed to its proper form... after the battle ended.
"Ancient monuments are fun!" Quislet giggled as he rippled through the temple walls. The carvings of two demons facing each other moved in for a kiss.
"Quislet, we have to hurry and stop the apsara before..."
"Duck!" Quislet shouted as a wave of rock sped outwards. Hygeia turned to see it had toppled a SHIELD agent and crushed a rifle, presumably the agents. She quickly gave him a dose of dengue fever.
"Let's go, Quislet. There will be plenty more time for that later. Especially since I don't think I can keep dodging bullets."
"Fine, fine. Hang on, I'll get us there." Hygeia gulped as a disk of rock formed into a very crude chair. She sat on it tentatively. It zipped off as soon as she had settled in.
Hygeia wished she had asked for a seatbelt as well.
Despite himself, Rebound stared open-mouthed at the glowing ball that hung from the roof of the cave.
"The manananggal kept her part of the bargain," Amihan whispered. Rebound detected the relief behind her stoic front.
"I'm still not sure what we should do about that, though. So apparently this thing siphons magical energy from the area, and Mordru will have one in each location." Amihan nodded in assent.
"If we destroy the ball, somehow, we can release the magic and prevent it from strengthening Mordru." Another nod.
"That is, of course, assuming that our captive was telling the whole truth." Yet another nod.
Rebound sighed. "I hope the other teams got our messages about that." They could ill afford to make Mordru more powerful, but communications had been spotty at best because of the magic. He quickly inflated himself and bounced up to inspect the ball.
He never made it; something heavy crashed into him as he heard Amihan cry out.
Angkor
"Now, Quislet!" Hygeia screamed as she felled the last of the humans in the apsara's thrall.
"Hurrying, o bossy one!" Quislet dove into the animated stone figure, attempting to wrest control from whatever spirit was animating the statue.
Hygeia waited with bated breath. There was only one such creature, so defeating it would end the battle in Cambodia.
An instant later, Quislet popped out. "Is it..."
Before Quislet could reply, the apsara opened its mouth and let out a defeaning scream.
Sagada
Amihan desperately let the winds rip around her as she yelled for their guide to get to higher ground. She couldn't see the creature that had tackled Rebound, but she could hear and smell it. Most likely it was an amomongo or cave ape, a relative to Bigfoot and the Yeti.
Whatever it was, it still had to breathe. She probed with tendrils of wind, trying to locate it.
"What happened?" Hygeia yelled as she covered her ears. "Couldn't you force it out?"
"Spirit too strong!" Quislet yelled back. "It forced Quislet out!"
Hygeia struggled to keep her footing. The apsara wasn't trying to entrance them anymore; it was trying to destroy them.
"Can't you try again?"
"Not without strength... but I have idea! Spirit is unlike Quislet - Quislet can easily survive without material shell. This one powerless unless it inhabits something."
"So if we destroy its shell..."
"It go poof!"
Hygeia inhaled deeply. It would mean damaging a part of one of their national monuments, but...
"Hold it still, then. I think I know the right microbe to use on it."
Quislet nodded, then dove right into the floor. An instant later, a large hand rose up behind the apsara and slammed it down into the ground. Forming into a fist, the stone held the statue upside down, a finger gagging its mouth.
Hygeia quickly ran forward and placed her hands on its head. She was no science major, but she knew that some microorganisms could break through stone. She closed her eyes and commanded every single one in her system to rush forth and invade the statue struggling awkwardly in Quislet's grasp.
Rebound's head hurt worse than it had in his relatively short life. He said a silent prayer for his "uncool" power; it had saved his life.
He quickly bounced up to see what was happening, and found Amihan fighting for her life against a large ape creature.
"Hold on, Amihan! I'm coming!" he yelled.
At that instant, the ape creature froze. It cautiously settled back on its hind legs and bowed.
Amihan and Rebound exchanged startled looks. What could...? Rebound whispered into their comm. "Amihan refers to a weather system. Does it refer to anything mythological?"
"I... Oh!" Amihan slapped her forehead. "How could I forget? Amihan was said to be the personification of the North Wind. It..."
"Tell me about the legend later," Rebound interrupted. "Right now, you need to pretend to be a goddess."
To her credit, Amihan nodded. She addressed the ape in Filipino. "It's good that you know how to show respect, lowly one. Mordru may rule Khundia, but we old gods still rule the Philippines."
The ape grunted, and bowed lower. So it couldn't speak, but it could understand.
"Try using your wind powers as a show of force," Rebound whispered. Amihan nodded and let loose a blast of wind that ruffled the ape's fur. It trembled.
In short order, Amihan had ordered the ape to collect the ball, and the odd procession made their way topside. They collected their bewildered guide in the chamber just outside, and slowly made their way to the light of day.
"Thank you for your assistance. Now, off with you, and tell your fellows that we shall not bow to Mordru," Amihan said as she dismissed the ape. It ran off back into the cave with a bow.
Wiping his brow, Rebound chugged the water from his canteen. "That was great work, Amihan. You have the makings of a great actress," he winked.
"It's not really that hard in the Philippines," she chuckled back. "Now, what do we do with this?"
"I have absolutely no idea."
They just stared at the odd glowing globe. Indeed, what could they do?
Angkor
Hygeia slumped down in exhaustion as she eyed the dust that had come from the possessed apsara statue they had fought. Their plan had worked; all the enthralled had been freed and were recovering from the diseases they had been infliced with; and the Angkor temples had been mostly kept intact. Well, there was one wall that now had a gaping hole where the statue had once been...
"Hey, we won! Cheer up already!" Quislet chirped cheerfully.
"Quislet, this is our national monument. My people are proud of it," Hygeia explained patiently. "That thing just damaged a part of it irretrievably."
"You humans! Change happens, and you best accept that."
Hygeia didn't bother to reply.
Quislet heaved a sigh. "Aw, I hate when you teammates look sad, even though it's silly. Here..."
And he dove into the pile of dust. Hygeia watched in surprise as the dust slowly stirred, and began forming itself into an apsara figure. Slowly, it began to walk back towards the wall and merged with it once more.
As Quislet popped out, Hygeia couldn't help but hug him. "I didn't know you could do that!"
"Takes a looooooooooot of effort," Quislet panted. "And I didn't get it back to how it was - it quite ugly. Kinetix could do a much better job."
"Still, it's good enough for now. And thank you for trying."
Quislet just beamed at her.
An agent came trotting up to them just then. "Call for you from Rebound, Ma'am."
Before she could even say Hello, Rebound started talking. He quickly explained the situation.
Hygeia and Quislet looked at each other. "We haven't seen any glowing balls here..."
Rebound sounded troubled. "Neither have the other teams. We can't tell if that means we succeeded in stopping Mordru before he could begin collecting energy, or if we were too late."
The silence that followed was palpable.
"I think we need to pow-wow. Kid Quantum is bringing Kinetix, Flash and Blizzard over. Let's gather in Singapore."
Kinetix was impressed. Their meeting room was wonderfully clean; the table at the back was well-stocked with delicious food; there were not only seats but also work desks for each Legionnaire, complete with laptop. Everything was in order here in Singapore, despite the growing chaos all over the world.
Taking a bite of a shrimp dumpling, she looked around the room. There were now 14 Legionnaires in all; given the greater size of Asia and the relative unpredictability of attacks compared to those on the North American front, it had been decided to allow all available volunteers to head over here.
The boys were clustered on one side of the room; they were probably trading war stories. Wildfire and Starboy liked to engage in good-natured bragging, and Blizzard had proven surprisingly competitive. Both Polarity and Element Lad were more quiet, but were eager listeners - Polarity enjoyed learning about battle tactics while Element Lad drank up the stories of exotic locations. And Quislet, well, he just seemed to like the camaraderie.
She moved over to join the girls: Flash, Amihan, Amazon and Hygeia. They were eagerly discussing plans for a slumber party. They all knew it would robably be a while before they could have it, but the planning helped lighten their moods.
Just as they had agreed to ask Sensor if she had any estates they could sleep over in, Rebound entered, flanked by Kid Quantum and Shifter. The chatter died down right away.
All three looked fairly grim.
"Thanks for being on time, everyone." Rebound started. "I hope you all had a good rest, because it looks like we won't be getting much in the next few days."
"The attacks are becoming more spread out and more random," Shifter added. "If you'll look at your screens..."
A map appeared showing the sites of the attacks. Four red dots marked the original 4 sites.
"That was three days ago. Now look at the map as it stands today..."
A collective gasp went up around the room as red dots flooded East, South and Southeast Asia.
"We're not distinguishing between attack size," Kid Quantum added. "There's no point - the team from North America chanced upon one such attack on our way here. A dragon suddenly appeared near our jet as we were flying above the Pacific; it was likely teleported in magically." Several heads nodded at that. Starboy no longer looked pleased; he had taken pride in bringing the dragon down with his gravity powers.
"The implication is that no place is safe; a lone scout could be joined by several reinforcements in no time at all."
There was a pause as that knowledge sank in around the room.
Rebound looked around, meeting each Legionnaire in the eyes. "Although our source of information is suspect, Amihan and I feel that we have to take it seriously. Mordru seems to be attacking Asia in order to gather more magic to fuel his own sorcery. Quislet has confirmed that it is possible for magic to be stored in this way, although he doesn't know the exact mechanics by which that is done."
"We do know that is has something to do with these glowing balls..." Rebound gestured as the screen flashed, showing four small spheres. "We have no idea how they work, but they're supposed to collect and store magical energy."
Shifter opened his mouth to speak, but instead he just stared. So did Rebound and Kid Quantum.
Kinetix, puzzled, looked around - and saw that everyone was staring right back at her.
Amazon broke the silence. "Kinetix dear... you're glowing."
Forty minutes after Jones' pronouncement, Dani & Tik stood at the back of the Assembly Hall - the front 120 or so seats were fixed to the floor, but the back half were mounted on a retractable set of wheeled steps, and could fold flat to push the whole assemblage against the wall. With a few stragglers yet to come, eighty-one pupils stood in front of them, flanked by a dozen or so other teachers ready to escort them in small groups.
Nori, meanwhile, was tapping her foot impatiently, stuck between a jet-black Irish girl with pink hair and a fish-headed midget - neither of whom she so much as knew the names of - and was ready for exploding.
Eventually, Dani seemed to decide everyone was there. However, just as Nori was about to sigh with relief at the end of the charade, Dani... called a young girl up to the front.
If they had listened carefully, pink-hair and fish-head would have had a fine education in super-speed Japanese swearing. __________
Dani did, however, have reasons for calling the thirteen-year old Sarah Ryall up to the front. While she was several years younger than Moonstar would ever have allowed in the potential fight to come, she was their best student in her age group, and her powers made her the ideal choice for scouting. While she had no offensive powers to speak of, she was able to change into an electromagnetic form that was intangible, could become invisible, move incredibly quickly and detect most superpowered beings - whether hidden, or in a group of "ordinary" humans - from up to ten metres away. Perfect for getting in, checking and getting out with minimal risk.
Quickly, Dani explained to Sarah that she wanted her to check out the place where 'Mr. Miraz' was about to open up a portal to, and make sure it was safe to send everyone else. "Are you okay with doing this, Sarah? You don't have to do it if you're not."
Sarah visibly swallowed, hard, but replied, "Yes."
Before the kid lost her nerve, Dani signalled to Tik to open his gate. Once it was open, Sarah vanished in a flash of light.
Ten seconds later, she reappeared - albeit in ghostlike form, translucent and floating - and "said", not aloud, «It's okay, Miss. Moonstar.»
Dani made sure to smile as she responded, "Too nervous to change back?"
She bit her lower lip and nodded.
"Well, I think we can suspend the rules on changing out of class, under the circumstances." Dani turned to face the group, "That goes for everyone else with an alternate form - as long as you can and do promise not to hurt anyone and you stay with the group, you can switch over if you want."
There were murmurs in the crowd, followed by a series of sound effects as various pupils became shiny, see-through, bigger, smaller or changed colour. Dani then had to pick out the two or three she knew that she couldn't trust and indicate that they had to power down again - the last of which had her eyes glowing and hands on the verge of forming an arrow before they backed down.
But eventually, finally, the group was ready to go. She turned to Tikhik, who shrugged and opened the gate wide. _________
The convoy of cars was now approaching New York City. In principle, the group would have preferred to avoid a major city, but the "safehouse" they were aiming for was one of their oldest on the continent, built before the modern city expanded to its current size, and they no longer had the numbers, money or frequency of use to justify a replacement in the state. _________
As the portal began to close, Dani sighed - but not with relief. The part she was happy to do was over. Now came the part she supposedly was never going to have to do - make a defensive force from some of her students, in case all this magic crap let someone track where Gates had taken the younger kids.
Lost in thought, she didn't notice something streak through the portal just before it shut... _________
In the "undisclosed location", there was barely-controlled chaos. Tikhik's portal had opened into the central room, a tall round room at least three floors high, with a vaulted dome at the ceiling and a ledge, supported by arched columns,running around at first-floor level, doors leading off from it to unseen rooms beyond.
It hadn't been what any of the students expected. Even signs of damp and various cracks in the brickwork didn't take the edge off it.
Tikhik just sighed, letting the other teachers and the more responsible pupils take the strain of corralling the general exuberance. He was more concerned about what was happening back at the Academy. And hoped he was wrong about one thing in particular. ____________
Taking a breath, Danielle entered the room where Shikari and a dozen of her best students waited. Plus one she hadn't expected, as her eyes immediately leapt to the blue-haired girl.
"What are you doing here, Noriko?" The anger was clear in her voice. It was all she could do to keep from shouting. "You should be with Mr. Miraz and the younger students."
Nori was on her feet, edging away from the desk, apparently ready to run. She wasn't even wearing the screened robes that had become associated with her, just a blue & white tank-top and baggy jeans that she'd once bought on her travels with Tik, Sul & co; along with a scarf around her collar. "Okay, I know you're mad, but can I just point out three things." She paused for breath, watching Moonstar's hands closely. "One, I'm one of the only people in the room who's actually been in a fight like this - you need me. Two, I've not ONCE lost control in all the tests you've run, which is more than some people in this room can say. And three," at this she grinned nervously, "I'm too fast for you to zap, and I'm going to be at this gunfight whether you like it or not!"
Dani glared at Shikari angrily, forcibly herself from doing more. If she was in on this, it was WAY beyond the line she'd reluctantly agreed to. Worse, she knew Nori was right, and she couldn't do a damn thing to stop her sticking around - if she was in any way prepared, Nori could move faster than Dani could adjust for an arrow, and trying to work an illusion on a speedster's brain was a non-starter, as her painful experience with the Allen kid had shown.
In turn, Kari just shrugged. "As was agreed, you were in ultimate charge of the evacuation. When Noriko came here, I presumed you had allowed it."
Shutting her eyes and counting to ten did nothing to dull Dani's anger.
Turning away from Shikari, she faced Nori instead. "If you're determined to do this against all sense, no, I can't stop you. Afterward, if you don't kill yourself, we. WILL. discuss this."
Nori didn't reply verbally. Instead, she walked with deliberate slowness and took the seat beside Sul, almost daring Dani to try something. All the while hoping no-one heard the crackling sound her collar, the collar that was entirely responsible for her "never once losing control", was now making beneath the scarf.
"I SAID I feel fine!" Kinetix pouted as she was examined yet again.
"They have to make sure, Zoe. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can get back out there."
Kinetix couldn't help but glare. Kid Quantum was one of the more stubborn Legionnaires, which made her admonishments all the more annoying.
"Hey, don't worry, pretty lady! The glowy look good on you, maybe you call yourself glow worm?"
"Quislet, cut it out!"
Kinetix gritted her teeth. There was nothing like being cooped up in a laboratory with Quislet, of all Legionnaires, to take the fun out of being "touched" by magic. And she didn't even feel any more powerful.
"Well, near as the doc can tell, you're attuned to the orbs, but... you can't seem to actively use their powers." Rebound tried to sound sympathetic, but all he achieved was to make Kinetix even more annoyed.
Rebound could tell. "If it makes you feel better, Quislet hasn't had any luck either."
"As if he tried..." Kid Quantum muttered as Quislet bounced off the walls.
Kinetix couldn't take it anymore. She hated feeling useless. Maybe if she tried again...
She quickly grabbed the sphere nearest her, and closed her eyes again. She closed her eyes and concentrated, ignoring the gasps from her teammates.
She felt it again. A pulsing energy; the same thing she'd felt the last few times. Yet every time she reached for it, it seemed to shrink away from her. No, not quite... it was like she swam towards it, but it always flowed around her, just out of her reach.
She beckoned towards it, trying to convince it that she would make a good wielder. She opened herself to surrender, laying her soul bare.
As before, tendrils of magic reached out, as if examining her. They hovered around, reaching out, slowly, slowly...
Then suddenly, they withdrew.
Her eyes snapped open, and in a fury she dropped the sphere. It didn't fall, of course. She turned her back on it to face Rebound and Kid Quantum. "I've had enough! I've tried everything I've thought of, but..."
Kid Quantum laid on arm on her shoulder, and whispered. "But whatever you did now, it finally worked."
They stared in shock as the spheres began rotating around Kinetix, like satellites around a planet. How...?
Quislet answered the unasked question. "Must have been because you rejected it! You showed you have a strong will. Magic respects that."
Kinetix barely heard him, as images suddenly flashed through her head. Ancient temples, fiery mountains, raging waterfalls...
"I know where Mordru will strike next." She whispered it, without much excitement. Suddenly, the knowledge made her afraid.
No doubt thousands of statues still remain to be unearthed at this archaeological site, which was not discovered until 1974. Qin (d. 210 B.C.), the first unifier of China, is buried, surrounded by the famous terracotta warriors, at the centre of a complex designed to mirror the urban plan of the capital, Xianyan. The small figures are all different; with their horses, chariots and weapons, they are masterpieces of realism and also of great historical interest.
- description from the UNESCO World Heritage List
"...Kid Quantum and Kinetix made moves to stop it, but I was faster. Three tons of mass later, and bye bye dragon!"
Starboy leaned back in mid-air, as though reclining on a seat, and relived the glory of his last battle. Beside him, Rebound nodded absently, trying to make out the differences in the designs of the terracotta warriors below. He'd heard this story before and been suitably impressed by Starboy's speed and alertness the first time. The second time, he'd marveled at Starboy's control over his powers. Now... he just marveled at how vivid his memory was.
"You know Starboy, since you are so fast, I'm counting on you to figure out where the attack on the Temple will come from. You have greater long-range offenses than I do."
"If something does happen, I'm your man. But... how sure are we again that Kinetix is right? I mean, she saw the visions, but are we sure we identified the places right?"
Rebound sighed deeply; not in exasperation, but in quiet agreement. His teammate was more astute than he'd thought at first. And he was right; their lack of understanding of magic meant that they could have been hoodwinked somehow. During times of uncertainty, though, it was best to be both honest and strong.
"To be honest, Starboy, I..."
His words were drowned out by a massive boom. The whole museum site shook, and cracks appeared in the walls. Rebound was glad the Chinese authorities had agreed to close the site down for the day.
Steadying himself, he realized that the rumbling noises hadn't stopped. Aftershocks, perhaps? But the ground wasn't shaking anymore.
Peering down, Rebound's heart almost stopped as he remembered his Chinese lore. "Starboy," he whispered. "I'm suddenly glad you've retold your story so many times."
"Why? Because it makes you more confident in my abilities?"
"No..." Rebound continued as the rumbling grew louder. "Because you're going to have to reenact it soon."
Luang Prabang Province lies in the heart of the mountainous region of northern Laos. The town of Luang Prabang is situated on a peninsula formed by the Mekong River and its tributaries, the Nam Knane and the Kual Hop, in a Clay basin surrounded by the limestone hills that dominate the landscape. According to legend. the Buddha smiled when he rested here for a day during his travels, prophesying that it would one day be the site of a rich and powerful capital city. - Historical description of Luang Prabang, from the UNESCO World Heritage List
Kid Quantum tapped her foot impatiently as she surveyed the town skyline. Not that there was much to see... Luang Prabang wasn't exactly known for its skyscrapers. It was a hallmark of a little sleepy town.
Amazon cooed with delight as she took in the sights. "Don't you just love it here? It's so quiet! What a nice change of pace. You know, Laos is just so laid-back, I'd love to retire here."
"Isn't that a bit too far off in the future?" Kid Quantum grumbled. "First, we have to make sure Luang Prabang survives the war. If Mordru does attack here, I mean. We've been waiting here for almost a day now."
"Tut-tut, don't be so impatient. We don't know when the visions Kinetix saw will come true. Besides..." Amazon paused to bow respectfully as a monk walked by, while Kid Quantum merely nodded irritably, "he hasn't been attacking elsewhere, else we'd have heard about it by now."
"I'll give you that. What I don't understand is why Luang Prabang? It's ancient and there are a lot of temples, but I don't really see that it's mystical. I thought Mordru wanted magical power."
Amazon chuckled lightly. She had a surprisingly melodious voice for such a large body. "My guess is it's because of the Mekong River. It's such a mighty river, and there are so many legends about it. My favorite is the one about Phangki the Naga and Princess Ai-Kham. Such a tragedy, really. And who would have thought..."
Just then, a loud, unearthly scream came from the Mekong. It was not a sound any human being would make, no matter how much pain or fear they were in.
Kid Quantum grabbed Amazon's arm. She'd been waiting for this, but now her stomach felt sick. "Fill me in on the way."
Tikhik scowled inwardly. The telepathic "voice" wasn't unfamiliar - or even genuinely unexpected - but he chose to ignore it as unwelcome, as he had for the "speaker's" previous few attempts. By now, he'd confirmed that Nori had indeed rushed back through his portal as it shut, and the news had put him in a foul mood. Whether it was frustration at himself for not closing the gate more quickly, or anger at her for being so stupid, he wasn't quite sure.
«Look, I promised Dani that I'd help protect the kids, but I'm not going to spend half my strength tracking you down through the sewer when I need to keep this thing in my body under control. Are you going to 'port me in or not?»
Where he wanted to "'port" to was the Legion Academy to collect Nori, but he knew going back there now would defeat the whole point of evacuating. He wasn't even sure that opening a portal to the surface in any way was smart, but it was true that he knew about Moonstar's arrangement, and that he hadn't objected at the time... «Fine.»
The monosyllabic reply out the way, a disk of green light finally appeared on the surface for Rachel to step through, and she was standing next to him within seconds, a bag slung carelessly over her shoulder.
"Was there a particular reason you left me standing up there for five minutes?"
"I was busy."
Rachel looked around at where she was standing. Tikhik had bedded down, in a way, next to a large door which was presumably the main entrance to the Academy's - surprisingly large - underground evacuation dorm. A twenty foot tall girl stood in the three-story high, hexagonal central chamber, from where she was conveying messages from the teachers at her feet to the figures standing in the doors surrounding the first-story ledge. In contrast, Tik seemed to have removed himself from the activity, and was sitting on his bedroll away from the commotion with no particular sign of anything around him. "Right."
"It hardly matters anyway," he added. "We're hardly likely to face trouble here - no-one even knows this exists. It's those back at the Academy that need to worry." ________________
As the wind roared loudly overhead, a giant bear tried to bite down on her. She didn't care - to her it was moving in slow-motion. Noriko Ashida was having the time of her life.
Mutated into giant, vicious versions of their normal selves, the huge and motley collection of animals had suddenly appeared and attacked at dusk, just as the final rays of the sun faded from the sky. From that moment on, Lonestar was clearly the one in charge, and she'd put Nori to work just as she had the others.
Run, zap, move. The electricity flowed through Nori, defined her. This was how she was meant to be. Even her failing collar seemed irrelevant now. _________
Danielle Moonstar stared out through the school windows in horror as Nori streaked past, though not just at her. The students - HER students - were up against these monstrosities. And worse, she was helpless to even aid them - not only were her arrows splashing off, but she couldn't even get an empathic read from these mutated animals.
"My kingdom for a gun," she muttered under her breath, fingering the knives she'd just taken from the kitchen for self-protection, as she watched Jubilee send a huge dog scampering with a flare straight towards Sul, who bound the stunned animal with a length of heavy chain. Then she turned away, not wanting to witness more, and noticed there was someone else in the room - Ojiako Idowu, one of the students who had stayed to help. Cursing her own selfishness, she put her "teacher face" on and walked over to see him.
"What's wrong Ojiako?"
The heavily burn-scarred youngster who'd codenamed himself 'Tomb' replied, in his usual coarse whisper, "Nothing I can do."
"In the fight? I suppose not - with their minds and bodies being manipulated from elsewhere, it doesn't leave much of a chink for our powers to work. And I'm no general, and not much of a warrior without working powers."
"I could be, even without being able to affect them, if my powers worked on myself."
Dani paused before replying. "Perhaps - or it might have backfired horribly. If you weren't immune to the effects of your own power, you might not have lived this long. Look at Noriko - a relatively small glitch in the way her brain processes the speed increase her power yields put her in a fugue for years - and if she wasn't otherwise immune, she'd have been dead from electrocution long ago. What would be the equivalent for you - accidentally overclocking your heart until it gave out?"
Before he could answer, there was a loud crash, and both ducked out of the way as Sandy Anderson flew backward through the window, a flaming wolf holding her in its jaws. As Tomb ducked out of the way, Dani jumped and stuck both her knives into the animal's spinal cord.
"Not a warrior?" Ojiako whispered, having backed away nervously at the sight of the flame.
"Save it." Dani played the fire extinguisher over the dying animal, who shrunk to normal proportions as his eyes closed for the last time, before checking on her student. While the girl who had once been the Workforce's Inferno wasn't burned, she had multiple shards of glass sticking from her back, numerous other lacerations, and a large wolf-bite on her left arm. "You wanted something to do, here's your chance - be a medic. Stop her bleeding and keep her out of pain."
"What will you do?" Tomb replied, bending down to see to Inferno, as Dani retrieved her knives and wiped them on the wolf's fur.
"I'm going upstairs. There's someone I want to check on. And someone I need to see." _________
"Wait until nightfall."
The figure in the spiked silver armour cursed Mordru's order, not for the first time. It had meant giving away the element of surprise entirely - especially since the squirrel girl incident before their cloak went up. She'd been ended there and then, but it still gave them enough warning to set up defences.
I should have attacked there and then, they thought, but it was followed by their hand automatically reaching to the scar over their right eye - or rather, their right eye socket - and a brief shiver. No, they knew what happened to those who defied Mordru.
Then, while reaching out for more "troops" to breach the line, they felt something. One of the defenders was open to control? Yeesssss... this might still be salvageable... ________________
"Fine. Your deal."
Rachel grinned and picked up the cards as Janet conceded defeat for the fifth hand out of six. She knew Jan suspected she was telepathically cheating - she wasn't, but it was fun to let her think she was! And they needed some fun. It had been hours since she'd arrived, and finding the deck of cards had been the only vaguely interesting thing to happen since. Tikhik appeared to have fallen asleep, and both her and the giant girl may well have followed had they not found something to do.
Suddenly though, as Rachel finished shuffling and prepared to deal, a niggle that had been there at the edge of her consciousness grew louder, making her consciously aware of it and the cards fell to the ground as she tried to pinpoint it. Damn. "Someone's coming."
To her surprise, it was Tikhik who responded from across the room. "Can you be more specific? Mordru?"
"Don't think so, but there's a group, and they're nearly--" Rachel let her voice drop as the great door began to move, swinging slowly open beside them.
It didn't need a telepath to see that their presence was a surprise to the group entering. Nor to see that the surprise wasn't pleasant to the heavily-armed contingent. And especially not to the young woman at the front, who held a sword of metal in one hand and a sword of light in the other, and who broke the silence in a strong voice. "My name is Tazmin Tomas. As Arra of the Táloc, I demand to know who you are and why you are here."
"You know, Polarity, when we were sent here I told myself how lucky we were. Here we get to go to one of the most isolated, closed-off nations in the world; and we get to stay at this magnificent monastery built right into the mountains. Now here we are..." Shifter was cut off as he dodged some rubble.
"...fighting for our lives? Tell me something I don't know!" Polarity grumbled as he magnetically lifted a sheet of metal carrying a few monks to safety. "Now hurry up, we have to get these people out of here!"
"I can multi-task, you know." Shifter's reply came as he effortlessly morphed his limbs into ropes, lifting four more monks out of the way. "Besides, what's life if you can't laugh in the face of danger and possible death?"
"I'd like to skip the death part, thank you very much. So what do we do... about that?"
Polarity's gesture indicated a large serpentine dragon nested in the clouds, bolts of lightning crackling all around it.
"That, my impatient friend, is a Druk. Unfortunately, while I know what is it, I don't know how to stop it."
Polarity grimaced as he pulled together whatever metal he could to form a shield over the monastery. The least they could do know was try to save as many people as they could.
Amihan's winds carried her and Hygeia above the Kedu Plain. She wished she could drink in the view below her - active volcanoes letting off steam, while the two jewels of Borobudur and Prambanan stood out from the green plains.
These massive ancient places of worship were anything but peaceful now, though.
"I thought Indonesia was mostly Muslim. How come there are so many people massing for war in a Buddhist and a Hindu temple?" Hygeia asked breathlessly - she still wasn't used to the high altitude.
"Must be the magic," Amihan replied. "Maybe mind-control is one of the things Mordru can do."
That chilling conclusion silenced both of them, as they stared at the two temples below. Both were now swarming with people, and they looked angry.
"So how do two Legionnaires stop two armies from killing each other?"
The silence grew even more deafening now, as the two listened to the rumbling chanting from below.
Its name means the Mountain of Horror, which seems an apt description for this sacred Buddhist site inside the crater of a dormant volcano. The weather-beaten temple here is surrounded by a lifeless lake and a wasteland of naked rock reeking of sulfur that conjures images of Buddhist hell. -As Japan’s Mediums Die, Ancient Tradition Fades, NY Times article by Martin Fackler
"You'd think a sulfurous mountain wouldn't be so windy, huh?"
"I don't mind so much, *huff*, Wildfire; it reminds me of home," Blizzard panted as he crouched behind a rock wall. "What I'm more concerned about is whether we can do anything to the spirits around here."
"You mean those crazy ghouls that want to kill us? Yeah, and here I was hoping we'd get to enjoy the scenery for once," Wildfire quipped.
Once, Blizzard would have been annoyed at his colleagues flippancy; but his time with the Legion had taught him to understand the differences between people. Still, he was glad they hadn't been sent to his native Norway - cracking jokes at a time like this would generally not have been appreciated.
"Fortunately, no religious festivals are scheduled today. At least we only have to worry about ourselves..." Blizzard suddenly jumped back as a ghost materialized through the rock. Its face was spattered with blood, a stark contrast to its chalk white skin.
It was met with a powerful energy blast and a hail of icicles; the boulder was destroyed, but the spirit hardly looked fazed.
Cursing, Wildfire picked Blizzard up and sped off. "Have Kinetix or Kid Quantum answered?" Blizzard asked. There was no shame in requesting assistance at a time like this.
"Nada, pal. I'm afraid we may be on our own with this one."
"UNESCO says: The cultural heritage of the Kathmandu Valley is illustrated by seven groups of monuments and buildings which display the full range of historic and artistic achievements for which the Kathmandu Valley is world famous. The city of Kathmandu is a melting pot for the nation's population, not only today but also in times past, which probably explains the rich cultural heritage of the city. It boasts a unique symbiosis of Hinduism, Buddhism and Tantrism in its culture, which is still as alive today as it was hundreds of years ago. Oh, and it says here that most of the principal monuments are in Durbar Square - which is where we are now." Element Lad read from his handheld, as he and Flash strolled leisurely.
"I'd love to come back and explore the Valley, when all the war problems are done."
"Yes, these monuments are a world treasure. It would be a shame if we did not appreciate them. Although, and pardon me for stating this, I didn't think you were the type to enjoy the sights of the past."
Flash cocked her eyebrow slightly, though her voice indicated she wasn't offended. "Is it because I'm a speedster?"
"It's more because you've been fidgeting since we got here."
Flash relaxed at that. "It's more because I believe Kinetix's visions were true, and I'm restless because we don't know when an attack will come."
"Well, maybe we just arrived here early. But better to be prepared, right?"
Flash remained silent at that. Element Lad could tell she disliked being inactive. "You can travel faster than the speed of sound, right?"
"Faster," Flash said, though she tried not to show how proud she was of that.
"Would you perhaps want to go on patrol first? I can call you if anything happens - you'll be back in insants."
Flash grinned. Element Lad barely heard her "Thank you!" before he saw the cloud of dust she raised.
************************************************
Taxila, Pakistan
"Never imagined Pakistan would have so many wonders - good thing I can't be seen while traveling around," Flash thought as she zipped around the ruins. "And this area's been inhabited since the 1st century AD... there must be a lot more ruins waiting to be discovered."
Armavir Region, Armenia
"I've never really noticed churches, but these Armenian ones are beautiful. They really do have their own style - central-domed cross-hall, I think it was called. Makes sense Armenia would have some great churchs, being the world's oldest Christian country and all."
Jerusalem, Israel
"The Old City is amazing! I guess it's a good thing Jerusalem is holy to Jews, Christians AND Muslims... otherwise it'd probably have been destroyed by now..." Flash weaved quickly among the pilgrims and tourists, trying to avoid disturbing the worshippers in this holiest of places.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
"To think, traders once passed through here carrying silk. I wonder how long it would take me to run the Silk Route today? Good thing this city was rebuilt by Tamerlane after Genghis Khan destroyed it... would be a shame to lose this much history."
Orkhon Valley, Mongolia
"Nice to know that even in the 21st century, lots of peoples are still sticking their traditions. I suppose they would be proud of their culture... The Mongol Empire lasted almost two centuries. And the remote grassland here is just stunning..."
Flash wished she had done this earlier. There was just so much to see in the world. She hoped the ravages of war wouldn't seen come to these other areas.
*************************************************
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
A weak Element Lad struggled to reach his communicator. He had to call Flash, or Rebound, or Shifter, or anyone...
He tried to focus, but the screams and smoke surrounded him, clouding his mind.
"As feared, his wounds are mortal." He would have continued, but she knew perfectly well what it meant, and stood and walked to the entrance of the tent, Calíburn in her hand. She entered the tent thereafter and bade to be left alone with her father, then spoke with him at length for the last time.
Thereafter, she called from inside the tent and had two men carry him out, placing him upon a bench. He looked up at her and nodded, weakly. "Goodbye father," she whispered, and brought Calíburn down, cleaving his head from his body.
As soon as life left his body, the Elen - a glowing artefact that none but Tazmin could gaze upon - left too, sitting atop his corpse. The fact that she could was sign that it had accepted her as its' new host. She took it in her hands, and thrust it into her torso, where it vanished.
Michael Tomas, Arren of the Táloc, was dead. Long reign Tazmin Tomas, Arra of the Táloc.
"She is a capable warrior, but her youth and her battle-yearning mean she has not the wisdom to lead."
"Does the Elén not grant wisdom?"
"It contains wisdom, but also folly. It holds all the knowledge of the previous Arrens to carry it within them, but gives only that knowledge that is asked of it. Michael, Allheart take his soul, knew this and balanced what it whispered to him with his own wisdom. Tazmin, almost ten years younger than Michael when he received it and more desirous of glory on the field, will ask it of great battles and doughty fighters and not seek to check this with thoughts of our present-day capabilities."
Earth War: Academy L Beast War!, interlude: "Penumbra"
For a moment everything stood still. Tikhik, as the one in authority, was completely lost as to what to say - were these "Táloc" claiming to own the sanctuary? Wasn't this capitalist system meant to be entirely based on knowing WHO owned something? His whole instinct was to say that the greater need was theirs, with almost a hundred children to shelter, and damn whoever "owned" it - but starting a fight with three dozen armed men and women was certainly not to anyone's benefit, least of all his charges.
Rachel was also torn, but over something entirely different - everyone else had gone or been taken to the rooms serving as small dorms for now, but what if that changed? If some kid saw what was going on and charged in, it didn't bear thinking about. She knew she could prevent it, telepathically "suggest" to everyone beyond to take no notice of the situation even if they saw - unless and until conflict became unavoidable, at least - to avoid a panic. But even the idea of doing something like that sent shiver-inducing flashbacks through her. She... she couldn't.
Jan instinctively grew slightly but waited for a lead from the other two. Surely the older two knew what they were doing?
In the meantime, Tazmin Tomas, the pale young woman with burning-red hair who had professed herself to be the group's leader, grew impatient. Pointing at Tikhik with her sword of light, she demanded in her noticeable accent, "I repeat, insect, who are you, and why are you using OUR safehouse?"
Apparently, having a sword pointed at Tikhik's throat was just the thing to break him out of a funk. That or being called "insect", as McCauley had done in times gone by. Either way, his first response was to open a portal in the middle of the solid light blade, the front half immediately dissipating when severed. The threat temporarily neutralised, he snapped, "I have no idea who you are or why you're pointing a sword at my throat. This is the Legion Academy Sanctuary, and I have eighty students to keep safe. If you leave your weapons down and talk, we'll talk. Maybe we can help each other."
"But we'll fight if we have to." That was Jan's voice from the back, said while she grew as tall as the entranceway allowed. Rachel followed, rising into the air as her symbiote began to cover her body in black, little tongues of it dancing from her skin as it did so.
The group behind Tazmin had been almost as angry to look at as her, but now many of them suddenly looked more cautious, if not exactly scared. Tazmin herself, however, showed none of that. Instead, she focused on Rachel and the blackness beginning to cover her. Mouthing something that looked like "Mallor?", she suddenly shot a beam of light at Rachel, encircling her in white light that began to grow to cover her. Bad memories triggered, Rachel lashed out telekinetically in return, shoving the Arra on her regal behind and dissipating the growing cocoon
Before things could escalate between them, anyone else joining in, however, Tikhik snapped "Enough." It wasn't loud, but it carried enough to make both women stop briefly. "I don't want a fight - especially not here, not now." He turned to the Táloc, "If you have somewhere else to go on this continent, I can send you there. Take a minute, please." Making a point of turning away from them, meaning it as a measure of trust that they wouldn't stab him in the back, he 'said' to Rachel, not aloud, «Rather than fighting, please tell me you can sense that they're happy to take the deal.»
Rachel landed before she answered, her face flushed red. Not with embarrassment at lashing out so automatically, she told herself, the symbiote was draining her. «Without breaking in - which would get noticed and shatter any hope of a deal - I can't tell you anything you couldn't see from their faces, mostly," she replied, gesturing toward the group, who were animatedly talking amongst themselves, Tazmin apparently disagreeing most violently with whatever they were suggesting. "The interesting one is Little Miss Trigger-Happy. Her, I'm just getting a sort of chaff from, nothing intelligible; there's something screwy about her beyond her personableness.»
«Great. In that case we ought t--» He cut off and instead muttered a quiet "Oh no."
The trigger for the "Oh no" was nothing directly to do with the group behind. Instead, it was to do with an orange figure leaving a sparkly trail as she flew rapidly in their direction from the habitation area. Before he could do anything to stop her, she was there - and had barely begun to demand to know what was happening before being hit by a light dart thrown by Tazmin and falling, almost seeming to go visually negative as it hit. Things happened quickly then - even before Janet caught Serena, Rachel had reflexively mind-blasted the Arra into unconsciousness.
As it all registered, Tikhik's head was in his claw. Things had been starting to even off, and five seconds from one student had-- had--- his train of thought broke down as he realised nothing was happening. Shouldn't that have resulted in a pitched fight? He looked up cautiously.
Janet, now so big she'd had to back out toward the central area to move, was holding Serena in her oversized hand. As Tikhik looked over, she nodded - the "Comet Queen" was still breathing. Meanwhile, there was a slight ripple in the air front of him from a TK wall Rachel had thrown up hastily in case of a revenge attack... but no signs of such an attack were showing. If anything the group looked... relieved?!
An older man spoke up. Unlike Tazmin, he spoke with a flawless - if generic - American accent. "You said you were using this place as a sanctuary. What from?"
"Mordru sent an agent or agents to attack us." Tikhik responded, as he turned away from Janet and her unconscious fellow student to face the Táloc with Rachel, who dropped the wall. "A few remained to guard the building, the less able evacuated to here."
He studied their faces for a few moments, then looked to his comrades for confirmation. Apparently, they agreed with his conclusion, since he continued, "In that case, we accept your offer on one condition. As well as sending us where we ask, you keep her." He indicated he meant the unconscious Tazmin.
"Why?"
"She needs to be taught a lesson. And you claim to be a school. We've heard of the Legion Academy - aren't you meant to take in any and all 'superpowered' youngsters?"
Rachel looked at Tikhik. She wasn't a teacher, so it wasn't her decision to make.
Tik himself kept his beak clamped for a moment. He wanted a peaceful resolution, and it was true that by the rules he should take in the untested young woman, at least to verify she could control her powers - but there were more urgent factors to consider. Not to mention a degree of decency. "Only if she agrees, and you take the sword. She's already assaulted one student. I don't want more injuries if she wakes up and finds she's been abandoned."
"We'll discuss matters with her. Will she wake?"
Rachel nodded. "I didn't do anything fancy, just slammed her. At most she should have a bit of a headache."
Rather than replying, he crouched down and pressed his fingers into various areas around Tazmin's head and neck. After a few moments, she stirred and tried to leap to her feet. He held her down. "Wait a moment. We are not at war with these people. And we have things to discuss..." Pulling her to her feet, he led her across to the group, asking Tikhik and Rachel for a few moments privacy to talk things over.
They obliged, returning to where Janet was standing guard over the still-unconscious Serena. "How is she?" Tikhik asked, as Rachel nervously looked on.
"Okay I think. At least, she's breathing and I can't feel any broken bones. Maybe she absorbed some of it with her powers - can either of you check properly?"
Tik looked at Rachel, who obliged by scanning her. "She's fine," she said with palpable relief in her voice, "Just stunned. Should I wake her?"
"Don't. If anything keep her under." Tik snapped. Now he knew Serena was alright, her reckless dashing in would have to be dealt with. But only after they were finished with the warrior-group.
"What's wrong with you anyway?" Janet asked Rachel. "It's not your fault that happened."
"I could have stopped it from happening." I was going to make a 'suggestion' to cloak what was going on, but I froze at actually doing it.
"I'm glad you didn't." Tik grunted. "I'd rather you didn't brainwash my students, whatever your intent."
Rachel smiled at that, though she wasn't quite sure why. _____________
"We have come to an arrangement. The insect will send us to a safehouse near the fighting. It should save us a day of travel."
The Táloc's young, flame-haired chieftain reacted to the elder man's words with the impatience the whole group had come to know her for. "Then why are we wasting time on this, when we should be moving?"
"Us. Not you. YOU stay here."
Tazmin laughed loud at that. It took at least thirty seconds before she realised that every single one of her followers was standing with the same stony expression on her face, silently waiting for her to stop. "You... you would... what, SELL me to the insect? I'm the Arra! I wield the Elen!"
"We know. But you are not like your father. Or your grandmother. They had the intelligence to realise what we can and cannot do - you want us to behave as our ancestors did a thousand years ago, when we had the strength and numbers to act in such a way. Now we need stealth to achieve such goals. The insect did not ask this of us. WE want you to stay to learn about the modern world, rather than to charge blindly on a voice from the long-dead past."
"But.... but..."
"The insect, however, did make one request." He moved in and removed the sword and sheath from her loose, disbelieving body. With that done, he took one final look at her, and said, "You were meant to be our light. Instead, you're occluded, trapped in a penumbra of your own creation. I urge you to realise your faults before you fall fully into shadow, Tazmin. I just pray you're capable of realising what you need to be." He then strode straight past her, and the rest of the Táloc followed, all pointedly ignoring her as they did so. _____________
The Academy group saw them walking over. A last few words, delivered telepathically, and they stood to face the Táloc once more.
"It is done. She will remain."
Tikhik looked over at the young woman, standing stunned and staring into nothingness following her rejection. In other circumstances, his heart may have broken for her, but what he'd seen from her earlier pushed his thoughts toward what might happen if she became hostile again. He hoped he wasn't making a huge mistake. "Janet, leave Serena on a chair and go over and see to her." He indicated with a move of his head that by 'her' he meant Tazmin.
As the giant girl shrunk to fit through the corridor, the Tálocian representative added, "Now, for your part. Do I describe the location to send us to?"
This was something they'd discussed while waiting, and Rachel took her cue. "Just concentrate on where it is and what it looks like. We'll do the rest."
With Rachel piping the location to Tik, the process of sending the Táloc to a safehouse near the Mexican border was swift. None of them looked back at the one they left behind. _____________
The sound of the portal closing was the first thing Tazmin reacted to. As the tall girl led her over to where the gate had closed, she stared at Tikhik while he explained that "Janet" would be accompanying her around, including after they returned to the Academy. What he said didn't matter, as she listened to the voice whispering in her head and rolled a small marble of light in her hand. She would endure this... humbling... but she knew who she was, what the Elen wanted her to be. Certainly more than the cowards who had abandoned her..."
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