RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Writer's Block HR #11 [The Lost City of the Dragons]

"Maybe we should send Mxy to get the other before traipsing off into the jungle. . ." Danny suggested to Raptor, who was pacing back and forth.

"No! We must catch up to Omicron, we will need Mxy if we run into them." The former Eurostar exclaimed loudly before traipsing off into the jungle.

"Is it just me or is he getting worse?" Danny asked turning, to look at TC. TC looked at Danny, then turned and looked at Chance. Chance looked at Kristogar. Kristogar looked at his bunny. They all looked at each other.

**************************

Monroeville, PA

As the white van roared off into the distance, the small viscous liquid that Priest had previously vomited up, began to boil and bubble. It took a vague and indefinable shape and began to follow the van, leaving a sticky, viscous trail behind it. The sound of a small, high voice singing and laughing could be heard. . .were there someone to hear it. . .

****************************

Grimm's axe swung towards Vengeance, who caught it with his right hand. His left hand held his fiery blade, but itself was held by Grimm's hand. It was a stalemate thus far. Vengeance decided to take a chance. He unleashed his pain pulse. A sickly yellow energy flew out from his hand and into Grimm's axe. The yellowish energy attacked and mixed with blue crackling out from Grimm's axe. Something was wrong.

The two energies reacted violently to each other, Vengeance had never had this happen. The two being were now permanently locked together with a violent, fiery green glow surrounding them. Trapped together, their histories played themselves out inside their own heads.

“ED! STOP! NOW!”

I turn. It’s Kristogar, shouting at me.

“You can’t wander off in the jungle. By foot it will get months to arrive at the Lost City.”

That’s true. But now that the book is so near… I can nearly smell it… “What do you suggest?” I ask.

The man’s eyes run to Chance and then to Danny, as to assure himself he is not stepping on anyone toes. Then: “ Chance knows half the map. Previously Grissom identified an area of Peru with analogies with Tanfo’s picture. Chance will confront the two things, and with his metahuman enhanced holistic abilities… the thing you call “superluck”… he will find the right spot to which Mxy will teleport us. Not on land, to avoid any casual contact with locals or the Omicrons… but at one miles high above… the ones able to fly on their own, the others on the back of Drax. Then, from air will locate the lost city’s place, see if there are any danger in sight, and then will land.
Chance, Danny… do you approve?”

The other two nods their heads.

Kristogar looks at everyone else: “Any objections?”

No one speak.

I look at my sword. At the time of the circus I was the one that came up with this sort of plans… now I go straight across the trees…

Ah, who cares…

Phil strode across the street and up to a patrolman exiting one of the police cruisers. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Sir, I'm going to need you to stay back," the officer warned him.

"I'm a writer for the paper," Phil lied, pulling out a notepad. "I just want to know what's happening in there."

"We got the call from HQ," the patrolman said. "We're taking down the Forelli brothers for extortion. If we play our cards right, we might be able to tie them to the Gambini family and bust them eventually." He looked around. "But I'm gonna ask you to stay away from the building, okay?"

"I've got info from some good sources," Phil said quietly, "that they're holding a little girl and her mother in there as part of a blackmail bid by Gambini."

"No shit?" That seemed to surprise the officer. "We were told there'd be no collaterals."

"Well, make sure the rest of your people know that," Phil said.

"We've lost four or five hostages in various standoffs so far this year," the patrolman replied. "We'll do our best to make sure the trend doesn't continue." He looked around. "Honestly," he said under his breath, "it'd be nice to have that meta vigilante from New York around in situations like this."

Phil nodded. "I bet." He backed away from the row of police cars and headed back toward the diner - after managing to toss a little cube-shaped device under one of the cars.

Two little amber lights on the sides of the box began flashing steadily.

inside

"There's cops outside," Vincent Forelli called to his brother.

Joe Forelli frowned. "Damn." He looked over in the corner, where Diana Piper held her daughter Latisha and looked back at the Forellis inquisitively. "You think Piper talked?"

Vincent shook his head. "Ain't no way. The guy's a softie. He wouldn't even think about double-crossing us. 'Sides, we woulda known by now if something was up."

Joe nodded. "Still, there's cops out there, and they ain't here for no tea and crumpets."

Vincent shrugged. "They're probably bustin' that crack pusher downstairs." He pulled out his phone. "Still, I better let the boys know." He frowned. "What the hell?"

"What?"

Vincent looked at his phone curiously. "I can't get a signal. I've been talkin' on this phone all day, and now it doesn't wanna place a call."

"Something's up," Joe said as he headed over to the regular phone plugged into the wall.

Grissom

Across town, the mercenary had just pried a manhole cover open and was gazing at the maze of phone lines that serviced this side of the street. It just might take a while to figure this out...

<Griss!>

Grissom rolled his eyes. "What is it now, Phil?"

<We got trouble. The police intend to arrest the Forellis - who happen to have Diana and Latisha - within an hour and are surrounding the house. The Forellis are probably putting two and two together right now. If they sound the alarm, we're gonna have some serious trouble getting the Pipers out of their hands. I took out their cell phones with the static box, but the land lines for their conventional phones are still intact.>

"I'm in the process of isolating the line to my target."

<We don't have that kind of time. They're gonna pick up that phone any second now.>

"I know, but I'm looking at a couple hundred..."

<Cut 'em!>

Grissom shrugged. "So much for surgical precision." He wrapped a length of Primacord around the bundle of telephone cables and climbed out of the manhole, carefully replacing the cover. After putting a good twenty feet of distance between himself and the manhole, Grissom removed a detonator - disguised as a pocket watch on a chain - from his pocket, flipped up the lid over the watch facing, and pushed a small button on the side of the watch.

The Primacord didn't make a lot of noise, but the manhole cover jumped about six inches into the air, then slammed back down and spun around a few times before settling back into place.

It was pretty safe to say that the people in Grissom's building wouldn't be saying much to the outside world.

The ancient man looked out the window of a sterile white hospital room. It was raining.

The sound of the iron lung pumped a rythmic sound that was quiet soothing...he knew that as long as that machine worked, Ameristar would have a chance at life again...one day...

She had been like a daughter to him ever since he had found her...
She had been one among many children that he had sired among the different continuums.
And she proved to be one of the best...one of the most dedicated to the cause.

He frowned...The cause...bah...
The cause seemed hopeless...the Hoods and the Futurists had ears and eyes allmost everywhere.
But with the help of the Book he was sure to find at least some hope to defeat these evil men and women who would be world leaders.

And he knew that his chosen champions were the only hope he had.
He sat down on the floor to meditate...he was sure he could find some peace in Dreamtime until he was needed.

And in the bed the comatose form of Ameristar slept her dark dreamless sleep...

A pencil slid across an off white sheet of paper. It gracefully turned across the sheet. Pausing at time, the pressure coming and going. A young woman’s hand shaded and blended different areas.

She stopped.

A tear fell, striking the paper. She put the pad down. The drawing, three figures. Two males and a female, best friends, all smiling and happy. An image that mimics a time long ago, a time that has past.

Getting to her feet she looked out the window. The sun shined over Puerta Mibela. Most of the city was in bad shape, but the small area she lived in survived. At least compared to the Eastern Coast of the city. She lived on the border of Puerta Mibela and the smaller town of Tumbilia. She brushed her long dark hair back and exited her apartment. Walking outside, the City was quiet. Has been since the time following Jason.

Tourism had been at an all time low and the Government was poor; in debt by the tens of millions. The rebuilding process had been put on hold for the time being. The City would remain with areas in ruins. Sad. A constant reminder of the many lives taken by nature. No villain. No one to blame.

Michelle Campbell lost more then she could ever imagine. Before the storm? In the storm? She didn’t know. All she knows is that the two men who meant everything to her had disappeared with out a trace. The last time she saw either men, they had fought. Painful hurtful things were said. Things that can’t be taken back. Things that still hurt even months and months later.

The sun shines today. But she is still rebuilding from the worse storm of her life. How much longer until the pain would go away?

A Mandelovian interlude

The large 20 foot tall concrete walls that construction crews were working on night and day were almost done. When finished, they would completely surround the land locked side of Mandelovia. The only thing taller being some of the spires of the buildings of the nation's capital city New Mandelovia. Spires that resembled something out of the Fritz Lang film, Metropolis. New Mandelovia resembled an art deco city of the future.

Huge war mastiffs patroled the perimeters on all sides of the country at oddly timed intervals. Oddly timed, so as to prevent any possible intruders from timing them and sneaking into the country. In the country side, farm children briefly looked up from play to wave at the mastiff's controllers. The impassive controller's merely continued on their way.

Within the capital city itself, a large parade was taking place. Banners hung downward from buildings, bearing the image and sigil of the PPM of Mandelovia. A large, six-wheeled automobile with a white body, gold-painted trim, and a convertible tope (which was down) slowly moved down the main street of the city. The PPM himself, sat on top of the back of the car, his trusted aide, Capt. Nemo, seated below him and to his right. The PPM was smiling and waving as streamers and confetti constantly rained down on him and his entourage. Today was Colton D'Goon's birthday.

Nemo looked up at the PPM and spoke. "I do not like this, sir. We are too much in the open."

"Relax, my friend," D'Goon replied, between waves, "I have my best people located all around us, in vehicles, in the crowd, in buildings. . .No one will be able to get to us."

"I hope," Nemo answered, suspiciously scanning the crowd, "That you are right."

"You worry too much, Nemo." The PPM continued, "You are thinking perhaps of our new allies? Or my traitorous son?"

Nemo started to say something but fell quiet at the mention of D'Goon's son.

"Ah, that's it, isn't it? You worry over my son and his so-called rebel militia. Fear not, my friend. This "Heritage of Mandelovia" movement will fail. As have all that opposed us before."

The motorcade continued on down main street.

The team made their war to a nearby clearing, where Drake would be free to turn into Drax, and he and the other flying team members could all take flight without the interference of dense tree growth.

The Raptor was at the front, hacking furiously at tree branches with Ladnikia. Behind him walked Drake, Tobias, Mick and Crasher.

At the rear were Danny, Chance, and Kristogar.

“I’m not a hundred percent certain about this plan,” Danny said out loud.

“How so?” Kristogar replied.

“Chance is lucky, yeah… but it’s never a certainty. I don’t like relying on it. No offense, Kris…” Danny said.

“None taken,” Chance answered.

“You’re probably right. But it’s the only plan we have right now,” Kristogar said.

“Perhaps. By all means, we can try it. But I don’t like the idea of all our hopes resting on it,” Danny responded. Kristogar nodded, and Danny continued. “All we have to go on is a memory of half a map, a rough satellite image location, and the hope of Kristofer’s luck.”

Kristogar raised his arm and pushed aside an overhanging branch that crossed his path. “I agree it’s a long shot. But sometimes a long shot is all we have. You got anything better in mind?”

Danny paused for a moment, then shrugged. “Maybe,” He said. He then walked forward to where the rest of the group was walking.

“Mick… how’re you doing?” Danny asked.

“I’m okay. Tired,” Mick replied.

“All that stuff with Ktl. Didn’t it ever scare you?” Danny said.

Mick stopped walking for a moment, and looked up. Danny followed his gaze upwards, to the patches of blue sky visible behind the thick forest canopy. He seemed to be thinking about something. Or remembeing something.

“It terrified me,” Mick answered, and kept walking. Danny walked with him. Tobias, walking just ahead of them, suddenly appeared right next to Danny.

“What’s that thing on your hand? You get bitten by something?” Tobias asked.

Danny looked down at his hand. The back of his left palm had a red and swollen patch in the middle, where his ID chip was embedded. He realised he’d been scratching it continuously and not even realised it.

“That… that’s my ID chip,” Danny replied.

“Your what?”

“ID chip. Has all this information about me. It’s like my passport and credit card and everything all in one. Everyone had them where I come from. Has all my bank account information and everything on it,” Danny explained. “I can’t believe you noticed it… it’s just a tiny lump.”

Tobias shrugged. “The world moves a lot slower for me, I guess. I have a lot of time to look around me. I tend to notice stuff,” He said. “You ever think of getting rid of it?” Tobias asked.

“I dunno. I guess it’s useless now. And it does get kind of itchy sometimes. But… well, you know,” Danny said.

“What?” Tobias asked.

“It’s the last thing I have. From home. The last proof that my world even existed outside my head…”

“The last proof, that is, except for you,” Tobias said.

Danny looked at him for a moment. “I guess so,” He said, smiling.

A shout from The Raptor drew the attention of the whole group.

“Here! Here will do,” He yelled. Danny walked ahead further and stood next to him. Ed was peering through some overhanging vines, at a grassy clearing. It was an area about twenty feet across, with a gap in the forest canopy above it. A good place to take off from.

“Well… here goes our long shot,” Danny said. Ed just turned, glared at him for a second, and hacked away the last of the vines.

Drax took off with a jump, and Crasher almost fell off, but Chance managed to grab her jacket just in time.
She blew him a kiss, and then she concentrated on the flight itself.

It was wonderfull...soaring up here in the wonderfull fresh air.
For a moment she envied Ameristar who could take off anytime she wanted to, abruptly she pushed those thoughts away...how could she? Her best friend and love lay in a hospital with a peice of her brain missing...and here she was feeling envy.
Anger rose in her chest.
Whoever that guy had been that had done this to her would pay in blood.

Below them a man ran at incredible speeds...following them...camoflagued to have the same colors as the jungle around him.
He had witnessed the battle at the tower but thought it best to scout around a bit first, to gather information about who they were and who were the bad guys.
It seemed this group where at least not the bad guys.
Relámpago was determined to see that nothing would harm his native grounds...

[ 03-31-2003, 10:25 AM: Message edited by: T5 ]

"Vin, we got trouble," Joe Forelli lamented.

"Got that right," Vincent said. "There's cops makin' a big circle around the building."

"I can't get a call through to Frank and the others," Joe added. "Says the number's been disconnected."

"Bullshit," Vincent retorted. "We just called there an hour ago." He looked out the window. "Something's up."

"You think they know about the hostages?" Joe asked.

"I don't see how," Vin answered, "unless Piper talked."

Joe frowned and pulled his gun from its holster. "You think we need to deal with those two?" He looked over at Diana and Latisha.

Vincent shook his head. "If the cops are really after us, we're gonna need a bargaining chip." He looked at the two hostages. "Don't hurt 'em just yet. But get the other guys up here from downstairs. We might need some spare guns."

outside

<Phones are out of commission>, Grissom informed Phil through his earpiece.

"Copy that," Phil replied. He switched his earpiece to a police frequency.

<The guy told you they have hostages?>

<Yeah, but we weren't told there would be anyone else in there.>

<So are there hostages or not?>

<We haven't been able to check into that yet. We're still securing the perimeter of the building.>

<See if you can get someone to run surveillance. I don't want to take any chances.>

Phil looked up at the curtained upstairs window. If the police got involved, then there'd be no chance to rescue Kit's kids. From what he'd found out from Griffin, these mobsters were a bit amateurish, but they knew how to use hostages, and in the event of a standoff, a rescue could prove just about impossible.

Impossible for anyone but the Unidentified Man.

Phil had a choice to make. He had done his best to make sure that he left that part of himself in New York. Did he really want to resurrect that persona, even for a moment? And if he did, would he be able to turn back?

But did he really have a choice?

Phil switched his earpiece back to the MBL frequency. "Griss, execute at your discretion. Repeat, execute at your discretion. You copy?"

Grissom sounded alarmed. <Are you giving me the green light? Now? Please confirm.>

Phil nodded. "That's an affirmative, Griss. Execute at discretion, weapons free." He checked his weapons and prepared to go invisible.

"It's go time."

Monsterville, PA

The green firestorm of mystic energy raged violently incinerating the few remaining zombies who were foolish enough to attempt to reach the beings inside of it.

The white van careened wildly down the road towards it, Dirk Bell at the wheel. Jason Hill rode shotgun, literally, while Tayden looked over the still sick Priest, who was now hacking and coughing on the floor while holding his stomach and sides tightly.

The van slammed to a stop a few short feet away from the energy expulsion. The side door slid open and Tayden jumped out, headed for it.

"Tayden, you'll get yourself killed!" Bell screamed out the window.

"Have a little faith,Dirk." the angel gleefully exclaimed.

Tayden leapt directly into the midst of the raging inferno, speaking softly to himself the whole time. Once inside, he found his surroundings to be quite different from what he expected. There was no storm, no violent energy expulsions, only a serene green calm. Grimm and Vengeance stood locked together as if in some grotesque parody of ancient warriors.

"Here goes everything," The angel said, grasping each warrior's arm. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

Grimm: Caught up in Michael Ringo/Vengeance's world of roaming, transformation, and dealing out punishment, Grimm began to feel a bond with this being who had opposed him twice now. Manipulated like a puppet by mysterious forces with their own agenda, turned into something physically less than human, but at the same time so much more. . .

"You understand his pain, because it's your own, right?" A familiar voice asked.

"Tayden!" Grimm looked up from his reverie suddenly. "How. . ."

"Don't worry about that now. We're almost done here. Take my hand and we'll leave."

Vengeance: Vengeance and Michael found themselves in Grimm's world of violence, crime, and brutality. They saw him experimented on, drugged, killed, buried. They saw him given power like theirs, but different. After a time, he began to attempt to use this power to help others, as they did. They saw him kill? them in defense of an ally, and remembered doing the same in their past.

"You know why he did what he did, because you've done it also, haven't you, old friend?" A familiar voice asked.

"Tayden?" He/They asked.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it? Let's get out of here, there's someone I think you should meet."

The energy storm dissipated before Dirk and Jason's shocked eyes as Tayden, Grimm, and Vengeance emerged together.

Grimm and Vengeance turned towards each other and. . .

Grimm reached out his steel-gauntleted hand. Vengeance clasped it in his leather clad hand.

"The cause of vengeance has been served. . .well. Thank you, my friends. . ."

"Isn't that nice?" Tayden beamed.

"I think I'm gonna puke." Dirk said, lighting a cigar.

Vengeance's form began to ripple and shake as he turned back to Michael. Michael began to fall over from exhaustion before being caught by Grimm and Tayden.

"I think we have a new recruit." Tayden said.

"Great another freak with a split personality. We done here? I'm ready to go." Dirk grumbled, his trenchcoat rustling slightly in the wind.

"Will you join us, Michael?" Tayden asked, setting the young man against the back of the van.

"If that's where the road of Vengeance takes me. . ." he spoke between gasps for breath.

"What about you, Jason? Need a lift somewhere?" Tayden continuing to extend his natural courtesy.

"No," the young man answered. "I still need to finish my business here before going on my way. Besides, someone has to stay behind to bury the dead. . ."

[ 04-02-2003, 11:46 PM: Message edited by: Grimm ]

I soar above the canopy, rotating slowly to gain altitude. I feel the pressure of hot hair going upward over the inferior face of my wings. I move my finger to change the position of the relate feathers, to control the degree of rotation impressed over my body.

For Drax and Danny it’s totally different. Their bat-like wings are membranous tissues stretched between the bones. Flying for them is an act of power. The push over the air that their wings, powered by their muscles, give, brings their body forward and upward.

It’s for that that my flight bring me back and forth them. So, I can follow their conversation sparsely, and each time they are talking of different things.

Chance (on the back of Drax, behind Kristogar, Mick and Crasher): “…you called my powers?”

Kristogar: “I called them –holistic- habilities. I don’t need to explain it to a scientist like you, right?”

Chance: “Sure. It’s quite interesting your point of view. Bode perfectly with what you said to me on the hovercraft…”

Danny (flying on his own near and slightly above Drax): “Care to interpret for the non-scientist, Velo?”

Kristogar: “Just that I don’t think in luck, or fate. The fact that he SEEMS to be superluck is due to the fact that his metagene enhance his holistic perception… that is, different from the most part of humans, his senses works not identifying each things they perceive… instead he sense the gestalt… that is, he has the total perception of the global environment he is in… and that put him ALWAYS in the best situation he can be…”

Danny: “… uhmm… I don’t….” and then my flightpath brings me too far.

When I am back near them, the conversation seems to have gone further…

Danny: “So, you don’t believe he is from another dimension?”

Kristogar: “I don’t believe to the crap about parallel universes. Dimension are a thing… Mxy is from a dimension superior to our own… but parallel realities are fairy tales. I believe he is a clone… cloned from the original Schanz, and with false memories planted in. Technology is not so advanced to transfer perfectly the memories from one human to another one… hence what he perceive as being from a utopian world…”

Danny: “You believe this, Chance?”

Chance: “In fact, I am thinking about it more and more. But you know what does it means for you?”

Danny: “?”

Krisotogar, smiling: “That the same could apply to you. You believe to be from the future, but what proves it? You could simply BELIEVE to be from the future, just because you have false memories implanted. By who? I don’t know. But we have met many with the ability to do. The EPS, for example…”

Danny: “No, no. You forget something. I have this chip in my hand, the identity…”

Kristogar: “…chip. Yes, I know, you keep scratching it all the times. But did you ever had it examined by someone, like Quantos, for example? I am inclined to think you will find a very elaborated piece of scrap metal, there.”

Danny: “But how can you say that? We have been all in the future, one year ago!”

Kristogar: “Are you sure? What are the proofs? We have been in a place with very white walls, and a technology not very different from what is now available to the EPS, or that was in the Tri Vex building. A complex deception, I admit, and very inexplicable, also, but has everything happened to us been always totally knowledgeable? What was the meaning of the meteor over Mandelovia? Why Sonja was killed? And what about the underground people of Mandelovia, with that demon that resembled Neacken? Mysteries after mysteries, Danny. IS there a path? A common denominator?

And when the dialogue becomes interesting, I am taken far by the winds…

…and when I am back, the subject has changed another time.

Danny: “So, Chance, where I should have Mxy teleporting us? Have you… found… the coordinates?”

Chance: “There is still something that doesn’t fit the scheme… the map… the half I know… doesn’t bode with the satellite image. I see many details corresponding… one by one… but the whole is totally different. I can’t say where we should teleport to.”

Now the wind, stronger, push me toward the big dragon. To avoid the collision, I dive down, turning upside down and sliding just inches below the furry with belly of the transdimensional being.

When I appear on the other side, Chance is looking at me, a big smile on his face. I am looking up to him, and when our sights crosses, I see he knows.

“It’s a mirror image! It’s a map of the underground! It has to be read from the ground upward! It fit perfectly! Mick, look at this point on the satellite image, and tell Mxy to go there!”

“Wait!” says Danny. “Tell Mxy to bring us all there!.

Mick eyes lit up, and…

...a big door opens in the sky. It resembles the ones they have in the entrance of Haunted Houses in amusement parks, only a hundred times bigger. And floating in the sky.

As the dragon and the flying individuals entered the gate, the philosophical discussion continued.

"You seem to have a logical explanation for everything, Kristogar," Danny said, flying by Drax's side.

"The explanations are there, Danny," Kristogar replied. "You just have to look for them."

"All right, all right," Danny said. He was visibly annoyed by Kristogar's attitude (especially because he said Danny isn't from the future), and wanted to find a question Velo couldn't answer. "How do you explain our friend Mxy, then?"

They both looked at Mxy. Kristogar opened his mouth.

...a big door opens in the sky. It resembles the ones they have in the entrance of Haunted Houses in amusement parks, only a hundred times bigger. And floating in the sky.

As the dragon and the flying individuals entered the gate, the philosophical discussion continued.

"You seem to have a logical explanation for everything, Kristogar," Danny said, flying by Drax's side.

"The explanations are there, Danny," Kristogar replied. "You just have to look for them."

"All right, all right," Danny said. He was visibly annoyed by Kristogar's attitude (especially because he said Danny isn't from the future), and wanted to find a question Velo couldn't answer. "How do you explain..."

"What?" Kristogar asked.

Danny scratched his hair. "Uh, I forgot what I was gonna say. Nevermind."

Relámpago saw the huge door open in the sky...and before he could do anything about it, the strangers were gone.

The fastest man in South America swore he would one day get to know those weir and still awesome people he had seen.

"Go ahead," the precinct captain prompted.

Lieutenant Collins nodded. "Let's go," he ordered the three officers with him. They entered the building and headed up the stairs.

Collins knocked on the door. "Police. Open up."

There was no answer. Collins tried the doorknob, but the door was locked. He knocked again and stepped back. "This is the police. Open the door."

BLAM! Without warning, a bullet punched through the wooden door, passing through the spot where Collins had just been standing. All four officers stepped back.

Collins pulled out his radio. "Someone just shot at us through the door. Probably a warning shot, but I wouldn't take any chances."

Captain Roberts frowned. "All right. Come back down here and we'll call in a negotiator and some more guns."

Collins led the policemen back down the stairs past the invisible figure of Phil Smith.

Phil waited until the police were back outside, then activated his earpiece. "I'm on my way up the stairs," he told Grissom.

<I'm gonna wait a moment before I execute>, the mercenary informed him.

"They can't communicate with each other," Phil reasoned. "You're the one with the experience. Go in on your own timetable."

Grissom

"I'll do that," Grissom said as he surveyed the warehouse. It wasn't the stereotypical gigantic warehouse that every police flick found its way into at some point, but it wasn't tiny either. Griffin had informed him that Kit's other daughter was being held in the supply office on the second floor, but it looked like the entire facility had closed-circuit camera surveillance, and it might be difficult to get in without alerting the mobsters to his presence.

Unless he could take out the cameras somehow.

<Already done,> a voice informed him over his earpiece.

"Bloody 'ell," Grissom breathed, "you're not Phil."

<I wasn't the last time I checked,> the voice replied. <I'm the one who secured that information for you. I took the liberty of disabling the surveillance systems, since you might have a tough time of it.>

"How did you take out the cameras?" Grissom asked. "And how'd you get this bloody frequency?"

<Believe me,> Griffin replied, <you're better off not knowing.>

The earpiece went silent.

"Not exactly how I'm used to doing things," Grissom muttered to himself. He checked his gun and started to head toward the building.

A van rounded the corner and headed his way. Grissom stopped, turned, and headed the other direction. "Who the 'ell are you?" he muttered.

The SBC van pulled to a stop right by the manhole Grissom had used. A man wearing the usual SBC/Southwestern Bell/Ameritech uniform got out and walked up to Grissom. "You the guy who reported that the phones were out?" he asked.

Damn. Grissom thought a moment. "Yeah... yes. I am," he said. "I couldn't place a call from an office. I'm not from around here, as you might have guessed. I'm here from the UK on business, and... oh, wait... yes. The phones aren't working."

The SBC guy nodded. "We figured something was wrong when half our status lights for this grid started flashing. It was like a Christmas tree for a few minutes. I'll just take a look and we'll have this figured out in no time." He removed the manhole cover and dropped down. Grissom stealthily slipped down the ladder behind him.

The repairman switched on his flashlight and looked around. His eyes widened. "What the hell? It looks like a-"

Grissom struck the SBC man across the head with the butt of his gun. The man slumped over, and Grissom caught him before he hit the ground. "Can you hear me now?" the mercenary asked.

There was no reply.

"Good," Grissom said with a grin. "Hate to do that to ya, mate, but I can't have any random variables in this particular equation." Grissom removed the man's uniform shirt carefully and put it on. "And besides, I could use a new outfit."

"Should we leave money on the counter," Tayden asked with a handful of potato chips and soft drinks.

"Who's going to collect it?" Bell responded while filling the gas tank of their newly acquired Suburban.

"I don't know. I just don't feel right by just taking it. Or by leaving those guys in the courthouse."

"Hill said he'd take care of them. It's not our problem anymore."

"I guess." Tayden stared back down the road in the direction of the courthouse. A quick smile crossed his face. "Hmmm... Never thought those guys would move so quickly to get back INTO a jail cell."

"Yep. Zombies will do that to you." Dirk's voice was distant as though his comments were just instinctual reactions to a conversation he wasn't really participating in.

"And did we really have to steal another car? Why couldn't we have just...."

"For fuck's sake! We didn't steal anything. The owner of this vehicle is dead. Besides, I don't feel like roaming around the country in a county paddy wagon with one guy from the future, a fallen angel, Mr. Presto-chango, and Skeletor." The pump stopped and Dirk dropped the nozzel to the ground.

Grimm came walking out of the convienence store with a case of beer under each arm and in each hand. Tayden looked at him quizzically as he approached. "I think I've earned it," was all Grimm gave for an answer to the angel's unasked question.

"In the back, Fright Night," Dirk said while climbing into the driver's seat, "and keep your head down. The last thing I need is for the cops to see a drunken skull sitting next to me. And no scaring kids in passing cars."

Michael sat on his motorcycle, ready to follow. He wasn't so sure as to what was going to happen, but he'd had that feeling for quite some time now. He was almost used to it.

"Maybe you should take it easy with Priest being in the condition he's in," Tayden suggested as he climbed into the passenger seat.

"We're on a deadline, kid," Dirk said as he slammed down on the gas. Priest, who had been left laying in the very back of the SUV, felt his body jolt. The pain and nausea of his recent experience coursed through his body. He felt like he was going to vomit, even though he had nothing left to puke.

Darkness.

Flat out darkness.

And smell of dirt and humidity.

Warm, short hairs… like velvet… under my butt.

I am sitting… riding… what?

“Mxy! Where have you brought us?” I shout.

No answer.

The… thing… under me seems to run. I feel like a rain of pepples and earth on my face.

A tunnel.

The thing is digging a tunnel, and I am riding it.

What Chance said?

The map showed the underground?

Mxy has brought us right there… here, below ground level.

Ahgh.

Light. Blinding light.

It takes seconds for my eyes to adjoust.

I am on the surface, now.

I am on a mole! A giant, pink mole, who has just put sunglasses over her tiny eyes.

Mxy is standing not far, in spelunker suit. Wave his hand, like usual.

One after one, little hill of ground appears on the grassy surface, and one by one my comrades appears, each one riding a giant mole of different color.

They all look around amazed, like me. We are in a little clearing in the forest… but there is one side where the curtain of trees seems narrower. Danny runs there, followed quickly by Kristogar, while the others wave off the dirt from their clothes.

I follow the two.

Behind the trees, opens an incredible vision.

There is a big lake, with a very strange organically shaped fountain, springing water right in the middle of the surface.

And beyond the lake, there is a towering mountain, all carved with arches, bridges, balcony and columns.

Right like Cuccubao’s picture.

“Bingo” whispers Danny.

Mimic looked out the window of the small charter plane they had hired upon touching down in South America. He saw beneath them a small airstrip, a patch of tarmac cut rudely into the thick Amazon forest. A wooden shack sat at one end of it, and at the other a small tower.

Behind him sat Rose, Pneuma and the Sheik.

There was a screech as the tyres of the plane's landing gear touched down on the black surface of the runway, and the vehicle slowed down. Eventually, it came to a stop, a few metres away from the wooden shack.

Stepping out of the door, Mimic looked across to a small bench that sat outside the shack. On it sat Johnny Omicron and X-Acute, looking as inconspicuous as it was within their ability to look.

Mimic reflected that Johnny never was one for civilian clothing. He liked his armour too much.

X-Acute had a bored look on his face, and seemed to be willing them all on so he could hurry up and get out of here.

Mimic stepped down onto the ground, and approached the shack. His companions followed.

Johnny stepped up to greet them.

“Where’s…?” Mimic began. A sound from inside the shack cut him off.

“Bloody hell! That was a good shit!” Arges boomed, stepping out of the shack while doing up his pants.

“Oh, right. There,” Mimic said quietly.

“Do you have anything for me?” Johnny said, his crossed arms and stern voice giving the impression that he would allow for no more time wasting and everything must proceed at once. Mimic handed him the piece of paper; the map that they had pulled from the remains of what they had thought to be their copy of the Liber Vitae. Johnny unfolded the map, and looked intently at it. He then pulled another from his pocket, and compared the two. He stared at them for a moment, and nodded.

“Right. That’s where we’re going. Shouldn’t take too long,” He finally said. All around him, his teammates began to retrieve what little luggage had been brought across from Berlin.

“X-Acute, pay the man,” Johnny said, gesturing towards the waiting pilot with his outstretched thumb. X-Acute sighed, then went to settle the bill with the pilot.

“Why didn’t you send this earlier? We could have been on the way before you got here,” Johnny said, pulling Mimic aside.

“Tried. Couldn’t get a signal. Did something happen to Xyber?” Mimic replied.

“…something,” Johnny said. “And what the hell are you wearing?”

Mimic had been once again wearing the face of Danny Hearn. He grinned.

“You know, as enjoyable as it is to make fun of one’s enemies, one day this habit of yours is going to get you into trouble…” Johnny said as they rounded up the rest of their team and made to leave.

There was a knock on the door.

Vincent looked at Joe.

Joe shrugged. "Cops don't knock, Vinnie."

Vincent nodded, then looked through the peephole. "It's Frank."

"Let him in," Joe ordered. "That'll give us six guys versus whoever's dumb enough to come up those stairs."

Vincent opened the door. "How ya doin', Frankie?"

"Not too bad, not too bad," Frank replied. "I figured an extra gun might help you out." He flashed an H&K .44 semiauto.

Vincent chuckled. "Can't hurt none. Come on in."

Frank looked around. "How many we got now?"

"Six, counting you," Joe said from the kitchen. "Phones are dead, though. Cops've been doin' some weird shit to the lines."

Frank frowned. "That ain't good." He turned. "I'm gonna keep an eye on our... visitors."

Frank headed for the living room as Vincent stood in the doorway. "Something feel weird to you?" he asked Joe.

Joe shrugged. "I dunno. It's Frank."

Vincent nodded.

"You wanna close the door?" Joe snapped. "'Cause if not, I got a nice welcome mat we can put out for the cops."

"Calm down, Joe," Vincent shot back. "Wha-?"

"What is it?" Joe asked.

Vincent looked down the stairs. Halfway down, Frank Castellano lay unconscious, a chloroform-soaked rag lying on the step beside him. His knees began shaking as he hurriedly waved Joe over. "J-J-Joe," he stammered.

Joe stood up angrily. "What? What's the problem now?" He stormed over and looked down the stairs. "H-o-l-eeeee shit," he breathed.

"If... if Frank's down there," Vincent asked, "then who did we just let in?"

Click! The Forellis froze at the sound of a handgun being un-safetied.

"I was getting to that part," Phil Smith said with a smirk.

"You got a lotta guts comin' up here," Joe said quietly. "And cops can't pass themselves off as someone else that good. So who are you, and what do you want?"

"It's quite simple, really," Phil explained. "I quite honestly don't care what extortion charges the cops down there say they have against you. You've got two hostages that I've been asked to find and retrieve. None of us is going home until I get 'em back."

"Shit," Vincent breathed. "You're FBI, aren't you? That Hostage Rescue Team or something."

"If I were with the FBI," Phil said, "they'd never let me come up here by myself. Besides, the FBI was after me last I checked."

Joe's face paled. "Unidentified."

"What's that?" Phil asked, his grip on the gun tightening.

"You're the Unidentified Man," Joe said, turning around slowly. "You're that guy who killed all those people in New York."

"Shit," Vincent repeated.

Phil sniffed the air and frowned. "Couldn't you have held it a little longer, Vin?" He chuckled. "Yeah, that's me. If you had read the whole story in the papers, my goal wasn't to kill people. I was trying to rescue people who had been kidnapped. Unfortunately, I had to... eliminate a few people who got in my way." He paused and smiled at Joe. "Are you in my way, Mr. Forelli?"

"Put the gun down," a voice ordered behind Phil. He turned to see two more mobsters pointing weapons at him. "You just walked into a whole lot of trouble, mister."

Phil looked at the two and grinned. "Nice to know that folks still have company over now and then." He looked back at the Forellis. "I'm afraid that you gentlemen don't realize your predicament. You're between a rock and a hard place on this one."

"Put the gun down!" the one with the shotgun repeated.

"Don't make me kill you," Phil said calmly, without missing a beat. "Even if you did get past me, you'd have the cops outside to deal with. They've got backup on the way, and if you keep this up long enough, they will kill you. I, on the other hand, am being charitable at the moment, but even my patience has limits."

"Look, we don't gotta do this," Joe pleaded. "We can talk this out."

"Can we?" Phil asked, smiling.

"You ran from the cops before," Joe reminded Phil. "You know what it's like. We can give you the girl and her mother back, and you can help us get out of here."

Phil laughed. "You're joking, right?"

"Come on!" Vincent shouted. "Can't you negotiate on this?"

"I don't negotiate," Phil replied. "You think I'm gonna let you get away with everything you've done?"

"You did," Joe challenged.

Phil glared at him. "I pay the penalty for what I've done every time I look in the mirror. Prison time is an easy penance compared to what I go through." He looked at the two mobsters pointing guns at him and laughed. "Don't your arms get tired?"

"Look, man, we can make it easy for you," Vincent said. "We can get you money, security, anything. Just help us out here, okay?"

Phil sneered at him. "I won't say that I can't be bought, but I'm definitely not interested in selling out to you."

"Look, man," Joe snapped, "if you're gonna do something, you don't got a lot of time. You better make up your mind pretty quick."

He was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass. A SWAT flash-bang crashed through the window and bounced across the floor, coming to rest in the middle of the cluster of men.

"Damn," Phil murmured as the room was enveloped in a blinding glare.

Priest closed his eyes and drifted back to unconsciousness. He had been doing this a lot lately, even before the possession and the storm. Everything was black and then finally peaceful.

“He wanted to name you Jonathon”

A voice spoke, that of a lovely young lady. She was no older than 24 years of age, yet she cradled an infant in her arms.

“I think it’s a beautiful name.”

The young mother rubbed the baby’s head softly, a gentle smile on his face.

“He, your father, is not here anymore."

"He died serving the country."

"He was a hero among men."

"He loved us very much. He wished that he could be here."

She paused holding back tears.

“He loved us very very much.”

Pause.

“He did.”

[ 04-08-2003, 03:58 PM: Message edited by: GoozX ]

The Lost City of the Dragon.

We have found it.

At last.

The book is there, somewhere.

Now we have just to take it.

“Tobias. Scan the area and search for the Omicrons! Mxy. Bring back Mick, and re-power yourself. Drake! Call on Drax, and everyone be ready to get there!” Danny gives orders like he’s a leader born.

Just seconds, and Tobias returns. “NoOmicronsinsight,Danny. Justtwoguardsfunnydressedinfrontofthemaingateofthemountain.

Danny looks at Chance and Kristogar, they nod, and he orders: “To the mountain. The non flying ones on the back of Drax, the others stay close. High quote, I want to be sure of any threat before landing in front of the gate.”

We take flight. But it takes just a few minutes before out of the mountains a crowd appears, singing and dancing.

And, then, a big white furry dragon, similar even if not really identical to our Drax appears, and flies directly toward us. On the back of the dragon rides a tall, slim man, pallid and blonde, dressed with what resemble the dress of a medieval Christian priest, but with a feathered tiara on the head, like an Inca king.

When the dragons arrives close, Drax begins to talk with it with an arcane voice, musical and roaring at the same time.

Then, to Danny: “It’s OK. They are friendly.” And then, with a wink: “It’s a female. Things are getting interesting!”

We fly down, landing just in front of the main gate. If it was a trap, the hurry of the dragon would have taken us right in, but I believe those incredible beasts… or maybe I should just say beings… communicate not only by words, but also with scents or some other animal sense. And they detect when someone is lying or not.

And in fact the people are really friendly, and sing and dance in front of Drax, surrounding us. For a moment I have lost contact with the others, but when the one that was riding the local dragons get down, the people make room around him, and I see my comrades and we can get together again.

He begins to talk. And much to the surprise of everyone, he speaks English. A very ancient of rm of English, that I am not able to understand. Just a word every now and then. But it’s English.

The others seems to understand him better. Chance translates in modern American for me.

“He welcoming us. He’s saying… that is a great day this…. The waiting has ended… and the prophecy about the coming of the dragon has become true. His names is… Pacha-Gillion… anfd he is the High Priest of the City.
Nearly… one thousands years ago… they arrived here sailing from… Welsh. They were… the people of the dragons. They were breeding dragons on the mountains… Ed, I am not sure if I understand correctly. Anyway, he is saying that they where followers of… magic. They had… they have the book of magic. And they used magic to… live with dragons, I think.”

Maybe someone else than the Swede should be the translator for me. But the others seems to have their difficulties to understand the man, maybe more for what he says than for the ancient language.

Chance continues, following closely what the high priest says: “They had to fled from Britain because of the invasion. They where persecuted… for their magic… they sailed, looking to find Avalon. They crossed the Ocean over their dragons… and after many perils, arrived here.
Here… oh, I can’t believe it.. he’s talking about himself, not his ancestors!”

“What?” I ask.

“He’s saying that they found the lake… this lake near the city. They found peoples… locals… that revealed that the water has the power of giving eternal youth. They had lost nearly all the dragons… minus one… during the crossing. They died for exhaustion just after the arrival. So they stopped here… because the water was needed to preserve the existence of the dragon… of the last dragon. Because they believe that when the last of the dragons dies, the Earth will be destroyed. They carved a whole city in this mountain, to live hiding from the rest of the world.
Ah, he says that along the centuries some people had managed to arrive here… Incas at the beginning… then Spanish… and a German, fifty years ago. But no one has ever left the city.
But now there is just… happiness… because the dragon now is not alone… and the heritage of the dragons will be preserved.”

It’s your lucky day, Drax.

Chance frown, deciphering the words of the priest. “He’s inviting to enter the city… there will be a feast in our honor.”

“Ask about the book!” I shout to Danny.

“Ed, it’s not the moment! He will suspect…” begins Chance, but Danny smiles and get closer to the man, asking “You said you have a book about magic? Where do you keep it? It should be a special place, if it’s still preserved after 1000 years!”

The priest seems surprised by the request. But he must be really trusting, because he get even closer to the Australian, and whisper something into his ear.

Then, Danny takes out a gun, and shot at the priest, right into his heart.

The man falls on the ground, while Danny runs away in the crowd. I see him disappearing near another one, that I clearly recognize as Johnny Omicron, smiling. But the crowd is over us all, swearing and spitting at us, while dozens of guards surrounds us.

The Omicrons have gambled us even this time.

[ 04-11-2003, 01:31 AM: Message edited by: The Eurostar ]

Everyone in the apartment was blinded by the flash-bang, and everyone except Phil could barely hear over the ringing in their ears. The four mobsters in the room cursed and flailed around the room wildly, clearly out of commission for the time being.

Phil's pulse pounded. He couldn't see. He grabbed an end table and pulled himself to his feet frantically.

Concentrate.

Think.

Slowly, Phil began to reel in his racing pulse as the world gradually took shape around him. His eyes weren't functioning, but he could 'see' by piecing together 'images' of the room gathered by his other senses and assembled by his telepathic mind. He dashed into the back room and was greeted by a hail of bullets ricocheting off his psionic shield.

Two more mobsters stood across the room, on either side of the Pipers. They were clearly unaffected by the flash-bang and were clearly out for blood.

Phil deflected several more bullets, but refused to draw his gun. I'm not going back. I'm not going back.

"Drop the gun, man!" one of the mobsters shouted. "Or they both get it!"

The other mobster moved toward Phil with his gun drawn. "Drop it!"

Phil looked at Latisha Piper cowering in her mother's arms.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said.

Quicker than the human eye could register, Phil grabbed the mobster's gun hand, twisted his arm so that the gun pointed straight into the ceiling, spun into the man's body, and pummeled him in the solar plexus. The mobster dropped the gun and staggered back as his buddy fired two shots at Phil. Phil deflected them easily and turned to face the other attacker. He didn't see Luigi Paterno standing over Diana Piper.

He saw Agent Fisher standing over the wounded body of Gabi Riviera.

Phil glared at the man. "You're starting to piss me off, you know that?"

He threw one punch, adding as much TK power to it as he could muster.

Luigi Paterno lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall so hard that the room shook. He slumped over and fell to the ground, leaving a man-sized dent in the plaster.

Phil spun to face the other man as his eyesight returned. He was shocked to see a kid who didn't look any older than him, lying face-down on the floor with his arms outstretched. "Don't hurt me!" he cried. "I didn't wanna do it! Joe made me do it!" He looked up at Phil. "I'm only nineteen! Please don't hurt me!"

Phil paused. "What's your name?"

"N-Nick," the kid managed to croak. "Nick DiVecchio."

"Nick," Phil said, "I'm gonna ask you to stay there, or else I'll have to hurt you very badly."

The kid obeyed. Phil turned to the Pipers. "I'm going to need you to come wi-"

A hail of gunfire erupted from the doorway. Phil dove in front of the Pipers and extended his telekinetic shield over them, but he took one look at Diana Piper and realized he was an instant too late. He felt Latisha grab onto him tightly as he turned to face the doorway.

"Nobody makes a fool of the Forellis," Joe said, brandishing an Ingram. "I hope you went to confession this morning."

"Cover your ears," Phil whispered to Latisha. The little girl obeyed, trembling with fright and trying frantically to get her mother to respond.

Phil smiled at Joe Forelli. "Die slow, you filthy sonofabitch."

BLAM! BLAM!

A textbook FBI double-tap with the .44 relegated the mobster to dinosaur droppings - prepared to lie there until fossilized. Powered by sheer killer's instinct, Phil gunned down two of the mobsters, then suddenly realized that Nick DiVecchio had just dropped the other two.

Phil jumped to his feet and grabbed Latisha. "Let's go!" he shouted.

"I want my mommy!" Latisha screamed.

"Your mommy can't help you," Phil said bluntly. "We have to get out of here." He turned to DiVecchio. "If you wanna be on my side, get us the hell out of here."

The would-be mobster jumped to his feet and headed for the fire escape. "This way!"

Phil ran after DiVecchio, carrying Latisha and keeping one eye on the door. The two men slipped through the window and made their way onto the fire escape as the SWAT team battered down the door of the apartment.

"I think we're in trouble," Nick lamented as a police helicopter zoomed overhead.

"Stay where you are!" the helicopter loudspeaker boomed.

<<I'm not with the Forellis>>, Phil transmitted to the helicopter pilot.

"I know you're not!" a voice called from the chopper. "I know who you are!"

<<Well then, who are you?>>

"This is Detective Rick Patterson. I transferred here from the NYPD. I know all about you, Mr. Smith."

Phil froze. <<You can't come after me. I'm dead. That case is closed. You closed it.>>

"I'm not here to arrest you! I want to help you!"

<<The best help you can give me>>, Phil warned the detective, <<is to stay out of my way.>> He pulled out his grapple gun.

"What are you doing?!?" DiVecchio demanded.

Phil aimed and fired, latching onto a building across the street.

"Don't do it!" Patterson shouted.

<<Sorry, detective>>, Phil apologized, <<I'm on a schedule.>> He turned to Nick. "You might want to hang on to something."

"What?"

Phil handed Latisha to DiVecchio, who grabbed onto Phil's shoulders. Phil walked to the edge of the fire escape, took a deep breath, checked his grip on the grapple gun, and jumped.

“This is not good,” Chance said, shifting onto his back foot and taking up a defensive position.

“Really, really not good,” Kristogar agreed, reaching for something in his belt.

The crowd leapt at them, and the team raised their defenses.

“What the hell happened to Danny?!” Chance yelled, grabbing one of the enraged villagers and hurling him to the ground.

“I don’t think that was really Danny. I think one of the Omicron is a shapeshifter,” Kristogar answered, ducking a flying spear and deflecting a punch from a burly looking man.

The Raptor pulled Ladnikia from it’s sheath, looking with intense fury at the attackers surrounding him. He raised it, then felt his arm gripped by something strong.

“No!” Tobias said, his hand wrapped firmly around Ed’s wrist. “We can’t hurt them. They think we killed one of them. They’re innocent.”

Ed looked at him for a moment, then looked back up at his sword. “I know,” He finally said, and returned Ladnikia to it’s sheath. Tobias left his side and quickly covered the area, protecting his teammates from the blows of angry villagers.

“Where is Danny?!” Chance yelled, standing back to back with Kristogar.

“I don’t know. But we have to assume Omicron have him. That is…”

“…if he’s still alive,” Chance said, finishing Kristogar’s sentence. There came nothing in reply.

Sweeping aside handful of attackers with his paw, Drax approached the rest of the team.

“Onto his back!” Chance yelled, and hoisted himself up onto the dragon. Tobias quickly followed, as did Kristogar. Chance turned his head to where the rest of this team stood. Where moments before Mick had been standing with them, there now hovered Mxy.

Sprouting from Mxy’s head, through his top hat, there was a crane. The crane quickly spun around and picked up Crasher, throwing her onto Drax’s back. The dragon took flight, launching itself into the air above the village. The Raptor followed closely, his feathered wings outstretched.

Mxy was last, hurling himself into the air in the path of the dragon.

“MXY!” Chance called, from his position on Drax’s back.

Mxy appeared at his side, floating alongside Drax in the open air.

“Can you contain them? Without hurting them?” Chance asked. Mxy nodded. Looking down at the ground, Mxy stretched out one arm, and pointed at the ground. Following his cue, the ground around the gathered villagers ruptured, and threw up four large earth walls around the pack. Howls of rage came from within the dirt prison as the villagers helplessly watched their enemies disappear into the sky, borne away on the back of the creature they had thought to be their saviour.

Back in the village, Johnny Omicron and Mimic had discreetly exited from the battle they had initiated. X-Acute walked alongside them, turning his head every few moments to look at the chaos behind them.

“Uh… guys… they trapped the people in a giant dirt… thing,” X-Acute said, skipping ahead to walk alongside his teammates. Johnny turned and glanced at the structure.

“Let them,” Omicron said, turning his gaze back forward. “It’s probably best for us if the villagers are out of the way while we steal their book.”

“Speaking of which… where is the damn thing?” X-Acute said, turning to face Mimic. They all stopped walking, awaiting the shapeshifter’s reply.

“Apparently on the far south edge of the village, there’s a temple carved from stone. Underneath the temple, a cavern stretches pretty far underground.

“And the book is in there?” Johnny asked, one eyebrow raised.

“So the priest guy said,” Mimic replied.

“Right. We get the rest of the team- except for Rose- and we head for the book,” Johnny said.

“We need the whole team just to fetch a book?” X-Acute asked.

“We don’t know what kind of defenses they have. We have to assume there’ll be some, it’s the most important thing in their civilisation. We need the manpower. Just in case,” Johnny explained.

“Fair enough,” X-Acute replied. “Hey, Mimic, where’s the guy you replaced?” X-Acute asked.

“Rose is watching him,” Mimic answered, grinning.

On the other side of the village, there sat a fairly unremarkable hut, looking and behaving a lot like most of the other huts surrounding it. Inside, Danny was bound with rope to a wooden chair, his head bowed and his eyes fixed on the floor.

Standing in front of him, not more than two metres away, was Rose of Project Omicron. She had a raised gun in her right arm, and her view didn’t leave Danny for a second.

Danny wasn't even sure that she was blinking.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” Danny asked. Rose said nothing in reply.

“Right. Because I’ve been here a little while now, and you haven’t said a thing…”

Still silence.

“Okay then…” Danny said quietly. Looking back up at Rose, he noticed no reaction. Except for her finger becoming slightly more tense on the trigger. Though that may have been a product of his nervousness.

Danny mumbled a few words under his breath. Rose said nothing, but a suspicious look crossed her face. She stepped closer, keeping her gun trained between Danny’s eyes. Danny mumbled something else, and she stepped even closer.

Danny watched her legs as she stepped slowly forwards. When he felt she was close enough, he spat.

And a blast of squid ink struck Rose squarely in the eyes.

Across the village, Johnny Omicron stood outside a stone temple that had been erected at the south edge. He looked at the structure, taking it all in. Sizing it up. Estimating the scale of their defenses. Behind him stood Mimic, X-Acute, Arges, and The Sheik.

Set in the doorway of the temple was a huge stone slab, seeming virtually unmovable. Johnny stepped closer to it, and placed a hand on it.

“This may be hard to move,” He said. He heard a laugh from behind him, and turned to face the voice.

“You’re kidding, right?” Arges said, and stepped forward. He brushed Johnny aside with his left hand, and raised his great hammer with his right. He drew his right arm back, and thrust it forward violently. A large crack appeared in the centre of the stone slab. A second blow, and the crack widened.

With a third and final blow, Arges reduced the giant piece of stone to rubble.

“You make a fine doorman, Arges,” Johnny said, stepping around him and entering the temple. Darkness surrounded him, the sunlight that spilled in from the now open doorway disappearing after the first couple of metres. Johnny raised a hand and pressed a button on the side of his visor, switching it to infrared mode. He pressed another button, throwing a strong beam of light onto the floor and allowing his teammates to see. He swept it across the room.

On the other side of room, a priest sat huddled in the corner, his arms raised to shield his eyes from the light.

“Well. This man can tell us where the book is. We have ourselves a guide, people,” Johnny said. As he did so, the priest stood up, and ran to the back wall. He pressed a stone with his palm, screaming something in his native language. The stone of the back wall began to shift, and an opening appeared.

“Well that’s not fair,” X-Acute said, stepping in and standing beside Johnny.

The priest dived into the opening, terrified. As he made what he thought what his last stab at freedom, he felt a hand gripping him firmly on the shoulder. Another gripped the back of his head. He was pushed back roughly into the room from which he had just come. Johnny saw him re-enter the room, clutching desperately at his shoulder.

The members of Project Omicron saw nothing save a priest stumbling into a room, a look of terror on his face. Johnny, however, saw a red blob behind the priest through his infrared visor.

“Nicely done, Pneuma,” Johnny said.

“How did he know that passageway was there?” X-Acute asked, referring to Pneuma.

“Not sure. It still freaks me out when he does stuff like that,” Johnny said. X-Acute nodded his agreement.

Johnny stepped forward to the priest, grabbing his arm and pulling him roughly from the grip of his invisible teammate. The rest of Omicron filed in through the door, filling the relatively small room.

“Now…” Johnny said, turning to them. “We get that book.”

In the small hut on the other side of the village, Rose had just been hit by a blast of squid ink. Her left arm shot up to her face, and her right arm pulled the trigger in the handgun it still held. A single shot was fired at the spot where she had, seconds before, seen Danny sitting.

As Danny spit the ink at her face, he had thrown all his weight to the left, causing the chair to topple. He began to fall sideways towards the floor, and he heard the bullet whiz by his right ear. The chair fell to the floor with a crash, and broke into several wooden pieces. With his thumbs, currently taking the form of tiger claws, he cut through the rope binding his hands together.

Rose wiped some of the ink from her face, managing to regain some vision. She saw the figure of Danny lunging at her, and let off a shot at the same time as he tackled her to the ground.

Danny had dived at her the second he had his hands free, as she fired her second shot and it disappeared through the roof. He struck her hard in the midsection, sending them both tumbling to the ground. He grabbed her right wrist and held it to the ground, keeping her from firing at him. A third shot fired uselessly into the wooden wall of the hut.

With a small spur on his right wrist, Danny stabbed Rose in the shoulder. Her eyes widened for a second, and a look of confusion crossed her face. Danny withdrew his hand from her, and stood up. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she slumped to the floor, unconscious.

<You got a plan now, cowboy?> Hal asked.

“Sure. A great plan,” Danny replied.

<I remain to be convinced.>

“The plan is… I find the rest of our team. We go kick Omicron’s arse. We find that book. It’s a flawless plan. I like the plan. I’m calling it Plan A.”

<Well… let’s go then.>

[ 04-13-2003, 08:22 AM: Message edited by: Danny ]

The B Team casefiles #216: School Daze

"Meanwhile. . .in the fish factory. . .of justice. . ."

"Do you have to say that every time we come through the door?" Dr. Jody Huerta's voice echoed off the walls of the fish factory hallway.

Johnny Bates looked over at his companion and smiled a slightly devilish smile. "Mikey likes it." he offered, pointing a very hairy hand at their companion who was falling all over himself laughing.

"Bwahahaha. . .fish factory. . .justice. . ." Michael Fortenberry aka The Luchadore gasped out in between fits of laughter.

"Yeah, but Mikey also likes it when you set yourself on fire." Dr. Huerta responded.

"Ah, comrades! You are being returned!" The voice of Blackwulf the Everchanging boomed throughout the hallway as his massive purplish frame entered and stood before his teammates.

"Comrades, I am having discussion with comrade Piper earlier, and he is thinking it is being good idea for us to be learning more of native culture to be blending in easier." The large giant with the pleather mohawk continued.

"Okay. . ." Dr. Huerta responded, looking somewhat perplexed, "and just what did he have in mind, Lassie?"

"Well, Monkey Boy, I am having a plan. . ." Blackwulf continued on, as the four walked down the hallway, John and the Luchadore shoving each other into the walls.

"Wait, wait, wait, this plan of yours doesn't involve us dressing up like medical technicians, does it?" Dr. Huerta asked, beginning to grow worried.

"Nyet, Comrade. We are being going to night school. We are learning to speak Spanish!"

Just then, Johnny's arm burst into flame and he ran screaming down the hallway.

The B Team casefiles #91: School Daze part deux

The temporary home of the Center for Learning Arts, near the rebuilding of downtown Puerta Mibela

The members of the B Team sat next to each other wedged into the tiny school desks in the classroom. They each experienced various shades of discomfort at having to sit in the tiny desks.

Sniff! Sniff! "Jeez, Lassie, couldn't you have bathed before we came down here? And I don't even want to know how you managed to fit into the smallest desk in the classroom!"

"Egh. . .ughk. . .comrade Monkey Boy, is no time for jokes. . ." Blackwulf gasped out.

Slowly, the remaining students filed into the classroom and took a desk.

Finally, an overweight young man with dark hair and glasses came walking into the room. He was wearing a loose brown suit that seemed a size too small for him and carrying a briefcase. He was also talking into a cell phone.

". . .well, I was on this porn site last night, and now I think the FBI is after me, so I can't send you your clock." he said, walking over to the desk and setting his briefcase on top.

"What? What does that have to do with sending me my clock?" the voice on the other end of the line answered.

"Uhm. . .I gotta go, I have a class to teach now." The man said, turning off his cell phone and simultaneously knocking his briefcase off the desk onto the floor. "Uhhh. . .uhh. . .ok, uhh, class, my name is Mike Peterson. . ." he said, attempting to pick up the briefcase which consequently opened up, spilling it's contents everywhere.

"uhh. . .Mike Peterson. . .uhm. . .I'll be your teacher. . .uhm. . .uhhh. . ." he looked up at the classroom and the students, all staring at him.

"I'm not gay." he mumbled.

Crasher watched the others and wondered what they were thinking.
Should she take the initative and launch an attack with Ameristar´s armor?
She still wasn´t used to it´s movements or weapons systems.
She was just about to ask, when suddenly the armor jerked, and became stiff...

Chance almost got knocked off Drax´s back when the armor decided as if having a will of it´s own, to launch.

The team saw the armor, with Crasher in it, fly the opposite way and disappearing in the clouds, with great speed.

"Hey! You can´t just leave now. We need you..." Kristogar yelled with fury in his voice. If it was one thing he didn´t like, it was loose cannons acting without consulting the others first.

He asked Mxy; "Can you bring her back, Mxy?"

The otherdimensinal being looked confused for awhile and then replied..."I would if I knew where she was...the clouds are in the way...I can´t see her." And with that he conjured a huge fan with helicopter engines to keepit aloft and in one place.

The clouds were dispersed, but of Crasher there was no sight.

"Damn it!" Kristogar swore. "It was beeter in the old days when the team acted as a team...no members trying to outshine the others. If I get my hands on her..."

"Uuummm guys?" Drax said. "It seems we are being followed."
****************************************************

Crasher was deperate...what the hell was happening?
She had lost all control of the armor, and according to it´s instruments she was heading away from mainland South America at top speed towards...she calculated the flight path...no!
She was headed towards Scotland!?

Mike stared out at his students. “Damn no chicks…” he thought, “Though that monkey guy is cute…hmmmm”

“Well, let’s start by getting to know each other a little.” The fidgeting Mr. Peterson stated.

“I guess I’ll start us out. As I said I’m Mike Peterson and I’m going to teach you…….stuff…….yeah…… I like wearing a kilt and the French language. I frenquently change my religion and cultural background because…..THEY are out there….watching………..I also like long walks on the beach and men who aren’t afraid to cry…..” Mike stared into space with a smile and then jerked himself back into reality with the words… “But I AM NOT GAY…..sorry”

The class, mouths agape just stared…..the only sound was that of Monkey Boy scratching his head.

“Would anyone like to go next?” Mike squeaked out.

In a desk that comically dwarfed him Blackwulf raised his hand.

“Yes, you…big boy.” Mike excitedly responded to the small but single form of attention.

Blackwulf put his hand down, “Is it O.K. if I am going to bathroom”

"I don't see anyone following us, Drax," Kristogar said, looking at the darkness behind them like the rest of the team was.

"I can," Drax replied. "Someting is flying towards us at great speed... It may be the dragon chick."

"It's too small to be the dragon," Raptor said.

"You can see it too?" Chance asked. "How soon will it reach us?"

"Very soon..." Raptor said, looking at the darkness and grabbing his sword.

"I advise that you don't attack him yet," Kristogar said, "it may be..."

At that moment, the thing reached them and, in less than a second, The Raptor drew his sword and threw himself at it.
Moments before Ladnika reached its victim, something jumped on Raptor's back and made him stop.

"What...???" Raptor looked back and saw Tobias hanging from his wings. "Tobias??? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING???"

"ED! LOOK WHO YOU ARE ATTACKING!" Tobias yelled.

As Tobias ran from his back to Drax's, Edulcore looked, and saw Danny's face in front of him. Danny seemed shocked.

"I..." Edulcore said, "Danny, I didn't... I'm..."

Then, his grip tightened in Ladnika's handle, and his expression changed.

"I don't regret doing that," The Raptor said. "It was foolish of you to approach us like that. Next time, be more careful, or you'll end up dead."

"Wha...?" Danny said, more shocked than before, as Raptor turned and gave his back to him.

The B Team Casefiles #1,99: School Dazed Part Threeux

Before the class finished, the teacher gave an assigment to the students and told them to form groups of five to do it.

"We are being four," Blackwulf observed. "We are needing one more member."

Monkey Boy, Luchadore and Johnny looked at the other students, to see who would fit in better with them. The other students were four men, six women and a winged bear.

"How about that guy...?" Johnny suggested, pointing at a man.

"He doesn't look like team worker," Monkey 'Dr. Huerta' Boy said.

"How is that fellow being?" Blackwulf said, pointing at another one.

"No, he looks like a lazy one. The marks under his eyes suggest a drinking and/or drug problem. He probably comes from a broken home. His father must have had addiction problems, too. And his mother was a prostitute," Monkey Boy said.

"How about that one?" Luchadore said.

"That one is a wall. Get that damn mask straightened or take it out!"

"Oh, sorry," Luchadore said, moving his mask so he could see through the eye for the mouth. "Hey, how about that bear over there?"

"He's a bear," Monkey Boy said. "Perfect!"

“Sheik. Translate,” Johnny Omicron said, his right hand clamped firmly on the shoulder of the priest they had found and taken on as their unwilling guide.

“He is saying he knows nothing. He wishes to leave,” The Sheik said, as a steady barrage of babbling came from the priest’s mouth.

“Tell him that if he knows nothing, he is useless to us, and we will kill him,” Johnny said, his gaze never once leaving the eyes of his prisoner. The Sheik translated Johnny’s threat, and the priest fell silent.

“Right. Now we can talk. Ask if he knows where the book is,” Johnny said. The Sheik translated as he spoke. “Then tell him to take us there. If he doesn’t, we’ll kill him. If he attempts to escape, we’ll kill him. If he tries to fool us, we will kill him.”

The Priest shivered in fear beneath Johnny’s grip as he heard these threats being translated into his own language. He then muttered something quietly, and dropped his head to his chest.

“He says that he made a vow years ago to protect the book with his very life. And he is prepared to do that,” The Sheik said. A disappointed look came onto Johnny’s face.

“Tell him we are prepared to comply with that vow. And tell him we will kill every single person in this village, from the men to the women to the little children. And then we will kill the dragon. Make sure he knows we are not bluffing,” Johnny said. The priest began to cry as he heard all this.

“Would he really do all that?” X-Acute said to Mimic, as they stood a few metres away watching the proceedings. Mimic said nothing in response. He simply looked at X-Acute and shrugged.

Johnny threw the priest to the ground, and stood over him as he cowered at Johnny’s feet. After a long pause, the priest nodded and mumbled something.

“He says he will take us to the book,” The Sheik said.

Johnny Omicron grinned.

In a forest-covered cliff that overlooked the village, Danny sat with the rest of his team, discussing what they should do next. Drax and Mxy had reverted to Drake and Mick, conserving their energy. Danny sat at the edge of the cliff, staring down at the village, holding a conversation with Hal.

<This is above and beyond the call of duty, Danny. If you head back down into that village, you’ll be killed. If not by those Omicron bastards, then by those villagers you pissed off.>

“I didn’t piss them off!” Danny replied.

<You killed one of their priests.>

“I did not.”

<They think you did. That’s the important part.>

Danny thought long and hard on this.

“I’ve done nothing but take risks since I went on that holiday to Europe, back in our time. And…”

<Look where it’s gotten you.>

“…and I’ve no intention of stopping now.”

Behind him, Tobias Christopher sat talking with Mick. Or, Mick sat. Tobias was pacing back and forth; occasionally pacing so fast that Mick wasn’t sure where to look.

“Something’s up with Ed,” Tobias said.

“You think?” Mick replied. He hadn’t seen what happened with Danny first hand, but even with Mick in charge he had a fair idea of what was going on around him.

“He’s getting worse and worse. He never used to be like this,” Tobias said, gaining speed without realising.

“You’re right, he…” Mick stopped. “Slow down!”

“Sorry,” Tobias said, realising what he was doing and slowing back down to human speed.

“You’re right. He used to be more… I dunno. In control,” Mick said.

“Exactly! In control! Now he’s flashing that sword at everyone all the time…” Tobias said, trailing off.

“That sword,” Mick said, voicing what TC was thinking.

“Stupid fucking thing,” Tobias said. “Ed was one of the first. With us, and Danny. We started this whole thing. And I don’t want to lose him. Like…” Tobias trailed off again.

“Like we lost Naecken,” Mick finished, once again voicing Tobias’ thoughts.

“Right,” Tobias said softly, and sat down.

Ed’s voice came from where the rest of the team sat, further into the trees.

“We have to go back down there NOW! We haven’t a second to spare! Doesn’t anyone else see that?!” The Raptor shouted, using his sword to point to people as he spoke to them.

“Calm down, Ed,” Chance said, standing up to face him.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! Omicron are down there as we speak!”

“Calm…”

“DON’T TELL ME TO FUCKING CALM DOWN!”

There was a silence between the two. Chance said nothing. Ed breathed heavily.

“We have to get that book!” Ed finally said.

“Is it worth getting killed for?” Chance asked.

“WE WON’T GET KILLED! We’ll fight them! We’ll win!” Ed yelled.

“He’s right,” Danny said, pushing aside some tree branches and joining the rest of the team.

“What?” Chance asked.

Danny answered him. “It’s a risk, I’ll grant you that. It’s a big risk. For what is, essentially, just a paycheck. A paid mission to retrieve an artifact isn’t worth our lives. But damn it… I’ve faced scarier shit than this in my time here, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s not to back down. Taking the risk is usually worth it. So either we go home- and anyone here is free to do so- or we say to hell with it, go down there, and kick some Omicron arse!”

Chance just smiled back at him. “So let’s go,” He finally said.

In the village, six members of Project Omicron descended a huge spiral staircase beneath a stone temple. A staircase that supposedly led to the location of the Liber Vitae. The priest marched ahead of them, guiding the way. Johnny marched directly behind him, the torch in his helmet illuminating the way before them. Behind him was Mimic, then Arges, The Sheik and Pneuma. X-Acute brought up the rear, holding a torch to illuminate the way behind them.

Eventually, they reached the bottom of the staircase, where the priest pushed one of the stone bricks in the wall and a doorway opened up. Flaming torches lit the hallway behind the door, so as the illumination spilled through the opening doorway, Johnny and X-Acute turned off theirs. When the door reached it’s fully open point, two huge guards wielding swords, shields and spears were revealed in the hallway.

The priest dived from his position in front of Johnny Omicron, to hide behind one of the guards. As he fell, he shouted something in his native language. The guards raised their weapons, and charged at Omicron.

As they ran at him, Johnny raised his left arm and let loose a concussive blast at the guard on the left. The guard was thrown back against the stone wall, and dropped his shield. Johnny ran forward and a high-powered energy blast struck the guard squarely in the chest, shot from Johnny’s right hand gauntlet.

As the second guard ran at the rest of the team, Mimic stepped to the side and the Shiek stepped forward. Muttering something under his breath, the Sheik rose slightly, hovering in the air. He held up his arm, and the guard was raised into the air. The guard panicked, and raised his shield in front of him. This didn’t help him, as The Sheik threw him backwards down the hallway with another whispered word. X-Acute leaped past The Sheik, and threw himself at the wall. He ran sideways up the vertical surface of the wall for a couple of moments, then jumped down, rolled across the floor and stood up, holding his two handguns at the guard.

He pulled the triggers, and the guard slumped over dead.

The priest watched all this from his position huddled in the corner, tears streaming down his face. Johnny walked over and grabbed him by the shoulder, holding him up and pushing him against the wall.

“You try any of that shit again, and we kill you,” Johnny said through clenched teeth. The Sheik didn’t have to translate. He got the gist of what Johnny was saying.

The priest led them further down the hallway, their progress at all times lit by the flaming torches lining the walls. At one point a giant anaconda had dropped from the roof, wrapping itself around the shoulders of The Sheik. A moment later it was barbecued.

Finally, they reached the end of the hallway. Before them stood a wooden door, about two metres high. Across the front of it was a steel bolt, sliding across it’s surface and keeping the door locked. The priest said a quiet prayer, then wiped the tears from his eyes and approached the door. He slid the steel bolt across the door, unlocking it. He pushed the door open with both arms, then dived into the doorway.

“What the…?” Johnny said, watching the priest dive and raise his arms to his head.

“Shit!” Came the voice of Arges behind him, and Johnny turned around. Following Arges’ pointed finger upwards, Johnny noticed that the roof was quickly falling towards them, jagged hunks of stone threatening to crush them all.

“Damn it!” Johnny said.

With a grunt, Arges grabbed his hammer from it’s holding place on his belt. He swung it upwards, with all the effort he could muster. He let go, and the hammer flew at full speed towards the approaching rock. It shattered, leaving it in thousands of tiny pieces.

With a whispered word from The Sheik, a strong gust of wind blew above their heads and pushed the chunks of stone harmlessly into the corners around them. They stood amidst the rubble, looking up at the roof. All that was left was a ceiling of hard-packed dirt, left exposed when the stone roof fell.

Johnny Omicron looked at the priest, who was now sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth, his head in his arms. His gamble had not paid off. He had tried to protect the book and the lives of his village from the outsiders… and he had failed. Once more, Johnny yanked him up by the shoulder. He punched him hard across the face, and the priest fell through the doorway and landed on the stone floor on the other side. Johnny followed him through the doorway, running towards the frightened man and kicking him hard in the chest.

The priest yelled something in his own language, and Johnny stopped for a moment. With one hand, the priest pointed across the room towards a crack in the wall. His other hand was held to his face, trying desperately to stem the flow of blood from his nose.

“In there?” Johnny asked.

“Yes. He says the book is in there,” Came the voice of The Sheik. Johnny turned to find the rest of his team filing in through the doorway.

“Damn it. It’s just a crack in the fucking wall,” Johnny said. “Pneuma?”

Pneuma stepped forward. Except for Johnny, the others didn’t see him. They just felt him as he brushed past them. He stopped for a moment in front of the crack in the wall, peering into see if he could see anything.

Pneuma slipped through, his density dropping. He came out the other side and reverted to solid form. He stopped.

In the centre of the room there sat, lit from all sides by rows of flaming torches, a stone pedestal. The sides of the pedestal were intricately carved with text and artworks from centuries before. A stone snake circled the bottom of the podium; it’s stone mouth perpetually open in a gesture of warning.

And sitting on top of the pedestal, covered in what must have been years’ worth of dust, was a huge leather-bound book. Ancient writing decorated it’s cover. Gold trim glistened on the spine.

The Liber Vitae.

As Pneuma stepped forward, he felt the floor drop slightly. He looked down, and a stone in the floor had dropped. From the opposite side of the room, a hail of pointed stakes carved from wood was bearing down upon him. He went intangible, and they passed through him, clattering harmlessly against the wall behind him.

Pneuma paused for a moment, considering his options. Thoughts entered his mind that he could take the book, collect the whole payment for himself, and ditch the rest of the team. He could do it. He knew how.

He brushed aside these thoughts as being disloyal, something he regarded as a cardinal sin. Turning around, he noticed that a stone door and a lever marked the exit. He pulled the lever, and the door opened.

On the other side of the wall, Project Omicron stood expectantly, awaiting word from Pneuma. Suddenly, a hidden stone door opened in front of them. Through it, they saw the podium. And the snake. And the book.

“Well, fuck me,” Johnny said. He stepped forward, walking through Pneuma without realising it as he did so. Johnny approached the podium, reached down, and grabbed the book, holding it tightly to his chest.

He turned and addressed his team.

“Gentlemen… we have the Liber Vitae.”

"No, I'd say what you have is trouble. . .an arseload of it."

The members of Omicron turned as one to see the remaining members of MBL Consulting advancing towards them.

"Please, resist us." The Raptor said, his blade flashing in the light reflected off of the torches hanging on the walls.

"Save the wanker who likes to impersonate people for me. . ." Danny informed his teammates, his cat eyes locked on his target. . .

I smile, when I see the expression on the face of Johnny Omicron, looking at his empty hand, where just a moment before was the Book.

Then he shouts, angrily “The speedster!” and the Arabian man, standing next to him, quickly says some arcane spell, and a very old looking lamp appears on his hand. He kneel down, and from the lamp comes oil, that covers the floor very fast.

Tobias slips, like he should never have done on a normal greasy substance. Falling, he throws the book at us.

I jump, AND THE BOOK IS IN MY HANDS.

There is nothing else now. The voices of my comrades, making wall to protect me from the Omicron men, are very far and low.

The debris of the temple faded away.

Nothing around us.

Just the book.

And me.

And the dark dwarf.

Months have passed since the last time I saw him. “Nur, nur” he shouts from his stage.

And I run, faster than when velocity was my job, my art.

My heart beat like a drum, it ache in my eardrums. My lungs are on fire.

I am flying, I never even noticed when I left the temple and took flight.

The dwarf in my head keep speaking: “Od ot elba saw reven rehtom ruoy tahw did uoy!”

The forest, below me. The lake, the fountain. I land, on the convoluted shape of marble and stone. I find a niche, a little niche.

Must take breath, stop for a moment, focus. Can’t run, must hide the book. Where, where?

How many time has passed? Seems an eternity.

The Latin of the book is easy under my eyes. I never was good at Latin, back at school. Yet, now I read it like it’s my native language. Memories of adventures, of battles fought under the Imperial Eagle insignia….

I close the book, raise my head. Johnny Omicron is floating at mid air, right in front of me. Jet powered boots keep him up. High tech gear, wonder if Hoods tech has spilled out of the society.

“Found a nice nestbox, sparrow?” he ask, his perennial smile making joke of me.

I raise Ladnikia slightly. The man, almost unnoticeably, go back a little.

“Hand me the book. Your friends are not going well, there on beach.”

I turn my eyes, still keeping Ladnikia straight out in my defense. It’s right, there is a furious battle on the beach, and it’s not going well. Even Mxy seems at bay, with the Sheik magic being good enough to hold him. Mxy is clearly superior, but the wizard is experienced, and Mxy, without Danny to direct him, is not enough capable. And although Chance’s luck has until now protected the heroes, the fire from Rose and X Acute is like a wall.
From what I see it will be just minutes before the Omicron will prevail.

“I have no reason to have them killed. Hand me the book, and I will leave immediately!” repeat the Omicron leader.

I stand up.

“You want the book?”

“Just the book” he respond.

I open it, nonchalantly. Flip through the pages, like casually. But I know what to search for. I did find it before, while I was hiding.

I find the page. And read it, in a whisper.

The world disappears in a whirlwind. I feel like being stripped away from my body, right like I was preparing the Chicago revolt. But this time I FEEL THE POWER.

The world rotates fast under myself.

The oceans, the poles, the deserts, the swamps. And finally a dirty road, a big off-road car, and, inside, my comrades, Grimm, Bell, Priest, Tayden. A bike follows them, a new face with a red demonic helmet. I whispers the words again, and the vortex sucks us all back.

And I am standing back on the top of the monumental fountain, twenty meters above the lake level, while the car lands abruptly on the beaches, leaving the Omicrons stunned and my friends relieved.

But from now on that’s their fight. I have other things to attend.

I have a man to kill.

I put the book at my feet.

I raise Ladnikia.

“Omicron, if you want the book, come here and take it”.

The man produces his own sword.

The duel can start.

Moments before, Rose of Project Omicron had woken up on a dirt-covered floor, dazed but angry. She stood, groggily at first but slowly regaining her focus. Soon, all her thoughts were focused on one thing. Danny.

She raised her arms towards the entrance of the hut, not sure whether there was still anyone there, but prepared to fire nonetheless. Only after raising her hands to eye level did she see that her guns weren’t there. With a growing sense of rage, she realised that Danny had disarmed her. She was, for the first time in years, unarmed.

It was a disconcerting experience for her.

But it wouldn’t last for long. She marched to the back of the hut and threw aside a wooden table, letting it fall sideways with a loud bang against the wall of the hut. Underneath the table was a metal chest, the top of which she threw open. Inside were more guns than she could carry, of various sizes and descriptions. She smiled, armed herself, and headed for the exit to find the rest of her team.

Outside, she noticed something peculiar about the local villagers.

They were running, yelling and screaming, into the woods on the north side of the village. Compared to earlier behavior she had seen from them this could, indeed, be considered peculiar. She instantly thought that they must have been running away from something. The looks of terror and excited pointing towards the direction from which they came were a dead giveaway.

Using her available deductive reasoning skills, she made a quick assumption and headed into the opposite direction to where everyone else was going. She hoped this was where she would find her team. And, if she was lucky, that other team. Particularly that one with the damn claws and poison injections. Rose really was in a mood to shoot something.

Shortly after, she found what she was after. Spilling out of the ground through a large opening in a stone temple was her team, the rest of Project Omicron. Coming shortly after them were their rivals.

Danny quickly surveyed the scene around him. With him were what remained of his team; Kristogar, Chance, Tobias, Mxy, and Drax. The Raptor had flown on ahead, carrying the book, with Johnny Omicron quickly on his heels.

Behind them, there was the village. The locals were apparantly running away from the battle, terrified of getting caught in the crossfire. Danny was glad, not wanting anyone to get unnecessarily hurt. To their right was thick forest, the trees stretching off into the distance much further than Danny could see. Even with eagle eyes. The forest ended abruptly and made way for a sandy clearing where they now stood. A line of thick bushes marked the edge of the clearing, where it met the forest. To their right was a sheer cliff, descending down towards the water.

And before them, standing their ground in defense of their leader Johnny Omicron, were the remaining members of Project Omicron. Mimic, Arges, X-Acute, and The Sheik. Danny was pretty sure that there was another one around somewhere, though he couldn’t see them. Which, of course, would be a disadvantage.

Out of the corner of his eye, Danny noticed Rose. She was running from the village, then quickly ducked into the cover of the forest.

“Damn it. I thought that poison would knock her out longer…” Danny said.

<You fucked up. Too late to cry about it now. Just keep an eye on the rest of your damn team.> Hal said.

Cutting their advance abruptly short, Project Omicron stopped in their tracks. Danny assumed that they’d received the order to stay and keep the MBL back, so that Johnny could retrieve the book from Ed and escape with it. Danny was unsure of whether Ed could handle Omicron, but right now he didn’t have much choice. These guys weren’t about to let Danny through to go help his teammate.

And, to be honest, Danny was less worried about what Johnny would do to Ed as he was about what Ed would do in return. The Raptor (a name that seemed, to Danny, more and more appropriate as of late), was not in the most social of moods when he had departed. And while he appreciated the fact that drastic measures must sometimes be taken in their line of work, Danny knew that killing an opponent over a book was a line that, once crossed, it was hard to come back from.

But before he could think too deeply about any of this, X-Acute pivoted, twirled around, raised his two Smith and Wessons and fired at them.

Tobias watched as X-Acute raised his arms with the two guns. He stepped forward and ducked past Chance, who was standing directly in front of him. X-Acute pulled the triggers, and Tobias rounded past Kristogar and pushed Danny aside, emerging in front of the team. The bullets exited the barrels, and Tobias ran forward to meet them. Intercepting them in mid air, he wrapped his hands firmly around the bullets and tossed them harmlessly to the ground. He turned around to make sure his team was all okay, and found them to be adequately so. He noticed Danny and Kristogar part from the other three and head sideways, towards the forest. Turning back around to keep his eye on his enemies, Tobias found them tightly bunched together, arms raised.

That being ‘arms’ in the sense of weapons, not appendages. The former is threatening, the latter is just silly.

Danny’s worrying about where Rose had gotten to was cut short when she appeared, diving from the bushes to the left of the rest of her team, guns raised and fingers on the triggers. She fired as she jumped.

As the bullets shot out from the barrels, Tobias smiled. If handguns were all they had to face him, this was going to be fun. The rest of the guys could go home and watch TV, he’d stay here all afternoon and catch bullets.

He grabbed Rose’s bullets in mid air and again tossed them to the ground. He then stopped, grinned, and shrugged at Omicron. He was poised to run at them, when he felt something tugging at him.

Standing behind the rest of his team, The Sheik whispered a quiet word to himself. At that moment, Tobias felt the air around himself thicken. He’d only felt this once before- the cemetery in Berlin, where it seemed Ktl was in charge and keeping him stationary. Tobias didn’t like it then, and he didn’t like it now. He couldn’t move. He could barely breathe. It felt as if the air surrounding him was solid, a hardened substance encasing him and keeping him still. He tried to yell, and merely managed a squeak. While it was definitely heartfelt, in it’s way, it lacked the intimidating fury of a good yell.

Danny and Kristogar were ducking into the thick cover of the trees, trying the same trick as Rose to get the jump on their enemies. They ran forward behind the screen of thick foliage, hoping to gain some ground before they were spotted and attacked.

And they did gain some ground. Really. Not very much at all, but… some.

X-Acute dived into the bushes ahead of them, cutting off their progress. He jumped up suddenly, using a low hanging tree branch as a springboard and moving in smooth arc through the air above them. He grabbed a branch with his right hand and swung a gun beneath him in his left, firing at the two below him.

As he did so, Danny and Kristogar dived to the ground, hoping not to be hit. Which was a fairly reasonable thing to hope for, as X-Acute was looking upwards and reaching for a tree branch as he fired, and really only relying on luck to aim for him. Luck abandoned him, and Danny and Kristogar made it to the floor of the forest without being given any convenient places to store pens.

Although, admittedly, the forest floor wasn’t a hugely appealing place to end up, and they quickly stood up again. Danny cast a glance back at the rest of his team to check on them, and found Drax launching himself into the air. The dragon was an impressive sight, and was made even moreso by the deep bellow that accompanied his take off. A bellow that was, it had to be said, much more intimidating than Tobias’ squeak. But, to be fair, Drax has much bigger lungs. Looking back at Kristogar, Danny noticed Mimic tackling him head on and throwing them both to the ground.

Mxy, meanwhile, was floating forwards to help Tobias while Chance simply walked forward purposefully, standing his ground.

Drax filled a large part of the sky above the scene of the battle, blotting out much of the sunlight and casting a shadow on the ground below him. He flew upwards, reached a suitable height, then turned and hurtled downwards.

All of Project Omicron scattered, somewhat frightened by the sight of a huge dragon falling out of the sky towards them. All, that is, except Arges. He stood still, keeping his one eye trained on Drax. He reached for his belt and unclipped his huge axe, and gripped it firmly in his right hand. He took aim, and threw it. The axe cut through the air, thrown with as much power and speed as any axe can hope to be thrown with. Arges smiled as he watched it’s progress, seeing it close in on it’s target.

The axe struck Drax on the shoulder, causing him to yelp in pain. While a dragon of that size wasn’t likely to be completely incapacitated by an axe blow, however well aimed, it was enough to throw him off balance. His perfect landing ruined, Drax struck the ground hard with a resounding thud, tumbling over twice and coming to rest in the forest. Before he came to a complete stop he managed to crush some trees with his considerable bulk, sending logs and foliage flying. He also had the fortuitous accident to land on Mimic, throwing him off Kristogar. Danny and Kristogar were completely startled to have a giant dragon appear on the forest floor in front of them.

The two looked at each other, and decided with a simple look that this was a strange enough turn of events for them to risk running out into the open area to face battle again and leave the comfort and scenic surrounds of the forest.

The Sheik floated above the heads of all below him, crossing the battlefield and coming to rest on the roof of the stone temple they had recently exited from. He needed a peaceful spot if he was to be truly effective.

Rose headed to the edge of the clearing, where it met the forest. She intended to find Danny and Kristogar, knowing that they had recently headed into there.

Pneuma watched.

X-Acute descended from the tree, crashing through the bushes below him but managing a perfect landing. Gun raised, he jumped back out from the bushes, intending to meet danger head on, take it to the limit, live life on the edge, and generally act out other tough-sounding slogans he’d seen on bumper stickers and t-shirts. A figure met him as soon as he stepped out from his bushy hiding spot, and he raised his gun to their face.

He lowered it again in confusion as he found himself face to face with Rose. A rustling noise caught their attention, and they quickly turned to face the source of it. Clambering out from the bushes, back to back and seemingly hoping for a better reception than the one they found, were Danny and Kristogar. X-Acute and Rose held their guns out towards the two men, fingers tensing on the triggers at point blank range.

“Well… damn,” Kristogar said.

Meanwhile, Mxy had been tending to Tobias. Finding him completely immobile, Mxy thought that this was a strange situation for the speedster to be in. He’d hardly ever been immobile. He was usually quite… mobile. Mxy found there to be quite a powerful spell surrounding his teammate, which left him frustrated. Mxy was the one to handle the powerful spells around here, not some weird robed Sheik-man.

The Sheik looked down from his perch, annoyed that Mxy was apparently challenging his spell. He concentrated on keeping the speedster still.

Mxy pushed as hard as he could against the Sheik’s spell. He thought really hard about really fast things, like cars and light and the orbit of the earth around the sun. With a burst of fifth dimensional energy, he let Tobias free.

The Sheik scowled.

Tobias ran.

He ran for the first thing he saw. Which, at this moment, was the distressing image of Danny and Kristogar at the mercy of Rose and X-Acute. Covering the area before any triggers could be pulled, Tobias disarmed them, grabbing their guns from them and hurling them into the bushes. He grabbed them both by the hair and ran, trailing them behind him.

Pneuma watched all this, from his hiding point halfway up a tree. And one figure in particular had caught his attention.

Kristofer Schanz. Chance. Where his teammates had ran and fought and generally been impressive, if not effective, Chance had walked silently towards Arges while Arges was busy trying to slow down Drax. And now he had reached his target. Standing before the huge Cyclops, arms crossed and head cocked, Chance addressed him.

“You know, he may be big and furry and altogether dragon-like, but that’s my friend you just threw an axe at,” Chance said to Arges. Arges just laughed in reply, then readied his axe once more. He looked down at Chance, and pulled his right arm back to prepare the blow. As the axe was pulled backwards, however, the head flew off the handle and landed, clattering, on the ground behind him.

“What the…?” Arges said, and looked down at Chance.

“I’ve always been lucky that way,” Chance said.

Arges pulled back his right hand to ready a punch, and found himself pounced upon by a giant furry dragon. An event that, in other situations, would be strange.

Drax roared at him, and clamped his right paw down over Arges’ chest. The cyclops grunted, and reached for his hammer, his axe currently nothing more than a relatively useless stick. With both hands, one clenched and holding his hammer, he pushed upwards on Drax’s paw. When he managed a push of a few inches, he rolled himself out from under the paw and quickly stood up. Drax attacked Arges with his other paw, but the cyclops ducked and ran under the huge limb, finding himself on the other side of the dragon and grabbing a huge chunk of fur.

With a mighty heave, Arges flung himself upwards and onto the back of the dragon. Drax roared, bucked wildly, and took off.

Pneuma, still just watching, was fascinated by Chance. He didn’t outwardly appear to have any great superpowers, but here he was, going toe to toe with Arges. Curiosity overwhelmed the invisible man.

Tobias covered the clearing in a moment, hurtling Rose and X-Acute into the stone wall of the temple. X-Acute managed to tuck and roll, avoiding any major damage. Rose was less lucky, and dislocated her shoulder as she was hurled into the stone.

The Sheik was furious by this time, taking Mxy’s challenge to him as an insult of the highest order. Summoning up all the power he could, The Sheik once more cast his freezing spell on Tobias. The magician knew that he only had seconds before Mxy freed the speedster once more, and he hoped that X-Acute would play his part.

He did.

X-Acute got up and ran, heading for the bushes where Tobias had deposited their guns. It only took him a couple of seconds, but it was already giving Mxy a Chance to free Tobias once more.

Sifting through the bushes, X-Acute found what he was looking for. Two handguns, still loaded. He turned, ran, and fired.

Tobias squeaked in immense pain as bullets ripped through his legs.

Mxy eeped loudly.

”EEP!”

Mxy turned, and faced X-Acute.

”You stinky gun shootie man! You’ll be in a bubble now!”

X-Acute was rather surprised to find himself trapped inside a large bubble. He guessed that it was bulletproof, but elected not to test that out, as any ricochets may become tricky to dodge.

“FUCK!” He yelled loudly, although no one else could hear him.

Across the forest, up a hill, around a fork in the road and just near that big tree- you know the one- there stood Grimm, Dirk, Tayden, Priest and Vengeance. An off road vehicle and a motorbike lay on their side on the hill, thrown off balance by the sudden change of locale.

“What the hell…?” Grimm said.

“What was that? Some sort of teleportation? Where the fuck are we?!” Dirk yelled.

“So that was… odd,” Tayden added.

“You’re damn right it was odd,” Dirk said.

“What was that? Mxy?” Grimm asked.

“If it was, I’m going to be handing out some serious ass kicking. Fifth dimensional or not, you don’t start yanking guys halfway around the world without their say-so. It’s just not done,” Dirk said, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a loaded shotgun. Vengeance said nothing, just looking around in confusion.

“Wait! Does anyone else hear that?” Tayden said, holding up a hand in an attempt to silence his companions.

“Gunshots. Screams. Sounds of battle…” Grimm said.

“Probably why we’re here then. Let’s go shoot things,” Dirk replied. ”Can you watch Priest? He still doesn’t look to well,” Dirk added, addressing Vengeance. Dirk received a nod in reply.

“Right. Let’s go,” Grimm said, and he and Dirk ran towards the source of the sounds.

On a cliff face overlooking the village, The Raptor stood with his sword raised, facing Johnny Omicron.

“That book is mine. Give it to me now and you might not die,” Johnny said. Ed said nothing in response, electing rather to charge at Omicron with Ladnikia raised. Which, in the circumstances, was probably an understandable tactical decision.

Johnny pivoted on his back foot, dodging the thrust and parrying Ed’s sword with his own. With a mild concussive blast, Johnny threw Ed to the ground.

“Is that all you have to offer? Disappointing, really,” Johnny said, standing over Ed.

Ed raised his legs and rammed both his boots into Johnny’s chest, pushing Omicron backwards. He jumped to his feet and once more raised his sword, with a deafening battlecry. As Johnny tried to regain his balance, Ed used Ladnikia to push Johnny’s sword from his hand. Ed swung his own blade in a huge arc, bringing it down on Johnny’s right hand gauntlet. Sparks flew, and a shocked look crossed Johnny’s face. He quickly regained his composure.

“Never mind. Got two,” Johnny said, and threw Ed back down to the ground with a concussive blast from his left gauntlet. He grabbed the book, ignited his boot jets, and took flight.

Ed spread his wings and followed.

Rose stood over Tobias, who writhed on the ground and held his hands over his bleeding kneecaps. She was trying to pop her shoulder back into place, and managed to do so. A grimace of pain crossed her face, but still no sound escaped her lips.

All of a sudden, she found herself in a bubble. Looking through it, she found Mimic and X-Acute in nearby bubbles. She punched the bubble from the inside, hard.

Danny, Chance and Kristogar ran to Tobias. Mxy stood under the bubbles, looking at them proudly.

“Enjoy your pride while you can, Imp,” The Sheik said, and whispered a brief spell. The bubbles popped, the members of Project Omicron fell to the ground, and Mxy found himself feeling remarkably like… Mick.

He eeped softly.

“Eep…”

Over the water that stretched out from the nearby cliff face, Arges was riding Drax. Despite the dragon’s best efforts to dislodge it’s jockey, the cyclops remained on his back. Drax flew sideways, then quickly did a mid-air barrel roll in an effort to shake his rider. He dipped and flew sharply downwards, but it was to no avail. He turned and headed back for the cliff, as Arges raised his hammer. As Drax neared the cliff edge, Arges brought his hammer down in a swift blow to the back of Drax’s neck. Arges jumped, just managing to make it to a small ledge on the side of the cliff. He looked upward, then tried to hoist himself up.

Drax crashed into the cliff face, and tumbled into the water. A splash echoed around the forest and a fountain of water erupted from the surface as the dragon disappeared beneath it.

Where seconds earlier Danny, Kristogar, Chance, Tobias and Mxy had found themselves in control of the situation and surrounded by harmless bubbles, they now found themselves surrounded by Rose, X-Acute, and Mimic. The Sheik surveyed the scene from atop the temple, using all the power at his disposal to keep Mxy under control. X-Acute had tossed Rose her two guns, since retrieved from the bushes.

“Wings!” Danny said, and a moment later had eagle wings fully oustretched. He launched himself upwards, trying to take flight. Rose raised her two handguns and fired, one aimed at his wings and one aimed at his heart.

She felt her left arm waver slightly as she fired, and missed Danny’s heart. She assumed the wavering arm was a result of the recent dislocation. Her right hand gun, however, found it’s target, and a bullet ripped clean through one of Danny’s wings.

He felt it tear at muscle and feather. A trail of blood following him, Danny tumbled to the ground and landed in a heap.

Kristogar ran at Mimic and tackled him. The two men hit the ground hard, and tumbled over a coulple of times. Mimic emerged on top, and punched Kristogar hard across the face. Kristogar threw his opponent off his chest by using his leg, and Mimic tumbled into the bushes at the edge of the clearing. The shapeshifter stood and ran off into the forest, pushing aside branches as he went. Kristogar followed.

“Chance! Get Tobias to safety!” Danny yelled, standing up and retracting his wings.

“But you’ll be-“

“Do it!”

Rose shot a look towards X-Acute. It was a look that seemed to say, “This one’s mine. Go and follow Mimic into the forest and get that other one. The bleeding guy and the harmless guy will be okay for now.” Which, of course, was a lot for a look to say, but when you had as much practice as Rose did, you could say a lot with looks.

X-Acute charged off into the forest.

“So… just you and me again,” Danny said. Rose raised her gun.

“Exoskeleton,” Danny said. Rose fired. As her finger squeezed the trigger, every molecule of Danny’s DNA was responding to a command from Hal. In the second that it took for her to realise he was saying something threatening and pull the trigger, a sleek black exoskeleton covered Danny’s body from head to toe.

The bullet struck him in the chest and bounced off, falling to the ground. Rose fired again, impatiently. The second bullet, not surprisingly, repeated the action of the first. Danny lunged at her and grabbed her around the throat.

Suddenly, he felt something immensely hard and painful strike him in the back. It cracked his exoskeleton and sent him crumpling to the ground with a yell of pain. He looked around and noticed Arges’ hammer clatter to the ground beside him.

In the forest, Kristogar was in pursuit of Mimic. And X-Acute was in pursuit of Kristogar.

X-Acute caught up to Kristogar before Kristogar caught up to Mimic.

Grabbing a branch as a handhold and hurling himself forward, X-Acute found himself halfway up a tree, looking down directly at Kristogar. He jumped across to the next tree and grabbed a branch with one hand, using his other arm to reach downwards and grab a nearby vine. He slid down it, and landed on the ground in front of Kristogar.

“Shit,” Kristogar said. A moment later he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned, and ran.

X-Acute leaped forward, pushing himself off a tree trunk with his right leg. He landed on a low hanging branch of another tree, then reached out and grabbed another with his arms. He swung himself from the branch, flipped in mid air, and landed on Kristogar’s shoulders, bringing him to the ground.

“That was the most pitiful attempt at running away I’ve ever seen,” X-Acute said.

“Well, it distracted you long enough,” Kristogar replied.

“Long enough for what?”

“Long enough for my large, axe-wielding skull faced friend to knock you unconscious from behind, of course.”

X-Acute didn’t even get a chance to turn around before Grimm knocked him out cold.

Atop the stone temple, The Sheik watched with great interest as Arges and Rose stood over the body of Danny. Danny was currently writhing in pain on the ground before them, nursing a crack in his exoskeleton. A crack that had been worsened when a swift kick from Arges followed the hammer blow. Danny retracted his exoskeleton and looked up at the faces before him.

He was a little worried that he was about to die.

Pneuma watched this from the doorway of the stone temple, although nobody actually knew he was there. He’d saved Danny’s life earlier, when he knocked Rose’s arm off it’s aim when she tried to shoot him before, but he didn’t think he could do it now without giving himself away. Danny may have to become an acceptable loss on this one.

“I’d better go check on those other two,” Arges said, referring to Tobias and Chance. Rose nodded, confident that she could now handle Danny.

The Sheik was busy concentrating on Mxy. A trick he wasn’t sure he could pull of much longer, but he had more power on his side than anyone realised.

Power which is wasted when you use it all concentrating on one opponent.

A bullet struck him in the back, and The Sheik yelled in pain. He slumped forward. Roughly fifty metres away, on the roof of one of the neighbouring structures, Dirk Bell looked through his crosshairs at the slumped over figure of The Sheik. It was a good shot, even if he did say so himself.

He hopped down from his post, and went to finish the job.

Mxy snapped back to full power as The Sheik’s concentration was broken.

Rose pulled the trigger on the gun pointed at Danny. Also as The Sheik’s concentration was broken. In mid-air, the bullet turned into a butterfly. Danny smiled a thankful smile at Mxy, and Mxy just grinned back.

Dirk climbed onto the roof of the stone temple, and inspected the wound he had just given The Sheik.

“You’ll live,” Dirk said, and knocked the Sheik unconscious with a blow to the face. “Although I have no idea why.”

Pneuma disappeared inside the temple.

Meanwhile, Arges had caught up with Chance. He’d been helping Tobias back into the village, to find somewhere and someone to tend to his wounds. They’d found no one, and Chance was about to deposite Tobias in a nearby hut.

“YOU! Go no further!” Arges yelled, his hammer pointed. Chance turned around, and faced him.

“Me?” Chance asked innocently.

“You people! You irritating people!” Arges yelled, marching towards Chance with his hammer raised.

“None of you should be able to beat me! I’M THE STRONGEST PERSON I KNOW!”

“I’m sure you are,” Chance replied, grinning.

“And now you’ll all know it!” Arges said, and raised his hammer. He pulled it back to prepare for the blow, then brought it down on Chance’s head. Arges put all the strength he could into it. It was a mighty blow, a powerful blow. A blow that recalled the power of the gods and seemed to prove that yes, Arges was indeed the strongest person he knew.

Chance stood his ground, and the hammer bounced harmlessly off his head. Arges screamed in pain, and was thrown backwards with all the power he could muster. He came to a halt only when he smacked hard against a stone slab.

Shortly after, the team was gathered back in the clearing. Arges, X-Acute, Rose, and The Sheik were all trapped in Mxy’s bubbles, floating a few feet above the ground. Danny, Chance, Tobias, Mxy and Kristogar stood beneath them. They had just been joined by Grimm and Dirk.

“Introductions later,” Danny said, nodding at the new arrival. “But now, is Tayden with you guys?”

At that moment, Tayden arrived, out of breath, running through the forest. Vengeance came shortly after him, Priest draped over his shoulder.

“Tayden! I need you to find Ed. Now. He needs to be calmed the hell down before he does something we’ll all regret,” Danny said.

“Um… okay… how do I find him?” Tayden asked.

“Mxy. Take Tayden to Ed. We’ll keep an eye on these guys. You understand?” Danny said.

”Aye-aye Cap’n!” Mxy said. He took Tayden, and suddenly disappeared into his own top hat.

At that moment, when they thought they’d finally earned some rest… Mimic came barging out of the forest, a small child in his arms, and ran for the edge of the cliff. Mimic ran hard, kicking up dust as he went. When he reached the edge he turned and stood, clutching the child firmly around the neck.

“What the hell…” Danny said.

“You all take me to the book now. Or I jump off this cliff and take the kid with me!” Mimic yelled. Kristogar swore.

“Jump then! See if we care!” Danny yelled back.

“Danny! What the hell are you doing?” Kristogar said.

“I smell something,” Danny replied. Kristogar looked at him and found he currently had a wolf’s nose.

Mimic paused, and there was a silence. He seemed to be thinking something over in his mind.

“Bloody hell… if he won’t jump off, will somebody please shoot him off?” Danny said. Dirk raised his gun and smiled. Seeing this, Mimic grabbed the boy tightly, stepped back to the edge of the cliff, and fell off. He disappeared over the edge with a scream.

A second later, he reappeared. Held by his trenchcoat, dangling from the mouth of Drax. The boy was riding the dragon’s back, clinging to his fur and smiling. Drax landed on the ground before his team, and let the boy down. He held onto Mimic.

“Nicely done,” Danny said to the dragon.

Meanwhile, The Raptor was chasing Johnny Omicron through the sky above the forest. Johnny had the Liber Vitae tucked under his arm, and was trying hard to lose Ed. His right gauntlet was destroyed, but he kept firing energy blasts behind him with his left. He had to keep his eyes forward, however, and his aim was off. Ed dodged the energy blasts with ease.

Johnny quickly turned upwards, and around, flying in a giant arc. The effect was that he did a full loop, and ended up approaching The Raptor from behind and attempting to knock him to the ground. Johnny raised his left arm for a final energy blast, but Ed twirled around as he did so and swung Ladnikia at him. The sword connected with Johnny’s gauntlet, destroying the second one. The book fell from his grip, tumbling into the thick jungle below them. Johnny panicked for a second, then flew down to retrieve it. The Raptor followed.

He found Johnny on the forest floor, trying to find where the book had landed. The Raptor quickly caught up with him, and landed on him from above. He sent Johnny crashing to the ground, and sat on top of him with his knee in Johnny’s back. Johnny tried to push himself upwards and throw Ed off, an act to which Ed replied with a swift swing of the blade to the shoulder. Johnny screamed as Ladnikia pierced the kevlar and his flesh, drawing blood. Ed stood up, and Johnny rolled over.

Bringing Ladnikia down with all the force he could, Ed stabbed Johnny through the kidney. Johnny screamed once more, and clasped his hand over the wound.

The Raptor screamed at Johnny, a look of fury in his face.

A doorway opened nearby in the forest. Tayden and Mxy came tumbling out. To keep the doorway open for the way back, Mxy found a book lying on the ground and propped the door open with it.

Tayden ran at Ed.

“NO!” The angel yelled.

Ed held Ladnikia above his head, clasping the end of it with both hands. He screamed once more, spat on Johnny Omicron’s face, and brought the sword down for one final blow.

The tip of the blade pierced the kevlar as easily as if it were paper. The sword was thrust down through Johnny’s chest, into his heart. A pained expression came onto Johnny’s face, and stayed there.

Tayden ran, his heart pounding. Then he stopped. He knew the damage was done. There was nothing here he could help. Nothing he could fix. He was too late.

The Raptor stood above his prey, the sword still pushed down through Johnny’s chest. Ed knelt down beside the body, to inspect the damage. But there was no doubt in his mind. It was obvious from the moment of the final sword blow.

Johnny Omicron was dead.

The street rushed up to meet Phil and his pair of passengers before the grapple line snapped taut and the three of them began swinging forward at about eighty miles an hour.

"We're gonna die!" Nick DiVecchio cried.

Phil ignored him as he looked over his shoulder to see Patterson turn and follow him in the police chopper. "Hang on. I'm gonna try and lose him." He pulled out another grapple gun and fired it at a right angle, then pushed a button on the first gun, causing the grapple on the first target to pop free and retract into the gun. Phil grabbed onto the second line with both hands, and the three of them began swinging off down a perpendicular street like something out of Spider-Man.

But when Phil looked back a second time, Patterson was still there. And after repeating the process a few more times, the chopper was still following them, as well as several police cruisers on the ground. "Dammit, Patterson," Phil breathed. "What are you trying to prove?"

Latisha Piper clung to Phil for dear life, assisted by a very nervous Nick DiVecchio, as the trio sailed between high-rises, over balconies, and past fire escapes. But nothing Phil could do seemed to shake the police helicopter.

"We're almost on top of them," the pilot announced. "We'll try and snag them."

Patterson nodded. But somehow it didn't feel right, what he was doing. Phil Smith was definitely operating outside the law, but Patterson wasn't quite sure whether he should be trying to stop him or help him.

He had been so close to catching Smith in New York and had failed. Now, he had a second chance.

If he would only take it.

What to do?

Patterson turned to the pilot. "I know this guy's next move."

"What do you wanna do?" the pilot asked.

"Take us up and go left," Patterson ordered.

"You sure, sir?" the pilot asked. "Looks to me like he's gonna go right." Phil was looking off down the street to his right, and aiming a grapple gun down that street.

Patterson shook his head. "I know this guy. He's going right."

The pilot shrugged. "Your call." He banked the chopper to the left.

Phil took off down the street to the right.

"Oops," Patterson murmured.

"We can catch him," the pilot said as he reversed course.

"No, we can't," Patterson said as he fired his service revolver into the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?!?" the pilot shouted.

"Looks like we'd better get back to HQ," Patterson said softly. "Too bad that last jolt tripped the safety on my gun."

The pilot rolled his eyes. "I'd better get a promotion outta this or you're gonna hang." He turned and headed back to headquarters.

Phil was puzzled. The helicopter reversed its course as he continued off down the street, making a circle and heading back toward the diner.

He hoped Grissom was still on schedule...

This time I am not leaving my mark. This time, Don Diego Vega, or Senor Zorro, like I am known among the peasant of this land, has killed.

The Spanish colonel is reversed on the ground, blood coming out of his mouth corner.

Bernardo, my mute servant, is kneeling over him, and then raises his face toward me, and shake it.

I put my blade back in the scabbard. I am on the top of the cliff. There is no time to give this man sepolture, the sea will be his tomb. With my foot, I push the body just beyond the rim of the rock.

The waves swallow him, in a cold embrace.

Tayden is looking at me, eyes wide open. “That sword is devouring you, Edulcore. Throw it away, you are still in time”.

I look over the cliff. On the other side of the lake, my friends have captured the Omicrons. Out of the mountain, among the huts that surround the entrance to the Lost City, the people are returning, following the big female dragon.

“Tayden, this man was trying to kill me. I just defend myself” I say.

“There is always another way” he whispers, heading toward an open door in the middle of nothing. The door is kept open by the Book. I take it back, then Mxy step in behind us. Strangely, he is silent.

On the other side of the door, my MBL associates are reunited, and with them are the Omicrons. I raise the book, exultantly; but nobody seems happy. Many are wounded, there is blood splattered all over. And this all, just for this book. I wonder if…

…no, the important is that we have succeeded. We have found the book. Nothing else matter.

“Ed, hand me the book”, asks… well, orders. I quickly hand it to him. He seems surprised.

The people of the village is around us. The dragon is purring quietly at Drax. Then, the two giant furry beasts take flight, heading for the top of the mountain.

Meanwhile, Grimm, Chance and Danny, the three field leaders, are consulting closely. They even talks in the satellite phone of Chance, with La Perdita, I suppose.

The people of the Lost City are all around us, now. They are wondering what has happened, and look puzzling at the tied up Omicrons. Among the faces, there is one that is familiar. But I can’t remember where I saw it.

Then, the three stops to talk in the phone, and calls us.

Is Chance to talk: “I have just talked with Quantos. There are problems with the Company, it seems we have been issued for bankrupticy. Pete’s money has been retired!”

Dirk takes out the cigar from his mouth, spits, and then says: “With the money for the book we don’t replace that fortune, but it’s enough for continue until we find more works. And this recovering will be a very good ad for us.”

Danny cough, and then says: “Problem is, the people of this place claims the book for being essential to their surviving. When we took the job, it was said that we had to RECOVER a book. Now, to take it, we have to STEAL it. I don’t feel this is right, but it’s a thing on which we have to decide all together. We must vote. Who is for keeping the book.”

Surprisingly, no hand is raised.

“Good, then” smiles Danny. He raises the book in his hands. “Who is your leader?” he asks, slow and loud, facing the crowd.

The one whose face is familiar steps further. “I am Joaquim de Cuccubao” says the man, and I instantly recognize the face as the one it was on the portrait we saw at the Uffizi Museum.

“The book is yours” says Danny, handling it to the man.

“We have seen you fighting valiantly with these criminals” says Cuccubao, pointing at the Omicrons. “Sadly, we can’t let people which have found our location returning to the outside world. Else, someone will return, searching for the book, or the dragon, or the spring of youth, and our peacefully lives will be destroyed forever. So, I am sorry to order you to remain among us. And I assure you we have means to force you into doing so.”

This is not going out as I planned. We’ll have to battle again. And now that we are tired and underpowered by the battle with the Omicrons…

Then, a thundering roars comes from the top of the mountain. We all turns to that directions, and we seen the two dragons taking flight in big circles.

Then, out of the gates of the Lost City, come three guards, garbed in colorful clothes. They talks with Cuccubao, which listen to them with increasingly surprise in the face. He then turns, and says, smiling: “Draconia will live!”

We look at him puzzled. He smiles again, then explains. “Draconia is the name of the city. The High Priest told you that a prophecy said that the City would survive only until the last dragon lives. Well, after a millenia, our dragons has laid eggs! And your dragon has fertilized them! You stranger have gifted us with a new future!”

Danny scratches his head. “That means?”

“That you can leave. There is no need to keep you prisoner, now” explains Cuccubao.

“Well… good… but what has changed? Your fear for the outside world should be the same, no?” asks Kristogar.

“But now we can leave this place, and look for a new place to hide our existence. With a new generations of dragons, we don’t need the water of eternal youth to keep the dragon alive. We can leave the side of this lake.”

Drax lands near us, on his face a satisfied expression. “It was great, guys!” he roars.

The rest of the story is quite simple. We took the Omicrons with us, the ones called the Sheik, Rose, X Acute, Mimic and Arges. Of the one we met at the tower, Xyber, there was no trace. Johnny Omicron, the leader, I killed him.

We found the Hovercraft nearby the clearing behind the mountain. We left the Lost City at UFO speed, while Chance and Kristogar where talking about the people of Draconia intentions.

Chance:“You really believe that they will renounce to immortality so easily?”

Kristogar: “ Why, do you believe that the water of a lake can give eternal life?”

Chance: “You have seen Cuccubao”.

Kristogar: “I have seen a face with a more than vague resemblance with the painting of Cuccubao. It could have been just a descendant of the sailor, my friend”.

I stop to listen their conversation, and open my backpack to see if my camera is still intact with all the action it has endured. The pack protected it enough well.

Perfect.

Behind the hovercraft, the Mexican gulf runs away faster than a speeding bullet. And ahead, the island of La Perdita is ready to welcome us, green little marble lost in the blue.

Drake stepped outof the fish factory, not sure where he's going.

Where are we going, Drake? .

"Haven't decided yet, big guy. So, why didn't you want to stay?"

I wanted to Drake, but I couldn't.

"Why not?"

Well, we're stuck together. You would have had to stay too.

"You didn't ask me if I would have been willing to."

I knew what you'd say. "We're here for a reason. This is where we can do the most good, so this is where we belong."

"So, are you OK with it or are you just trying to keep me happy?"

This really is where we belong now. Dragons live a long time Drake. I'll have pleanty of time to get me some dragon tail later.

Drake laughed. "That's one way to look at it." Just then, Drake arrived at a small gas station.

Is this where you were going?

"Yeah, I guess it is. I need to make a phone call. Could you please, uh, not listen?"

Sure, I can use some rest anyway.

"Thanks" Drake took a card out of his pocket and looked at it as he dialed the phone. He waited a moment for the person on the other end of the line to pick up. "Blackburn? This is Marshall." Drake listened for a moment. "Yeah. I'm sorry. Look, I really am sorry about how we...I mean how I left things." Drake listened again. "I'm glad to hear that. So, what's new?" Another pause to listen. "They got into the Final Four? No way! Too bad Kansas clobbered them. Guess I was out of the loop, eh?" Drake paused again. "Glad to hear Kerr is working out. I was sure he had it in him. I, uh, really want you to know. I've been thinking. About what's important. What I want to say is I'm not here because I want to be. I'm here because its where Drax can do the most good. And I know you stayed there for similar reasons. I know, I can be a jerk. I know that I may just upset you when I screw things up again. Hell knows I've screwed up since I left." Drake listened. "Thanks. I...what I want to say is that I don't know how many chances I'll have to say what I need to. And I need to tell you...I still care about you, Jessica. I can't lie to myself about it anymore. Sometimes I wish there wasn't fifty feet of dragon in between us, but that's what we're stuck with." Drake listened yet again. "Yeah, I know. Look, If you need me or Drax, we'll be there." Another pause. "OK. Tell Tommy to kick a bad guy for me. Bye, Jess."

Drake hung up the phone and turned to leave, ad he did his left lg buckled and he fell flat on his face. "Damn." Drake struggled back to his feet, and started walking back to the fish factory.

Crasher lived up to her name...and crashed through the windows of an ancient keep, standing on a rough mountain side in northern Scotland.

The window shattered, and Crasher protected her face with her arms.
She landed with a thud on the wooden floor in what appeared to be a infirmary. tons of medical equipment and beds were standing in a row against one side of the room.
And as she got her bearings she saw a bed with lots of technical equipment attached to it...sensors of every kind, and tubes wich fed the patient nourishment and water.

My god!!! It was Ameristar!!!

Crasher managed to pick herself up from the floor...the armor seemed to function normaly again.
With tears in her eyes she sat beside her love and caressed her forehead.

"Oh my little star...snfff......" and the she cried for her friend.
How long she sat there she couldn´t say, but it was getting darker when suddenly a voice behind her spoke;

"Hello Crasher. So you managed to find us? How?"

Startled she looked up, only to see the friendly greyhaired Marc, who had rescued Ameristar a short while ago.
She rewarded him with a smile and asked;

"Oh Marc, how is she? Is there any hope?"

"Yes, apparently there is. just this morning her brain activity showed increased values all over. And now you appear. How did you find us mon cheri?"

"Well...it wasn´t actually me....it was the armor..."

"The armor?"

"Yes, it suddenly ignored all my commands and launched itself acroos the Atlantic, leaving my friends on the way to find the book we were looking for..."

"Ah yes, that. That matter is in control now. Your father is happy with the results, and he will contact you soon. he is a bit busy right now...the death of the leaders of the covert organisations you battle has put his plans on hold."

Suddnely Ameristar gasped and wailed like a banshee...and the armor began to walk towards her

Crasher could feel the armor heating up inside...

"Marc help out of this thing...it´s geeting hot in here...somethings happening..."

They struggled and manged to open the armor enough for Crasher to slip out of it and stand away from it as it approached the bed where Ameristar now convulsed.

Marc stared in disbelief at the scene...

"I feel a prescense in the armor...a powerfull prescense...nothing I have ever felt before...it´s...trying ti communicate with Ameristar..."

In the bed Ameristar seemed to relax a bit more, but her body was covered in sweat and spittle.

Crasher took her hand but got an electric jolt that threw her to the other side of the room.

Marc ran to her.

"Are you allright?" he helped her on her feet.

"Ouchie....that hurt...but I´m allright, thanks."

"It seems you are not to interfere with the process." said Marc with a pondering tone.

"What effin process? The armor is tryiong to kill her or something!" Crasher yelled in desperation.

Marc took her shoulders. "No...this is something else..a powerfull mind...yet full of widom and age beyond anyone I have ever met...older than your father even."

"What!? But he´s..."

"Yes...ancient is a good word. But this being is beyond age...beyond man...we should let it do what it wants."

They witneesed the armor suddenly glowing...a glow that engulfed the bed with an emerald light...almost like st Elmo´s fire...then Ameristar faded out of their sight...and so did the armor...

Only the emerald light shone in a central part of the room...but as suddenly as it had appeared, as suddenly it too vanished...only to be replaced with Ameristar standing there, with her Armor on...and her eyes were emerald.

"Hello Crasher. My love, my life. I am back"

The Southside of New Orleans

In and out job, Grissom thought to himself, as he crept down the hallway of the warehouse. Down the hall, an open door shed light out into the hallway as the sounds of five individuals playing poker could be heard inside. Grissom vanished his gun from his hand, moving slowly so as not to be heard. The last thing he wanted was for the men inside to realize that they had company.

Grissom had thought out a plan to move easily through the building and retrieve Kit’s daughter before any one in the building could even begin to realize that he’d been there... but such a ‘snatch-and-grab’ wasn’t really his style. Grissom had flair... and he wanted to make sure it was evident in all that he did – this included.

So, as he crept down the hallway slowly, toward the open door, he smiled to himself, preparing for the impending shootout with the Castronovo family.

“Hey, Val, pass the chips,” a high-pitched voice resounded from the other side of the door.

“Forget you, Arnie,” a rich, commanding baritone responded. “You’ll get ‘em when you win ‘em...”

“I meant the totrilla chips, Val...” the high voice of Arnie replied. “Quit hoggin’ ‘em all!”

“Yeah, Val,” came a softer voice, “let me, Arnie, and Michael have some.”

“Fine, whiners,” Val’s voice rang out. “Hey, Tony... your deal.”

“Oh, right,” came Tony’s reply, which sounded as though he’d just been shaken out of a daydream. “Sorry ‘bout that. Had one o’ them ‘out of body experiences,’ y’know?”

“Save it, Tony,” Val said again. “Just deal. And make sure Sammy only gets five cards this time, ‘kay?”

“Sure thing, Val,” Tony said again.

Grissom had approached the door. He peaked in and saw a twenty-something bleach blonde tossing cards to four other people. Griss eyed the other four and tried to place voices with names and faces. From what he could tell, the youngest member – a slight black-haired kid in a short-sleeved white dress shirt eating tortilla chips – must be Arnie. The dealer, Tony, had a goatee and wore a white ‘wife-beater’ T-shirt with suspenders. Two tall twins, probably Sammy and Michael, sat beside one another. The thinner of the two wore a powder blue suit, while the other had his longer hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore a lime green shirt with a black vest. That left the large, heavy-set blonde man of about thirty with his hair greased back and wearing a full suit… that one had to be Val. No doubt in Grissom’s mind.

Griss smiled as the door slid open a bit further. He leaned on the doorframe and waited for the Castronvos to take notice.

He wasn’t waiting long.

Arnie looked up, his eyes widened, and, spitting the chips from his mouth, he shrieked. Like a little girl. As Michael reached over to hit Arnie, Val’s eyes followed his little brother’s gaze and he stood, drawing his gun as he rose to his feet. Tony followed suit, pulling his weapon from the back of his pants, while Sammy pushed over the table, grabbing his gun from the tabletop as he did so.

Grissom Montag smiled. “How you doin’, mates?” he quipped, winking at Val, who stood his ground firmly.

“Who are you?” Val said commandingly as Arnie and Michael each pulled their weapons.

“Name’s Grissom Montag,” the Brit said, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I’m something of a mercenary. Way I see it, we’re in a similar line of work.”

Val sneered. “I doubt it,” he said, narrowing his vision. “Way I see it, we got a lil’ somethin’ called loyalty, whereas you go around whorin’ yerself out to the top bidder...”

Griss smiled again.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Val said, a smirk rising at the corners of his mouth.

“First of all,” Grissom said, eyeing the set-up before him and casually calculating his next move, “I don’t see much loyalty here. Seems t’me like you got more sibling rivalry goin’ on in this room than the Brady Bunch at their Memorial Day Weekend family reunion.

“And second,” Grissom continued, “I am quite loyal. To my good friend back in the Caribbean. Maybe you’ve ‘eard of ‘im? Mr. Kit Piper...?”

Arnie’s eyes widened again. “Val! That’s the guy whose kid we took! The one Gambini’s takin’ down!”

Grissom smiled as Val glared at Arnie. “Y’ve got a lot to learn yet, kid,” Griss said.

“It’s called deniability, Arnie,” Val said, looking down at his brother. “Don’t say another word or I’ll kill you myself...”

“See what I told you about loyalty, Val?” Grissom said. “You shoot your own brother for nothin’ short o’ givin’ up some information? That’s pretty pathetic...

“Now, I want some information from you gentlemen – and I use the term loosely at best,” Griss quipped. “I wanna know where the girl is. Then, I want her released into my custody. And I want it all done now. Or else, I’ll have to kill your happy little family... one by one.”

Val stifled a laugh. “How’re you plannin’ on doin’ that?” Val asked, smiling from ear-to-ear. “You ain’t even got a gun...”

Grissom smiled as his hands came out of his pockets, each one holding a .9mm handgun. “You were saying?”

Val composed himself quickly from his shock. He pulled the trigger on his gun... only to find that he no longer had one.

“Looking for something?” Grissom said, motioning to the silver weapon that lay at his feet. Tony was the next to make a move. He also tried to fire a shot, but, looking at Griss’ feet and noting his gun joining Val’s, he broke out toward Grissom in a dead-on lunge. Grissom leapt into the air, landing atop his attacker, sending Tony sprawling onto the floor.

A shot rang out. Grissom looked up and saw a bullet whizzing for his head. Without much time to think, he teleported the bullet... into Tony’s spine. Michael, who’d shot the bullet, grew progressively more angry and fired off a series of shots. Grissom was ready this time and teleported the bullets, still in motion, immediately behind the hot-headed Castronovo. Blood crept out of Michael’s mouth as he hit the floor, dead.

Sammy rose from his place on the floor, his handgun thrown to the side and a semi-automatic having taken its place. Grissom leapt from Tony’s back and delivered a solid flying kick straight to the thin man’s abdomen. Sammy was sent flying back into a cabinet, falling inside it, unconscious.

Arnie, who’d been crouched next to Michael, checked his brother’s pulse while Grissom fought Sammy. He was dead. Suddenly filled with fear, Arnie was left with no other option than to run. Hard. He leapt over the card table Sammy had thrown to the ground and headed for the door. Grissom, on his way to the ground after kicking Sammy, took aim and fired his gun... hitting Arnie square in the shoulder. Arnie was knocked slightly off-balance, causing him to slip on a playing card. He fell to the floor, his head smacking the linoleum with astounding force. Grissom hit the ground just before Arnie, whose head split open on impact, sending blood out across the floor.

Rolling onto his back, Grissom aimed both of his guns in Val’s direction. The large man stood amazingly still. Michael was dead. Arnie wasn’t far off. Sammy was out cold and Tony would probably never walk again. This man was dangerous, Val knew. Better to cooperate than cause any further damage to himself or his family.

“What do you want?”

“The Piper girl,” Grissom answered, never taking his eyes off of Val. “Where is she?”

“Upstairs,” Castronovo answered, swallowing hard. “In the bathroom.”

“Take me there,” Grissom said. “And move slowly.”

Val slowly began walking out of the room as Grissom flipped himself onto his feet. Exiting the room behind Val, he heard the click of a gun from behind him. Stopping suddenly, Grissom closed his eyes... and turned slowly. Opening his eyes, he saw Sammy Castronovo with a handgun aimed at his head.

“You don’t wanna do that,” Grissom said, shaking his head.

“I do,” Sammy said softly, fire and rage in his quiet eyes.

“Then, I gotta give you this,” Grissom said as he teleported a smoke bomb into Sammy’s mouth.

The thin man’s eyes widened. His gun fell to the ground. As smoke filled his lungs, he collapsed to the floor, grasping desperately at Grissom, who turned and followed Val. Sammy Castronovo died on the floor next to his brothers, having suffocated to death from smoke inhalation.

Upon taking Grissom upstairs, Val opened the bathroom door and motioned for Grissom to enter. The Brit pointed his gun at the man again. “You first,” he said, deadpan. “I insist.”

Val shrugged, entering the bathroom and pulling open the shower curtain to reveal little Denyce Piper. She was blindfolded and had duct tape placed over her mouth. Her hands and feet were bound with cord and the bathtub she was laying in was filled with cold water. Her body was shivering violently and Grissom knew he had to act fast.

“You’re a sick bastard, Castronovo,” he said, shooting the man in the left kneecap. “Let that be a lesson to you.”

Quickly ‘porting away his guns, he pulled the girl out of the water pulling the tape from her mouth. Her teeth chattered as a small whimper escaped from her mouth. Val yelled in pain behind him. A swift kick delivered from Grissom both knocked the man out and broke his jaw.

Running from the bathroom and running into what was likely formerly a foreman’s bedroom at the warehouse, Grissom placed the little girl on the bed and ‘ported a knife into his hands, which he used to cut the girl’s blindfold and bindings. Then, covering her with any amount of blankets he could find, he wrapped her up and tucked her under his arm, making his way back downstairs and out the front door.

“Wh-who are y-y-you?” Denyce chattered as Grissom placed her in the seat beside him in the SBC van.

“I’m Griss,” he said, starting the engine and pulling away. “I work for your daddy...”

“W-where’s M-m-mommy and L-l-l…?”

“Shh,” Grissom said, putting a finger to the girl’s slightly blue lips. “You’ll see them soon. I’m gonna get you to a hospital first, though. I’ll have my friend bring your mommy and sissy to the hospital. Okay?”

She nodded weakly and closed her eyes. Grissom swore to himself. He had to get her to a hospital... and fast!