Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

by **Faith** on 07 Sep 2009 23:39

Charlie sat at the his table, watching the street with a smile. It was a nice afternoon to wait. He had arrived early to get a good view of the surroundings and work just why he was coming to one of the city's heroes with this, instead of just stealing the rocks out from under his competition.

He didn't have to wait long. Though it had been her plan to get there early to be the one to arrive first, Faith couldn't help but grin as she spotted him. In her youth, she'd been a little depressed--in a vain sort of way--when she finally came to the realization that she'd never have those model-long legs. However, between the heels and the moderately short skirt, she was still fairly certain her walk up the street was an impressive enough entrance.

Opening the gate in the wrought-iron fence that served to separate the trendy cafe from the sidewalk around it, she laughed at her own nervousness and quickly made her way past several occupied tables before finding herself face to face with the sandy haired thief. "Um... hi," she said, feeling a sudden lack of eloquence. Finding the linen napkins highly interesting, she waited for the blush to leave her cheeks before smiling back up at him.

Standing has she arrived, Charlie pulled out Faith's chair. "Hi yourself," he smiled at her. "What's first? Lunch or business?"

"Both," she laughed as she took her seat. "And thank you. All this gentlemanly behavior... I might get spoiled." She brushed a lock of hair away from his face and waited for him to sit back down. "Though I'm dying to know the details of our business here, I'm also dying for some good tapas."

Nodding, Charlie waved the waiter over to their table. He arrived and with a flourish, presented a menu to the duo. "Would you care to see a wine list?"

"No thanks," he said with a glance at the redhead seated across the table from him. "We'll have a bottle of Philippe Faury Condrieu '06."

Faith raised a brow and gave an impressed little smile at the choice. "Oh you are good." Looking him up and down, she took in his appearance with a sense of satisfaction. Everything about him, from the mint green shirt to the tailored slacks and expensive watch, spoke of success. It wasn't overdone. And it was why he fit in so well at the respectable public part of charity functions as well as the sneaking through walls part. "But then again, I do seem to recall accusing you of liking to show off."

The well-dressed thief shook his head. "No, if I was showing off, I'd have order a three hundred dollar bottle instead of a sixty dollar bottle..."

She couldn't argue with that one. Now that they were reasonably alone, she leaned in closer, blue eyes sparkling as she didn't even attempt to hide how much she was enjoying herself. "Now let's talk sneaky business."

"Okay. There's someone... don't know who, actually. It's a blind e-mail drop thing, I get a vague job description and a value of the item, and I reply with my price for the job, usually 20% of the item's value plus expenses. Although, stuff in Garrison, I've started charging 75%."

"... because you like the city," she interrupted with a little smile.

Charlie shrugged. "I like parts of the city... and it's residents." He took a sip of his wine and smiled. "Anyway, I put my bid in on this job and they accepted, but when I went to meet the middle-man, he was there with their new employees. Tried to shoot me, and here we are."

Her lips curled into a teasing smile. "Well that doesn't seem nice at all." Resting her chin on her hand, she thought it over for a minute. "Actually, it doesn't seem very professional. They accepted your bid but then hired someone else? You should have been the one trying to shoot them." She paused and flashed him a bright smile. "Not that I'm endorsing that sort of thing."

With a laugh, the Desolidified Defalcator opened his jacket. "Don't have a gun anyway.

The waiter approached again and the duo placed the their orders and waited for him to retreat to a safe distance. Charlie gestured to an office building that stood on the opposite side of Wood Avenue. "Sixteenth floor, there's a precious gem brokerage. Very high security. My... replacements are going to hit it. And it will probably be Thursday night, as a big diamond shipment will be arriving from Tel Aviv before going out the next day."

Faith nodded as she thought it over. "Do you know anything about your replacements?" she asked finally. "I mean, they hired you first and you said it had high security... so they've got to be at least a little bit good."

"They are. It's a team, at least four members. Their leader is called The Bishop. He's got an acrobat, a techno-wiz and a guy who can shoot laser beams from his fingertips. The Rat, Uplink and Cutter." Charlie paused, staring into his wineglass before continuing, "They've usually got one or two others on their crew, but I can't say who. They vary job-to-job."

"That's a lot of talent," she said softly, catching her lower lip between her teeth as she listened. Watching Charlie watch his wine, she hesitated slightly before continuing. "You know a lot about them. Has something like this happened before?"

An embarrassed grin crossed his face. "I... they used to call me Phase."

Somehow she wasn't entirely surprised. "Well... it fits." It was tempting to tease him, to see if she could bring a blush to his lightly tanned skin, but there was work to be done. "But this is good, right? You know what they can do. So all we have to do is poof in and stop them. Though laser beam fingers do worry me a little..."

"They should. And I left out a bit about the Bishop. He can turn his whole body into whatever stone he wants just by touching it. And I did mention one or two others. He's bound to have at least one hitter that won't be quite as easy to stop." His hands clasped behind his neck, Charlie looked at the sky. "I'm crazy for even asking this, but..."

"No. I can't marry you," she teased with a wicked little grin.

Heist cocked an eyebrow. "Never on the second date. Well, third, if you count the night we were working."

Giving a delighted laugh, Faith tried to focus again. "Okay... then what was the but about?"

"But, well, you and I aren't going to be able to take care of these guys alone. You don't have any super-buddies you could call to help, do you?"

"I dunno Faith," the Starlight Sleuth crossed his arms, "this is the same guy you stopped from stealing that auctioned bottle of wine. He sounds like he's trying to use us to steal something."

Faith crossed her arms but nodded. "Yes. He's the guy I stopped... who then came and bid on the wine himself because he felt bad about trying to steal it from such a good cause." Aware of how non-helpful her explanation was, she tried again. "He does steal things. Some. But he's nice."

Corin opened his mouth, but Jamie cut him off.

"If Faith trusts him that's good enough for me," she nodded at the red head, "we just need to know what exactly it is we're getting into."

"Fine," Corin nodded, "I still don't trust him, but if you do," he nodded toward Faith, "then I'm in."

The Vanishing Vixen beamed and made a mental note to hug him later. "Nothing's going to get stolen as long as we do our jobs. He told me that there's a pretty um... talented team coming in to try to get these diamonds. Like powers up the behind, sort of team. That's why we need to work together."

Corin nodded, "Right. Okay so what is the plan?"

The green-clad crook walked through the closed doorway leading to the stairwell. "We stop them, of course."

"So nice of you to join us," the little redhead teased. "Mid-Night Man, Daylight... I'd like you to meet... um..."

"Call me Heist," the thief smiled. "Pleasure to meet you all. Especially under these circumstances.

The Starlight Sleuth's eyes moved up and down the newcomer, "Heist huh?" He said a bit sarcastically, "That's encouraging."

Ignoring Corin's less-than-welcoming greeting, Faith looked over at Jamie and smiled. "See. I told you he was nice."

"At least while I'm in Garrison, I am," he said with a smile at Faith.

"So do you have a plan?"

"Of course he does. We're going to be all sneaky and get in, stop the bad guys from stealing anything, catch them, and hand them over to the police." She thought about it for a minute before adding, "Without breaking anything."

"That's," you could almost hear Corin's eyebrow go up behind the shadow, "the plan?"

Daylight slapped him in the shoulder, "I'm sure there's more to it than that isn't there?"

"No," Charlie said, smiling. "Isn't that what you people do?"

"Okie fine," Corin sighed, "Do we at least know when they are going to hit?"

"Thursday."

"Okay then," Jamie nodded, "we'll be ready."

A short, wiry figure crossed the roof of the building that housed the gemstone brokers. He paused for a few minutes, eyes on his watch, before cracking open an air vent no bigger around than his head and wriggling inside. He eyed his watch again at the bottom of the shaft, deftly moving his wrist in front of his face in the confines of the cramped vent. Beady eyes blinking with the count of the second hand, he waited for his mark then, after unscrewing three corners of the grating, pulled himself from his metal entrance and flipped to the ground.

Nose twitching like his namesake, The Rat looked around the silent front office of the diamond exchange and gave a satisfied nod. Looking over his shoulder once to make sure Uplink had done his job properly and the security cameras really were off, he scurried to the door and unlocked it. Opening it with a flourish and a mocking little bow, The Rat moved out of the way for Deconstruction.

Deconstruction stepped forward. The tall, skinny man cracked his knuckles and inspected the electronic panel on the wall. He smiled smugly as his hand slid up and down across the panel. His fingers tapped against the metal, and finally he pressed his hand on the panel. There was a tiny crack and a puff of ozone, and then the door swung open. Deconstruction stood up and smiled, as he waved the others through.

With almost eerie silence, the rest of the team filed through the office -- leaving The Rat to close the doors behind them-- and gathered in the tidy workroom of brokerage. The group moved back slightly as a wiry young man with thick glasses stepped forward. Adjusting his fingerless gloves, Cutter moved up against the heavy steel door and ran his fingers along the surface. An intense look crossed his young face as he took a deep breath. His teammates shielded their eyes as a tightly focused beam from his index fingers speared into the metal.

As the steel plate on the door melted away, it exposed the lock mechanism. With a smile, Deconstruction walked over and stuck in her hand. With a pop, gears clattered out of the hole. She spun the wheel that retracted the locking rods. The door was pulled open, exposing the interior of the vault.

The room was all steel, floors, walls, box doors, even the table in the middle of the vault. And on that table, legs crossed as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do, sat a masked redhead. "It's not nice to steal things." She flashed them her best cheshire-cat grin then disappeared before their eyes.

Before the surprise over her presence could fade, Sylph was off the table and and weaving through the room. Charlie didn't have information about every member of the team in front of her, but out of the ones he did know about... She just couldn't risk getting any of her friends skewered by lasers.

She threw her unseen body against Cutter, knocking the glasses from his face as she forced him back against the door. An invisible foot hit his chin, snapping his head up then sharply to the side as she spun and kicked him again. He was dazed-- she could see it in his eyes-- but not out. But that's why she'd decided on her staff for tonight. Cutter jerked then slid down the door to the steel floor as she tased him... then tased him again for good measure.

Walking out through the cabinets, Heist shook his head. "Wow. I'm glad you weren't that hard on me," he laughed.

From outside the vault, The Bishop spoke. "I know that voice. You traitorous whelp! First you stab me in the back, then you pull the job out from under me?" A short, stocky man walked through the vault door flanked by a dreadlocked black man and tall, lean woman. The stocky man continued. "And don't tell me I stole the job from you. You didn't want it, otherwise why charge three times what we did?"

"Ah, Bishop. A pleasure as always. I don't think I know your new monkeys."

The Bishop growled angrily, "Knockdown, take care of this...filth."

Knockdown grinned and stepped forward. He popped the bones in his neck, "With pleas..." Knockdown made a small squeaking sound as his entire body went limp and he crashed to the floor in a heap.

"Now, now," the Mid-Night Man and Daylight stepped from the shadows, "It's impolite to start a party without all the guests."

"Phase, you bastard," the Master thief growled, "I'm going to skin you alive!"

The Starlight Sleuth leveled his dart gun at Bishop, "Such language," he pulled the trigger and the dart flew through the air.

Moments from hitting it's target, the thief thief turned his skin into dark granite like the chess piece in his hand. "You're friends are gonna pay for you're transgression, Phase," he grinned as he started towards Mid-Night Man and Daylight. However, his steps soon became tangled in an invisible pair of legs. He stumbled but didn't fall, trying to kick at the obstruction.

"Transgression? That's an awfully big word," Sylph laughed as she easily moved out of the stocky man's way. "As fascinating as it is to hear a bunch of thieves discuss the finer points of stealing from each other -- no offense, Heist," she added with an unseen wink at Charlie. "But I don't think you're in any position to 'make us pay' or any other bad-guy type line you'd like to say next."

The smallest of the group of thieves, a nerdy type pulled down a set of goggles over his eyes and gave a low whistle, "Boy, for being invisible you got some nice boobs." The little thief pulled what looked like a small metal ball out of his pocket and tossed it toward Sylph's direction, "This'll help."

The ball bounced in front of Faith and a small stream of gas issued forth from it filling the room but also allowing everyone to see her silhouette.

"Cheater," she muttered under her breath. Wrinkling her nose, she cocked her head to look at the man with goggles. It was a disgusting thought... but a weapon was a weapon. Her silhouette could be clearly seen running her hands along her curves. "What? You like these?" Glad no one could see her blush, she left her hands on her 'nice boobs' and took a step closer to the little man. "I'm nice all over." Another step closer.

Uplink made sort of a gurgling sound as he watched. Trusting her friends to make sure the rest of the thieves were busy, Faith took another step closer to the mesmerized little pervert. "You want to know what else is nice?" she practically purred. The technical wizard nodded eagerly.

Smirking, the Vanishing Vixen reached behind her back. Slowly fading back into the visible world so he could see the girl about to kick his ass, she spun her staff in a quick circle. Eddy hadn't been letting her use her powers in their training sessions anyway, so this wasn't a big loss. The shock-staff blurred the air as she spun it again. Then, without a hint of guilt, she snapped it straight, catching the little man in the groin. "Not talking about women like that."

Uplink made a light squeak of pain as his eyes crossed and he fell to his knees and then his head hit the ground with a loud thud.

Jamie's eyebrows went up underneath her goggles, "Getting out some frustration?"

Sylph flashed her friend an almost guilty grin. "What? I was just... he was icky... and..." She shrugged then disappeared again, suddenly hoping that she hadn't just totally scared Charlie off. "Okay... it was kinda fun."

"I can imagine, but let's not waste any more time, I'm done screwing with..." Jamie stopped mid-sentence, as the Rat had slinked around behind the day/night duo and wrapped himself around Jamie.

I 'ave 'ou in my clutches pretty one," he hissed onto her ear.

"I hate it when boys get handsy," she growled. The Daylight Damsel's hands began to glow. The glow became brighter and brighter. A moment later, the light around Jamie flashed and the Rat was expelled from Jamie's back, slamming hard against the wall behind.

"You're looking well, Bish..." the thief said with a crooked smile. "Nice to see you didn't lose any sleep after leaving me in that glass-lined room."

The granite mastermind shook his head. "That wasn't personal, Phase, just business. The policer had tagged you as the mastermind, so I thought it prudent to throw them off my trail."

"Fine, whatever. Shall we?" With those words, the thief Bishop knew as Phase dove through the stone man and into the next room.

Bishop turned and followed his former protoge. As the Black Diamonds' mastermind exited the vault, Heist grabbed his wrist and heaved him toward the wall. As Heist maintained contact, he made himself and Bishop desolid, slipping through the wall.

As the stone villain passed through the building, he returned to solidity with all but his right hand outside the building's stone facade. Heist stuck his head through the wall and snagged Bishop's namesake twin chess pieces from the villain's pocket. "I wouldn't go tearing myself free, there. It's a pretty good drop and, even in stone form, you're bound to break up when you hit the pavement."

Charlie's head disappeared into the building before popping out again. "Oh, and one more thing. Garrison's off-limits, capice?"

Since she couldn't exactly rush after Charlie to make sure he was alright, Faith turned her attention to the remaining thief in the room. "Bet this isn't the way you expected tonight to go," she grinned at the tall woman. "I really think now would be a good time to surrender."

Deconstruction heaved a heavy sigh, and looked around the room. She put up her hands.

"Let me see them." They were several rooftops away from the gem brokers. Close enough to watch the flashing lights as the police finished their cleanup and, hopefully, found a creative way to get Bishop out of the wall. Smiling, the masked redhead held her hand out expectantly. "Please. I'll give them right back."

Charlie laughed and offered the twin chess pieces. "Here you go. You can keep one if you like. A souvenir of a successful job. And our first job on the same side."

"The first of many?" she suggested with a laugh, deciding to keep the white one. She placed the black one back in his hand, flashing what she hoped was a very tempting smile.

Looking first at his piece, then at hers, then at Faith herself, Charlie returned the smile. "You're the angel in white, and I'm the black hat, is that it?"

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of the black knight. But this works too." She certainly wasn't going to complain about being called an angel. "But am I going to have to wait until the next job to hear from you again?"

The thief shrugged. "Maybe. Who knows. You could always call me if you need help. Or maybe someone to hit one of those dull charity events with you?"

Her blue eyes sparkled. "Or maybe something a little more fun... like a non-work dinner."

An eyebrow shot up. "Non-working dinner... you mean a date?"

"Oh is that what I mean?" Her face mirrored his perfectly.

"Of course it is," Charlie said with a grin. "You forget, I can see right through you."

"That's right." With a wink, she faded out of sight. Then, since he'd see it coming anyway, she rose up on her tiptoes to place a light kiss on the corner of his mouth. "We had fun and stopped a bunch of badguys who stole your job. I'd say that's a pretty good fourth date."

by **Bluewolf** on 13 Sep 2009 13:46

For some reason their travel seemed increasingly easier and they made ground considerably faster, traveling greater distances with less need for breaks. The weather almost mysteriously lightened along their path. Nobody said a word of it, but there was a general suspicion that their new guide had something to do with it. The further they got, the quieter Ryu became. Kaye walked with Bon-Manche, having animated conversations that seemed to wile away the days.

In no time, it seemed, they reached the crest of one of the countless hills they had hiked over to find a small complex of buildings nestled in the valley below. It was a small oasis in the rocky, mountainous landscape. The very sight of the ashram was enough to lift everyone's spirits, and they all seemed to get a boost of energy. All their eyes fell to the grassy scene below. A small, ancient path had been carved from the stone and circled its way down the valley wall down to the bottom. Bon-Manche waved a shaggy arm at the valley that lay before them.

"Your destination. I am afraid that I may accompany you no further."

They all looked puzzled, but it was Kaye that spoke, "But... why?"

Bon-Manche looked once more down the hill to the ashram. "There is an agreement between the master of the ashram and I," he said solemnly.

There was something in his tone that settled over the others with a silence. No one seemed ready break that silence. All of them, save for Kat, knew that the complex below was empty. It had been for years. Perhaps it was respect for the dead that the guardian spoke of. Though with the turns of Spencer found a little comfort in Bon-Manche's tone that implied they wouldn't find an army of undead this time.

Ryu stood at edge. He turned, "Then this is where we part ways," he said, looking up at the tall creature. "Again."

"So it is." Those massive hands folded before his chest. "Take care, little Kokezaru." He bowed.

The dapper detective mirrored him. "Take care, Bon-Manche."

The mountain guardian paid his respects to the others, stopping only to embrace Kaye in a large hug. He whispered into her ear. She nodded and they parted, bowing again. And with that, Bon-Manche disappeared over the ridge.

"After all this, I'm sure we're all looking forward to not sleeping under the stars tonight." Though his words seemed somewhat light, his face didn't hold the same levity. Standing at the head of the winding path down, the Dapper Detective readjusted the pack across his shoulders. "Let's go..." With barely a look back he headed down the path.

The lower into the valley they got the more they saw of the Ashram. It had that same strange stylistic architecture as they had encountered halfway around the world. The intricate carvings along the parapets. The weathered flags fluttering in the wind. The dark curved tiles, neatly stacked. and sloping down to the corner statuary. Unlike that one, however, this one looked like it stood firm against the tests of time and weather. It almost seemed like it had never been abandoned.

Ryu stopped just short of the doors. His eyes traveled up the massive carved wood. "Man..." He remember that last time he'd pulled those doors closed. There they sat, untouched all these years. He reached up and touched the wood darkly stained grain. "Hasn't changed a bit, has it?"

Aaron moved silently to stand beside his friend; he placed a hand on his shoulder and looked up a the thick doors. "You okay with this?"

Ryu nodded, and together they pushed the great doors open, revealing the courtyard within. An overwhelming feeling of peace washed over them, as if they had opened the floodgates on a reservoir of well-being. "Welcome home."

"Yeah," the dapper detective strolled across the open courtyard with its lush green grass leading up the the fine gravel and smooth stone walkway that surrounded the center temple stay area. Nothing had changed. All these years... Nothing. He felt that warmth one felt from returning home, and the smile came back to his face. "It's exactly the same..." Wonders, it seemed, never would cease.

Aaron looked up. Over the time of their descent into the valley the sun had also drifted down past the peaks of the mountains that surrounded them. "Gonna be dark soon."

"We should still stick close by." Ryu pointed over to one of the buildings to the side of the temple. A simple structure despite the ornate designs that decorated it. "There are some cells with sleeping mats in there. I'll see about some food."

They all filed into the dormitory. Though the doors and windows had been closed for quite some time, the air inside was still fresh. There was not a trace of the usual detritus of long abandoned buildings to be found as they moved through, selecting their cubicles. No leaves, no dirt, no animal droppings... not even a layer of dust. It was as if an unseen host had made a special effort to clean house prior to receiving guests. Once they had stowed their gear, they gathered together on low stone benches outside the cells and waited for Ryu to return.

They had gotten used to darkness falling quickly after the sun had set, and despite the mysteriously temperate climate of their valley ashram a chill descended with nightfall. In a short while the warm light of a torch appeared as Ryu came back from across the courtyard. "All settled?"

"Roo..." Kaye looked around the dark shadows that surrounded them. "It's incredible."

"It's not too bad." A cloth bag was slung over his shoulder. "Looses a bit of its mystique when it's all you know. Prolly why I spent so much time sneaking down the mountain."

The bag he wore was pregnant with goods. "Garden's done pretty well on its own." He ducked under the shoulder strap and rested it carefully on the ground. "Kinda makes all that backbreaking work seem more than a little irritating."

Spencer leaned down and pulled up a pepper. "Builds character though, right?"

"That's what they said."

They all laughed at that. Aaron poked around in the bag, taking inventory, then carefully slipped the bag over his shoulder. "Unless we were planning on eating raw veggies, I say we head off to the kitchen."

"Would be nice to have a hot meal that didn't come from a box or a can. I'm down for some vegetable stir-fry."

Kaye made a dismissive noise and hooked arms with the Russian girl, ignoring or simply not noticing as the girl stiffened beside her. "We'll let the boys handle the cooking duties. I've always said that there's nothing sexier than a man who knows his way around the kitchen," the blonde said with a wink. "Except maybe one with a vacuum cleaner in his hand."

Spencer held his hands up in faux protest. "I make a mean bachelor chow, but that doesn't usually include farm fresh veg."

Ryu raised a brow, looking at the other two gentlemen. "Why do I have the feeling my old day job is going to have this fall upon my shoulders?"

"If the apron fits." Aaron smirked.

The Enigmatic Investigator looked between the two. "Day job?"

"He didn't tell you he was a line cook?" He jabbed a thumb in Ryu's direction.

Spence looked back to the man in question. "He failed to mention."

"Technically I'm unemployed." He mocked up a scowl, "And I was a chef now and then too."

"Then I'd say you just damn near volunteered." He clapped Ryu on the shoulder.

Ryu shook his head. "Come on..." He waved them along, heading toward the kitchen. "Let's see if that clever insight of yours can figure out how to handle a knife. And that enhanced sense of yours can sniff out some spices that are still good."

Kaye laid her chopsticks down in her bowl and leaned back on the rough-hewn bench. "I didn't know I could ever get so full from a vegetarian meal."

"And eating four bowls full couldn't have had anything to do with it." Spence countered with only the barest hint of a smile and dodging the empty crockery that was flung at him.

It was refreshing. Just being here for the short amount of time had already relaxed everyone, even the constantly wary Katia. Her head was thrown back in rich laughter while Aaron leaned across the table, in the midst of an incredibly hysterical - at least in his mind - story.

"So Mel pats him on the cheek and without batting an eye says, 'But you're an urban legend, dear. You don't really exist.'"

Seated on the floor, Ryu pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms across them. "Nobody believes there would actually be a guy running around and fighting crime in a tuxedo." He leaned over and picked up the metal flask that sat between on the table and shook it. It was very nearly empty. "I dunno why. Seems quite reasonable to me."

"Reasonable?" She looked at him as if he had just spoken some strange language, the words not fitting their meaning. "How is wearing a tuxedo reasonable? So hard to move in and rather expensive to replace." She looked at the curiously complex man. "]Why do you wear one?"

Kaye looked over to Ryu as well, "That's a good question." Her quizzical expression matched Kat's. "Why do you wear it?"

"You know," now Aarron's brow furrowed as he looked down into the rim of his glass, "come to think of it... I don't even know that one..." A curling grin fell over his lips. "And I've been in your head..." He tossed back the glass's remainder. "So to speak."

Ryu groaned. "Seriously?" He was met with a raucous reply in the affirmative. He shook his head and tried emptying the empty flask more. "Alright... I was in London, right? Working at this fancypants restaurant," his face contorted in thought as he tried to remember the place's name. "Chez Gerardi. Now when I say 'fancypants' I mean it. Black tie or no plate. So, one night I was working the host stand and I got out late... I'm walking down the streets of London at like 3 in the morning in a nice black tux, bowtie dangling down my collar..."

"Walking or stumbling?

"Six of one..."

"Shush," Ryu smirked. "Anyway, I'm walking home, and I get that rather familiar tickle in the back of my skull." He tapped his head. "I'd gotten pretty good at knowing what that meant. So I saunter over to this pub across the street and peek in the window. Two guys with big hand cannons," his fingers held up folded like pistols and aimed them across the table at Katia, "waving them around at the bartender and a few rather pissed patrons."

"I imagine they would be upset," Katia's eyes drifted from the makeshift pistols to his face. "Most people aren't prepared to handle being held at gunpoint." She shook her head a bit, those blonde locks sweeping her shoulders. "Though I would normally expect more fear than anger."

Spencer chuckled, "A London pub at three in the morning?" He leaned over elbowed Kat in the ribs. "I'm betting he means drunked."

Ryu nodded. "Very. Tankered." That black material crawled up his face into that mask. "So I do my thing and cowl up and we slip into the pub. Half a minute and I'm staring down the barrel of these two guns. They look me up and down and the look on their faces." He starts laughing. "Priceless."

Her curiosity was touched again. "I can see why they were frightened. It looks demonic..." She leaned over the table a bit, peering at his covered face, her eyes following over the smooth surface before finding his eyes set in the middle. "But it isn't... right?"

"Demonic?" He laughed and two little pointy ends grew out of the inky black cowl. But he shook his head and the mock horns were gone. The Dapper Detective smiled back. "Nah. He's no demon, not in any traditional "from the depths of hell" sense." Knowing exactly what was lurking in the depths of hell, Ryu chuckled a bit.

"I see.." The petite Russian sounded skeptical. "He?"

He nodded. "Pretty sure." The cowl bled back from his face and down into his collar. "He's always seemed like a "he", feels like one. I'm not really sure how to explain it..."

"Does he have a name?" She was not familiar with people who had gotten their abilities from a different source. All of those at the center had been born different somehow, just like her.

"Enry."

"Enry..." The unfamiliar word sounded strange on her foreign tongue. She nodded a bit. "Enry the male not-demon." They had helped her this far. No reason yet to stop trusting them, even if the possessed one was sounding a little crazy. Though, if she ever did, he would be the one she would be most careful of. "How fortunate for all of us you found each other then."

Ryu smiled, "Yeah," he nodded a bit, "Maybe." He looked at the young woman. She was still somewhat a stranger to them, but every day she had grown more comfortable, opened up a little more. When it came down to it she had stepped up with the rest of them and not just for her own survival. At least he didn't think so. He looked over the others a moment, things having gotten a bit quieter. "I've been pretty fortunate in all the people I've found."

Spencer cleared his throat. "Now wait a minute. I found you, remember?" the Enigmatic Investigator said playfully.

His lip curled into a wry smile. "As I recall I walked into the bar and found you."

"Ah yes," Spencer shot back, "But after I found... and lost... the amulet, I tracked you down. You happened upon me in a bar. I found you."

"Hmmm..." Ryu stroked his chin and its week or so of stubble. "Your recollection has merit, Mr. Cash."

Spence just laughed and leaned back. "I doubt it really matters who found whom. We were just supposed to cross paths, I guess."

"I'd wager you're pretty right."

"Wait..." Kaye waved a hand. "The Pub. What happened?"

"Right!" Ryu nodded, falling back into his story. "They went down easy as pie. Minute later everybody wanted to buy the spiffy hero a pint. Or three..."

"And so you kept wearing it?"

"Kinda." He shrugged a bit. "They latched on to the image. Made me realize that a 'coustume'," he threw up the finger quotes, "wasn't a bad idea..."

He looked around them, his eyes catching all the corners of the room. "When I grew up here, I used to sneak out and climbing down the mountain into town. Did it as soon as I was old enough to get away. Well," He leaned back on his palms, "It's long gone now, but there was one theater in town then. They had 3 movies: Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, and Enter the Dragon... All badly dubbed." He laughed. "Whatever they played, I watched it. Every time. Sometimes twice." The smile stayed on his face as he drifted through the old memories. "I'd hit the shops, and there was one bookstore that carried anything in English. All they had were were these worn down pulp fiction books and beat up old comics. Man... I loved that stuff. Phantom Detective? Ate it up. And of course the James Bond books when I was lucky enough to dig one out of a box."

His gaze fell back on the ladies, a simple shrug to his shoulders. "So after that night in that pub, it just seemed right." He added a smirk to Katia, "And I move pretty good in a tux."

Aaron leaned over to Katia, "Don't let him fool you, the secret is good tailoring," he whispered conspiratorially.

"Didn't I tell you to shush you once already?"

"I still can't see it. Is he like some kind of agile ring master?" Her lips perked at the edges as she tried to maintain the non-smile she had been wearing.

"Some kind?" Mock in-credulousness tainted the way he addressed her. "Lady, I am not some kinda agile ring master. I am... like... a..." That inflated tone faltered purposefully, "an agile... magician?" His brow narrowed very seriously. "Kung-fu magician..."

[kay]"Kung-fu magician is it?"[/kat] Her face now unapologetically amused. "Well then, looks like I am saved. The center has no chance of catching me now. A title like that alone will have Товарищ Космос quaking in his giant boots!"

Spencer chuckled. "Don't forget us. Kung-Fu Magician And His Amazing Friends!"

"Damn straight," he replied, overly seriously. "With Kung-Fu Magician and His Amazing Friends Тов...ар..."

"Товарищ Космос."

"Doesn't stand a chance." His brow furrowed and he looked to Aaron. "What's a Товa.."

"Товарищ Космос."

"That."

"Comrade Cosmos."

"What's a Comrade Cosmos?"

"I have no idea."

"He is a big bully." The face she made was almost childish. The pair had obviously known each other for a long time. "A big bully who has a nasty habit of getting what he wants and enjoys hurting other people on the way." The Russian woman inspected her nails. "Oh, and he is immune to really really hot and really really cold..."

"Well, I'm sure he's not immune to a well made knuckle sandwich." He gave Katia a wink.

"I wouldn't be so sure. He is... big. Big and mean." She gave a meaningful look to Ryu. "And very special. I don't know what it is he does exactly but I always lost fights to him when it came to the physical exercises."

Ryu nodded. He could read that seriousness in her eyes, in the way she fiddled with her nails. He gave her a smile. "Still..."

"You know what they say," Aaron added with a smirk of his own, "The bigger they are."

"The bigger the sandwich you have to hit them with."

The Dapper Detective's lip curled into a little more of a grin. "Hell, I hit a guy with a building once."

Spencer's brow rose high with skepticism. "Okay," he laughed, "I'm gonna call bullshit on that.

Laughter errupted around the table. "No," Aaron said, shaking his head, still laughing. "Technically it's true. It was this guy Steamroller, a big mean bastard. Capin lures him into this abandoned place in the Lourds. He knocked out the support beams and down it comes, whole building fell in on on him."

"Damn."

"I know."

"I'm impressed."

"Of course, Steamroller climbed out of the debris and got away."

"See," Ryu shook his head with a mock scowl, "that part ruins the story." Their laughter echoed through the rafters once more before dying back down to silence - contented silence, not uncomfortable.

Okay, boys, I think that's about enough story time for tonight." The blonde stood and stifled a yawn.

Ryu nodded. "Big day tomrrow." He pulled his legs in and climbed to his feet. "Fair warning, tough. The sun rises disturbingly early, and those rooms are made for it to shine right in your face." He stretched, suddenly feeling the tiredness of all their hiking and climbing and the foggyness from the drink sinking in and fast. "It's a special kind of torture. I used to tack up a sheet... It didn't help much."

by **Kardiac** on 16 Sep 2009 10:05

Eddy finished flipping the eggs and checked the bacon. He was by no means a world class cook, but he'd kept himself alive for years, so he knew his way around the kitchen. Everything seemed ready, so he turned off the burners, slid the food onto plates, and carried them over to the doorway. The shower cut out as he opened the door to the stairs, and a few minutes later, Jenna and he sat down to eat. The sun was just beginning to show signs of appearing, the city's eerie silhouette serving as the backdrop to their rooftop breakfast.

"Thanks for the concert... it was a nice change of pace," she said, breaking the silence. It was the first thing either of them had said since he had woken her up with a quick "you're gonna be late for work."

He smiled. It was something she noticed he was doing more often lately... out of costume, at least. "I told you that you'd like it if you gave it a chance."

She chuckled softly. "I'm not going to reset all of my radio stations any time soon, but the music was a lot more fun that I thought it would be," she answered, sipping her coffee.

"It's not all dead dogs, lost wives, and drinking binges anymore," Eddy continued, still smiling. "Though, I do kind of miss the steel guitars...."

Jenna checked her watch as she finished off the last bite. "I should head out soon... I wouldn't want to intrude on your date."

"It's training!" he retorted, his smile fading. He was actually getting a little tired of this particular joke. "You're bosses are the ones who miss their window if she's not ready."

Holding out her hands defensively, she replied softly, "Okay... okay... I get the point. I'll stop with the faux-jealousy." She forced a smile, then stood up and started to gather up her plate and silverware. "But remember, they're your bosses too on this one."

Eddy scoffed. "I'm just an independent contractor," he replied, returning her smile. "I haven't even signed anything." He gathered up his own breakfast and followed her back down into the brownstone. "Incidentally, today's the moment of truth."

Jenna stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned around to face him. "You're going to ask her."

He shrugged. "I don't see that I have much choice... if she says 'no,' we'll only have a small window to find another resource. And if she says 'yes,' like I think she will, it'll give me enough lead-time to get her ready." He frowned again, continuing down the stairs. "It's not like I'm asking her to the Ball... she's going to be putting herself in real danger."

"You're going to be in worse danger," Jenna replied, placing her dishes in the sink and turning to face him.

Eddy shook his head. "No... I'm just getting a little beat up... she'll be the one in the lion's den." Unconsicously, his voice changed. "I only hope I can get to her if there's trouble."

Jenna walked over to him, taking his plates and setting them on the counter beside him. She took both of his hands, and stared directly into his eyes. "Nothing will happen to her as long as you're watching over her."

"That's what I'm afraid of," he replied, his voice Eddy's once more. He leaned forward and kissed Jenna on the forehead. "I've got to get the gym ready... she'll be here any minute." Letting go of her hands, he picked his dishes back up and headed over to the sink.

"I know the way out," she said, smiling again. She grabbed her bag from the sofa and turned back to the kitchen, catching his eyes across the counter. "See you tonight?" she asked, a little more tenuously than she'd intended. She'd been asking a lot of him lately, and things had just started to feel really comfortable between them... the last thing she wanted was to push him away.

Eddy nodded. "Wouldn't miss it," he answered, smiling his best to hide his trepidation over what was to come.

He parried both of her attacks a little too easily. She was better than this... he knew it. But after all of the training he'd given her so far, she was still holding back on her attacks. Eddy hadn't wanted to harden her -- her sensitivity was her greatest strength -- but he couldn't send her in among hawks if she was going to fight like a dove. "Is that all you got, little girl?" he asked, smiling and parrying again. "'Cause we can stop if you're tired... I wouldn't want you to be all tuckered out for your Girl Scout meeting."

"It's Brownies," Faith snipped back, torn between grinning at him or glaring at him. She knew he was trying to get a rise out of her. And the irritating thing was, it usually worked. Taking a step back, she spun the baton in her right hand--her hittin' sticks, as she liked to call them--and tried to think instead of just smack. "I'm not tired yet, old man." She tried to keep the smile off her lips as she lunged at him again, wondering if he'd fall for a feint. Probably not, since she always fell for his.

"Old?" he asked in mock consternation. "I was going for 'grizzled.'" He took an attack posture, telegraphing it in a fashion he'd never do in a real fight, and as he parried her next attack, he swept low to take her legs out from under her. Faith's feet left the ground, however, of her own free will, skipping over his attack. Good, he thought, watching her move. She hadn't thought about that... she'd just done it. But he could tell from the look in her eyes that she was planning her next action... letting her brain lead her attack.

He smiled at her, eyes narrowing as he examined her facial expression. "Good... you're thinking things through. You've analyzed your opponent," he said, dancing to the left slightly to force her to turn with him. "I'm better than you... faster, more experienced, and more skilled... but you've sussed out the difference between us, whether you've realized it or not."

He swept in to keep her on guard, keep her mind focused on defending rather than striking. "You're smarter than me," he said, then chuckled once as her face changed. "No... really. I have my skills, but I can admit my shortcomings. Use that. Out-think me... but don't let thinking interfere with your instincts. You don't always have time to think in a fight. Let your instincts guides your reason... not the other way around."

"'Grizzled man' just doesn't have the same ring. It's one step away from Grizzly Adams and that would be a horrible nickname for you." Okay, so she could logically defend her choice of nicknames. Now if only she could out-think him, like he seemed so sure she should be able to do. Her brows furrowed, creasing her already perspiration lined forehead. True to her unspoken promise, she had never complained about how hard this was. The depressing thing was, she was fairly sure he knew she was thinking it.

Faith kept blocking. "But I already knew the difference between us," she said, trying to think of something... anything. When they'd first started it had been enough to simply be able to keep him at bay, to keep him from adding one more bruise to the 'Eddy collection'. Now she really did want to get at least one or two good hits in. It was why she was here... and it would be so satisfying.

"So how do I..." She let her arms drop slightly, trying to look nothing more than tired while she watched him intently. Eddy took a step back, relaxing slightly.

"You've got three things going for you in a real fight," he said, flatly. "First of all, you're a gir... you're a woman, and not entirely hard to look at if you don't mind me saying," he said, smirking. "The majority of of your opponents will be men, which means they'll underestimate you at first. I've told you that before, but there's more to it... a secret most men don't like to tell." His smile became more conspiratorial, less snarky. "Most men are intimidated by strong women... which means that once they realize you're not going to roll over and cry, they won't know how to react, and that gives you a few seconds where they're vulnerable. That's the time to end the fight before it really begins."

"Your brain is your most important asset, but you need to condition it... I'm smarter than most thugs, but that's not saying much," he added, walking slightly to the right to keep them turning, some motion even if the combat had lulled. Eddy didn't want her to lose her edge, because he wasn't quite done with the lesson. "A battle is like a chess game. Most people play it one move at a time, but a good player can set the board and plan things out well in advance. You use the first few moves to gauge your attacker, get used to how he fights, then plan out the rest of the fight... use his predictability against him."

He dropped his batons. They made a dull clacking sound as they bounced off of the rubberized floor. "Drop your weapons." He waited for her to comply, then walked over to his stereo. He often played music while practicing to help him build a rhythm. This morning, though, he had a different purpose in mind. "We're going to do things a little differently now, though. We need to work on your third asset... which you haven't taken advantage of against me despite the fact that I've never forbidden it."

"I guess you believe in fair play," he said, smirking again. "No more." He pushed the play button and "Back in Black" blared out of the stereo like a hundred screeching trumpets. He had to yell to be heard. "AC/DC... great band to drown out most audio... make it hard for me to sense your heartbeat. I want you to hit me... as many times as you can.... because if I get a lock on you, I'm gonna do the same."

"But this time, I want you to use your power against me," he shouted, above the rising voice of Brian Johnson. As he spoke, sparks began to jump between his fingertips. It wasn't a serious charge, but anyone touched by those hands would definitely know it. "Because I'm sure as Hell gonna be using mine."

She'd been on the receiving end of his powers once before, an experience she wasn't in any hurry to repeat. Watching the sparks dance between his fingers, the redhead flashed a saucy little smile. "But at least you have pretty powers," she yelled to him. Then, with a wink, she disappeared from view, her batons turning visible as they hit the floor in front of her unseen feet.

With a light step, she moved in closer, sure that the blaring music was no reason to get sloppy with her footsteps. She moved quickly to the left at first; even without the sound of her heartbeat, she knew he would be able see the distortion left behind by fast movement. Then, slowly this time, her silent steps brought her back to his right side.

Faith didn't hesitate as she extended her leg, stretching out to kick him in the head. He ducked. Her foot came to rest on the ground for only a moment before she swung it again, bringing it back around to catch him on the opposite side of his head with her heel. Again, he avoided the attack. She was once more still for only a second before hurrying to get behind him, certain she did not want to let him get a fix on her. Her foot thrust forward, this time connecting with the small of his back, just below his kidneys.

Eddy stumbled forward. "Good," he shouted as he steadied himself. "Remember that all of the senses except one are housed in the head," he continued, turning in place to try to pick up her position. "It's easier to sense such an attack than others, especially since 'touch' is muted by skin-tight uniforms."

He noticed the distortion for the first time as she moved. He hadn't been of right mind the first time they'd fought... he'd gotten lucky with his attack. This time, he actually noticed the limitation to her power. It wasn't a deal-breaker... most probably wouldn't even notice. But she was moving fast, and that seemed to seriously accentuate the strange effect. He didn't react, but instead turned to one side, acting as if he was still looking for her.

When Faith's next attack came, faster than he'd expected, he intercepted it with the palm of his hand, deflecting it wide and sending arcing light across her leg. He heard the sudden intake of breath and, in one fluid motion, used it as a guide to sweep low towards her other leg as she tried to regain her balance. She blinked into view for a second as she hit the wall behind her, not falling but stumbling backwards far too quickly. She'd been learning her lessons well, though, and recovered with remarkable speed, disappearing from view again and striking him hard in the stomach as he approached to check on her.

Eddy smiled through the pain. She'd gotten one past him for one of the exact reasons he'd stressed earlier... he'd underestimated her. "Excellent," he said, very nearly coughing it out. With a quick backflip, he turned off the music. "Now, before we get back to batons, I've got a new game for you to play... using your invisibility and the defensive techniques you've learned to appear to disappear rather than just turning invisible. Selectively popping in and out of sight while mysteriously avoiding attacks will make you look more than just invisible... breaking your opponents focus."

His voice went back to "teacher mode." "Do you get what I'm going for?"

She reappeared so she could nod and show him she was paying attention. Too tired to think up a snarky comment and afraid he'd hear how out of breath she was, the redhead kept her mouth shut this time. Pushing the sweat-dampened hair away from her face, she gave herself about a second to try to think up something brilliant before winking back out of sight.

Faith didn't have the music to drown out sound anymore, but she did have the beginnings of an idea. Sorta. Feeling like she should be feeling guilty, despite the fact he didn't seem to want her to play fair, she reappeared to his right side, giving a little jab that she didn't really put much effort into.

Then she was gone again, moving as slowly and silently as possible to get to her batons. They disappeared the moment her hands closed around them. Their weight was comforting and her plan, such as it was, was just naughty enough to bring an evil little smirk to her unseen lips. Now all she had to do was move fast and hope she wasn't dripping too much sweat from the effort of keeping her tells from giving away her position too quickly.

Sure that any second now he was going to hear her heartbeat and turn around--after all, it was beating loudly in her own ears--she got behind him again, using her hittin' sticks on the back of his knees to bring him down. But then she hesitated. Playing dirty was one thing... hitting him in the head with a baton was another thing entirely. She wasn't sure she could do it.

Eddy took the moment of hesitation as a cue. He swung his batons back over his head in a thrusting motion, is if trying to skewer her with them. He could locate her, but not sense her pose or poise, and that was her advantage. When the sticks thrust backwards, however, she gave that strength up by shifting her weight to avoid to attack. In one, rapid motion, he spun himself around, swept her ankles, and pushed himself into a crouch.

The sound of her hitting the floor was dulled by the softness of the surface, but it was enough. Guessing where her legs were, he leapt over them and landed with one foot on the floor, and the other leg bent so that his knee was on her stomach... just below the diaphram. His hands, palms turned inward, rested on either side of her head, inches from her hair and skin, fingers sparking. He was frowning.

"You hesitated," he said flatly. He didn't want her to lose the parts of her that he valued -- her compassion most of all -- but he didn't want her dead even moreso. If that meant taking a few painful whacks and pissing her off in the process, then that's what he'd have to do. "You've got two free arms and two batons," he said, his voice commanding attention. "I'm going to count to three. If I'm still on top of you, you're hair's gonna be standing on end for a week."

He smirked, looking where he thought her eyes should be with amused menace. "One... two...."

Those sparks were far too close. He was threatening her hair... but even worse, she hadn't gotten rid of that smirk yet. Faith didn't even let him start on 'three'. She swung the baton as hard as she could, catching him high in the chest near the armpit. "Don't. Her leg followed the momentum of the punch, sweeping him off her as she hit him again for good measure. "Touch." The redhead rolled with him, straddling his larger frame. "My hair."

Crossing her batons across his neck, she reappeared to try to glare at him as she tried to hold him in this pinned position. Unfortunately, her attempts at looking menacing were foiled by the sparkle in her blue eyes. Finally, she gave up and grinned down at him. "And don't lecture me. It's not such a bad thing that I don't want to hit my fr-- you in the head with a blunt object."

Eddy just smiled through blood-touched lips. "Wouldn't dream of it," he said after a beat. "I didn't get this pretty by takin' head shots." He looked down at how she was sitting across him. He'd been in this situation before, albeit with a different redhead. Of course, this time the emotion he was feeling was a little more on the side of "pride." He took a second to change his voice. "But I do have one note," he said, flipping up his legs, wrapping his ankles around her neck, and throwing her to the ground.

"Never straddle your opponent higher than the thighs," he said, still laying flat on the ground. He was panting, and the fact that he was tired made him feel pretty damned good. She'd come far, and now she was ready. "If you put a knee in the stomach and keep one foot at ready, like I did to you, it's a lot harder to do that, and it hurts your opponent more if you duck."

Switching back to his normal voice, she sat upright, painfully folding his legs in front of him. "Good work, by the way." He grabbed his batons from the floor where he'd dropped them and snapped them together on the rubberized hardwood. "Incidentally, if you were the type that enjoyed beating up your fr-- me, I would never have offered to train you in the first place." Fighting back the pain, he rose to his feet and stretched out a hand to Faith. "I told you that you were special, and I meant it."

Since the floor was so nice and comfortable and the thought of moving was not at all appealing, Faith simply stuck her tongue out at him. Then, with a highly unladylike groan, she reached out to finally accept his hand up. "You know... all my other friends go dancing with me..." she teased.

She was tired, aching, sweaty, and in desperate need of a shower. However, nothing could stop her from feeling elated. Smiling up at Eddy, she fought with the inappropriate --probably-- desire to give him a hug. Somewhat regretfully, she decided it was probably a bad idea in general. After all, he was just as sweaty as she was. "You're pushing me hard today." It was more of an observation than a complaint.

Eddy walked over to the mini-fridge against the wall, pulled out two water bottles, and returned without a word. He handed Faith one of the bottles, watching her face. "Hit the showers," he said with a flat expression. Those words always ended their lessons, but for the first time, he added, "Then meet me upstairs... I'm taking you to lunch." His words were very matter-of-fact, as if this was something they'd done a dozen times before.

He turned and walked towards the stairs, leaving the actual gym shower for her. He turned, mid-step, and paused long enough to smirk. "And, incidentally...," he said, motioning with his arm to encompass their training circle, "this is how I dance."

With his arm out like that he was leaving himself wide open... just asking for it. Fairly certain he wouldn't see it coming, Faith quickly crossed the few steps to him and gave in to the urge to hug. She wrapped her arms around him, sweaty skin and all, then wrinkled her nose as she moved away just as quickly.

Disappearing from sight, her defence mechanism in case he was thinking about yelling, she was humming before she even made it to the shower, anticipating the excellent acoustics. Being invisible gave her the luxury of not having to worry about modesty. Her sweaty clothes littered the tile floor as her voice rose above the pouring water. Though anyone listening in would quickly realize exactly why piano was her primary instrument, she knew she didn't sound that bad. Not that it really mattered, since she was alone in here.

Ordinarily she took long showers, taking a perverse pleasure in making the room smell as girly as possible. But today she didn't linger. The nervous knot in her stomach reminded her of those moments before their first training session; she just didn't know what to expect. Replaying their session in her mind as she dried her flaming hair, Faith had to admit she was proud. But even better... she was almost certain that Eddy was too.

Dressing quickly, she took a moment to worry that the skirt and tank-top combo she'd planned on wearing to the Foundation later might make her overdressed. Or underdressed. Or maybe she was entirely too girly because she was worrying about something so unimportant. Either way, she looked young enough to be his kid sister: a mental image she didn't mind in the least. Smiling, Faith checked her reflection one last time, told herself to stop obsessing, then finally walked back out into the gym.

Eddy arrived several minutes after her. He was sporting straight-legged jeans and a dark green t-shirt. The ensemble, especially with the glasses set back on his face, made him look unusually normal. Considering the demeanor he wore when in uniform, the "casual" visual seemed to turn him into an entirely different person. And Faith really noticed for the first time how a pair of goggles and a change of voice actually made it hard to guess that he had that other life.

"There's a cafe down the street that makes the best gyros in Garrison," he said in an unnervingly-companionable tone of voice. When his eyes finally landed on her, there was a moment and a slight smirk that made it look like he was going to say something, but whatever it was was quickly supressed. "And it's perfect weather for eating outdoors," he added after a second.

mad props to Lyss

by **The Mid-Night Man** on 21 Sep 2009 13:13

"Alright Corin, that's the last run for the night," The Auric Avenger's voice echoed through the Doghouse. Holograms faded and various weapons hard points retracted into the walls, floor, and ceiling. By the time Corin had toweled off a bit, the doors slid open and the report of Doc's hard soled boots signaled his approach.

"Not bad, son. Your timing is definitely improving," the elder adventurer took in the young man's flushed state, "but I bet every time we run these exercises you spend some time re-thinking your choice of wardrobe."

"You know you would think that," Corin chuckled as he threw the towel around his shoulders and loosened his tie a little more, "but I don't think I could see my self as part of the tights crowd."

Doc chuckled. An understanding laugh to be sure. There was something, however, in the way he was looking at Corin that signaled to the Starlight Sleuth the gears - which never seemed to stop - were turning even faster. "How attached are you to that dart-gun?"

Whatever question Corin had been expecting, that wasn't it. It took him back for a moment. Pulling the pistol from it's holster, Corin looked at the weapon then gave a shrug. "Dunno. Never really thought about it, I guess."

"I only ask because there are times when drawing it, especially from beneath your overcoat, could cost you precious seconds." Doc explained. "It's not really an issue when you go into a situation with it drawn, knowing you're going to need it. But there are going to be times, even with your shadow-hopping, when you either can't or don't want to go in guns-a-blazin' as it were."

Corin nodded, a grin spread across his face. "What do you have in mind?"

The big man's golden eyes narrowed slightly, "Something a little more concealable. And a little less restrictive since you've got your heart set on the Rick Blaine look." He plucked at the lapel of Corin's overcoat.

"Give me a day or so and I think I can come up with something for you."

Corin tipped the edge of his fedora and smiled, "Let's see what you can come up with sweetheart," he said in his best Humphrey Boggart impression.

Doc shook his head and smiled, clapping the young man on the shoulder. "Please don't do that in public."

Ahmed Bashir was not normally a nervous man. He had been a general in the Afghan war against the Communists of Russia. He had seen the worst atrocities imaginable, he had committed some of the worst atrocities imaginable. After the war he was aimless, his people had betrayed him for a mad man. He wandered the world, a mercenary for hire, until he finally found his true calling. Until that day in the desert when a black spectre floated in front of him offering him riches and power. Until the day he met Ak-Fet Sur. But now his lord and master was gone now too and he was aimless again, and that made him nervous. Bashir had become a frequent fixture in this dingy, dimly lit bar in Cairo.

As the mercenary lifted the glass holding his third cognac to his lips, a voice he never thought he would hear again startled him so much that his drink spilt across the counter and the glass shattered, "Hello Ahmed."

"اصلی ؟" The one time general stammered.

"Please Ahmed,' the ancient evil smiled, "I have become accustomed to English during my time in America, let us speak that."

"O-of course my lord," Ahmed was still shaking. The voice was the same as he had always remembered, but he was younger. Much younger than before.

"Excellent, much better," he waived the bartender over and ordered two more drinks, "What is the status of my army Ahmed?" He asked with the smile never leaving his face.

This is what Ahmed feared he would ask. He could feel a few beads of sweat drip down the back of his neck as he summoned the courage to answer, "After your death my lord," he choked, "They all left. They lost faith."

Ak-Fet Sur nodded calmly, "I see," his voice was quiet almost a whisper. That scared Ahmed worse than if he had yelled. Ak-Fet took a sip from his drink and sat thoughtfully for a minute before he spoke again. "It doesn't matter. Can you recruit a new army?"

The former general nodded. He gulped down the drink beside him before he answered, "Of course my lord."

"Excellent," Ak-Fet smiled as he stood up. He stared coldly at the general for a moment before he pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket and handed it to him, "When you have them, bring them here to me."

"Yes my lord," Ahmed nodded.

With Jamie and Faith out on the town again tonight, Corin had a free night and decided he's stop by the Doghouse to see what progress Rex had made. "Evenin' Doc," he stepped out of the shadows and into Doc's workshop.

"Corin," Midas said without looking around. Corin walked over and leaned over the big man's shoulder. He found Midas examining several pairs of cuffs. They were in many different configurations, some narrow-banded and blocky, some longer and fluted with many thin barrels, and several that seemed to be every different combination in between.

"Our rapid-prototyping division was able to mock up a few functioning samples. I figured it would give you the widest selection for comfort and usability."

Corin gave a low whistle, "You have been busy. What do all these do?"

"They're all basic variations on miniaturized projectile launchers." Doc explained. "Once you figure out which model works best for you, we can work on customize it to best suit your needs."

Corin's eyes followed the line of gadgets on the workbench, "I would think one that fit under the sleeves without showing they were there at all would be best, wouldn't you?"

"Most definitely," Doc agreed. He stood up and stepped back from the bench. "Why don't you grab a couple and we'll head into the Doghouse for some target practice."

Corin nodded like a kid on Christmas with new toys.

"This one does feel a bit clunky," The Starlight Sleuth said with a bit of disappointment in his voice, "Makes the aim all off." He pressed the button and the cuffs released them selves from his wrist. Corin picked up the next set. These were smaller than the last ones, sleeker as well. These cuffs looked like they were made from thin, cylindrical compartments. Corin clasped them onto his wrists, and didn't feel anywhere near the weight against his arm that the last pair gave. Corin cocked his arm into firing position. His ring, and middle finger found the firing stud that lay just underneath his glove, and squeezed. With a *Paff* one of the new sleeker darts zoomed over the back of his hand and into the target. Corin grinned, "I think we have a winner Doc."

"Excellent," the Auric Avenger the Funhouse behind Corin, "So now that we decided on a design, I'll have the boys work up some extra gadgets into these."

"What kind of gadgets?" Corin smiled at the older hero.

"That would be telling," Doc Midas winked, "but after how handy that line gun I gave you was when you lost your powers, I'm thinking that is a must have addition."

Corin chuckled, "Yeah," Corin rubbed the back of his head, "That did work out rather well, didn't it." The Starlight Sleuth pulled off the bracelets and handed them to Doc Midas, "Well then," he smiled, "I'll take a pair in my size."

Ahmed, spent the next several days raising an army from local gangs around Cairo. This was the bottom of the barrell and he knew it. He was forced to promise them money he didn't have, power he wasn't completely sure that he could grant. He had lied to them and he knew he was damn lucky that they didn't know or his blood would be flowing over the sand even now. As the trudged through the sand, following the map that Ahmed's master had given him. As the reached the peak of what felt like the thousandth sand dune, they finally came upon what looked like a cave, opened into the desert itself.

The army all moved into the mouth of the cave. torches lit the way along a large hall that seemed to travel forever into a large antechamber. The stone of the chamber seemed to have a black and red glow about it. A pool of water glistened in the light below a gigantic snake head statue that stared down at the men.

"Greetings my army," Ak-Fet's voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all it once, "You have embarked to serve a special service." Finally he revealed himself standing in the head of the giant snake statue, "I am ashamed to say that Ahmed lied to you, you will receive no money from this venture."

At these words, a large murmur erupted through the gangs and soldiers alike. Ak-Fet simply held up a hand for silence. "You will however earn something much more precious. My eternal thanks for your sacrifice."

At these words, the snake head's eyes began to glow, and two red beams of light shot through the cavern evaporating all who stood below, until the only person left standing was Ahmed.

"Oh great Apep,' Ak-Fet Sur called out, his hands to the sky in prayer, "I have paid my sacrifice, now give me what is due."

"Assssss you wish," the hissed voice echoed throughout the chamber as the red light enveloped Ak-Fet Sur, lifting him into the air and depositing him on the cave floor in front of Ahmed.

"Rise my loyal servant," The ancient evil said coolly to Ahmed

"W-why was I spared," the general said as he struggled to his feet.

Ak-Fet smiled as his hand glowed with the same red energy as it did before, "Because I have need of you."

by **Faith** on 22 Sep 2009 21:31

Seven minutes later, they were seated in front of the cafe waiting for lunch to arrive. Eddy was sipping black coffee, his eyes occasionally surveying the area. Despite all the differences between his working persona and the man he portrayed out of costume, he was apparently never completely off duty. Setting his cup down, he looked over at Faith. Despite himself, he'd grown fond of the girl over their morning workouts, and he actually worried that she might say 'yes' to what he was about to ask of her. He needed her, of course, but he neither wanted her to feel used or, especially, get hurt on his watch.

"You've come a long way in a short time," he said, finally burying the concerns enough to put his mind back on task. "I'm both impressed with and proud of the progress you've made... especially with me as a teacher." He smiled weakly. "I know I'm not the easiest person to work with."

Faith gasped then tried, and failed, to hide her laugh behind her ice tea. "You're not that bad." She hooked a lock of hair behind her ear as she corrected herself. "Okay, you kinda are. But lucky for you, I'm a good student. And besides..." She waved a light hand, pulling it back in quickly as she almost hit a passing waiter. "If you were like me, or even like Corin or someone, I wouldn't have learned as much."

He nodded once, almost impreceptively. Taking a drink, she tried not to get caught watching him too closely. It was an almost impossible task to merge this strangely casual Eddy with Eddy-the-teacher in the gym and not-Eddy in costume. "This is nice though," she said, gesturing to the cafe without hitting anyone this time. "I love eating outdoors. Of course, last time I was it was more of a work thing than just nice like this."

Eddy almost winced, but he caught himself. The truth of the matter was that this was nice. He didn't do this kind of thing enough... especially with 'co-workers.' He made a mental note to try being more sociable out-of-uniform with Aaron and Ryu when they got back. If they got back, at this rate. The sarcasm of his thought made him smile and chuckle softly to himself. "If I was ten years younger, you'd be a very dangerous woman," he finally said, still smiling.

"Truth be told, though, I'm not entirely without ulterior motives," he added before he realized he was saying it. He tried to catch himself, but it was too late... it was out there. So instead of back-pedaling, he just decided to say what he could to soften the blow. After all, this lunch wasn't just about work. He really did want to reward her for the work she'd been doing. "But that's not the reason I asked you to lunch... I could've talked work back at the gym. But you've been pushing yourself really hard, and I wanted to show you how much I appreciate it. I find you quite... admirable."

Her smile was radiant enough to stop a nearby busboy in his tracks. But Faith was too intent on the conversation to take time aside to flirt. "Admirable and dangerous," she reminded him with a laugh, trying not to get too giddy from the compliments.

Though she was confident in her ability to hide behind humor and snarky comments forever, she found she didn't really want to. Transparency was something of a theme in her life. "But thank you." She looked away, suddenly very interested in the ice as it floated along the edges of her glass. "That makes it okay to have ulterior motives. Mostly." Blue eyes sparkling wickedly, the redhead smiled back up at him. "Unless they're mean ones. Then I'd have to take you back to the gym and hit you some more."

Eddy smiled at her again, relaxing a little. It wasn't an easy thing for him... to relax. He rarely disarmed himself in such a way. "It's not mean... but it could be dangerous," he said, his smile fading at the final word. "But it's also okay to say 'no,' if you want. I'll think no less of you if you do." As he said finished the sentence, he found himself almost thinking she would refuse... for her sake.

"Last year, there was a pretty nasty crime syndicate in town. The call themselves TAROT," he began. "It took me, Blue, Capin, and a bunch of friends to turn them away, and even then we didn't take them down." He paused for just a moment to let that sink in.

"I've gotten word that one of their Major Arcana has come back to town, the one they call the Tower, allegedly to meet with someone significant to their plans. I need to know who he's meeting," Eddy said, stressing the urgency. "I have the time and place of the meeting, but there's no way I can make it through the security alone... and even if I did, I'd never make it close enough to the TAROT Agent to get the evidence I need."

He put both of his hands on the table, leaning a slight bit closer so she could see the concern behind his eyes. "I can't... but you could." He frowned. "I'd give just about anything to keep you miles away from these people, but without Blue and Capin... I just can't do this alone." A frustrated look washed across his face, hiding any trace of worry. It was obvious that he wasn't used to having to admit he needed help.

Faith bit her lip as everything he'd just told her began to sink in. Slowly, completely afraid of his reaction, she reached across the table to touch his hand. "You think I can do this." It was almost a question. Retreating back to her side of the table, she stared back into her glass for a long moment. "You know I'm not going to say no. Not if you're asking for my help. But..."

Her face turned back towards his, blue eyes reflecting her complete trust in him... and a healthy amount of fear. "You're worried. And that worries me."

Eddy reached out and covered her left hand with his right. He wasn't the touchy-feely type, but she was, and he wanted her to feel his confidence in her abilities... especially while he expressed his concerns. "I know you're capable, and I have complete confidence that you can carry out your part, otherwise I wouldn't ask," he said, hoping that she'd recognize his sincerity through the cloud of his trepidation. "But... you don't get promoted to the Major Arcana of TAROT on good looks and charisma. This guy is a serious threat, and I have no idea of his capabilities. Add to that the fact that whoever he's meeting doesn't want to be seen, and I'll admit, I'm hesitant to put you in that kind of danger."

He paused for a second, because he knew the next part would be the hardest. "Especially since you'll have to observe the meeting with comms turned off, full electronic silence... and you'll be alone."

"Oh." Silenced again, the enormity of this task pressed down on her. "I don't... I could..." She stopped both sentences before she could finish them. It didn't matter that she didn't like working alone. And she couldn't bring someone into invisibility with her; not if she wanted to maintain the silence required for this job. "But you'll be... somewhere, won't you?"

Eddy nodded, "I'll be nearby, and I'll be as close to you as possible in case things go south." He did his best to instill a sense of confidence into that last statement. There was a part of the plan that put him at particular risk... but she had enough to worry about without knowing that just yet. "I wouldn't send you in without back-up. You'll also have evac standing by if something prevents me from getting to you. They'll be a comm-click away."

"You don't have to do this...," he said one more time. "But if we pull it off, we'll be preventing a whole lot of ugly from coming back into the city."

"Then I do have to do this," she countered matter of factly. Her fiery brows knit together as question after question tumbled around in her mind. "Evac? What would prevent you from getting to me? And if it's not you who will it be?" She trusted him with her life but these unknowns were making her nervous.

Finding her mouth suddenly very dry, she took a small sip of her tea, holding the cool glass against her lips for a minute before setting it down quickly. "This wasn't a surprise, was it? You've known about this thing for a long time." Her tone was almost accusing. Blue eyes met his with a new, but very noticeable, fear. "If you were lying to me that night in the alley to like butter me up or something... I really am going to use my hittin' sticks on you," she joked weakly.

"Everything I've said to you, I've believed," he said, flatly. "I have known this mission was coming, but I didn't approach you and offer to work with you just to ask you for your help... truth be told, I've considered not asking you because I didn't want you thinking this was my reason for taking you under my wing in the first place." He folded his hands in front of him.

"I've trained you particularly hard because I suspected you'd help if asked, and I wanted you to be ready..., but I wouldn't be training you at all if I didn't think you were worth the effort." He smirked, "And, to be fair to you, you've exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds.... and that's the only reason I chose to go ahead with asking you to help."

He paused for a second as the waiter appeared with their lunch, and continued as he disappeared back into the cafe. "As for the details of the operation... I have no intention of sending you in without knowing everything. I just don't want to overload you with information over lunch."

Abashed, she looked down at her lap. "I do know that, Eddy. And I'm sorry." She certainly wasn't going to repay the faith he'd shown in her by starting to doubt him now. For a long moment she stared blankly at her food until the scents reminded her that they had worked hard and she was hungry. "I'm a little overwhelmed," she told him honestly. "And I want to know everything you know." Expecting an objection, Faith held up her hand and continued on, finally smiling again. "But I'll settle for everything you think I need to know."

Eddy smiled, albeit a bit wanly. "I can promise that you will know everything I can legally tell you and anything else I think you need to know, legally or not," he said, directly. "I won't withhold anything... your safety in this is my number one concern." He added stress to the final statement, not because he thought he needed to, but because he wanted to make it clear to her that he considered her more valuable than the mission.

"And to keep things honest right from the offset," he continued. "You should know that I'm working with the Government on this one... through an agency called Strategoi, which you might have heard of." He paused for just a second, then decided to add to the thought. "Another lady that matters quite a bit to me brought the matter to me and asked for my help... though, had I heard about it through other means, I'd have moved on it anyway."

Her smile turned just a bit mischievous as she took in that last piece of information, focusing on the small things while she let the big picture sink in. "I knew there were some mornings where you smelled better than others," she teased with a soft little laugh. But as enjoyable as it was to get these tiny glimpses into his life, Faith knew she had to get her mind back on the real subject.

"Strategoi." She said the name softly, letting it conjure all sorts of exaggerated images in her head. "I know the name... but that's about it." By now he had to be at least somewhat used to explaining things to her. With a sigh, she caught her lower lip between her teeth again. "This whole thing has me feeling very... small. It's overwhelming enough to think of keeping up with you. But I mean... the Government?"

Eddy smirked. "Well, they obviously can't keep up with me if they have to ask for my help, wouldn't you say? So you're a step ahead of them already." He sat there, looking at the people passing on the street and bustling around the cafe. "I'll fill you in on all the details when we have a little more privacy. But our evac plan involves one of their people... he's the reason I could make it from Corin to you so fast when we were running that prison escort op."

That helped. A little. "Is he nice?" She laughed at herself as soon as the question left her lips. After all, it wasn't like Eddy had a reputation for being nice himself. "You did get there fast, didn't you? I guess I was a little distracted at the time."

"Marcus is all right, though he and I do have a point of contention," he said with a mischievous smirk. "I think he might have been sweet on a certain someone at one time, and now he's being all 'big-brothery'... but I can handle big brothers," he added with a wink. "He's damned good at his job, too. You'll get a transceiver before we go in... you'll need to keep it turned off for the most part, but if you get in trouble, you turn the locator on and he'll snatch you out of there post-haste. He has to be relatively close to grab someone from a distance, so he'll be stationed near the op."

Eddy smiled, expecting her to get defensive or argue with him on the next point, but hoping she'd accept it anyway. "I've also made it very clear to him that if you and I both require evac at the same time, you take priority."

"You practically are a big brother," she chuckled in response to his wink. It was why she wasn't planning on mentioning Charlie anytime soon. Anything to avoid that dreaded "so what does he do for a living" question. But her thoughts didn't wander too far; she was listening, and disagreeing, as he continued on. "I don't like that. At all." A frown creased her brow. "Can't he just grab us both?"

Shaking his head, Eddy made his determination on the issue as clear as his words. "He can only move one thing at a time unless we're in physical contact... and that's not likely if things require an evac," he said, his smile slipping. "And you're first. No arguments." He looked her straight in the eyes, locking his gaze. "Your safety is my first responsibility... and from a mission standpoint, you'll be the one with the important intel, which makes you the more important asset in the greater scheme of things."

"Besides," he continued, his wry smile returning, "You're prettier than me, so he'd save you first anyway."

His quiet chuckle echoed in his words as he continued. "And you really don't want me as a big brother...," he said, deliberately changing the subject. "My baby sister would be happy to tell you all the reasons why not."

Her chin lifted, tilting into that familiar, stubborn angle. They were done arguing about it, but that didn't mean she was done thinking about it. After all, he didn't need to know that she was already working on ways to get around his 'you first' decision. "So I'm prettier than you and the bad guys. I'm not sure that's saying much."

Allowing herself to be led to the new topic, she savored these crumbs of personal information. Being as open as she was with her own life, even the smallest details from him made her hungry for more. "Maybe your sister and I should swap stories someday. Though I still think you'd beat my middle brother any day." An almost wicked grin tugged at the corners of her lips. "Ooo... now that's a good idea. I'm sure a beating would be good for him... in a therapeutic sort of way."

"My sister's not exactly fond of my 'side-job', as she puts it," he said, smirking at her last comment. "And I'm not too fond of her husband... or his little sister, who I've sent to prison a couple of times, which incidentally is why he's not too fond of me...," he paused for a moment, looking at what was left of his lunch. "It's complicated."

He smiled, a little forced but still a smile. "She and I only recently started taking each other's calls again...," he added. He suddenly stopped and gave her a long, hard look, as if he just realized how much of himself he was giving away. "But this isn't something I normally talk about... with anybody... which means either you've got some power I don't know about or I'm gettin' soft in my old age."

She quickly held up her hands in mock surrender. "No secret powers. I swear." Blue eyes twinkling, she gave him an arch little smile. "But I'd never dream of calling you soft... out loud... where you could hear me."

Doing her best not too look too visibly proud at being more than just an anybody, Faith leaned her chin on her hand as she listened. "Trust me, I understand complicated. My middle brother hates me because I'm the good kid; I wish he'd just ignore me like my oldest brother. My dad's pretty much devoted to always making sure our family looks good... even when we don't. Oh... and I have a cousin who's obsessed with you. You've even sent her to prison a couple of times." She paused, cocking her head to the side as if seeing him for the first time. "Eddy... um... what's your sister's name?"

Eddy didn't react to the comment about the "cousin"... he'd done his research after all. People seemed to forget that he was actually a trained detective, and he certainly wasn't going to reveal his true identity to someone without doing some pretty heavy research. There was more of a connection between them than Faith realized, and he'd deliberately kept that information from her. He couldn't help but smirk at the question, though. "A little presumptuous, don't you think?" he asked with mock consternation. "But," he continued, shaking his head slightly, "you know my name and where I live, so I suppose you could find out for yourself with a little research."

He smiled, a hint of mischief in his expression. "On the other hand, I am training you... so making you do a little detective work might actually be a good thing... hone your skills for the job." He continued to smile, the mischief growing with every word. "Not every bad guy shows up in your car, after all." The last comment was a deliberate barb, but he hoped his attitude at that moment would reflect his gibing intent.

"Yeah," he added, after a beat. "That's actually a pretty good idea. Consider it homework... but you can't just guess or bring me hearsay or interview evidence... I want to see physical evidence... something admissible."

The fact that he was giving her this 'homework' had to mean she was right. At least that's what Faith told herself. "Now, you know that my detective skills are kinda nonexistent. Aren't you worried? Maybe a teeny tiny bit?" She grinned at him, her face settling into its most charming expression. Since she couldn't rely on interview evidence she was going to have to hit up her mother for family records: a family bonding moment she wasn't exactly looking forward to. "Okay, so more than just interviews. But when I bring you my admissible evidence... you're going to have to answer all of my questions. And no getting out of it by saying we're in a public place or something."

Eddy smirked, "I'll answer them... within reasonable limits."

"Oh, and I've only had good bad guys in my car," she added holding up one finger and hoping her blush wasn't too noticeable. "Nice... charming... not really bad at all ones." She bit her lip but continued on, showing him she wasn't completely clueless when it came to him. "But I'm not the only one who's dated someone with a less than law abiding past, am I?"

"That...," Eddy said, sharply enough that he immediately wished he had thought before he spoke. He stopped himself, took a deep breath, and looked at his coffee. "That isn't a subject I care to discuss," he said, after a second. Every time he was finally moving on, somebody had to bring her into things....

Ignoring his own statement, he looked at Faith, his eyes dark, trying to hide the pain behind his words. He chose the words carefully, so as not to lie, but to convey the right lesson. "I've made my mistakes," he said in a somewhat softer tone. "I have to live with them. You, on the other hand, have a chance to learn from them." He felt like a complete hypocrite... after all, his obsession had been the true 'villain' of their relationship. "I don't want you to get hurt... and life wouldn't be too pretty for the man that hurt you."

She didn't flinch at his reprimand, not when she balanced it against that last sweetly overprotective statement. Her crystal eyes remained fixed on his face, taking in every change in expression... no matter how small. "You're a good teacher, Eddy," she told him firmly. Though she didn't reach out to touch him the emotion was still there. "I'm learning from you even when you think I'm not." Slowly her lips curled into a little smile. "And I know you're not going to let anyone hurt me... you do that enough in the gym."

Eddy smirked. "I injure you in order to make you stronger... that's not the kind of hurt I'm talking about...," he said, his expression turning into more of a smile. "But you knew that." He emptied his cup and sat it back down on the table.

"But I'm monopolizing your time...," he said, his eyes displaying honesty, not hint of 'trying to get rid of her,' but an honest concern. "Is there somewhere you should be...? I don't want to keep you if you have plans."

The red locks fell across her face as Faith shook her head. "Do you think I'm really going to give up my first taste of non-gym time with you just to run off and do paperwork? I'm sure I could be practicing or doing any number of productive things..." She smiled again, looking almost shy. "But this is important too. I mean, I know I can trust you out there." Her eyes left his to look down the street and out across the city. "I just... think it's nice to trust you here too..."

Eddy smirked, though there was a level of sincerity behind it that he usually didn't convey with that expression. "It's nice to be trusted," he answered, almost sorry he'd said it even while it left his mouth. What was he doing? He was developing a connection with an asset... even if they were already connected after a fashion. "I'll warn you, though... I'm not really good at the whole... personal interaction... thing." Whatever he was doing, it was suddenly apparent he wasn't stopping.

"But... I'll try... if you don't mind having to smack some sense into me once in a while."

It was tempting to simply tease him again and let it go. They may have seemed like little things, but Faith knew that many of the things he'd said to day were not things that he'd had to say. He was honest. Reticent, but honest. And something told her she needed to be gentle. "Well... I am good at the personal interaction thing. So I'll make up for what you lack. And since you're older, wiser, and more experienced when it comes to many things, you'll do the same for me. After all..." Her lips curled into that charming smile. "You're not getting rid of me anytime soon."

Two brains are better than one! HUGE thanks to Kard!!!

by **Dreamer** on 01 Oct 2009 22:30

"Too easy," Garrett muttered to himself as he opened up the familiar window to the apartment of Constance. He slipped inside looking around expecting the worse and that's when the eeriness of the situation set in. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Everything about her apartment was cleared out, impression marks in the carpet told him until recently that's where various furniture and tables set. He continued to look about trying to figure out more clues.

Faith's answering machine flashed to the world letting anyone that passed by know a new message awaited. The little redhead bumped her front door open with her hip, dropped a stack of files on the already messy coffee table, and wandered to the kitchen. For a long moment the only sounds that could be heard were the clinks that came with rummaging though the disappointing choices in a mostly empty refrigerator. She needed chocolate. Or a drink. Or a chocolate drink.

With a sigh, Faith slammed the door closed and settled for a bottle of water. She had Kavanaugh Foundation files to go over, training and more training to keep up with, and an original composition due by the end of the week in her Advanced Orchestration class. But all she wanted was a bubble bath.

Deciding that everything else could wait, she turned off the kitchen lights and started down the hall, only to be stopped by the little red light on her answering machine. "Why do I even keep that thing?" she groaned, going over to press play.

Garrett's voice came from the machine in the slightly lousy quality these devices offered, "Hey Faith. How are you? Good, I hope," his voice was a little tired in sound. Usually messages from him had a little more pep and often started with, "Hey Stranger!" Still the recording kept on playing, "I know you're busy with all the things that keep people like us busy, but I'd really like to grab some lunch with you soon. Real soon. Any way you could pencil me in? You know how to get a hold of me, looking forward to it." The message came to an end with the annoying beep and the monotone voice reminding Faith there was no other new messages.

"Lunch." Making a mental note to call Garrett after her bath, and to demand he use her cell from now on, Faith left her darkened living room and went down the hall to go forget everything for a little while.

Red eyes continued to scan the area until the only piece of furniture was discovered a desk which Dreamer cautiously opened inside there was a manila folder. A light went on quickly and then slowly he opened it. His eyes nearly fell out of his skull. Black gloved hands sift through page after page getting more than he ever bargained for, "It's all here!" he exclaimed to the room. Excitement ran down his spine as all of the information was gathered. It filled all of his senses and he was too giddy to wonder about the cost for such a bounty. Then all of those emotions rushed down to the pit of his stomach.

Sunny skies beamed down brightly through the small little bistro. It was a common spot for Faith and Garrett to have grabbed a quick lunch in the past and felt fitting. He was already sitting down at a table with his hands clasped tightly together while the mind was working a mile a minute. Too many unforeseen complications caused by mistakes not taken into account. His face was void of any emotion and Garrett tried hard to keep every inch about him cheery when Faith arrived.

Flaming hair piled on top of her head in an attempt to keep it out of her face while still looking presentable, Faith eased herself into the chair across from him and smiled. "Do you ever feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day?" she asked before even saying hello.

"Always," he smiled for the first time in days, "But I am usually saying that to some ornate statue and it's the middle of the night. You know how I treat my insomnia," he joked with her. God, she looked better. Parts of her were looking a little more toned than before. He heard rumors about her being taken in by Kardiac since the breakout, but until now he wasn't sure if they were true. "How ya been?" he asked.

"Busy," the redhead laughed. "I've been writing music and fighting badguys in my sleep... at the same time. But at least I haven't been doing it in my underwear. Yet."

He chuckled, "There probably wouldn't be much of a fight if that happen. They'd stare, drool, and then everything would go black for them after you knock them out. Maybe you should fight bad guys in your underwear while dreaming, could work faster and take last time," Garrett joked staring at her for a little bit.

Faith laughed with him. "I think I'd rather have non-fighting dreams. Maybe something nice and relaxing like lounging on a pillow while men in loincloths fan me and feed me grapes."

"Don't we all...," a bright smile was handed to Faith as Garrett continued to watch her, "Thanks for coming out. You don't know how much it means to me."

There they were glaring back at him photos all different and each one of them personal. His mother, brother, sister, and the most concerning of all Faith. All candid shots taken with a lens with one hell of a zoom, he would have guessed high-powered but was unsure. There was a note attached to the stack of them interlaced with Constance's own files, "I'm not the only one with secrets Garrett," it said and it was in her writing. She knew who Sid Meyers really was and the dual life Dreamer led when Sid wasn't part of the equation. All of the wind was taken out of him in one quick swoop as the importance of not making mistakes became glaringly obvious to Dreamer. All of the photos were in front of a note with implicate directions of where and when to meet Constance. She was requesting his presence and that's what frightened him. In a situation where he thought all of the cards were in his favor, Dreamer found out just how wrong he was. Despite the major setback he kept searching the place hoping now, more than ever, to find some additional leverage to use against the murderous woman whose real name wasn't Constance. All he could think about was his family and Faith, all of whom were in danger thanks to his carelessness.

Together they were laughing with half filled beverage cups Garrett's mocha gone cold but still tasty, "I can't believe you did that! Did you really do that?" Faith had told a recent story of how she took down an assailant and the situation tickled the man's funny bone.

The little redhead laughed guiltily. "It sounds so silly now. But at the time it totally seemed like the thing to do. I'm sure I'd be much more impressive and scary if I'd just keep my mouth shut... but that's hard to do." Pushing a grape around her plate, she decided she was done with her fruit salad. Looking back up at him, her blue eyes grew concerned as she watched his face. "How have you been though? I haven't seen you much lately."

A sighed fell into the air and with his best fake smile forward Garrett looked toward her "Couldn't be better...Just knee deep in the Constance situation," the club sandwich on his place made its way into his mouth. Garrett hoped his mouth would be too full of sandwich to answer a follow up question or at least give enough time to think of a good lie.

"Are you any closer to being done with it all?" she asked, doing her best not to pry.

He nodded still trying to keep up the sunny disposition, "Recently made a lot of headway. It was a little scary.."

Fear and anger was flowing through him, "How could I be so stupid?" was the only thing that ran through Dreamer's mind. His eyes looked up and down trying to find something, anything. Sadly, there was only one other thing in the apartment after looking. On one of the walls a marionette puppet hung on a wall. Strings holding up the left arm and right leg were cut and the creepy thing was the figure was panted completely white. His face sanded down to smooth almost undetectable features and the attire was all black. Red had painted over the eyes, "What the hell?" Dreamer grabbed the figure trying to take in details of this cryptic message. Fear was starting to overpower his anger as too many possibilities of what this cryptic message could mean overtook the costumed vigilante.

"Scary, how?" Faith asked, reaching for the desert menu. Since lunch had been healthy, she felt she deserved this. "Do... do you need any help?"

Finally everything sunny, cheery, happy, and fake fell off his face. Again his eyes met hers and sadness wreaked in them as his hand slid across the table, "My spare apartment key. I need you to hold on to it just in case something happens."

Her immediate response was to reassure him. "Nothing's going to happen, Garrett. I know you can do this." She touched his hand gently, turning it over to take the key from his fingers. "But I'll keep this. It's a lot easier than going in through the window every time I need to surprise you."

His hand stayed there for a moment longer than needed even lacing his fingers in with hers for a brief moment, "Yeah...I'll survive," the words were low and sounded defeated already. "Just know whatever happened everything for a reason, got it?"

Faith gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Leaning across the table so she couldn't be heard beyond their table, she tried to give him an encouraging smile. "You were my first friend with powers, Garrett." It sounded a little bit silly, but that really did mean a lot to her. He had been the proof that she wasn't alone, that everyone else out there wasn't an amazingly accomplished hero right from the start. "I will always be here for you. Got that?"

"And me you. Promise," he wanted to add 'More than you'll ever know', but it felt a little self-absorbed for Garrett to do that. Faith had her own worries and this was a time to enjoy company. Deep down the man knew it could be a while so he wanted to enjoy this moment for all it was worth.

Hours had passed and Dreamer was climbing up a fire escape ladder leading up to a rooftop he paused for a moment mulling over different thoughts of people. First came his mother and siblings who replused him, but they were still family. Somewhere deep down he still loved them desite their strained relationship. Closer to the rooftop he went and then his mind wandered over faith, Dreamer sighed "More than you'll ever know," he said quietly into the wind before making the final step upward. Once on top of the roof his eyes went to Constance standing at nearly the other side and spoke sternly as Dreamer appeared, "You're late."

by **Capin** on 06 Oct 2009 11:44

His eyes fluttered open, the sun high in the empty sky shrinking his pupils down to little pins inside the green and brown. A rich, thick blue held the golden orb there, like it was floating on a gentle calm ocean. No Sound or breeze, but he felt the soft blades of grass tickling as they waved back and forth. He stretched out, feeling the lush grass in his fingers. Everything was still...

Utsuwa Ketsueki no Ryuujin...

Capin sat up and looked around. He'd been laying there in the courtyard. The ashram was empty. There was no sign of the others, or even their gear. Everything seemed strange. The scene felt almost painted. The stone wall, the sky, the grass, the buildings. Their edges had that unnatural crispness, the colors were unusually bright and clear.

He stood. "Aaron?" His voice didn't echo. The empty grounds ate the sound. "Spence?" The silence seemed undisturbed by him. "Guys?" He turned about getting that sinking feeling that someone was watching him.

Utsuwa Ketsueki no Ryuujin...

He spun round, trying to follow that singular sound. The gates were wide open, but beyond them was an unusual sight. A long stretch of rich, green grass thick with tall spindly pines, each artfully drawn with gentle lines, swaying in the breeze. At its edges was a lush green mountain-scape cracked in parts by the flowing white strokes of a waterfall. A snowy white fog seemed to veil the details making the scene feel startlingly heavenly but somewhat unsettling.

"Great..." Capin gave another look about. He was still alone. "Definitely not in Kansas anymore..." With a few steps he started toward the open gates.

Utsuwa Ketsueki no Ryuujin...

A small head popped, just a little ruddy face surrounded by tufts of ashen brown fur. Dark little fingers curled around the edge of the opening, and the snow monkey's golden eyes peered back at him curiously. The two stared at each other a moment. There was something familiar about it, something in its eyes.

Slowly the little creature climbed into view. Let's go, Utsuwa Ketsueki no Ryuujin... It stopped in the center of the opening and waited for the tuxedo clad traveler.

"Utsuwa..." His eyes narrowed on the little macaque with confusion. "What do you mean 'Blood of the Dragon King Vessel'?"

Come on... The monkey dropped forward onto its front paws and circled about. It headed out into the trees. Answers later. Maybe. For now, walking.

Staying here, wherever here really was, wasn't going to do any good. Shrugging his shoulders slightly he followed suit. Though the macaque moved pretty quickly and silently across the ground, Capin simply had to stroll to keep up. They moved further and further along, leaving the Ashram further and further behind them. Before long the trees had swallowed it up completely from view.

"So, where are we going?" he asked his diminutive guide.

The monkey looked up and Capin swore he caught a smirk on its little reddish face. You came a long way just to get back to where you started...

He laughed. "What about, 'It's good to have an end to journey towards, but it's the journey that matters in the end.' Hmmm?"

You really want to duel quotations? The monkey chittered. It sounded very nearly like a soft screeching laugh. When you have completed 95 percent of the journey, you are only half way there.

Capin groaned. He really didn't, but at that moment he didn't have to.

The trees had opened up into a clearing that sat at the edge of a cliff. It was suddenly dark and the sky had been painted a deep midnight and was brilliant with stars. The north star hung brightest just over the water. The monkey had brought them some sort of gathering. A cursory glance under the four post thatched roof found four figures in black kimonos with their backs to him. Between them was a coffin resting on a bed of kindling its head pointed toward the edge. It was a funeral.

The new arrival took tentative steps forward. "If that's me in that coffin, you and I are gonna have a little chat." He watched as smoke started to billow up from the wood-bed.

It's not. The macaque stopped and let him pass. This is the funeral of Saishuu Yotogi no Seki...

Flames started to lick at the edges with a yellow and golden tongue. "I thought you spirit guides were supposed to be all mysterious and vague." He stopped just outside the scene, watching with just enough distance.

I'm not your spirit guide, Utsuwa Ketsueki no Ryuujin.

"You know, Ryu is just fine."

The four figures turned as the flames rose higher and started to envelop the coffin. As they moved and the light caught their faces, he could make out the oni masks they wore. Large noses, horns protruding from the forehead, the sharp teeth. The glow danced on the shiny surface of their masks. As the pyre consumed the coffin they each withdrew their coverings and tossed them into the flames. He was surprised - at some level - to find that even in the shadows of smoke the faces beneath the masks were far from human.

"Great..." He looked down at the little snow monkey who looked back. "Did you mean to bring me to the creepiest funeral ever?"

Those golden eyes looked up at him. Yes...

Capin shook his head, turning is attention back to the flames. "Thanks for that."

The hoods fell back revealing their true natures in the amber glow and Capin stepped forward to get a better look. A wolf and beside him a tiger, both elegant and somber as they bowed their heads. Across the fire stood the feathery black head and dark eyes of a black beaked crow and at his side the long curved ebony and ivory neck of a crane. This pair followed, bowing their heads gracefully.

The flames completely overtook the coffin, and it became almost unbearably hot. The smoke was thick, moving with the speed of time more than wind. Thick strokes of it enveloped the people around the pyre, obscuring them all from view, but they stood there. Soon it had faded and all that was left on the marble slab were ash and fragments of bone.

Once more the mourners of Saishuu Yotogi no Seki moved. They each retrieved a pair of long chopsticks from their dressings. The wolf lifted up a polished stone urn which was placed beside the remains of the skull. One by one they began picking up the bones of the feet and passing them along and depositing them into the final resting place until finally all that was left was the fallen skull.

All this time Capin had gone unnoticed but in the moment before the wolf took up the first piece of curved, ashen bone he turned and looked. They all did. And suddenly...

His eyes fluttered open, the sun high in the empty sky shrinking his pupils down to little pins inside the green and brown. Ryu ran the back of his hand over the sting in his eyes. A strange feeling of deja vu clouded the fleeting recollection of his dream. Or at least what he thought was a dream. He rolled over trying to sort out the cobwebs. Who could tell these days.

Shadows played across the wall of his cell told him that at least one person was up and moving with Mother Nature's own blaring alarm clock. The sun, while preemptive of sleep, felt warm and comforting. It felt good not too have to rush about breaking down the night's encampment or make a hasty withdrawal from the comfort of a hotel bed. That someone had been thoughtful enough to put on a pot of coffee made the leisurely pace of the morning all the more better.

The aroma of the morning brew put to rest any ideas of more sleep. That and the makeshift curtain he'd strung up was all but useless even at this early hour. Ryu slipped from his sleeping bag and poked his head out of the cubicle. Ever the engineer, Aaron had managed a curtain that kept the majority of the cell he shared with Kaye steeped in shadows. Katia's cubicle was empty, as was Spencer's, so it must have been their shadows Ryu had seen moving about.

Ryu quietly padded his way out, the chill of the flagstone floor outside the cells bringing back memories of the early mornings of his youth. He found the coffee pot still warming over the fire and poured himself a steaming cup before heading out to the courtyard. There he found Katia sitting silently, a cup of steaming liquid held closed to her face with both hands. In the middle of the courtyard Aaron was going through the careful, measured, movements of tai chi.

Spencer yawned as he walked up to the fire. He poured a cup and took a sip, making a disgusted face as he did. "Hate this stuff," he mumbled as he took another sip from the mug. He sat the mug down near the fire and began to do some half-hearted calisthenics.

"All that physical fitness at this hour. Kinda disgusting if you ask me." Kaye said from the archway to the courtyard. She had a blanket bundled around her shoulders and her hair was a disheveled mess, but there was a serenity to her face that belied her ire for the early hour.

Katia stirred the dark liquid with her uncast finger, a renewed steam rising from the cup. "I just escaped from all that." She gestured towards Aaron with her cup. "I'm calling in a personal day for this one."

From the shadows of the Ashram, Ryu watched the four of them with silence. A smile played across his face as he quietly sipped his coffee. It was eye openingly bitter and helped to clear his thoughts and bring him back home. "We're in no rush today, I don' think," he said finally strolling out to join the others. "A little exploration perhaps, but I'd say we've earned a few days to take it easy and recharge."

Kaye leaned her head on Ryu's shoulder. "I could do with a little exploring that doesn't have me looking for someone to come leaping out of the shadows."

He drew his arm up over her shoulders and hugged her against him. "Help yourself." He looked about the shadows. "We're pretty safe and sound here."

Both Aaron and Spencer finished their exercising and crossed the courtyard to the others. "I like the idea of a little R&R; we could all use it. I can't remember the last time I was able to take a nap in the middle of the day."

"What is 'nap'?" Kat asked with an overly thickened accent and a curl on her lips.

Spencer smirked, then winced after he took a sip from his mug. "In Russia you don't take naps. Naps take you."

The five of them stood outside the master's chambers none of them quite sure about crossing that threshold. They all were waiting for Ryu to break the suit and after a moment, he did. He was flanked by Aaron and Spencer, each looking around the room curiously. The ladies followed suit, Kaye examining the fixtures and Kat not quite sure what they were looking for.

Spencer, on the other hand, did. And it was all eerily familiar. "Deja vu all over again," He crossed right over the the far wall and found the little hole neatly carved into the design work. It blended so well that one could have looked for and never found it. Spencer Cash knew right were it was. He ran his finger around the edge of the hole and looked back over his shoulder where the sun caught him in the eye. "Bingo."

"What is it?" She asked, examining the scene of an ocean-side cliff surrounded by trees that had been carved into the wall.

"Another piece of the puzzle," he winked.

Aaron moved to the other edge of the carving where a heavily stylized dragon curled up around a mountain and looked down on the scene behind Spencer. His fingers ran through the stone grooves into the eye. There it was. Another hole. The two men shared a glance.

Ryu was crouched down in front of the kamidana. Reaching into his coat he took out a thin tool that almost looked like an ivory key. He said a few words to himself as he set the key into place and turned it. There was a click and the handle opened in the back. Each motion ran chills down his spine, memories of that fateful day when he as a teen had done the very same. The first day of the rest of his life. "Here goes something..." He reached over the offering table, black enveloping his fingers as he gripped the handle and turned.

Everyone of them in the room jumped as the wall shook with the sound of grinding stone, even those that were kind of expecting it. They all held their breath expectantly. Dust fell from the moving stones, and the space between the dragon and the cliff scene slowly pulled apart and in its place revealed a stairwell that lead down into darkness.

With a shrug, Spencer started down the staircase. "At least I'm in better shape than last time we did this," he deadpanned.

The five of them traveled downward in relative silence. After a short while, a faint glow appeared below. It grew stronger as they reached the bottom. Once there, they found themselves in a stone room, the center of which contained a large four by four square stone basin.

The Enigmatic Investigator shook his head. "Like Yogi said, deja vu all over again."

"Doesn't seem fair that the Master would have his own private bath," Aaron joked. He caught Ryu's eye, "You okay?"

The Dapper Detective looked away from the basin to his friend, "You keep asking me that."

Aaron nodded, "I know. So what are we looking for?"

"That." He pointed to the far end of the dim room.

Thin lines had been shaded across it in some sort of an abstract line art. The coloring was light, almost like a strange watercolor. Aaron turned and caught sight of the small hole in the wall where the light projected the image against the stone.

Kaye crossed over, her hand touching the wall and replacing it with her own shadow. Of all of them in that room, she was by far the one with the most experience. She was their on-site archeologist, and one of foremost in the world. And yet, all her years of in the field and all her studies she'd never seen anything like it. The set up of the whole thing was simply incredible. "What is it supposed to be?"

Ryu shot a look to Spencer. "Spence?"

He nodded, stuffing his hand into his pocket. "I hope we were right about this." He pulled out a roundish piece of glass. He held it up before a squinted eye, rolling it along its outside metal ring between his index and thumb. He turned around and found the other hole whose light dulled the faded image. Running a finger around the opening he could feel the ridges that would hold the crystal lens. Spence gave a look over his arm to the rest of them in the room. "Here goes nothing." The lens clicked into place.

Just like that, the abstract became something else entirely. Not only did the soft gray lines become thick and black, but with the two lenses in place the pale watercolors of light had turned into rich swashes of reds greens and blues. Put together there was no doubt about what it was. At the center was a map, a rather artistic interpretation of Japan. There in the large island to the north and nestled into the forested mountains of Hokkaido a neatly drawn temple...

Nestled in the crook of the island chain was a brilliant green and blue dragon curled in slumber around what appeared to be an egg of some sort. Kaye knelt down, careful not to obscure the map, to read the line of delicate and elegant characters scribed next to the image of the dragon.

"Blazing like the Sun, reaching to eternity, Heaven's Guardian." She turned to look at the rest of them. "Something tells me that isn't there just for artistic flair."

"Beware of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup," Spencer quipped.

"Well... the vacation was nice while it lasted."

by **Kardiac** on 15 Oct 2009 10:33

Kardiac leaned on a brick-faced wall in the alley on the north side of Havre d'Art, a mid-scale gallery in the Wells that focused on local talent. It was primarily frequented by the artists themselves and those upper middle class who wanted to pretend they were more cultured and wealthy than they actually were. Tonight was no exception, and he could occasionally hear the sounds of small groups entering or exiting the establishment.

He'd chosen the location for three reasons. The first was strategic. The alley was easy to access from both the east and west. It was dimly lit for much of its length, but with bright lights on both ends and above it to make the approaches highly visible. Second, it was easy to find if you knew you were supposed to meet someone there, the multiple points of entry allowing you to choose the most surreptitious route.

And finally -- and most importantly -- it wasn't Strategoi. They'd be there soon enough, but the headquarters could be a bit overwhelming to the unprepared. Walking its halls would also give the agency a lot of time to observe its visitors, and Kardiac wanted his guest to have as little exposure to the organization as possible. He already had to dodge continual attempts at bringing him on board as a full-time agent. He certainly didn't want Faith on the whole agency's radar.

His companion was pacing, more out of impatience than nerves. If there was one thing Kardiac had learned about him, it was that he didn't enjoy stillness... or waiting. He wasn't happy unless he was on the move. Eddy watched him pace.

He was an inch shorter than Kardiac, with medium-length brown hair tussled back, restrained only by a pair of WWII aviator goggles push back over his brow. He was a couple of years younger than Eddy as well, and while he was a full-time Strategoi agent, he didn't have as much field experience. The high-voltage vigilante guessed most of his operations had been high-risk extractions, with little real combat or tactical requirements. Get in and get out... and Eddy was fine with that. It meant that he knew his job.

"She's late." They were the first words either man had muttered in over ten minutes.

Kardiac smirked, the gesture nearly missed in the dim light. "She still has fifteen minutes... you're just antsy," he said, his voice even. "The kid's never been late for training, and she won't be late tonight." Eddy was looking forward to seeing Faith, especially given his current company. He had given her the morning off... she'd need the rest before the strategy session, and as a result, his morning work-out had been uncharacteristically quiet.

His companion stopped and leaned against the opposite wall, still fidgeting. "You're putting a lot of responsibility in her lap... sure she didn't change her mind?" he asked, playing with the zipper on his Flying Tigers jacket. Kardiac smiled to himself. He was in full uniform, right down to the fiber-optic EKG symbol, and he was certain that this guy looked more out of place in the Wells. Everything he wore was in shades of brown, from the heavy military trousers to the tan t-shirt.

"Trust me," he answered, suddenly amused by the situation. "I don't think the entire Olympian pantheon could change this girl's mind once she set it on something." The appearance of a familiar heartbeat on approach caught his attention. He knew she'd be early. He waited until he was certain she was within earshot to continue.

Smiling more broadly, he added, "And I'd be careful about offending her.... I trained her, so I'm pretty sure she could take you."

Invisible, and only faintly disappointed not to be joining in the local nightlife, Faith entered the alley as silently as possible. She'd intended to spend a moment or two observing the stranger she would eventually be entrusting her life to, and Eddy too of course, but the sight of that smile dashed her hopes of a stealthy approach. Besides, it was a welcome she couldn't pass up.

"You say the nicest things." Grinning wickedly, she faded into sight at Kardiac's elbow. Like her mentor, she was in full uniform, the skintight teal material looking almost black in the low light. She watched Marcus curiously, waiting for an introduction... or instructions. Either way, she was ready to prove herself.

Marcus seemed caught off guard by Faith's sudden appearance, prompting Kardiac to smile. "Special Agent Marcus Quinn, a.k.a. Sidestep," he said specifically to Faith, allowing her a beat to introduce herself.

So it was a first name sort of meeting. She didn't know why, but the redhead felt a moment's hesitation. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy talking about herself... and since Eddy trusted him.... "It's nice to meet you, Marcus." She hit him with one of her best 'charm the male half of the population' smiles. "I'm Faith, a.k.a. Sylph." It wasn't so bad to leave out her last name, right?

"Marcus is our wheelman for the operation... albeit, without wheels," he continued, taking a step and turning so as to link the three in their conversation. "He'll be in charge of making sure we get out in one piece if things get messy." He glanced over to Marcus and nodded once.

Cued by the gesture, the Strategoi agent smiled and took a step back, turning to half-face the wall of the gallery. "We should go somewhere more intimate to continue with this line of conversation," he said. He reached out with his left hand and touched the wall. From the point of contact, a glowing oval spread out across the brick surface until it was at least a foot taller than Eddy and half as wide. He looked over at Kardiac and, with a smirk that echoed the vigilante's oft-present expression, motioned towards the portal.

"Age before beauty."

Kardiac looked at Faith as he took a step forward. "It's just like stepping through a door," he said, reassuringly. He'd been teleported before, and it always turned his stomach to move in such a way. But Marcus' portals were different... it was no more disruptive than taking any other step. So, without even the accustomed holding of his breath, he took the step and disappeared into the glowing gateway.

Sidestep gave Faith a devilish smile. "I thought he'd never leave," he said, eyes sparkling with the remark. "Ladies first."

With a wink and a slow turn, the petite redhead didn't hesitate as she moved toward Marcus' portal. "If we don't end up in Hawaii, I'm going to be horribly disappointed," she teased. He seemed to have a sense of humor, so Faith figured it was alright to like him... at least a little.

"Little darlin'," he said with a devilish smile, "once this mission's over, I'll take you anywhere you want to go." Obviously a consummate flirt, Faith still couldn't help but notice him cast a tenuous glance towards the portal as if double-checking to make sure her mentor was well out of earshot.

The gateway reached across space to deposit them into a steel-walled room with a single door. There was a table in the center with a translucent, three-dimensional map of Garrison City hovering an inch above it. On the far wall from the point of entry was a flat-screen map of the United States, several lights of various colors dotting its surface. On the wall where the portal glowed was another flat screen, but that one bore a map of the known world... plus a couple of small, extra land masses that Faith hadn't seen before.

There was a woman sitting on the table, one foot up in a chair and the other dangling. She wore a black body suit, strapped in places, with a circular, red patch on the left shoulder containing a black "S" in what looked like a targeting reticle. There was a grace in her despite her relaxed posture, long, straight brown hair framing a beautiful but tested face. Kardiac stood next to her, and there was a sideways glance in Eddy's eyes that revealed more to Faith than any words he could say as introduction. This was her... the her he'd mentioned in passing at their lunch a few days ago. It was suddenly very obvious why he'd been volunteering his time to Government service.

Marcus stepped through the gateway behind Faith and the portal closed behind him, restoring only the soft glow of the overhead lights and the various panel screens to the room. The woman smiled at Faith, hopped to the floor, and crossed the short distance, holding out a hand. "Hello," she said with an authority that seemed to designate her as the ranking agent in the room. "I'm Jenna Fairchild. Welcome to Strategoi."

Though she somehow managed not to trip over her own feet, Faith was suddenly feeling very clumsy and inexperienced. Taking a step forward, she shook the woman's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Finally," she added with a hint of a smile. "I'm Faith Kavanaugh." She didn't hold back her family name from Jenna. After all, it was imperative that this woman like her, or at least approve of her.

Dropping Ms. Fairchild's hand, the redhead decided in that instant that this was the perfect match for Eddy. As a student, and member of a prominent family, Faith knew authority when she saw it. She yielded to Kardiac's because he was a master and he was teaching her. But Jenna? Jenna was a maestro; it showed in her every movement. The woman was clearly strong enough to put Eddy in his place if needed, and that was probably good for him.

Despite a strange, sudden wish that Charlie had not taken this week to head to Kyoto, Faith shot her mentor a quick little smile. The list of everything that he was going to answer after she finished her personal connections assignment had just grown considerably longer. Then, reminding herself that she'd rather lose her hair than do anything to embarrass him, she decided that now was the time to wait patiently for her real instructions.

"An equal pleasure to finally meet you," Jenna said before turning and heading back to the table. Once they were all gathered around the miniature city, Fairchild reached into its holographic landscape with both hands and pushed part of the city aside. The map zoomed in on what was left over, the center of which was a monolithic structure that any Garrison City native could easily identify as the Tokahashi Building. The second tallest building in the city, standing just four floors short of Lexington Towers, it was a glistening spire amidst the old city's landscape.

"Everyone knows that the Tokahashi Building is one of this city's pinnacles of international commerce," Fairchild began. "What few people know is that the Haiyo Tokahashi was a founding member of the shadow organization known as TAROT, and despite their recent exile from this city they still own the top three floors of the building." She ran her fingers across the map to zoom in closer, showing a rough, three-dimensional floor plan of the those floors. "It was a sudden resurgence of activity on these floors that gave us initial warning of their little meet-and-greet."

Sidestep disappeared from beside Faith and reappeared next to the wall-screen showing the United States. The image of the country immediately blinked out to be replaced by the face of a young Japanese man in a business suit. On his left lapel was a small pin resembling a chess Rook, or castle. "This is Yoshi Tokahashi, better known in international criminal circles as Tower," Marcus began, on cue. "He's the great grandson of the late Haiyo, and current owner of the penthouses. We believe that he's personally overseeing the meeting in Garrison."

His expression went flat as he continued. "Yoshi's 'code name' comes from a metahuman ability to 'see' his way into any structure, no matter how well defended. He uses this ability in TAROT's service for counter-insurgency... seeing the ways in lets him better prepare to prevent others from exploiting those weaknesses."

Jenna picked up from there, looking at Faith as she spoke. "Only three men have ever successfully challenged Tokahashi's security, and only one of those men is currently in the city," she said, letting the younger woman make the assumption as to who that man was.

Kardiac smirked, "The other two are still off on their man-date."

"The meeting," Fairchild continued, ignoring Eddy's snide comment but smiling slightly despite herself, "will most likely take place here." She pointed at a room on the second of the three floors. "The 'white room' as it's called provides for security from both above and below. It also has no inherent electronics, which makes identifying bugs and other transmitters a piece of cake." Her glance went back to Faith. "You'll have to enter the room with your comms and GPS beacon switched off." She paused, taking in the young woman's reaction.

Biting her lip, then realizing that the gesture might be saying more than she cared to admit in front of these people, Faith nodded gravely. It wasn't entirely new information after all; Eddy had been stressing the dangers before he'd even fully told her the plan. She did, however, cast a quick glance in Marcus' direction.

"My job," Marcus said with a comforting smile, "Is to get in and get you out the instant you re-active your GPS." He teleported from where he'd been standing back to his original place beside Faith at the table. "My eyes won't leave my scanner until you're out safely."

Jenna smiled. "Marcus has pulled me out of more than a few difficult situations," she added.

Marcus winked at Faith. "I'll have to tell you about the San Moro extraction some time...," he said with a mischievous grin. "That was a fun one."

"Sidestep knows the penalty for not getting you out safely," Eddy interrupted, looking suddenly and uncharacteristically uncomfortable. His eyes were locked on Faith. "We can't go through the whole Tokahashi Building without risking giving ourselves away, so we'll be entering the building via roof access. There will likely be a guard topside, so we'll have to take them out as quickly and stealthily as possible."

"Opening a portal to the roof will alert the guards, and I can't take both of you simultaneously without a portal," Sidestep said, directing his glace to Kardiac. "How do you plan on getting up there."

Now wearing her own devilish smile, Jenna looked across at Marcus. "They're going to tandem HAHO jump. When they get close to the building, Kardiac is going to cut the chute and bring them in with a wingsuit." She delivered the last part so matter-of-factly that it seemed like she considered such an insane action to be simple routine.

Eddy gave Faith a reassuring grin. "You keep us stealthy," he said with confidence, "and I'll get us there."

Jumping out of anything was not exactly something she was looking forward to. But if this was normal... Forcing her grin to match his, Faith gave a deliberate shrug. "You haven't killed us yet. But remember, I'm going to have to be holding onto you to make us both invisible," she reminded him. Good thing we've been working on building up your tolerance to hugs." Try as she might, she couldn't keep her sculpted brows from showing traces of worry. "But then what? What are you going to be doing while I'm in the room?"

Kardiac caught the frown before it revealed too much, switching instead to a forced-confident smile. "As soon as we create a hole in his security, Tower will know... it's part of his power. That means once his guards go down, he'll know he's being infiltrated."

"But we do't think he'll rabbit... he trusts his ability and his skill in security."

"So, we go in, and the two of us penetrate his security together," he said, nodding to Jenna. He looked back at Faith. This was the part he hadn't wanted to tell her. He knew she wouldn't approve, but it had to be done, and he had to convince her it was the right thing to do. "And then we make your opening... a guard will go to report on the incident to Tower, and you'll follow him into the room." She was looking at him, and he knew she was going to ask him 'why' the guard would be going to file his report.

He cut her off before she could ask, trying to prepare a response for whatever argument she may come up with to protest the next part of the plan. "He'll be going to Tower to report that I've been captured... once they have me prisoner, you'll have your opening."

"Once they have you prisoner..." Her face paled with every word. Then, without really thinking it through, her gaze snapped to Jenna. "And you're okay with this?" she demanded before stopping to consider that this wasn't exactly the right tone to take at the moment.

Jenna frowned, her eyes flicking away from Faith's. "It was his call," she said, matter-of-factly. "Whether or not I like it is irrelevant at this point." There was a touch of irritation in her voice that rather clearly demonstrated that this issue had been a serious point of contention.

Hands on her hips, she turned to glare at Eddy. "Well, I don't like this at all." Understatement of the year. It didn't matter that Kardiac was nearly invincible in her eyes; it was still a bad idea. "If you broke through their security once before, they're not going to be happy to see you again. I..." The silence in the room told her on one was going to back her up here. "I want to help. You know I want to do whatever I can to keep bad things out of the city." Her voice dropped until it was almost a plea. "But not if it means sacrificing you. I don't want you dead or anything else bad."

As always, in an emotional moment like this Faith lived on the extreme outside of her skin, every thought or feeling written on her face with perfect clarity. She looked back to the Strategoi agents for any sign of reassurance, no matter how small. "Please tell me there's a fool-proof plan to get him out."

"There's a plan... it's foolproof-ness leaves something to be desired...," Marcus said, looking at Kardiac.

Eddy gave Faith that annoying, confident smile of his. "I'm counting on his security not being happy to see me again," he said, trying to sound smug, though it wasn't his usual overconfidence. "That guarantees they'll be preoccupied with me and not looking for you." He walked a quarter turn around the table to put himself right in front of her.

"I'll gladly take a few knocks to ensure your safety," he said, his eyes suddenly very serious. "I can handle breaking away from a few guards... once they're down, I'm going to be heading for your position to make sure your six is covered... and to kick the door in and make sure you get out okay, if necessary." He smiled again, and this time his normally confidence did show behind the expression. His right hand came up under her chin, lifting her face and locked her eyes on his. "Trust me... I've been doing this a long time."

How could she not believe him when he put it like that? "I know." She dropped his gaze for only a second before looking back up, her lips settling somewhere between a pout and a smile. "But I want you to keep doing this for a long time. Until you really are a grizzled old man."

Reaching up to cover his hand with hers, the redhead didn't say a word for a moment. She didn't need to. He already knew that she trusted him. With a wry smile, she finally stepped away from his touch, a hint of mischievousness starting to show back through. "Can I at least threaten not to give them any information until I know you're safe?" The answer would be no, of course, but she felt she should at least try.

Eddy smiled. There was a warmth in the expression that didn't show up very often. Without thinking about it, his voice lost its electronic edge. "The safety of my city comes first," he said, rather than a simple 'no.' "I'd gladly my life to keep TAROT at bay," he continued. Then, with a little mischief creeping back into his expression and energy creeping back into his voice, he added, "Of course... that's not the plan...."

"No it's not," she told him firmly. Then, because she'd worry about his safety more later, she turned her full attention back to the details of the mission. "What else do I need to know? Are there any other key details you've been neglecting to mention?"

"No," he said, his smile broadening. He couldn't help but be a little proud of the way she was handling herself. She'd proven to be a good choice for student. "No more important details... at least, none that we know about."

Jenna let the words hang for a second before continuing. "I'll be monitoring comms throughout the operation, ours and theirs. I'll have a full strike team standing by should it become necessary... though I think we'd all prefer to avoid open warfare in the city limits."

"That's about as much of an option as letting someone green and grumpy die," Faith muttered with a quick wink at her mentor.

Marcus smirked which prompted Kardiac to narrow his eyes, making his mocking frown look more like a scowl. Before anything more could be said, Jenna decided to bring things back on topic. "Keep in mind that Takahashi's security is meant to prevent intrusion, not just alert security. That means the electronic systems themselves could be a threat, and I wouldn't put lethal force past him, so you'll need to be doubly careful."

"Don't worry about whether or not he uses lethal force," Kardiac said with a smile. "He absolutely does, and I've got a couple of scars to prove it. He uses everything from drones to high-intensity lasers... and he'll have everything grounded this time around." He glanced over at Faith. "Last time I got to cheat my way past some of his tricks by frying their control systems... he won't let that happen again."

He turned back to Agent Fairchild. "And like it or not, the longer we can keep Faith's presence a secret, the better chance she'll have, so I'm taking point on sniffing out the security. I'm not afraid of adding a scar or two... I've got plenty of skin left he hasn't marked." He gave Faith a serious looking, going so far as to half-point in her direction. "And no arguments on this point. My uniform is thermal-reinforced kevlar weave under the outer layer, so I'm prepared to soak a few rounds if it comes to it...."

He paused as a thought entered his mind and looked back at Jenna. "Speaking of which... since I'm not getting paid for this op, the Government can reimburse me by setting up Faith with the same kind of rig as a just in case... I'm sure it's the least Strategoi could do." Jenna smiled slightly and nodded her agreement.

"I'll make it happen."

Marcus turned a crooked grin. "I'd be happy to take her measurem--," he started to say, but a quick glare from Eddy cutting him off mid-word.

After a beat, Kardiac returned his attention to Faith. With a smile, he asked, "Having second thoughts, yet?"

"And third and fourth ones," she answered with a grin. "But I told you you're not getting rid of me." Chewing on her lip with a sort of nervous excitement, the redhead tried to keep her mind from wandering too far. "Okay, so I'll be bad-stuff-proof... after you get my measurements," she added with a wicked little grin in Marcus' direction. "And invisible. But what about other forms of detection? Um... like heat. Or how Kardiac hears my heartbeat. Or scent." This was something she'd been actually been considering. "I mean, obviously I'm not going to take a perfume bath before going in... but people smell. My hair, my skin... everything has a scent. Do we have something to fix that?"

"There are ways to remove your scent," Agent Fairchild answered. "And I'll have your suit rigged for ECM and atmospheric balancing, which will block most other forms of detection. We can't do a whole lot about your heartbeat, though."

"Our intel on Takahashi doesn't spec him for any sort of enhanced senses outside of his 'intrusion sense,' so he shouldn't be able to hear your heartbeat or anything of that sort."

Kardiac smirked, "Guess that makes me special."

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Special has so many definitions...."

"Gentlemen."

The two stopped their repartee before it had a chance to start in earnest. Jenna looked from both of them, then to Faith. "I can't promise that we've covered every contingency. I can say that we've scrubbed this plan more than any I've ever worked on, and we've developed more contingency plans than I thought were possible." She cast a sideways glance at Kardiac, then back to Faith as she began speaking. "Someone insisted that we go over some pretty creative 'what ifs' while putting this thing together," she said, then locked her eyes on the red-head's own.

"We discussed this!" Kardiac said, sharply, stepping between them and looking straight into Jenna's eyes, blocking her from Faith's view.

The now-disembodied voice answered, "I wasn't 'pushing', I was sensing... don't be paranoid!"

Still showing Faith the back of his head, Eddy continued. "Well... okay, then."

As he moved away, Faith could see Fairchild's face again. She was a bit red, clearly annoyed that Kardiac had thought her willing to do... whatever he thought she was doing. "I was just making sure her hesitance didn't outweigh her willingness." She turned back to Faith. "I'm sorry about that. When I started in this business, I wasn't exactly eager... I was just making sure you weren't feeling pushed into anything."

"Trust me," Kardiac answered, "I'd sooner push her into sitting out than joining in." He turned back to Faith, wan smile on his face. "So... you ready to knock down the Tower?"

Instead of answering Eddy, Faith's crystal eyes met Jenna's gaze without any sign of fear of...well... whatever it was her mentor had just prevented. "We all know I have a pushy teacher. But he would never push me into this." Her chin lifted again in that stubborn little gesture. "You don't really know me yet, so you'll have to trust me when I tell you... noone pushes me into doing things that I don't want to do." The redhead turned back to Kardiac, her genuine smile more than making up for his. "I'm ready."

Some time later, atop the roof of Havre d'Art, Eddy gave a quick glance over to where Marcus had been a second before, then back to Faith. "Alone at last," he said, smiling. His eyes, though, told a different story. There was something he was keeping in, some worry or fear that he didn't want to show her. "Sorry about the little 'jumping to the rescue' bit in there," he said, flatly... something in the words seemed to imply he had more to apologize about than just that. "They're a trustworthy pair... they'll keep their eyes on our backs... and Jenna wouldn't have... well, she wouldn't have forced you to do anything. I guess I'm just a little jumpy about this op."

Faith liked to think she'd learned a lot in the time they'd spent together. But knowing when, or how much, to push him to get him to open up to her was clearly not one of those things. However, she knew enough to be confident in a few things. Trust wasn't something he took lightly. So when he said he trusted them... he did. But, as always, she wanted to know more, to find whatever it was he was holding back. "Why?" she asked finally, pushing a stray lock of hair back from her face.

Eddy frowned, not looking her directly in the eyes for a minute or so. After the pause, he glanced at her only briefly before turning to one side and looking out over the low-roofs of the surrounding buildings. "Please don't take offense at this, but I'm used to working alone... or with Blue and Roo. Even M&Ms to a lesser extent... they've been doing this for a while, and I don't worry about them in the field, because they're their own problem...." He paused for a second, glancing over just briefly at her before continuing. "You're my responsibility."

He held up a hand to stay her protest. "I trust you... and you're capable... more than you realize, I'd bet," he continued. "But I brought you into this... I trained you... hell, I hand-picked you. If you get hurt, it's on my conscience." He turned just his head back towards her. "And you can say what you want about making your own decisions and choosing to be involved in the op... it doesn't change the fact that I'm going to feel responsible."

His eyes went back out over the city, and a side of him he rarely showed to anyone came to the surface. He'd shown it to her, and to Jenna... and he knew Blue saw it in him, but it wasn't something he shared... not often. But there was something about the girl standing with him that made him open up. He'd noticed it before, and he'd tried to put a cork in it, but she was going to find out about their 'connection' eventually, and he had to trust her with this part of himself... she was, after all, the closest thing he had to family in this business.

"Before Blue and Roo showed up, this was my city. Hell, it still is... they just work here, or they would if they'd ever get back from bromancing the wind. And if you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly keen on all you kids running around in your satin tights playing hero," he said, feeling the wind of his city running its wisps through his hair. "But it ain't because you don't have the right... it's because if anything happens to any of you, it happened on my watch. Whether or not I join your little superhero club, you're still my responsibility... every one of you, because this city and everyone in it is my responsibility."

He took a step back and sat down on an air-conditioning intake. "If I feel that kind of responsibility over the ones I don't train or care to know, imagine how it feels when somebody like you comes along... somebody who... matters." He paused for a moment, his eyes drifting back over his city. There was more to say, but the words hadn't come to him yet. He sat there, watching the lights spread before him, listening to the wind through the maze of antennae and alleyways.

Rather than let her thoughts come out a jumbled mess, Faith forced herself to take a minute before speaking. Leaning out over the edge she watched the cars on the street below. As she stared out it struck her that she loved Garrison, his city. She couldn't claim it, not like he did, but maybe it had claimed her. The riot of scent, sound, and light out there... it came together to form something raw and beautiful.

And it was his. She would never argue against Eddy's sense of responsibility. Not now. Who else would take on that role as father figure to an entire city? The bits of responsibility he'd shared with the other experienced heroes -- and someday, hopefully, with her -- were only those of a step-parent. They didn't take the weight from his shoulders. Looking back at him suddenly, watching as he sat in his own silence, the redhead felt that renewed sense of stubborn determination. She was going to help him.

In a somewhat impulsive decision she came to sit beside him, sharing the vent with him. It hadn't escaped her that he'd said she mattered. She could still feel the rush of warmth from the words. "Sometimes I'm invisible even without my powers," she began, still not entirely sure where she was going with it. "The youngest child. The only girl. The good kid. I go to parties and events and I watch people. I see so many who don't care about anything beyond their own petty little worlds." She turned her head to the west, her gaze looking beyond the artsy neighborhoods to the streets where normal people feared to walk alone. "But then I leave my neighborhood and go to the Foundation building."

Fully aware that she was doing exactly what she'd tried not to do... babbling, Faith drew her knees up under her chin as she kept right on talking. "There's this boy, Jesús, who comes in for lessons every other week. He's just the nicest kid you could ever hope to meet. And I keep thinking that it's just a miracle that he's not in some gang, or dead already. I mean, I know where he lives. He literally risks his life just to walk to the store or the bus stop. But he keeps coming."

Blue eyes clear and sharp, she tilted her head to look directly at him. "He's your responsibility." Her lips curled in a gentle little smile as she nudged him with her shoulder. "But he's mine too. I may not be ready to take on the whole city, but I'm going to share some of this responsibility with you. Even if it makes you worry." That smile had grown, tugging at her lips until she was grinning at him. "Because you matter too. To me and probably to more people than you even realize." She paused, realizing in horror that she had no brilliant way to end that little speech. "Um... so there."

Raising an eyebrow, he reached out and put his arm around her neck, pulling her in like a schoolyard bully about to noogie a smaller kid. He didn't follow through on the action, however, but left his arm there, forearm sticking out in front of her. He remembered sitting on the roof of his family house just like this with Anna, joking and talking about nothing in particular, so many years ago. Of course, that was when they had a father... and a real relationship. Somehow, he'd let this one get under his skin and fill a place that had been empty since the night of his sister's engagement party.

"So there?," he asked, smirking. "So there...? Catchy," he said, his expression turning to a smile. "You come up with that one yourself... or did your jewel thief boyfriend steal it for you?" There was a mischievous gleam in his eye as he added the last bit.

Her mouth dropped open in a speechlessness that wasn't entirely faked. "Oh..." Try as she might to look shocked and insulted, she couldn't keep from laughing. "Oh you're just evil." The finger she jabbed into his ribs probably had little effect through his uniform... but it made her feel a little better. Then, because it felt entirely appropriate, she leaned against him, her tiny frame relaxing in the crook of his arm. "And don't forget, I'm the cute redhead. If he does steal something for me it's going to be expensive...." Her silvery laugh echoed up to the sky above them. "... because I'm so worth it."

Eddy smirked, his voice slipping to a more relaxed state. "If you weren't, I wouldn't be lookin' after you." He shook his head, "And I'm the last person to lecture you on dating a thief...," he added. "...I just want you to be careful. Some cats can change their spots... some can't. If he hurts you, I'll crush him like a bug." He was about to continue when the sudden sound of sirens clamored in the distance. He slipped his arm from around her and stood up, taking care not to spill her in the process.

"Looks like I've got work to do," he said, putting on his game voice. He walked over to the edge of the roof, raising his right arm and firing a swing-line over the neighboring lightpost. He paused for a second, taking the swingline in his left hand before detaching the end from his gauntlet. He tapped his right ear, speaking into the air. "Sil, I need a brief on sirens in the north LouRDS, just south of the Wells East, 27th Street south." After a beat, he looked back over to where Faith was standing, another smile on his face. He extended his right arm towards her. "You comin'?"

by **The Mid-Night Man** on 19 Oct 2009 13:34

"There aren't any calories in this, right?" Scraping the bottom of her ice cream container, Faith looked to the blonde sitting on the couch beside her. Though they'd talked about a girls night out, the pair had decided that old movies and Ben and Jerry's beat high heels and dancing when it came to a stress-free night. "I could live on this stuff, I swear."

Jamie giggled as she took a bite herself, "Oh I know, about as much I could live off of Clark Gable. For a guy that was that old seventy years ago, he was a hottie."

The redhead nodded enthusiastically, taking the spoon out of her mouth to quote Scarlett's lines along with the television. "Mmm-hmmm! Someday I'm going to find a guy who'll sit through this with me, hand me tissues when I cry, and bring me more ice cream when I eat it all... and then I'm going to marry him."

Jamie's eyebrows raised above her glasses, "We need to test that theory on Charlie." A huge grin spread across her face.

"We can't. He's in Japan right now," Faith replied without really thinking about it. Then, as the realization of what she'd just said slowly began to sink in, a blush quickly spread across her face. "Okay, that's just mean," she laughed.

Jamie snorted, "I know, I know. I'm a terrible person," the blond pinched Faith's thigh with her toes.

Still laughing, the petite redhead promptly hit her friend with a throw pillow. "Yes you are. I mean really... getting me while I'm distracted and missing him? That's not playing fair. At all."

"I will say though," Jamie sighed, "Charlie is kinda cute."

Grinning and blushing, Faith shook her spoon at the blonde, trying to look threatening. "Yes. Yes he is. Now shhhh... you're missing the good parts." But, of course, now that her mind was on Charlie it was hard to focus. Maybe it was just the thought of somehow tricking him into wearing a Civil War uniform for her. Or maybe she needed this night off more than she'd thought.

"Oh fiddle dee dee," she giggled with her voice in a fake southern accent.

Breaking down in uncontrolable giggles, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a long moment. "You're really good at that. I dare you to talk like that some night when we're out on a job."

Jamie rocked with uncontrollable laughter, "Don't worry civilians," she continued in the same accent, "For tomorrow, is another day."

"Just wait till Corin hears you do that." It felt so good to laugh this hard.

"He'll just get jealous," Jamie said as she rolled her eyes, "all he can do is a bad Humphrey Boggart."

"But does he do it while on the job... either job?"

"Well," Jamie said thinking about her answer, "he did say here's looking at you sweetheart, to my dad once."

Blue eyes wide, Faith gaped at her friend in shocked amusement. "You're kidding!" For some reason, getting dirt on Corin was almost as enjoyable as the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

Jamie nodded, "Oooo, here's the good part," she pointed her spoon at the TV as Vivien Leigh chases Clark Gable toward the door.

"Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?"

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a..."

The line was cut off as a news reporter showed up on the TV.

"We interrupt this broadcast for a special news report."

"No! What could be more important than this?!" The little redhead tossed her spoon at the television in her frustration. "That was the best part...."

"Action five news on the scene of an accident on the Robinson Freeway Bridge," behind the reporter the blare of sirens and smoke wafting from the bridge behind her, "two meta powered criminals caused the police transport that was carrying them to Irongate Maximum Security Penitentiary to explode releasing the two..." there was another explosion causing the television signal to be knocked out.

Jamie and Faith both gave each other a look. "This doesn't sound good."

"So much for relaxing." The breeze wafting in from the bridge still carried the scent of smoke. Wrinkling her nose, Faith tried not to think about how the smell would linger in her hair, not to mention the leather upholstery in Jamie's BMW. With Corin out for the night the pair had been forced to drive to the scene, leaving the car parked a safe and inconspicuous distance away.

"Man," The lady of light's nose wrinkled at the smell of smoke in the air, "remind me that we need to talk to Doc about some kind of transportation. With Corin out of town, not being able to use his power to move around makes this so much harder."

The redhead bit her lip as she nodded. It felt weird not to talk to Jamie about the big upcoming mission with Kardiac, to tell her about Jenna and Marcus and the overall spyish coolness of the whole meeting. But for some reason she held it all back. Maybe she wasn't sure that her friends would approve. After all, it was dangerous. "We need something fast... and sexy to ride in on."

"Yeah we do," nodded Jamie as she smiled, "now if you could," she offered Faith her hand, "Invis us so we can get into the action."

Faith grinned. "I was hoping we'd hold hands tonight," she laughed. Her gloved fingers folded around her friend's hand. "You know... it seems like so long ago that we first did this." She gave the blonde a smile then pulled them both into invisibility.

"I know," the now invisible Lady of Light grinned, "this is going to take forever. Remind me to shoot my father for taking Corin out of town for the week to that conference."

"We can shoot later. Now it's bad guy stopping time." Faith gave an unseen grin and pulled her friend along.

"Am I doing good Baby Boom?" Hardtop's childlike voice questioned as the muscles under his metal skin picked up a police cruiser and he swung it at the police officers firing on him.

"You're doing great baby," Baby Boom's hands began to glow as she focused on another cruiser. She threw her hands forward and a concussive blast of energy issued forth, causing the cruiser to explode, "We timed it just right and we're gonna be outta here real soon."

"Goodie," he grinned as he raised his fist to pound it down on a prone officer. Hardtop snarled as his fist began to come down, but a blast of light hit him full in the face and caused him to stagger backwards.

"Didn't you two get enough last time from Mid-Night Man and Kardiac?" Daylight stood on some of the bridges wreckage, her own hand glowing with power.

"Top!" Baby Boom screamed angrily, "I'm gonna kill you bitch!" Her hands began to glow.

"Actually..." The Vanishing Vixen reappeared in front of Baby Boom long enough to snap a quick kick at the dark skinned girl's chest, pushing her back. "You're going to watch your language."

The exploding villain groaned as she hit the busted up concrete.

"Baby Boom?" the blinded shiny skinned monster called out. The simple minded Hard Top blinked as he tried to regain his sight. His eyes finally landed on his female partner who lay prone on the ground. Hard Top screamed as he grabbed another car and hurled it in the general direction of the girls.

"Aw crap," Daylight said as she dove out of the way.

"Oh that's bad," the invisible redhead murmured. "Um... I'm open to brilliant suggestions about now."

"Great," Jamie grumbled, "you got any?"

Ducking again as another car flew dangerously close to their heads, Sylph shook her head. "We'll stop them and... uh...."

"How about this," Daylight popped up from the place the two girls hid and fired a blast of energy full into Hard Top's chest.

The Metal Monster stumbled backwards but didn't fall.

"Okay that was my idea," Jamie grinned.

Chewing on her lower lip, Faith watched the huge man for a minute. "How did they beat him last time?"

"I think Kardiac electrocuted him." Her eyes scanned the area. Her face lit up as they landed on several downed power lines about twenty feet away from Hard Top. "I have an idea. Think you can be ready to trip him into those when he's close enough?" She nodded towards the lines.

Immediately following Daylight's plan, the redhead gave a short nod. "Oh he'll go down," she said with a grin. "But you so owe me a massage if he steps on me."

"Babe," Jamie winked, "we make it out of this I'll get you one stompage or not."

"Oh I'm so holding you to that." Faith grinned at her friend then, fairly certain that with his limited intelligence there was no way Hard Top would be able to follow her if she wasn't visible, the little redhead darted out from her hiding spot. "Hey, big guy. Come dance with me," she called.

The metal monstrosity's head turned, and he roared as he plodded toward Faith. Trying very hard not to be intimidated by his size, Sylph kept just out of his reach, falling back just enough to lead him closer to the downed wires. "Sorry about your girlfriend. I think I might have really hurt her," she said, knowing exactly how to push the brute's buttons.

"Kill you," the metal covered thug roared, as his feet pounded the ground cracking the pavement as he chased her.

Watching him lumber forward, Faith's first thought was that Eddy would kill her if she managed to get herself injured while she was supposed to be taking some down-time before their mission. The second thought was a bit more morbid... wondering exactly how it would feel to be trampled. It didn't seem like an experience she was in any hurry to try. "Kill me? Really? Why would you do that? Just because I think your girlfriend has a face like a dog's butt..."

Hard Top roared with anger and barreled toward Sylph. Trusting that Jamie was where she was supposed to be, the petite redhead made a face at the rampaging giant then did the seemingly unthinkable. Disappearing from sight, leaving only a ghost of distortion in her wake, she took a deep breath and charged toward Hard Top. Entirely too close to those massive feet, she slid to the ground, wrapping herself around his ankles while praying to come out unharmed.

The metal bodied monster,began to topple over, "Outta the way now Sylph!"

She didn't have to be told twice. Scrambling to her feet, Sylph ran to a safe distance to watch the show. "I'm clear!"

Jamie started to shine like the sun. With every ounce of determination she had, she fired a blast directly into Hard Top's back making him lose the last bit of balance he had and sent him tumbling into the power lines. Hard Top screamed as the electricity coursed through him rendering him unconscious.

The ground shuddered as he fell down hard. Reappearing, Faith grinned over at Jamie and applauded. "That totally worked!" she cheered.

"I know right!?!" Jamie said excitedly.

"What the hell did you do to Hard Top," Baby Boom's said weakly behind them.

"Aw crap..." The redhead winced as she turned to face the angry girl.

"I so don't have time for you," Jamie's eyes narrowed behind her goggles as she raised her hand and landed a blast to Baby Boom's chest which sent her sprawling across the concrete.

Sylph raised an eyebrow as she looked over at the Lady of Light. "Wow. Remind me to never make you mad. Or even make you wait," she teased. Looking around at the now quiet street, she winced slightly at the path of destruction the two now unconscious metas had caused. "Would this be our cue to get back to our movie?"

The next day, Jamie and Faith both sat in the waiting room of Terme di Saturnia Spa, "See I told you, one trip to the spa for a job well done," she grinned at her friend.

"I can't think of a better reward." The little redhead grinned back, stretching out her slender legs as they waited. For a second or two she caught herself wanting to mention the whole not being able to have anything scented night that awaited her... but at the last minute she held back. There'd be too many questions. She'd tell everyone after the whole thing was over and done.

by **Faith** on 30 Oct 2009 20:36

Charlie dialed the nine digits with a smile on his face. It was good to be back in Garrison, even if it was due to an unexpected delay in his business deal. He listened to the phone ring, wondering where she was, what she was doing. After the fifth ring, there was an answer.

"Hi, you've got my phone. I can't take your call right now, but if you leave your name and number I'll give you a call as soon as I can."

"517-959-7627," was all he said before hanging up the phone. Smiling, he slid the phone into his pocket and flagged down a cab.

"Charlie!" The little redhead was talking almost before he'd finished saying 'hello', dancing in her living room with a kind of giddy enthusiasm. "This is such a nice surprise. I didn't think I'd hear from you so soon. How's..." She paused, trying her best not to sound like some nosey girlfriend or something. "Japan, right?"

Charlie laughed. "Wrong, actually. I had to make a stop on the way to Japan to pick up some things for my client. And then our meeting got delayed. So instead of Kyoto, I'm in Garrison.

Faith froze in mid dance step, cradling the phone against her ear, her hip sticking out at an angle. "Garrison? You mean I get to hear you and see you?" Suddenly she was dancing again. This was exactly what she needed.

The thief slid two tickets out of an envelope. "Well, that's up to you. Although I do have two tickets to the ballet on Saturday. They're performing Dracula." As he spoke, he fanned the tickets apart. "I'm afraid they're only fifth row center, so probably not up to your usual standards."

"Are you kidding? I get a completely not-work related date with you on Halloween. We could be sitting in the alley outside of the building and they'd still be great seats," she laughed.

The sound of Charlie's laughter was transmitted through her phone. "I'd rather not sit in the alley if it's all the same to you. Pick you up at seven?"

She was already planning out her outfit, making sure she had enough time to look absolutely perfect. "I'll be ready." Holding the phone almost tenderly, another soft laugh escaped her lips. "Don't make me wait."

"Perfect." Faith checked her reflection again then quickly changed her mind. Maybe she should have left her hair down. Absently toying with one blazing lock that swung free near her shoulder, she bit her lip in indecision. "Maybe I have time to..." But one glance at the clock told her she was wrong. There was no way Charlie would be late; she had to be ready... now.

Earrings, lipstick, and a delicate tennis bracelet... she was finally ready to check her reflection again. The light peacock dress was distinctly vintage inspired, edged with delicate lace at the hem and bodice. While it was technically too chilly outside to be going strapless, the redhead had to admit that her bare shoulders looked perfectly inviting. Or at least she hoped so. She hadn't seen him in weeks. She had to be breathtaking.

At five minutes to seven she heard his car pulling down the long driveway, driving slowly around the main house to park in front of her place. There wasn't even time to wonder if she should have worn the black dress. Drawing a deep breath, she grinned as she waited for the knock.

It came. Charlie stood at the door, half smile on his face. With the left hand he straightened his silk tie, the right held a bouquet of red roses and white oriental lilies behind his back. He checked his watch to make sure he was on time and began rocking on the balls of his feet as he waited.

Forcing herself to count to ten before opening the door, Faith did her best not to yank it off its hinges as she answered him. Her lips curled into a smile the instant she saw him. "Hi..." she half whispered.

Returning the smile, Charlie presented the flowers. "Hey, you."

She breathed in their scent with a soft sigh. "They're beautiful. Thank you." With a blush, she realized he was still standing on her front step. "Um... why don't you come in while I put these in some water."

Charlie walked into the guest house. "Nice place." He looked around and smiled. looking at the instruments, he frowned. "I didn't know you were a musician."

Smiling, Faith walked past her piano, running her fingers along the smooth keys. A very naughty image came suddenly to her mind and she had to wait for the blush to leave her face before turning to answer him. "Well it's nice to know I can surprise you," she chuckled. "Music is sorta the family business. That's what the Kavanaugh Foundation is for... to bring music to the kids who might not get to experience it otherwise." She shrugged one bare shoulder. "And someday, if my 'night job' doesn't keep me too busy, I'll finish school and have a masters of composition that I'll do nothing with," she added with a laugh.

Standing, Charlie offered her his arm. "You should play for me sometime. But we need to get on the road, or we'll be later than is fashionable." He offered his arm. "Shall we?"

Her arm wound through his and she lightly leaned against his shoulder before moving with him toward the door. "I know it wasn't exactly in the plan, but I'm so glad you came back to Garrison," she told him with complete honesty. "I didn't think I'd get to see you again until... well... after I do some things."

Pulling the door shut behind them, Charlie looked at her as they approached his 1966 Alpine Berlinette. "Nothing dangerous, I hope."

She wasn't about to lie to him. And avoiding the question seemed nearly as bad. "It could be. But I'm sure I'll be fine." Blue eyes sparkling, she grinned at him. "After all, we all know your jobs can be dangerous too." Now she could change the subject. Dropping his arm she walked over to his car, touching it with gentle fingers like she had her piano. "I'm sorry, Charlie, but now that I've seen your car... I think I'm in love."

He laughed as he opened the passenger door of the coupe and waited for her to climb in. "I know. I just can't compete with this baby, he joked. "Chicks dig the car."

Taking a seat, she winked up at him as she smoothed the fabric of her dress and settled in. "A little bit of competition won't hurt you. Somehow I just know you'll rise to the challenge."

Walking out of the theatre, the duo was met with a rush of chilly air. Charlie offered the redhead his jacket. "Did you enjoy the show?" he asked as she snuggled into the green pinstriped grey Brioni coat.

For a minute she was too busy enjoying the sensation of having his scent wrapped around her to answer. "I loved it," she told him with a smile. And it was true. The show, the company, the completely normal dateishness of the whole night... it had all been absolutely perfect.

"I'm glad." He slid his arm around her and steered their course to the alley. "We can cut through here. Get to the car quicker."

"I'm not in any hurry for our night to be over." Even with his jacket, she was shivering just a little bit. "But maybe we could find someplace warm." Those full lips pulled into a grin. "...and private."

Charlie's eyebrow raised. "Well, the maître d' at Rusterman's owes me a favor. And those private booths are very cozy."

As they stepped into the shadows of the alley, a man stepped from behind a dumpster brandishing a gun. "Wallets and jewelry. Make it quick."

Taking Faith's hand, Charlie stepped in front of his date. "I think you should leave. Now."

"What are you doing?" she whispered. Her boyfriend didn't answer, but a strange tingling sensation spread up her arm and throughout her body.

The mugger pointed the gun at Charlie's head. "You're gonna get it, tough guy."

"You cannot do a thing to me," the desolidified delfactor droned.

The gun thundered in the confines of the alley. Faith jumped at the warm sensation as the bullets passed harmlessly through her.

Charlie pointed at the thief. "You cannot kill us. For on this spot seven years ago we were killed by a mugger. Just like you." He reached forward and ran his hand through the mugger's chest. The gunman stumbled back, clearly frightened.

Faith did her best to look spectral and solemn as she caught on to Charlie's act. With her fingers tightly entwined with his, she decided it was time to try something new. Pushing her control just a little, she let them both fade from sight slightly... just enough for the would-be mugger to be able to see the brick wall behind them through their bodies. "Turn yourself in now," she intoned. "Or be haunted. Forever."

Charlie and Faith walked through the brick wall to their left into a storage room. Laughing, Charlie watched their mugger. "He just dropped the gun and is running his legs off."

Laughter echoing off the walls of the small storage room, the redhead threw her arms around Charlie's neck and, without thinking about it, kissed him soundly.

As Charlie returned the kiss, Faith felt the tingle again. She leaned back against the wall and the couple fell through. "I swear that never happened before," he laughed.

"Then I must be special," she laughed with him, not in any hurry to release him. "But I believe you said something about a cozy, private booth..."

Charlie nodded. "So I did." They continued their journey through the alleyway, chatting and laughing.

As they reached the garage, Charlie's smiled down at the young lady in his arms. "So... a cellist?"

"Among other things," the redhead answered with an arch little smile.

I, uh, briefly had a cello..."

Leaning against his car, Faith's fiery brows arched ever so slightly. "Briefly? Is this a stealing musical instruments story?" she chuckled.

Charlie shrugged. "It was a Strad. The Duport."

Momentarily oblivious to the fact that it wasn't the most attractive expression ever, Faith gaped at him. "Ohmygosh. The Duport? Charlie, please tell me you're kidding." She reached for his hands, turning his palms up so she could examine them. "You actually touched it?"

"Touched it, plucked the strings, felt the dent." He smiled at her, wondering if he should tell her the rest of the story.

One small hand closed around his tie, pulling his face down to hers. "Tell me everything," she breathed, her teeth grazing his lower lip before kissing him again. "Everything!"

"Wow," he breathed. "You excite easily." Regaining his composure, he picked up on the story. "It was a job. I lifted it from Rostropovich's house..."

"Charlie..." Torn between the urge to shake him or kiss him again, Faith nearly held her breath as she waited for him to go on.

He smiled. "Long story short, I found out my employer just wanted to hold it for ransom. He was just after money. So I put it back."

Shaking her head slightly, Faith released her grip and began to smooth his tie. "I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a lot of theives. But you are..." Her blue eyes caught his copper ones, holding his gaze in the light of the parking garage. "I'm so glad you tried to steal that bottle," she said with a soft laugh.

by **Bluewolf** on 06 Nov 2009 14:39

"I don't know where we are," Spencer said irritably as they walked through the mountainous undergrowth. They had been in Japan for a few days now and seemed to be getting nowhere. "It's not like I'm Mapquest Man."

Ryu looked up, his eyes catching the early morning sky through the tree tops as they swayed with another chilled mountain breeze. "Lost," he sighed with almost defeat. "That's where we are..." It's what none of them had said, even with the compelling evidence that they site they found to make camp in last night had been previously occupied by them.

He looked down at the device in his hand, the image they had taken back in the mountains of Nepal. It was overlayed onto a sat-map of Hokkaido. They'd been walking around it for the last two days and still found nothing. Of course these sorts of places had a way of not wanting to be found...

Aaron sat down on a familiar fallen tree trunk. "No matter where you go, there you are," he shrugged.

"That's great, Buckaroo, but it doesn't really get us where we want to be." Kaye said, sitting down next to him. She'd "gone tiger" several times to aid in the search, to no avail, and it was starting to make her snippy.

"I'm just saying that we're not lost. We know exactly where we are, and we know where we want to go. Maybe it's just not time yet. The when is just as important as the where sometimes."

"I really hate it when you get all metaphysical on me." The blonde said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You only hate it when you know I'm right," Aaron said, throwing an arm around her waist. He looked at Roo, "Think about it. The cave, the ashram in the Andes, this place... they all have what you might call variable geography. They're only going to be found if they want to be. And, if I had to bet on it, I'd wager that the ashram you grew up in was the same."

The dapper detective nodded. "Yeah." He gave another look through the brush. "Sometimes it'd take a week to get back. Sometimes it would take a day." That fateful return trip that found it empty had taken him almost a two weeks.

"We found the ashram in the Andes without much trouble," Spence said. It wasn't so much that he was arguing, but his frustration with the situation was fairly clear. "We did have a guide, though."

"And Bon-Manche did lead us right to our last stop," Kaye added, picking up the thought.

Katia slumped down onto a rock beside the tree that held Spencer upright. "Why is it we are we looking for this place..." It was the slight groan in her tone that made it sound like less than a question.

His brow furrowed as he watched a few bushes several trees out shuffle around. "Because it's there," Ryu replied as he approached movement cautiously.

"I am not so sure..."

A little grayish brown snow monkey crawled out from under the bush. He looked up at Ryu with that pinkish-red face. He sat down, those little golden eyes regarding him casually. "Crap..."

Aaron looked over at the macaque and back at Ryu. "You two know each other?"

"Yeah," he replied with a nod, "we've met." And then another figure emerged from the underbrush, the wolf's blue tinged fur catching the sunlight with a sharp brilliance. Ryu was unphased by Rachael's arrival. "He a friend of yours?" he asked.

The wolf dropped down to her haunches, tongue lolling from her mouth in the wolf approximation of a smile. Why does one question what one already knows?

"Not really asking, luv." He crouched down and ran his fingers through the thick pelt of around her neck, scratching her roughly with a playful tug. "Nice of you to join our little hunting party."

As he spoke, that little macaque skirted around the azure tinted wolf. Using her fur like rungs and his feet wrapping along the curves of her haunches and ribs, it climbed up Rachael's back. It crawled all the way to settle between her shoulders, and his little golden eyes peeked out between the turned peaks of her tall ears, meeting Ryu eye to eye.

Staring back, Ryu couldn't help but feel that darkness run along his spine as those golden eyes touched at the memory of that dream, that funeral. Even Enry tightened a little as the shadow passed over them both. "So we got lost, and you had to come find us, eh?" He smirked, thinking about what Aaron had been saying. "Just in time."

"Yeah, now I really hate you." Kay said. She lifted her head from Aaron's shoulder and nodded to the wolf, "You're looking well, little mother."

Thank you, the wolf said. Her golden eyes passed over Katia, who sat wide-eyed and so still that it seemed as if she was holding her breath. One sees that one's pack has grown. Her gaze landed on Aaron this time and gave a little canine tilt to her head. Again.

"It is one's nature to aid those in need," Aaron said, motioning to Katia, "and one often finds that such actions beneficial."

"You people keep becoming stranger and stranger." Her body relaxed, the coiled tension of barely restrained action slowly released. With her companion's familiarity with the creature, she realized there was little to no risk.

Spencer cocked an eyebrow. "Nothing strange about a wolf leading us to our destiny," he quipped in a been there, seen it tone of voice. "You should have seen the last place she took us."

Katia gave Spencer a quizzical look, but Aaron cut in, "Let's save that story for another day, why don't we?" He slid off his seat and pulled Kaye to her feet. "Unless anyone has objections, I'd say we should be moving on."

Spencer nodded. "Yeah. Let's get going."

"Yeah..." Ryu watched the little macaque as it shifted about with the standing of its mount. Both he and his symbiotic partner had that unsettling feeling, but it was too late to say "maybe we this wasn't such a good idea." It probably wouldn't have gone over very well. "Lets..."

Rachael and the macaque padded through away from the clearing, Ryu close behind and the rest nearby in tow. As before their surroundings couldn't have seemed more similar. In fact each of them remarked, though not aloud, that they swore that they had already been here. That was, until the trail broke open before them, revealing a valley that couldn't have been there the last time they had hiked the route.

Looking down they saw the snowy white temple nestled down between fork of a river. The Macaque looked back over his shoulder. 95% to go...

Where Ryu's homecoming in Nepal had been bright and energetic, providing a well-deserved and much needed rest stop, the ashram at the end of the trail that snaked its way down the mountainside seemed to be cast in a half-light. Not quite shadow, and certainly not the pall that had hung over the temple in the Andes, but something was off, and they could each feel it.

They finally reached the main gate, tall and imposing. The heavy doors stood slightly ajar. The macaque hopped from the big wolf's back and scampered over and through the doors. Rachael, however stood her ground, her ears perched forward with ruff of her shoulders bristling. Her posture did not go unnoticed by the rest of her pack.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Aaron said to no one in particular.

"If it's a, 'That's no moon, it's a space-station,' bad feeling, then I'm right there with you."

Ryu felt it too. His constant companion was giving chills, that tingle running down his spine like ice water. He still wasn't even sure what it was they were looking for, even after all this time and all those miles. What they were supposed to find eluded him. Now it was just meters away, and that sinking feeling was becoming unshakable. "I appreciate you all helping me get this far...," the dapper detective said as he approached that cracked doorway, "but I wouldn't blame anybody from staying out here"

"We've come this far together. We're not going to turn back in the last minute." Spencer put his hand on the dapper detective's shoulder and squeezed it. He smirked a little, "Let's solve this mystery..."

The blonde Russian shrugged lightly. "I have come to notice my situation does not seem to get worse by staying with you." The fingers stretching from beneath the white plaster flexed. "It would make me unworthy if I let you walk into the dark alone when you saved me from my own."

Kaye has slipped an arm around Aaron's waist. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft, but full of conviction. "You helped me get back the most important thing in my life. There's nothing I can do to repay that, Roo... but I can do my best to chip away at the debt. In for a penny..."

"Like you really need to ask."

Running his palm down the golden crest on the open door, the Dapper Detective nodded. "Thanks." His fingers curled around that heavy wood edge and pulled it back. There would be no turning back now.

The inner courtyard was much the same as the others they had seen, but it seemed considerably more lively. The trees were neatly sculpted. Fruit hung from their perfect branches of the cherry trees, their soft pink petals flowing in the breeze and not a single one fallen. The stone paths weren't the slightest bit overgrown. The torii gate way stood tall over the center path that lead up to the main hall, it's curved rails along the top connecting the two pilliars casting a shadow down toward them. It's brilliant red sheen looked as though it may have been painted just yesterday.

The macaque stood beneath its arch. It looked up the steps that lead to the haiden, the main hall that separated them from the shrine's most sacred building: the honden. It's grand sweeping tiled roofs with their intricate designs and forked wooden finials were similar enough to the others to feel familiar, but they were distinct - more ornate.

This place was special. And eerily quiet.

"No zombies," Ryu said, a little bit of levity trying to lighten that heavy silence that seemed to settle in the tree swaying breeze. "That's a good sign."

"Swanky digs," Spencer said, taking in the differences here compared to the other ashrams. "Sights like this always made me wonder about those vows of poverty religious folk are always on about."

"You mean like the Catholic Church and Vatican City?" Kaye commented as they moved along the path.

"Exactly," he nodded, "what's God need with all that money?"

"Perception," Aaron said, not looking at anyone, but rather sweeping the surroundings with his eyes. Somewhere, beyond the walls a flight of birds rose into the air. Excited flapping and raucous calls spoke to having been startled, but by what? "Most people prefer the window dressing over the message."

Ryu looked back, that fluttering sound catching his ear. He saw nothing, but that chill only sunk its fingers in deeper. "These shrines aren't about the lavishness of the people that came to worship." Turning back the snow monkey was on the move once more. He watched the macaque as it hopped up the steps into the haiden and its open entryway. "It is about paying homage to the grandness of the kami to which it was dedicated, painstakingly built to honor their spirit, so that that spirit may help guide them."

He paused before following their strange guide, instead crouching down beside a stone fountain. He bowed a little to the dragon statue that stood guard over the basin. He took the bamboo ladle and used it to rinse his hands over the gravel that surrounded the purification trough. Bent over he cupped the water with his hands and rinsed his mouth in the same manner, spitting it out over the side. It was a ritual he had done hundreds of times. Probably thousands, but not in years. Every action touched at his memories.

Spencer walked up and stood by the the fountain, unsure of what to do. He'd watched Ryu's actions but didn't know if he should follow suit or if that would be somehow disrespectful.

Ryu looked over his shoulder to friend. "Tradition is that you cleanse yourself before entering a shrine..." he said, answering Spencer's unasked question.

The enigmatic investigator nodded, performing the ritual just as Ryu had. He stepped up next to his friend to allow the others their turn at the fountain. Katia and Kaye joined them shortly, with Aaron bringing up the rear. Curiously, the blue-ruffed wolf padded to the fountain and performed an oddly un-wolfish genuflection.

The wolf's ebony claws tik-tacked on the wooden steps leading into the haiden. Ryu looked at her with a raised brow. One must always pay proper respects, she said, as though it explained everything.

We must be moving on. She said, moving through the group to fall in behind the macaque. Time draws closer.

"What is time to a wolf?" Aaron said in a quiet voice.

This time it was Spencer that raised a questioning brow, "Wassat?"

"Just voicing a little concern is all." He looked around at each of them. "You three traveled with her for a while. When was the last time she was worried about a timetable?"

"Since..." He shook his head.

"Never." Ryu stood by the wooden box that separated them from the opening to the main hall. He watched as she disappeared inside its shadows. "It's always been about 'when the time is right, the time is right'..."

He rapped his knuckle on the round metal gong that hung above it, its low ringing tone echoing softly off the silence that embraced them. He reached into his pocket and dropped a few coins into the offering box and bowed twice. Clapping his hands he bowed again, this time with closed eyes, staying bent a few moments. He wasn't sure what think, what to pray for... or even to whom he was. If Enry knew, he was keeping that buzzing in his skull quiet about it. What do you ask of the darkness?

Keep them from harm. Today and the days that follow... He opened his eyes and stood. And I wouldn't mind getting out of this alive either...

"We're good," a jog of the head beckoned the rest to follow on in. As the small band of travelers joined him on the steps he gave one last hesitant look to the still open doors of darkly stained cypress. Enry started itching along his spine down to his fingertips with that sense of foreboding... The fan was spinning. He turned and disappeared into the haiden.

The group passed through the haiden noting with passing interest that there was very little ornamentation to be found; quite the contrary to a Western house of worship. There seemed to fall over them an almost reverential quiet, with the only noise being their own on the polished wooden floors. Their simian guide scrambled forward, leading the way with Rachael not far behind.

The haiden was of impressive size. A fact aided, no doubt, by the spartan nature of the building. They passed through another set of doors that opened to a smaller courtyard. A gravel path, flanked on each side by a meticulously manicured lawn, lead directly to the honden. On the path, between the two buildings, stood an ancient-looking monk. He surveyed the group, taking special interest in the macaque and the wolf before his eyes finally came to rest on Ryu.

"<Explain your intrusion>..." The tongue was Japanese, a strange dialect even upon Ryu's ears, but the words rang clear in their minds. Either way it was heard, the old monk was clearly annoyed.

"We've been traveling some time to get here," he replied, still not sure what "here" was. "And we've been halfway around the world to do it. Through the Rockies. Over the Andes and the Himalayas... All lead to this spot."

He regarded each of them again, slowly. "Feh..." His eyes fell to the macaque that sat at the dapper detective's feet. "<This is what you bring? You risk everything for this sad... pack?>"

Ryu's eyes narrowed. It had taken a moment for the recognition to set in. "Saishuu Yotogi no Seki..." This was the man whose funeral he had "witnessed"...

"<Do you think you know me, boy?>" Yotogi's jaw set. His annoyance had given away to condescension. "<You happen upon a few Mountain Temples and think you have knowledge? You don't even know where you are>..."

That tone was starting to get under his skin. "I don't claim to have any knowledge. But I have wisdom enough to admit what I don't know without arrogance." Capin strode forward without hesitation. They hadn't come all this way, suffered through all they had to be talked down to like this.

"<We did not happen upon any ashram. As this hoden's caretaker, you know better than to think that is even possible.>" He dropped into the dialect that he had been raised in. He knew the man would understand and perhaps it might send the added message he wanted to get across. "<I happen to know one of them very well>..."

"<You know nothing!>" Yotogi spat. "<You are not the one who's destiny was revealed to me. You are not fit to bear the honor.">

"So just because things didn't turn out the way you expected, that gives you the right to be insulting?" Aaron's voice boomed across the courtyard.

"Honey..." Kay started, but it was too late.

Aaron's boots crunched in the gravel as he moved to stand next to Ryu. The wolf and the macaque, paced him, Rachael staying by his side and the downy monkey falling in beside Ryu. "I can think of no one better suited to bear the honor that has been placed upon this man."

"Thanks, man."

"No problem."

The ancient monk's eyes burned into Aaron for a moment before dropping to the wolf. "<Your champion forgets his place in this matter.>" He held the wolf's eyes for a moment before a movement drew them away. The macaque scampered up Ryu's body like a tree and lit on the dapper detective's shoulder. It was if Yotogi had been physically struck when the significance of the action dawned upon him. He staggered back a step, reaching out with a shaking hand.

And your pride clouds your judgment. The time is at hand, our enemies have already breached the gates of this temple.

Spencer spun on his heels and rushed back into the haiden. He returned moments later with eyes wide. "Um, yeah... Ninja army and some dude in a really shiny white suit." he reported.

"<Fools!>" Yotogi still looked shaken, but the condescension crept back into his voice. "<You have lead the enemy here!>"

"Shiny white suit..." With his cowl bleeding over his face, Ryu shot Aaron a knowing look. "The White Rabbit." The cape dropped from his shoulders. The edges of his thoughts tugged at those memories of his encounter with the Sharp Dressed Man. He'd barely gotten off of that boat alive, even when Bluewolf had shown up to help pull his fat out of the fire. "Nobody touches him, nobody goes near the guy in the white suit."

Spence chuckled nervously, "Aye, aye, cap'n. That only leaves, uh..." He paused to look back through the haiden to the approaching force, "maybe twenty each for the rest of us."

"<You will protect the honden at all costs!>" spat their host. "<You may not be worthy of the mantle to which you bear but you will do its duty."

"Will you please shut up," Capin shouted back over his shoulder. His eyes caught the movement as figures shuffled through the walkways of the haiden. They were surrounded. "Spence, Kat? Watch the left flank. You two check the right..."

Slowly a bright figure emerged from the shadows of the haiden's doorway. Much in the way Capin's dark cape ate the shadows of darkness, the man bright white suit seemed to draw the sunlight down to him. Even his stick cane practically glowed with that shimmer. "Why, my dear Capin," he grinned with perfect teeth, those crystal blue eyes twinkling. "You look positively bothered to see me."

"Generally I like surprises, Rabbit." Ryu strolled forward. "But no , I can't say that I'm happy to see you."

"What did you expect?" The hurt expression he put on was forced, exaggerated. "That I would send you on this trip and not want to see how it ended?" He shook his head. "Tsk tsk, little brother."

"So you're the one who set the beasts loose on the reservation?"

"As much as I would like to take that credit, I cannot," Rabbit said. "That little bit of genius was generated somewhere else within the bowels TAROT. Nasty business that... Of course, the news of your reemergence caused quite a stir within levels of the Major Arcana. Maybe when all this is behind us, you can regale me with the tale."

"Sorry, my social calendar is full up."

"I don't doubt that it is." Rabbit turned his attentions to the wolf, giving her a polite nod. And how is it with you, Little Sister?

One finds themselves content. The she-wolf replied. It is not too late to turn from the path one has chosen.

Rabbit sighed as he took off his hat and when he spoke, his voice was strangely melancholy, "I'm afraid it's a little too late for me at this point Little Sister." Rachael dipped her head in acknowledgment and Rabbit carefully set his fedora back in place. When his eyes met theirs again, his face was impassive once again. "You are hopelessly outnumbered, even for the considerable talents your group possesses."

"<You too?>" This time when the monk spoke it was with disgusted sadness. "<The world corrupted... The shrine's honor, destroyed...>"

There is no honor lost in adapting to change, aged one. Only in adapting to change is one able to fight back corruption.

"Forget it, luv. There's no moving that rubber tree plant."

The macaque slid down Capin's cape and scampered aside as the Dapper Detective approached the sharp dressed man. "Brought an army."

"I would have come alone, but," he shrugged. "Everybody's has to work for somebody. You. Me. The monkey and the Dog. Even that poor, deluded, old man back there answers to a higher power." A grin came over those perfect white teeth. "Mine just puts extra emphasis on the "power" part."

"Well," that black material inked over his fingers as they closed into fists. His lip curled into that familiar smirk, "If they thought they needed this army I'd hate to disappoint them..." He leapt across the spance between them, cape spread wide. The Rabbit dropped into a defensive stance, ready for the inevitable series of blows that would come.

"I'm open to suggestions here," Spencer yelled. Commandos poured into the courtyard on each side, cutting off any escape.

"Don't get dead." Aaron replied from where we stood. It was an exchange he'd adopted from Eddy and Andy, a sort of macho "I love you, man" with less inebriation involved. The significance was lost on Spence, along with his reply, as the commandos moved in. Kaye has transformed and was doing well enough to keep her quarter at bay, but Rabbit was right, the odds were definitely not in their favor.

Her companions preparing for battle, Katia did the same. Frost crept up her arms and the air around her dropped in temperature, leaving a trail of chill in her path as she walked out of the building. She made a single minded path towards that stone basin filled with ammunition beyond the moisture in the air. She would need much more than vapor to fight along side the others.

All around him a river of black and Kevlar poured over the open windows and across the neatly tended garden. The din was barely a whisper in Capin's ears. All he saw was the white and silver of his opponent. It flashed about him with swift attacks which he returned in kind. A good student, Capin dodged as much as he could. He remembered the sting of even blocking the sharp dressed man's attacks, those jagged needles that seemed to puncture through every contact.

"You've gotten better since last we met." The Rabbit grinned. His fist slashed across Ryu's jaw, knuckles painting red as it tore his skin.

"You noticed." Capin rolled with the punch, spinning around and cracking his foot hard against the white clad man's chest sending him skidding backwards into the steps. "You've gotten cockier." He didn't relent, didn't give the intruder a moment to recoup. He was on him in a flash of black. Enry keeping his attacks sharp and quick, forcing him to keep on the defensive, not letting him take a moment to even attempt a blow.

The others were managing as best they could against the sheer volume of attackers, but they were being pressed back step-by-step to the honden. The clouds above grew dark and swirled dangerously all around them. Aaron looked around. One moment, the wolf that was his avatar was there, and in the next she blinked from sight.

Her clothes completely soaked, Kat was finally forced away from the basin she had been flinging jagged frozen shards from. The water in her shirt hardened into a solid barrier of ice just before a fist hammered into her side from an unblocked opponent, shattering knuckles as they came into contact and littering the ground with her chipped armor. Even the multi-disciplined Russian was failing in her effort to beat back the hoard, her cast halving the girl's lethal power.

For Capin, even landing blows felt like getting hit. It was something in his suit. It hadn't taken much to put two and two together. The suspicion had hit him back in Chili at the cursed Ashram. The White Rabbit was like him, that suit of his that bit at every collision just a counterpart to his own cape and cowl that cut back. It was why his fighting style was familiar. Why he knew every move so well. And why their companions seemed to effect each other so easily.

The Rabbit found his opening and kicked Ryu back. His stick spun in a white blur and swung down, cracking loudly across the back of the Dapper Detective's skull. Stars blinded him, and he felt the wetness thick in his hair. It was like getting smacked with a mace. Doubling forward, Capin tried catching himself, but his balance was thrown. The Rabbit followed through with a Willow's Whisper that slicked across his jaw.

Blood filled his teeth and he rushed headlong back into the fury of attacks. His fist struck straight up into the man's jaw chin, Lightning Strikes From the Ground. The hat fell back from the man's forehead, showing those blue eyes wincing. Enry sucked in the pain as he wrapped around the man's face, gripped him tight and swung him about, lofting him into the air.

Spence watched three TAROT men converge on him. The familiar tingling-and-tunnel vision effect kicked in again, and he moved along the path it suggested.

Arms and feet moving in controlled flailing, he managed to disarm two men, scooping up the pistol dropped by one and grabbing a tonfa from the other's hands. Sliding the gun into his pocket, he spun the club in his hand. It felt a lot like the night sticks he was trained with at the police academy. Even so, having a familiar weapon in his hands did little to even the odds.

The whirl of orange and black that was Tigris had left a ring of bleeding wounded on the ground around her. Still, TAROT commandos continued to press. One of the more industrious individuals slipped the SMG from around his back and took aim. He failed to notice that the barrel had frozen over before pulling the trigger. The gun exploded in a shower of plastic and metal, pitching the gunman to the ground. Tigris looked across the field and caught Katia's eye. They nodded to one another before falling back into the fray.

Aaron was holding his own, fending off several foes at once. He was concerned for what had happened to the wolf. It was unlike her to leave them in a situation like this. A concussive kick to the chest launched one of his opponents into two more that were oncoming. The move left him momentarily open, an opportunity his attackers did not waste.

The butt of an SMG connected with Aaron's jaw, filling his mouth with a metallic taste and his eyes with stars. Almost immediately, a knee was driven into his mid-section, forcing the air from his lungs and dropping him to the ground. He rolled away, avoiding a second butt-stroke. Coming up on one knee, Aaron thought he noticed a blueish blur to one side. He swept his leg out, connecting with the knee of the TAROT soldier that had clubbed him. A solid-sounding crunch put the man on the ground and a follow-up heel strike to the face, put the man out of action.

Getting to his feet, Aaron risked another look around. He noticed not only one, but several blueish blurs within the host of enemies. Then a voice rang inside his head, One is most put out that one would believe to have been abandoned. The She-wolf's tone was admonishing, and despite the situation, Aaron felt embarrassed. One merely needed time to get help.

Further explanation became unnecessary, as all through the fight, the azure mists suddenly coalesced into figures. One - a phantom knight in full armor, mounted on a huge war horse and armed with lance and shield - charged its way through the ranks toward Katia. The commandos fell away from the specter's path like newly mown wheat. A second mounted man, this one by all appearances a mongol warrior, slashed its way in Spencer's direction. The seemingly insubstantial saber passed through the TAROT soldiers without leaving a mark, but the men dropped to the ground in the warrior's wake as though their puppet stings had been cut.

Several more phantoms - a Native American, soldiers from the Revolutionary War, WWI and WWII, a Scottish Highlander - and few others too obscure to identify joined in to take some of the weight from the rest.

As the battle raged, no one was immune. Saishu Yotogi fought with a brilliant grace and fury that sent all of the black clad agents of TAROT careening backward. Even surrounded by the likes of the others, he fought for the honden's safety with the strength and vigor that was unrivaled. And he landed each and every blow with a curse of the tongue, damning every soul that had trespassed upon such sacred ground.

A single eye watched his fluid movements carefully, blocked occasionally by the series of bodies that jumped into view. Small distractions to the man's focus. A few clicks of the scope zoomed in nice and close. His finger tickled along that crescent trigger and patiently waited for that moment.

Yotogi dropped an assailant onto the path with an open palm strike. "<Worthless dog. Your soul will rot in the bowels of the Hell of the Arrogant->"

CRACK

The sniper's shot thundered through the roar of battle. Yatogi felt the sharp bite and stumbled before limply collapsing backwards. The Barret .50 caliber round punched through the door like it was balsa. As the ancient monk landed on his back nobody heard the clay pot that shattered within.

by **Kardiac** on 13 Nov 2009 11:02

It was late evening when Kardiac arrived at the air field, hiw bike growling as it cut through the night. The sudden silence as he cut the engine seemed emphasized by the chill of the night air. The moon was a sliver and the cloud cover thick, painting a blackness across the sky cut only by the willowy, haze-reflected light of the hangar's security lamps. Faith was waiting for him when he arrived, and he noted to himself that it was the first time he'd let her arrive before him. There must have been significance in there somewhere.

The South Winds air field was ten miles outside the limits, Southeast of Garrison City. It wasn't the ideal place to meet a black helicopter, but it wasn't Strategoi H.Q., and that sat well with him. He was still intent on keeping Faith out of sights of the Organization as a whole. Jenna and Marcus were different... they were friends. He trusted them with her identity. But the big-picture Government was another matter entirely.

She waved as he approcahed, and he noticed that she hadn't entered the hangar on her own. He smiled slightly at the thought that he was still "needed" in that capacity. She clearly had the confidence to arrive on her own, but she hadn't flown so far from the 'nest' that entering that approaching the mission without him had crossed her mind. That was good, because it would give him a moment before they were surrounded by scrutiny, and he wanted to give her one more chance to bow out.

He knew that she wouldn't... but he knew that it would annoy her if he offered her the chance. He stopped just in front of her and took her by the shoulders, leaning in and smelling her hair before tilting her to one side and sniffing her neck. Aside from her face, it was the only visible skin on her body, and he smiled at that fact, since he'd specifically told Jenna to make sure the bare midriff was not an accessory of her new uniform.

"You don't smell pretty," he said with a smirk. He gave her a mischievous look. "Must have nearly killed a pretty girl like you, using unscented soap and shampoo...."

Before she could even stop to appreciate that maybe this was just his way of helping her relax and get past her nervousness, Faith giggled. Then, with a almost convincing pout, she gave him a little shove. "It's horrible" she sighed tragically. But even without girly scents, she couldn't keep from smiling. "But look at this!" Taking a step back from him she held out her arms and did a little turn so he could see her new uniform from all angles. "Isn't it amazing? I feel like some sexy spy or something."

"You look amazing," Kardiac replied, adding, "And you aren't 'asking to get shot in the stomach' anymore...," with a smirk.

"But I have such a nice stomach," she laughed, feeling considerably better now that he was here with her. Waiting alone in the shadow of that hangar had been nerve-wracking, to say the least. They were ready... suited up and as prepared for this as possible, she thought. But the redhead didn't mind waiting outside for a little bit longer. "So I couldn't decide what was worse: not eating and letting my stomach growl while I was trying to be stealthy and invisible or eating something and risking throwing up on you while we plummet through the sky," she only half teased.

Eddy thought about it for a second, before opening one of his concealed pockets and pulling out a chewy, chocolate-chip granola bar. He tossed it to her, smiling. "Eat this... it'll keep your strength up, keep your stomach quiet, and it's brutally unlikely to make you nauseous." He looked at her face again, studying the mask. "Light-responsive lenses... excellent," he continued. "Low lite enhancement and flash suppression... Jen -- Agent Fairchild does good work."

Smirking through a mouthful of granola bar, Faith nodded her agreement. "They can do all that?" she asked once her mouth was finally empty again. "And here I thought they just made my eyes look good." Behind that mask, her eyes twinkled with a form of nervous energy. She glanced down at her uniform again then looked back up at him with a raised eyebrow. "What else does it do? Other than make me look prettier than you?"

"That's not the suit," he said, smirking.

"It's made of a composite Kevlar weave... it'll stop anything short of a high-cal armor-piercing rifle round, but I promise it'll still hurt like Hell and leave a bruise to impress your boyfriend with." He smiled, taking another opportunity to rub in catching her off guard on the rooftop a couple of days back. "It's temperature controlled, so it'll stand up to cold and heat up to a house fire for short periods of time. And..." he added with a wink, "it's insulated, though you still don't want a live wire to touch bare skin."

Eddy smiled. "It's also GPS encoded... though that's turned off for tonight. All GPS will be handled through our communicators, so we can turn them on and off as needed."

He held up a hand as it looked like she was about to ask a question. "They don't have the ability to activate your suit's GPS encoding...," he said, holding up a palm-pilot type computer. "You're the only one who can turn it on, and I have the only interface unit... so I can locate you if you ever need me."

"And how do I turn it on?" she asked, eyeing the small computer as if it might bite. "I mean, if I get to choose when..." It wasn't that she didn't want him to know where she was. That part was actually rather comforting. It was simply a desire to be past the point of surprises. These were high-tech toys and high stakes. The last thing she wanted to do was mess anything up because she didn't know how it worked or something. "And if I turn it on and you have the only thing that can find me... how are they going to get me out? Or is that something else?"

Eddy smiled slightly. "I, um, had that little gizmo installed for after this op... for future use if you ever need it. The GPS Marcus will use is the one in your communicator. That one comes on automatically if the comm is turned on. As for the one hard-wired in the suit, it's activated by pressing the crystal just to the right of the belt buckle." He didn't tell her about the remote activation code, but that was, after all, a 'just in case' failsafe, and it wasn't like he was planning to use it to spy on her or anything. That argument could wait until after-the-fact, if it ever became necessary.

"I just wanted a way to be there for you if you ever needed backup," he added, smiling. You know... my overdeveloped sense of responsibility...." Not wanting to dwell on it too long, he switched the topic to the other, mission-essential GPS device. "The communicator works just like the one you're used to. We're going to keep them off until evac, so that we don't alert Tower of our locations. Just flip the switch to turn it on and both the comms and the GPS will activate."

He paused for a second and made sure to look her straight in the eyes as he, once again, shifted the subject. "I need you to promise me something."

"When the guards show up to 'capture' me," he said with a wink, hoping the gesture would take the edge off of the subject since he knew this was her least favorite part of the plan. "Stick to the plan. No matter what you see them do to me, you stay out of sight, don't interfere, and you follow the guard who goes to report to Tower... this city is far more important than my oh-so-pretty face."

Behind the fancy new mask, her fiery brows knit with concern. About a million 'buts' entered her mind but she knew he'd have an answer for every single one of them. "I promise." The words were forced but she did mean them. Absently toying with the GPS crystal on her belt, she gave a sigh. "I'd still rather have a city with your oh-so-pretty face in it."

Her imagination had already been running wild, picturing all the horrible things bad people could possibly do to him. But, alarmingly, that hadn't been her worst nightmare. "Did we ever get any hints on what I'm supposed to be listening for? What details are the most important." She bit her lip, the fear of failing him --and everyone else-- coming into the light. "I mean, it seems like a lot is riding on my memory... since I can't record what I'm hearing or anything."

Eddy nodded. "The most important thing is the identity of his contact... with that information, Strategoi can move mountains." He frowned slightly, clearly running through some thoughts in his head and attempting to organize or prioritize them. "Aside from that, any other names that are said... placenames of drop points... those are the things that will really matter in the long run." Not sure himself what the conversation was going to be about, he tried to think of his past forays into eavesdropping on traffickers, trying to recall what was useful to him.

"Oh! Numbers... you hear any phone numbers or passcodes, those are probably the most important 'incidental' information you can get." He pursed his lips briefly. "But Strat is most interested in Tower's contact... so if you get that info, and things look rough, get out while you can... nothing you could learn in that room is more valuable than you are."

"But if things look smooth I should stay as long as I can, right?" She was chewing on her lip again, doing her best not to seem totally overwhelmed. "Or will it..." Faith paused, trying to phrase her concern in a away that would avoid the whole 'the city is more important than me' speech. "I know you won't let them pull you until after I'm out. So if I linger because I'm hearing lots of important things and feel totally safe... will... will that make things worse for you?"

Kardiac smiled. "Darlin', I'm going to be keeping Tower's mind on the world outside his little secure room, so he doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to any possible threat within... a.k.a. 'you'." He walked over to Faith and put his right hand on her left shoulder, still smiling. "I said I was gonna let them capture me... we need them to do that so one of his guards will go open the door you need to walk through." With a wink, he added. "I never said I was gonna let 'em 'keep' me...."

Faith smiled and rested her cheek on his hand for a moment. "Okay. I promise I won't bring it up again. But after we're all done with this..." She couldn't think up an appropriate threat... but it would be something good. Something to make up for the worry and all the information he'd managed to keep from her.

"When we're done, you can torment me all you want, okay?" he asked with a smirk. "I promise, you know everything I do about the op, and I know you've been well-trained by the absolute best the city has to offer,"[kard] he continued, a little more mirth coming into his smile as he delivered that last line.

He bent down slightly so their eyes were level, and put his hands palm-flat on his thighs to support the pose. [kard]"I'll have your back. I know that means something to you," Eddy added matter-of-factly. "But what you may not realize is that I also know you'll have mine... and you'd be surprised how confident that makes me. I'm trusting you with life... more importantly, I'm trusting you with my city. There's no higher value I can place on a person. So put a smile on that face... we've got butts to kick and names to take."

How could she not smile at that? Throwing her arms around him in a quick, impulsive hug, the redhead gave an almost completely confident laugh. "You do the butt part and I'll do the names part." Linking her arm through his, she took a sort of skipping half-step toward the hangar. There was nothing more they could do out here. "Let's go then."

Twenty minutes later, Eddy and Faith were closer than they'd ever been before. Of course, that's because Faith was strapped to Eddy's chest via several heavy, locking carabiners. The straps that linked them contained a quick break-away system requiring someone with enhanced strength to operate, so there wouldn't be any chance of separation until he was ready A heavy parachute-pack was strapped to his back, it's translucent contents stored tightly within.

Jenna was standing in front of them as they held onto rings of leather by the drop plane's main hatch. "This is a High-Altitude, High-Opening jump," she shouted above the sound of the screeching wind and creaking metal. The words were aimed at Kardiac, but meant more for Sylph. After all, Eddy had been practicing this for weeks... she didn't know if Faith had ever jumped before. "You'll open the 'chute above cloud cover. It's made of a translucent material, so it should be nearly sentry-proof. Once you're in sight of your destination, cut the 'chute and pull the primary release on the wingsuit."

And that was were Eddy groaned a little to himself, hoping Faith couldn't feel the sound through two sheets of Kevlar mesh. He wasn't fond of skydiving, didn't like parachutes, but he really hated the wingsuit. "Once you touch down, pull the secondary release to disconnect the tandem straps... that'll also detach the wings. You'll need to do this before entering any kind of landing roll or you could find yourself bound up tighter than a ball of twine."

Eddy smiled. "We've been through this a dozen times," he shouted, trying to look more confident than he felt. This was the first tandem jump he'd ever done as the "expert," and he wasn't feeling overly sure of himself. Still... he had two lives in his hands, and he was determined not to lose either of them. "Don't worry," he added. "It's me!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Fairchild answered. She leaned around to where Faith couldn't see her face, and kissed Eddy in a terribly unprofessional manner. "You still owe me dinner!"

"I'd never let a lady go hungry," he answered with a wink and a smile. He turned his head forward and leaned in towards Faith. He shouted a little less loudly with his mouth next to her ear. "You ready?" he asked. But before she could answer, he wrapped his arms around her waist and threw them both out of the plane.

The redhead's scream was lost to the wind. After several agonizing seconds of being sure they were going to die, she opened one eye... then the other. Thanks to the lenses in her mask, Faith was able to watch the city rushing up at her with relative comfort. It was almost exhilarating... in a terrifying sort of way. Noting that her mentor felt slightly more rigid than she'd ever noticed before, she risked a few seconds of conversation and shouted back over the wind, "You don't like this, do you?"

Eddy frowned... he'd been trying to hide it. This one was way too perceptive. "I hate this," he said, flatly but matter-of-factly. He never had fully understood the thrill some people got from jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. But more than anything, he hated showing a lack of confidence at anything before a mission like this one... especially to the one person who he felt needed to see him at his strongest in that moment. After a beat, he continued, hoping his words would help alleviate any tension his reservations may have created. "If God had meant me to fly, He'd have had me bitten by a radioactive hummingbird."

As planned, he pulled the parachute release only a few seconds into their freefall, releasing the primary chute. To his surprise, it popped, unfolded, and immediately began to slow their descent. He was, of course, expecting it to fail. Then the back-up would fail, and he'd do the chivalrous thing and flip them around so he'd hit the ground first and leave her with a prettier corpse. But, alas, his fatalism proved unfulfilled as the translucent material pulled taut and flipped them around so that their feet were pointed towards the ground. God, he hated skydiving. Still, he had a duty to perform and a mystique to maintain, even though he was certain that by now the girl knew him a Hell of a lot better than most people.

"Well, damn," he said, smirking. "The 'chute worked... looks like we'll have to go through with the op after all."

She was grinning into the wind, already starting to see the appeal of skydiving as a whole... and picturing him with hummingbird wings. Skydiving for fun, rather than as preparation for an insanely serious mission, could probably be somewhat liberating. The redhead decided she'd ask Charlie about it sometime. Since it was clear Eddy would never be doing this for pleasure. "Well if this is going too smoothly or something I could always start to panic and struggle. You know... if it would make you feel better."

"You can save the panic and struggle for after I cut the chute and we have to tandem the wing-suit," he answered, only half-kidding. He'd flown the stupid thing with her weight strapped to him, but never a real person... they tended to be a bit more... wiggly. Nevertheless, Eddy made a mental note to tell Jenna "no more wing-suits!" "No need to worry, though...," he added, smirking. "I've practiced dozens of times and my successful-landing ratio is well over fifty-fifty."

"Now I'm going to throw up on you." Being strapped to his body made it difficult to punch him. Turning her head toward his, Faith settled for making a face. Despite his somewhat amusing pessimism, she found that she wasn't really worried about the landing. This was just a new form of bonding... the worry part would come in after the straps were cut.

"Is there anything I should be doing to help?" she shouted after a moment. "Go limp? Go stiff? Say a prayer? Anything?"

"Trust me," Kardiac answered. The funny thing was that he knew she did... and that relazed him quite a bit just thinking about it. He let silence hang for a few seconds as they descended. They drifted down through the cloud cover, for a few moments surrounded by a sea of white haze. As they broke through, he looked out over the city, and finally spoke. "And... there you go," he said, directing her attention to the cityscape laying out before them.

With heavy clouds above them and darkness sparkling with light beneath them, it was almost like the where hanging upside down, falling up. Every streelamp and houselight was a star, buildings in the CBD like nebulae, as the city stretched out in all directions as far as he cared to see. A lot of people didn't understand the beauty of the city, but those were the ones who only ever saw it from the street... only thought of it with the eyes, and not their imaginations. To them, it was refuse drifting between buildings. To him, it was the universe... a miracle of man. "There's my girl...," he said, allowing himself a moment of wistfulness. "They don't make 'em any prettier."

"Oh..." Any words she might have had trailed off into silence. The lights from the city below, her home, reflected in the sudden tears in her eyes. It was beautiful. And she was fine with it being Eddy's... as long as he let her love it with him. Instinctively she turned her head, searching out the lake shore and the sprawling lawns that marked the edges of the estates of Garrison's elite. At this height the distance between the houses seemed so vast, almost excessive compared to the tight glow of lights from other parts of the city. But her house was somewhere in there and, despite the lavish overindulgence, she loved that part of town too.

He craned his head forward so he wouldn't have to yell quite so loudly to be heard. "She's who we're fighting for," he said in that matter-of-fact tone he used to convey complete confidence in his statement and its importance. The fell slowly for a few moments in silence, just taking in the breathtaking expanse of their home. After a long pause, Eddy wrapped both of his arms around her waist and once more placed his face as closely as he could to her ear. "Don't scream," he whispered, half in jest, then yanked his hands hard forward, pulling two small handles attached to two thin cords.

In half a heartbeat, the parachute cut away and in a sudden rush that made the city's lights turn to streaks, the two began to plummet once more towards the streets below.

This time, Faith screamed until she was out of breath. She had complete confidence in Eddy, in the high tech gear from Strategoi, in their mission itself... but none of that could override her physical reaction to seeing the city grow closer at such an alarming speed. As she paused for a breath, the redhead tried to refocus. Silently reciting the chord progression for rhythm changes to herself, Slyph drew a deep breath as she began to calm down. Soon they would land, or splat, on the top of the building... then it was time to get to work.

"I said 'don't scream'," Eddy shouted, trying not to laugh while recognizing the approaching need for stealth. He pulled the next release, breaking away the seams to his sides and releasing the wings. This was the part he dreaded, but he snapped out his arms and grabbed the handgrips anyway. After all, the alternative was falling to their deaths, so he had to do something. After a few seconds, the wind caught the wings and the pair began to glide through the air with Kardiac's uneasy steering carrying them across the city like a soaring night-hawk.

Eddy smirked. "See... I got this," he said with barely-veiling mock confidence. "Time for you to do your thing," he added, nudging her head with his forehead like a dog pushing its owner towards the water bowl. "Invisify us," he said, an look of faux innocence crossing his face. "Should be easy under these circumstances... no pressure at all."

"I'm going to bite you later." Her tone was surprisingly matter of fact. After all, he had been asking for it all evening. But, since the last thing she wanted was for anyone to doubt her ability to control herself even under terrifying circumstances, Faith closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

There was no change in sensation, no warmth or tingle. The proof that Sylph had them both in her power came from what they didn't see. Though she could still feel Eddy guiding them toward their destination, their bodies were gone. It was the first time she'd included him in her invisibility and she couldn't help but feel a little bit proud that it had gone so well. "Poof! You're invisified."

Not seeing Faith in front of him had an unexpected benefit. Eddy could see the city below them without having to change his perspective to look past her head. That meant steering would be a lot easier than he'd expected. It also, however, came with an unexpected complication... he couldn't see their feet -- especially her feet in front of his -- and that would make landing a bit more of a challenge. "Landing without being able to see ourselves is going to be... interesting," he said, wanting to ensure she was prepared for everything. "I want you to feel around with your feet... put your feet on top of mine, like a bad dancer on prom night. When we land, you roll to the left, I'll roll to the right so we don't tangle each other up."

"I'm assuming that separating from you by more than a few feet will make me visible again. That's fine with me... I don't mind playing target on the rooftop," he continued. "Be ready to roll when we hit, though, because we'll be coming in fast and I have to cut the wingsuit free before impact to avoid wrapping the two of us up into a useless burrito of justice." He couldn't help but smirk invisibly at his last comment. He knew she'd "see" the smirk even if her eyes couldn't, but he couldn't resist a joke to keep things light... especially since he wasn't entirely sure they'd survive the landing.

To try to push the odds in their favor, he closed his eyes for a moment and shifted his bioelectrical field around, taking a moment more to refocus his cardiovascular system. He pushed his stamina, agility, and strength all up a few notches, though affecting all three at the same time greatly limited the range by which he could overclock any one aspect. Still, it might be enough... even though he'd have to recover for a few minutes before he'd be channeling any bio-electricty after landing. Still... having an "after" was more important than being able to taser security guards.

Opening his eyes, he turned the two of them invisibly to the left, then began to descend. Their target was looming below them. "All right... we're going in."

Feeling around with her feet until she finally found his, Faith did her best not to stomp on his toes --if such a thing was even possible in mid-air. "I go left. You go right." She repeated his instructions with as much confidence as she could manage. She was used to the minor challenges that came with not being able to see herself but she had to admit, maybe they should have practiced this part at least once.

Though the thought of a burrito, even a justice filled one, was faintly nauseating at the moment, the invisible redhead tried to chuckle for him. Unfortunately, strapped together like this, she knew Eddy would take the motion for what it really was. She was trembling. "Here we go..."

Eddy wanted to put his hands on her shoulders and tell her that everything would be alright, like he used to do to Anna after they lost their mother. Unfortunately, seeing as his arms were currently guiding their fall, such a gesture would send them tumbling to their dooms... so he thought better of it. Instead, he did a wide circle around the top of the building, counting security personnel. "We've got four guards, two at the door and two at helipad. I'll put us down between the roof access and the 'copter to try to slow the response time on the helipad guards. They'll be to our left, so those are your targets. I'll take the door guards before they can sound the alarm."

Of course, all that required them to survive the landing, but Kardiac wasn't about to point that out. Sticking a landing, even a rolling one, one a rooftop wasn't something at which he was particularly skilled, nor something he wanted to become good at. Still, they'd have to roll to their feet and take out four guards before anyone could alert main building security... and that was challenging enough without all of the self-doubt. He was, after all, Kardiac... and his survival rate to-date had to stand for something.

Leaning forward, he began their final descent, noting the same to Faith just before taking the action. Fore-warned was fore-armed, after all. As they approached the rooftop. he threw his feet down, suddenly slowing their fall, but only to about the speed of a motorcycle on city streets. Still... he'd managed those kinds of spill before and walked away from them. Dropping his arms to his sides, he pulled the final release cords, breaking away the wings and simultaneously releasing the tandem straps that held he and Sylph together. This was it... time to begin.

His feet hit the roof harder than he'd hoped, and he dropped foreward. It was part of the plan, but he got the feeling it would have happened anyway. He rolled to the right, making as much noise as he could muster since the invisibility field was already fading from him. The first of the door guards was down before they even had time to fulling realize they were under attack. The second actually managed to avoid Kardiac's first attack, a stunned dodge barely swinging him out of the path of the vigilante's fist.

The landing was hard and there was no way she could roll away from it gracefully, or quietly. But, worse than being so suddenly back on solid ground was the feeling of separation. No longer strapped to her mentor's body, Faith found it more than a little disconcerting that she couldn't even say anything to him until they finished their work. She was on her own now, doing her job as he did his. And while her body might have liked to have a moment or two to recover, Sylph managed to regain her footing and began to run toward toward her two guards. They were already on the move, heading to help their companions with the lone intruder who had so suddenly, and noisily, appeared. Unfortunately, they never made it to their target.

Someday, Sylph hoped for the chance to watch a video of herself in action. It wasn't vanity, precisely; she was just sure it would be a somewhat comical sight. Like right now... the first of the armed guards stumbled forward, tripping as his feet tangled themselves together for no apparent reason. The second guard doubled over suddenly, stopping short as an invisible baton slammed into his stomach. Not particularly feeling any need to be subtle --and annoyed that she had to keep her mouth shut-- the redhead brought her hittin' stick down on the head of one then whirled with a fierce kick or two to finish off the guard she'd tripped. If nothing else, having so many bodies on the ground made Kardiac look really impressive. But since she couldn't say anything to him, Faith simply bit her lip and did what she had to do. Wait.

The sudden, invisible attacks upon his fellow rooftop guards caused a brief distraction for the second of the door guards. Caught a bit aback as a results, he turned his head to glance in their direction. That was all the opening Kardiac needed. Leaving the guard on the ground to nurse a nasty bruise come morning, he turned to the door and let his bio-pattern return to normal. Gathering his strength with several deep breaths, he reached out and fried the electronic lock with a directed jolt of bio-electricity. He used the crackling and popping sound to mutter a quiet "Nice work, darlin'" before opening the door.

He held his hand out flat behind him as the elevator doors opened to wave Faith off. He hadn't enetered yet, and it looked like he wasn't about to. He knelt down outside of the elevator and waved his free hand low over the floor. After doing so, he took both hands and waved them along the door jamb and inside outer walls. "Nice trick," he said. Dropping his pack to the floor, he pulled out a magnetic clamp and a rapelling cable. Running the cable through the clamp, he threw the latter up until it "clunked" against something inside the shaft. He then dropped the cable through the elevator floor.

"Hologram," he said, smiling mischivously. "Nasty first step," he added as he took the rope in both hands, stepped through the elevator floor, and began to lead his invisible companion down the elevator shaft and down to the second-to-top floor of the building. He placed his feet on either side of the door crease and focused on electrostatic adhesion. Once his feet were duly stuck to the doors, he used his legs to force the doors open, dropping down out of sight as the elevator guards turned in confusion. As they looked into the shaft, he dropped one with a taser wire.

The second guard began to backpedal, but the vigilante didn't let him get far. Swinging himself up, he grabbed the guards ankles and pulled, flipping the man onto his back. A quick rabbit punch followed by a light current put the guard down for a long nap. He listened to hear Faith's feet touch down behind him before continuing... stopping abruptly with his arm out to prevent her from passing him. "Something's not right."

Reaching one more time into the pack he'd brough with him, he pulled out two things. The first could best be described as a "mist grenade," a medal device that released a thin mist into the air. Smoke could set off laser alarms... this was thinner. It revealed the matrix of lasers that criss-crossed the hallway without alerting security. The second thing he pulled out was an extremely thin length of steel wire. Dropping it over one of the lasers, he frowned as it was severed in two on its way to the floor. "Crap... high intensity. I was afraid of that." He took a long look down the hallway... the cut-off switch was not facing the elevator... it would be on a non-facing wall to prevent anyone from using a projectile to flip the switch.

He thought about the problem long and hard, then looked back at where Faith's heart was beating. "I need you to walk to the far end of the hallway and turn off the lasers. They're just light, so you should be able to bend them around you just like any other source... without setting off the alarm." It was obvious he wasn't happy with this solution. "And, hopefully, it'll keep them from cutting you in half," he added, frowning. "But your uniform should keep the ambient heat at bay." He took a second to pat down one of the fallen guards and retrieve his security card, holding it up towards her heartbeat.

No force in the world was strong enough to keep her from answering him out loud. "Should? Hopefully?" She took a step forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, brushing against him with a feather light touch before taking the card from his hand. It instantly vanished from sight as her fingers closed around it. "That's so very comforting."

But those lasers weren't going to go away on their own. Her first step was tentative, expecting to feel searing pain at any second. Standing fully in the beam in the dissipating mist, Sylph watched in fascination as it bent around her then continued on to the far wall. "I've never been able to see it before..." Shaking her head, she pressed on. Eddy was right... she was still in one piece and it was hot. Breaking into a run, her light steps silenced further by the new boots that went with her now most favorite uniform ever, the redhead raced down the hall and around the corner.

She almost missed the panel in her hurry. For a switch designed to control many strong lasers, it blended in with the wall decor rather nicely. It made Faith wonder what the rest of the building would be like... and the people within. What kind of mind did it take to come up with ways to blend such painful security measures with almost attractive looking aesthetics?

Though it only took one swipe of the card to deactivate the system, the redheaded girl held her breath as she waited for Kardiac to join her. This was the big step. With the lasers shut down, they could count on being discovered soon. And while it was all part of the plan, it didn't make her look forward to seeing Eddy's distraction any more than when she'd first heard about it. But, since they were evenly matched in stubbornness, she wasn't going to mention it. At least... not out loud.

Eddy covered the distance quickly, falling in next to the location of Faith's heartbeat and taking on the hallway. They could move in either direction and, while it didn't really matter which since his only real goal was to get captured, he wanted to make it at least look like he had a bigger plan. Considering the plans they'd assembled for this level of the building, he knew that a left turn took them towards the data center and a left towards the meeting room. After a second of consideration, he decided to go right, since that wouldn't reveal that they knew about the meeting in the first place... he did not want to risk disrupting that little assembly... or risk Tower being doubly-sensitive about internal security.

He walked carefully, sticking close to the north wall, as they moved down the hallway. He spoke a barely audible statement as they reached the next intersection. "Average guard response time should put them on me at the end of the next hall... probably setting an ambush as I speak." He tried to sound like he was muttering to himself, just in case anyone beside Sylph could hear. He took a deep breath, then sighed out, "Brace yourself... stay calm." He didn't want to hand-hold her through this... didn't want her to feel like he felt it was necessary to re-instruct her on the mission. But he knew she wasn't happy about that part of the plan, and the more preparation she had for it, the better. And, of course, there was the fact that having her to talk to made things seem less ominous.

Stay calm. Considering the circumstances, Faith thought she was doing a remarkable job of staying calm. Though he couldn't see her, she nodded at his instructions. It was going to get bad... she knew it. But at least she could try to watch and learn something from all this. After all, Eddy was scary-good at this sort of thing.

Kardiac looked around the corner and smirked. He recognized the security system working on the hall... it was one he'd come across in the last TAROT stronghold. The walls and floor carried an electrical charge and contained contact plates that would up the amperage if you touched two surfaces at once. Last time, he'd used electro-static adhesion to go across the ceiling. The shock wouldn't hurt him, of course, but he hadn't wanted to set off any alarms that time and wasn't sure the discharge wouldn't do just that. He'd have to make as good a show of it this time.

Waving Faith off while disguising the gesture as shaking loose his arm muscles, he leapt to the ceiling and stuck there. Slowly, he crawled around into the next hallway... and discovered that this hallway was, in fact, different than the last... just disguised to look like the same trap. Clever, he thought as the ceiling repelled him, neutralizing his charge, and sending him crashing to the floor. He almost caught himself, but his contact with the ceiling had activated something in the walls and floor... a low level sonic resonance that threw off his equilibrium. He shot a look back towards Faith that said "stay put" as he tried to keep his dinner in his stomach. As a general rule, vertigo was not one of his favorite things.

He thought about his predicament, fighting through the nausea and disorientation. He could feel the floor... and that was the only sense he had as to what was up and what was down. This was going to be harder than he thought. He tried to think about what Blue or Roo would do in this situation, but nothing was coming to him. With his heightened senses, Aaron would have been royally screwed, and Capin relied on his athleticism... this was a good trap. Tower was learning. Eddy could hear Faith's heartbeat racing behind him, growing faster... and that's when an idea hit him. Using the sound of her distress to give him a "point of origin", and having a solid sense of "down," he flattened his hands against the floor and ran a powerful, positive charge into the diamond-cut metal floor. Once the energy was racing across the entire surface of the hallway between his hands and Sylph's heartbeat, he pushed a charge down through his own body, negatively charging his boots.

The results were exactly what he'd hoped for. The positive charge of the floor pushed his boots, and as a result his body, away from Faith. Continuing to focus the positive charge into the floor, his body went sliding farther and farther from his partner until, at least, he was flung out of the hallway. Quickly, he pushed himself to his hands and knees. All he needed was a few seconds to recover and he'd be as good as... and that's when the first shot hit him.

The club had hit him center-back, and it hurt like Hell. A boot caught him below the rib cage and the pain, while not quite being as Hellish as the first, was definitely in the same neighborhood. He fired his taser line and let loose with a solid jolt. He missed, sending power surging into the wall. Of course, that's what he'd meant to do. The taser cable was stuck into the control panel for the last hallway, neutralizing the security system so that Sylph could pass. Having done that, he decided to put up a bit more of a fight. He grabbed the ankle of the nearest guard, Mr. billy-club-to-the-back, and pulled the man from his feet. He starting pounding brutally on the guard even as his other attacker landed another solid kick.

Kardiac realized immediately that he could get out of this. The second guard had his club in hand, but wasn't using it. He liked hurting people. That made him weak. Eddy hated to lose to that kind of chump. Fortunately, two more guards chose that moment to join the fray, followed by a man with officer's stripes. Excellent... he'd be the one Faith had to follow... the one reporting to Tower on the situation. Since there were two more guards, he decided there was no harm in taking down Sir Kicks-a-Lot, so he spun on the floor, caught his boot on the next pass, and sent enough power into the man's leg to drop an irate rhino. It did it's job. Then the other two guards did theirs, "subduing" Kardiac and dragging him to his feet.

As the guards closed in around Kardiac, Faith went from watching with open mouthed amazement as he handled everything the security in the hallway threw at him to biting down on her glove as she fought to keep quiet. Every blow, every kick, made her wince. She clamped her hand over her mouth, afraid to make any sound. Skydiving was a piece of cake compared to this. Standing here watching was definitely the hardest thing she'd ever done in her life... especially when she knew she could help him. But that would mess everything up.

"Get him to lock-up," Officer-Stripes said to the other men. I'll report this. Eddy opened and eye to look at the officer, praying the man didn't pull a radio. He didn't. Tower had, as they expected he would, told his officers to report in-person. Tower didn't trust interceptable transmissions. For once, paranoia had worked in their favor. As the two guards dragged Eddy's intentionally-limp form to the west, the officer turned and headed east, towards the center of the building and Tower's meeting hall.

Since she couldn't say it, Faith silently said a quick goodbye to Eddy and turned to follow the reporting officer down the hall. Keeping her eyes fixed on the back of his head, she critiqued his bargain haircut as she firmly refused to give in to the urge to look back. So far, aside from the general ickiness of watching her mentor get beaten up, things seemed to be going according to plan. She just had to follow and be sneaky. No problem. After all, she'd started out following the heroes around... following the baddies was no problem. At least that's what she told herself.

by **The Mid-Night Man** on 16 Nov 2009 21:44

The doghouse was quiet, just like the past few days had been in Garrison. Suddenly from one of the shadows, Corin's voice sang out as he stepped through. "Hey pretty baby with the high heels on, you give me fever like I've never, ever known. You're just a product of loveliness, I like the groove of your walk, your talk, your dress. I feel your fever from miles around, I'll pick you up in my car and well paint the town. Just kiss me baby,and tell me twice, that you're the one for me. The way you make me feel..." The Starlight Sleuth came fully into view. He was out of costume; wearing blue jeans, and a Garrison City Griffons T-Shirt. The earbuds of his iPod stuck as out of his ears as he continued to sing as he walked through the darkened corridors of the Doghouse.

As the doors to the Monitor Room slid open and Corin walked through, the lights flickered for a moment, then brightened revealing Doc Midas standing in front of him, "Corin."

Corin nearly jumped out of his shoes, "Jeez," Corin wheezed breathlessly, "You scared the hell out of me Doc, I thought you were in Colorado?"

"I am, or rather Doc Midas is. I'm a hologram," The copy of the Auric Avenger chuckled, "Think of me as a three dimensional voicemail."

"That answers my questions," Corin grumbled.

"Exactly," the holograms smile widened.

Corin turned off his iPod, "Okay, I'm listening. Why did Doc leave me the voicemail?"

"He wanted you to know that your new equipment is ready." The Doc-o-gram smiled, "If you would meet me in the Armory." With that the hologram blinked out of the room.

Corin shrugged, "Well there goes Halo 3 on the big screen." He smiled and walked toward the armory.

Corin wound his way through the hallways and into the armory, where the holodoc was waiting for him, "Here they are Dr. Graves."

Corin's eyes landed on the two silver bracers that lay on the table. A huge grin slid onto his face, "Nice."

"Doc Midas programed me to tell you that these bracers have several gadgets within them. Chief among them is an updated version of your dart gun."

"Sweet," Corin grinned, "What else?"

"Well," the hologram continued, "the technicians also added the cable line, a powerful adhesive projectile, and a tracer."

Corin's head cocked to one side, "Tracer?"

"Yes," the hologram nodded, "A small device that attaches itself to the target and will allow you to follow them."

"Okay that's just cool," Corin beamed.

The hologram Midas cocked it's head to one side, as if he was listening to something far away.

"What's up?"

"I am tied into the central computer," the hologram answered, "which picked up a silent alarm at the Garrison Federal Credit Union."

"New toys and I don't have my costume. I guess I could pop home..."

"Actually Corin," the hologram smiled, "there is one other thing that Doc Midas wanted me to show you." Another panel opened. Behind it, was Corin's Mid-Might Man suit. "The techs came across a new carbon nanotube weave that is as bullet resistant as Kevlar but much thinner. It can be woven into layers of regular clothing. Unlike Kevlar, which stop bullets from penetrating by spreading the bullet's force, the elasticity of carbon nanotubes means that it effectively rebounds the force back on the bullet itself. Also, the cape's fabric has been treated with shear-thickening granular suspensions that can turn soft material into solid protective gear when struck by a projectile."

Corin whistled, "So I'm, bullet proof now?"

The hologram chuckled, "Not completely, but it's an extra level of protection."

"Okay," he nodded, "Then I better get going."

"All right folks you all are doing great," the Gallant Gangster smiled at the crowd of hostages that sat on the floor, "Just a few more things out of the safety deposit box and I will be out of your hair," he took the hand of one of the tellers and kissed it, "but hopefully not out of all of your lives," he flashed her his winning smile.

"Good to know you haven't changed Johnny," the Starlight Sleuth walked out of the corner of the bank's lobby, "It's been a while."

"And where is that sexy little partner of yours," Johnny turned around. The hand that was holding the teller's was now holding a tommy gun, "I'd hate to kill you with out her having a chance to say good bye," he smiled as a hail of bullets launched toward Corin.

Corin had to think fast. He pulled his cape in front of the bullet spray. True to the holodoc's words, Corin could hear and see the bullets landing against the cape, making it flap against his body, and then clink against the floor.

When shooting finally ended, Corin pulled the cape away, Well that worked, Corin smiled to himself as he leveled his right wrist at Briggand, "My turn."

The paff of compressed air launched a dart from above the back of his hand straight at the Brigand's neck. inches from hitting Johnny it disappeared again.

"Didn't we do this dance last time?" Johnny smiled.

"Mind if I try something new then?" The Mid-Night Man smirked. As he did, the lights in the bank began to dim around the bank robber. The Starlight Sleuth's smile widened, "Walking through the shadows isn't my only power Johnny boy. Get used to this phrase, lights out."

"You bastard!" Johnny screamed unable to see anything in front of him.

"What's the matter Johnny boy, losing your cool," The Starlight Sleuth grinned, "That's okay I can remedy it."

"I'll kill everyone in here," Brigand yelled.

"You used a whole drum just now on me you're gonna have to call in a new one," the Mid-Night Man's voice came from everywhere in the pitch black room.

"You're right," In the dark, Johnny smiled as he called another Tommy gun.

This was what Corin wanted. From almost point blank range, Corin shot two of the adhesive projectiles, cocooning the Gallant Gangster.

The once calm Johnny screamed with rage as the lights came back up.

"Where's that normal cool Johnny boy," Corin smiled.

"Kill...you..." Johnny growled.

"Maybe next time," Corin's fist connected with Johnny's jaw and sent him crashing to the marble floor. Corin then pulled the cell phone out of his pocket, "You can send your men in now, I'll be gone before they show." He shut the phone and walked into the shadow.

by **Faith** on 10 Dec 2009 10:56

Kardiac expected to be dragged to holding, bodily if need be. He got exactly what he expected... at least until he was thrown into his cell. Things were going as planned until the first guard turned to the second and said, "Call her." Eddy immediately frowned.

Call her?, he thought. Call who? There wasn't supposed to be a her to call. Kardiac tried to think of who they might be talking about even as the second guard picked up a land-line and started to report to someone that there was a prisoner. It didn't really matter who she was... but it did mean the plan had to be stepped up. If there was a her coming, and she sounded pretty important, he'd need to get out of the cell sooner than he had expected.

The guard in front of Faith walked down a labyrinth of hallways, hastily deactivating security systems along the way. He did not seem to reactivate any of them, which made it seem as if he either expected someone to follow shortly behind him or for another of the guards to lock things down after he'd passed. In either case, he was obviously in a bit of a hurry. So much so, in fact, that after he swiped his card at the door he finally reached, he rushed in, swinging the door wide and leaving plenty of room for anyone following to slip in.

"Sir!" he said as he charged into the room. "The vigilante appeared, as you expected. He's been captured and taken to holding."

"How terribly unfortunate for him," a voice answered from behind a Japanese dressing screen. A painted scene of a tiger facing off against a dragon with a black, stone tower in the background adorned the object, placed strategically in one corner of the room out of line of site of any windows. There was a plain, black desk in the room, and several comfortable-looking chairs. Paintings hung on the two walls neither facing nor housing a window, both reflecting the same artistic stylings of the dressing screen "Now that the intruder has been handled, retrieve my guest from the lobby and bring him up."

Biting her lip, Faith stood off to the side. Following the guard had been easy, especially since she didn't have to rely on her memory of the hallways to get out of here. All she'd had to do was match his strides so as not to make footsteps and try not to breathe on the back of his neck. Obviously, she'd succeeded. So far.

The voice from behind the screen gave her chills and she tried not to focus on what those ominous words meant for Eddy. Rising up on tiptoes, she gave a halfhearted attempt to see over the screen. At this point, no force in the world could have gotten her to walk around it to take a real look.

Instead she focused on the room. Despite the decorations that she didn't entirely disapprove of, the place felt cold and spartan. She couldn't decide where to stand. The chairs seemed like a logical place to conduct an evil business meeting. But then again, maybe they'd sit at the desk. Placing herself between the desk and the screen--for now--the little redhead shifted her weight from one foot to the other, firmly resisting the urge to touch any of the smooth surfaces.

There was a ground plate behind the electronic lock on the outside of the cell. For all the ease of their entry, not-so-easy as it had been, Tower had planned his brig well. Kardiac was not going to be able to use the easy button to escape. With the mysterious "her" looming, however, he'd have to find a way pretty darned quick if he planned on having Sylph's back. He'd promised her he'd be safe... more importantly, he'd promised her that she would, and he wasn't planning on going back on his word.

He took a quick survey of the room. Nothing. They didn't even have a bed of chair for him. The walls were smooth and unadorned with no easily-accessible, visible seams. There was a ventilation duct, but a fat mouse would have a hard time crawling through it. Feeling a bit annoyed at the situation, he sat down with folded legs, closed his eyes, and began visualizing the buildings known defenses. The walls were re-inforced concrete, grounded, and carbon-shielding inside the outer walls to prevent electromagnetic interference. A nuke wouldn't take this building down, in any sense of the word.

The interior walls were reinforced as well, virtually unbreakable, and functionally non-conductive. Oh, and they were insulated against temperatures well in excess of his ability to generate with an electrical charge... so melting through was also a big out. They'd taken his gauntlet, but they hadn't emptied his pockets. That didn't matter now, of course... there was no way to pick the lock from the inside, and he didn't carry tear gas or flash-bangs... not his style. If he wanted any kind of explosion, he was going to have to... Wait a second! he thought... explosion...?

His mind drifted back to a time quite a while back in his career when his powers had gone wonky... it was the reason his "fingerless" gloves alternated fingers. And, if Tower was confident in the strength of his outer walls defenses, it might just work... though he'd need a serious recharge afterwards before slinging any bio-electricity. Standing up, he moved over by the door to maximize his potential for success... he had no idea how big a boom he'd get, and he only had one chance.

Taking off his gloves and tucking them into his belt, Kardiac spread his arms as wide as possible and closed his eyes. Slowly, both of his hands began to crackle and glow with electricity. But this wasn't his normal output... each hand carried a separate, complimentary-but-opposing charge. After several seconds, he had to fight the force of his own body as his arms desperately wanted to come together. Gritting his teeth, he kept them apart... and kept charging. When he finally couldn't take the strain any longer, he took a half-step back and moved his arms ever-so-slightly towards each other, in front of his body, hoping he wasn't about to dislocate both shoulders.

In an imperceptively fast, involuntary motion, his hands slammed together with a booming clap. The two charges interacted, and the result was an explosive pulse of energy bursting out in all directions, a blue-white sphere of ever-increasing circles... as if someone had just thrown a stone into the river that was the electromagnetic spectrum. And, more or less, someone had. Kardiac was lifted off his feet and thrown against the side wall as the pulse went out from his hands. The pain was searing, but he fought through it. He knew the next few seconds would be critical.

The guards exclaimed suddenly, even as his cell was plunged into darkness. Apparently, the pulse had been enough to knock out his cell's systems and those of the guard room. It wasn't a nuclear explosion, but it would be enough. Moving as fast as his fatigue would allow, Eddy rushed to the door and began pushing with his entire body. Slowly, it began to slide open. The rushing guards only helped matters, and in no time at all, Kardiac was out of his cell and into the guard's monitoring room. Even without his gauntlet or any appreciable electrical power, he made short work of the confused security officers.

With little time to lose, he fell to the floor and pressed both hands against the only electrical outlet he could find. Once he'd stolen a bit of power from the building to supplement himself, he got back to his feet and, without a moment's hesitation, rushed out of the door. Forcing himself to remember the building's plans, he began to head through the halls towards the office where Faith would be... and Tower. The plan's back on track, he thought as he moved quickly towards his objective. That thought, unfortunately, occurred to him just as he turned a corner and almost ran face first into "her"....

Several minutes passed from the time the guard left the room to when he returned with Tower's visitor. Shortly after he had departed, the young Japanese man had come out from behind his dressing screen. He was in tailored Armani, and he'd have presented a handsome, dashing form if not for the pure malice that seemed to radiate from his form. On his lapel was a silver pin in the shape of a chess rook... a stone tower standing in defense of the king.

He sat down at the desk, paying Faith no mind. Either he didn't see her, as they had hoped, or he was very good at playing blind. He shuffled through some papers and began assembling them into a file that already seemed far too full for its envelope. After he was finished, he set the file on his desk and rose back to his feet. He began to pace absently, his eyes half-closed. It was difficult to tell if he was impatient or, perhaps, a bit concerned that the meeting might not go smoothly with a vigilante locked in his security offices.

He didn't have long to wait, however. He was only making his third circle of his desk when a buzzer sounded at the door. As if a practiced move, he slipped back behind his desk and sat down, his eyes going to the door. "Enter," he said in a quiet but commanding tone. The guard came through the door and stepped to the right, very nearly bumping into Sylph as he exaggerated the movement. Following him in was a man in a plain, black suit, as well tailored as Tower's, if not quite as extravagant. "Welcome," Tower said, nodding towards a chair opposite Faith's position. "Please, have a seat."

The man nodded, letting out a somewhat noncommittal grunt, then moved to the chair. As he sat, his face came into the light, and Faith immediately recognized him. She'd seen him many times, both on television and in her own home. In fact, she'd been in his as well. It was a face she'd known, literally, all of her life... the face of her cousin and, if she wasn't mistaken in her suspicions, Eddy's brother-in-law. It was the face of Leland Lexington.

If she hadn't been so busy moving away from the stiff guard, Faith might have been a little more prepared for the sight of her cousin in that chair. Although, perhaps it was a blessing she'd taken a slow step or two away. The action made it more likely that no one had heard the sudden movement as she once again clamped a hand over her mouth.

For a minute she could only stare at Leland in shock. As her father's daughter, she'd always felt a biased sort of pride that she took after the Kavanaugh side of the family rather than the Lexington. But, no matter who she favored, she couldn't deny that the man sitting in that chair was family... mother's favorite nephew and someone who'd always been relatively kind to Faith. And, since she never doubted her mother's knack for learning family secrets, he was soon to be a father.

How could you? Shock quickly gave way to anger. Glaring invisible daggers at her cousin, Sylph tried to remind herself she was here to listen... not to vault over the chair to kick the crap out of Leland for being so stupid. How was she supposed to tell Eddy about this mystery contact now? Or, worse, Strategoi?

Childhood memories -- Leland playing with her older brother, Ryan, or sitting sitting politely through one of her recitals -- flashed through her mind as she stared at him. Now, more than ever, she was determined not to leave this meeting until they'd finished. She was going to catch every word. Somehow, she had to find out what was going through his mind... how he could do this to their family.

The man behind the desk smiled at Leland as he sat down. The expression was one of familiarity, the kind that might be given to an old friend. His words, however, carried a different implication. "Good evening, Mr. Lexington. I am Haiyo Takahashi." His smile suddenly seemed less friendly and more like that of a predatory reptile staring down at an unsuspecting bug. "It is good to finally meet you face to face."

"I know who you are," Leland said, his face firm and stern. "What I don't know," he continued, "is what you want." He crossed an ankle over one knee and folded his hands in his lap. There was a business-like precision in his movements that made it very clear to a viewer that this was not his first negotiation.

"What does any man want," Tower answered, his eyes alight. "Enough to get by, a beautiful wife, and a safe world in which to raise his children." The line may have been cliche, but it seemed intended as such... and from Takahashi's lips, it sounded more of a threat than a common point of reference. His smile remained, unfaltered.

Leland continued to meet the man's gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly at the response. "An honest-enough sentiment," he replied, a slight, forced smile curling one side of his lips. "But if your motives are so philanthropic, why all the cloak and dagger? I've read your business proposal... we could have just as easily met at my office."

It was hard to stay mad at Leland when this man, this creepy Takahashi guy, was saying everything extra creepily. With slow, silent steps to hide any trace of her distortion, she moved a little closer to her cousin. As much as she wanted to continue thinking he was dumb, she had to admit that at least he was acting very professional. Just... a dumb professional.

"I prefer to ensure the security of my investments personally," Takahashi replied. You are, after all, not the only one with a financial contribution in this arrangement. My network and my building are, I assure you, the most secure in the world."

"I'm sure," Leland replied, his eyes still locked on his host's.

"Did you bring the documents?

"The ones that matter to this meeting, yes," Leland answered. "Obviously, the final contracts that complete the arrangement are being kept safe offsite." It almost seemed like the words "to make sure I walk out of here alive" should have been tacked on to the end of Lexington's response. Instead, he just said, "I can have someone bring them over in the morning." He bent to one side, picked up his briefcase and unlocked it. Opening it like a file folder, he turned it towards Takahashi and placed it on the desk between them.

She was dressed like he might have pictured an Amazon warrior, with a few pieces of ornate armor peeking out through elaborately-wrapped, diaphanous cloth. The gossamer fabric was wrapped thick enough to be opaque in most places, obfuscating the bulk of her vestments. Around her neck, she wore a pendant in the shape of an old-fashioned, counter-weight scale, and a sword... make that a large sword... make that an excessively-large, two-handed sword by Kardiac's reckoning was clutched in both hands. She was at least two inches taller than him, which took him somewhat aback. Her most unusual feature, however, was the blindfold that completely covered her eyes, tied back amongst her long, blonde tresses.

"Cliché much?" Eddy said, taking a half-step back and raising his fists. He tried to sound more confident than her sudden appearance had actually left him. "Let me guess...," he continued, recovering his bravado. "Justice, I presume."

The warrior-woman answered by bringing her sword down at his head. He leapt to one side, having suspected that would be her answer, and stuck himself to the wall. She was good, and she was fast. Ryu and Aaron, under similar circumstances, probably would have dodged that attack... Eddy couldn't think of many others who would still be in a fighting way. "I take it you're not much for small talk," he said, smirking. Her head turned toward him, and he got the feeling that Justice wasn't quite so blind as the expression would lead him to believe.

He avoided her next attack by leaping to the ceiling, adhering his fingertips, and swinging himself to the far wall. It was a trick he didn't pull often, since defense wasn't the primary focus of his fighting style, but he had practiced it for situations such as this. That sword was going to be a problem. He continued to dodge for the next several attacks, trying to suss out a good estimate of her average attack speed and her fighting style. Unknown adversaries were always a royal pain in the ass, and the quiet ones were worse... they didn't like to gloat. Gloating could tell you a lot about somebody.

After a few more attacks, he positioned himself for his counter. Rolling across the floor to avoid a swing, he put himself into a crouch, exposing his rear flank to attack. As she swung down, he kicked out and hit the flat of her blade with the sole of his boot. Every ounce of strength he could muster went into the kick, and it was not without success. The weapon flew from her hand, bounced off a wall (marring the metal with its blade), and clattered to the floor.

Before she could recover the weapon, he leapt to his feet and raised his right hand. "I don't like punching women," he said, triumphantly. "But I'm not above giving them a jolt now and again." As he finished the statement, his hand began to crackle with power, electricty arcing between his fingertips. Without another word, he lunged for her, hand outstretched.

She caught it. Her left hand darted into the air and her fingers interwove with his own. The energy seemed to have no effect on her, and then he noticed her other hand. She was clutching the pendant that he'd noticed around her neck. She smiled at him, and he heard a familiar voice speak to him, even as her lips remained locked together. "You killed him. You killed my father." He didn't have time to react before the pain hit him like a wall. In a heartbeat, he knew what Jorge Vega had felt at his hands. He knew what it felt like to be electrocuted. And soon, he'd know what it felt like to die....

Takahashi took a few moments to look over the documents, mostly financial reports and projections, but also a list of holdings and subsidiaries of the Lexington family. It was a long list, such that it wove a very intricate and encompassing web through the streets of Garrison City. If TAROT could get access to such a network, it would take decades to unravel it to its depths... if such a thing was even possible. After a moment, he looked back to Leland. "This list is comprehensive?"

Leland's eyes narrowed, though his lip curled up slightly. The gesture seemed out of place on such a man as him, known as he was to be both philanthropist and entrepreneur. "As comprehensive as you're going to get," he said, firmly. "So long as our business association remains unofficial."

Now she really wanted to hit him. Anything to wipe that horrible look off his face... and get rid of that folder. How could he even think this was at all a good idea?

"Of course," Takahashi replied.

"But you haven't answered my question," Leland interjected, before Takahashi could move the conversation along further. "I'm waiting to hear what you want." His lips slipped back into a tight line. "I wasn't born yesterday... I know who you are, Mr. Takahashi, and I know this 'business' arrangement of yours goes deeper than profit-sharing.' He leaned forward in his seat. "I want to see the 'bigger' picture."

Tower smiled. It was a frightening gesture, and Leland proved his strength in not reacting to such a frailty. Takahashi reached forward and closed the briefcase, relocking it and spinning the combination wheels. At that action, there was a very slight reaction from Lexington -- barely more than an eye twitch -- but Takahashi's face suddenly went flat.

"I thought we were friends, Mr. Lexington," he said, his eyes locked on Leland's.

"We...," Leland said with a slight pause. "We are," he said, the words seeming somewhat forced. "But if we're going to be in business together, I want to be involved... all the way."

Takahashi pushed himself back from his desk and stood up, smoothing his clothes as he rose. "Friends don't bring listening devices into my office," he said, his voice tinged with suppressed anger.

Leland's eyes narrowed, though it was difficult to tell if it was a reaction of shock or annoyance. "Friends also don't try to acquire their friends assets and contacts for criminal purposes," he snapped back, rising to his own feet with a touch less grace.

"In any case," Takahashi continued, "The police will be receiving no confessions from me tonight."

Leland smirked, an impressive gesture under the circumstances. "What tipped you off?"

"I knew the moment you turned on the transmitter," he replied, not smiling himself as if engaged in some form of entertainment. "I was hoping you'd see the benefits of my offer and change your mind."

"Unfortunately, the instant you turned the bug off, you told the boys in blue that things were not going to go as planned," Leland retorted confidently. "So it appears we're at an impasse."

As much as she wanted to hug him, to apologize for doubting that he would do the right thing, Faith remained still. She didn't know how Eddy was doing. No one had come to report anything about the 'prisoner'. And now she had a new worry. She had to make sure her cousin got out of her alive.

"Hmm," Tower hummed with a growing smirk. "If I kill you, the police will have sufficient evidence to arrest me. If I do not, I'm forced to leave the city without my contracts and not return... assuming my employers don't kill me in return." He spoke very matter-of-factly as he demonstrated his understanding of the aforementioned predicament. "I prefer the third option," he said, after a beat.

Leland raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Takahashi dropped a high-caliber, two-shot miniature pistol from his sleeve. "You sign the agreement and call to have the contracts delivered before I depart the building," he said, smiling as he raised his gun and pointed it... directly at Faith's invisible form. "And I won't kill your invisible bodyguard."

For a minute she was sure her heart had stopped completely. How could he possibly know she was there? They'd taken every precaution.

Shaking from head to toe, Sylph tried to think of something --anything-- heroic. Blessed with a musician's ear, she was confident she could recognize a family member's voice no matter the circumstance. Hopefully, Leland would not... "Don't sign anything," she told her cousin in a low voice.

She knew she could leave. She could call for Marcus and live. But that would leave Leland and the file in Takahashi's hands. And Eddy... he was still somewhere in the building. So, no matter how easy it would be, Faith wouldn't leave. But she could pray that her new uniform was as strong as Kardiac seemed to think it was. Because if she could get to her cousin...

Takahashi just looked her in the eyes... in the invisible eyes. Either he was very good at guessing, or he could sense a heck of a lot more than Strategoi or even Kardiac had estimated. "Step out of the veil," he ordered, his eyes darkening. "I don't know if a bullet will kill you," he continued, his lips curling up slightly. "But I'm betting you don't know if you're fast enough to stop me from killing Lexington after taking my shot at you." He flicked the barrel of his gun briefly in Leland's direction.

"Leave her out of this," Leland said, guessing based on the voice that his invisible benefactor was a 'her.' "I didn't even know she was here...," he said, his eyes locked on Tower. "It's me and my business network that you want."

Takahashi's eyes went from Faith's invisible form to Leland. There was an incredulous look on his face. "I thought you'd sign to save one of your own... but you're willing to sign to save a complete stranger?"

Leland's expression became firm, resolute. "Yes," he said, straightening his posture to demonstrate the seriousness of his words.

"Such nobility...," Tower replied, a smile coming to his face, "...might save this girl." His eyes were now fully focused on Leland. "But it would also never cease to find ways to interfere with TAROT's plans. These negotiations are at an end." With a flash of motion, Takahashi turned his weapon from Sylph to Leland and squeezed the trigger. The barrel flashed and kicked as a resounding "krak!" shattered the stillness of the room.

Looking back, Faith couldn't remember making the decision to move. The minute Tower focused his attention on her cousin her muscles began to tense, coiling like a teal-clad spring. She heard, or felt, or imagined the click as the hammer pulled back. In that instant, training became instinct. She was running, racing to Leland, her invisibility dropped in favor of speed... and distraction.

The tiny redhead slammed into her cousin, knocking him out of the way as that "krak!" split the air. Sylph staggered back, nearly falling to the floor as her hands came up to cradle her chest. Eddy had said that it would hurt like hell. But it was worse. The pain was like a fire that licked down her chest and spread back and forth along her collarbone. She wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

But Kardiac wouldn't let something like this slow him down. So she couldn't either. Sylph didn't stop; her momentum simply shifted. Adrenaline and sheer stubbornness carried her forward. She had to get that gun.

A wild smile on his face, Takahashi squeezed off two more shots. This time, he aimed for Faith, deliberately aiming towards her body, not her head, and letting the impact of the rounds against her costume bite into the woman underneath. Not only did he seem to not care that his target was armored, he seemed to revel in it. With the first of the shots, he began to laugh. By the second, his laughter was riotous. This was not the reaction of a man whose plans had just been undermined and his attempted murder thwarted.

Faith was not a large person to begin with and now, at this close range, the shot hit her diminutive frame like a blow from a sledgehammer. It hurt. It hurt more than she had the presence of mind to describe. But Takahashi was laughing. Laughing! That was enough to keep her moving, even when she staggered, and to keep the tears from her eyes.

The second shot hit her in the stomach. As hard as she tried, she couldn't hold back the small cry of pain that made it past her lips. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she made a mental note to complain to Eddy about it. After all, he'd told her that she wasn't asking to be shot there anymore.

Her thoughts were scattered as she came closer. What kind of a person laughed at something like this? Her left hand came up to grab the gun away. Was it supposed to hurt so bad? Something was wrong there. And where was Kardiac? But, despite her thoughts, her time training had not been wasted.

As her hand closed over the gun, her right fist --baton and all--collided with Takahashi's jaw. Sylph couldn't be sure how much it had actually hurt but it did get him to release his grip. She hit him again as she pulled the weapon way and flung it to the far corner of the room. With all his fancy security, there were bound to be surveillance cameras in here. And, under no circumstances, was Faith going to leave them with a video of her pointing that gun at anything.

Tower stumbled backwards, still laughing. He caught himself against the desk, then rolled over it, employing it as an obstacle between Faith and him. There was a gleam in his eye that some might mistake as a hint of madness, but to Sylph it actually looked like he was enjoying this... like it was all some sort of game. "You're well trained," he said with a wide smile. "For an amateur. Did the vigilante bring you along?" he asked, looking her in the eye.

"A Strategoi agent wouldn't have blown her cover just to save this rich trash," he continued, "And he clearly had no idea you were here." As he added the last statement, his eyes fell on Leland. The man still stood where he'd been when the gun was drawn, watching the fray as if dumbfounded by the action going on around him. With a snap-kick, Takahashi sent the table-lamp flying across the room, straight for Lexington's surprise-painted face.

"Lee!" The name she'd called him when she was just a kid tagging after the older boys came tumbling out unbidden. Not trusting her cousin's reflexes, she whirled and lunged out one of her sticks, hoping to break the lamp or knock it out of the way... or something. Anything to give Leland a chance to get out of the way. "He's not trash!" She may have been able to hold her tongue when it came to the vigilante but there were limits to her self restraint.

Eddy could not withdraw his hand. Between her grip, which was superhumanly strong, the pain, which was unbearable, and his guilt over his own mistakes, he was virtually paralyzed. She was using his past to kill him... literally. Then something hit him. It wasn't much of an idea, but it was all he had... all he had had for a long time.

He managed to choke out the word "Justified...", then closed his eyes and fought against to pain. There were other memories... stronger memories. He watched as his father's casket was lowered into the ground and heard the voice of the officer telling him that Frank Lane had died in the line of duty. He watched himself beaten to near-death and left to the not-so-tender mercies of the Brazilian rainforest and heard the voice of Jorge Vega as he gave the order to leave his son-in-law to die. He heard Vega gloat about the death of his father.

His other fist struck out, a fierce rabbit-punch with every ounce of strength he could muster. Somewhere, subconsciously, he'd been playing with his bio-electrical system, refocusing his energy, even as he fought to overcome her power. The attack forced her to stumble back... to release him so that she could retain her balance. The pain disappeared immediately, a past phantom no longer relevant. God, Eddy hated psychic powers.

Still a little dizzy from the experience, he windmilled a kick to her midsection, his foot following its own path to the region still aching from the rabbit-punch. She stumbled back again. He wanted to say something witty, but she had pissed him off far too much for the wasted effort it would take to formulate words. He'd closed that chapter of his life, and he wasn't going to let some TAROT witch bring it back.

He feinted with his left, and in her befuddled state she actually fell for it, bringing up her right arm to block. Kardiac narrowed his eyes, not smiling but satisfied with the action. Her right hand still held the pendant, the chain still around her neck. He grabbed the golden strand that connected hand to throat and yanked, simultaneously bringing his elbow up so that, in the flurry of motion, it connected hard against her nose.

The crack was a sickening sound, but it was one he'd heard many times before. He'd never broken a woman's nose before -- it just wasn't his style -- but this time he made an exception. This was not just a woman... she was an opponent, and a damned effective one at that. Plus, he was still more than a little sore at her for dredging up his past. His next punch went straight into the front of her right wrist. Her hand was forced open, and the scales-of-justice pendant fell into view. Still holding the chain, Eddy yanked it over her bleeding face and tossed it aside.

One push and two kicks later, she was on the floor, the violence in her eyes fading behind drooping lids. "Incidentally," Kardiac said, feeling like himself again, "Justice is blind... not mute." One more kick and her consciousness faded. As the darkness enveloped her senses, he added, "Do some research, next time."

Almost instantly, his mind went from celebration to worry. Justice had been an unexpected twist to the evening. That meant Sylph was in greater danger than he'd expected... and he'd put her there. Without bothering to take the time to tie up his fallen foe, Kardiac turned back down the hallway and headed for the main office at a hard run.

Leland was looking at Sylph with a mix of confusion and curiosity. He had done well hiding his fear, but some of that leaked through as his mind raced amidst the events of the fight. The girl had called him "Lee," and there was something about her voice and the way she carried herself... he shook his head, seeking clarity. He had come here to a purpose. There was a clear and present danger, and so far, he'd done little to show his valor in the situation.

Takahashi continued to smile, his eyes sparkling as Faith countermanded his assessment of her cousin. She had given him information he hadn't had before. He didn't know what to make of it, but it was there. He put it aside for the time being. She was proving to be more of a challenge than he first assessed. It was unusual for his threat-assessment to be wrong.

He dropped his arms straight to his sides and let the two one-foot blades slide down from his shirt sleeves and lock around his wrists. "This is starting to get interesting," he said as he stalked around the desk. "I'd offer you a place in my organization, seeing as we're going to need a new 'Justice,' but I'm sure you'd refuse." His smile broadened. "More the pity."

Without a second's more hesitation, the attack began. He was a skilled fighter, but Sylph was equally well trained, especially in defense. Strike after strike was parried and dodged as silvered blade clashed against the blackened graphite coating of Faith's hittin' sticks. When an opening would present itself, Tower's blades seemed just as adept at blocking her attacks.

Had the melee been an exhibition, their motions would have been a thing of beauty. As it was, however, they were a terrible dance intent on breaking bone and flesh. Takahashi's smile never faded, though his banter seemed to disappear as his focus on the task before him grew. There was a lust in his eyes, fueled by the heat of battle and the skill and beauty of his opponent, and her defiance and continued evasion of his attacks only solidified his admiration for her. Of course, that just made Tower all the more eager to bring this fight to an end.

Her death would be delicious.

The door burst open, and both Takahashi and Leland saw the guard that had reported on Kardiac's capture step inside. There was a distant noise in the hallway, the sound of weapons firing broken up by the painful grunts of the security guards who fire them. His weapon in hand, the guard had arrived to warn his master that the vigilante had escaped and was on his way. Upon seeing the brawl before him, however, he reacted instinctively.

The guard fired three rapid shots at Faith's back. The third stung her left shoulder, the impact softened but not deadened by the Kevlar weave. The first two never made it to their target. Lee had moved. It hadn't been a conscious choice. He was a good man, and while his connection to the costumed woman was still unclear in his mind, she was trying to save his life. He had leapt to get her clear, and the first two shots struck him from the side, the first on the ballistic vest beneath his suit-coat and the second under his outstretched arm.

"Leland!" No sight in the world could have been worse than her cousin's expression in that instant. Confusion flickered across his face, as if he still didn't quite understand what had just happened. Or he couldn't bring himself to recognize her. He seemed to fall forever as the redhead watched in utter horror. Her tears pooled at the edge of her goggles as he hit the floor... and lay there.

Faith suddenly felt an intense pain. The momentary distraction had been enough for one shot. An opening the length of a heartbeat. Kevlar did little against blade, especially when they were thrust straight into it. Fortunately, Sylph's costume had been reinforced and the distraction had been enough to throw off Tower's aim. The cestus blade had cut deep, but it hadn't hit anything vital. Of course, that didn't stop the intense burning sensation that such a wound caused. The numbness of seeing Lee lying motionless on the floor, however... that was enough to dull the pain.

Another guard came through the doorway. This one, though, was not travelling under his own power. The sounds of combat had moved closer to the room. Kardiac was just outside, Leland was bleeding on the floor, and Takahashi was sporting an arrogant, excited grin just a foot in front of her. The party was coming to an end. Time to finish this.

But she needed one thing before she could wipe that smile off his face. One thing she had to know. It was easy to look small, scared and wounded by everything that had happened in this room. She was bleeding and Leland wasn't moving. She wasn't just scared; she was terrified. Gradually, Sylph began to falter under his blows, giving ground and falling back. She let him press the advantage, hating that grin more and more with every second.

Purposely leaving herself open and bracing herself for his attack did nothing to dull the pain as his blade bit into her skin again. She would have wondered why everyone seemed to be picking on her shoulder but, as she found it harder and harder to use the hittin' stick in that hand, she knew exactly why it was the target. But she had to let him underestimate her again... even if that meant she was going to lose more blood.

"How..." It took no acting ability whatsoever to let her voice tremble. God, she was scared. But she was also closer to the center of the room. And to the door. "How did you know I was here? How did you see me?"

Takahashi's smile widened and darkened. He stopped looking like a smug villain and began to resemble a tiger playing with a wounded meal as it stalked in for the kill. "You've been a most entertaining diversion," he said as he slid his outside foot and shoulders to the right, his inside arm rising as he moved. "So in consolation, allow me to insure you that it was by no conscious fault of your own."

"Much like I knew of Lexington's treachery the moment he activated the transmitter," he continued, his right arm dropping to his side in what was clearly meant to look like he was an open target. "The instant you wanted to interfere with our transaction, when you wanted to stop Lexington and were no longer fully content to watch, you became an imminent threat to my operation." His eyes narrowed, ever-so-slightly. It was a tell... Eddy had taught her to look for those. Every time he was about to end a sentence with an attack, his eyes narrowed.

"Even with my extrasensory abilities, I can overlook a spy," he said, finally. "But I never overlook a threat." And, just as she knew he would, Tower rushed her, leading with his left, the obvious attack, while his right arm dangled, waiting for her to side-step into its path.

But Faith was done being his victim. Instead of going to his right, she ducked in under his left arm, hearing the rush of air as his blade came all too close to her skin again. In his eagerness to move in for the kill, his momentum carried Tower forward. It was Sylph's anger that kept her moving. Her hand landed on his shoulder, pulling him down as her knee slammed up into his ribs.

She heard the sharp exhale of breath as she pivoted away from him, her foot connecting with the back of his knee to bring him fully to the ground. Sylph knew he wouldn't stay there long but she didn't intend to give him the time to get back up. Her boot immediately came down on the back of his hand, forcing him to release his blade so she could grab it. Then, feeling it to be entirely justified, she stabbed downward, piercing his hand and pinning him to the floor with his own knife.

Takahashi's grunt of pain, though highly restrained, was far too satisfying. "How many kids have grown up without a father because of you? Because of what you do..." Her voice trembled as she held back a sob. Leland still hadn't gotten up. But Tower didn't care; she knew it. Leland meant nothing to him.

His glare locked onto her, eyes meeting hers with an expression she was sure she'd be seeing in her nightmares. "Kazoekirenai." he said, his breath more labored -- less controlled -- than it had been before. "You are magnificent," he added, eyes drifting across her form.

A shape moved into the room, larger than Faith. It approached her right flank from behind. But she remained focused on Takahashi. His free hand moved to remove the blade that kept him pinned. "I'm not going to let you hurt more people. Not today." It wasn't much of a threat... but it was one she could follow through on.

Her foot snapped up, breaking his nose as she connected with his face. Another kick had him slumping to the ground, bleeding but not nearly as motionless as her cousin. She wanted to kick him again, to hurt him, but there was a hand on her shoulder. The warrior she had unleashed wanted to strike out at the sudden touch, but her heart sensed no malice from the familiar hand.

Looking up at Kardiac through eyes blurred by tears and pain, Faith broke. She couldn't say a word. The little redhead sank weakly to the ground, shaking as she did everything in her power to sob quietly. Eddy dropped to one knee in front of her. His left arm pulled her against his chest. He didn't reassure her. Instead, he apologized. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you."

He wasn't talking about protecting her from harm. In a sense, he had been here for that -- the training he'd given her meant a part of him was always there for that. Seeing the room, the state of her enemy, and the state of her cousin, he knew where her emotions had taken her. It was that, that dark place within, from which he wanted to protect her. But he'd been too late.

His right hand held his comms, and his thumb flipped the transmitter to on. Before he could speak, Marcus was standing beside him. "Evac Lexington to Mercy, now!" The Strategoi teleporter disappeared again, Leland with him. Eddy pocketed his comm, then looked down at Faith and stroked her hair with his now-free hand. "It's over, sweet thing," he said in the softest voice he could muster... Eddy's voice.

Kardiac's voice was back when Marcus reappeared a moment later. "Take her to the beta evac point we discussed. Do not take her to the Castle and do not leave her alone!" Eddy said, glaring the teleporter in the eyes as he opened his mouth to protest. "I'll take responsibility with Fairchild. Once the strike team takes Tower and Justice out of here, I'll meet you there."

Eddy dropped his voice to a whisper and leaned close to Faith's ear, embracing her gently. "I've got a doctor on standby... he's a good man. I'll join you soon."

Through the sound of her tears, Faith choked out a word, "Corin...."

Eddy nodded to her, whispering in reply, "Okay... okay." He'd wanted to leave the Mid-Night Man out of it -- he knew Jenna had dealt with him at the museum but he wanted to keep him off of the rest of Strategoi's radar as much as possible -- but Faith's comfort was more important to him than Corin's privacy at the moment. He looked ap at Marcus and gave him a new address. "Go!"

The younger man nodded to Kardiac. "I won't take my eyes off of her." Without another word, he placed his hand on Faith's shoulder, Eddy let go of her, and the two of them disappeared.

After a moment, Kardiac turned back to Takahashi and slapped him repeatedly on the cheek until his eyes began to drift open. Eddy smiled, his eyes dark, and stared directly into Tower's own. "Extraction is three minutes away... plenty of time for us to chat."

by **The Mid-Night Man** on 05 Jan 2010 10:35

Corin threw his feet up on the coffee table. The day had been eventful day. Johnny Brigand was finally in jail, all the new toys had worked out, and all was right with the world. Corin walked to the fridge, grabbed himself a beer and sat down in front of the TV. "Well," he sighed as he took a sip, "if I couldn't play Halo on the big screen in the doghouse, I can at least end the night well here." He grabbed the controller and hit the power button.

At that moment the light from the television was blocked as two figures appeared before him. "I'm sorry." Faith was apologizing before Marcus' hand had left her shoulder, her knees buckling as she sank down onto Corin's formerly-clean rug. "I need a doctor," she choked, the tears starting to flow again.

"Faith?" Corin stood up, "What the...?"

The redhead clenched her eyes shut tightly, trying to keep her voice calm... or at least non-hysterical. "Stabbed. Stabbed." She pointed to the wounds in order, wincing when her fingers came anywhere near the blood. "And a lot of gunshots that still hurt but up here is the worst." Her touch gently traced the air above the left side of her collarbone.

Corin cleared the coffee table in a split second. "You," he pointed at Marcus, "black bag on top of the dresser. Go!"

The Strategoi agent hesitated, mindful of Kardiac's instructions. "I trust him." She could have been talking to either of the men in the room. She trusted Corin with her life, with her friends' lives. "Please." Her opinion may not have meant as much as Eddy's but she hoped Marcus would listen. After all, she'd grown to think of him as a friend.

"Do you want her to die?" Corin snapped at the agent, "cause every second you waste puts her one more second closer to that, and if that happens, Mister whoever-you-are, I swear the rest of your short life will be very unpleasant."

"Sidestep, not that it matters," Marcus answered, narrowing his eyes. He'd been given very detailed instructions concerning Faith's well-being during this op, and he didn't like this sudden 'detour' from the plan. "But if you think for a nanosecond that I don't care what--"

"Don't fight," she scolded weakly. Pulling the goggles off and dropping them to the side, Faith reached up, missing Marcus' hand but grabbing onto his pant leg. The ghost of a smile touched her lips, proving that she hadn't been irrevocably damaged by the night's actions. "And please don't make me get it myself."

Marcus knelt down next to Sylph and brushed the loosened strands of hair from her face. "I wouldn't dream of it... but in his surprise and well-justified haste, your rather aggressively-concerned friend hasn't bothered to tell me where the dresser is," he said, his still-narrowed eyes flashing to Corin. Once the doctor had pointed him in the right direction, he looked back down at Faith.

Though clearly still reluctant to leave her, Marcus smiled weakly and said, "I'll be right back." And as if to prove his point, he disappeared into thin air.

As soon as he was gone, Corin's eyes landed on Faith, "What the hell did you get yourself into?"

"It was just a... thing..." It was the worst description in the world but Faith finding it harder and harder to focus. That and the floor was so surprisingly comfortable. She'd let Eddy or Marcus fill him in on whatever details were appropriate.

Marcus reappeared as suddenly as he'd disappeared, holding Corin's black bag. Knowing that he was still here brought Sylph a strange sense of relief. He was one step closer to the person she really wanted to see. "Are you going to get Kardiac now?" she asked weakly, hating how the question seemed to make her sound like some little kid.

"Kardic was involved?" Corin's eyebrows arched as he inspected the first of the stab wounds, "What the hell was going on?"

"I'll be 'portaling' him here in a few minutes." Marcus replied to Faith first, with a knowing compassion in his voice. "He's waiting with Takahashi until the retrieval team arrives... then he'll beep me. He told me not to leave your side." He really hoped Kardiac would beep him... there wasn't any real plan for Eddy staying behind this long. Still, he trusted the man.

He looked over at Corin. Apparently, he was someone Kardiac trusted, but Marcus didn't know him... and that meant he wasn't cleared for details. Still the man clearly wasn't going to take that as an answer. "Kardiac was working on an operation for the Government. Sylph was co-oping in an information gathering capacity. The op... diverged from the plan." He frowned, not knowing all the details himself. "That's all I can say until he gets here... except that a very, very 'bad guy' is out of circulation thanks to this little lady."

Corin looked down and smiled reassuringly at the little red head, trying as best he could to hide the worry and anger he felt. He hadn't really known Faith all that long but those past few months they had known each other, made her feel like the little sister Corin had never had. Faking a chuckle Corin plastered on his best smile, "This is nothing but a scratch. This isn't even as bad as that arrow in your thigh. Remember that?"

Faith smiled at his attempt at comfort. It didn't exactly make her feel better... but the effort was appreciated. "That was annoying. This hurts."

"I know it does, but we're gonna get it fixed. I'm gonna pick you up. This might hurt, but I promise I'll be gentle, okay?"

In other words, it was going to hurt a lot. But, for Corin's sake, she'd be a good patient. "Kay," Faith nodded.

Three clicks sounded from Marcus' comm. He looked at it, then looked back to Faith. "Hold that thought." He turned to his left, held out a hand, and moved it in a slow, clockwise circle. A shimmering light appeared in the air, expanding out into a seven-by-seven circle of light. A heartbeat later, Kardiac stepped through, his right-hand gauntlet held in his left hand. He looked like he'd seen better days, bruises and lacerations speckling his face.

He looked past Corin and Marcus to where Faith lay, her doctor kneeling over her. "There's the eyes that outshine the stars." He stepped up next to Marcus as the portal closed behind him and put a hand on the younger man's shoulder, and turned to Corin. "She's not fixed yet?" he asked, looking gruff but sounding relieved to see her being tended to. "I thought you were good at this..."

"I've got her stable," Corin glared at Kardiac, still keeping the smile on his face, "Most of the," he stopped for a second and looked down at Faith, "blood loss has been stopped as well, but she's gonna need stitches and a transfusion too. He stood up, "Luckily we have all those supplies in the Doghouse. I can get her there in no time but I'd really rather not move her around too much just cause it would hurt, and apparently she's had enough hurt today as it is."

Marcus looked at Corin, eyes narrowed in thought. "If you tell me where the exam table is and how high, I can put her right on top of it... I don't even have to touch her," he said with absolute confidence.

"He's not kidding," Kardiac said matter-of-factly. "He is that good." Marcus' cheeks reddened ever-so-slightly... as if he wasn't used to or comfortable with being complimented in that manner. "If we go there 'the easy way,' he can also track us to the exact spot you want him to appear."

A short chuckle rose out of Marcus' throat. "If you only have one power," he said with a self-deprecating smirk. "You might as well be good at it, right?"

Corin nodded, as he did the shadows seemed to fall extra long across his face, "Right, let me make a quick call for some back up."

The snap of latex gloves being pulled off of Corin's hands signaled his exit from the med bay where Faith was currently being attended to by his partner Jamie and into the secondary medical area where Kardiac sat waiting. "Okay she's resting now," he said, a little bit more happily than he would have a hour before, "She's got some incredibly nasty bruises from the gunshots and about thirty stitches all together from the stab wounds, but she's gonna be okay." Corin dropped the blood stained latex gloves into the nearest recepticle and grabbed a fresh pair, "You might need a few too." The Starlight Sleuth walked toward Kardiac, "And while we're at it, what the hell happened? You're sidekick wasn't too forthcoming earlier."

"Don't worry about me... I'll live," Eddy said, just like Corin expected he would, though his tone implied he was in a lot of pain. "I got asked to help out with a simple infiltrate and eavesdrop operation. It was TAROT... so I agreed." He raised a hand weakly and shook his head in a 'no thanks' motion as Corin put his fresh gloves on and measured out some suture wire.

He continued to argue with his eyes as the doctor sat across from him. "Once I found out which TAROT player was involved, I knew I'd need backup... a spy that could get right into the room with him." He paused for a breath. "Wolf, Capin, and I ran across him a year or so back. That was a couple of days before I ran across Faith during the prison transport."

He lowered his head a bit, "She impressed me... so I took her under my wing."

Corin gave a broad smile as he inspected the cuts on Kardiac's face, "Trust me I know the feeling. Faith is definitely something special."

"Yeah... well, we have a deeper connection, as well... one of the reasons I took an interest." He frowned as the starlight sleuth started cleaning around his lacerations with alcohol and cotton balls. But that's beside the point. Turned out her cousin was the mysterious contact TAROT's Tower was coming to meet... and something happened that triggered a showdown between Faith and Takahashi. I don't know the details yet, myself."

He frowned deeply. "I should have been there."

"Hey she's tough," Corin said as he applied a bandage to one of the shallower cuts, "She wouldn't blame you she's smart too, she knew the risks involved. The real question is, did you get what you needed?"

Kardiac nodded. "I got more than we went in for... we wanted to find out who his contact was. We also found out that TAROT's 'Justice' was in town, and I managed to procure the location of all of TAROT's advanced bases in Garrison." He had apparently lost the desire to argue against treatment.

"Justice tied me up," he continued, not letting go of his guilt so easily. And after I escaped, the guards built a virtual phalanx in front of Takahashi's office... both unexpected variables. Amateur mistake... I should have expected backup."

"What's important is that you both made it out." He finished dressing the open wounds and moved to checking the other hero's ribs, "Feels like we have a few broken ribs here, you're prolly gonna want to stay off of them for a few days and let them heal," Corin laughed at his last statement, "You're prolly not going to though are you?"

Eddy smirked. "I always follow doctor's orders," he said, then he stood up quickly with a somewhat-suppressed wince of pain. "So long as those orders don't get between me and the job." He took a tenuous step forward, then walked towards the door to the main infirmary. "Don't worry, though... in this case, I think I deserve a few hours off anyway... after I've talked to our girl." He opened the door and walked in, leaving it open in case Corin was intent on following him.

"You are a mess," Jamie smiled as best she could, "what the hell were you thinking?"

Faith answered her friend with a weak smile. "I remember thinking 'ouch' a few times." She looked away, half afraid she was about to receive a lecture. "This was too important for me not to do it."

Jamie's eyes sparkled behind her glasses for a second before she snorted, "I remember thinking 'ouch' a few times? Did you really just say that?"

The redhead managed to blush a little. "I guess I did. And you haven't even given me those crazy pain-killers yet." Those blue eyes grew suddenly wary and she shrank away from the blonde doctor. "And you're not going to. Not until I've talked to Kardiac."

"Faith honey," Jamie's eyebrows knitted together, "you have been through hell. "

She shook her head, fiery hair falling across her face as she struggled to stay calm. Now wasn't the time to be emotional; she'd done enough of that. "I can't get all loopy yet. Just let me keep a clear head for a little while longer... then I'll take any drug you throw at me. I promise."

"I'm holding you to that," Jamie sat down on the edge of the bed, "have you given any thought at all to how we're gonna cover this up? Not having Riordan around is gonna make it a tad problematic."

Groaning, Faith closed her eyes, leaning back against the crisp white pillow. "I don't know. I guess I'm just going to have to avoid people for a while. I was hoping for a lot of sympathy from Charlie but..." Her lower lip quivered slightly. "He's still out of the country."

"He still out?"

"He was back for a while around Halloween. We even had a really nice, almost completely normal, date night." She kept her eyes closed, refusing to let the tears sneak past. The prospect of healing while all alone was discouraging, to say the least.

"Almost completely normal?" Jamie's eyebrows raised.

That was enough to make her smile again. "Well, there was a guy with a gun. But I don't need to be bullet-proof when Charlie's around. They just poof! went right through us."

Jamie snickered as she pushed her glasses up her nose, "That would have come in handy earlier today."

The little redhead nodded. "I've been trying not to think about that," she admitted. There was something about Jamie's calm presence, even without the drugs, that was helping her feel much better. Maybe it was enough not to be alone... not to be stuck thinking about all the ways things had gone wrong.

Jamie patted Faith on the leg, the one place she though it may not hurt. "It'll be fine. For what it's worth, I'm proud of you. It sounds like you did a hell of a job."

"Thanks. I just hope..." She couldn't quite bring herself to finish that thought out loud. Either Eddy was proud of her... or horribly disappointed. She'd find out soon enough.

As if in answer to her introspection, the infirmary door opened and Kardiac strode inside. Against type, he actually looked like he'd let Corin do some work on him. "There's my girl," he said as boisterously as he could manage. He glanced over at Jamie and added, "I trust you're taking good care of her." His momentum as he spoke carried him to Faith's bedside.

"How are you feeling?" he asked with a genuine smile on his face. For all his lamentations, the mission was over and she was alive, worse for wear perhaps, but alive. He'd let that be consolation for the time being. "You look strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark," he added, a slight smirk creeping into his smile.

Jamie rolled her eyes and smiled, "I'll let you two talk," She stood up, "not too long though you both need some rest." She crossed the room and the door slid shut behind her.

There was no way to express the feeling of relief that washed over her at the sight of Eddy's smile. Moving her legs to the far side of the bed, Faith made room for him to sit beside her if he wanted to. "What's a gundark?" she asked with a little smile before launching into the really important questions. "What happened? You let Corin help so it must have been bad. Are you going to be alright?" The questions tumbled out, her blue eyes showing a world of concern.

Eddy sat down beside her and turned off his game-voice. He smiled at the "gundark" question, but left it unanswered... note to self: make Faith watch The Empire Strikes Back. "There was a second member of the Arcana on-site, name of 'Justice'," he said, rubbing his shoulder where she'd touched him. "She was... challenging. Worse than that, though... she slowed me down." He smirked, pointing to the bandages on his face. "As for these... I was just trying to make Corin feel good about himself." He chuckled at his own joke and winced a little at the same time.

Before she could worry too much more, though, he put his hands on top of hers. "I... I know you knew the risks... but I'm...," even in his own voice he had trouble with that word. It was amazing how a man who shouldered so much guilt had such a hard time expressing it. After a beat, he looked her straight in the eyes and said it. "I'm sorry. I should have been there... for you and for Leland," he said, using his brother-in-law's first name without thought to the familiarity of it. Besides, if Faith hadn't figured it out by now, she wasn't going to.

"I let you down."

"No. No. No." Reaching out, she covered his mouth with her small hand, holding it there in case he tried to argue before she was done talking. "You were there when I needed you. And all that training and everything you taught me... it just... clicked. You kept me alive." Her blue eyes regarded him with a sense of amazement. There was no way she could explain to him what it had been like... to move without thinking, to know what to do next. Besides, he already knew.

But that wasn't the important part. He didn't get to bear all the responsibility. Not when she was the one who needed to be sorry. "Eddy, it's my fault. Tower knew I was there. And then Leland..." she gasped, thinking of her extended family, the family they both shared. "Have you heard anything? Is he alright?"

Eddy shrugged, his eyes drifting away from Faith's even as his voice became more direct. "Leland's in surgery. The doctors can't say anything conclusive." Back from their sideways glance, his eyes returned to hers. "But I won't have you blaming yourself for any of it. If the extent of Takahashi's power let him sense you, then that was bad intel, not you. I have complete confidence that you did nothing outside of the known parameters to set off his senses."

"And you took down a major player in TAROT one-on-one," he added, his smirk returning. "I may have trained you, but you did that, and that's nothing to shake a stick at." He moved a lock of hair that had fallen over her face while she had spoken. "Though I think we need to work on parrying and dodging a little once you're back on your feet."

His hand moved back down to rest on hers. "That is, of course, if you want to keep up with the lessons... I promise to not go easy on you and to only tease you about your boyfriend seven or eight times an hour."

"Are you kidding? You still want... you're still going to teach me?" The sparkle returned to those blue eyes. "Of course I want to keep up with the lessons. I have to work on the whole not getting stabbed thing. And hit you a few times for me still getting shot in the stomach." Despite the bandages and medical equipment in the room around them, her smile was as bright as ever. Until she realized she was getting distracted.

"Of course I want to continue," he replied, softly. "This wasn't just about the mission... I said you were going to be the best of them, and I meant it."

Her fingers curled tightly around his hand, holding his gaze to make sure she didn't get off track again. "But, Eddy, I did set off his powers. I couldn't control what I was thinking... or feeling... or both and that let him know I was there. He told me..."

Faith shuddered, drawing a deep breath before continuing. "His powers can overlook a spy but they'd never overlook a threat. So as soon as I started thinking that Leland was the bad guy and being stupid and wishing I could stop him... that's when Tower spotted me. Then after Leland turned on the listening thingy in his briefcase..." Realizing she was gripping his hand, she slowly relaxed her grip. "That's when it all went wrong."

Eddy shrugged, "We can work on focus and controlling your thoughts -- wait," he paused suddenly. "Listening thingy? What listening thingy...? He stopped himself and held up his hand for her to pause as well. He'd be debriefing soon, and needed to refocus. "Maybe you should start at the beginning."

Though by no means photographic, Faith's memory --honed by years of memorizing music-- was crystal clear. She started at the very beginning, describing the room and the way Takahashi had lingered behind the screen. "Then Leland came in..." She shook her head, looking away as worry for her cousin threatened to overwhelm her again. "I was so mad at him. I couldn't believe he would even think about partnering with someone like Takahashi. Especially since he's gonna be a dad soon." She didn't expect any surprise at that announcement. Eddy had a way of knowing everything.

"He was really calm in the face of Tower's creepiness though. I'm not sure if he had his listening device on the whole time or just when he handed his briefcase over. They were like sharing files and talking and I wanted to kick Leland in the head..." Faith bit her lip, wincing a little as she admitted it. "... which is probably when I gave myself away."

She went on to tell how Leland had attempted to get some sort of confession out of Takahashi, to get him to talk about his business. Then, shivering slightly, she described the man's face as he confronted her cousin about the listening device. "Leland was working with the police the whole time. Shouldn't we have known about that?" A worried frown creased her brow as she, once again, paused to worry about her cousin's condition.

Eddy shook his head slightly. "The police department doesn't usually report sting operations to Government agencies unless the op crosses jurisdictions," he said, taking in what she'd told him so far. "And Strat was so focused on criminal or underworld connections that they probably never bothered to check," he continued, eyes narrowing slightly. Unless..., he thought, but stopped himself from speaking aloud.

Instead, he asked, "But Leland seemed steady through the confrontation?"

"Leland was pretty confident. He hadn't gotten any information for the police, but Takahashi couldn't kill him without them knowing." Eddy nodded, though he raised an eyebrow. If Takahashi was afraid of the police, that would be new... more likely he was afraid of killing him before the deal was locked in. " That's when he pointed the gun at me and told Lee to sign or he'd kill me."

Faith told the rest of the story in a sudden rush of words, as if afraid to linger on the details for too long. Racing to keep her cousin from being shot, Tower laughing as he tried to hurt her, getting the gun, and, of course, the moment when Leland had jumped in to save her. "He wasn't thinking. He just jumped in front of the bullets. After he went down I got distracted... that's when I got stabbed."

Blue eyes filling with tears, she finished describing the fight, including what she was thinking and feeling as her cousin lay on the ground. "Tower had stopped laughing by then but he was still just..." She shuddered again and wiped her eyes. "And he called me a name... um... Kazoekirenai. I don't know what it means... but I didn't care either. I just wanted to stop him, to make sure he didn't get up and hurt anyone else. And then... then you were there and it was over."

Eddy frowned, but then suddenly put on a thin smile as if he'd just thought of something. His eyes flashed back to Faith's. "Leland was wearing a vest," he said, trying to provide some small comfort. "If he hadn't been, he'd have been dead before he hit the ground. If he jumped between you and a gun, though, it would explain why the one round that got through entered at such a weird angle."

"He's strong," he added, squeezing her hand. Eddy was worried about Leland, himself. They'd rarely seen eye-to-eye, but Lexington was family... and Eddy's sister was carrying his child. Nobody should have to grow up without a father. He shook his head slightly, forcing away a sudden dizziness and making himself re-focus on the case. His eyes narrowed slightly as something Faith said clicked. "Kazoekirenai...?" he asked. She nodded.

"It's not a name... not that I know of. It's a Japanese word, very formalized too," he said as if in answer to his own question. "If I'm not mistaken, it means 'without number' -- countless." She suddenly remembered the question she'd asked Takahashi, and related it to Eddy. "It's a sensible answer... but why speak Japanese? If he was gloating, or mocking you, it would make more sense to do it in English." He thought for a second, then continued. "And why be so formal? Tasuu would carry the same meaning, and it's more the vernacular."

He looked at her and noticed the expression on her face. It seemed a mix of amazement and expectation, like she was surprised to hear him offering a treatise on the Japanese language without being fully surprised that he understood it. He smiled. "When the Yakuza moved into the Golden Strip a few years back, I thought it would behoove me to learn the language," he explained, "Let them talk around me without expecting me to understand them." He closed his eyes for a second, trying to concentrate. He seemed to be developing a pretty nasty headache.

"Takahashi had to have used that word for a reason," he said after a few heartbeats. "But I doubt that we'll find out why tonight," he said, finally. The room seemed to shift to one side a little bit, and Eddy tightened his grip on the gurney, hoping he hadn't swayed visibly. Sleep was going to feel so good before tomorrow's debrief. "You did good," he said, looking back at her face and, to some extent, hoping to distract her from any weakness she might have seen in him the moment before. "I'm proud of you."

Faith couldn't hold back her smile. In that moment she didn't look, or feel, like she'd been through hell; she looked radiant. "Thank you." Closing her eyes, she let her head fall into the pillow behind her. She wasn't done worrying about Leland, or trying to figure out why Takahashi had used that word, but at least now she could rest.

Her hand found his again, covering it lightly with her own. Opening her eyes just a bit, she grinned at him. "Sometime later... I want to hear all about how you beat Justice. And what you did to Mr. Creepy after Marcus took me from the room."

Eddy smiled. "I promise I'll answer one of those two questions," he said, patting her hand. "But you, my sweetness, need to get some rest." he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. He stood up, looking over his shoulder at the doorway as he rose. He turned to walk away from her bedside, stepped forward with his right foot, and dropped straight towards the floor. As he fell, his eyes rolled back as the lids crashed down to cover them.

"Eddy!" It was officially the most frightening thing she'd seen all night. Struggling to get out of her bed, Faith called for the help she knew was nearby. "Corin, get in here. Please!"

Both doctors rushed into the room. Corin pulled Kardiac back to his feet snaking the bio electric hero's arm around his shoulders, "He'll be fine Faith," he said with a reassuring smile, "I think with everything you two have been through, Sparky here just ran out of juice."

"But what if..." It was only Jamie's hand on her shoulder that kept her from rushing to her mentor's side.

"Nuh uh," the blond applied just enough pressure to keep Faith in place, "you need to stay put."

"But..."

"Do you trust Corin?" Jamie's voice was stern.

The battered redhead wilted back onto her bed. "Of course I do." Maybe it was because she was worrying again, but everything seemed to hurt a lot more than it had a few minutes ago. "I totally trust you, Corin. Just... fix him, okay?"

"Don't even worry," Corin said over his shoulder as he helped Kadiac into the other room. Eddy groaned out something about being 'okay,' but he didn't seem to put up any real fight. His eyes were still pretty glassed-over, and helping him walk was about the same as trying to help Jell-O remain stable.

"Wait! I'll go crazy if I don't know what's going on. Can't you just fix him in here?" She looked imploringly at Jamie, hoping to get someone on her side. To her frustration, and relief, she felt the sudden prick of a needle as the blonde doctor took advantage of her distraction and finally administered some much needed pain killers.

Glaring at her friend for a second, Faith gave up and made herself comfortable. As much as she hated to admit it, it would feel so good to sleep. "Can you at least wheel his bed-thingy in here so I don't have to be alone?"

"Sure, just as soon as we get him comfortable we will," Jamie ran her hand through Faith's hair as the red head drifted off.

She let herself close her eyes for a minute or two, just long enough to let the room grow quiet and still... and to give her overprotective doctors time to busy themselves with Eddy. Then, with an indelicate groan, she reached beside the bed for her belongings. Since opening her eyes was too much effort, it took her a moment or two to find what she was looking for. As her tiny hand closed around the comm, Faith smiled. The drugs were starting to work their magic already. Now she just hoped that Marcus was still paying attention.

A soft "whump" of displaced air signalled his arrival. He looked around, then his eyes fell on Faith. "Hey there, gorgeous. Don't tell me you're looking for an evac," he said, a smile growing on his face. "I'd expect that from Eddy, but you seem smart enough to know better..."

A soft chuckle left her lips. It hurt a lot less to laugh now that Jamie had given her that... well... whatever it was. "Do you know how much trouble I'd be in if I went anywhere?" Blue eyes very bright, Faith smoothed the hair away from her face and smiled.

"Not as much trouble as I'd be for taking you," he replied with a soft chuckle. "I'm betting Eddy would work through forgiving you by punishing me," he added. After a second, he continued. "So let me guess... you just couldn't stand another moment without me... I know... it's a common ailment."

"As much as I missed your handsome face, I didn't call you here for me. Eddy's resting... because he kinda fell down on the floor. Corin says he just ran out of juice and needs to rest and stuff. And I believe him. I just thought that maybe Agent Fairchild would like to know... you know..."

Marcus pursed his lips, then smirked. "Yeah... I know." His eyes drifted off towards the ground slightly. "And she will want to know...." He looked back at Faith, then handed her a business card-sized piece of card-stock with a solitary phone number on it. "And just so you know... if you ever need a lift, you just need to call." he said as she took it from him. "I'll even keep it off the books... I know Eddy would rather keep you outside of Strategoi's purview as much as possible."

After the night they'd all had, that seemed like the sweetest gesture imaginable. "My hero." Setting the card down on her lap, she reached her hand out to him. "Thank you, Marcus. For everything." Marcus took her hand in both of his, holding it for a moment.

Trying, unsuccessfully, to hold back a yawn, the redhead grinned at him. "Does this mean I can call if I feel the sudden need for some friendly company at dinner sometime?

"Any time," he said with a smile. He added a wink as he said, "But make sure you have your passport on you... I like foreign foods." He brought her hand to his lips, kissed it chivalrously, then placed it back down next to her. With a quick salute and one more wink, he disappeared in a soft "whump" on decompression.

Eddy opened his eyes and took a long look at Corin. "What's the good word, Doc?"

"Well I won't lie," Corin said with a smirk, "you won't be playing the violin again real soon."

Eddy smirked. "Hell, I'd be scared if I suddenly could," he said with a chuckle. "Sorry for the scare... I'm just seriously tapped." He shrugged it off, letting himself rest. "What's important is that our girl is safe," he said in a serious tone, adding, "which I suppose is just the cue you need to segue into the lecture you've undoubtedly prepared about putting her in danger in the first place...."

"Damn," Corin snapped his fingers, "now the dramatic effect is all gone." The Starlight Sleuth sat down across from Eddy, "I just find it sadly funny that usually she's the one bringing me wounded puppies and now she's the wounded puppy."

"I wish it had turned out differently," Eddy replied, eyes drifting to the door. "She's a tough one, though... not one to be coddled, either. I tried repeatedly to get her to bow out of the thing, but she'd have none of it." He smirked. "Give her a couple of years and she'll be bossing us around."

"Yeah if she makes it that long," Corin gave a smirk, "I don't know exactly what you all were involved with. Seeing as Stratigoi was involved I can imagine it was something very important, but we're a team," Corin's smirk widened into a full smile, "or at least the three of us are with a few stragglers who are too damn stubborn to show up all that often. You should have at least had some kind of back up incase things got ugly." Corin stood up and placed his had on Kardiac's shoulder, "I know you've been doing this a lot longer than me, but if there is one thing I've learned we all work better together than separately."

Eddy dropped his work-voice. Corin was, at least casually, a friend, and it looked like this was actually bothering him. "We had backup... and I'd have loved the extra help, except that more backup would have compromised the mission." He slid up a little further in the bed, grimacing slightly as his body rejected the idea after all the strain it had been through. "Takahashi's power is the ability to 'feel' his building's security status. The more eyes we had watching the building, the more likely he would have sensed the observation," he said in way of explanation. "And you couldn't have telelported in anyway... he had the place warded against your flavor of magic... TAROT includes you in its list of me and Blue's 'known associates'."

"Marcus was an unknown quantity... and that's the only reason I chose him over you as evac."

Corin nodded, "Fair enough." Corin turned back toward the window overlooking the other room where Faith lay sleeping, "She did good though huh?"

"She was spectacular," he answered, smiling. The smile slipped to a smirk as he continued. "But what do you expect... I trained her." He chuckled, and it hurt, and what was worse, Corin noticed him wince. The expression on the doctor's face was about to lead to words, so Eddy figured he'd save him the breath.

"Go. I'll rest," he said, smiling again. "I'll even rest here, if it'll make you feel better."

Corin smiled. A few quick words of instruction and a 'doctor's orders' and he was gone. Eddy looked at the door as it closed and for several moments thereafter. He hated bed-rest, and this would normally be the moment he'd make his mistake. But Faith was over there, and she was his responsibility. So, for the time being at least, he wasn't going anywhere... for the time being.

With a groan that was anything but ladylike, Faith opened one eye then promptly shut it again. It hadn't been one big, painful dream. She was still in the Doghouse and still injured. And, worst of all, the pain killers seemed to be wearing off. "I must look horrible," she groaned to herself, half glad that no one was around to see her.

"Like you could ever look horrible. an all too familiar voice said with a smile.

"Riordan!" With a smile of genuine delight, the little redhead struggled to sit up then, failing miserably, lay still on the bed and reached her hand out to him. "Ohmygosh what are you doing here?"

The auburn haired mage made his way over to her.

"Where else would I be? My baby's gone and got herself banged up pretty bad...how come we keep meeting in hospitals?" He laughed, laying a soft kiss on the back of her outstretched hand as he took a seat on the edge of her bed.

That smile faltered slightly. "You've been gone a while now," she reminded him gently. "And you so did not come back just because I'm all hurt and stuff."

"Am I back? Maybe I'm the drugs talking." He laughed.

"Oh, you're definitely not the drugs." Loving the sound of that laugh, Faith squeezed his hand as if to reassure herself. "Where were you? I missed you."

"That would be a very long story, sweetness, but one I'd love to tell you sometime...later." he smiled brightly down at her, "It's almost time, I'm almost done and then I'll really be back.

"Wait! What?" Now she did sit up, muttering a few bad words under her breath as she struggled to stay upright. "What do you mean you'll really be back. You're right here."

"Appearances can be deceiving, beautiful." Riordan grinned wider, "You shouldn't strain yourself though, you'll need your strength.

Though it hurt a lot, she managed to hit him in the arm. "Okay. You just stop that right now. I'm injured, remember? You're supposed to be nice to me." If she was going to be stuck in this bed, she might as well try to get some sympathy out of the deal. Especially since her pushy doctors hadn't been by to check on her in a while.

"Okay I'll try and stop being vague if you try to keep yourself in one piece." He gave a small laugh as he brushed a hand through her hair.

"I think I'm done stopping sharp objects with my body... for a while at least," she laughed with him.

"That's always good to hear." Riordan smiled, "Corin better be taking the best care of you or he'll be hearing from me!"

With a roll of those bright blue eyes, Faith shook her head. "Oh he's taking good care of me. Too good. They're not even letting me go home yet." Her lips settled into a little pout.

"You know your father will never let you put on that costume again if he hears about this." Riordan said letting his hand brush her cheek.

She totally didn't want to think about that. Ever. It was so easy to focus on the strange little family she'd discovered with Eddy that it had seemed almost natural not to think about her father, and what he would say if he had any idea what she'd been doing. "And it would be such a shame," she teased, trying to keep the conversation light. "I have a sexy new costume and everything."

"Everything you wear is sexy." He laughed, "take my word for it."

Faith blushed and laughed. "Such a charmer. I don't suppose you can magic me up a cure like you did the last time I was shot, can you?"

"Shucks...I left my magic cure in my other pants." He snapped his fingers with a sarcastic sigh and a grin.

Sticking her tongue out at him, she decided that laying back down on the pillows sounded really good. "In that case, I might have to send you off to find Corin or Jamie. Everything's kinda starting to hurt again." A frown pulled at her brow. "I'm surprised they haven't wandered in here actually. They've both missed you almost as much as I have."

"Don't worry baby, they'll be here soon. The pain just means you're waking up."

"I'm what?"

"Waking up... his words started to get hard to hear like she was hearing him through water and the room began to get blurry, "Don't be scared, I'll see you soon I promise."

"Riordan!" She gripped his hand tighter, trying to force him to stay. The room continued to blur until she couldn't see anything at all. She shut her eyes, half to keep from getting sick and half to keep from seeing him disappear on her again. For a long while she seemed to drift in silence, feeling lonely and a little bit grumpy. Then, with a groan that was anything but ladylike, Faith opened one eye.

The room around her was unchanged. Her hand was empty. "Those were some drugs..."

by **Capin** on 06 Jan 2010 12:51

The sniper's shot echoed through the courtyard, but the crack of the rifle seemed to pale next to the cracking of terracotta, as if the vessel's shattering was a dark portent.

Combat in the ashram ceased. An eerie stillness settled over the temple as villain and hero alike looked toward the fallen monk and the building behind them. But as quickly as it had fallen, the stillness was broken once more, for from within the temple came an unearthly howl. The roof of the sacred building began to buckle upward, then exploded into flying debris as an ancient creature arose from among the splintered rubble.

The behemoth towered above them, tentacles and black slime protruding from its amorphous form. Clouds swirled around the top of the thing, as if nature itself was afraid to contact the ancient monster.

Spencer looked up at the unspeakable creature. "I think we're gonna to need a bigger boat."

"Fool!" The Sharp Dressed Man whipped his arm out in the direction of the sniper. A blizzard of needles shot from his jacket, glittering in the fading light. The glimmering projectiles seemed to melt into the commando's kevlar, and for a moment it looked as though nothing had happened.

The man looked at his chest, lifting his head with a smile. A smile that faded quickly when he caughed and a fountain of blood spewed from his mouth. The commando's eyes rolled back and he was dead before he hit the ground.

Rabbit looked back at Ryu. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

There was a horrible, deafening shriek from the beast that rippled out of the squid-like tentacles that draped down its head and over its body. The echo of its howl bounced off the mountainside and all there felt it chill their very bones. Like darkly polished stones, a hundred eyes seemed to look down upon them. Massive leathery wings barbed with talons stretched out from its back, dripping with the slick oily film of its rebirth.

"Youthink?" Ryu shot back at the Sharp Dressed Man.

He could feel Enry buzzing along his spine, telling them they had to stop it. It had to be re-contained or it would tear far more than just this temple apart. "Sonovua..." He looked up the creature. It was a mountain of it its own. He'd been to hell and back, and Ryu had never imagined anything like this. And all the while he could hear his partner fearlessly urging them on. Stop it. They had to stop it here.

"Screw it." The Dapper Detective bolted forward, his eyes looking for something, anything that would be useful. The inky black cape anchored itself to one of the stone statuary and latched onto the long, strong spindly trunk of one of the taller sakura trees, pulling it back. The tree moaned as it bent away, but the pliable wood held firm as it came back. "This is terrible idea," he said to himself as they let go of the stone and the swinging wood of the cherry blossom catapulted him through the air.

In the corner of his eye, the now familiar sight of Dr. Pace in her Tigris form caught Spencer's eye. But there was something else. "Kaye! Hold up. I think we've got something else to do."

Tigris paused, looking to Aaron. "Go," he said after a moment's hesitation.

"You sure?" She growled.

"No, but if all this goes south, I don't think either of us will be around to say I told you so..." This was something beyond all imagining. None of them had faced anything like this before. The beast's appearance alone was enough to take Aaron out of his game. What could they do in the face of something of this magnitude? Then for a brief instant, time seemed to slow.

One does what one must. What one always does. The She-wolf's voice rang in his head in answer to his unspoken question.

Okay, fine. A little advise wouldn't hurt, though.

He felt the presence in his mind smile a wolfish smile, One cannot hope to defeat one's opponent, one must strive to contain it. That task, however lies with another.

Aaron's mind immediately jumped to Spencer and Kaye and he felt his resolve returning. A delaying action it is, then.

Small-arms fire brought Aaron back to the here and now. Rabbit's men had turned their focus to the creature, but they might as well have been throwing rocks for all the good it was doing.

Ryu landed against the monstrous creature with a sickening sound. Its skin was a strange mix of leather and slick softeness. "crapcrapcrap..." His fingers clawed at the edges to find some purchase as he slipped down with quick speed. Enry bled through his palms with little jagged hooks that caught through its hide with like a hot knife in butter. Looking up at the tendrils that fell from the thing's face, Ryu's mind raced with just what to do next. How to stop it. He climbed.

Even as a blizzard of gunfire bounced off it, the indescribably monstrous beast was advancing. It let loose another blood curdling howl and swung one of its arms down. It slammed the long snakelike appendage down, destroying part of the walkway around the courtyard and crushing several TAROT foot soldiers with a sickening crunch. It swung across, bodies and bricks and wood tossed up in its wake.

Katia dodged backward, cursing in her native tongue. Her hands stretched out, the air around her condensing into a white wall of thick ice, stronger than any brick. The creature slammed against it hard, but her cover held better than anything else had so far. She ducked across the corner, concentrating hard on all that condensation. The soil grew cold and hard as water deep within the earth was sucked up to the surface and cooled. The ice from her wall grew over the thing's arm freezing it to the very ground. It howled.

The White Rabbit raced across the ground, as he saw an opening. He leaped over the cracking ice wall, feet chipping as he ran up the trapped arm, "Keep it down!" he shouted as he ran up its thick cephelopod like arm. "It cannot be allowed to escape!"

Up high Ryu continued to advance higher and higher as he scaled the beast. He could feel it's cool body pulsing beneath. He held his palms flat to the creature's skin, his partner feeling deeper. "Let's see what makes you tick..."

The cape swung hard and fast, as thin as a blade. It cut through the creature's hide in one clear sweep and plunged deep. Howling with pain, a hundred black eyes shot down to him. "I don't think he liked that." Thick, black blood poured from the wound like oil bleeding down its sickening green skin.

One of its face tendrils wrapped around his torso. He could feel his ribs ache as it squeezed him hard. "Sonova..." Holding on for dear life wasn't enough as the beast yanked him free, cutting part of its skin off as it did. The thick green muscle coiled around his body, and pulled him up toward its gaping maw. "Crap."

Instead of becoming a snack, Ryu found himself falling. The creature bellowed in rage and pain such that the very flagstones they stood upon shook. Enry shot out, embedding a black coil into the creature's hide. Ryu found his footing once again, and looking down, found his savior in the form of an azure lance driven deep into the beast. The spectral knight saluted Ryu with his sword, then raised the mighty weapon and began to methodically hack great rents into the creature's flesh.

As if the action was some silent signal, the rest of the ghostly 'Bluewolves' attacked. Volley's of arrows, musket balls, and bullets raked the creature's mid-section. Aaron sprinted to Katia. "C'mon, let's give this thing a bad case of frostbite." The blonde nodded, following Aaron towards the beast.

Kaye followed Spencer as the enigmatic investigator picked his way through the ruins of the honden. From the sounds of the fight going on behind them, it was hard to tell if things were going well or not. She worried about leaving Aaron and the others, but Spencer's hunches had served them well in tight places before; hopefully his abilities wouldn't let them down now.

"So what are we supposed to do?" she asked.

"I'm not exactly sure," Spence replied. He looked around the ruined temple, trying to figure out why his mystery sense had pulled him there. "Let's move around... look for anything unusual, out of place."

Kaye nodded and they spread out. The heiden had all-but been destroyed by the creature's emergence, littering the front of the honden with wood and bits of ceramic. The rest of honden appeared to be undamaged, however, so there was no fear of the roof collapsing on them while they searched.

Picking through the wreckage, Kaye took note of the parchment banners hanging at the rear of the temple. The largest read: Kokoro no Ryuujin - Heart of the Dragon King. It was flanked on each side with smaller banners: Ketsueki no Ryuujin - Blood of the Dragon King, Shakudo no Ryuujin - Scale of the Dragon King, Hanone no Ryuujin - Fang of the Dragon King, and Tsume no Ryuujin - Claw of the Dragon King.

There was some significance in those titles, Kaye was sure of it, but there was little time to dwell on the subject before Spence called her over. He was holding up a fragment of pottery.

"I'm not sure how it relates, but I think this is what we're looking for." He handed her the fragment. "This is more your area of expertise."

"It's a piece of pottery," she began with the obvious. Continuing the examination, Kaye turned the piece over in her hand. Earthenware with a curious rope-like pattern pressed into the surface on one side, the other coated with a slimy film. "If I had to guess, I'd put this in the early Jōmon period. Anywhere from twelve to sixteen thousand years old."

Spencer nodded. Looking around, he picked up two more pieces, one of them larger. "I think these match up. And they were what was holding that... thing captive."

Kaye nodded, "Right, but unless you have a tube of superglue hidden somewhere, I don't see how much good it's going to do us... or them."

"I know, but we're in here for a reason, we-" The P.I.'s words stopped suddenly. He passed a hand over his eyes, feeling like someone had just kicked a bucket load of sand in hid face. Looking back down at the fragments in his hand, he noticed a mark on each piece had that tell-tale glow of importance.

"Wait a minute," he said, fitting the pieces together. They revealed a partial kanji symbol that had been inscribed on the pot. "I think this was added after the pot was fired."

Kaye looked at him with wide eyes. "Looks like we have a puzzle to put together..."

"Alright," Aaron stopped short of the creature, "you provide the frost, I'll cover the bite."

The Russian woman groaned a little as she rubbed her hands together, brushing off the layer of ice that had built up and began to insulate her hands. He was far from the first to make a frost bite joke. "Remind me to punish you for that after." Flexing her thin strong fingers, she began to freeze large patches of the creature's skin, manipulating the moisture in its very body.

At her signal, Aaron drove his fist at the icy target with as much strength as he could muster. Frozen bits of green flesh and ocher blood exploded out from the impact, creating an oozing crater upon the beast. It wasn't much, but between their efforts and the constant harassment of their spectral allies, it was enough to keep the creature off balance and allow Ryu to press his attack.

The Dapper Detective clambered up the slick, leathery skin with ease and speed. Enry's needley claws caught and tore little wounds as they did. The beast swung for him with those tendrils to snag him once more, but between the assailing attack of Bluewolf and Katia its attack was slowed, and this time he was prepared.

He leaped for it before it could wrap its deadly muscles around him. Grabbing securely, the cape coiled around its curling end as it reached up to pluck him free. Razor thin edges sliced deep and fast through the taut muscle with a sickening cut. Black blood rained down as the heavy tendril was chopped free and fell to the ground.

The beast howled in anger and pain. It swatted at him with another of the arms that hung from its head. The attack was swift and hard, smacking Capin across the shoulder and sending him flying. He reached out with his cape, hoping to find something to cling to before finding the ground. Hurling through the air, the Earth swung about. He caught glimps of Bluewolf and Katia crawling up a a hail of snow that kept the creature tethered to the ground before all he saw was beast and sky.

"Gotcha." Gripping him by the wrist, The Sharp Dressed Man plucked Capin from flight, swinging him about. The white clad man was anchored to the beast's trapped arm by his cane, which now more of an axe. "Careful of those things." Looking back, the appendage Capin had cut clean was already starting to bud a new end.

Capin's breathing was heavy and labored. His ribs ached over his lungs, and he was sure a few had cracked at least some. "Thanks..." He looked up plotting his course along the creature's body to get closer to the head. "I'll worry about those, what're you gonna do to help the situation you created?"

"I'll do my part, brother." Rabbit's eyes narrowed a moment before looking back up at the unspeakable creature's face. He swung his empty hand out and produced another straight cane. "I'm the least of your worries." He swung the cane about, it's head growing that bundle of spikes which he stuck the creatures hide with and began to ascend.

"For now..."

While Ryu, Aaron, and Katia battled against the creature outside, inside the temple Spencer and Kaye fought their battle against time. They had pieced together a large portion of the inscription, but there were still several key areas missing. This wasn't a situation where they could afford to improvise. Imprisoning ancient evils, as odd as it sounded, was an exact science.

Spence walked around the temple slowly, eyes half closed, as if he was trying to force his powers into discovering another piece. Frustrated with his unsuccessful search, Spence sat down next to the archaeologist. "I don't know if there's anything left of the other pieces," he mused.

The pieces of the vase were scattered before them, arranged in a sort of flat projection of its former shape. There were pieces of kanji characters missing from one area, between a pair of rope-like patterns. Spence pointed at that section. "What's that say? Around the missing pieces"

Doctor Pace studied the secition. "As near as I can tell, it's something about bound by the... something of the king."

Picking up the piece with the missing kanji, Spence held it to his face. Tracing along the Japanese characters, his finger slid off of the piece and pointed to a banner. Some of the writing matched the shapes of the characters on the pot, but one was absent. The one in the hole.

"Hey, what's that banner say?"

Turning to look at the banner, Kaye read, "Blood of the Dragon King. Ketsueki no Ryuujin." She looked back to the jigsaw puzzle of pottery that lay before her, tracing down the symbols like a child reading a book, "Bound Forever By/Blood and Fang of Dragon King/Destroyer of Worlds..."

"Wow. Nothing like a little Armageddon to brighten the day." He cast one more look around the temple, that familiar aura emanating from a medium-sized urn tucked in a corner. Retrieving it, he looked back to Kaye, "C'mon, let's go show that slug how we do things down town."

The dark beast swung the heavy free arm down, and the Earth shook as if it had been struck by the moon. The wooden construction of the haiden splintered and rained down over the ground with slivers and planks and twisted, broken of TAROT's foot soldiers. The beast let lose a another of its blood curdling, angry howls.

High above, Capin and the White Rabbit scrambled across its skin, ducking and jumping from the searching tendrils that covered its mouth. The black and white blur ascended further up the body and were nearly at its head. The pair of them worked in perfect concert. While the Dapper Detective's cape slashed thick and deep gashes into the darkspawn's flesh, The Sharp Dressed Man's spike laden cane's would dig into the wound and pull it open and wide.

Between their performance and Bluewolf and Katia's, the creature seemed sufficiently distracted to not know where to focus. Unable to land a satisfying blow on any of them, it took its frustration out on everything else around it. Every attack decimated the ever dwindling numbers of black clad agents.

"This isn't enough!" The white coated Rabbit hollered down to Capin who was cleaving a large cut into what might have been its cheek. "We can't do enough damage."

Ryu looked down the way they came. Though slowly, the large gaping injuries were starting to try and stitch themselves together. The smaller ones were only noticeable by the off color scars that didn't seem to heal over. The villain was right. They were hurting it but not making nearly enough headway to stop it, let alone contain it.

Looking down he caught Bluewolf's attention. In the midst of battle the two men nodded. "Alright then," Ryu said, swinging back up. "Time to up the stakes then." He jumped to the side, eying those long tentacles. "Make him angry."

This was a request that the villain was more than happy to fulfill. "Gladly." He ran across the thing's shaking head as it reached up trying to swat him away. With acrobatic skill he ducked and dodged the swinging cirrus. But the assault became thicker and dexterity simply wasn't enough. His canes thrashed about with an almost inhuman speed to knock hack the attacks back and plow a path onward until he was looking down at the field of glassy black stones.

"My apologies." The Rabbit's arm swung overhead hard, the far end of the straight cane forming into a thick, pointed pick. It plunged deep and hard, and as he worked it further, the second cane came down into another of the myriad of eyes. Hand over hand he attacked with fury. Black grease smeared across his once pristine suit as he blinded eye after eye after eye.

Capin had jumped out and caught hold of the creatures tentacles. Enry slashed it free and climbed. More came for him, and he felled those too. The beast was fighting a battle on too many fronts. More and more blinded and still pinned to the ground, its anger reached a fevered pitch. It let loose another haunting cry and spread its wings wide and attempted to lift itself from the barrage.

With their beast attempting to take flight, the Dapper Detective culled one more of its tendrils. As the retaliation came, his cape retreated within. The slick, strong muscle curled around him once more and rent him free. "God..." he wheezed as it tightened its hold, trying to crush him, "damn that smarts."

Instead of cutting them free this time, Ryu's companion kept them from being squished like berry. He looked up into the gaping maw of the beast which he was being brought closer and closer too. "I know, I know," Capin groaned through gritted teeth, "not my best laid plan." He closed his eyes tight as the the thing tossed him down it's gullet.

Watching her companion disappear within the monster's mouth, Katia screamed and her strategy shifted from cold to hot. The creature howled in excruciating pain as its skin began to singe, her hands burning into it. As she began to reach red hot, the cast on her arm burst into flame, adding to the assault. The plaster turned to ash and the flesh of the beast peeled away as if trying to escape from the burn. Steam and smoke billowed out as the black oily blood was turned to vapor instantly at her touch. Slick gore sizzled as it splashed against her skin.

Like a surgical laser, she cut into the thing in an effort to reach Ryu before he was digested. The foul smell spread throughout the battleground. The monster clawed at the hole in its body she had buried herself in, tentacles whipping about, afraid to wrap around the searing woman and damage them as well. With no other option, one sacrificed limb slithered around her, the flesh burning and sticking to her. The muscled tensed and pulled her from its wound, tossing her across the courtyard.

Wolf was moving even before the trail of slime connecting Katia to the creature's tentacle snapped. Launching from the beast, he hit the courtyard, rolled, and was in full sprint as Katia arced through the air. The Russian girl reached her zenith, seeming to hang in the air for a brief moment before falling back to the ground.

Even at top speed, the timing was close. Aaron was able to get between Katia and the ground, taking the brunt of an impact that would have likely done the girl in. They fell to the ground in a tangle of arms, legs, cuts, and bruises.

Wolf untangled and lay the girl down, checking for injuries. Her clothes were smoldering, and her skin was still warm, but everything seemed to be okay. Katia's ice-blue eyes fluttered open, and she started to prop herself up, but Aaron held her back.

"Whoa there, missy," he said with a wry smile, "Hero Rule Number One: The middle of a fight is not the time to see if you can fly."

Katia looked at Aaron like he'd just lost his mind. "I do not see how this is the time for making jokes," she said, pushing him away and getting to her feet. "That creature-"

"Is about to have a migraine of epic proportions." Despite the bravado, there was was that lingering voice in the back of his mind that added, I hope.

The blonde's look went from one of incredulousness to something bordering the possibility that Aaron was about to sprout a second, evil, head.

The massively giant beast shook its head violently. It tore its arm from the ground, pulling much of the earth along with and leaving a gaping hole in its place. The Sharp Dressed Man continued to blind eye after eye and had now drawn more attention than he could handle as that heavy tentacle swung over head and swatted him from its face. The villain flew over head but was caught and wrapped up in one of the things arms. Clearly its intent had been to crush him, but the rabbit had managed to hack himself free.

The Sharp Dressed Man landed like a cat a few meters from where Bluewolf and Katia stood. His suit was smeared with black grease from his assault. Panting to catch his breath, he cradled his ribs with his arms, one of his canes held in the ready. To their right, Kaye and Spencer came sprinting from the rubble of the honden. The Mystery Man was cradling some sort of pot like a football.

"How we doing?" He shot a look up as the creature shifted its presence.

Aaron's jaw set as he watched the creature ready its attack. "Been better..."

"We have something." He looked from the old clay pot and back to their ancient enemy, reminded of its immenseness. "I think..."

Its arms slammed on the ground, shaking the whole shrine around them from the bottom up. It crouched forward, head low, seething with anger and hate. What was left of its dark black eyes blinked. Its head twitched. The tendrils around its face opened up for its mouth as it screeched its unearthly howl. The sickening smell of brunt flesh and rotted death washed over them all.

Its sounds choked back into a high pitched squeal. The hellspawn's head jerked to the side, its cheek scraping across the ground. Those thick muscular arms wrapped around its face as it whined and retreated a moment. Then, as quick as it had started, the beast went limp and crashed forward barely feet from the five of them with a cloud of dust and dirt.

"What..."

Aaron raised a hand, cutting Spence's confusion short, "Wait for it..."

An eerie silence descended over the shattered shrine grounds. None of them moved. None of them even breathed. Those seconds of stillness seemed like an age, but then the thing twitched. It's head rocked a little and then... SLISH[/b I thin black blade slicked out from its forehead. It grew thicker and longer as it spread over the edges of the wound and split the creature's soft skull apart.

An almost relieved sigh fell from Bluewolf's lips. "There it is."

Capin was almost unrecognizable as he stumbled through the opening, coughing and sputtering. A greasy rainbow of black and greens and grays coated him, dripping down in thick rivulets. He took shaky steps away from the thing, walking between its prehensile antennae. Against his chest he clutched a large grayish mess of flesh.

"Disgusting!" he spat, barely containing the contents of his own stomach.

"I can imagine," Aaron said with a touch of humor.

"No. Really. You can't." He held out the wrinkled mass, "Please tell me we have some place to put this. I don't think I can do that again."

Spencer held out the pot, allowing Ryu to let the organ slide inside with a wet SHLOP and replacing the lid. He looked at the container, holding it out gingerly, as though he expected it to explode again into a mass of evil. "Okay, so how do we seal this thing?"

"The inscription," Kaye said, repeating the words from the original. "I don't suppose anyone has an ink pot handy?"

Though the words were half in jest, they served to trigger something in Ryu. He looked at Rabbit, to whom, it seemed, was having a similar revelation. The two nodded, Rabbit reaching out to Spencer, "I believe our partnership requires one final task."

Spencer looked to Ryu. The smaller man closed his eyes. Here they were, the culmination of their entire journey, and despite his exhaustion, there was one more step to take before they could all rest. Wiping the gore from his face, Ryu nodded, signaling the PI to hand over the cask.

Rabbit joined Ryu then. The Dapper Detective's adversary regarded him for a long moment before he spoke. "Are you sure you're prepared for this?"

"Can't see where we have much of a choice, do you?" Ryu replied. "Just remember that we're not looking at an unlimited supply of ink here. I'd really appreciate it if you only need to go to the well once."

The man nodded. Letting one cane fall to the dirt, the other morphed into a foot long fang, curved, silver-white pristine death. Without so much as batting an eye, he drove the fang deep into Ryu's chest. A painful sigh escaped Ryu's lips, but he made no other sound. At some unspoken cue, Rabbit withdrew the fang, now stained red from root to tip, allowing Ryu to slip to the ground.

Momentarily taken aback by the macabre scene unfolding before them, the others made to intercede but were stayed by Aaron's sharp bark, "NO! Stay back, all of you!"

With seeming indifference, the assassin turned to task. Using the fang as a stylus, he scratched into the clay surface of the jar. Crimson rivers filled the valleys, quickly fading from bright red black as Rabbit carved the kanji symbols that would imprison the creature once more. He finished and the ink had settled into the last of the etching. There was a soft and gentle hum from that simple clay pot that Rabbit held. A dark blue light swirled around the blood and tooth carved characters, up the pot and settled into lid melding the two pieces together seamlessly.

The beast was trapped, and as if sealing the point its carcass burst into a flame of blue and black and red and white. It burned with incredible speed but left everything else it touched unsinged. Only the ash drifted up into the wind, leaving behind barely a trace of the monster that had left the ancient shrine in complete destruction.

Ryu coughed, breaking that eerie silence. His hand went to his chest, covering the wound even as Enry went to work repairing the damage. Aaron crossed to his friend, carefully helping him to his feet. The large man's eyes went from the Sharp Dressed Man, to the prone form of the monk beyond, back to the cask in Rabbit's hand, and finally locking eyes with the assassin. He held out a hand, palm up.

Rabbit looked at Aaron for some time. It seemed as though he had reached that crossroads the Wolf had spoken of, and waged some internal struggle as to what path he would take. Ryu coughed again, spitting a mouthful of blood and spit at the man's feet. "You've done enough here." His voice came in rasps. His eyes went to the body of the monk too. "You can go now."

"Well," Rabbit's gaze followed Ryu's, [ryu]"I wish I could say it's been a pleasure."[/color] He set the pot into Aaron's open palm. As Bluewolf cradled the thing back against his chest, he took a step back from the Wolf's champion. "Maybe next time." He took a few more steps a way, looking back at the others with a smirk on his lips. He bowed and walked off.

Spencer slipped his arm around Ryu's shoulder, helping him stand. "So, we just let him go then?" He tried not to wince at the acrid smell

Aaron nodded. "We've got more important things to worry about." He looked down at the pot he held gently. It had a mild warmth and the weight was surprising. He swore he could feel the creature within trying to escape. "How you doing?" he asked his friend.

"Awesome." Ryu took a thick wet breath. "Never better." He forced a smile.

"Right." Aaron nodded.

Roo gave a weak jog of the head, and the three men walked over to the prone body of the Yotogi, Kaye and Katia following close behind. When they reached the old monk, they found his chest rising and falling just barely. "Utsuwa Ketsueki no Ryuujin... he whispered, as if the words were all he had left. His graying eyes rolled over to Ryu.

"Yeah..." Ryu slumped down onto his knees beside him. "It's done."

"<It is not done..." He wheezed softly. "<You... are the watcher now. You are Saishuu Yotogi no Seki.>" His eyes narrowed. "<Whether I like it or not... It rests on your shoulders... to rebuild the dragon's temple and guard the Destroyer of Worlds...>"

Ryu shook his head, sighing heavily. It ached to do so. "Thanks," he put his hand on the old man's frail shoulder, "I'll take care of the squid, but that's as far as this goes..."

"<It is your duty, Utsuwa Ketsueki no Ryuujin... Your destiny...>"

"That's great," Capin nodded, "but we discussed it, and we're not staying. Thanks for the offer, though. I'm sorry."

"<Insolent...>" The monk hissed.

The moments after passed in silence, no one willing to speak. Soon that shallow breath stopped. The old monk who had kept watch over the shrine was gone.

Ryu found himself moving in a dream become reality. He felt a tugging at his sleeve and looked around to find the others had left him kneeling beside the old monk. The macaque looked at him with golden eyes, and there passed between them an understanding. Ryu stood, not bothering to brush the dust from his knees - he was still coated with ichor anyway - and looked around.

Aaron, Kaye, and Spence were busily clearing away the entrance of the haiden. They'd already piled a mass of rock and wood to form a crude bier and were now attempting to move more of the wreckage away.

"Dav- er, Ryu," Katia said from behind. Ryu turned to the Russian girl. In her arms, she held a rough wool blanket. "This is all I could find. We don't have the means to construct a proper coffin..." she trailed off, not really knowing what else to say.

The man nodded, "It's fine." Half a smile drifted past his face. This whole place was a coffin now, a thought he kept to himself for that moment. "Nice and simple." He took the dark red blanket she held toward him. "How's your arm?"

"It is fine," she replied, looking down. Her arm was bare below the singed sleeve of her coat, the cast long gone now. She opened and closed her fist, twisting her wrist with that new found freedom.

Her eyes rose back to him, pausing a moment on the monkey that sat perched on his shoulder before finding his face. "You are..." She stopped herself, "How are you?"

"Tired." It was as honest an answer as he had to give. "Saving the world from certain doom is somewhat draining." As if his body needed to punctuate the thought, his jaw stiffened with a yawn. But it wasn't simply the physical effects of fight and travel that had taken its toll. The tiredness had set in far deeper than his muscles. "Still," a look glanced to the macaque. Even with all that, he couldn't help that feeling of relief, of standing in the light at the end of a tunnel after the train had passed. "Things are looking up." a bit of that smile returned.

Kneeling beside him, Kat began opening up the blanket. "You are in no condition to do this by yourself." In her own way, she was offering help. "It would be a waste if you survived being eaten only to die from exhaustion." Ryu was unsure if that was an attempt at humor on her part and her face gave nothing away.

The monkey circled around his neck as Ryu moved. "I hate to survive and look a gift squid in the mouth. A nice hot bath and a nap, I'll be right as rain." he took two corners of the wool between them and took a few steps, drawing the blanket over Yotogi's body. "Or a nap in a nice hot bath."

"We could all use a bit of both." She picked at a bit of molton beast that was melted into her forarm as she waited for him to reach the other end of the dead man between them. "I do not think my sense of smell will ever fully recover."

"Yeah." Ryu nodded, looking down at the still face on the ground. "I don't expect any of us will be in the mood for sushi any time soon either." The drop in his tone belied the humor in his words. He crouched down, pausing just a moment before dragging the red blanket over the monk's face.

"I am unsure if I will be in the mood to eat anything any time soon."

"I think we're ready," Aaron had appeared between them.

Ryu looked over his shoulder to the makeshift table of wood and kindling. Kaye and Spencer were moving the last of a large piece of debris to clear the space around it. The Dapper Detective nodded, sliding his hands under the blanket, under the monks shoulders. The body was cool.

Katia stood, letting Aaron take her place at the man's feet. They joined her, the monk's body rising with them. Its thick red shroud draped down around him. Together they carried him across the way where they laid him down across the wooden slab, his head facing to the north.

Stepping back, they joined the others a respectful distance away. Almost immediately, flames licked up from beneath the pallet, up and around to consume the body of the monk. Ryu raised an eyebrow at the macaque, to which the monkey replied only in a curious little shrug. The blaze grew in intensity, flaring up to kiss the overhanging roof. But where the light caused them all to shield their eyes, there seemed very little heat.

And just as quickly as it had risen, the pyre snuffed out, leaving only a blackened ring of rock and soil where the body of the monk previously lay.

"I was thinking how awkward it would have been to ask someone for a match." Ryu quipped, "Shoulda known better, I suppose."

"Indeed," Aaron replied. He pulled a small silver disc from within his jacket, rubbing his thumb over the stylized wolf's head embossed on its surface. He thumbed the device on, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm thinking it's time to go home."

A small sigh of relief came from their enigmatic investigator. "I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever hear those words."

"Where is home, exactly?" After being run all over Asia, the refugee was ready to stop running.

"The states."

"Garrison City, U.S.A." With a smile Spencer threw an arm across Katia's shoulders. "It's a good town. You'll like it."

Her eyes dropped down to the hand that dangled from her shoulder before meeting Spencer's. "It is likely any city in your states is better than where I came from. I'm sure I will."

Home sounded lovely. Unfortunately, there was still something to take care of. "I'll meet you guys there." Capin peeled himself out of that stiff, acrid coat and threw it aside. He looked to Kaye and Spencer and Kat a moment then Aaron. "Be careful, alright? One trip through hell is enough." He smirked.

"Fair enough." Aaron mirrored that smile. He knew better than to argue the point. Ryu wasn't quite as bullheaded as their friend Eddy tended toward, but he trusted that his friend knew what he was doing. Despite all the smiles and jokes, he didn't take any of it lightly. "We'll see you in town then."

"Aaron Matthews Back from the Dead." He chuckled. "Save me the clipping."

"Wait," Spencer's brow furrowed. He broke forward, pulling Kat along. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know yet." That was a lie. He knew exactly where he was going. "I need to find a safe place to put our new friend." He looked back to the clay pot that sat on the ground a few feet back. "The less of us that know where it is, the safer it will be." He looked back, "And the safer we'll be."

by **Dreamer** on 08 Jan 2010 23:03

"Coming back to, it's getting harder to do this, everything is still wavy. Still can't move. The pain is still there, but it dulls with each in and out moment. Luckily I can move my head to see the few things I can, blood still everywhere. Both wounds are bleeding pretty bad...Communicator is still on my chest, I could remove it, but it'd probably take too much energy. It's true what they say though, you do see your life flash before your eyes as you're dying. I've seen a few birthday parties now, when I got my first kiss at recess when I was nine with Jenny Weatherly, dates blowing up in my face, times with friends, relatives, and between each moment one thought always sticks out. How in the hell did you get here in the first place, Garrett?" Slowly Garret's body twitched on top of the rooftop at 55 and Appaloosa in the Lourds. Blood was running out of his body rapidly thanks to two gunshot wounds at close range, all due to the latest in a series of mistakes made only moments ago. His mind kept running over the incident in between memories of life. Still the hero couldn't shake what happened only a bit ago that left him bleeding and deep down, fearing for his life.

Earlier Garrett slowly made his way up the ladder to the rooftop of the building at 55 and Appalosa. "You're late," cried a voice that sounded mildly annoyed, but was very familiar to the hero.

"Got here as fast I could, things on my mind." Garrett said staring in the direction of the person waiting on the rooftop, it was Constance. She smiled at him while wearing a brown leather three quarter length jacket, black sweater, big black boots that went nearly knee high, and gray pants. At a glance the woman would have been seen as some office worker that had a "casual day" at the office. One of those days where bosses give employees a little more freedom in their outfits, but some rules still applied. She eyed him up and down slowly before letting out an exhausted breathe into the air, "I think I'm ready," she said softly.

An eyebrow was raied toward her, "What do you mean?"

"Do you know what it's like to live from life to life, name to name?" she asked looking down tension was woven throughout her voice.

He stood there looking his voice wasn't sympathetic nor was it ice cold, "Can't say that I have.., but I imagine it can take its toll on you," as Garrett kept talking the words harshness softened heavily. As the man dressed in red and black stood, his mind wandered about how hard it was to be Sid Meyers despite the little enjoyment it brought to his life. A chance to be normal with normal suspecting or wanting anything from you. Part of him reveled in that feeling, too bad it took was pretending to be a killer's boyfriend for him. "What do you want?" he demanded trying to regain some of his authority in this situation, Garrett was the hero after all.

"Everything's been wearing me down...I don't know how much more I can take...," tears were forming and slowly beginning to stream down her youthful looking face. Slowly Garrett made his way up to her wrapping an arm around her his chest to hers just slightly off to the right. While it looked sympathetic he was in the perfect range to do a take down that involved kicking out Constance's leg and pushing her to the ground. A simple moved used in many fighting styles including variations of Hapkido. Deep down the hero felt sympathy for the villain he was about to bring down. Her life was about to be taken away and every simple enjoyment would be seen through iron bars, or from the comfort of a padded cell. Seeing the sun's beautiful light pierce through those metal reminders of her punishment for past actions, the loss of freedom. Part of Garrett felt sympathy for the woman. Sadly, that sympathy would be short lived as his current position kept him from seeing the small 10 round clip nine millimeter gun, a PT111SSG to be exact, taking aim.

The sound was quick and deafening as the gun went off sending a bullet tearing through leather, muscle, and flesh in Garrett's right arm causing a scream from the man as his blood danced in the air. Crimson started to pour from his body as pain surged throughout it. Constance's eyes remained cold, calculating as the gun stayed extended before she took another shot. This time it went through Garrett's leg with the same tearing, burning sensation of the first bullet. Blood moved in the air like the first and before the shock of the first bullet wore off there was a second one to tend with. It was only seconds but it felt like several minutes to him. Everything moved in a slow motion that he wouldn't have been quick enough to stop. Eventually the hero's leg buckled unable to take the pain and weight causing him to fall on the ground. Pain filled gasps of air filled the night as red started to slowly pour onto the rooftop. Red eyes went to Constance who was simply smiling. Again the gun took aim this time the small barrel pointed directly toward Garrett's head.

Slowly with one good arm and leg, Garrett tried to push himself away. The hammer of the small gun went back, "Don't even think about it puppet," said Constance who was still smiling.

With a hate filled glare Garrett stopped waiting to see what more the woman wanted. Part of him wanted to scream "DO IT!" to get it over with. "Maybe my death will spare others...Family can collect on my life insurance and Faith's a tough cookie, she'll make it," Garrett thought to himself as his mind wondered what more could Constance have wanted.

"Going from name to name is a blessing really. You loose who you were and then, you cut all ties. The only things that matters then is survival and yourself. People that try to hide behind identities get hurt, you know that first hand don't you, Garrett? A mother, brother, sister, and a best friend, all so easy to find," Constance said with a smile lingering in her voice as she taunted the bleeding Garrett while still holding the gun out. She stared into his eyes for a moment, "You're ready to die for them aren't you? Well don't worry puppet...I'm not going to kill you. What fun is a puppet if they're completely broken anyway?" She continued to rant about the men she killed and puppets while Garrett still laid there trying to figure out what to do and what she wanted. Part of him thought this was some form of torture, a slow death, like one of a thousand paper cuts. Letting him bleed across the rooftop at night as the air grew colder for him and his vision started to get fuzzy. A sudden bash with the end of the gun as Constance pistol whipped Garrett quickly brought him back to, "Ah ah ah. You're not going anywhere," she said before sending her free hand fumbling across his chest and into the inside of his jacket, on the left. "Inside pocket, left side, its where you kept everything on our dates. Even as a superhero you're still like everyone else...a creature of habit" she said with a big smile while holding his communicator, [color#663300]"I saw you use this when you helped out that Midnight guy and Bright girl. You always kept things you needed close to you on the left side Sid,"[/color] her voice was filled with a cocktail of anger and mockery. Part of her really liked Sid, she really did, and then he had to be a fake, imaginary, a fauxpaus of a person, a mask similar to the ones she wore when she was other women in the past.

Slender delicate fingers ran over the communicator as she readied to send out a message. Moving in close to Garrett with a smile Constance looked at her prey. Wanting to cry out in warning to tell his teammates to run Garrett tried to muster the strength to say a few words as she pressed the talk button, but all that came out was a scream. It was a pain laden scream that he couldn't help but release as the gun barrel buried itself in Garrett's arm wound. Pain surged through the man's body as the metal dug into the wound and constance began to softly speak into the communicator, "Now that I have your attention," she said firmly to any that could have been listening on the other end. "You can tell this is not an idle threat. If you don't come to the top of one of the building at 55th and Appaloosa in the Lourds...There won't be enough time to save your friend," again the gun barrel pressed into Garrett's wound causing another scream before the communicator was turned off and placed on his chest. "All you have to do now is hold on and you'll make it." Slowly she rose looking down at the bloody Garrett with the utmost sympathy making Garrett feel like a wounded puppy instead of a man that was shot twice and possibly bleeding to death.

"Did you know a puppet can still be controlled even if they manage to cut a few of their strings Garrett? I still control you and one day, you'll see that. After everything heals, you'll still do what I tell you to do because I know who you are, and most importantly I know who you care about. So when you heal up I suggest you make sure I know you're still out there," she said talking to me as if I was him like a second grade teacher would talk down to a child with an eagerness to learn, but a small mind to grasp different concepts. "And I like to make sure my puppet still works," the woman got in close gave him a deep kiss and left the communicator on his chest. With her newly freed hand dipped into the right front pocket of her pants pulling out something too small to see, but it was there and being tucked into Garrett's left inner pocket. With a big smile on her face she left Garrett there with his thoughts and to slowly fade into black.

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

The voice was familiar, but Garrett couldn't place it as he felt himself come back to life. It wasn't Constance's, he knew that much. The last thing he remembered was Cassandra standing over him. His eyes opened. What he thought would be there wasn't. He lay on a table in a brightly lit room.

"I wouldn't get up just yet."

Garrett's eyes blinked open. Now he knew the voice.

"You were in a bad way," Daylight's face finally came into focus, "you were about this close," she held up her thumb and index finger, "luckily we found you in time."

"How bad is it?" Garrett was afraid to look down at his body so his gaze stayed tuned in on Jamie.

"Two gunshot wounds to the shoulder and the thigh," the Lady of Light said and she checked the IV bags, "you lost a lot of blood too. Luckily Doc Midas has us well stocked here."

"How quick can I snap back to?"

"Well," Jamie said as she looked over her glasses at Garrett, "the next day or two is going to tell us. Luckily the bullets missed the major arteries." She crossed the room to the other side and looked out the window at Corin who was attending to their other patient, "What I want to know is," she turned and looked back at Garrett, "why didn't you ask for help?"

Garrett sighed and looked at Jamie with the utmost sincerity, "I was trying to clean a mess I caused by being sloppy."[/color] He didn't really want to lie to Jamie, but Garrett didn't want to tell her the entire truth.

"And you nearly got yourself killed," Jamie said matter of factly, "Between you, Kardiac, and Faith it's a good thing we have two doctors just to keep up."

Suddenly Garrett tried to sit up thinking Constance had gotten to Faith completely unaware of her adventures with Kardiac had actually happened. [kayin]"What happened?" he said loudly before jerking back in pain for moving his body too suddenly.

"Who settle down tiger," Jamie pressed down on Garrett to get him to lay back down, "Like I said she got hurt on mission with Kardiac. Nothing to severe, but we're keeping her here a few days to heal.

"Thank god..," he said breathing out thankful she was hurt because of Kardiac and not himself. He looked at Jamie for a few moment, "How come you and Corin make sure the rest of us are all patched up, and ready to keep fighting?"

"Cause it's what we're good at," She smiled as she crossed the room and picked up a syringe from the table , "and you need rest," she gave Garrett a shot in his shoulder, "and with that you'll get it."

Once again everything for Garrett turned black.

by **The Draoi** on 15 Jan 2010 13:23

There stood an empty space between two trees, nothing housed there save shadow and air; but as the moonlight fell upon this spot a strange sight could be seen (by at least those who knew enough to look for it). A foot, A foot that had not been there before stuck itself out from between the two trees, a foot soon followed by leg, hip and head. A man, dressed in celtic garb and carrying satchel and a walking stick came running out straight into the beam of moonlight.

"Can it be?" The Draoi asked seemingly to the satchel he held close to his chest, "Am I truly back in Garrison at last?"

Just than a blood curdling scream split the night.

"Oh I'm back alright."

He clutched tightly to his satchel as he raced towards the source of the scream. He stumbled, almost falling, into an alley; just inside was a large man in all black with a vaguely canine-like mask holding a seemingly well to do family at gunpoint.

"No funny business and no one gets hurt." The man growled, "Just toss over all your cash, jewelery and any other bits of precious you can part with."

The Draoi than decided to gently place his ever-present satchel behind some boxes and when he made sure it was secure he silently walked up behind the dog-like fiend.

With one mighty blow he managed to send the masked man to his knees, his walking stick glittering red with blood from the hit.

"Bad puppy."

The villain rose to his feet once more but not before his hostages managed to slip away, he noticed there dpearture with a resounding growl and turned to face the man who had cost him his prizes.

"That was a coward's blow, Black Shuck is many things but I am no Coward." Black Shuck raised his gun.

"Well I can be, so I guess that's where we differ." The Draoi threw some power towards the man's eyes.

"ACH!"

The Draoi took the oppertunity to hit the man's gun out of his hand with a second blow from his walking stick.

What neither man noticed was back in the shaft of moonlight where the Draoi made his entrance something else was stirring. Small balls of light began to form between the two trees and race out into the city accompianed by a sound not unlike giggling.

Back at the fight Black Shuck had nearly rubbed all the powder out of eyes when the Draoi threw another batch his way.

"BRUTH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!" Black Shuck screamed as the powder began to burn. The Draoi put him down for the count with one last hit to his hard head from the celtic man's walking stick.

He sighed, feeling there was probably no fitter welcome home than that.

He walked back to his satchel and lifted something out of it, something that was moving.

"It's okay Marty, it's always like this." The Draoi cooed to the baby in his arms, the baby gripped the magician's finger and began to bite it lazily. "Uncle Riordan will have you used to this kind of thing in no time." The Draoi laughed.

Back at Riordan's brownstone, the irishman had found that his abductors had returned all of his furniture and belongings at once.

"It was the least they could do Marty." Riordan said tickling the baby in his arms to the child's great delight.

Riordan looked around with a sigh.

"I wonder how long I've been gone?" Riordan mused absent-mindedly, "I can't wait for you to meet Faith, she's gonna be happy to see me I hope, you know in more than just a fever dream." He smiled.

He thought about Faith, his beautiful Faith, and he hoped against hope that she had stayed true to her name and held on to the truth that he would return to her.

"Wait till you see her Marty," He said placing the infant down on his kitchen counter, holding on to his side as he began to sit up on his own, "She's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, and that's counting all the sights where we just where." Riordan smiled again, as Martin grabbed a lock of the magician's hair.

"Now now young man, none of that." Riordan chided half-heartedly as he freed himself from the child's grip.

He looked at the blinking like on his voicemail knowing he probably had so many messages to wade through that he'd be here all night.

"Eh, that can wait..." He grabbed his walking stick and satchel and gently placed Martin with the bag, "Let's go find everyone!"

by **Faith** on 16 Jan 2010 21:30

Riordan could still remember his way to the Doghouse. His motorcycle silently sliding into it's old spot, he hopped off, holding his satchel to his chest as did so. He knew Faith would be here after he had reached out to her in a dream. He positively hopping with excitement over seeing her.

He snuck his way inside with his old codes and managed to sneak his way to Faith's room...he wanted her to be the first person to see him back.

He saw her resting in her bed, looking remarkably better, and slipped into her room.

"And as Snow White slumbered it was easy for anyone who beheld her to see she was truly the fairest of them all." Riordan said as he sauntered up to her bed.

At the sound of his voice, the redhead turned to face him. But instead of jumping up to greet him with a hug, she regarded him with look of flat suspicion. "I swear, if Jamie put drugs in my food..." Crystal blue eyes looked him up and down. "You looked real last time too."

"I am real this time!" Riordan shouted happily, clutching his satchel to his chest carefully as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart." He said with a brilliant smile, and from inside his satchel Faith could here a tiny noise.

She had a million questions for him, a million things she wanted to say to him... and yell at him. "And you're really back?" Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she rose stiffly and took a tentative step toward him.

"Really, really. He stood to meet her, "Should you be getting up?"

"I'm fine," she insisted, looking around to make sure Corin and Jamie weren't around to contradict her. Then, with a smile that seemed to light her entire face, she gently wrapped her arms around him. He gently placed his satchel down on the bed and returned her hug, closing his eyes as he allowed the reality of the moment to sink in, how long had he waited for this? He lost count...

As Faith finally pulled away from his embrace, her expression changed to something a little less welcoming. "Where were you?" she demanded, stopping just short of hitting him.

"Such a long story," He said sitting down again on the edge of her bed, putting a steadying hand on his satchel, "When I first left my parents and started adventuring I ran afoul of a faerie king, I was young and stupid..."

Sensing a Riordan story coming on, Faith sat back down as well. She bit back a sigh of relief to be off her feet again, and simply waited for him to continue.

"Well I said some things I shouldn't and got him royally ticked at me...I was pretty much a goner when his wife showed up. The Faerie Queen spared my life but said that I owed her. I tried to pay her back because you never want to be indebted to a fairy but she didn't want money or mystical artifacts. She wanted ten years of my services at a time of her choosing. She let me go and I started moving from place to place hoping she would forget about me. Well she called in my debt. I had no choice, I am so sorry."

"Wait." Holding up one hand, the redhead had to stop him. She was starting to feel like she was under the influence of Jamie's drugs after all. "She called in your ten year debt?" One fiery eyebrow raised as she looked at Riordan closely. "Did she give you time off for good behavior or just get tired of you?"

"No I served the whole ten years. Thankfully you don't age in the fairy realms and time works differently there as well."

"Oh... well isn't that handy?" She couldn't help but smile at him again. "I missed you, Riordan."

"I missed you to! You have no idea!" He kissed her hand but before she could say anything else he dove his hands into his satchel, "Here I want you to meet someone. He pulled out a baby about one year old, with thick black hair on his head, he was wearing one of Riordan's old Metallica T-Shirts.

"Meet Martin."

Faith stared back and forth between the baby and Riordan. "Please tell me you didn't get some fairy lady pregnant," she said, only half joking.

"NO!" he chided with a grin, Fairies used to take human babies all the time, one such fairy began to feel remorse and told me to take Martin back with me but he's been in the fairy realms for hundreds of years, I have no idea who is real family is or even if there's any of them left."

Letting out a not entirely feigned sigh of relief, the redhead grinned at him. "That's actually kinda sweet. And he's totally cute..." Biting her lip, she leaned in closer, stroking the baby's tiny fist with her finger. "Hello, Martin."

The baby grabbed her finger and giggled.

"He likes you," Riordan laughed. "Besides you know I'd never cheat on you!

Despite the fact that it was impossible to feel anything but happy while looking into the face of a laughing infant, Faith winced. The red hair fell across her face as she turned her head to meet Riordan's eyes. "You disappeared on me," she reminded him gently. "And, though it hasn't been ten years... it has been a while..."

The mood in the room shifted.

"How long has it been?" He said, fear on his face...not due to the passage of time but do to the question he wasn't asking.

Her fingers gently touched his cheek. "I didn't know if you were ever coming back." She couldn't quite say it yet, not when she was so happy to see him.

"There's someone else...isn't there? Riordan asked sadly, already knowing the answer.

Faith nodded. "His name's Charlie."

Riordan stood up.

"You know what...I think I'll let you rest... he said his eyes welling up slightly as he turned away under the excuse of tightening Martin's shirt.

"Riordan!" Grabbing his arm, she gently pulled him back, being very mindful of the small, adorable person in his grasp. "I don't need rest. I need you to understand how sad I was when you left. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again and I didn't get to say any kind of goodbye. But there was so much going on here. I knew I couldn't just sit around and feel devastated. So I moved on."

"I'm happy for you." He said emotionlessly, "Listen, i'm not sure I can do this right now...I just got back and Marty...Marty needs to eat soon..."

She wanted to scream. Or shake him. Or maybe even cry. "Riordan... let me help. Please." This definitely didn't count as resting and healing.

"You should be in bed." Riordan said quietly.

"Riordan?" The Lady of Light's voice rang through the room.

Riordan turned to see Jamie enter the room, he switched which arm he held Martin in and turned to her trying for his best smile under the circumstances.

"Jamie, long time no see!" He smiled his fake smile in her direction.

Jamie came up and hugged Riordan. As soon as she finished hugging him she slugged him hard in the shoulder, "Where the hell have you been?" Her eyes then landed on the baby, "And is that a baby?"

"That is a baby, his name is Marty, it's a looooong story." Riordan sighed.

"Is he..." her eyebrows arched, "yours?"

"Not like that he isn't, but he'll be staying with me at least temporarily." He smiled as Marty gripped his fingers.

Faith smiled, sitting down on her bed again before Jamie could yell at her. "And he's absolutely adorable."

Jamie took Martin from Riordan's hands, "Okay I think I'm gonna need more explaining than that. Cause you with a baby is just weird."

"Fairies stole it and then felt bad and gave him to Riordan to take care of," the red head grinned.

"Did you give her something?" Jamie gave Riordan a confused look.

"It's true." Riordan said seriously, scratching his hair looking for an excuse to bolt, "That's where I was, I owed a debt to a Faerie Queen and I've been serving my time in the other realm."

Jamie gave a low whistle, "I'm never gonna get used to that sorta stuff." She stopped for a few seconds and thought, "says the girl who's a champion to an Egyptian God."

"And dating a guy who the champion to another one." Riordan reminded her, "Listen I am so gonna come back so you and Corin can check this little guy over," Riordan said as he took Marty back, "But i think I have to to dash..."

"You sure?" Jamie eyes gave a look of worry, "You haven't been around in a while, I'm sure Corin would love to catch up."

Faith nodded, hoping he'd actually take them up on it. "Yeah, you should stay for a while. Let us get to know Martin a little more..."

That was tempting to the Irishman, who had missed the other doctor but Riordan kept looking straight ahead like the door had his name on it.

"He's still just a little guy, there's not that much to know so far..." Riordan said sadly.

There was an unmistakable sadness in those blue eyes, but she understood. "Well... you know where we'll be if you need anything..."

"Yeah...don't worry...I know where you are..." his voice cracked and faded into his throat, "I hope you feel better Faith, say hello to Corin for me Jamie...I am really so happy to see you again. and he was, but the last thing he sounded was happy.

He made a partial wave and left the two girls alone.

"Charlie?"

The redhead nodded. "I had to tell him though, right?"

"Yeah," the blonde confirmed with a hint of sadness in her voice, "you had to. He'll be okay. Riordan's strong, he'll bounce back."

"I know he is." She leaned back against the almost comfortable hospital pillow without any prompting, deciding that bed was a good idea right now. "But still... not exactly the greatest homecoming ever."

by **Bluewolf** on 18 Jan 2010 20:32

Eddy was used to taking calls during the day while he worked. Generally, they were from one gallery or another, wondering when he would have his next piece ready. In those cases he would exercise the utmost in patience and explain - yet again - that he would be could be ready sooner than later if he could work uninterrupted. The gallery managers never seemed to get the hint.

This afternoon's disturbance, however, came from the chime on his "work" phone. Activating the receiver, he waited a few beats for the secure scrambler to kick in. "Are you watching the news?"

"Well good afternoon to you too. Lunch would be great, thanks. Where do you want to go?" Eddy delivered his trademark sarcasm counter to Jenna's blunt question, all the while thumbing the TV remote. The screen jumped to life with the image of WGCBTV9's lunch news crew. The smartly dressed anchor sat offset to one side with a picture-in-picture image of gold and black-trimmed Learjet sitting on the tarmac.

...from Lakeview International Airport, reporting that a private jet owned by businessman-slash-adventurer Rex "Doc" Midas, has just landed...

Eddy was just about to ask what was so important about Midas bringing in another group of executives when the fuselage door opened. Without even turning off his set, he grabbed his bike leathers and started for the door.

"Sunova..."

"So how's Garrett," Corin asked as Jamie entered the Monitor Womb.

"He's more stable now then twelve hours ago," the blonde crossed the room and sat next to him, "In another twelve he should be able to be up and around."

Spinning around in her chair, trying to look as though she hadn't just been peeking under the bandage on her shoulder, Faith gave a relieved little sigh. "That's good to hear. You two could use a night or two where you don't have to worry about patients not listening to your instructions."

"Tell me about it," Corin grinned as he threw his arm around Jamie, "like certain red head who insists on checking her wounds?"

She didn't even pretend to feel guilty. "How else can I tell if I'm gonna have scars?"

"You think we're gonna let you have scars?" Jamie giggled as she cleaned her glasses.

Rather than answer that, Faith gave a little push with her feet and spun her chair back around, trying to be interested in the news once again. "Hey look. We know him." She laughed and pointed to the screen.

Corin and Jamie turned their attention to one of the televisions mounted in the waiting room.

...and while there hasn't been any positive confirmation to this point, it appeared that one of the passengers deplaning was...

"Sunova..."

The MidasCorp employee smiled as she pushed open the door and stood back to let her passengers depart the aircraft. Offering each of them a polite "Welcome home," as they passed by to duck through the low hatch, she held up a hand before Aaron could move on. "Just a moment, sir, Doc is having a car brought around."

Aaron couldn't help but smile. Rex always insisted that everyone call him Doc, down to the janitors that worked for him. But that was only part of the reason for his grin. Doc was also a showman, and there was the faint air of a performance being played out here. There was a slight squeak of breaks outside, that he was certain only he could hear and the flight attendant waved him through with another "Welcome home, sir."

"Thanks," Aaron replied warmly, and stepped out of the plane. A crisp, chill breeze blew in from across the lake, and though the city hadn't seen snow recently, it was in the air. By the time he'd hopped off the last step, Doc was greeting the others beside a large black SUV. Another man, probably the driver, was busily loading their luggage into the back of the vehicle.

"And there he is," the huge blonde smiled, pretending to just now notice Aaron's arrival. "The man of the hour."

"As long as that hour doesn't involve standing in front of a press pool trying to answer the five w's," Aaron said with a wry smile. He looked to the others, "I trust introductions have been made?"

Spencer nodded. "They have." The Enigmatic Investigator's eyes were wide. He'd been to Hell and back, seen the lost tomb of Gengis Khan, conversed with a yeti and helped recapture a lost dark demigod. But this was something else. "I used to have a lunchbox with him on it!" he whispered to Katia.

"Must have been a big lunchbox," Katia whispered back. She had, for the most part, remained silent since they'd parted ways with Ryu. She'd had some initial worries about her entry into the country; worries Aaron tried to assuage. But someone telling you it wouldn't be a problem and having it be a reality were often mutually exclusive.

Now, here she was, standing on American soil, having been welcomed - graciously - by an officer of the State Department. And if that wasn't enough, she was now in the presence of one of the world's greatest heroes. Though, now that Katia was standing in Midas's shadow, she found it hard to believe that this man of golden hair and golden skin and bright smile ever made a habit of massacring whole villages or biting the heads off babies. She's already made many fundamental adjustments in her view of the world. This was simply one more.

With a muffled click, Doc pulled the rear passenger door of the SUV open and motioned everyone inside. "With any luck we can keep the press conference to under an hour. We can discuss our options on the way."

Eddy was halfway to the MidasCorp - formerly KenTECH - building when his cellphone rang. The call went straight to his helmet. "Answer," he said, sharply. "Yeah."

"What are you doing out of bed?"

"If you wanted me in bed, you shouldn't have told me to turn on the news... there are better ways," he said, smirking to himself. He didn't slow the bike... he had an appointment to keep, after all. "But did you seriously think I could stand by an watch this one on television?"

"You're not going to do anything stupid are you?"

"Define 'stupid'."

"Make a scene at the Press Conference, stupid.

Eddy smirked, and she could almost hear it... she could certainly see it in her mind's eye. "Wouldn't dream of it," he answered, clicking off his communicator. He wasn't planning on making a scene until after the press conference.

Seated in the plush interior of the enormous SUV, Spencer felt a little self-conscious. He and Ryu had discussed an idea to explain Aaron's miraculous return to the living, but without the other man here, bringing it up just seemed self-serving.

As if his boyhood hero was reading his mind, Doc served up the question, "So, what's the plan? This isn't exactly something you can improvise on the spot and not expect someone to go digging."

Aaron stroked his chin, "Spence and Roo came up with a plausible excuse. Something that wouldn't have many obvious places to poke around."

"So if some intrepid reporter does start to dig..." Kaye added.

"All the wells will have run dry," Doc finished. "I like it." He turned his focus to Spencer. "Well, son?"

"And that's when Dr. Pase," Spencer indicated the blonde to his right, "contacted me about opening up an investigation," Flashing a smile to the reporters, he continued. "I'll admit, a couple points during the investigation were a gamble. We had to go to Hell and back to finally rescue Mister Matthews..."

"So, just to make sure we're getting this right," a reporter from the Gazette directed to Aaron, "you were out of town on a business-vacation; you get snatched by a terrorist group, hoping to hold you hostage while you create some sort of WMD. Correct?"

Aaron leaned toward the microphone, flashing his best CEO smile, "I realize this all sounds like the plot for some superhero movie, but that's how it happened."

There was a small commotion at the back of the press room, and Aaron suppressed a grin when a man with blonde hair and goatee pushed his way into the room. He turned his attention back to the small sea of faces. "The fact of the matter is, I owe Spencer Cash my life. If it wasn't for his skill, and the dogged determination of my fiance, I wouldn't be standing here today."

Declarations of the sort tended to let the assembly know when a particular line of questioning would no longer be answered. Aaron glanced to Doc, who returned a nearly imperceptible shrug. They were nearing that hour-long time limit Aaron had half-jokingly imposed. The questions - for the most part - had been direct and relatively simple to answer. It seemed as though the journalists were either content with the information they were getting, or were already making plans to start their fact-checking. Those that still had the journalistic integrity to still do so, that is.

"I think we have time for one more question, folks," Doc's deep voice rumbled over the crowd. He spied a reporter from the Gazette's business and finance pool. "Go ahead, Jill."

The smartly-dressed woman smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Doc," she replied, then cleared her throat before continuing, "Mr. Matthews, why be declared dead and sell off your company? One would have to assume that any profits from the sale would be held in some sort of trust. Some sort of setup that would, perhaps, make Dr. Pase, or some other benefactor a very wealthy person."

The journalist paused again, letting the question sink in, not only for those on the podium, but for everyone else in the room. "Right now, there's only your word about this abduction, but isn't it possible that all of this was some sort of collusion between you and MidasCorp to get out from under a company that was starting to show declining numbers?"

Spencer stepped back, almost glad to be letting Aaron take his place at the lectern. The Enigmatic Investigator didn't envy the man that had to answer a question like that. For his part, Aaron looked the picture of composure. He took a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts and flashed that CEO smile once more. "An excellent question, and one I'm surprised hadn't come up before now. I'm sure everyone here has done their homework, and yes, KenTECH's numbers were starting to drop. But that drop was also reflected country-wide with all the financial troubles we've had of late. And to the idea that the sale of the company was a plot... well, there's a bit of truth there as well."

A murmur rippled through the audience as recorders were flipped back on and shorthand scribbled across notepads. "But rather than march out the army of corporate attorney's that hammered out the plot, I'll do my best to explain things in terms your readers will understand. You see, the folks at KenTECH were like my extended family. And as such, I wanted to do everything I could to keep that family going in the event of any unforeseen circumstances. Circumstances like, let's say, my untimely death. Provisions were set forth that would ensure my family would be taken care of." Aaron looked at Doc, "Rex, how many people were let go when KenTECH was sold to MidasCorp?"

Doc smiled, "I'd have to double-check the records, but to the best of my knowledge, that number would be zero."

"Zero," Aaron repeated. "Not a single job lost." he paused again, switching gears, "The legalese of the whole thing is thicker than the Garrison City phonebook." That managed to get a chuckle out of a few. "And I can't quote you the exact sub-sub-paragraph or sub-section three times removed, but what it boiled down to was a length of time. Once the company received word that I had gone missing, the clock started. Once the allotted time had expired, I was to be declared legally dead, and the company sold..."

"Of course, there were other provisions that have since been sealed by the court that set certain other things in motion." Aaron said, leaning back in the seat adorned with the wolf-head silhouette.

"Like the briefcases," Corin said. "And this dandy little club-house."

"Exact-" Aaron cut off, sitting up. The slamming of a door somewhere outside the conference room let them all know that the last member of the party had arrived. Aaron wanted to talk to Eddy right after the press conference, but figured the Doghouse would be a little more... suitable for the expression of feelings he was sure to receive.

Aaron got to his feet, "You might want to make sure there's a first-aid kit handy, Corin."

The door flew open in a cascade of electrically charged air. "Blue!"

"Screw the first-aid kit," Corin muttered under his breath to Jamie and Faith, "I'm getting the popcorn," his lips curled into a smile.

From her seat where she'd been doing everything in her power to remain unnoticed --everything short of actually becoming invisible-- Faith bit her lower lip. She failed to see any humor in the situation.

Lights began to flicker in Garrett's room thanks to the electricity caused by Kardiac's electric entrance. Combined with the loud Blue! Garrett's eyes began to open for the first time in hours. Pain surged through his body reminding him of his last night out in costume. Despite the pain the commotion motivated him to investigate. A single crutch left near his bed by Jamie earlier in the day helped him get out of bed, and become vertical. Slowly the man began to hobble out of the room after disconnecting various wires connected body monitors.

Eddy stalked across the floor like a storm rising over the horizon. As he approached, Aaron couldn't resist a slight smile at seeing his old friend, even suspecting what was to come. "Eddy! Good to see you," he said with a mix of sincerity and irony.

Out of deference to his friend's public life and the inevitable pictures and interviews to follow his return, Eddy led with his left and kept the blow to the mid-section so as not to mess up Aaron's face. All the same, every ounce of his pent up concern and frustration seemed to be channeled into the punch... and he was apparently very worried... worried enough that Aaron nearly doubled over from the impact.

The word "You" preceded the hail of curses that followed the punch, but the look in Eddy's eyes didn't seem to back-up the words. There was a relief there that he obviously wasn't used to having to feel, and was even less used to having to express.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" he said, a second after he finally stopped cursing. "You get yourself 'dead' again, and I'll personally kill the crap out of you," he added, apparently missing the contradiction in his statement. He stopped ranting for a moment, crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Aaron, eyes narrow... but with a crooked smile starting the appear on his face.

"Well? What have you got to say for yourself?"

Aaron reached out, using the table as leverage to push himself upright. He'd owed Eddy that release. Some feelings just couldn't be expressed with a handshake or a hug, especially between brothers. Aaron grinned through the few seconds until his breath returned.

After he was... recovered, Aaron had told to Roo that he'd been able to get hints of what the future would hold. It was an easy explanation for an experience that would send modern theologians into a collective fit of apoplexy. But what he hadn't said was that while 'indisposed' he'd also been able to send out mental nudges. And while he let Eddy take his shot, like any other brother, retaliation was always in order.

"What's missing?"

Eddy stood there for a moment, staring at Aaron, before realization hit him harder than any fist could. His eyes narrowed, and his arms clenched more tightly around his chest. After another heartbeat, he smirked. "Well, don't let it happen again. I prefer being moralized to and lectured in person, thank you very much."

And then, in a completely unexpected manner, he stepped forward and embraced Aaron in the tightest man-hug he'd ever given anyone. "I'm glad you're back," he said, letting the other man go and taking an uncomfortable step back. "And I got something for you," he added, pulling a plain white mailing envelope out of his pocket and holding it out.

"In that envelope, you'll find the location of every TAROT stronghold and safehouse in the city," he said, smiling at Aaron's quizzing expression. "I had a few minutes to interrogate the Tower, and he decided to cop a plea."

"After he was done plea-ing, I turned him over to Strat," he added, his eyes going dark as he completed the thought.

Aaron looked at the envelope now in his hand, then back to Eddy. "We've got a lot of catching up to do."

"A lot more than that," Eddy said, smirking. His eyes drifted over to Faith and he gave her a wink before continuing. "A lot has changed around here since you went all phoenix on us."

"That was sorta the plan." Aaron thumbed the envelope open and moved back to the conference table, "Well, plan B, anyway. Why don't you take a seat and we can get to planning."

Eddy walked over and took a seat near Faith. They still had some catching up to do,as well. Slouching back in his chair, obvious relief on a face that had been trying to hide the pain of physical exertion that still haunted him after their recent op. "Speak, mon Capitan."

He wasn't the only one to look relived. As he took the seat beside her, the tension melted from the redhead's diminutive frame. Faith flashed Eddy a quick smile despite the confusion that creased her brow. She felt like she was missing something-- or a whole lot of somethings--here. "So why couldn't Riordan find him when he did that magic-looking thing?" she whispered to her mentor.

"Based on my experiences," he whispered back, "well... he wasn't available.... Kind of 'out of area', as it were."

She blew a tendril of hair away from her face as she sighed. "I'm so confused."

Slowly Garrett hobbled to the group with his one crutch, hospital gown and all, looking over everyone slowly, "What'd I miss?" he asked unsure what exactly caused the commotion and how long he was out. Curled up against him was his injured arm and he leaned on the crutch to keep weight off the injured leg.

"What are you doing out of bed? Jamie's eyebrows furrowed.

"Asking questions," he said with a grin taking shape on his face.

"Well for God's sake Garrett sit down and ask them," Corin stood up and pulled one of the empty chairs out for Dreamer, "Might as well be in on the first official meeting."

Hobbling to the empty chair pulled out by Mid-Nite Man, a small thud echoed through the room as Garrett leaned on the chair and cautiously sat down in it. Grunts and groans of pain escaped his lips before he became fully situated before the group. "So...what'd I miss?"

Aaron looked around the table. By the time his eyes rested on Kaye, he had come to a decision. "I think what we need to do right now is bring each other up to speed on what everyone else has been doing. We've been out of touch too long as it is."

He proceeded to relate their most recent adventure. Starting with the trip to the Reservation, concluding with the battle with the werewolf pack. Everyone at the table had rubbed shoulders enough with the supernatural and mythical that there was no questioning the reality of the beasts, but it didn't stop Jamie from asking to see the scars. Aaron complied, lifting up his shirt to reveal the jagged U of off-color scar tissue that traced from under his ribcage, a good third of the way into his abdomen and edged back a few inches above his hip.

The blonde whistled low, and pushed her glasses up her nose, "So does that mean your going to go all Taylor Lautner on us the next full moon?" She gave Aaron a playful smile.

"I just think you wanted an excuse to look at those abs," Faith teased.

Aaron smirked as he smoothed out his shirt, "I'm flattered ladies," Kaye gave a little cough, "but I'm also spoken for."

Kaye glanced at him with a raised brow, "And that's just a scratch compared to what I can do to you." The blonde leaned across the table towards Faith, "They are nice, aren't they?"

"Anyway," it was Aaron's turn to clear his throat, "after that, things get a little fuzzy for me. Care to pick up, darling?"

"Of course, sweetie," Kaye flashed a toothy grin. She settled back in her seat, and relayed the portion of the tale that Aaron was absent for. And while the idea of a werewolf attack scarcely caused the bat of an eye, the trip through the Underworld caused quite a few more interruptions.

"Okay hold on," Corin leaned forward, "you, Roo, and a guy I went to high school with traveled to Hell?"

"Yep," Kaye nodded.

Rubbing her temples with her fingers, Faith looked back and forth between Aaron and Kaye, still half expecting them to tell them it was all a big joke. "I think I just felt my brain explode."

"Never believed in Hell till now?" Wolf smiled at the red head.

Her lips curled into a little smile. "Oh, I absolutely believed in Hell. I'm a good girl; I went to Sunday School. This is just a little..." She gave a helpless little shrug. "It's just going to take some time to process." Eddy just smirked. He was sitting there, strangely quiet, taking it all in.

"The fact that we were there, or that it wasn't all fire and brimstone and looked more like something from a Rat Pack movie and the cantina scene in Star Wars?"

"Take your pick," she laughed softly, deciding that she liked Kaye already. "I just didn't think it was the sort of place you went to then came back from. Maybe it will go through some major renovations before the end of time," she added with another half-chuckle. This clearly wasn't something she was going to be able to understand anytime soon... but she wasn't going to get all worked up and lose sleep over it either.

"Possibly, but I doubt it. The idea of it fits too well with too many people." The blonde continued, telling them about gambling for their souls, and their exit from Hell. Again, they were treading on theological heresy when she explained Aaron's recovery, but Doc's interest was piqued when Kaye mentioned the tomb of Genghis Khan.

"Tell me you were able to get a good GPS fix on it?" the big man asked, his eyes alight.

"You know it. And even if I hadn't, we left a few breadcrumbs. I could probably get us back to that valley with my eyes closed."

"Aaron, this woman is a treasure," Doc said. "When can I borrow her to go back to Mongolia?"

Aaron looked at his fiance, who's beaming look said it all, "Give me until the end of the week and I'm sure she'll be clawing at the walls to get out of town again."

Kaye smiled sweetly, then stuck her tongue out at him. "Love you. Mean it."

"Right. And moving right along..." Aaron continued the story, telling of how they'd picked up Katia, and their travels through Mongolia and Nepal. He finished up with the encounter at the ashram in Japan. "So, between us, it seems we've given TAROT quite the bloody nose. And with this," he tapped the paper laying on the table in front of him, "I think we can at least lay them on the mat for a while."

"Maybe," Doc grunted, "but I'm a little concerned about that vessel. Do you think it was wise to let him go off by himself?"

"Well, he wasn't exactly alone," Kaye replied. The look she gave Aaron, however, showed that she clearly held the same opinion as the Auric Avenger.

"Right," Eddy snorted. "Because a phantom monkey and a magic wolf inspire all the confidence in the world."

"Hey, I never said I agreed with it, just that I understood," Aaron said. "I trust that he knows what he's doing."

"I trust Roo with my life, I'm just a little pessimistic when it comes to anyone wandering around with a mason jar full of 'Destroyer of Worlds.'"

"Can someone tell me a little more of Hell?" Garrett asked with honest interst in Hell looking much different than he had been told about it through the scripture. Perhaps other books and depictions of different mythologies could be as vastly different. This could shed some light on the source of his power.

"I'd suggest tabling that for a time when the room only holds people who want that kind of information," Eddy said, his voice slipping into Kardiac's more authoritarian tones. "this is a debrief, not a religious or philosophical forum."

He frowned. "Besides... ain't no way of telling that one man's Hell is the same as any others." He looked at Wolf with a smirk, wagging a thumb towards Garrett. "So, as part of the debrief, mayhap we could start with 'who's the newbie?'"

"Oh that's right you two haven't met," Corin gave a bit of a smirk as he looked between Garrett and Kardiac, "This is the Dreamer. He's helped us out on several cases, including the Vargas affair."

Doc Midas nodded, "I've seen the young man in the Funhouse," he said with an ammused smile on his face, "he's has talent."

"He's supposedto still be in the med bay after he was shot a couple of days ago," The blonde shot Garrett a withering glare over the top of her glasses, the doctor in her clearly taking over.

"Part of my debrief, sir" he addressed Kardiac looking at him, "I was working on a case with a black widow serial killer. She's evaded police for years, making several of the deaths appear to be suicides. Part of her calling card or theme," Garrett explained. He went into details about his alias "Sid Meyers" and getting close to the woman called Constance. Everyone at the table was told the about the effort it took to notice the small inconsistencies with statements she made in the past that were very minor, but not pursued due to lack of evidence. Cautiously he omitted the parts about compromising his identity and Faith's due to circumstances.

"There's enough finally sticking on her, but when I was going in for the apprehension...I zigged when I should have zagged. Wound up bleeding on a rooftop from two gunshot wounds," his head was bowed hating to admit defeat and injury. Putting on the best smile a guy feeling bad while recovering from gunshot wounds could, Garrett nodded to the group, "Name's Garrett. Garrett Sanders, I go by the code name, hero name, whatever you want to call it, Dreamer. Nice to meet everyone."

"Alright, that covers three out of four then." Aaron turned to Corin, "What have the two of you been up to, aside from keeping everyone in a relative state of good repair?"

The Starlight Sleuth and the Lady of Light looked at each other, Corin gave his girlfriend an impish smile, "I'll let the defacto team leader fill you in," he waved his hand in the direction of Jamie.

The blonde stared at Corin for moment before sighing and starting in on the past eighteen months; telling about Anyssa, the return and then disappearance of Thrillkiller, the vigilante Ranger going rogue and attacking Faith, finishing with a few of the new villians they had faced in Garrison over the past year, "...and that about sums it up." Jamie grinned at Aaron.

"Okay, now that we're all caught up, let's get to planning..."

Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

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Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

Re: Chapter Three: To Hell and Back

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