Generations of Strangers

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

79

1962-Guy Medici liked to smile. It changed his plain square face into something people

trusted. It worked like magic for him most of the time.

 

At that point, he had blown most of his money on gambling, women, and booze. He needed to get

something moving so he could live without working. That’s why he had contacted some of the

women he had known to get money from them thanks to the pictures he had taken in their weaker

moments.

 

They had gotten out of the street and made lives for themselves away from his influence. That

hadn’t bothered him. There were always more women who wanted to be charmed by him. Now

that he needed them, their respectability could be turned to his advantage.

 

And if they didn’t pay, one letter later would ruin their respectable lives.

 

Guy pulled out his hotel room key with a small jangle against some change in his pocket. Soon

enough, he would have some folding money to dampen the clinking.

 

He opened the door and reached for the light switch on the wall. He flipped the switch as he

stepped in the room.

 

“Come in, Guy.” The voice was muffled by a full mask. The owner wore black, with a white line

eye drawing as a chest symbol. A gloved hand pointed to the other chair in the room. “We should

have a talk.”

 

“Psybolt?” The blackmailer turned to the door. It slammed in his face. He sat down and smiled.

“I heard that you had vanished.”

 

“I have been retired.” Psybolt crossed his fingers in front of him. “And here you are making my

retirement unpleasant.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Guy shrugged. “I’m just here on the way to somewhere

else.”

 

“That’s funny.” Psybolt chuckled under his mask. “A whole bunch of women want you dead.”

 

“I don’t know...” Guy stopped talking when he saw the envelope on the table. “Can’t we work

something out?”

 

“I could let you go, claim that I killed you, and burnt the pictures and negatives.” The villain

nodded. “You could leave and not come back, not call, not even pose as another blackmailer with

a copy of the pictures and negatives. That’s the usual offer, isn’t it?”

 

“I believe so.” Guy smiled, trying to put the charm on. “It’s a courtesy between professionals.”

 

“Too bad, I’m retired.” Psybolt smiled under his concealing mask. “I mean, it’s too bad for you.

I have a reputation to protect even retired. I’m sure you understand.”

 

Guy launched himself from his chair. His hands reached for the other criminal’s neck. If he could

snap it, that would prevent the other man’s mental blast from changing the tide before he was dealt

with by strangulation.

 

Invisible energy wrapped around the extortionist as he charged. It picked him up and slammed him

hard in his chair. The legs gave way and he fell to the floor.

 

“Bad move, Guy.” Psybolt shook his head. “I can make this painless, or you can suffer for the rest

of your short life. Trying to get the jump on me wasn’t the best way to stay on my good side.”

 

“So what if you kill me? I left some copies with someone who will just send them to the papers.”

Medici waved a hand. “Whomever called you will still suffer.”

 

“I thought about that.” The villain stood. “Then I thought ‘I’ll still get paid.’”

 

“What are you going to do to me?” Guy scooted back on the floor. He knew that was a futile

gesture. Psybolt had been known for blowing the doors off bank vaults.

 

“I’m going to let you live.” Psybolt crossed his arms. “I don’t kill people for money.”

 

Guy let out a breath. He could have been turned into a smear on the rug. He could walk away from

this with a whole skin.

 

“I also don’t like men who try to victimize women.” The bank robber turned fierce eyes on the

suddenly sweating blackmailer. “It’s a character flaw.”

 

“What are you going to do?” Medici looked around for anything he could use for a weapon. He

wished he had bought a gun. He hadn’t thought his victims would hire someone to deal with him.

Confronting a known triggerhappy super villain in his hotel room had been the farthest thought

from his brain when he sent out the letters demanding money.

 

“I’m going to let you live.” The masked man seemed to smile again under his mask. It was hard

to tell with the way it covered his whole face.

 

“I’ll guess I’ll pack my things and leave then.” Guy looked at the envelope. It shredded to confetti

in front of his eyes.

 

“I’ll wait for you to do that.” Psybolt waved an arm for him to get started. “Then I’ll walk you to

your car.”

 

Guy only had three suits, accessories like ties and underwear, another pair of shoes, and his toiletry

kit. It took him five minutes to put all of that in a case. He looked around the room to see if he

missed anything.

 

“I’m ready to go.” He walked to the door.

 

“After you.” Psybolt gestured for him to continue walking.

 

Medici walked through the hotel to his car. He tried not to run. He didn’t want to be caught from

behind and blasted into pieces.

 

He still had other pictures hidden away. All he had to do was get to them and he was back in

business. He would call those women back up and demand double. Psybolt wouldn’t be able to

find him again.

 

Guy’s stash was in a locker at a nearby bus terminal. Whenever he wanted to extort money, he kept

the evidence in a public place that could be locked up. The closest place to suit his purpose was

the bus terminal on the edge of town. He would have to drive for hours to reach a train station, or

airport.

 

That was too far for his purposes.

 

He wanted to be able to get his hands on his pictures to send to the papers within minutes of

deciding to move.

 

It was almost the same as stashing money for a rainy day.

 

A hand grabbed him from behind as he worked the combination of his locker. His head went into

the locker door. He fell to the concrete floor.

 

The lock fell open. Gloved hands pulled out the contents of the locker. The paper and film became

little specks floating to the floor.

 

Medici tracked the explosion of paper with a slack jaw.

 

“I knew you had a stash.” Psybolt stood over the settling cloud. “Thanks for leading me to it.”

 

“You wrecked my second chance.” Guy looked up at the masked man. “You wrecked everything.

I’ll still tell everyone. You can’t stop that.”

 

“What makes you think I need you alive now?” Psybolt shook his head. “I would never let you

live. You should know that.”

 

Guy jumped to his feet and ran. If he could make it to the corner, he could use the rows of lockers

and a wall as cover. The masked man couldn’t shoot through that and hope to hit him. He just had

to run as fast as he could to get to that corner.

 

Psybolt blasted his legs out from under him before he took two steps. The blackmailer hit the floor

and slid across the fake marble tile. He couldn’t feel anything below his knees.

 

Guy tried to sit up to look down at his legs. He struggled but collapsed before he could get a good

look.

 

“I hope you weren’t fond of your brain.” The bank robber fired a blast at point blank range.

 

A custodian found Guy Medici sitting by the row of lockers. He stared off into space with empty

eyes.

 

“Is something wrong?” The janitor bent over at the waist and waved his hand in front of the man’s

face. The eyes didn’t flicker.

 

The worker searched the man’s pockets. He kept the meager amount of money he found before

a wallet. He checked the out of state license against the face of the man he was looking at. They

seemed to be the same guy. He put the empty wallet back.

 

What should he do?

 

He decided he should tell his boss. That should get things rolling. If the guy wasn’t sitting there

in a trance, he wouldn’t have bothered at all. As it was, he needed help to move Guy Mossi out of

the way so he could finish with the floor.

 

He wasn’t getting paid enough to deal with a guy drooling all over himself.

 

At least he hadn’t crapped his pants while he was sitting there.

 

That would be one more mess the custodian had to clean up.

 

He searched the terminal until he saw his chief walking along the busses in the back of the

building. He was checking off things on a clipboard.

 

“Hey, boss.” The janitor looked back at the terminal. He steeled himself to break the bad news.

“We have a problem.”

 

“What’s going on, Jones?” The chief made one more mark on his checklist.

 

“One of our customers had a stroke next to the lockers.” Jones pointed back to the terminal.

 

“Pull the other one.” The chief frowned at his employee.

 

“He’s sitting in there gapmouthed like a fish.” The janitor shrugged. “I just want to know what I

should do with him so I can mop the floor.”

 

“Let’s go see this stroke out.” The chief placed the clipboard under an arm as he and Jones walked into the terminal. They crossed over to the hall of lockers and found the sitting man in place.

 

The chief checked the victim’s breathing and eye movement before standing up. He scratched the

back of his balding head.

 

“Call an ambulance, Jones.” He looked up and down the hall. “Whatever happened to this guy, I

doubt it was a stroke.”

 

“What else could it be?” The janitor straightened his uniform hat. “I found him like this when I

came around the corner down there.”

 

“I don’t know.” The chief gave him a frown. “That’s why we’re getting him out of here before

the rush comes in here and finds him.”

 

“I got it.” Jones walked off. He was glad he put the wallet back once he was sure of who he was

looking at. He didn’t want to get caught with it if the sitting man had been attacked somehow in

the hall without anyone noticing it.

[DusterBoy]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

Ooooh - that was nasty of Psybolt to do that. This is good writing, csyphrett.

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

Ooooh - that was nasty of Psybolt to do that. This is good writing' date=' csyphrett.[/quote']

 

Thanks. I'm hoping to finish this before the end of the month and the august book writing challenge.

CES

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

80

 

1962-Rory Hobson watched from a distance as they loaded Guy Medici in a meat wagon. Maybe

he would recover from what the telekinetic had done with his third eye. It wouldn’t be any time

soon.

 

Rory had read up on the human body. He just never did anything like he had with Medici. He

hadn’t needed to do a lobotomy before.

 

He shook his head as he started the car and pulled away from the curb.

 

It straddled the line between doing nothing and simply killing the man to prevent him from talking

and doing more harm.

 

Rory hoped Maddy would be happy with the solution he had come up with to protect her. He

couldn’t reverse the thing now that he had completed it.

 

He certainly wasn’t a killer. He preferred to rob his banks when there was no one around to get in

his way.

 

Everything that linked Maddy to the man had been shredded. No one had seen him in costume

anywhere. It looked like a clean crime that he might be able to forget that he committed.

 

That left him the problem of what he was going to do with the men who had firebombed his house.

He planned to have his revenge there eventually. He didn’t know what he should do to the

responsible people.

 

Burning down their houses seemed fitting but he wanted to do something that would be

remembered for the sheer gall of it.

 

Maybe he could take their cars apart and leave the parts at the door of the state building.

 

Maybe he could make them pay for repairing his house.

 

That would be a fitting punishment if he could make it work. The people he would have to deal

with didn’t seem to think about the consequences of their actions. He could teach them a little.

 

It looked like he would be wearing his masked persona for a while longer. He could live with that.

 

He needed to get Mason and his boys together. The best way he could do that was to scare the man

into getting everyone together to try and stop him. They would come armed to any meeting he set

up so he would have to watch for that.

 

And the country boys were good shots with their hunting rifles.

 

He examined his idea from as many angles as he could. The only way it would work was if he

scared Mason enough to get everyone together in one place.

 

Was he that scary?

 

He could be. He had a talent that was scary when he used it. He decided that he could go ahead

with his scheme in the hopes of making money without doing any real work for it.

 

The idea of revenge also appealed to him.

 

He drove through town, glad that it was night. He didn’t want anyone to connect him to the car,

or see that he was alive. That would spoil things. He drove past Mason’s place and parked under

a tree a few blocks away.

 

He hoped it looked like someone visiting that house instead of a car waiting for its owner after

he had committed several felonies.

 

He pulled his mask down over his face before he got out of the car. He walked back to Mason’s

house. Lights in the windows indicated someone was home.

 

He placed the coat he had been wearing on the railing of the house’s narrow porch. He wouldn’t

need it if he was killed.

 

He knocked on the door. He hoped he didn’t have to do anything to Mason’s wife. She had been

a help to Maddy. Breaking her legs seemed bad if she didn’t know anything.

 

He couldn’t remember her name.

 

Mrs. Mason opened the door. The questioning look on her face turned to fear. She tried to slam

the door in his face.

 

He didn’t bother with a blast from his third eye. He caught the door with his booted foot and then

slammed his upper body against the wood. That forced the door open enough for him to step

inside.

 

“Where is your husband?” Rory closed the door behind him. He might as well block as much of

the sound of her panicked screaming as he could before she started.

 

“George isn’t here.” She looked for something to use as a weapon as she backed up. “He’s out

with his club.”

 

“Let’s wait for him in the living room.” He pointed for her to start walking. “I’m not here to hurt

you. I’m only here to collect some money your husband owes.”

 

“Why are you wearing a mask?” She led the way into the room. She settled on the large couch

facing the door.

 

“So your husband won’t be able to tell the local police what I look like.” Rory stood near the door

to the foyer. He wanted to be able to blast Mason before he knew what was going on. “I’m just

here to do my job, then leave.”

 

“I don’t believe you.” Mrs. Mason wrapped her fingers together. “George doesn’t owe anyone

anything. It’s against his principles.”

 

“I’m sure he has many of those.” Rory doubted she knew what her husband did in his free time.

 

That didn’t matter at this point. His only concern was that she behaved until he was done.

 

The sound of a car drifted to them. A door slammed. Steps creaked. The front door opened.

 

“I’m home.” Mason walked toward the back of the house. “Where’s dinner?”

 

Rory stepped into the hall and blasted the man from behind. The heavy body crashed into the floor.

A glass goblet fell over and broke against the wooden surface.

 

“You didn’t have to do that.” Mrs. Mason started to stand up. An outstretched hand froze her in

place.

 

“I’ll do worse if I don’t get my money. Stay here.” The masked man walked down to where Mason

struggled to get his feet under him. He grabbed his victim by the neck and marched him into the

living room. He dropped the husband next to the wife before settling in a chair across from them.

 

“Normally I don’t handle things like this, but the boss gave me the order, so here I am.” Rory tried

to figure how much he should lay it on. He didn’t want them to make the connection between him

and his second life. “You burned down Calhoun Gary’s house earlier. Gary worked for us on some

things we need. Therefore you owe us the value of the house, plus ten percent. Any questions?”

 

“What are you talking about?” Mrs. Mason looked at the masked man, then her husband. “Is this

true?”

 

“Gary identified your husband.” Rory smiled under his mask. “The house is gone.”

 

“Why did you do that, George?” Mrs. Mason glared at her husband. “The Garys have done nothing

to you.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Mason started to stand in his ire. A blast set him back down. He

concentrated on trying to breathe.

 

“The only thing that matters is you raise the hundred gees for my boss, plus my cut.” Rory stood.

“I’ll be back tomorrow. You better have the money by then.”

 

“I can’t get that much money.” Mason looked down at his hands.

 

“You better call your friends.” Rory headed out of the house and for his car.

 

He didn’t know how long it would take for everyone to get there at all.

 

He didn’t know if the rest of the posse would answer the summons. He was thinking they would

want to see who they were willing to torture or kill.

 

He decided to drive around the neighborhood to see if they showed up to talk to Mason in person.

The bigot might want to meet them in some neutral spot.

 

He wondered if he should have asked for more money to see what Mason would do.

 

What would Mrs. Mason do now that she knew some of what her husband did on the side?

 

Did she care enough to take off? Could she take off?

 

If she wanted to leave, he would give her some of the money he was extorting from her husband.

 

Rory frowned when he rolled by the Mason place again. Mason’s car wasn’t there. Where would

he go?

 

Rory drove around and headed back toward town. Mason hung out in a couple of places. Maybe

he had decided to call a meeting there instead of his house.

 

What would they do when they got together?

 

He decided it was a good thing that he had asked Maddy to wait away from town until he got

things done. They might try to use her as a shield to prevent Gary’s people from doing things to

them.

 

He wondered if Mason had believed him about being part of an organization. It would be

embarrassing to be exposed by a yokel.

 

He drove into town. He spotted Mason’s car in front of the diner immediately. Others had gathered

around it. He parked across the street and waited. What did they plan to do to find a faceless

stranger?

 

He decided to blast Mason’s wheels. Let him walk home, or hitch a ride.

 

The car descended on its rims as the air rushed out of the tires.

 

What kind of strategy were they cooking up in there?

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

82

1962-George Mason looked at the assemblage in the diner. They were all his cronies and

employees from around the town, and parts of the county beyond. They gave him their utmost

attention.

 

“I got a visit from a masked man who said he was a friend of Cal Gary’s.” Mason figured that was

close enough to the truth to stir things up. “He wants us to give him one hundred thousand dollars

for burning that scum out. I say no. I say we find this guy and make an example of him.”

 

The crowd muttered. Some wanted to spill some blood. They had a taste for it. Some wanted to get

out of there.

 

None of them made a move to leave. The diner was packed and no one could make a move without

knocking someone down. The door was locked to keep people out while they talked. And they had

already burned down Gary’s house. What would happen to them if they left?

 

“Now we’re going to get out there and cover the county until we find this guy.” Mason shouted

to be heard over the mumbling. “Then we’re going to burn him down.”

 

“What’s this guy look like?” One of the shop workers yelled the question from the back of the

room.

 

“He’s the only stranger around with a black hood.” Mason called back. He shook his head. That

was weak of him. “He’s my height and built like Billy there. He’s strong too so don’t try to take

him on yourself. Get help if you see him.”

 

“If he’s a stranger, he might be at the hotel.” The suggestion carried in the air.

 

“We’ll search them as we go.” Mason nodded. That was a good idea. “This guy says he’s coming

by tomorrow to get the money. If we don’t get him tonight, we’ll set up an ambush at my house

tomorrow.”

 

“How do you want us to start, George?” Martin Fell elbowed someone out of his way to get to the

front of the crowd to talk to their leader.

 

Mason looked down at his accountant. The man wasn’t as angry as the rest. That could be a

problem.

 

“Everybody on this side of the room.” Mason indicated the left with his hand. “I want you to start

checking the roads for anyone you don’t know. He might be driving around. Find out.”

 

The men filed out, figuring which roads they should cut off. The sound of cars starting came

through the windows.

 

“The rest of you start checking the hotels.” Mason indicated the right. “Search around for anybody

who came in the last few days on their own.”

 

“What are you going to be doing, George?” Fell waited for the others to start heading out.

 

“I going to wait right here for you guys to call to let me know that you found this guy.” Mason

slapped the counter top. “So find him.”

 

Fell went out at the trailing end of the crowd. He came back in, holding the door open with one

hand.

 

“George.” He waved the other hand. “You might want to look at this.”

 

Mason pulled himself away from the counter. He walked over to the door and looked out in the lot.

His eyes followed Fell’s pointing finger. The tires on his car was flat.

 

“He was here.” Mason started looking around. “He still might be here.”

 

“I might be behind you.” The muffled voice came from inside the diner. “I hope you’re getting my

money.”

 

Mason and Fell turned at the words. Fell flew out in the lot from an impact against his chest. He

didn’t see the blow that cracked a rib and sent him out on the gravel.

 

George let the diner door shut as he ran from the diner. He hadn’t expected the crazy to follow him.

The diner door blew off its hinges in a spray of glass.

 

The masked man was framed in the doorway for a second before disappearing in the night. His

voice drifted across the lot.

 

“You better have my money, Mason.” It sounded angry and cold at the same time. “Or I’ll do more

than this.”

 

Mason ran down the street. He waved his arms, but his boys were driving away. No one stopped

for him. He finally stopped when he ran out of breath. He huffed and puffed as he leaned against

the clothing store.

 

He sat and thought for long minutes. He considered the possibility that Cal Gary was alive. He had

called the masked man down on them. That was the only explanation for this.

 

What could he do about it?

 

How could he find Gary and make him pay for this?

 

Maybe he should have told the boys to look for Gary and his wife. They could use the couple to

get the masked maniac off his back.

 

“You don’t pay attention, do you?” Mason jumped straight, looking around for the owner of the

voice. “All I want is my money. Don’t make me hurt you over this.”

 

Pain lanced through Mason’s knees. He fell to the ground. He screamed before he started to cry.

 

“I will be by for my money at sundown.” The masked man stood in the mouth of an alley between

the two stores next to the fallen arsonist. “If I were you, I would quit wasting my time trying to

find me and get the dough together.”

 

The masked man walked back into the shadows. He vanished in the darkness.

 

Mason waited for the pain to fade in his knees. He felt them through his pants’ legs. They seemed

to be whole. He tried to get one leg under his body to stand up. More pain shot through his leg.

 

He was screwed. He would have to crawl back to the diner to get help for his legs.

 

He winced with each movement of his legs as he worked his way back to the diner. He would have

to go to a doctor and get his legs checked out. Nothing felt broken. What had happened?

 

He saw the diner lights ahead. He had to get there and reach a phone. He had to call someone to

help him.

 

Fell sat on the ground, nursing his head. He didn’t seem to be able to focus his eyes. He didn’t

turn his head to look at his boss crawling toward him.

 

“Who’s there?” He turned toward the sound of scraping cloth on the asphalt.

 

“It’s me.” Mason sat. His legs sprawled limply in front of him. “What’s wrong with you?”

 

“I can’t see.” Fell waved a hand around him. “I can’t see a thing.”

 

“I can’t walk.” Mason grimaced at the news. He had expected Fell to drive him to the hospital

when he had spotted him still in the parking lot. “We’re in trouble.”

 

“I can help you in the diner if you can tell me where to go.” Fell got to his feet. He held his hands

out in front of his body. “The others will be back eventually. They can get us some help.”

 

“I’m about three steps in front of you.” Mason held out his hands. “Bend down.”

 

Fell helped his boss to his feet and took his weight. He was a smaller man, and almost buckled

under the pressure. He gritted his teeth and held on.

 

Mason directed him through the blasted door. He told his employee to drop him in the closest

booth.

 

“The phone is on the wall on the right.” Mason grimaced as Fell felt around the room until he

reached the wall. “Ahead of you.”

 

Fell worked his way down to the wall. He felt the tile on the wall before he touched the black

plastic of the pay phone. He searched his pockets until he found some change and put that in the

slots on top.

 

Fell worked the dial slowly. He had to count the rings to put them to numbers to get his home

phone. He hoped he was dialing his home phone number.

 

What if he couldn’t see ever again? He made his living looking at numbers. How was he going to

read them if he couldn’t see them?

 

“Hello?” Maureen Fell’s voice filled him with relief. He had never been so happy to hear his wife’s

voice.

 

“It’s me.” Fell searched for a way to break the bad news to his wife. “There’s been some trouble.

I need you to come down to the diner.”

 

“What’s wrong?” Maureen seemed to know that he had been hurt. He supposed that it was obvious

since he was calling her, instead of coming home.

 

“I can’t see.” Fell decided that was the best thing to say. “George appears have broken his legs. We

need help.”

 

“What about the other men?” She struggled to keep her voice level.

 

“They left before we were hurt.” He leaned against the wall to speak softer. “This guy is some kind

of super villain. George didn’t tell us.”

 

“I’ll be right there.” Maureen sounded grim over the scratchy phone line. “This is about Cal Gary’s

house, isn’t it?”

 

“I think so.” Fell kept his voice down. “I think George burned out someone with some bad

connections.”

 

“Idiot.” Maureen’s venom came through loud and clear. “I’ll be right there.”

 

Fell hung up. He felt around until he found a stool to sit on.

 

“What did she say?” Mason sat in his booth, rubbing his legs.

 

“She’s coming to get us.” Fell hoped Maureen didn’t tell Mason what she thought. He didn’t

want to try to break them apart when he couldn’t see.

 

He wasn’t sure he wanted to stop her at that point.

[DusterBoy]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

H'mmmm - grimmer and grimmer, to misquote Miss Liddel

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

Sometimes when a bad guy becomes a good guy, he still tends to use his bad guy ways. At this point, Psybolt's control has gone from simply blasting everything like Cyclops to being able to take things apart in pieces like Jean Grey. I'm hoping that eventually, he will be the Batman of this little town, maybe.

CES

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

82

1962-Rory Hobson didn’t know if he was doing the right thing injuring Fell and Mason, but he

could live with it. Word would be getting around that his second identity had connections. People

would start wondering what Mason had gotten them into if he demonstrated his power on them.

 

He wanted to scare them enough they gave him the money and left him alone. He didn’t want to

scare them enough they called the feds down to find his masked identity.

 

He doubted that Mason would do that, but you never knew what a scared man would do under

pressure.

 

Mason’s good old boys were out looking for him. He had to make sure that Maddy stayed safe

while he did what he did. There was no point in extorting the ringleader if he lost his reason for

the extortion.

 

At least she didn’t have to worry about Medici any more. He was never leaving whatever hospital

they stuck him in.

 

Rory couldn’t force himself to feel bad about that.

 

He pulled into the Monitor’s parking lot. He didn’t see any of Mason’s helpers. He had to move

Maddy as quickly as possible before they showed up. He wanted to keep their continued living a

secret as long as possible.

 

He might have tipped his hand telling Mason that his other self had been an employee of a criminal

organization who wanted their investment replaced.

 

Mason might figure that out despite the fact he came across as a jealous bigot ruled by whatever

emotion burned the hottest.

 

Rory parked in front of his room door. He made sure that he had his coat over his disguise before

getting out of the car. He didn’t want the clerk to wonder about what he was seeing if he looked

out of the window at the wrong time.

 

He knocked on the door and waited. He had left the key with Maddy. He didn’t want something

happening to him, and having the key found by people who would want to find his other half. He

saw the curtain flicker for a second before the door opened.

 

“We’re going to have to leave.” He stepped inside to get out of sight. “Mason has sent his boys out

to find me.”

 

“Where will we go?” Maddy looked down at the floor. “How will we live?”

 

“Right now, I’m concerned with just living.” Rory checked the windows. No one was in the

parking lot. “We’re going to check out, than I am going to find some place to stash you while I try

to scare Mason into giving us a replacement house.”

 

“Mason won’t do that.” Maddy shook her head. “He’s too stupid to be scared.”

 

“Well, he’s going to have trouble walking at the moment.” Rory opened the door and looked

around. “Let’s go.”

 

They headed for the parked car. Maddy made sure to close the hotel door before they started

walking. Rory waved for her to drive. He wanted to be able to use his blast if they run into

members of the mob.

 

He could drive and shoot, but he felt that just shooting was the best way to go if they were

traveling together.

 

Maddy got behind the wheel. Rory got in the backseat. He ducked down so no one could see him

as they passed.

 

He wanted to surprise anyone who thought that Maddy was helpless and alone.

 

And everyone was looking for a man. No one would suspect a woman on her own.

 

“Where are we going?” Maddy pulled out on the road. She drove into the night.

 

“Let’s head to Jackson.” Rory frowned as he consulted his map of the state. “That should be far

enough away that you won’t be discovered.”

 

“What are you going to do next?” She glanced over her shoulder.

 

“I told Mason to get together some money for us.” Rory didn’t mention that the idiot had decided

to try to hunt his tormentor down. “I’m sure he will try to kill me at the exchange.”

 

“What are you going to do?” Maddy kept her eyes on the road.

 

“I’m going to look things over and maybe blow Mason up.” Rory checked the back window. No

one else was on the road. “I’m hoping he takes the lesson I taught him to heart.”

 

“Are we talking about the same George Mason?” Maddy turned right, then drove until she started

seeing highway signs.

 

“I had to hurt him some.” Rory hated admitting that. “Hopefully he’ll get the message and not try

to cause too much trouble.”

 

“He’s going to do whatever he can to stop you.” Maddy shook her head. “Hurting him means he

has to hurt you back.”

 

“The only way he can hurt me is to hurt you.” The villain liked the emptiness of the road. It helped

them. “That’s why we’re going to Jackson. I don’t want him to think he can do that without

suffering.”

 

“How long will this go on?” Maddy slowed to miss a deer. “I want to go home eventually.”

 

“Right now, I have Mason thinking that I belong to an outfit.” He knew some guys but he didn’t

want to call them on a job like this. Someone might die. “If I can extort the money and show that

he can’t stop that outfit, he might leave us alone in fear of retaliation.”

 

“He’s not that smart, hon.” Maddy shook her head. “He’ll still try to do something just to get

even.”

 

“So how do I break him?” Rory couldn’t disagree with her assessment.

 

“You have to take away everything that he thinks makes him special.” Maddy waved a hand. “If

you did that, he would have to rebuild instead of worrying about us. He might still try for revenge.”

 

“He’s cunning, but not smart.” The masked man watched the road in the dark. They were an island

of light moving in the night. “Maybe I can see him at his home.”

 

“You might have to destroy his house before he takes you seriously.” She turned on the highway

past a car parked on the side of the road.

 

Rory watched the lights come on behind them. He concentrated his third eye on the car. Weak

points exploded and the car fell apart before it moved a foot.

 

He hoped that was some of Mason’s boys and not some innocent bystander who happened to start

his car at the wrong moment.

 

“Go down to the next exit and get off the highway.” Rory checked behind him for more lights.

“Someone might be trying to follow us.”

 

“I saw that car.” Maddy watched the mirror. “I don’t see them behind us.”

 

“It was probably nothing.” Rory rubbed his face. “I just want you to be safe. Mason might try to

kill you to get back at me for what I’m doing to him.”

 

“Will we be able to live in town after this?” She kept her eyes on the road.

 

“Do you want to?” The villain watched behind them. No lights chased after them from where they

had seen that lone car. “Cross the bridge and get on the highway going the other way.”

 

“Got it.” Maddy pulled off the highway and made a left. She drove down to the next ramp and

turned back on the highway to go back the way they had came. “Yes, I want to live in my

hometown. I don’t want to run anymore.”

 

“Then we have to force Mason to let us alone.” Rory opened his third eye as they approached the

broken car. Two men were trying to figure out what had happened. “The only way to do that is to

show him that we are connected to people who would hate to see us hurt. Otherwise, I’ll have to

do something to most of the people he runs. The town couldn’t survive that.”

 

“How is the convincing going?” Maddy glanced over her shoulder.

 

“We’ll know if he gives us the money.” Hobson doubted that his place needed less than a hundred

thousand in repairs. “Otherwise, we’ll have to chip away at him until he gives up.”

 

“Do you think you can break him?” Maddy watched for mile signs as they rolled through the

darkness.

 

“I don’t know.” Some people snapped under pressure, others adapted and did well. “I might have

to make an example of him.”

 

“If you do, what will the town do?” She saw another marker for the next town. It was only ten

minutes away.

 

“It depends on how many will be glad to see him out of the picture.” Hobson looked at the

approaching lights of a small town. “Let me off at the next exit and keep going until you’re across

the state line. Hunker down with the money and wait.”

 

“How will you find me?” She pulled to a stop on the exit ramp.

 

“I won’t.” Hobson got out. He pulled his coat around him. “There will be a note in the paper

addressed to R.C. from C.G. It will have a place and time to meet. Don’t come back to town until

I have some kind of insurance in place.”

 

“I’ll look for it.” Maddy leaned out and kissed him through the opened window.

 

“I want you to be careful.” Rory held her. “I don’t have anyone, or anything, else I care about.”

 

“You be careful.” She touched his face before pulling away. “You’re the one dealing with vipers.”

 

“I love you.” Rory crossed the highway and started back toward town on the opposite side.

 

He checked his map as he went. There were places he could cut through if he wanted. It would

leave a path so that any blind man could follow his trail back to the road.

 

The only way he could keep Maddy safe was not to let anyone know where she was until he had

the town broken. Otherwise, she was a target.

 

He also couldn’t call any of his old associates. They would go over the line.

 

He wanted to make things hard for Mason and his thugs, not put them in the ground.

 

And he didn’t want any of his old associates moving to town and start telling people who he really

was.

 

The whole point of his retirement was not to be doing what he was doing. He grunted to himself

as he mulled that over.

 

Maybe he should have put more effort to blending in.

 

He reached the exit leading to the road to town. He climbed up the hill and turned toward the

wrecked car. Maybe he should talk to them about what they were supposed to be doing.

 

He smiled at that.

 

He walked along the road, mask in place. He didn’t want them to see his face. They stood by their

car. It sat in a heap of pieces, tires flat and laying on their sides. One scratched his head at the

impossibility of it.

 

“Need a hand?” Psybolt stood to one side, taking in the scene.

 

The two men turned at his words. One reached for something in his waistband. An invisible hand

sent them flying into a culvert next to the road. One groaned from the impact.

 

“Have fun walking home.” Psybolt looked at the car. It jumped together instantly, motor starting

on its own.

 

He got behind the wheel and drove off. He looked in the mirror. The two men tried to pull

themselves on the road behind him. One waved his hands in the air. He smiled.

 

At least they could walk into town. Maybe that would take the fight out of them.

 

He drove back into town. The diner had a piece of plywood over the door. He didn’t see Mason

or Fell. Their cars sat in the lot. Someone must have picked them up and carried them away.

 

Where would they go?

 

He decided on the hospital. Mason would want to know what happened to his legs.

 

Should he terrorize the man while he was trying to fix the unfixable, or drive around and do things

to the town?

 

He decided to lay low until the morning. He could check on Mason in the morning. His boys would

be sleepless and frustrated in the day time.

 

He drove to his house.

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

I enjoy reading these whenever they are posted. Thanks! I'd rep this again, but I gotta spread some.

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

I enjoy reading these whenever they are posted. Thanks! I'd rep this again' date=' but I gotta spread some.[/quote']

 

THanks. I hope you liked the novel in a month on my blog. I have to think about what I am going to do for the next one. Maybe some one shots?

CES

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

83

1962-Rory stood beside his stolen car. He frowned the collapsed heap that used to be his house.

He supposed it had been luck the rest of the property had not caught. He could see a fire spreading

to his neighbors if it had enough fuel.

 

He looked to the left. He could see sparks in the night. That was his nearest neighbor.

 

He walked up to the pile of burnt wood. All of his belongings had turned to smelly wreckage. He

pushed the wood out of his way as he looked around.

 

Everything was gone.

 

He went back to the stolen car. He could fix the house, replace some of the things, but some things

were irreplaceable.

 

Mason was going to wish he had never thought about doing this.

 

He was already going to have problems walking the rest of his life.

 

He drove out from his property. He decided he should drop by Mason’s house. He needed to keep

turning the screw.

 

Maybe destroying his house would help the local big wheel to consider what could happen to his

businesses.

 

The money wasn’t important to Rory. It was just something to explain why a villain would show

up in the middle of the backwoods with his hand out. He could fix his house with his mind any

time he wanted.

 

He doubted Mason would appreciate there were people in the world that you shouldn’t mess with.

 

That was something you learned when you ran into that man and he did you in.

 

He pulled to the curb in front of Mason’s house. The lights were on in every window. He watched

the street for anyone guarding the place.

 

He didn’t want to find out if his ability could stop a bullet by someone shooting at him.

 

Rory pulled down his mask and got out of the car. He walked up to the door, watching the

neighborhood. Why hadn’t Mason posted a guard at his house?

 

Maybe he didn’t think an outsider would go for his property. Maybe he wasn’t worried about what

would happen to his wife. Maybe he was just dumb.

 

Rory knocked on the door. He might as well make sure no one was home before he got started.

 

He didn’t burn helpless women in their homes.

 

He stepped back as he heard footsteps walk to the door from the other side. He didn’t want a face

full of lead if Mason’s wife was tougher than her husband.

 

A lot of people were probably tougher than her husband.

 

Janet Mason opened the door. She looked at the figure in black on the porch, and tried to close the

door in his face. The door tipped in and fell over as the pins fell out of the hinges.

 

“Can we talk?” Rory stepped inside the house. He looked around. He kept his hands in his coat

pockets.

 

“What do you want?” Janet glared at her visitor. “George is at the hospital.”

 

“Good.” Rory looked at the pictures on the wall. “Has he got my money yet?”

 

“How could he?” She picked up a glass of wine and drank some of it. “He doesn’t have it.”

 

“He should have thought of that before he burned my employee’s house down.” The masked man

looked around. There seemed to be a lot of pictures of family on the walls, some porcelain dolls,

and what looked like a deer’s head. The furniture in the living room faced the television set. “So

I get my money, or I do things to hurt your husband until I am happy with how things are.”

 

“This seems like extraordinary measures to take for a hired hand.” She sipped more of her drink.

 

“The only extraordinary thing I see is that you’re still standing here when you should be running.”

His mental eye opened. The wine glass shattered in her hand. “So start running.”

 

“I’ll never run from the likes of you.” She flapped her hand to shake the wine off.

 

“Then stay put.” Rory shook his head. “I’m the bad guy. You’re the victim.”

 

He opened his third eye wide. Invisible force erupted from him. The ceiling of the room blew

straight up. Anything caught in the beam went with the wood and plaster. The roof let go to let the

sky shimmer on them from overhead.

 

“There’s a hole in my house.” Janet looked up at the night sky.

 

“What house?” He asked as his third eye blinked for a second.

 

Rory turned his gaze on the walls and furniture. Piece by piece, the house headed into the sky.

Janet grabbed the picture and ran. The rest of the pictures headed for the sky.

 

“You’re about to see something extraordinary.” Psybolt turned his gaze on everything in the room,

one by one. His targets vanished in the night sky.

 

Everything tried to reach escape velocity as Janet watched. The objects became individual pieces

headed straight up into the atmosphere. The masked man started for where the door used to be.

He looked behind him at the floor and it headed upwards to join the rest of the house with the nails

going first.

 

Janet stood at the edge of the hole that made up the foundation of her house. The rest of it had

vanished in the night as she tried to track the pieces.

 

“My house!" She glared at the masked man.

 

“My money.” He started walking away. “Have it by tomorrow. I wouldn’t keep standing there

if I were you. Things tend to come back down.”

 

She stepped back as a chair leg hit the ground to her right. She ran as the rest started falling back

down. It formed a pile with most of it dropping in the cellar. Her jewelry box hit last on top of the

wood and bounced down to the grassy yard on the left.

 

Psybolt waved before he got in his stolen car and drove off.

 

Janet fought back tears as she looked at what remained of her home and possessions. She had never

thought someone would rip it away from her like that.

 

How had the Garys managed it?

 

She ran for her neighbor’s house. She had to call George. He had to know the house had been

blown apart. She stopped and turned around. She picked up her jewelry box and took it with her

to the other house.

 

The realization that George’s plant could go up the same way hadn’t escaped her.

 

Rory pulled up his mask as he drove through the night. That hadn’t satisfied him as much as he

thought it would. He hoped Mason suffered some about his property exploding in the night.

 

He hoped Janet Mason sobered up enough to call him to let him know he couldn’t go home again.

 

He drove over to his garage and pulled in behind it. He turned the car into a heap of spare parts so

that no one could connect it to his public face. He stepped inside.

 

At least the brick building hadn’t been harmed. He suspected Mason would think about wrecking

it after he found about his house.

 

Rory sat down at his desk. He wondered how Patriot worked as hero all the time. Just putting in

time on a vigilante revenge scheme was wearing him down.

 

He needed to get a nap before he went back to work on Mason and his men.

 

He doubted that Mason would have the money. He had picked the figure out of his butt. If he

agreed to a deal, that would be good enough.

 

He foresaw having to keep his masked persona around so Mason didn’t get the bright idea of

dropping him and Maddy in the river somewhere.

 

He hated the fact that he might be a vigilante for the rest of his life.

 

He supposed there were worst things to be.

 

He closed his eyes and went to sleep in his chair. He had a big day in front of him. He wondered

if he could show his face in town now.

 

Maybe he could talk to Mason about getting his house repaired for free.

 

He smiled at that as he dropped off.

 

Maybe he could throw a party for everyone.

 

He could even invite the black people in town. That would make everyone’s day.

 

He dreamed of his career. Banks fell before his gaze. Money floated behind him. He waved his

hand as he ran from the masked men trying to stop him. Banging on the garage door pulled him

out of his sleep.

 

He looked up from his chair. He couldn’t be seen from the outside. Why was anyone banging on

his door?

 

Didn’t they know he was out of business?

 

The banging continued.

 

Rory pulled off his mask, costume shirt, and coat. He slid them behind his desk. He pulled on

a spare work shirt from his file cabinet. He went to the door.

 

He peered out through the glass. Some woman stood outside.

 

Who was this?

 

He looked around before he opened the door. He didn’t want to run into some of Mason’s boys

and have to conceal his powers from them.

 

“I’m closed.” Rory didn’t step all the way out of the garage. There might be someone with a

hunting rifle around. “Go away.”

 

“You have to call off your friend.” The woman rushed over to the door. “My husband’s blind.”

 

“I don’t have a friend.” He squinted at her. “Do I know you?”

 

“I’m Maureen Fell.” She glared at him. “My husband ran into your masked friend and is blind

now.”

 

“First off, I don’t have any friends, masked or otherwise.” He felt that was close enough to the

truth. “And I don’t care about your husband. My house was burnt down, and I had to send my wife

away while I think about what I’m going to do to the guys who burnt it down. I don’t see how

I can help you with the blind husband part.”

 

“There’s a man demanding money for you.” Maureen glared at him. “My husband heard him.”

 

“That’s not my friend.” Rory wanted to close the door in her face. “That’s my boss.”

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

84

1962-Rory Hobson sat in Cal Gary’s chair. His visitor sat in the other chair. The rest of

the garage sat empty. Rory had made sure the closed sign was on the garage door before he locked

it.

 

“What do you want?” The mechanic tapped his arm of his chair with his fingers.

 

“I want my husband to be able to see.” She wiped tears off her face.

 

“I don’t see how I can help you.” Rory put on his bland face. It had served him well during prison.

 

“This masked man wants money from George Mason.” Maureen sniffed with a clogged nose.

He handed her a paper towel. “Martin says Mason doesn’t have enough to cover the demand.”

 

“I was supposed to be fixing some cars for his boss.” Rory liked that lie. It explained why they

wanted to deal with him, and it kept him from being a criminal himself. “My house burning down

caused a delay.”

 

“I don’t see any cars here.” She looked around the empty garage.

 

“They have their own place upstate.” Rory waved that off. “I don’t see how that has anything

to do with your husband.”

 

“He was at this meeting last night.” Maureen pointed toward town. “Mason called in all of the

town that would show up for him. He wanted to find this masked man who had been threatening

him. The masked man showed up there after everyone but Mason and Martin had left. Martin said

he had felt some pain, and now he can’t see. The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

 

“I don’t see how that’s my problem.” Rory thought he could fix the blindness. He wasn’t sure.

 

“I want you to call this masked man and fix Martin’s eyes.” She gave him another glare. “Then

Martin will give him the money he wants.”

 

“How would he do that?” The mechanic had an idea.

 

It wouldn’t be the first time the man holding the purse took what was inside to use for himself.

 

“He’s Mason’s accountant.” Maureen blew her nose again. “He has access to the money.”

 

“Mason would have his hide if he did that.” Rory shook his head. “He would be an embezzler and

put in jail.”

 

“What does that matter if he can’t see.” She glared at him.

 

“So you want this masked man to show up at the hospital, fix your husband’s eyes, and then

what?” Rory thought she didn’t care about anything else but fixing the eyes.

 

“I don’t understand.” She looked thrown for the first time.

 

“I have a destroyed house, a wife in a hotel somewhere, and a closed business.” Rory crossed his

arms. “How does any of this help me?”

 

“I can get money to fix your house.” She looked down at the floor. “I don’t know about the rest.”

 

“You think about it.” He got up. “Then get back to me.”

 

“What about my husband?” She stood too.

 

“It sounds like he got what he deserved.” Rory ushered her to the door. “Be happy he didn’t get

killed in the crossfire, I guess.”

 

“Can you call this guy off?” She grabbed the edge of the door before he could push her out.

 

“What do I look like?” He gave her a frown. “The villain exchange?”

 

“Can you do it?” She refused to move beyond his threshold.

 

“If he calls me, and is willing to listen to reason.” Rory didn’t want to give her hope. “I will tell

him that you want to make a deal. It doesn’t get me my house back, does it?”

 

“I’ll call around and fix that.” Maureen Fell set her face in his disapproval. “I’ll do what I have to

do to make things right.”

 

“Does your husband know you love him that much?” The villain looked down at her.

 

“Yes.” She looked confused. “I think so.”

 

“Go tell him.” He smiled at her. “He would like to know that.”

 

“Mason will want to get everyone together to fight this masked man.” Maureen nodded. “He

doesn’t intend to give up the money the man wants.”

 

“Keep your husband away from that.” Rory nodded as he went to close the door. “He might wind

up with something worse than blindness.”

 

“Are you the masked man?” She blocked the door with her arm.

 

“Do I look like some kind of nut to you?” He closed the door on her face.

 

At least he hadn’t given her a chance to answer in the affirmative.

 

Rory went back to his chair and sat down. He closed his eyes. What was his next move?

 

Did he want to fix Fell’s eyes? Was that the right thing to do? What was the right thing to do?

 

Why was everything so gray?

 

He had spent too much time hiding under a cover identity. It had grown into the real him. When

had he changed his outlook?

 

He looked at the picture of Maddy on his desk. That was when he had become the better man.

 

Had he really become a better man?

 

He put the questions aside. He had to get back to work.

 

Maybe he could swing by the hospital and talk to Martin Fell. He had nothing to lose.

 

It might even change the war he was conducting.

 

He smiled at that.

 

He dug his mask and costume shirt out from he had hid it. He changed clothes. He pulled on the

trenchcoat over that. He used his power to clean the ensemble.

 

Rory looked around. Everything was in place except for his shirt. He folded it up and put it back

in the file cabinet so he could wear it later.

 

He wondered if was going soft for even considering fixing Fell’s eyes.

 

He considered what Bunny Keys would do for a moment as he made sure no one was around the

garage. Burning down the town, putting all the men’s heads on pikes, and raping all the women

just didn’t seem acceptable for some reason.

 

He left through the back door and put his stolen car back together. He drove out of the lot.

 

He turned back toward town. He spotted men putting a new door on the diner. He blew out the

panes for spite as he passed.

 

That’ll teach you to hold a meeting to stop me from taking my revenge.

 

Rory pulled into the lot around the small hospital. He blasted the whites only sign as he passed.

He used the stairwell and pulled on his mask. He wondered how he was going to avoid the nurses

and doctors as he tried to find out where Fell was.

 

He decided that maybe he should ask a nurse. They would know where a blind man would be.

 

He stepped out of the stairwell. He walked over to the desk. The nurse started reaching for the

phone. It fell apart before she could dial.

 

“Martin Fell?” She looked at him like he was a Martian. “Blind man brought in last night.”

 

“Twenty three.” She pointed down the hall.

 

“We’re just going to have a talk.” Psybolt smiled under his mask. “Don’t bother with security. I’ll

just put them in rooms of their own.”

 

He walked down to the designated room and opened the door. The blind man listened to the radio.

He wore his own pajamas from the look of it. Light formed stripes through the shades as the

accountant looked toward the door.

 

“I didn’t think it was time for my next blood pressure check.” He almost smiled.

 

“Your wife talked to Cal Gary.” Psybolt sat in the chair so he could watch the door. “She wants

to cut a deal for your eyes.”

 

“Why go to Cal Gary?” He felt around until he found the radio and cut it off. “What kind of deal?”

 

“I want the money that I would have made if Cal Gary’s house hadn’t burned down which

postponed the work he was supposed to do for me. Your wife wants you to see. She says that

you control Mason’s finances.” The masked man tapped the arm of his chair.

 

“George Mason doesn’t have a hundred thousand dollars, and I just can’t give you any of his funds

without his written permission.” He shook his head. “I don’t see why he would give it to you.”

 

“Because I blew up his house, and can do the same thing to his factory.” Rory nodded at the shock

on the man’s face. “I can do the same thing to his bank, and his construction company. I don’t see

why I shouldn’t.”

 

“That would ruin the town.” Fell leaned forward. “Everyone would be out of a job.”

 

“That’s not my problem.” Rory winced at the thought that he was putting his future at risk along

with everyone else.

 

No one would get their cars fixed if they couldn’t pay the bill.

 

“I can talk to Mason about your demand.” Fell felt around for the phone. “Does he know about

his house yet.”

 

“I don’t know if his wife told him yet.” Rory shrugged at the wince the other man gave at the news.

 

“He’s in a room of his own.” The accountant pointed vaguely. “His legs have been messed up since

last night.”

 

“He should have handed over the money before trying to release the hounds.” Psybolt couldn’t

keep the anger out of his voice. Things could have gone a lot worse for Mason other than a pinched

nerve.

 

He could have exploded in the middle of the diner as an example of angering people you shouldn’t

anger.

 

“How’s the legs, George?” Fell didn’t put on a smile at his joke. “Still blind. I just heard your

house blew up last night.”

 

He listened for a moment. The voice was almost loud enough to hear from where Rory was sitting.

 

“I think you need to consider what should happen if he did that to your businesses.” Fell listened

to another tirade for a minute. “He’s here. He says he can do that to the whole town. Have you

considered what would happen to the people if he did that?”

 

Another tirade came over the phone.

 

“Let me explain something to you, George.” The accountant raised his voice. “If you lose your

businesses, you don’t have any way to make money. If the town blows away, you don’t have any

customers for your products. You have two choices. Cut a deal and lose a little, or don’t and lose

everything. Cut the deal, dummy.”

 

He hung up on his boss before another tirade could be heard.

 

“Mason doesn’t have near enough to pay what you want.” Fell rubbed his face. “He probably

couldn’t do it if he sold everything.”

 

“Let’s look at his books.” Rory stood. “Let’s see how much he does have.”

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

85

1962-Martin Fell liked being able to see again. He liked being able to find that one sock

you could never find when you needed it. He liked being able to read the numbers he had

to calculate.

 

He didn’t like a masked monster in his office waiting for him to come up with answers.

 

It was still better than being blind.

 

“If Mason sold everything he owned an interest in, he might be able to get fifty grand.” Fell sat

back in his office chair. “He only owns parts of the rest of the businesses other than the factory.

That he owns altogether.”

 

“He certainly won’t be able to sell his house.” Rory stood where he could look out the window and

watch both doors to the office.

 

“If he sold the land itself, it might go for another ten to fifteen thousand.” The accountant closed

his books. “So terrorizing Mason won’t get you anything but satisfaction.”

 

“I’m fine with that.” Psybolt glanced out the window. “What’s the counter offer?”

 

“I don’t have one.” Fell looked confused. “I can’t just give my client’s money away.”

 

“Call Mason and tell him that his factory just went to factory heaven.” Psybolt started for the door.

 

“Wait.” Fell stood. “That factory is the only thing really keeping the town going. If you destroy

that, everyone else will suffer too.”

 

“I don’t live here, so I’m fine with that.” Psybolt opened the door. “Just tell the town Mason

refused to pay.”

 

“I can’t do that.” Fell held up a hand. “I’ll call around and look for a way to get your money.”

 

“Don’t think of it as getting my money.” He started out. “Think of it as insurance for the town

against blown up buildings.”

 

Rory headed downstairs to his stolen car. He thought about blowing up Fell’s office. He decided

against it. The accountant was reasonable about cost versus prevention.

 

What was his next move? He had hours before he had to meet Mason and see what the man told

him.

 

He doubted it would be friendly at all.

 

He pulled off his mask and drove through town. He watched the residents as they went about their

business. He noticed a lack of men. Maybe they were out watching for him.

 

How many would be at the meeting? How many was he willing to put in the hospital? How many

would walk away if he gave them a chance?

 

How many had wives, or girlfriends, they wanted to please?

 

Or boyfriends for that matter.

 

He turned on the road leading by his house. A bulldozer scraped the burnt wood and debris into

a pile to put in a dump truck. He pulled over to watch. He saw Maureen Fell standing to one side.

 

He shook his head.

 

That was one determined lady. How had she gotten a bulldozer to his place? He was tempted to

ask, but thought he should let her work.

 

He pulled away from the curb and headed back to his garage. He could hole up there while he

thought about his next move. He would be very surprised if Mason didn’t target the place at some

point.

 

If some masked man threatened everything you owned, you might lash out at the only one you

knew was connected to him.

 

Rory drove around before he headed into his garage’s lot. Nobody was around as far as he could

tell. He parked the car and hid it in parts before he went inside. He needed to think before he went

out again.

 

He didn’t know how much of a threat he could be if he didn’t want to wreck the whole town.

 

He had gotten too soft to be a super villain. He couldn’t even be a hero the way he was going.

 

How far was he willing to go to avenge his house?

 

He had already reduced Mason’s house to a pile of parts and broken things. Was that enough?

 

He decided that he needed to retaliate in such a way the town would never forget what had

happened. They also would all know that Mason had caused the bad things to happen to them.

 

What could he do that would hurt everyone without killing them?

 

He wanted to make them suffer a little.

 

He admitted that only a few people were involved in the burning. Maybe he should concentrate on

them.

 

He had grown way too soft to be a villain.

 

When had that happened?

 

He looked up Martin Fell’s office number. Maybe the man would still be in. He had a counter

offer in mind now that he knew he couldn’t get his money outright.

 

He doubted the town could give him the money when Mason was the richest man in town.

 

He would just have to take his pound of flesh some other way.

 

“Fell Accounting.” Martin answered the phone himself. He sounded a lot better than he had.

 

“You’re were right about getting the money from Mason.” Rory held his mask over his mouth. “So

I am going to wreck a hundred thousand dollars worth of things around town. Tell Mason to bring

my ten thousand to the meet at the diner at sundown.”

 

“You can’t do that.” Fell sounded shocked.

 

“Sure I can.” Psybolt smiled. “I’m the villain. I do things like this for a living. Mason, my money,

the diner, sundown. Don’t forget.”

 

He hung up on the spluttering accountant. He expected the man to finally get the law involved.

This was moving beyond what Mason’s thugs could hope to stop on their own.

 

Too bad there was only one sheriff, and one deputy.

 

Rory pulled on his mask and put his car back together. He drove into town. He smiled at the sheriff

standing out on the sidewalk. The man saw him and reached for his gun.

 

One blast lifted the man off his feet and dumped him on his butt.

 

Psybolt carved George Mason Caused This next to the downed lawman.

 

He turned his blast on the rest of the town. George Mason Caused This appeared everywhere he

looked. Even the streetlights had tiny letters cut on their glass lens.

 

People who got in the way lost their clothes with George Mason Caused This written across their

flesh as they ran.

 

He broke the windows out of the diner, bank, and any other business as he passed. People ran

as his catchphrase wrote itself on products that he could see from the window as he passed.

 

He worked his way through the neighborhoods. Windows fell apart. His four words appeared in

the doors as he passed.

 

He stopped when he figured he had done enough damage. How much was a hundred thousand

dollars worth?

 

He saw the deputy rushing toward downtown with his lights flashing. One blast left the man

sliding on the ground in his freed chair, wheel in hand. The rest of the car drifted to a stop around

him.

 

Psybolt kept driving the other way. That was at least ten thousand on its own.

 

He drove by his house. The bulldozer had part of the pile loaded into a dump truck. The rest waited

on him to get back to work.

 

Rory fired his beam at the pile. It jumped into the dump truck in a cloud of ash and shattered wood.

 

He could build a house instantly, but he couldn’t reveal that. The town would show at his front

door with pitchforks and torches.

 

The Fells obviously suspected his cover of being the masked man. It would be bad if they got a

picture of his mug shot from years ago. They would know instantly who he really was.

 

Psybolt had been a public figure for a while. It would be nothing for the papers to investigate his

background. He should have come up with a new identity.

 

There was nothing he could do about it now. He would have to think of some way to protect his

double identity when he could. He doubted that the Fells would keep their suspicions to

themselves.

 

He pulled around to the garage and drove by. A lot of guys were standing around outside. He

shook his head and took their cars apart piece by piece as he went by.

 

Maybe that would teach them something.

 

He hoped they had enough sense to not burn the place down now that they needed to use the

phone.

 

He would add the five cars to his tally for the town.

 

He drove down to the end of the block and watched his mirror. One of the men seemed to be

pointing at his car. He realized it was the same guy he had blasted by the highway. The man pulled

his gun to shoot at the car.

 

Psybolt took the gun apart with a blast. The man looked at the parts fall away from the frame in

dismay.

 

Rory waved before driving away.

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

86

1962-The day passed slowly for Rory Hobson. He spent some of it driving around. The streets

seemed to be clear. The grapevine had probably passed the word around about what he wanted

from Mason.

 

At least it was keeping bystanders out of the way.

 

Anyone around when he went to talk to Mason put themselves on the fair game list as far as he was

concerned.

 

He liked that. It made everything simple. All he needed was a reason to blast away.

 

Rory drove out of town, gassed up, and descended on an eatery along the highway. He got his food

in a sack and a bottle of coke and ate it in his car. He wondered if his garage was still standing. He

put it out of his mind.

 

He couldn’t guard his property every second of every day. He could only hope that he had put

enough fear in those hicks that they understood he would take it out of their hides.

 

He wondered if he had actually did one hundred thousand dollars worth of damage to the town.

He might have done more. He hoped none of them got smart enough to call outside help.

 

If the Feds showed up, the game was over. He would have to wait until they left so he could

persecute Mason.

 

How long would it take for the Feds to leave was anyone’s guess.

 

If Mason had been smart, calling the Feds would have been the first thing on his to do list.

 

Rory eyeballed men who seemed to be watching for him. He put them to sleep to be cautious as

he drove through town. He didn’t want to give Mason too much of a warning. He might try to

spring some kind of surprise to get even for the rampage.

 

An explanation for what had happened would be easy but embarrassing at the same time.

 

A masked man blew up the town because I couldn’t pay the money he said I owed for burning

down his employee’s house.

 

It sounded simple when he thought it to himself.

 

A lot of the town would feel sympathy for Mason. He was just standing up for the white man. His

cause was righteous.

 

That was why a villain had to show them how wrong they were.

 

He parked in front of the diner. The other slots were full of cars. He didn’t see any of the owners

around. He smiled at the constant litany of George Mason Caused This everywhere he looked.

 

That would take a lot to buff out.

 

The windows and door of the diner had plywood covers to replace the glass he had exploded

earlier. He shook his head. He blasted the covers away so he could see the inside of the building

before he walked inside.

 

The flying wood fell on top of men waiting for him to walk in. Some of them had brought hunting

rifles from home. A few had pistols. The ones closest to the door and windows fell to the floor

under the dropping barriers. The ones farthest away turned their weapons to shoot at him.

 

Rory opened his third eye as wide as possible. The interior of the building exploded as the wave

of force impacted and pushed everything in front of it away. Everything smashed into the bar

before it gave way and headed for the kitchen behind it. He walked into the debris field and made

sure he hadn’t killed anyone.

 

He shook his head at the moaning lumps. This was bound to attract a lot of attention. Everybody

in the world would know where he was when this got out.

 

So much for maintaining his Cal Gary identity. How would Maddy take this? He couldn’t blame

her if she wanted to break up with him.

 

He shook his head. He had done enough damage. He didn’t want to hurt the jerks more than he had

to at this point.

 

He took their guns apart as he entered the diner. He didn’t want one of them trying to shoot him

in the back while he was talking to Mason.

 

That would be embarrassing after all this.

 

“I’m here, Mason.” He didn’t see the mastermind. “Do you have my money?”

 

He didn’t see anyone moving more than a broken hand. Where had the brains of this gone? Had

he really thought his bullies could do the job? That had been a mistake on his part.

 

Psybolt looked around the ruined diner. Mason had not shown up for their appointment. He found

Flip Coaklin, and Marcy, the waitress, in the giant freezer. They stumbled out in the destroyed

eatery, rubbing feeling back in their hands.

 

“My place.” Coaklin’s small eyes grew wide at the destruction.

 

“My money.” Psybolt put his hands in his pockets. “Where’s Mason?”

 

“I don’t know.” Coaklin walked out into the dining room. “I can’t fix this.”

 

“I can fix it.” Psybolt held up a hand to forestall any demands. “Where would you go if you were

Mason?”

 

“He can’t go home.” Marcy laughed at that.

 

“Do you always have to crack wise?” Flip spread his hands to encompass the damage done to his

business. “Mason used to hang out at the Door in the next town. It’s a bar. Any place else would

be some hotel maybe.”

 

“If I were you, I would warn people not to hang out when they shouldn’t be here.” Psybolt looked

around. The major damage reversed itself in a matter of seconds. “You’ll still have to fix the rest.

Maybe Mason will give you a loan from his bank.”

 

“The windows.” Coaklin pointed at the empty frames.

 

“I don’t do windows.” Rory smiled as he walked out of the diner.

 

Marcy’s laugh rubbed the broken glass in as she stepped out on the sidewalk.

 

Rory got behind the wheel of his car and headed out of town. Marcy seemed cheerful for having

her job wrecked for the next month or so. He couldn’t remember a time she wasn’t smiling.

 

He hoped she remembered to call an ambulance for the crew he had wrecked.

 

He turned on the road out of town and headed for the highway. He would check the Door first.

Mason might want to celebrate getting rid of the thorn in his side.

 

Mason should have known better.

 

Rory was glad he didn’t. He still wanted to protect his fragile dual identity.

 

He wanted Maddy to be able to come home and enjoy the rest of her life without being afraid

George Mason would lead another witch hunt to their house. He wanted that more than anything.

He was prepared to kill Mason to get it.

 

He found the Door after leaving the highway and driving around for a few minutes. He pulled into

the lot. He wondered if anyone was waiting for him inside.

 

Mason’s car was in the lot with set of new tires. He smiled as he punctured them again.

 

Rory went to the club’s door. He paused for the bouncer’s challenge, but there didn’t seem to be

any. He pushed open the door and stepped inside. His masked face gave the cashier pause.

 

“Seen George Mason?” He tried to keep things friendly enough. “He owes me a ton of money.”

 

“He’s inside buying drinks.” The cashier reached for the register. “The cover’s two dollars.”

 

Rory handed her the money. He stepped inside the main floor of the place.

 

The lights had been dimmed. People littered the seats around the bar. Two pool games were going

on with the players insulting the aim of their opponents. Mason sat in front of the stage to watch

the next show. A juke box blared music over everything.

 

Psybolt walked over to Mason’s table, hands in his pockets. He looked down at his enemy with

burning eyes.

 

“You got my money?” He spoke loud enough to be heard over the music.

 

Mason turned white when he looked up from his chair. His hand started to shake on his glass.

 

“You shouldn’t have sent your hitters to do the job.” Psybolt glared at him. “They’re all going to

the hospital.”

 

“I don’t have it.” Mason put the glass down. “You might as well kill me now.”

 

“I can do a lot worse than kill you, Mason.” Psybolt kept an eye on the people looking at the

confrontation. “I can turn you into a cripple spending your days trying to figure out which end is

up. I can break you and you will stay broken no matter what the doctor says. I talked to your

accountant. You don’t have the full amount you owe me, but you do have my ten percent. I think

you better get it before something happens.”

 

“What does that leave me?” He downed his drink.

 

“Does it matter?” The masked man shook his head at a man with a pool cue. He appeared to be

thinking about using it as a club. “You’ll be able to get your money back as long as you still have

businesses that pay you.”

 

“Janet is leaving me.” He glared at the masked man. “You ruined my marriage.”

 

“You ruined your marriage with your idiocy.” Psybolt glared at him. “I’m surprised she stuck with

you this long.”

 

Mason lurched to his feet. A wave of solidity flung him back in his chair. He fell to the floor.

 

“The game’s over, Mason.” The air around the masked man shimmered. “I want my money. It’s

up to you to fix your marriage.”

 

Tendrils reached into Mason’s head and grabbed his brain. They felt around and pulled loose part

of it. Mason sat there in shock.

 

“My money.” Psybolt held out a hand. Mason signed a check and handed it over. “Go home and

fix things with your wife.”

 

“What did you do to me?” Mason looked at his hands. “I can’t feel anything.”

 

“It’s a wound that will heal in time.” Psybolt started for the door. “I wouldn’t worry about that too

much. You have a lot of things you need to fix back home.”

 

Rory stepped outside. He glanced at Mason’s car. He didn’t bother fixing the tires. He got in his

stolen car and drove off.

 

He didn’t know what he would do with a check, but maybe he could use it under his old name. He

would have to think about it before he cashed the check.

 

He would have to wait out the next few days to see how people took what had happened. His Gary

face could still get blamed for the destruction he had caused as Psybolt. He would have to test the

waters.

 

First he needed to talk to Maddy. He needed to let her know what was going on.

 

And he missed having her around. He wasn’t ready to go back to his outlaw days unless she went

with him.

 

He hoped he hadn’t ruined things by taking the law in his own hands.

 

He drove around until he found the highway. He pulled off his mask and headed back toward

where he had told her to go. He checked his mirrors as he drove. No one seemed to be following

him from the Door.

 

He found the small city he had told her to hide in. He drove around, checking motels until he found

the one where she was staying. He checked the rooms before going to the little room at the edge

of the breezeway.

 

He knocked on the door. She checked the peephole before opening it. She smiled when she saw

who it was.

 

“I’m glad to see you.” She pulled him inside. “The radio said a masked villain ripped up the town.”

 

“I did some things.” Rory hugged her as he closed the door. “I need to know if you want to go back

home.”

 

“I won’t run again.” Maddy wrapped her arms around him. “I refuse.”

 

“I have a check I’ll have to cash in Chicago.” Rory carried her to the bed. He sat down with her

next to him. “Most of the men are in the hospital. Mason will have some problems for a while. I

don’t know what will happen if I show up in town after this.”

 

“I’ll keep this a secret forever.” Maddy smiled. “It will give me a little fire inside that says I’m

better than the other wives around.”

 

“You already knew that.” He kissed her.

 

“A girl likes to be told, mister.” Maddy laughed. “We like flattery and presents and flowers.”

 

“I’ll work on that.”

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

87

1962-Cal and Maddy Gary looked at their rebuilt house. It wasn’t as good as the first one,

but they were surprised to have it at all. The people in town still crossed the street when

they passed, but that was something they could live with as long as no one said anything

to their faces.

 

Maureen Fell stood by the driveway. She had parked her car behind their’s. She gave them

a smile as they looked at her in her light dress and shirt.

 

“Thank you for rebuilding our house.” Maddy smiled. “It’s great.”

 

“Thank you for getting my husband’s sight back.” She frowned at Cal.

 

“I had nothing to do with that.” Cal gestured for her to come up to the wide porch. “How’s things

going with Mason?”

 

“He has been a changed person the last few weeks.” Mrs. Fell stood on the porch. She looked

around but didn’t see any place to sit. She perched on the rail running along the front of the house.

“It’s like something cut off his jerk switch.”

 

“I wouldn’t count on that lasting too long.” Cal leaned against his door. “Would you like

something to drink? We have tea in the kitchen.”

 

“That would be nice.” She nodded.

 

Cal stepped inside to get the beverage.

 

“All we have are paper cups right now.” Maddy shrugged. “We lost our glasses and coffee cups

in the fire.”

 

“Martin said George’s check was cashed by a Rory Hobson in Chicago.” Maureen smoothed back

a curl. “No one has seen him since.”

 

“Don’t know him.” Maddy shrugged. “Who is he?”

 

“He’s Psybolt’s real name.” Maureen frowned at the facade of innocence. “He said he was Cal’s

boss.”

 

“Cal fixes cars for a bunch of people, Maureen.” Maddy smiled. “That’s how he got the money to

buy the garage. We would be living there if you hadn’t rebuilt our house. Thank you.”

 

“I want to hire Psybolt.” The accountant’s wife bit her lip. “There’s something I want to do.”

 

“I doubt he will kill Martin for you.” Maddy chuckled. “He might. He was a villain in the big city

for a while.”

 

“It’s nothing like that.” Maureen looked toward the road. “I want him to protect the town.”

 

“Excuse me.” Maddy couldn’t keep the confusion off her face. “This is the man who wrecked the

town by carving George Mason Caused This on every surface. You want him to protect the town

now?”

 

“Martin has heard some rumors since George has become pleasant.” Mrs. Fell gestured with

a hand. “Rumors about sabotage at the factory. He thinks Psybolt would head that off it became

known he was interested in the factory for some reason.”

 

“You think Cal can call him to do that?” Maddy laughed again. “Cal hates George Mason. Why

would he ask for protection for the man now?”

 

“Because everyone knows Cal has some kind of link to a syndicate.” Maureen waved toward town.

“They want someone to help them from with what looks like major problems on the horizon.”

 

“This guy only cares about money.” Maddy saw numerous problems with her husband staying out

and protecting the town after what had happened. “He might switch sides if the pay is better.”

 

“I doubt it.” She laughed. “Not after what he did for you two.”

 

“Here you go.” Cal stepped out on the porch. He had three paper cups in his hands. He gave two

of them to the women, and kept the third for himself. “Sorry about the cups.”

 

“The Fells want to hire Psybolt to protect the town.” Maddy stepped back as he snorted tea in

a cloud around him. “That was my reaction too.”

 

“The guy is a loose cannon.” Cal wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Why would you want

to do that?”

 

“There have been stories going around since George had his stroke.” Maureen frowned at him as

she sipped her tea. “We want to protect the company, and are willing to pay for it.”

 

“What if he doesn’t want to do that?” The mechanic took a gulp of his tea. Ice rattled. “I only fix

cars for him, I don’t tell him what to do.”

 

“Can you ask him?” Maureen sipped at her tea. “Martin will set aside funds to pay him.”

 

“What’s in it for you?” Cal finished his cup.

 

“George is acting like a human being now.” She looked out to the road. “He’s working with his

people, he’s making sure things are fair for the first time in a long time. He’s doing good for the

first time in his life. We want to keep him on that path and not let anyone knock him off of it.”

 

“So you want me to make a call and see if he’ll talk to you about it.” Cal smiled. It didn’t soften

his fierce expression. Nothing did that.

 

Maureen nodded. She didn’t bow in front of his hawkish demeanor.

 

“We should talk about this.” Maddy smiled. “Don’t worry, Maureen. We’ll work something out

for you.”

 

Cal couldn’t glare at his wife. Her expression cast a glowing shield around her. He shrugged.

 

“Thank you.” She put her paper cup on the rail. She hugged Maddy before walking down to her

car.

 

“So we’re going into the hero business?” Cal watched their visitor pull away.

 

“I personally think it will be great.” Maddy sipped at the rest of her tea. “I could be like Robin

from the comic books.”

 

“I’m not a hero.” Cal shook his head. “I like the thought of you in shorts, but I’m a villain. They’ll

take my card away if it got out I switched sides.”

 

“We’ll make you a new costume.” Maddy put her empty cup in Maureen’s. “No one will know the

difference.”

 

“If I do this, I don’t want you anywhere near the action.” Cal dropped his empty in the stack. “I

don’t want to worry about you while I’m taking care of business.”

 

“You’ll need someone to watch your back.” Maddy knew she had him then. “I could drive you

around like Kato.”

 

“I don’t think the Hero Guild would approve.” He smiled at her smiling face. He could feel his

resolve going and didn’t care.

 

“How long do you want to wait before we tell Maureen, you’re on the job?” Maddy hugged him.

 

“We’ll let her know tomorrow.” Cal hugged his wife back. “We have to give some effort to

protecting our real identities.”

 

“What will we do about a car?” Maddy looked at their own car sitting in the driveway. “We can’t

drive around as the vicious vigilantes in ours.”

 

“I’ll show you.” Cal took her hand. “I still have Steve’s car.”

 

“What?” Maddy followed him into the house. They walked toward the cellar stairs. “That’s the car

you drove around while I was hiding out?”

 

“I took it off Steve and his friend on the highway.” Cal led the way down to the cellar. “I just

never gave it back.”

 

“You kept a whole car?” Maddy looked around the cellar. Shelves of parts covered the walls. Some

hung on racks from the ceiling. “I don’t see a car down here.”

 

“I have to put it together.” Cal opened his third eye. Parts assembled into a car on the floor in a

matter of seconds.

 

“You took it apart and stored it?” She walked around the car. “You need to do this to our clothes.”

 

“We can’t drive it around like this.” Cal shook his head. “Steve will have some words about

keeping his stolen car from him.”

 

“We’ll save up the money and get him a new one.” Maddy waved the thought away. “We can’t

drive around with it being the same color.”

 

“Don’t forget the license plate too.” Cal pointed to the plate on the back of the car. “I can fix both

problems pretty easily.”

 

He opened his mental eye again. The paint on the car darkened to a shade of black that reflected

the single light from the stairs and the letters on the tag changed to something unreadable.

 

“How do we get it out of here?” Maddy smiled at the new car. It looked like a hot rod on display.

 

“The same secret passage we used to get out of here when the house was on fire.” Cal pointed at

one of the walls. It swung out of the way.

 

“You were thinking about turning into a hero before Maureen offered to pay you to be one.”

Maddy smiled.

 

“As a fugitive, I have to be ready to run as soon as someone figures out who I am.” Cal waved his

hand to indicate the cellar. “This is part of the preparation for that.”

 

“It works in our favor.” Maddy smiled. “We’ll have to be able to lock the cellar so no one can

come down here when we’re not here.”

 

“I’ll build us another room off the passage.” Cal closed the wall up. “The only way to get in there

will be to knock the walls down on either end.”

 

“We will be like the Green Hornet and Kato.” Maddy clapped her hands together. “This is great.”

 

“Unless one of us gets killed being heroic.” Cal shook his head. “The first rule is to stay out

of trouble. You can drive, but don’t try to get involved in the fight. I don’t want to worry about

turning you into meat by accident.”

 

“Don’t worry.” Maddy took his hand. “I won’t leave the car for any reason.”

 

“We’ll get you a rifle so you can shoot anyone who stumbles to the fact you’re the driver.” Cal let

her lead him upstairs. “You can shoot, right?”

 

“Yep.” Maddy smiled. “Don’t worry about that. We’ll need to work on our disguises.”

 

“I already have a masked identity, and a reputation with it.” Cal smiled. “You’re going to have

to work on your disguise.”

 

“I’ll need to disguise the fact I’m a woman.” Maddy sat down on a pad of blankets. It was the only

thing that resembled furniture in the house at the moment. “Maybe Kato is the way to go.”

 

“An important gangster like myself would have a chauffeur.” Cal laughed as he sat down next

to her.

 

“Should we protect these louts?” She snuggled close.

 

“I’m hoping that we won’t be necessary.” He wrapped an arm around her. “If we are, we’re going

to be as careful as church mice.”

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

88

1965-Sue Keys looked out her kitchen window. She couldn’t see her son. Where had he gone? She

decided to step outside to look for him. She grabbed a salt shaker on the way to the back door.

 

She never went anywhere without salt. The beige man had known something was different about

her son. Maybe he knew why she needed the salt even though he hadn’t told her.

 

He hadn’t even told her his name.

 

She paused in the back yard. Bobby knew better than wandering away from the window. Where

had he gone? She walked toward the fence at the back of the yard. He couldn’t climb over that.

 

She decided to circle toward the street. Maybe he had unhooked the gate and wandered off. She

had to make sure he was okay.

 

She fought down the fear and kept moving methodically. Fear paralyzed you. She didn’t have time

for that. She had to find her son.

 

She unhooked the gate’s two bars, and stepped through. She pulled the gate closed and walked to

the front of the house. She looked right, left, and then right again.

 

Her Bobby tugged a man in a beige suit toward her on the sidewalk. She blinked. She could have

sworn they weren’t there before. She frowned at the beige man as he walked along behind her son.

 

“What are you doing here?” She snatched her boy in one arm, salt shaker held to strike in the other.

 

“I am walking as I always do.” He almost smiled behind the scarf that covered his chin. “I see that

you have become prosperous, Susan Keys.”

 

“I worked hard for it.” Sue didn’t lower the salt shaker. “What were you doing with my son?”

 

“I was showing him the way home.” He looked up at the sky. “A storm is coming. You should seek

shelter.”

 

“This is about the salt and holy water.” She saw a clear sky overhead.

 

“Yes.” His eyes were sad, and sharp at the same time. They were the eyes of someone who had

seen a lot of bad things come down the line.

 

“I’m sorry, Momma.” Bobby broke in. “I got stuck.”

 

“It’s okay.” She glanced down to check that he was unharmed. When she looked up, the beige man

was gone again. “Let’s go inside.”

 

Sue carried her son into the house. She closed and locked the door. She had installed five locks to

keep her enemies out. She pulled the shutters closed over the windows after locking them down.

She worked her way around the house, closing every opening. Hex signs on the wood gleamed at

her as she kept her eye on her son so he didn’t slip off again.

 

“I had an adventure, Momma.” Bobby watched her with a little bit of fear. “I found turtles that

were showing me some cool moves.”

 

“Cool moves?” Sue paused at that. “Did they show you how to stay where I could see you?”

 

“No.” Bobby looked down at the wood floor. He counted ten of the hex signs in the wood before

he tried another tact to avert his mother’s ire. “Who was the man?”

 

“That wasn’t a man.” Sue handed him the salt shaker. “Hold this.”

 

“He wasn’t?” Bobby sniffed the top of the container.

 

“I don’t know what he is.” Sue opened a cabinet. She pulled out a sawed off shotgun and two belts

of shells. She put them down next to her chair. She grabbed a bottle of water and placed that near

her main weapon.

 

She decided to move her chair in front of the front door. It might buy her some time. She nodded

when she was done.

 

“What you doing, Momma?” Bobby put the salt down next to him.

 

“I’m getting ready to fight.” Sue checked the kitchen. She pushed the kitchen table and chairs in

front of the back door. If nothing showed up, she would have to move everything back to get out

of the house.

 

She put together some sandwiches to help them wait out whatever was coming. Maybe it would

miss them. Mysterious warnings made her ulcer flare up.

 

She didn’t know how much time she had. She didn’t want to get caught in the open if she had a

place she could use to keep the danger away from her son.

 

Anyone that came after her Bobby was getting a face full of shot.

 

“Have a sandwich.” Sue put the plate down between them. She looked at it and decided they

needed something to drink. She went back to the kitchen and pulled out two bottles of milk from

the refrigerator. “How did you get stuck?”

 

“I don’t know.” Bobby shrugged. “I couldn’t move away from where I was. The man in the suit

brought me home.”

 

“How long have you been sneaking away?” Sue chewed on one of the sandwiches.

 

“A while.” Bobby had the grace to blush. “It’s nothing to get excited about.”

 

“You’re five.” Sue stood, crushing her sandwich. “It’s something to get excited about. Someone

is coming to take you away to some place where everything bad can happen to you. You could die.

I don’t want you to die.”

 

“I’m sorry, Momma.” Bobby started crying, snot running from his nose. “I’m not trying to be bad.”

 

“It’s okay.” Sue took a moment to draw her ire in. “I love you. Wandering away is dangerous. I

don’t want anything to happen to you.”

 

“I won’t do it again.” Bobby snorted the snot hanging from his nose.

 

Sue shook her head as she went to the bathroom. She pulled some toilet paper from the roll and

took it to her son. She handed it to him with a frown.

 

“Blow your nose, Robert.” She waited for him to push the slime out of his nostrils on the paper.

 

Something banged against the front door. She looked at it, gesturing for her son to be quiet. She

picked up the shotgun and ammunition belts. She dropped the shells over a shoulder so she could

pull them and reload on the run.

 

Bunny had taught her that when she had done things with the gang.

 

She waited. She had copied the hex signs down from a book. The tales said they repelled evil. She

didn’t know how well they would work in the real world.

 

“If you see anything that looks bad, throw the salt on it.” She went to the door and listened.

Something was on the porch. It stamped along the wooden planks.

 

She wasn’t about to open the door for it. It sounded too heavy for the shotgun to do anything to

it.

 

What happened if they tried to go out the back? Was there something else back there? Did she

want to chance her boy?

 

How far did she plan to go to save him?

 

She would do anything to keep her child safe. There was no limit on what she was willing to do

to another human being that looked at her son funny.

 

She stepped back from the door. She looked around. She pointed Bobby behind the chair. He ran

over, salt in his hand.

 

He wouldn’t forget that now that they were in trouble.

 

Sue joined him behind the chair. She pulled it in a corner. They were trapped like rats. If there was

a large number of enemies outside, they didn’t have a chance to escape.

 

How many could she take down with her shotgun?

 

The hex signs around the door caught fire. Smoke drifted to the ceiling. Sue gritted her teeth.

 

She held her hand over Bobby’s mouth. She nodded when he got his whimpering under control.

No five year old should have to deal with this.

 

Something banged on the door. The couch jumped, but held. Hex signs around it started to burn

up as they watched.

 

What was out there? Did she want it inside with them? She pushed Bobby toward his room. She

picked up the holy water and backed up after him. The short weapon pointed at the door. At least

it was holding for the moment.

 

How long did she have before it tried to punch through the windows? She should have installed

bars for the shutters to cover.

 

It had seemed more important to have an open view of the sky than further protection.

 

That seemed like a major mistake now that she had to protect her home from whatever was outside.

 

A piece of the door broke inward from one punch. She waited at the threshold of Bobby’s room.

She told him to wait by the window in a whisper. They might have to go out that way if things got

worse.

 

At least only one was coming in the front of the house. She could deal with one of them easily

enough as long as the salt worked like the beige man said.

 

A whole quarter of the door exploded inside the house. The hand reached down and worked the

locks unsteadily.

 

Sue stepped forward and pulled the twin triggers on the shotgun. The arm exploded backwards

away from impact. She broke open the shortened weapon. The two empties dropped to the floor

while she snapped in two fresh loads.

 

She decided to wait before she checked to see if it was dead yet. She might have just scratched it.

 

She still didn’t know if it was alone out there.

 

The door blew in. Things in suits lumbered inside the house. Long ears rotated around on furry

heads. Red eyes glowed.

 

“Honey, I’m home.” The things spoke together in voices that went directly to her brain without the

benefit of her ears.

 

She put salt in the first one, then the second. They popped like balloons. The third, fourth and fifth

closed on her as she reloaded. She snapped the breech closed and let out a double boom in their

faces.

 

She reloaded again. How many were still outside? Did she dare go out and look?

 

Why were they here? Why did they look like Bunny? How did she stop them?

 

“Momma!” Bobby grabbed her waist. He pointed in his room. Something beat at the shutters over

the windows.

 

“Stick close to me.” Sue didn’t bother to fire into the shutters. “We’re going to try and escape.”

 

“I got the salt and water.” Bobby picked up the bottle quick enough to make the contents slush

around inside.

 

“We’re going to walk to the front door, and try to get to the car.” Sue pulled spare rounds to hold

in her hand so she could reload faster. “Anything that looks like a rabbit has to be shot.”

 

“Throw the salt on them?” Bobby worked on unscrewing the top with his teeth as he carried the

bottle of water in his other hand.

 

“If any of them get close enough to touch you.” Sue paused at the door. She heard movement

outside. She held the short weapon ready for action.

 

A furry snout appeared. It vanished with one pull of the trigger. She waited for the next one.

 

She was not disappointed.

 

She reloaded as she stepped out on the porch. None of the rabbit men were close. She walked down

the three wooden steps to the grass and started for the car. Bobby held on the skirt of her dress so

she couldn’t lose him.

 

More of the furry demons surrounded her car. They appeared to be multiplying as she watched.

 

How were they going to get out of there?

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

Cool! Teh Evil Bunne's returned for no good reason!

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

Cool! Teh Evil Bunne's returned for no good reason!

 

I apologize. I thought you would see this coming from a mile away after what happened to Bubba Smith. My fault. I take the blame totally on my shoulders.

CES

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

Well, I kind of expected an encore by the undead bunny, but I didn't know when to expect him.

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

89

1965-“Give me the bottle of water.” Sue held out her hand. She hoped the beige man was right.

 

Bobby handed over the jug. He wished he had more than salt to fight the evil bunnies.

 

Sue threw the jug left handed. She pointed the shotgun with her right and fired. The bottle

exploded. Salt and holy water turned into a cloud. Rabbit men started smoking as they backed up

from the car.

 

“The car.” Sue reloaded on the run. She blew the two closest to the passenger doors away as they

struggled with the holes developing in their heads. Her salt shells took care of that.

 

Bobby opened the passenger door as Sue reloaded. He climbed in and dropped in the back. His

mom was kicking butt.

 

Was this because he had gone away?

 

The man with the scarf said it was an awesome talent, but dangerous. Did he want to risk it now?

Could it save them, or make things worse?

 

Maybe the turtles’ teacher could give him some advice. He seemed wise for being a rat.

 

Sue got in the car and slammed the door shut. She pulled a set of keys from her dress pocket and

started the car. She locked the doors in the front to avoid the things getting in with them.

 

Bobby did the same in the back. He didn’t want to be snatched away now that they were rolling

down the driveway.

 

“Where are we going?” Bobby couldn’t remember any place that would offer them safety from the

rabbit men.

 

“I don’t know.” Sue looked in the mirror. The rabbits chased her car. They split as they ran. Soon

there would be too many for her to kill. She needed more firepower.

 

She needed a gatling gun.

 

What was she going to do now? She had money squirreled away. She could run. She had an idea

that those things would keep after them. They wanted Bobby for whatever reason. She wasn’t

giving up her son.

 

She would kill every rabbit in the world first.

 

“Can we visit the turtles?” Bobby leaned against the front seat. “They can help us. They might be

able to help us hide from the rabbits.”

 

Sue considered the idea. She doubted that turtles were real turtles. She didn’t have anywhere else

to go. She needed someone who could protect her son if something happened to her.

 

“How do we get there?” She hoped this was a good idea.

 

“We have to walk.” Bobby didn’t know if he could take his momma with him. He was going to try.

 

Sue pulled over and parked. She looked around before she got out of the car. She didn’t see any

of the rabbit men. She didn’t like the way the heads were real animals and not a mask like her

Bunny’s.

 

She missed him. He always knew exactly what to do no matter what.

 

She opened the back door for her son to scramble out. She scanned her surroundings. No rabbits.

 

Bobby took a moment, then he walked to a nearby house. He studied the windows. He shook his

head.

 

“What’s wrong?” Sue saw nothing in the windows except curtains.

 

“I can’t see myself.” Bobby turned and walked along. He scanned the houses. He shook his head

at each one. The sun was at the wrong angle. He saw a gas station and started running toward it.

Sue grabbed him and pulled him out of the way of a speeding car.

 

“Careful.” She eyed the car as it roared out of sight. The driver looked normal.

 

Bobby watched the car go before he led his mom to the gas station. He smiled at the glass

door. This was what he needed to get to the turtles.

 

His face scrunched as he concentrated on the glass. An image of some other place formed around

him. Sue felt her jaw drop in amazement. He opened the gas station door, and a city street was

revealed inside the building.

 

“Let’s go.” Bobby stepped across the threshold. The door started to shut behind him. Sue caught

it, and followed her son to the city.

 

“Where are we?” She looked around. She hid the shotgun under an arm as much as possible. Some

of the people were giving her the eye. She didn’t want to tangle with the local cops.

 

“I don’t know.” Bobby looked around. “I call it Turtle Town.”

 

He started down the sidewalk. He looked in every alley as he passed until he found one that he

thought was familiar. He walked inside, scanning the base of the wall on his right. He pressed a

yellow brick and a door opened. He stepped inside.

 

“Come on, Momma.” He waved for her to join him.

 

Sue stepped through the opening. She realized it was some kind of elevator. It only had two

buttons. She pressed the bottom button. The door slammed shut and the room dropped like a brick.

 

Bobby screamed. She couldn’t tell if it was delight or fear.

 

The room stopped moving. The door opened. Soft light drifted to her eyes. She realized that the

elevator had no light, but the trip had been so sudden she hadn’t noticed until the door reopened.

 

“Let’s see if the turtles are home.” Bobby walked out. “Hey! Is anybody home?”

 

Sue followed, shotgun at the ready. Turtles didn’t sound that great to her.

 

“I am here, Bobby.” The voice sounded ancient. She couldn’t see the source. “Who is with you?”

 

“This is my momma.” Bobby gave her a hug. “We had some trouble. I thought I could ask you for

some advice, sir.”

 

“Go ahead.” The voice seemed to be coming from above. Sue didn’t point the shotgun up there.

She was asking the old man for help, not robbing him.

 

Bobby looked at his mother. He was an amazing boy, but he wasn’t experienced enough to relate

what had happened clearly enough.

 

“I have had cryptic warnings about something happening to my son.” Sue squinted. She couldn’t

see anything above them, but what looked like a railing. “Today an enemy attacked and tried to

take him. We escaped but now we don’t know what to do next.”

 

“Do you plan to fight this enemy?” The voice whispered down to her.

 

“With everything I have.” Any enemy of her’s was a dead enemy.

 

“Then you need to know who this enemy is and where to find him.” The voice didn’t question her

resolve. She liked that. “Then you will have to deal with him.”

 

“How do I do that?” Sue considered everything she knew. She didn’t have anything except the

things looked like her dead husband.

 

“Who gave you the warnings?” The voice crystallized her options with that one question.

 

“I need to find him.” Sue looked at her son. He nodded. “Can Bobby stay with you?”

 

“Yes.” The voice sounded firm. She felt he would protect her son as if he was his own.

 

“No.” Bobby shook his head. “This isn’t home, Momma.”

 

“I don’t understand.” She frowned at her son.

 

“The man in the suit won’t be around here.” Bobby struggled with the words. How could he

explain that this was something he had brought to life. “This isn’t our home.”

 

Sue nodded. She understood that well enough.

 

“Bobby’s momma.” The voice paused as if searching for the right words. “If you bring your enemy

here, my sons and I will defend you.”

 

“Thank you, sir.” Sue nodded. “Come on, Bobby. Let’s see if we can find the man we’re need to

talk to about this.”

 

Sue led the way to the elevator. She dreaded using it, but they had to get back to the street. She

pulled Bobby inside and pressed the top button. The door slammed shut and shot them to the alley.

She took a moment to let her stomach catch up before she stepped out in the alley. No one was in

sight. Bobby stepped out and pressed the brick to shut the door.

 

“Where are we going, Momma?” He grabbed her free hand.

 

“We’re going to look for the man who brought you home.” She led the way back to the street.

 

“I can do that.” Bobby smiled. “I just have to remember.”

 

They walked through the pedestrians to the glass door they had exited to get to Turtle Town.

Bobby studied his reflection in the glass. He saw things moving that weren’t normal, and shouldn’t

exist. Where was that place?

 

He decided to try for home. That seemed safer than that other place.

 

He opened the door on their car where it was parked on the side of the road. He looked through

and was glad the scary bunnies weren’t in sight. He stepped through. This was way better than

some place made of things he couldn’t make sense of.

 

He didn’t want to get stuck again.

 

“Let’s drive around and see if we can find him.” Sue walked toward the car. “I’ll squeeze him for

answers if I have to.”

 

“Do you think the bad bunnies will come back?” Bobby climbed in the front seat.

 

“Yes.” Sue got behind the wheel. “That’s why we have to find the man in the scarf.”

 

“I don’t like bunnies any more.” He looked out the window. “I don’t want to see bunnies ever

again.”

 

Sue opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself. He didn’t know about his father. All he saw

was bunny men trying to rip him away from his life. She couldn’t blame him for not wanting to

see bunnies ever again.

 

She certainly didn’t.

 

Sue decided to drive around aimlessly. She had no idea how to find the man. She definitely

didn’t want to go back home. At least the rabbit men didn’t seem to know where they were

at the moment.

 

The fifth time through town she saw her quarry standing beside the library. His short cape swirled

slightly as he turned to walk down the street. She cut him off with the squealing of tires. She

jumped out with the shotgun pointing at his chest.

 

“I want to know everything you know and I want to know now.” She waved people away with the

shotgun.

 

“Come along then.” He walked around her car and marched down the sidewalk. Sue ran around

the car and got Bobby so they could follow him.

 

He didn’t seem threatened by the shotgun. That wasn’t a good sign in her opinion.

 

He paused to consider direction. Then he turned left. Sue and Bobby walked behind him.

 

“Where are we going?” Sue saw the street fade on either side of them and didn’t like that at all.

 

“You wanted an explanation.” He didn’t turn to look her in the eye. “Don’t step off the edge. That

would be bad for both of you.”

 

Sue suddenly had the feeling that she had walked into a trap, and dragged her son into it with her.

How could she have been so blind? She looked for the way back. Mist blocked the way.

 

“What’s ahead?” She grabbed the beige man’s shoulder. “Where are you taking us?”

 

He turned to face her. His sharp face was as cold and implacable as the first time she had seen him.

Wind blew on his hat and short cape as he looked down at her.

 

“You wanted to know what was involved.” He seemed to grow taller. “It’s too late to be afraid.”

 

“I’m not...” The mist cleared away causing her to look around. “Afraid.”

 

Rabbit men walked everywhere. Sue grabbed Bobby and pulled him against a pale wall as she

watched her enemies moving. She looked around.

 

She recognized the landscape. It was Miami. The buildings had pieces missing. The sky appeared

to be a cloudy green. People, what few she could see, wore chains as they went about their

business.

 

How did they get home from here?

 

“Where are we?” Bobby’s voice shook. “We need to get away from here.”

 

“Let’s find something you can use to open one of those door things.” Sue pulled him after her as

she crept along the wall.

 

They stumbled over a body sleeping behind a crushed trashcan. Sue thought he was dead from the

smell. She bent down and checked. The body crumbled to ash at her touch.

 

“What’s that?” Bobby pointed to a rectangle in the middle of the spreading pile of remains.

 

“It looks like a notebook.” Sue picked it up and shook the dead man off of it. “We can read

it later when we get to somewhere safe.”

 

They resumed their creeping along.

 

“Look at what we see here.” One of the rabbit men said. Others stopped to look at the pair. “I

haven’t seen you in a while, honey.”

 

Sue shot him in the head before they ran from the gathering crowd.

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

Well' date=' I kind of expected an encore by the undead bunny, but I didn't know when to expect him.[/quote']

 

Hopefully everything will be reasonably explained. This is the last piece of the Bunny's thread.

CES

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

90

1965-Sue dragged Bobby down the alley. She looked for anything that might be used for a mirror.

They wouldn’t last long if they remained where the bunnies roamed.

 

“There!” Bobby pointed at a burned out building that could have been a laundry at one point. “We

can hide in there.”

 

Sue changed direction. She pulled on the door, glad that it was unlocked. She bustled Bobby into

the place. She pointed him away from the windows. She spotted rabbits marching, but they seemed

to have lost them for the moment.

 

She ducked behind the counter, glad to take a breath. She opened the notebook. The words were

hard to make out because the ink had faded, and the pages had gotten wet at some time. She ran

a finger along, mouthing the words that she had problems with as she went.

 

The story was ugly even by her standards as a bank robber and murderess.

 

The bunny men had come out of nowhere. They were invulnerable to normal weapons, and

multiplied endlessly. They overran everything in their way for the great warren. They had a battle

chief that opened any defense for them. He allowed them to enter any fort, any emplacement.

 

That sounded much too familiar for her liking.

 

The owner had no idea where the invaders had come from other than somewhere in the swamp.

They overran the critters but there were still things out there who fought back as much as possible.

 

The notebook noted that some of the churches still stood and kept the rabbits out. No one knew

why.

 

She wondered how much of the world still remained normal after this.

 

The rabbits seemed to have dealt with any superhuman that got in their way before a solution could

be found to their invulnerability.

 

And the beige man wanted her to deal with this? How could she do that? She wasn’t going to kill

her son. That was out.

 

How was she supposed to fix this? She had an idea the rabbits needed Bobby to help them make

this invasion possible. How did she stop it? How did she keep Bobby safe so he wouldn’t be a

weapon for them?

 

Why did they have Bunny’s disguise as their face?

 

She had an answer to some of her questions. She needed more. She realized that she was the key

piece in the struggle. That was why the beige man had given her the warning. He knew she would

do anything to protect her son.

 

She needed to do something now that she knew what her enemy wanted to do. She needed to have

a chat with him.

 

That meant leaving Bobby with someone who would protect him.

 

There was only person she could trust with that. They had to go back to Turtle Town.

 

The turtles’ father would protect Bobby to the best of his ability and that place might be

unreachable as far as the warren was concerned.

 

“Bobby?” She saw her son crouching behind some boxes. He shook as he clutched his knees to his

chest. “We’re going to stop this. I need your help.”

 

“How?” Bobby’s eyes were shrunken in his head. “Those things are everywhere.”

 

“I need you to take us to Turtle Town again.” Sue wanted to slap him. She held off. Violence was

for later. “I’m going to leave you with the turtles while I deal with this.”

 

“What are you going to do?” Bobby’s eyes took on their normal size.

 

“I’m going to find the leader of these rabbits and talk to him.” Sue smiled. “Let’s get you

someplace safe while I do that.”

 

“Can you stop this?” Bobby stood.

 

“I am a Keys, and I can do anything I please.” Sue glowered at him. “Now we’re going to stop this.

Quit your sniveling and let’s go.”

 

“Where are we going?” Bobby grabbed her skirt.

 

“We need to find something where you can see your reflection.” Sue checked the street. She placed

the notebook where others could find it. She hesitated before finding a pen and writing Salt Kills

Bunnies on the front page. “Let’s go.”

 

The Keys worked their way down the alley to a street. Sue kept an eye for anything that could be

used for an exit. She should have known the beige man would dump them into danger instead of

telling them.

 

Would she have believed him if he hadn’t shown her?

 

Would she have believed Bobby if he hadn’t been able to show her his strange talent?

 

She didn’t think so.

 

She discarded the questions that didn’t have answers for ones that she needed answered. Could

they get away from this place? Could they stop the invasion? Was Bobby the one that helped

the rabbits through the defenses with his door powers? What could she do to stop her enemy?

 

She saw a glass door that appeared intact. She looked around. None of the rabbits were in sight.

She pulled Bobby behind her as she inspected the door. It was dusty and cracked, but seemed all

right to use if she could clean it off.

 

She spit on it and rubbed the spot with her skirt. The dirt streaked but cleared enough for her to

see herself in the glass.

 

“Work your magic, Bobby.” She held him up so he could see himself in the dirty mirror.

 

The background changed as he concentrated on Turtle Town. He pulled on the door. It jerked open

and the busy city roared in front of them. She carried him across the threshold and pulled the door

shut behind them.

 

The rabbits couldn’t be allowed to threaten some other place.

 

She carried Bobby down the street to the alley. She had to talk to the Turtles’ father again. Then

she had to see if Bobby could open a door to the warren. It was time she took the fight to her

enemy.

 

That was the only way they would be able to live without any more problems.

 

Without extraordinary problems, she corrected herself.

 

She pressed the brick and stepped in the elevator before the door had fully opened. She pressed

the down button. The drop didn’t matter at this point. She was in too much of a hurry.

 

“I’m going to leave you with the turtles for a while, Bobby.” Sue pulled him out of the elevator.

“I need you to open a door to the warren so I can take care of business.”

 

“I don’t know if I can.” He looked away from the glare she gave him. “I’ll try.”

 

“Bobby and Bobby’s mother.” The old man’s voice drifted down to her. “Did you find out

something?”

 

“Yes.” She looked up. “I need to leave him somewhere where he’ll be safe until I get back.”

 

“He’s safe with us, Mrs. Bobby.” A younger voice pulled Sue’s attention to a shadow on the wall.

The shadow became a masked turtle with two swords. “It will be an honor.”

 

Sue had seen too much already to be fazed by the masked turtle. It had been hard not to shoot the

serious looking reptile.

 

“You’ll need salt if the people who want him show up.” She made sure she had fresh loads in

the shotgun. “That and holy water are the only things that seem to work on these rabbits.”

 

“I will remember.” The turtle nodded at her.

 

“Let’s go, Bobby.” Sue nodded at the turtle. “As soon as you open the door for me, I want you to

come back here and wait for me.”

 

“I will, Momma.” He nodded at the instructions.

 

“You will not follow me.” She noted the disappointed look as his plan went up in smoke. “This

will be dangerous. I won’t risk you. Understand?”

 

He looked down at the floor, unable to meet her stormy eyes.

 

“Understand, Robert Scott Keys?” She demanded in a sharper tone of voice.

 

“Yes, ma’am.” He looked away.

 

“When you are older, you will have to protect your own kids.” Sue hugged him. “Until then,

it’s my job to protect you as well as I can. I want you to be good for the turtles until I get back.”

 

“He’s a good kid, Mrs. Bobby.” The turtle broke in. “We’ve been showing him some moves.”

 

She glared at him.

 

“They were totally safe moves.” The turtle held up a four fingered hand. “I swear.”

 

“They better have been.” Sue took Bobby’s hand. “The sooner we can do this, the better things will

be.”

 

They entered the elevator and rode back to the alley. They walked back to the familiar door.

Bystanders moved away from Sue. It might have been the sawed off in her hand, or the look she

gave anyone that came too close to her.

 

“Go ahead, Bobby.” She released his hand. “I need to deal with this so you will be safe.”

 

“Go ahead, Bobby.” The masked turtle stood to one side. He had donned a coat and hat as a

disguise. “I got the street.”

 

Sue nodded at the turtle. She hadn’t expected that. She knew beyond a doubt this was the right

move.

 

Bobby stared at his own face until the city behind him became a system of caves reaching into

the sky. He knew this was the place his momma wanted to go. He almost broke the link so she

couldn’t.

 

He looked at her face. The glare, the frown, the bared teeth were all signs that she was not going

to take no for an answer. He tried to hold back the tears as he opened the door for her.

 

“I’ll be back, Bobby.” She hugged him before stepping into the strange light. “I’ll always come

back for you.”

 

She pulled the door out of his hand so he couldn’t follow. She looked at her boy as long as she

could before the opening closed.

 

Now she had a big rabbit to fill full of salt before trying to figure a way back to her boy.

 

She hoped there was a way back to her boy.

 

Sue started climbing toward the nearest cave. She had to find the head rabbit before she could talk

to him. She hoped he would be easy to find, and easy to deal with.

 

Rabbits liked to live away from the entrances to their warrens. She decided to start at the bottom.

She could work her way to the top as long as she had shells to shoot.

 

She idly considered what rabbit men did when they weren’t trying to kidnap little boys.

 

Maybe they stole Farmer Brown’s lettuce.

 

She worked her way down the tunnel, using the sides to keep her balance. She didn’t want to trip

and shoot herself with the salt.

[kahuna's bro]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

the tmnt in a genertotion story? cool

[csyphrett]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

the tmnt in a genertotion story? cool

 

It's a lawyer approved cameo

CES

[teh bunneh]

Re: Generations of Strangers

 

It's tough to get rid of a good bunneh!

 

It's even tougher to get rid of a bad bunneh!