The Adventures of "Fish Guy" (Superhero fiction)

[BoloOfEarth]

"Hermit steps up to the plate.  He's looking a bit tired, to tell the truth, but he still has a game look in his eyes.  He hefts the bat, takes a few practice swings, then gets set for the pitch.  This pitcher is known for his curve balls, and it looks like that's what's coming Hermit's way, and..." (crack!)  "Hermit connects!  What a swing!  That ball is going, it's going... it's gone!  IT'S OUTTA HERE!"

 

In other words, nicely done.  

[Hermit]

In the next hour and a half, I went to the bathroom enough times you'd have thought I had a bladder problem. Dad? Dad only went once, but he did point out he'd have a lot to drink. Mom rolled her eyes at both of us, and Ariana joined her in that. The fact that my mother and the woman I wanted to marry were surreptitiously forming some kind of alliance  gave me mixed feelings but mostly a profound hope they used this power only for good.

Ariana and I, and to a lesser degree, Mayo, all talked about past adventures though we gave away no secret identities. Mom and dad had opinions, of course, supportive, though they couldn't help but chuckle at a few of my exploits that went into the realm of the absurd. Dad had at least three food jokes about the giant chicken incident. 

 I insisted on hearing how family was doing, which took longer than you might think as even second cousins got a brief mention but my focus was on my siblings and I went back to them.

"Wait, the twins aren't going by their names anymore?" I backtracked a bit, "you're kidding right?"

"Nope. They're each pushing for a nick names that aren't 'embarrassing'. I blame your father," My mom shook her head.

"Now, Rhonda," My father chided mom, "It was Summer when the first one came out, Autumn when the next one did."

"Midnight births between the last day of Summer and the first day of Autumn," I explained context to Ariana, "Which is how Summer and Autumn got their names. One born right before the flip, the other right after."

Ariana's hand went to her mouth to stifle a laugh, and having done that followed with "I'm sorry, but I could see why your daughters might rebel a touch. You let you husband choose you say?"

"I was under enough drugs during the delivery to lay an elephant out," My mom explained, "I would have agreed to a lot of things.  Good thing he didn't want a new truck that week."

My father snapped his fingers as if lamenting the long ago missed opportunity.
.
I was about to ask what names the twins decided were acceptable, when the tracker in my pocket beeped. I slid it out, then took what I meant to be a brief peek , The camera hadn't just moved, it had settled at a particular location for over a half hour. This might be the opening I was hoping for.

Ariana noticed it, and looked at me, then said gently, "We can take it from here, Caleb. You stay with your family for a bit. No one would blame you."

"Indeed," Mayo agreed with a slow nod, "You have planted the seeds of success, no harm in letting others take the harvest, my friend."

Mom and dad? Well, they looked a bit confused and dad flat out asked, "Something hero-y come up?"

 

"Kind of," I started to hedge, then shifted gears, "Yes. I think I found the bad guy who has been working behind the scenes. The one I wonder if he, somehow got my secret Identity down and gave you cancer. Maybe he didn't. Either way he might not be in his right mind. I'm worried I'll kill him if  I fight him," I admitted to them.

"Oh you'd never kill a man," My mother protested before anyone else could say anything, "Caleb, you're the same boy who cried when that turtle got hurt by traffic."

I didn't have the heart to tell mom that turtle getting hit by traffic was way too close to the loss of a brother. Then again, maybe she did understand. She and dad had lost a son. I had always blamed myself for not being able to do anything to stop that. Now I wondered how much guilt mom and dad still carried over that loss? Clearly the Lambert family line had a history of keeping our baggage with us long past it's time.

Ariana however was asking "Wait, he cried over a turtle's death?"

"Gave the poor thing a funeral," My dad nodded to her, "Played Amazing Grace on harmonica."

 

Ariana smiled at that, then gave me a fond look, but then forced herself back to super-heroic professionalism, "Stay with your family. Nobody on the team would disagree with your right to it give, well," She shot my dad an apologetic look, then continued "your family crisis on top of everything else."

"I have to call Clamdigger," I told her, "use the number he gave me, see what he learned."

"You can pass that onto me," My co-captain pointed out, logic on her side.

"Well, I'd welcome him staying, prefer if he did, but I stand by what I said," Mother's voice was full of confidence, "My boy doesn't kill."

"Least not if he has any other way out," My dad added but despite the proviso, he too sounded certain in his faith of me. 

Mayo tilted his head, as if sensing more. Damn aura reading mystics, "You are torn."

 

"On one hand, I'm not as confident in myself," I told him, "As mom and dad are that I won't slip and use too much force.  On the other, I'm worried if I sit this one out, I'll never want to stand up again."

My mom said "Would that be so bad, not being a superhero? A civil engineer could save a lot of lives if he used his skills proper."

"That is so," My father agreed, but where mom looked okay, MORE than okay, with the idea of abandoning my life as Eel, dad looked troubled. At times like this, I wish I could read minds or see auras. I didn't know what was going on in his head or heart, or soul for that matter. But I could take a wild guess. Dad was a big fan of seeing what you started through. More than that, where as mom saw Eel as me being brave but at risk, I think Dad understood it was part of who I truly was. That it was my calling.

 

"I've learned, with the help of Lady Obsidian and a certain other lady" I told them with a glance at Ariana, before focusing on my parents again, "That me as Caleb is still a decent man, with plenty to offer the world even without his powers," I realized I was speaking of myself in the third person and inconsistently at that, course corrected, and pushed ahead, "But I love being a superhero. I think I'm good at it. And I don't WANT to sit on the sidelines." 

"Sounds settled then," My dad gave a single curt nod, then rose to  move to me. I thought he seemed a bit shaky. My imagination? or the illness inside of him? Either way, make it to me he did, and looked me square in the eyes, "Caleb, go finish this. If this man is sick in the head, he needs help. If he is choosing to do these things while sane, he needs to be stopped and arrested."

 

"Dad, what if I slip? Lose it?" I asked.

"Then SHE," He looked over at Ariana "Will stop you. Won't you young lady?"

Ariana took a deep breath, "I would."

 

My mom nodded her approvingly, then nodded to  me approvingly as well, and I got the feeling the approval for each of us meant slightly different things.

"Thank you, Ariana," My dad expressed his gratitude before turning to me, "One more thing to set your mind at ease, Caleb, since you think you need it," he cleared his throat, "If you kill this bad guy who may have given me cancer without letting ME have a chance to lay a punch on him, you and I will have a coming to Jesus meeting for the ages, you ken me?"

 

"I ken you, dad," I smiled weakly, drew my breath in. Doubts would remain, but they'd have to move to the side while I focused on what mattered, in the here and now, "Mom, Dad. I love you. I'll be back when this is done."

"Godspeed, son," Mom said.

"Kick ass, take names," Dad gave his own blessing.

I looked at Ariana and Mayo, "Let's roll," I told them, "We have leads to follow."

"Together," Ariana added, making a point of it to me. 

"Yes, Co-Captain," I responded dutifully, not adding that without her, I'd be a far bigger mess than I was. I opened the door for her, and followed. 

Behind me, Mayo muttered just loud enough to be heard, "The strands are closing, wonder what the final pattern will be?"

I wish mystics wouldn't talk like that.

[pinecone]

Very nice! This coming together very well!

[Hermit]

I shouldn't have been surprised that Clamdigger didn't want to talk to me face to face. We'd each exchanged temporary contact information. I say temporary because no way were we letting him have access to a private line for our team, no matter how much Tornado trusted him. And no way was someone as savvy as Clamdigger going to let heroes with access to high technology have a surefire way of tracking him. Also, my nearly choking him unconscious might be good cause for avoiding hand to hand range on his part, no matter how okay he acted about it.

So we each had our equivalent of a burner phone meets VPN set up, as he gave us the details. 

"This is Marlowe," I told him.

"Yeah, heh, Marlowe, news flash for you, got word on Bench," he says "Man's got family problems. He and his wife are separated , have been for over a year now. Sees his kid on holidays, pays the bills for them. She says he's not the same man he was before. Bitter, angry, sometimes prone to fits when he saw a superhero on the news. Sounds interesting huh?"

 

"Wait, you didn't put pressure on his wife or kid did you?" I realized even if he had, the man wouldn't likely confess to it.

 

"What? Do you know how unsubtle that would be?" He sounded offended all over again, not because it would be morally wrong, but because it would be sloppy,  "No. I pulled favors of my own, and hacked her social media, borrowed her cellphone covertly before returning it, the smart way. Cool your jets, big man."

"Fine, I apologize for underestimating you.  Where is Doctor Bench living now?" I asked, "His address? Details?"

 

"Oh you're going to love this," He told me sounding amused, "Given your gift, Marlowe."

 

I rolled my eyes, how much ego was I going to have to pat here? But I stayed cool and said, "Enlighten me, please."

 

"He's on a houseboat, at the Marina," Clamdigger informed me, "Isn't that a kick in the pants? Pier 3 at the Crystal Waves Marina , Boat six."

 

I had to confess, my hopes went up, "That's like swimming  way past the shore when you know Jaws is pissed at you." 

"My very thought, I didn't trust it," he tells me, "But I took a look, cleaned the boat..."

 

"Wait, you robbed his houseboat?" 

 

"You know I'm really tempted to hang up and let Tornado call me back. He respects my that I'm a professional," Clamdigger said all touchy again "Why would I tip off a target by TAKING anything? I did however sort through his stuff, you want to hear what I found or treat me like a teenage shoplifter doing it so his parents will finally notice him?"

 

I really needed to talk to Tornado about finding less sensitive scumball informants, "I would love to hear it, please."

 

The magic word seemed to work on Clamdigger and he told me "A lot of it was medical mumbo jumbo and science formulas way over my head. But there was a list of villain names, most of them less than top tier, with the words 'viable' or 'not viable' , some of them miscreant auditions who got their asses kicked. Nevermind Geek Elite's little crew."

 

"He's going to try to test them to see if he can increase their power," I said "he got a good look at Fumian tech. Heck, he could probably do it now. Why isn't he? Besides the fact we put most of them in jail?" I knew something about the number of partials out there, it wasn't a huge amount, but there was a reason only a few years after the enhancement tech was even selectively leaked that we could field a team of them.

 

 Well, mostly partials anyway. Who knows how many the government had despite Lady Obsidian's slapping their nose over Valorous' little raid? Man, that felt like forever ago.

 

"Out of my league, but I remind you, he's been healing up a lot the talent. But they're all coming back, no guys vanishing while new villains appear. Just healthy."

 

I listened to Clamdigger's report, then nodded "How many of the talent work for him?"

 

"No one works for Bench, because he's just some doctor. And I can't tell you how many work for the other guy because that would get my ass kicked," He told me.

 

Oh for the love of God, I thought.

 

But then he went on, "I can tell you that about two dozen guys are looking pretty flush and seem pretty happy with a new job. They have some pretty nice gear, or so they boast. Flashbangs, IR eyewear, protective jammies, and some guns that go zap."

"Anything else?" I asked.

 

"Nah. I don't know  the doc is moonlighting at all. Folks are a lot more tight lipped than that," He informed me, "Normally I try to give the whole package."

"It's okay," I told him, "Your debt is paid off. Maybe more than paid off. I'll make Tornado knows."

"My marker has been called and paid, then I'm a happy man," He says.

 

And we hung up. I turned to see the crew, "And yes," I held up the tracker, "I know where to find him. At least  I think so, and if you'll forgive me for splitting from you while you saved the city from Miscreant mischief? I'd like your help." 

"Aspirant  told us how you went super sleuth while we gained the glory," Pogo said, standing near the telepath, "Geez, it's not like we wouldn't have helped you with that too you know? I mean, I can be sneaky. I'm hardly the only teenage Chinese-American in Californian. Ninjas are in my heritage," Her words promising stealth and subtlety did not match the way she tapped and moved about as she talked, "I can be sneaky."

"Ninjas are from Japan, Pogo," Bramble spoke up, then looked at me, "Do I get in on this? Because I forgive you leaving us out of the know if I get to go along. I'm tired of sitting in the chair. I've studied until I'm feeling brain fried. It's worse than that, actually, I actually do have all these ideas on how to use these plants for creative destruction only now I can't do it."

Pogo muttered "Well, it's China adjacent" 

"Your leg?" I pointed out to Bramble, needing little context.

"Hover cycle cast combo," She countered, "I don't have to get toe to toe to cause some mayhem and I can use some strong reinforcements to protect my leg. Come on."

 

Inwardly, I winced. Hovercycles were rare and precious, but she had been scoring well enough on the vehicle classes. I looked over at Valerosa.

"I think we should let her go," Valerosa decided ,much to Bramble's delight, but not without a proviso, "provided she uses her plants to swing or drag her butt out of there if that hover cycle goes down."

Bramble made a face, "Yes, ma'am."

 

I was very careful not to smirk. Ma'am was almost hardwired into me by my upbringing, Ariana as a California woman equated it with age. I equated it with respect of a woman no matter what her age. But it was funny to know that she'd be muttering about it later when were alone.

 

"Hussar, you in?" I told him.

 

"I damned well better be, I've worked too hard to improve. No more stupid flashy stunts," He told me.

 

"That's a shame, because I may ask you to do a stupid flashy stunt. We're talking Aspirant's gun. You get to carry it," I told him, "Don't fire until we tell you to."

"Wait, he gets the big gun?" Aspirant protested, "I stole that fair and square."

 

"He's strong enough to handle it," I told Aspirant, "And yes, we need it, because it's possible that Ophiotaurus has by now been briefed on our powers and abilities even for you new guys. I want an ace in the hole, and I know one thing about Hussar now, not only is he strong enough," I looked at him, "I trust him to realize what misses the villain may hit something else, and take that into account. He's learned. He deserves the shot."

 

Hussar blushed a little, and looked to the side "Don't worry, Aspirant. You'll get it back."

 

"I'm a little more confident in my offensive options now anyway," Aspirant admitted, "So, fine. Good luck. And yeah, I am definitely in."

Viewpoint and Slime watched. Clearly they had figured out that it was the rookies in question.

 

"Of course you are," Pogo told him and they held hands, each smiling.

 

 It looked like the ego bruising he got from her ordering him back to his post had healed up without me, or even my advice.  I glanced at Valerosa ready to see a pleased look of mission accomplished on her features. To my surprise, while she did seem pleased, she gave me a soft head shake and a shrug at my unspoken question.

This wasn't either of our doing? Huh. What do you know, the universe we were in didn't revolve around either of us; thank god.

"Yes, of course you are," I told him, and looked over at each, "You have, all of you,  busted your asses. You've put in the work and gotten stronger, more powerful, and most importantly more controlled. Where we saw timidity in some of you, bravado in others, now there is confidence. Some of you thought all you had was a few tricks up your sleeve, now you're learning your power is so much more diverse than you ever dreamed possible. We've tested your mettle, not just in battle where you showed courage under fire,, but in those moments after where you've each seen who you are, seen how far you have to go to be the heroes you WANT to be, and decided 'I can and will do this, not easy, but yeah', I looked at each of them, "Trust me. That is a path filled with pain and struggle. I'm still not there myself after a good head start but I'm closing in on the guy despite a few stumbles. Somewhere your better heroes are ahead. Let's  see if we can introduce some bad guys to them and make those bad guys piss their pants."

 

"All right!" Hussar grinned and smacked his right fist into his left open palm.

Traiblazer, her back straight and proud gave a slow nod. Aspirant puffed up and didn't look silly doing it. And Bramble gave a thumb's up.

"Bramble, let's get get you in a hover cycle. The rest of you? Follow  your captains," I nodded at my lady lest she think I had neglected her share of the good we'd done. More her doing than mine in some cases.

"mmph," She put a new communicator in my ear and whispered, "Good speech, lover."

I blinked at her with my best poker-face, "What speech?"

She gave me a look as if not sure if I was joking or not, then shook her head and moved on "Remember the new battle codes. If Ophiotaurus  has learned any of the old ones we're going to need them. Got it?"

"Got it, Cap," Hussar declared. The others affirmed as well.
Viewpoint looked at Slime, "Not bad huh? You know, considering it was Eel."

YES, Slime's response played along his surface, IMAGINE WHAT HE COULD DO WITH A BETTER SCRIPT WRITER?

[BoloOfEarth]

I agree, nice speech.  

 

And loved "China adjacent."

 

One minor thing - he effectively checked if all the rookies were in before giving his speech... except Trailblazer.  (Though she did nod after his speech.)  Well, to be fair, the only one he actually asked was Hussar; Bramble insisted and Aspirant volunteered that he was in.

 

And Hermit, did it hurt when Slime poked you through the fourth wall like that?   

[Hermit]

18 hours ago, BoloOfEarth said:

I agree, nice speech.  

 

And loved "China adjacent."

 

One minor thing - he effectively checked if all the rookies were in before giving his speech... except Trailblazer.  (Though she did nod after his speech.)  Well, to be fair, the only one he actually asked was Hussar; Bramble insisted and Aspirant volunteered that he was in.

 

And Hermit, did it hurt when Slime poked you through the fourth wall like that?   

 

 

May need to go back and give Trailblazer a line or two

 

And regarding the question about Slime. I can confirm his acidic attacks work

[Hermit]

Vehicles were gathered and filled, with Bramble reinforcing her cast and claiming my beloved hover cycle. She was a grown woman, but I suddenly understood how my dad had felt when when he let me borrow his pick up all by myself for the first time. Of course, if Mabel were here she'd point out it was her former body and I had trashed more than one of those in the line of duty so maybe I didn't have the right to fuss. So I didn't, fuss that is. 

 

"So where ARE we going?" Hussar  wanted to know, "Exactly? I mean, where is Ophiotaurus' lair?"

"Lobotomy Island," I answered him.

Viewpoint winced, "Great. That place gave me the creeps before it became a supervillain lair."

"Really?" I grinned, "Ghost stories get to you?"

"Hey laugh it up, man, it's not called Lobotomy Island because nice things happened there," He rubbed at his shoulders as if feeling a chill.

"Wait, hold up? We're going to a place called  Lobotomy Island?" Bramble had joined in on this one, "What, Crap your Pants Island was taken?"

"It was a Psychiatric institution meant to promote mental health... it just so happened that when the building was built when shock treatment, lobotomy, and other scary ass things were used more abundantly," I explained to her, "Hence the term Lobotomy Island, though it's actual name was Isla Calavera Sangrienta from the Spaniard settlers"

"Now that sounds a LOT Prettier," Bramble said, "Can't we call it that?"

Valerosa looked amused "That loosely translates to Bloody Skull Island."

"West Coasters are #$#$ing weird," Hussar declared in a rare bout of Midwest loyalty.

"Anyway, it seems Ophiotaurus has turned the old medical buildings there into a base for his research and to launch his plans from. It's probably laden with drones so stealth attack may not work but we're going to try," I said, "Good news? It's an Island so Mayo and I can approach the first part under water. Maybe draw a little fire, then you guys can come in with less hassle. I have a flare gun, I'll shoot it up. Coms will likely be jammed or might be hacked so Aspirant will be doing  a mind link."

Valerosa looked at Aspirant, "That's a lot of of us in your head, Aspirant. Can you handle all those thoughts and emotions using you like a chatroom?"

The Canadian  assured us, "I got it. Just willingly sent surface thoughts, no deep reads? I can handle it."

"Course you can," Hussar asserted to our surprise. Looks like he had decided to be a team player , or at least more openly supportive.

Pogo beamed, "You got this. Your hardest part will be filtering out my stream of babble. You know I get all excited and carried away the more I get excited and I just go on and on and then people kind of want to throw me away. Good thing I bounce back."

"It's great that you bounce back," Aspirant told her goofily.

Trailblazer whispered "So cute."

"Very," Valerosa said "but now's not the time for it. Pogo, Aspirant, focus please."

They both blushed, and grew attentive. Aspirant walked to each of us, put his hand on each individuals to establish the link, then paused when he got to Slime, "Physical contact makes the link easier to hold, I've found so  uhm.. I'm just gonna...stick my finger here? That okay?" He finally asked the goopy and somewhat odoriferous alien.

'PROCEED,' Slime's surface scrolled the word.

And Aspirant did so, dipping his finger through the first half inch of the first layer of the blob. When it came out, there was a whiff of something like rotten eggs and old fish.
'OUR CHILDREN WILL BE HIDEIOUS BUT LOVED- GOT A CIGARETTE?'' came Slime's surface message.

Aspirant shook his finger "Oh man don't , I'm sorry I'm trying to be nice but don't ... thats just gross. Sorry."

More than one of the rest of us broke out in soft laughs or at least amused smiles.

'I ASSURE YOU, I STILL DON'T FIND YOUR SPECIES ATTRACTIVE EITHER, BUT HUMOR CUTS THE TENSION' Slime , a move seasoned hero, advised him.
Thoughts buzzed at the edge of my awareness, the mental network now in place and ready for our use.

 

'Okay, Everyone,' Valerosa was already taking advantage of it, 'Let's get going, and will bounce some ideas around. Remember, the coms are there and we're going to use them, this is in case it goes dead or they guess our codes. If they guess our codes, we feed false info on them and throw Ophiotaurus and his goons off. Hopefully Aspirant won't have to spend much brainpower on this and can see if Ophiotaurus can handle that nightmare memory whammy.'

My relief threatened to spill out through the link. Less chane of me losing it with Ophiotaurus if our telepath handled him. Yet, it wasn't as strong as I thought it would be. Mayo had been right, the talk with mom and dad had helped me deal with the burden, if not absolve me.

'You're welcome' Mayo's thought came through, just for me, 'but I'm a mystic, I'm used to being right.'

I imagined me rolling my eyes really hard to see if that would go through the link to him. It must have worked because his next mental response was a chuckle.

Ariana spoke up verbally, "Let's hit the sky.."

Hussar  grabbed Pogo around the waist with one arm, as his other had the gun ready, "Sorry about that, but if I slip, you're the one I can afford to drop."
"Just watch the hand placement, rookie,"  Pogo said, "But yeah, I'm totally the one to take any gravity impact and I'll tell you whyyyy whoa.."

Hussar had gotten bored and cut her talk off by going up in the air fast but more up and out than forward. He wasn't going to leave the team.

Aspirant had gotten into the flying car with Valerosa, Trailblazer, Viewpoint, and a now condensed Slime. The love sick Candian pointed after Pogo going up and directed my co-capitan, "After the hawntness"

Valerosa gave him a look, and started the vehicle up. As it rose, I went under it, put one of my own arms around Mayo, then leaped up to hook onto the undercarriage with my free hand.

Mayo said "And we drop off when there is ocean below us?"

"Relax," I told him "Yes, but until then? I got you."

 

Bramble looked smug. She had a hover cycle to herself.  It could normally handle two, but with her leg a bit stuck out (thanks to the cast) we thought it best to just let her go solo for the ride. 

Trailblazer  reached over and touched a panel, "Can't go without tunes, right? Now which track is..."

Weird Al Yankovich's Dare to Be Stupid began to play, and Trailblazer grew flustered, "That's not what I meant to put in."

"Leave it in," Hussar called from his own nearby hover, "I don't know what it is, but I think you just found  THIS crew's theme song."

And off we went into the skyline and towards the shore ready to dare the wrath of Ophiotaurus, stupidly or otherwise!

[Hermit]

It would not be the first time I plunged from a perfectly fine flying vehicle to dive into the water of the ocean. It wasn't even the first time I'd done it with a friend. Mayo came down with me and we went deep. What was weird was that I was still in communication with my whole team. 

 

Telepathy worked far better under water than our communicators did. Water works great for transmitting sounds, radio waves and the like? Not so much. But the chatter in the telepathic link that was hooking us all together seemed to be as clear as a bell. Maybe a bit too clear, Pogo had to be put on 'mute' on Valerosa's orders. Turned out Aspirant was right; she was like a pure stream of enthusiastic commentary. Any other time that would be welcome; but we were kind of organizing a raid on a bad guy base here.

 

They also, I assumed, were making communication chatter, false leads and the like, but I wouldn't know for sure down here. I did however get a Fish eye view of the waters near Lobotomy Island. One advantage to it being deserted was a surprising lack of pollution. Well, surprising to me, I was used to folks trying to dump garbage 'where no one was looking'. As if what they dumped would stay where it was instead of spreading out in the waves. 

 

Yup, pretty clear, excepting the undersea drones! I don't know why I was surprised by those.  Ophiotaurus had to know by choosing an Island base that my aquatic patrols would be as likely to get too close as much as any aerial ones. But I didn't think they'd activated yet.

 

'Mayo, that think you can do to these  did with the cameras at Channel 3 earlier?" I asked him sharing the encounter with the others by telepathy.

 

"I can," Mayo gestured much as before, "There. They should not sense us now, but it will not last long. Move quickly and-" he didn't get to finish as I grabbed his arm and shot like a torpedo past the underwater lookout drones. You see, in the water? I'm the speedster of the team. Super swim speed, like breathing water itself, doesn't get much praise in the super power listings, but when you live next to the Pacific, it's really quite nice. 

 

Eat your heart out dolphins, you maybe cute, but you're sea slugs compared to this Eel.

 

Of course, now that I had figuratively opened my big mouth to brag when the Pliosaurus nearly bit Mayo in half. Yeah, you heard me right. A Pliosaurus: short neck, massive head and broad flippers to give it a shape like a giant gator who decided legs were stupid when you could grow even bigger at sea. I'd call it a 'sea dinosaur' but I'm not sure that's the scientifically correct term and you know when you'll run into a picky paleontologist in the superhero biz. The thing was nearly forty feet long. I would guess it  weighed roughly thirty tons. Could it have bit through me? It might. Would it have killed Mayo instantly? Hell yes.

 

Fortunately, that didn't happen. I was taken off guard, sure, but my speed gave me a chance to react even then, and it helped that Mayo screamed warning in my head too. Credit where credit is due there. I spun, twisting Mayo's body out of the way of the snap, and trying to get myself out of the way to boot. In that, I only partly succeeded, because while it's teeth missed us both, it rammed me. I took the brunt, and to my surprise, it actually stung.

 

'The SOB must have gotten his hands on some of Rex's research' I cursed as I lost my grip on Mayo who went another ten feet or so away from me. We were separated, but at least he was close, "Hell, Ophiotaurus may have even enhanced it."

 

'If you get it up to the surface,  I bet Trailblazer can deep fry it with a burst of fire,' Valerosa said in my head. 

 

"I'll try, but as all it's attention is on Mayo and I, I'm not sure I'll be able to get under it!" I responded and indeed, it was surging towards us again. Damn it had a big mouth, lots of fangs. Wait, had Ophiotaurus given the Pilosaurus grill work with some of that high tech super steel? "Definitely enhanced it" I thought.

 

'Let me help,' Mayo moved back closer to me, which I didn't think was wise.

 

'Just get out to the shore, Mayo, I'll join you in a - ow' I said in surprise, "did you just pluck a hair from my head? Are you doing something freaky with my hair?'

 

'Where ever is the trust?' he answered, 'Merely relying on a link you've forged to get us some help. This wouldn't work otherwise'

 

Well, I fully approved of help, as the  Pilosaurus opened up to bite down on me. I rolled to the side even as I felt the currents shift from the force of the blow. I realized it was not an alligator, but I remembered seeing a documentary where some guy managed to hold a gator's mouth closed when it shut to keep him from opening again. Wait, did the guy survive that encounter? I didn't remember. Well, nothing much to lose but a limb, I tried it! I ended up giving it's temporarily shut maw the most awkward under sized hug you could imagine. It did not like that, and started to thrash around shaking me like I was some rodeo star on the back of a very pissed off bull;  a bull on steroids!

 

As I flapped around clinging for dear life, I could see Mayo assuming a lotus position in the water. How he does that without tipping over I don't know. I was hoping for something more productive.

 

'Hey, Eel? you getting that thing to the surface yet. We got a mission here,' Hussar thought at me reminding that while he had turned over a new leaf, he was still kind of a jerk.

 

'Having a bit of trouble here' I said as I tried to focus long enough to push/swim this thing up, but my sense of direction was iffy nevermind that it was floating me all the way.

 

'You know, in training, you always said just don't panic, do your best, and focus a little and you'll be fine,' Bramble reminded me.

 

I was about to think something really nasty at all of them, when another huge body moved under me. Great, was there another one of these things?

 

'Thank you,' Mayo's thought was like a clear chime. 

 

Thank you? Was he thanking me? because I was , at best, in a crazy stale mate for the moment.

 

'No, not you, Eel. Just thanking someone for showing up' Mayo told me.

 

And that's when a forty foot long gray whale of my acquaintance rammed into the underbelly of the  Pilosaurus carrying it, and myself up, up up. I grinned when I realized what, no, who it was, and pushed up as well, 'upcoming, hit the  Pilosaurus! not the whale!'

 

Confused thoughts abounded in the network then , "Whale? what whale?'

SPLOOSH!  We broke the surface as Whale Guy and I brought our mutual foe to the air! Almost immediately, the  Pilosaurus lost any sense of grace!

 

A torrent of flames came down as Trailblazer cut loose with a stream of concentrated fire that set the  Pilosaurus to cooking almost instantly! Whale Guy, seeming to sense what was coming plunged back into the depths past me to avoid the wash of heat. Me? I felt like I left the shower on scalding for a moment.

 

I found my grin getting larger and goofier 'WHOOT! GO WHALE GUY! Way to go partner!' I yelled/thought!

 

'Oh my god, it's really him' Valerosa laughed.

 

'Whale Guy is real? I thought that was a marketing gimick' Viewpoint confessed gaping.

 

'Awwww,' Pogo's thoughts were a mix of wonder and a bit of envy 'I want a whale guy.'

 

The  Pilosaurus, unable to break loose and exposed cooked  until suddenly, whatever genetic chemical breakdown was programmed in it triggered, causing it to burst into biodegradable hopefully environmentally friendly gunk.

 

I rose to the surface through the gunk and waved "I'm good" I thought/said, then thought hard 'Mayo, are you okay? is Whale Guy?'

 

'I am where I was before and I'm fine,' Mayo thought back, 'As for Whale Guy, see for yourself.'

 

In the distance, I saw Whale Guy breach the surface again, exhale a blow, and then plunge down ,but not before given a slap that was as good as wave of farewell.

 

"Owe you a beer, Buddy," I called out.

 

'Oh not American Beer, that's just cruelty to animals' Aspirant thought quite deliberately.

 

'Holy crap, Fish Guy really does talk to fish!' Hussar's own thoughts were out there.

 

I rolled my eyes 'Whales aren't Fish, they're mammals, and I'm not Fish Guy, I'm Eel, and.. no I don't talk to him. I just have some sort of connection with him according to Mayo and I- you know what? I don't have to explain this to you. When we save the day, go home, read a book, search an engine, whatever.'

 

Valeroso looked at Hussar, and smiled "It's Eel and Whale Guy, together, they fight crime."

 

'I wonder which one's the sidekick?" Pogo giggled mentally.

 

I rolled my eyes and turned to resume, only to see Lobotomy Island lighting up, 'I think we just lost the element of surprise' 

 

[Lawnmower Boy]

If whales aren't fish, how do they see food?

[BoloOfEarth]

I'll echo Eel.

 

Woot!  GO WHALE GUY!

 

Love the Mind Link.  I'm glad Aspirant has that ability.  It allows for things to happen for one or two characters without completely ignoring everybody else.  Well done. 

[Tom]

And I'll second the thought about American beer...

[Hermit]

On 11/27/2021 at 8:33 AM, Lawnmower Boy said:

If whales aren't fish, how do they see food?

Go to your room and think about what you did!

19 hours ago, BoloOfEarth said:

I'll echo Eel.

 

Woot!  GO WHALE GUY!

 

Love the Mind Link.  I'm glad Aspirant has that ability.  It allows for things to happen for one or two characters without completely ignoring everybody else.  Well done. 

Thanks. That was one of the very reasons I used it and I am glad to see others like it.

18 hours ago, Tom said:

And I'll second the thought about American beer...

 

I actually don't like Beer period. But I know enough about it to know that our beer in America, the big company commercial stuff anyway, is considered to suck big time. Now local brewers and small crafters, I'm told , are all over America and produce some quality stuff, but again I wouldn't know

[Tom]

35 minutes ago, Hermit said:

I actually don't like Beer period. But I know enough about it to know that our beer in America, the big company commercial stuff anyway, is considered to suck big time. Now local brewers and small crafters, I'm told , are all over America and produce some quality stuff, but again I wouldn't know

 

There are some non-big company stuff that is at least drinkable.

 

Beer is one of those things where there is so many varieties, there is likely something you would find tolerable (if not actually likeable) but unless you really feel the need to find a beer to drink it's not worth subjecting yourself to the costs of finding it.

 

Though random chance can provide unexpected opportunities, which is how I actually know of beers/ales I will drink by choice.

[Hermit]

When I said the island lit up, I meant it quite literally. There was zero attempt to hide the fact that this island was occupied. What looked like a decayed mental hospital suddenly sprouted gun turrets, while the island itself was suddenly crawling with ostrich sized dinosaurs of the preditoral varieties. Really, it was amazing they weren't eating each other.

 

'Careful guys, I think  Ophiotaurus has taken Subterranean Rex's tricks and improved on them. Metal teeth."

 

'Copy that," Vareosa said, sounding a bit like her uncle when he says Roger, and then 'And our communicators are jammed.'

 

"Well, that's good news in a way' Bramble pointed out.

 

'How is that good news?' Hussar was confused, but I got it.

 

'It means,' I thought at them, 'that he's probably not able to hack us after all, or he'd leave it open to get our moves as we announced them. And that means he's not been hacking our line before this'

 

'Exactly' Bramble was glad I caught on, 'Still not crazy about those gun turrets though. I just got this hoverbike'

 

Valeroso and I exchanged some battle plans between us. You know, this mentalist stuff had it's advantages. Maybe every team should have one after all?

 

Coordinating, we gave our directions, 'Trailblazer, taunt the dinosaurs, distract them so the others can land safely. We take the car on the shore so others can unload'

 

'I can do it,' Trailblazer nodded.

 

'We may lose the car when we do that, but that's just one more reason to disembark fast,' Valerosa continued, 'but we'll make them pay for it. If a turret fires at the vehicle, Hussar this is your chance to fire that gun, be patient, when one shoots, it should have a moment before it can swivel back'

 

'Patience,' Hussar winced, 'Not my best subject but all right. At least I get to shoot the gun. Don't worry, I think if I 'fly forward' as I fire I can handle the kick back even in the air'

 

'I can help protect the car, put up a barrier of plant life to at least give it a buffer' Bramble interjected.

 

'Nice,' I said, 'And if Trailblazer gets a concentrated group of ground dinos in a tight group, can you corral them.. that is, the dinos, not Trailblazer . If they decide to go vegetarian they may eat through it fast, but it could help control the battle'

 

'Viewpoint? turrets, please. Slime, think you can find a way to infiltrate?'

 

'YOU WANT ME TO FIND A WAY IN? SO I CAN OPEN IT FOR THE REST OF US? CONSIDER IT DONE, MY SICKENINGLY SOLID FRIENDS,' No scrolling here, and his telepathic voice was actually quite lovely.

 

That's when one of the turrets sent out a beam of some weird energized particles and missed the flying car by a few feet.

 

I heard curses up there, many not approved by the Comics Code Authority. 

 

Clearly those things had longer range than we thought.

 

'Okay, telepathic chatter allowed us to say a lot more to each other in a shorter time, but I think we've just proven there are limits' Valerosa said, 'Everyone go go... Aspirant, you're with me, if you go down we lose our last long distance communication option and I want you scanning for human minds'

 

And that was that, hard to have a football huddle when your enemy decides to lob a grenade in the middle of it.

 

One might have noticed I didn't get orders from Valerosa, nor did I give them. Hypocritical, I know, but in this case we both designated ourselves a bit fast and loose on the field. Of course ,if one of the rookies shot us in the butt by accident? Well, we kind of brought it on ourselves. 

 

"Mayo" I asked him, "Can you do that 'mechanical stun' spell or whatever it is you do on some machines , on the turrets?" As I asked this I hit the shore. I had the head start, but I was way behind Trailblazer.. Much respect to the young lady, she was sticking to the plan and already was setting at least three of the scaley predators on a merry chase, and she was trying to get more. 

 

Unfortunately there were a lot more.of them. I lost visual with most of my team as one lunged towards me even as Mayo answered me.

 

'I'm sorry, Eel. They're too far inland. I'll try to get closer but by then it maybe too late. This island has a lot of spiritual energy, a lot of it most unpleasant,' The way he thought that last word reminded me of someone finding something they did not expect or like in the soup they ordered.

 

'We'll make due' I told him as I grabbed the dino that was charging me, using its momentum to redirect it, well throw it really, into some of it's fellows.

 

 A hover cycle shot over me and seeds dropped down around the mob that just got one of their own lobbed at them. Almost instantly, the five dinos found themselves in something of a sloppy but sealed hedge maze. Being dumb animals they raced along the paths at first trying to find the nonexistent opening.

 

The nearest turret turned on Bramble, building up a charge. Before it could, there was a cry of "WOLVERINES!" And a mighty kablam! Hussar had just fired his first shot in combat. It didn't hit the target perfectly, coming short of the cannon like protrusion of the turret. But man did it shake it, throwing the aim of the turret completely off and badly damaging the structure.

 

That was clearly a lot of gun. 

 

With Bramble helping make a hole for me, I saw no reason not to finish what that blast had started, 'Double Tap Turn, Hussar' I menally thought, giving the code even now for 'I'm going to hit the target you just hit, please don't shoot me'. I could only hope he remembered the code. Of course, I could have just told him without code speak since we were mind to mind; but we weren't likely to have Aspirant around forever. So let's not risk letting the training slip.

 

'Do it, man, ##$# it up' he thought with glee. Hussar was, clearly, not a stickler for the code words. '##$# it up' was not a code word for affirmative. We could add it, but when Lady Obsidian got back she'd have opinions about our foul mouths.

 

Err, minds.

 

Launching myself like an olympic jumper on several, several steroids, I aimed my body towards the same large dent that the first blast had made and then punched at the last second even as I crashed into it. See, this is the value of certain engineering classes. If you ever decide to punch a tower with a huge gun attached, math and science can combine to let you take a pretty good guess where to do the most damage (To the tower, not your hand, though without super durability you will break that at the same time.) My fist broke though the already created weak point, I pulled said fist loose, taking an internal support strut with it. 

 

And it folded more dramatically than a  European Soccer player faking an injury. I dropped down, not that gravity gave me a choice, and rolled to the side to see it collapse. It was a satisfying situation. 

 

"THANK YOU" flashed before my eyes, and Slime poured into the wreckage to find a way into the main building.

 

"You're welcome," I muttered and turned to see how the rest of the team was doing.

 

The answer was damned well. Enhanced or not, the pseudo-Dinosaurs were outmatched by a coordinated super team attack. More plant mazes had popped up. What surprised me wasn't that some of the beast had chewed through, but that they died a few feet after. Most without a mark on them. I was about to ask how the heck that happened when Bramble explained.

 

'Folks, do not eat the hedge mazes. I used some pretty toxic plant life' Bramble's thoughts traveled along our psychic network.

 

'Geez that's cold blooded,' Aspirant's pity for the creatures could be felt.

 

"Hello? Earth to Nova Scotian, they're set to turn to goo or butter after a few hours anyway, right?" Bramble pointed out. I could see her flying and still throwing more seeds around the island.

 

A few Dinosaurs were just getting wrecked by Valerosa. Even with teeth that could tear through metal, they were having a hard time of it. None of them were going to get past her to get Aspirant. Pogo , I noticed, was lingering near him too. If by lingering one means bouncing wildly from one dino to another knocking them into play for a neck snap by my co-captain.

 

And Hussar whooped as he and Viewpoint took another turret down. A moment later, there  was a 'whiir' sound that got weaker and died. The other two turrets just depowered right there. 

 

'Found the off switch' Slime told us, 'How is out there?'

 

'Lot of dinos turning to goo is how it is,' Bramble grinned, "Thanks to the Traiblazer/Bramble duo'

 

'Awww, but you really should get top billing,' Trailblazer was smiling.

 

''I sense minds, human minds are in play,' Aspirant said, a bead of sweat on his forehead.

 

Slime let loose a cry of pain which we all felt an echo of. Something had just hurt him, badly, and he was still on the inside. 

 

'Slime!' Viewpoint's eyes flashed and carved at the wall of the hospital building. Looked like it was reinforced because while he made his marks, the 'cut out effect' he was hoping for didn't work. It did, however, make it really easy for me to charge forward through it. Faster than you could say "Oh Yeah!" I was in.

 

Any other time I might have declared that very thing as a joke. But years ago I had left Slime behind in a fit of overeagerness. Took him a while to get over that, and rightly so. I was not deserting him again. And Viewpoint was right on my tail.

 

I crashed into the building only to see Uniformed Agents with some very stylish weapons to go with their reinforced body armor with some stylish Greek Lettering on the shoulder pieces.. There were five of them, and they were blocking my path to Slime. Slime had seen better days. I think the best word for his condition was 'splattered' , was he even alive?

Very violent thoughts entered my head, and I wasn't alone.

 

 Behind me, Viewpoint cursed "I'm going blast their hands off!" 

I didn't think Slime and Viewpoint were that close, but it occured to me that while we'd been teaching the kids, Viewpoint and Slime had been doing a lot of the 'regular heroing'. That can establish a bond of duty on a rather intense level. 

 

And here I had been worried about MY temper.

 

'He's alive!" Aspirant declared loudly in our heads. I could feel the relief, and desperation. He was trying to make sure Viewpoint and I didn't do something horrible we'd later feel guilty about. Or worse yet, do something horrible that we wouldn't feel guilty about.

 

One of Ophiotaurus Agents had his blaster pointed at Slime still, "This weapon's on a vibrational setting. Ophiotaurus says it should shake your friend apart- make painful for him to reform. Too many blasts while he's down? Might kill him. Your team surrenders now, and I won't have to do it," His eyes stayed locked on me, the other agents were aimed at myself and Viewpoint.

 

As I was gauging if Viewpoint could possibly fire first. After all, in his case, the eyes could literally be faster than the hand. But it was a gamble and not my life to gamble with. Time to check telepathically with the crew.

 

But before I could, Viewpoint spoke up, "So Ophiotaurus can study us? Maybe filter Slime like some experiment? Well, before we agree to anything," Viewpoint said, "I want you to know one thing, punk. Just one damned thing."

 

"Go ahead, make with the threats," The man sneered unimpressed, "What's the one damned thing?"

 

Viewpoint said with gritted teeth, "Meaty Minstrel never refreezes it's food. That's why it's popping fresh at any hour, day or night with portions big enough to make any proud to eat it.   Meaty Minstrel- it's the DJ for your belly party."

 

"WTF?" The agent said, his helmet not able to mask his confusion.

 

'WTF?' I thought, right there with the agent. Sure, the guy had once been doing commercials for them but what the hell did Meaty Minstrel have to do with-

 

And that's when I realized that Slime had reformed. Viewpoint's rambling had dropped the guard of those who threatened to kill  Slime a moment ago, enough for Slime to act. I could feel Slime's agony at the effort, then it dimmed.

 

Somewhere, I was sure, Aspirant was gritting his teeth taking in some of that aforementioned pain into himself and helping Slime focus. Long distance team work. When folks say 'It's the thought that counts' they mean telepaths.

 

So what should have been a desperate painfilled slap from Slime became a lot more dangerous and controlled! Slime surged forward all the agents, turning slippery, and wrapping them all up unable to fire at him. If they tried they'd just hit wall. They fell, stumbled, slipped and groaned as my jelly like team-mate threatened to smother the air out of them.

 

Turns out, closing in an alien semi-liquid life form is dangerous! And, said life form can be petty.

 

"IT'S IN THE VENTS!" Scrolled past one agent's face.

 

":FACEHUGGER!" flew past another's gaze!

 

"TO SERVE MAN: IT'S A COOKBOOK!" the guy who read that actually screamed, causing the part of Slime that was on his face to bubble!

 

Viewpoint smirked, "Now THAT is old school."

 

"He's studied the classics," I admitted to Viewpoint. The agents passed out from lack of air, and I added "Slime? Ah, buddy?"

 

'THAT... HURT' Slime managed as it gathered itself. 'THEY'LL BE FINE BUT ...OWWW.' and he lost his cohesion again.

 

"Crap, he can't talk to us like this, don't' know if he needs medical help or .." Viewpoint moved to Slime.

 

'Or? you could use the MINDLINK I'm busting my brain hump over' came very testy thoughts from our telepath 'Slime, just think something will you, let them know you're still with us?'

 

'VIEWPOINT?' The weariness and hurt leaked through the link, but along with some other feeling I couldn't place.

'Right here, man," Viewpoint moved down to the blob of blue ooze, "Right here and listening"

 

More thoughts rallied, and resumed, 'I HAVE BEEN, AND ALWAYS BE... A BETTER ACTOR THAN YOU' Then there were smelly bubbles which I translated as laughter

 

Okay. I'm not that good a leader, because I laughed. Loud. Guess the other feeling was that universal notion that some potshots are just too easy to pass by.

 

Viewpoint stared at the crippled but still conscious alien, "You stinky assed jerk, Just put a knife in my back next time." Then he looked at me, "Can we get him out of here? He's damn near inert." 

 

'NO!' Slime protested rallying his will, "NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURR-'

 

"Just stop it," I told Slime, "You look like spilled soup. We're going to get you pulled back and give you time to heal while the rest of us go on. Give yourself a breather. Otherwise, you'll slow us down." 

 

'YOU ARE ONE COLD BLOODED, MAMMAL... BUT FINE' Slime slowly, very slowly, started to exit out the hole I had made to rejoin the others further back.

 

Aspirant declared 'More thinking brains on their way. Brains with guns!'

 

I cracked my knuckles "Round two."

 

Viewpoint nodded.

 

 

[BoloOfEarth]

And my nomination for best line:  "And it folded more dramatically than a European Soccer player faking an injury. "

 

Though "'I HAVE BEEN, AND ALWAYS BE... A BETTER ACTOR THAN YOU'" is a close second.

 

I'm glad that Viewpoint and Slime got a little time in the spotlight.  While I know it's important to show how the rookies have progressed and grown, that shouldn't relegate the others to the basement.  Nice balancing act, IMO.

 

Edit to add:  Though I'm sure Lawnmower Boy would say that it needs 50% more Pogo.

[Hermit]

Sorry for the gap this week. I made my 50000 words for NaNoWriMo but I do not intend to abandon this for another 3 months. Not when I'm in the final chapters

[BoloOfEarth]

You are forgiven.  I'm looking forward to the finale of this.

[Hermit]

The hallways' limits meant the hired muscle could send only so many against us at a time, if they'd wanted to go hand to hand. The problem was, they had blasters, and they weren't stupid. Rather than mobbing us or trying for point blank, the 'Talent' stood at corners, or made make shift barricades to defend themselves.

 

I also heard one, "Activate Geek fields."

 

Geek fields?

 

Then I remembered Geek Elite's forcefield, the one that let him survive superhero encounters even as Ophiotaurus' goons tapped their belts hastily, easy to find buttons with a flashing red Greek symbol on them. Fields of constructed energy formed around them.

 

'Son of a gun' I thought to the mental network, 'News flash, team, Ophiotaurus copied Geek Elite's tech too. Add to that they had a 'setting' that could deliberately hurt Slime, we can assume they've prepped for us.'

 

Valerosa's mental voice came in, 'Okay, Rookies this is one area you may have an edge. Appearances aside you're newer to the world than the vets, so you maybe able to throw them off. Try to use tactics and abilities you haven't had caught on camera. Eel, watch out for-"

 

Fast as mental communication was, the talent weren't exactly twiddling their thumbs. Even as Viewpoint was firing through a barricade and knocking one guy backwards with his eyebeams, the goons had adjusted settings on their devices and hit me with them.

 

As soon as it made contact with me, I knew what the effect of the new setting was: Dry. Dehydration hit  me with a vengeance. It's a sad testament to how people spend their time that this wasn't the first time I'd been faced similar attacks. Fire doesn't like me, but I can survive it. Dehydration just seems not to care how tough I am. Even hit was a withering pain that went right to the bone. And that's what this setting was doing, drying me out even as it cooked me internally.

 

Some of my pain must have carried along the feed.

 

'Eel? Baby?' Valerosa 's thought was filled with love and concern, and tinged with anger for whoever caused me pain. One down side about this whole mental network was the emotions tinted the thoughts making the effect kind of heavy, like telenovela. It felt very exposed to the crowd.

'You were about to say something about them drying me out. You're right. I'll be okay.' I told her as I twisted for cover as well turning around a corner and willing my brain to keep the pain for myself. Can you put pain on mute? We were about to find out out.

 

Grenades were lobbed at our direction. This, however, proved to be a mistake by the bad guys. Viewpoint smiled, and the beams from his eyes became smaller, tighter, as he exploded them in midair with his powers, far closer to them than him.  I have to say, it was an impressive array. There was an enhanced flash-bang, what appeared to be knock out gas, and lastly, ye olde fashioned concussion grenade. 

 

The talent found themselves grateful for those forcefields as they ended up scrambling under the backwash of a barrage of their own making. They were filter masks too. This, in the Super Biz, is what we strong guys with few ranged options call 'an opening.' Grabbing a chunk of debris to use as a shield between me and more D-Rays (D for Dehydration), I came at them like a bowling bowl hellbent on destroying some pins. The metaphor was actually pretty apt. I still didn't quite trust my temper fully. So instead of smashing the debris over the first one I found, or punching them with my bare hands, I hip shoved one then the other and handed the heavy chunk to a third guy. 

 

The effects were comical. Their protective field protected them from broken bones, but not lift, and the force of the side pushes slammed the first two in opposing directions against walls harder than I intended despite my precautions. They got jogged around in those fields  like tennis balls that somehow found themselves in a dryer. They weren't badly hurt, but they were bruised, and definitely disoriented. The third guy found his gun knocked out of his hand only to be replaced by debris that he wasn't strong enough to hold. He fell to the ground with a slam, his arms pinned under it.

 

That's when I realized my mistake. I'd come into another crux of hallway, with a lot more 'side hall' than I realized. A new barrage of snipers who had been bracing in wait, let me have it. Three D-Rays hit solidly and I felt dizzy as hell, my knees started to buckle.

 

I couldn't focus. I'd walked into this like a rookie myself. Fortunately, I had a team. Viewpoint provided cover fire and started to pull me back. I could hear Aspirant sharing my situation with everyone.

And 'Heard' Valerosa call out orders in a mix of open telepathy and code words including one that dimly made me smile.

 

'Trailblazer, waterboy' 

 

And Trailblazer was there, burning with speed and fury, she whisked past me, putting herself between me and the gunmen, her own field acting as my shield from further D-rays.  To my surprise, she didn't let a wave of flame hit the bad guys, but rather shot towards a wide fan towards the ceiling, weak and smoky. 

 

And as the sprinklers from above kicked in, I knew why. You see, I'm stronger under the sea, but a hard rain, or in this case, sputtering water to help in case of fire, definitely helped. The wounds I had taken from the withering heat rays didn't vanish, but they hurt a lot less and I felt revived almost instantly. I was worried what was my blessing would be Trailblazer's curse, putting out her flames or at least weakening them. Turns out, Trailblazer wasn't worried at all. I don't know what tune she had playing in her head while she was saving my bacon, but she made  an "mmm bop" sound and kept going sliding into the shooters who had ambushed me then she held up her hands and exploded!

 

More like she released a fireball with herself as the target. It did her no harm, but for the Talent? There was no way to avoid the burst since she'd shot past their cover and literally set herself off in their midst. Fire is not gentle, and even with the protective  fields to keep them from being consumed, the agents panicked as their world became a mix of searing light, overwhelming heat, and pressure from same. They slammed and rolled, but in doing so, they dropped their weapons with the multiple settings.

 

She pointed with a finger, and a stream of stored white hot energy formed a constant line she dragged over each dropped gun and melted and warped each one in turn. Then she looked at the prone agents and said, "Turn off your forcefields and surrender, or I will cook you inside them until you smell like roast pork. You'll live, but you won't be very pretty."

 

"Damn, something wrong with me," Hussar muttered as he joined Viewpoint and myself, "Because that was kind of sexy."

I noticed he had NOT shared that along the mental network. Proof that he was brighter than he looked.

 

"You're right," I told him, also 'off the link'.

 

"Yeah?" he grinned.

 

"Something's wrong with you," I nodded. Seriously? Maybe it was because I was often the target of fire, but I didn't find talk of third degree burns sexy.

 

Hussar puffed dismissively and flew past to back Trailblazer up, "You heard the lady, drop it, or I bounce you while she does it."
One of the Talent gritted his teeth, then spoke, and not to us, " Ophiotaurus, This is Hanson. They've busted through J section. Our weapons are destroyed, fields up but not going to hold forever. Permission to stand down?"

 

I didn't hear what was said in response, but Hanson responded to it, "Thank you, Doc. Sorry we let you down."

More chatter, ,I thought I picked up reassuring tones.

 

Hanson seemed placated by whatever was said, and he turned off his belt.

 

Hussar grabbed the headset com off his head and spoke into it, "Hey Ophiotaurus? This is Hussar. You don't want your men hurt? Tell them all to stand down, let's settle this, man to man and..." He stopped "What do you mean 'where's Eel?'.. dude, I'm talking to you." Another beat, "Yeah, he's the leader, co leader, right now.  No, I'm not handing this over to him. 'I' am the one threatening you, 'Doc', so.. " He looked over at the rest of us "He's ranting about self styled gods will not stop him ,and he wants you to know that. Won't let me get any more words in. What, are my threat skills that weak?"

 

"He and I are closer than some," I answered. I wasn't sure but I suspected so. I made a hand motion and he passed the enemy's com set over to me and I spoke into it, "Eel here,  Ophiotaurus. Hussar's a loudmouth but he's also right. I got a whole new crew here, and you only know a third of what they can do. Your plans against the old team won't work, and you're just going to get your hired talent hurt. Clearly you don't want them hurt, so just stand down. Okay? I realize you're angry with us, but this isn't the solution, and you need help. "

 

A distorted voice, I suppose I shouldn't have expected him not to mask his real one, responded, "Oh, so you're a merciful god now are you? Where was that mercy when we could have saved untold numbers? When the cure for cancer itself was in our hands"

 

He wasn't even hiding who he was. Worse, his words stung. My doubts bubbled up, self loathing that maybe my choice wasn't just wrong, it had failed my father. But then my father's own words had tried to absolve me. I wasn't sure I could forgive myself though. Then again, I took a breath, this wasn't about me, was it? "Doctor Bench, you're not well. You... and I, could both use someone to talk to about the pain we're feeling. How about you surrender, we talk, and we go into group therapy together? Fair?"

 

If I sounded calm as I said this, those in the link with me could testify my mood was anything but. I didn't want to sit down and exchange the talking stick with  Ophiotaurus. I wanted to beat him over the head with it and ask if he had given my father cancer as part of a plan for his revenge. Did he know my secret Identity? That would make it possible. I felt my fingers threatening to snap the headset in my hand.

 

 Ophiotaurus's voice seethed over the communicator, "Bench was a man who trusted superheroes, who was faithful to the modern day gods and the idea they were good. That they knew best, and cared for us all. Then that man of healing learned that the gods were petty, and saw people as resources at best, beads on an abacus to be tallied up for efficiency sake.  I wish Lady Obsidian were here, her choice broke that man's heart. But fortunately for him, he had a moment in the realm of the gods, able to see, learn, grasp more than the gods meant him to. Now, Doctor Bench is all but dead, but  Ophiotaurus? I live and while not as prepared as I hoped- while my plans are not as far along as I intended, I am far more ready to destroy you , all of you, than you will ever know. I am  Ophiotaurus now. I am the stolen flame. I am the Titan unleashed. I am the mistletoe bound towards Baldur's heart. This hard working men have been armed with the weapons they need to take you down, and they are the fist of mankind itself, empowered to take you all down before me. Take your olive branch, and choke upon it!"

 

Well, that would be a no then, I thought wryly.

 

And suddenly the com got busy with other voices.

 

"You tell him, boss!"

" Ophiotaurus puts Eel in his place, hell yeah!"

"Behind you all the way, Doc!"

"Oh they are SO not ready for what's coming!"

 

A barrage of support, at least a dozen different voices, came on the channel in a similar supportive vein. 

 

"Oh for crying outloud," I asked, "just how many of you guys heard that?"

 

"It's a communication system for announcements, dumb ass," One said back to me, " Ophiotaurus has our backs. We've got his. We'll fight as long as we have to."

"Gentlemen, when and if you are disarmed, surrender,"  Ophiotaurus declared, "The heroes may not value your lives. I do. But, thank you, it's actually very touching to hear your support. I couldn't have gotten this far without you. And will defeat them .. I apologize for not predicting their early arrival. There will be a bonus to compensate for my failing there, well earned. Gerald, your son is getting that Playstation."

 

"Best. Boss. Ever." Came a voice I could only assume was 'Gerald'

 

"But now, change frequencies. The gods don't need to know our hearts, or our plans. We don't pray to them anymore." And there was a buzzing white noise sound where once the chatter had been.

 

"Well, he's a nutbar," Hussar said and I realized the whole team had rejoined us, save Slime who was out of commission, and Bramble, as her hoverbike wouldn't work well in here. 

 

"Huh," Apsirant spoke rather than 'thought' at us, "Who knew a solid safety net and free playstations were the key to loyalty from your agents?" 

 

Pogo shushed him, "Love your patriotism, but now's not the time to passive aggressively gloat about Socialized medicine, besides, I don't think the Canadian government gives free Gaming consoles to every citizen."

 

"it's on their to do list," He said, a touch petulantly, "And if it's not, it should be."

Pogo held up a finger, and he shushed entirely. Then she switched back to the mental link, 'What now? I mean, what strategy are we going to use to speed up what looks to be a firefight slog?'

 

It was a damn good question.
 

[Hermit]

One doesn't have to be Sun Tzu to realize that letting the guy out to kill or at least defeat you pick your path is a recipe for disaster. It also doesn't help when you don't have any idea of what the full lay out of the place you're storming is. Do you go up? do you go down? Left, right? 

That's why, despite the fact they're second only to mystics in giving me the heebie jeebies, I highly recommend telepaths. We had enough foes who had been taken down that Aspirant had lots of options to read from. A deep probe, I was told, takes intense concentration, and up to a full minute. Privacy rights concerns aside; it's extremely effective.

 

We didn't even have to wait for the report, as Aspirant peeked the lay out of the building as best the Talent could remember, and fed the floorplans to our brains. It was a bit unsettling, like getting an earworm song that you didn't even like that much, but now you couldn't stop humming. 

 

'This goes away, right?' Hussar thought testily, 'I'm not going to checking out some hot girls a year from now and suddenly think 'right left side passage?'

 

'Hey, you guys wanted this fast and yet firm and from more than one brain if I could get it,' Aspirant said, 'I was never asked about side effects.'

 

'Great,' one could feel the eye roll over the telepathic network from our resident winged guy.

 

'While we're all wired together, I vote we don't talk about Hussar's prospective love life, particularly while we're trying to save the day,' Bramble's thoughts opined, even as she wasn't physically here.

 

'Not a democracy, but a good point,' Valerosa thought, 'Besides, let's focus on the lay outs. Looks like two main paths down to the lower levels where the real base is, both likely lined with well armed goons, and or traps tailored as best they can against us. That said, I may have another option'

 

'Maybe you do,' I interrupted, 'but even if you going ghost like gets you past the barriers, I'm not crazy about you going ahead alone and leaving the rest of us behind without back up'

 

'I was actually thinking of dropping through the floor'  Can one smirk over a mental link? It seemed one could.

'Hey, that's a good point' Pogo thought 'We can just go down and skip a whole level. It's like a cheat code for a video game. I miss those'

'So I shove my head through ,and take a peek' She said.

 

Viewpoint shared my nervousness, 'Ah, I can kind of see through things? One of my many options? and  I can tell you, the floor has some odd lead linings ...which might not stop you, but also has some odd..flares?'

 

A low curse from Valerosa and she looked at me 'They were using particle weapons outside'

 

'Which can affect you even when you ghost,' I nodded. 'He's prepared for you'

 

'Ah, guys? Mayo passed out' Pogo pointed, 'I mean, he's breathing, but there's a .. I mean, I'm poking him and nothing.'

'Mayo?!' I thought, a bit panicked as I moved to his body.

 

'Freeze your mammary glands, friend Eel,' a serene voice came through the link 'I'm merely outside my body for a moment, it's draining, let me concentrate.'

 

As snickers of relief AND humor broke through the link from the others at the 'Freeze your mammary glands line' I fought the urge to tell Mayo that wasn't the way that phrase was used. But, two things prevented me from doing so. One? He just said he needed to concentrate. Two? I was pretty sure he knew he was butchering the phrase. There were times I was sure my friend enjoyed playing the proverbial fish out of water (Pun intended) even after years of Surfacer interaction. 

 

Frankly, I wondered if he was having fun with me to distract me from my own better but still shaky mindset regarding my father? was Mayo trying to annoy me with small hassles to help me with the persistent anger over a much bigger issue? It occurred to me, and not for the first time, a mystic's help never comes in a form that's comfortable for a guy.

 

Mayo's voice came across, commanding, echoing, and oddly comforting, 'You must pass into the dark depths, there will be light again. You are angry, I know this, you are furious!'

 

I was about to tell him to not give me a weird pep talk, particularly on what appeared to be an open mental group chat. Then as he went on, I realized, as was so often the case, I was not the center of this particular moment.

 

Darned if I could tell who was, though.

 

'When the time is right,  I will call, and give you the power to make a difference. I do not encourage rage, but if you must embrace it, focus it where I direct and I swear to help cleanse this place if I do not join you! By the Hidden Sea where joy is stronger than sorrow, by the currents of memory and wisdom, you have this pact. Wait. Wait. And I will aid your escape to your proper freedom'

 

The room we were in suddenly got chilled, like , shivering cold for a second. And that's not right, because cold doesn't bother me. Everyone shuddered from it, and I? I found myself, for the first time in awhile, no exception.

 

'What the hell is he doing?' Trailblazer leaked.

 

'Hell, or some variation of it,' Mayo was once more talking to us again, 'is exactly what I am hoping to avoid. Someone up there, with controlled strength, please, slap me. I need out of here, fast. They agree, but do not want to let me go.'

 

'Slap you?' Trailblazer was stunned.

 

'Oh gosh, Mayo, we don't hit team mates except in sparring, that's like day one intro,' Pogo rambled, 'Ever since the shoulder slug, pogo goes off Valerosa at her dense-ist and crashes Lady Obsidian's experiment in progress event, which I think she went overboard mind you, but never the less I got told to never do that -'

 

During this, I bent down and gave my best friend (Certainly in the top three anyway) a good open handed pop to the jaw, by means of a quick flick at just the wrist. Of course, we all felt the after shocks of the pain as we were linked, but at a much reduced level, and I had pulled my slap.

 

He flopped onto his belly, and rubbed at his jaw, "Thank you, Eel," His blind eyes searched me out, "One couldn't help but notice you didn't hesitate."

 

I grabbed a hand and helped him up, using the chance to say softly, "Freeze your mammary glands, Friend Mayo... you did literally ask for it."

His lips twitched in a smile, and he rubbed at his cheek, "Just so."

 

'Want to fill the rest of us in on what you just did?' Valerosa did not like being left out and I couldn't blame her. As a co-captain she was supposed to at least have a clue to tactics.

 

'Suffice to say,' Our water breathing mystic informed us all, 'We have allies currently lost in the maelstrom waters. They maybe of use to in the upcoming fight. More to demoralize, than to harm, but it may give us an edge in the short term. I also gathered some intelligence on what lays below- physically. We you want to drop down, this is not a good place for it. We need to continue down another hallway. Then burrow.'

 

'If it's shielded from my power, we may have to just break a hole in it, but then it's probably super resilient too from powerful kinetic force,'

 

Valerosa was clearly curious about the 'allies' mentioned but sometimes you just have to let mystics be vague. They'll tell you explaining it tempts fate, but I think that's just one way they shut us up.

 

'Darn it, Kinetic force is my thing' Pogo mmmphed.

 

Trailblazer thoughts had a question, 'How do you think it stands up to heat? and.. a super speed rub down?'

 

'They might not expect you,' I confessed, "But that sounds like it would take a while.'

 

'Hey guys,' Bramble's thoughts were smug 'know what they're not going to expect? from above?'

 

I spocked a brow and the vibe came through, 'Go on.'

 

'Kudzu. Make a hole in the roof for me to get clear vision, and a place to drop some seeds' she smiled 'The right mix of plants can eat into just about anything with time. With me? they can do it a lot faster. You strong guys don't have to break it through, just give me a crack or two'

 

Valerosa smiled, 'Nice work, Chica. Let's move'.
 

[Hermit]

Holidays hammered me for awhile. I hope to resume in the next week

[BoloOfEarth]

1 hour ago, Hermit said:

Holidays hammered me for awhile. I hope to resume in the next week

 

You need to cut back on the drinking...

 

Oh, not that kind of hammered.  Sorry.

[pinecone]

Nice work!

[Hermit]

There's really nothing quite like being a part of a team of superheroes breaking through someone's ceiling in a cascade of shards and bits to gain the element of surprise on a bad guy and his henchmen at the heart of his lair. If you can do it, and survive it, I highly recommend the experience. Admittedly, the fact a lot of credit went to kudzu (empowered kudzu but still kudzu) might have taken some of the shine off of it, but still; it's a hell of a thing.

 

No one was more surprised than Ophiotaurus. He had arranged a protective maze of death (or perhaps he would have termed it a labyrinth of doom? I don't know, villains are kind of extra) full of more soldiers and traps to harry or even kill us, and we'd simply bypassed it. Of course, I suppose I could be guessing at the nature of his shock, the goggles and gas mask combo, each a bit retro in style, hid his expression very well indeed. But his body language conveyed startlement, as did his words.

 

"How did you know where to... this is intolerable!" He slammed his fist on a console before him.

 

That part, I hadn't wanted. The last place you want the enemy mastermind to be when you manage to close in on him is near a bunch buttons, switches, and levers. And, while we had bypassed a lot of threats, he hadn't been alone in here! Roughly twenty members of 'the talent' were by his side, and they looked better armed and equipped than their peers. I had to wonder if that was because they were the elite of all those working for him, the fact they were his last line of defense, or both.

 

Both, I decided, definitely both.

 

Ophiotaurus had been surprised, slamming a fist when he should have been pressing a button. His staff, however, while also caught off guard, responded much more quickly. As soon as they saw me, they reached for what I first took as grenades and lobbed them at me. 

"Remember the plan!" One yelled as they threw.

 

"Scatter" I ordered! Then I realized, the only one who needed to scatter was ME. Everyone of of them had targeted me, a move that reminded me of older than sliced bread jokes about everyone one on one side of the army choosing the same target by accident.

Fire at Will! Yeah, that Will guy has it coming! Wills a Jerk!

That kind of humor.

 

Only, I realized it wasn't a punchline. They were all on me and meant to be!

Valerosa had another order "Sky shield Eel!"

 

The order wasn't to me, the order was about me, to blast incoming attacks on one member before they could hit. The orders shouldn't have conflicted too much. Newer orders were supposed to supersede older ones to allow for fast shifting battle conditions, but while the rookies had trained well, it was understandable that some scattered, and others defended. Of course, only so many of us have ranged attacks in the first place.

 

So Trailblazer raced to the side, heard the other order, and fired a burst catching only one of the odd projectiles. Viewpoint? A wide spread of energy from his gaze took out out several more! Burned and smashed open, a kind of green powder swirled in the air about me. But others hit me square on despite my own back peddling attempts.

 

It wasn't what I expected. I was expecting fire, a kind of napalm or something else with intense heat.  Both Arctic Fox and I had long lamented that if you had ice powers or were seen as a creature of the sea, there were always those who figured burning you out was the best way to go. Worst thing? It actually was. Of course, all is relative, just because I'm less resistant to flame doesn't mean I fold over like an square jawed alien facing radioactive green rocks. In fact, I've been burned several times, and weather it better than your average nonpowered person. 

Being able to regenerate burned flesh with a nice bath helps.

 

But this wasn't fire, and in fact I didn't know what it was. The ones that hit me directly were still powdery bursts, but there was a dampness to each particle and they stuck to me. No, not stuck, they were sinking in.

This, I thought, this couldn't be good. But whatever it was, it had hit me It was done.

 

And my team was already adjusting. The Talent had decided to attack just me? Fine. That meant they'd committed their first volley on one. And, well, we were going to take advantage of that.

Aspirant seemed furious, the telepath closed on one agent and went hand to hand with him. Honestly the mercenary had the edge in muscle and experience, so odds should have favored, but the telepath had been training hard with Valerosa and myself, and he could read every thought in his foe's brain. This didn't always help him as much as it should, muscle memory and practice took a lot less thought than battle strategy, but in this case? It worked like a charm. 

 

Aspirant weaved to avoid the Talent's blows like he'd being told how this fight would go down by a hollywood director, then countered with a legsweep that took the guy off his feet. If he had time to get up, the talent would have done so, his body armor taking the worst of Aspirant's impact. 

But Aspirant wasn't alone. Pogo had already slammed into the ground, shot into the air to careen off another goon's head only to arc up high again then come down with a lot of force from a twenty foot drop down onto Apirant's enemy, taking that one completely out of the fight even as she moved on.

"We're such a good team," She told Aspirant delightedly, "Don't forget after this you're totally taking me to the movies. Is a rom com okay? My life is an action movie so those can be a little redundant. Though if it's a good one all's forgiven and I was hoping maybe for a dinner but I'll go dutch..."

"Pogo," Valerosa fussed as she smashed the chest piece of another of Ophiotaurus' agents with a single blow, "use other means of communication before plotting your private live around the bad guys, please?"  Another of the talent drew a blaster and shot her.

Valerosa didn't even blink from the surge. She was at her most resilient now. On her own without the enhancer, she could get as strong as concrete. With it, she was more durable than steel. She  grabbed the foe she had just broken the arm of, swung him around and smashed him into the shooter all in one smooth motion.

Then there was Hussar, who had stolen one of my moves with a twist, slamming onto the ground from above adding the force of his super strength to send out a veritable shockwave! Five of the goons fell over as if they'd been caught flat footed in an Earthquake. 

Frankly I was stunned. Not that he pulled it off, but that he'd clearly been paying more attention in class than I thought he had. It's an odd feeling of pride when one of your problem children shows you actually do have his attention. Though seriously, what red blooded action movie loving guy wouldn't want to do that move if he could?

Speaking of movie preferences, as Trailblazer and Viewpoint were ready to take on new targets, Aspirant thought 'I like Rom Coms fine, but we'll have to talk dinner later. Eel, you've been depowered! Their thoughts were positively screaming it! Get out of the way before ...'

A bullet, not a blast, a bullet from a gun, shot right through my once nigh invulnerable flesh. If I hadn't have been warned, it would have gotten me in the heart. Instead, It caught me in the shoulder. Maybe my defenses hadn't completely faded yet because I don't think it broke through the bone. Still, blood had sprayed out, and more was now leaking down my left arm. It was the most extraordinary thing. 

 

This wasn't some magic bullet, no space age metal, just.. your average 9 mm round. 

"Holy crap!" Hussar cursed!

"Boss?!" Trailblazer exclaimed, and it surprised me because she was using the term I equated with Lady Obsidian. She had hit another guy sending him smoking and skittering along the floor.

"Eel, are you okay?" Valerosa called out, her eyes wide as she forgot the use the telepath rule in her worry, though a true pro, she used my codename.

 

Well, no I wasn't okay. I had a bullet lodged in my shoulder, but I wasn't going to answer that way, "Fine," I lied through gritted teeth, "Remind me to recycle this later. Take them out before he tries a stage two."

"Stage two?" Viewpoint said as he blasted another talent, only four were upright now.

 

"There is always a stage two," Ophiotaurus  agreed from the console. Damn it, we should have gone for him first, "I do a lot with a genetic sample of a bleeding hero, and if you recall, a certain hero bled a lot during the fumian event two years ago. Your powers are temporarily neutralized, Eel! Welcome to being a mere mortal, now watch as your own powers are used against your team, sadly, it's temporary too. Brace yourselves, my friends!" 

 

There was a switch, and for a moment, all the Talent made soft gasps or sharp intakes of breath, as if they'd just had a syringe plunged into their ass. For all I knew, somewhere they had!

But it passed quickly, and one of them  almost experimentally backhanded Viewpoint and sent him rolling across the floor as if he had been hit by a wrecking ball.

"It worked! We're as strong as Eel!" He said "You're a genius!" 

 

"About 3/4ths as strong I fear, RNA infusion has it's limits, both time and potency, take them down quickly" Ophiotaurus ordered, "You have roughly five minutes!" genius or no, Ophiotaurus forgot about communication secrecy on his side too.

Unfortunately, with the Talent now empowered, and some we thought down reviving with their newly enhanced recovery time; five minutes might be more than enough. I leaped at Ophiotaurus  over the console, or I tried to. I had been used to leaping like an Olympic long jumper on steroids, now ? Now i wouldn't even qualify for the event. I landed on top of it instead, my blood drops splattering across the keys, and Ophiotaurus  amused and triumphant, out of reach. He pointed a glove at me, "How the mighty have fallen!" His glove flared, and a blast of energy came out.

If a bullet had nearly killed me, I was certain that this wasn't going to be pretty.

 

[Hermit]

"Hussar," Valerosa' mental voice was almost screaming along the network of thoughts Aspirant had established, "Shield Eel!"

But, fast as he could fly, the odds of him swooping down in time to save my ass alternated  between 'slim chance' and the even worse 'fat chance'. Damn if he didn't try though, arching towards me with great speed, bullets bouncing off of him. Maybe he would have made it, but one of the Talent decided to use his newly bestowed super strength, MY strength, and leaping- tackled that crazy kid from Illinois from the side with enough force to drive him to ground.

 

Well, I thought, as the light from the glove before me flashed, I'm dead!

 

"NO!" a woman's voice rang out.
 
And I realized I had underestimated  the fastest hero in the room. While Hussar had been diving from above to my rescue, Trailblazer was moving as well, even though she hadn't been called on. Weaving past punches, and bullets, she blazed like her name sake and shoved me to the side far faster than I could have moved to safety myself. 

 

It was a brief shove, and good thing too, or else the contact would have burned me right through my costume. As it was, it was at least a singe, and I was stunned to find out how much slamming to the ground hurt. I was 'normal' again, and abrupt kinetic motion? Well, it hurt.

I was more worried about Trailblazer, her protective field was impressive, but if a blast was meant to kill me, it would surely vaporize her! It was all happening so fast, even I didn't have time to call out.

 

Which is just as well, because it turned out I was completely wrong about her being vaporized. I had seen this blast before; Ophiotaurus had adapted the technology of Rex's scepter and put it in glove form! And this time, THIS time, Trailblazer was trying to absorb it, and not just letting it happen. 

 

She went from bonfire, to inferno! And whether it survival instincts, training, or just dumb luck, I rolled as quickly as I could to get distance from my fiery team mate.

 

The control console Ophiotaurus was behind didn't have the advantage of being mobile. As the waves of heat roiled off Trailblazer, she quickly redirected it at the console and melted it to slag. Then looked over at the doctor turned villain who been forced to dive away from it, with his force field likely set at maximum and wisely so.

 

Various members of the talent looked confused, then cursed "##### took out Coms network and camera relays all over the base."

"Are you kidding?" Trailblazer almost spat at them, "I'm going to melt your toys one by one before your eyes until you surrender," And damned if she didn't look intimidating, hair fluttering in the wake of the heat she had just used to destroy his selection of buttons, levers, and who knows what else, "As some of your toys are currently part of your wardrobe, you might want to think about the ramifications of that."

 

It was a badass line, unfortunately, these guys were hopped upon Eel energy, and between that and their training, they didn't blink. One moved forward and socked Trailblazer in the jaw- she had speed, but even she needed a moment to collect herself. He had skill, with the a punch that spoke of familiarity with boxing, he sent her careening, only her blazing buffer kept her from a smashed jaw. As it was, her mouth was bleeding as she was dazed and vulnerable after it. Of course, the fact her attacker just burned his hand on her helped buy her time.

 

They might only have three fourths of my strength, but that and a well delivered jab could do a lot of damage. 

 

I felt helpless.
I hate feeling helpless.

 

Even my senses felt dulled and I realized why. I had lost the ability to see in shadows that I had taken for granted. Whole sections of the fight were going on that I could no longer keep track of.  Mind you, Trailblazer made a pretty good light source but it stretched the shadows erratically. I almost didn't notice the winged one above me. 

 

Hussar had just booted off the guy who had tackled him, and was flying towards the dazed but fiery teammate to assist her. 

And, it turned out, assist me as well.

"Catch" he threw something down to me. The BFG Aspirant had brought with him landed in my arms. For a moment, I imagined it going into another firing fit in random directions but I joggled it carefully and moved to a support column to brace myself so the recoil wouldn't shove me like an air hockey puck.

 

I no longer felt helpless.

Having a boom stick will do that for you.

 

I grinned, picked a target and cried out "Now I have an concussive force ray gun. Ho Ho Ho!" And fired.

I really owed my grand uncle for taking me out hunting. This weapon was nothing like the rifles we used when he did, but at least I had the basics of aiming down. I wanted to fire at the big bad himself, but as a member of the talent was closing on my now fragile hide; I decided he had just volunteered.

 

The pulse I sent hit him like a cow's kick hitting a cold handed dairy farmer! That particular minion tumbled backward and forced a peer to dive out of the way. 

 

Damned impressive weapon. Field tested, Hick approved!

 

You're welcome! came Aspirant's sing song voice in my head. It was a touch of bravado, his emotions carried through and under the sense of satisfaction there was worry and fear, but it was overpowered by resolve.

 

Yes yes, okay,  I owe you for the loaner, I thought at him, Now hit Ophiotaurus with your own big gun, the brainy one!

 

On it! he focused , reached into Ophiotaurus and tried to hit our doctor turned villain with some heavy pyshic trauma from Bench's own memory. 

 

And Ophiotaurus and Aspirant? They BOTH screamed with such heart wrenching anguish I realized I might have just sent the rookie into a psychic minefield without proper preparation. I knew this, because all of us at once, joined by the link, felt just a mere aftershock of that pain- and each and everyone of us was gasping from it.

 

And the talent wasn't waiting for us to find our focus again.

I'd made the wrong call.
 

[Hermit]

Normally having the leader of the opposition incapacitated is a fantastic development, sure to lead to an after victory party complete with unhealthy beverages of one's preference, and cake! But neutralizing aforementioned leader at the cost of taking your entire group out at the same time is far from ideal when said bad guy's minions are still in play? Well, that a disaster. 

 

The tide shifted abruptly and without mercy against us. From the corner of my eye, I could see Trailblazer get kicked in the side by the empowered henchman who had decided he didn't want his fist burned a second time. Only the fact her natural protections hadn't faded during the psychic backlash of pain kept her from getting her ribs caved in! As it was, he sent her sprawling across the floor, and her flames snuffed.  Hussar crashed into the ground, disoriented, and got sucker punched by another assailant once he was in reach. The only other one I could see in the shadowed and chaotic setting was my co-Captain and lady. Valerosa had been a force. Stronger than the Mini-Eel set one on one, her might, durability, and martial arts training made her more than a match for any three of the goons. She was a professional, quick, and supporting any holes in our defenses the less tactically savvy had left open.

 

She was amazing. Then she always is. But the pain hit her too, and that moment was all it took for her to find herself with two of the Talent punching her in unison. One to the solar plexus, one to the jaw. Her powers aren't like mine are.... were. I am... was, always tough. If you shot me in my sleep, you better hope it was high caliber or all you'd get for your trouble was an angry North Carolinian who didn't appreciate someone making a BANG noise against his forehead while I was trying to get some shut eye. Valerosa shifted between densities and for her, it took some concentration.  It was a testament to her will power, and the fact she was no stranger to sudden agony in this business, that she managed to keep her density hard and resilient or that would have killed her. Ideally she would have shifted to ghost like intangibility instead.

 

Circumstances were far from ideal so it's amazing she stayed compact and unyielding, even if I worried she had slipped from diamond to mere steel. As it was, she was on the proverbial ropes. I had no idea how the others of the team were doing. The mental network had sent it's pain and clicked off as Aspirant went down being at ground zero of Ophiotaurus' madness. That was my fault. All of it was.

 

But I'd been beating at my chest far too much lately anyway, and there was work to be done. It was a hard call who was in the most trouble. Every selfish protective instinct in me wanted to take aim for one of the two trying to kill the woman I loved. But I pushed it down, and blasted instead at the goon about to finish Trailblazer off. Her own protections had gone out, there was no way she'd survive the gun aimed at her. There was another shudder, and the pulse blast came out a second time catching the guy in the torso and driving him back and out. 

 

I had recovered faster than my team mates from this. I'd like to say it was sheer willpower, but while I do have a certain pride in my tenacity (Which others have sometimes cruelly labeled 'pig headedness') the truth is, it was experience. Every superhero learns to cope with physical pain. Mental onslaughts are rarer, but after an Elder God puts you through a tragedy gauntlet,  other attempts don't hit you with as much surprise. Don't get me wrong, I still wanted to call for a time out and take two minutes  while the commercials played to sniffle off to the side and catch my breath but that wasn't an option.

 

Bully for me, right? 

 

That's when I got shot at again! Only blind dumb luck, distance and a bad angle for the shooter kept me from having a leg so filled with lead I'd set off airport security screenings when I walked in. I already had a round in my shoulder I was pretending didn't happen. No need to add to it. 

That's when Mayo reminded us he was still in the game. I hadn't realized, but the same backlash that had stung so many didn't even faze him. It was like he just let it pass through him, and made his move.

 

And his move was scary as hell.

 

He rose up in the air, a strange halo of violet hues casting shadows in a dozen directions. No, not casting shadows, revealing them. Mayo's voice reverberated through out the chamber despite being whisper soft. We all heard it, but we shouldn't have. 

 

"This way out of the Maelstrom, this way once more to the land you knew, I give you the power to make a difference one last time, and then you pass onto to the hidden seas of joy where you may finally join those who loved you. Spare my allies. To the rest? Bring Bedlam as Bedlam was once brought to you!"

 

And the shadows moved as if some dam behind them had burst open and was sweeping them forward on the Talent! As they did, they each took more individualistic forms; forms they must have worn once as flesh, but the recreations were imperfect to say the least. One shadow was now clearly in a straight jacket, but the buckles had broken loose and the ends of the straps now moved about him like snakes lashing and striking at the poor members of the Talent who he got near. Another shadow lurched zombie like while shocks popped along the surface of his body and head. He reached out and touched one of our foes and sent a charge through him. Yet another shadow held a large looping belt that caught fire and began to beat and burn the guy who had shot at me.

 

And each shadow was screaming, sharing their own brand of the hell they had been trapped in this place for decades with the unfortunate targets they'd been allowed by a mystic of the depths. 

 

"Let me out! My family needs me!" The shadow, oh hell, let's call him what he was, the GHOST in the serpent headed straight jacket cried out "Johnny needs his father! Johnny needs his father!" the fangs bit and tore at a member of the talent who, quite reasonably, blubbered like a little girl between screams.

One of Ophiotaurus' henchman fired at the ghost on him. It shouldn't be a surprise when your bullet goes through a haunt, but his eyes still widened as the lead flew through the shadow to hit the wall behind him. Still popping with electricity with no source beyond memory and madness, the lurching one caressed him again, causing the poor living man's to gasp as voltage from the other side electrified him. The ghost yelled "Why are you resisting your treatment? Why are you fighting your treatment?! This will go so much better if you let us help you!"

 

All the strength the members of the Talent had stolen from me didn't do them any good, as the guy who punched through one found out, only to find the ghost could very much affect him with a belt wreathed in ghost fire  that struck out again and again to the words "The Doctor will see you now! The Doctor will SEE you now! " each repeat of the phrase with an emphasis on a different word as the ghost struck out again and again.

 

Others passed by me, by the other New Samaritans, with hungry looks in their eyes, a desire to lessen their pain by sharing it. Perhaps out of envy that we got to live, and their lives had been taken from them by a place that had promised help, and failed in a time where such abuses went unpunished by law. 

"No! Not the innocent" Mayo declared "You go to Judgement... and the freedom it brings. Add no more weight to the scales!" He made a gesture I did not recognize, a circle with his hands which he blew through- and the ghosts were picked up by a new invisible tide, pulled out to another ocean I hoped not to cross for some time. And... they stopped howling, spread their limbs, and smiled as they were carried away to that 'Hidden Sea of Joy' Mayo had mentioned.

 

And they were gone.

 

Mayo fell to his knees, looking as if he might pass out if he tried to so much as stand up again. Ophiotaurus's men were a mess. Some were in fetal positions, one was praying, another was waving his gun around to this spot, then that, as if expecting the ghosts to return. They weren't as badly hurt as I had expected, not physically, the wounds caused by them seemed to be fading as if to follow after the ghosts that had afflicted them. But  they only healed so much, not completely, and I beat right now the more rational ones were wondering if their boss' health insurance plan included therapy.

 

Lots and lots of therapy.

 

Mayo had brought us time, I realized. Saved more than one of us from being taken out while we were dazed. We should, I concluded, probably take advantage of that. 

 

I shot the guy who was pointing his gun at shadows rather than us, sending him against the wall "Clean house ,and quick, Sammies! Before they recover!" 

 

"Before they can recover? I need new underwear myself!" Hussar declared unfurling his wings which had folded around him as if to act as a wall to hide behind during the ghost surge "Jesus!"

 

"is not to blame for that" I finished "Aspirant, you okay man?" I saw him rising. Good, he'd be needed. I had a new idea, and hoped our favorite Canadian would trust me enough after my last mistake. Trailblazer was still out. Mayo was spent. Viewpoint? Where the hell was... 

There was a blast sound that did not come from my gun and another member of the Talent toppled. View point's eyes glowed as he cradled what appeared to be a broken arm. 

 

Above us, was Bramble ignoring orders and poking her head in as a target. Well,  that worked. I'd have her wrap up foes we downed , the tide had turned again, and at this rate, there was no way we'd lose.

 

Ophiotaurus grabbed me from behind, holding a gauntlet blaster to my throat with a grip that was so strong, I was sure there was some low grade exoskeleton technology, "I can kill at least one God.  I can finish, at least one who kept a healer from healing. Good bye,  Fish Guy"

Just had to jinx yourself, didn't you, Caleb? I thought to myself and considered trying to slip the grip.

 

'I'm up, I'm up,' Aspirant thought to me 'But don't ask me to bring up that trauma again. Trust me, it did not help'

 

I abandoned the idea to break the hold. Too chancy. Right now, I was sure Valerosa was circling as well, looking for the best way to help me. Hussar thumped another Talent. Glad to see he was at least passing his time unable to help me directly productively.

 

Viewpoint seemed to be contemplating shooting through me to get at Ophiotaurus. Hard to tell.

 

'New idea,' I told Aspirant 'I distract him, you probe his mind... for these sorts of memories' and I visualized as best I could. 

 

Meanwhile my lips moved "Doctor Bench, you're a good man, you're just confused. I'm not a god, none of us are. But what we did, we did not out of apathy. It may have been the wrong choice, it may have been a mistake, and if you wanted me to hurt over that choice, you've no idea how much I've done that recently. But what you're doing, this isn't going to fix what happened. This isn't going to make it right. This isn't a cure for humanity. It's just more pain only this time, you're becoming a willing participant in spreading it."

 

"I can make sure you never make such another 'mistake' again," the man seethed, "And it's Ophiotaurus now. Doctor Bench believed in you and was helpless. I know better."

 

'Now' I thought to Aspirant 'Slow and gradual then build' and I spoke to Ophiotaurus, no, I spoke to Dr. Bench, "Ophiotaurus is the one who is helpless to help. You, Dr. Bench, did more good than he ever did. Ever will do. You have to remember that. If you only cling to your defeats and ignore the victories against the dark, you end up joining the Dark. Trust me. I've been there."

 

'Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs' Aspirant thought back at my advice on how to do this.

 

'Seriously?' I mentally retorted 'You're using that phrase on me?'

 

'American's don't own folksy. I got some friends in Alberta who can out good ole boy you any day of the week, now quiet, this is hard, like walking through a land mine field'

 

Speaking of things, or people, that might blow up any second, Ophiotaurus fingers dug deeper into the sides of my throat. He could rip really hard and tear it out, or he could blast away and just take my head off, "Trust you?  I did, remember? You have the audacity to mewl about your pain behind your life time of super powers that kept you sheltered ,and secure? The arrogance, the unmitigated gall. I've seen pain, I remember ... " his eyes got distant "I remember true courage. A thirteen year old boy, putting on a smile on his face for his parents, then weeping when they left because he could see their helplessness was killing them even as he died. I saved him, i helped him save himself, and I..." 

 

"He lived?" I asked. Clearly I needed to get off the subject of me. This was not an Eel moment, this was about the missing Doctor Bench.

 

"Yes, it so close but the surgery and treatment worked. The boy was a fighter I," A smile , not a sinister smile, no, almost beatific, filled his face and flowed into Ophiotaurus/Bench's voice, "I remember how I felt when I told his parents that it was gone."

 

"Must have felt wonderful," I told him "To save lives like that." In this, I did know something of it. I'd saved some lives myself. Mayo was right. I didn't thank  the folks I rescued enough. It might be selfish, but a sense of purpose , making the world just a bit better, was a form of happiness I wouldn't trade for anything.

"oh, it was,"  He said, his grip loosening, "I took the families, there and ours, out on a steak dinner. Doctors are supposed to keep their distance, you know? But to hell with it. There was much to celebrate."

 

"Only time you ever did that for a patient?" I asked.

 

"No, there was a young woman with a very rare disease, her father paid for that, insisted. She was a pianist," If not for the blaster hand still at my throat, this might be a nice conversation. Aspirant, I realized, was doing what I hoped for. Not going for the worst days of his life, but the best. 

We need to remember our victories. We need to remember those few times, those far too few times perhaps, when we added beauty to the world instead of ugliness. When we made it better. Bench had been making things better for people for years. I was hoping our resident telepath would help him realize that.

 

"Classical?" I asked.

 

"Yes, My wife and I went to a recital she put on just two years ago I..." His voice caught "My wife must be worried. Oh, my son. I.."

 

"They miss you," I encouraged gently, "They miss the real you, Dr. Bench."

 

"She left me" he muttered.

 

"No, Bench left, and when she couldn't find him anymore, she left Ophiotaurus" I told him in a tone of ruthless honesty. It was a gamble, but it was my head to risk. Besides, he needed to hear it, "I get killing me. I do think Dr. Bench should live though."

"He.. I .. was a fool," But the villain and victim holding me hostage didn't sound sure.

 

"You were a healer, and could be again. A healer, not a crusader, not a judge. a healer. I am so sorry what I've taken from you, and from your family. For my part in it. I may have made a mistake, and I'll have to live with that burden for the rest of my life. But please, don't let your rage towards me, however righteous you feel it is, rob you of everything good in this world, and don't let it rob the world of a loving husband and father, and a healer. You wanted to save tens of thousands; but you can't. I'm sorry, but does that mean the dozens, maybe hundreds you can save deserve to die because Bench was abandoned so Ophiotaurus could avenge the rest? I looked at the big picture once. The many over the few. Now, now you're doing it too, and throwing away a good man with a wonderful life on top of it. We gotta break this circle, you have to break it, Doctor Bench. You don't have to forgive me, but you can at least forgive yourself."

 

I worried I was blathering, that I sounded like an idiot. I meant every damn word, but sincerity, while powerful, isn't always easy to be sure of from the outside. Aspirant was the real hope here. Every memory of everyone Bench saved was was infusing his active thoughts, all the good he did before, a reminder of what he might yet unfold.

 

Suddenly the grip was gone. The gauntlet not over my neck, but around my shoulders, causing me to fight a wince as my wound was aggravated. And then? I was holding a mastermind, as he  sobbed into my arms. What the hell do you say in such a situation? There there with a back pat? Read him his rights?  No, you tell him what you hope will be true, then you work hard to make it so.

 

"It'll be okay" I told him putting a hand on his shoulder in turn and looking him in the eyes, "It'll be okay, Doctor Bench."

 

Kindness, mercy, compassion, had defeated Ophiotaurus where brute force might have cemented him even if we won. There was a lesson in that.

 

Didn't stop us from disarming him and his men, of course. We're idealistic, not stupid.