Tjack

There are allot of little details and Easter eggs, such a cute picture. click for a larger version. 

They did. It was called Danger: International.

Heh heh heh. I've always considered mission impossible the original gamer series. Seriously, it was doing the whole D&D thing before D&D even was a thing. 
Look at the cast. Mr. Phelps was pure paladin.
 
Barney was pretty much a technical wizard who could throw the occasional punch. (Another great thing about MI for it's time was the egalitarian mood. Barney was never "the black technical wizard", he was just the technical wizard.)
 
You had Rollin Hand, master of disguise. (R.I.P. martin landau.) He was the consummate con man and trickster.
 
Cinnamon was a female rogue.
 
And last but not least was Peter Lupus' muscle man, the perfect fighter.
 
I always saw that as a gamer show with an almost perfect representation of a gamer group playing thru a new scenario every week. Oh, and the voice on the tape was the first DM, of course.
 
Yeah, MI was such a perfect gamer series it's almost a pity there never was a RPG of the series, but it would practically have been redundant.

Our cast of characters, in the freeport of Magnimar : Gillert, a student wizard who fell in with a bad crowd - i.e. the rest of the party. Ys, Elven pirate and freelance assassin. Harshal, Shoanti tribesman making a comfortable living as an extremely bent lawyer. And Zin, kobold trapsmith and wannabe Underlord. And speaking of Underlord business, the problem of searching the sewers, and the goblins nests within.  
   
 
Gillert: I'm smart, I'm sure I can invent a pump and big pipe from the sea.  
 
Harshal: Really. I can see the problem already.  
 
Gillert: Oh? What?  
 
Harshal: The moment the sewers back up far enough you'll be flooding people' homes with rotting sewage and angry goblins. Now, I live in an upstairs apartment, but the rest of you...  
 
   
 
What can we do about that Kitsune vigilante? She's too clever to be caught easily, and regardless of how many people she kills she can rationalise it under a Good Alignment.  
 
   
 
Ys: I don't see why we should stop her - I think she's hilarious.  
 
   
 
Harshal: The thing is that it's the Nightscales who are investigating the theft, and it's the Nightscales who were importing all that flamethrowing equipment. So somebody out there is going out their way to deny the Nightscales a supply of incendiary material, and stop their plan to burn Magnimar to the ground.  
 
Ys: Again, I'm not seeing any reason to interfere.  
 
Zin: Why do the Nightscales want to burn the city to the ground anyway? They live here.  
 
Harshal: Because their new leader is a devotee of a pyromaniac god.  
 
   
 
GM: I'm still amused that it was Colon who said that the vigilante must be buying from the elven merchants.  
 
Harshal: Well, even Gillert does so much cockscrew thinking these days that the obvious escaped us.  
 
GM: That IS the purpose of the Fool - to innocently stumble on the obvious.  
 
   
 
Gillert: How did this group not consider 'insurance scam' when we heard about the Keros Oil?  
 
Ys: I was thinking of insurance scam the moment I heard 'Keros Oil' - admittedly, I was mostly thinking 'life insurance'.  
 
   
 
Gillert: Stealing stuff from the docks to load it back onto an outgoing ship and sell it elsewhere is a victimless crime.  
 
Ys: Why do you care?  
 
Gillert: I'm good aligned, I'm trying to find a motivation.  
 
Ys: Profit is it's own motivation! And how good can you be if you hang out with me?  
 
Gillert OoC: I can still be Good if I don't help you.  
 
Ys OoC: 'The only thing evils needs to triumph is for good people to do nothing.'  
 
Gillert OoC: Hey, I don't know how evil you are - I just think you're a bit stab-happy.  
 
   
 
Harshal: It's entirely possible that the theft of the Keros Oil was a crime of opportunity, and completely unrelated to the Disco Inferno the Nightscales have planned.  
 
GM: Would I do that?  
 
   
 
GM: While the brothel madam is called Riley of the Silks, no-one knows why. She doesn't wear silk.   
 
Harshal: Imagine getting the stains out.  
 
GM: No. But she IS almost always oiled, which is odd, given her pale complexion. But then, maybe it just keeps her skin looking young.  
 
   
 
She certainly has plenty of skin to show off - the amount of cloth she's wearing would make a small handkerchief.  
 
   
 
GM: But for formal occasions she quintuples the amount of cloth.  
 
Ys: Ah - she she covers her breasts as well then.  
 
GM: Barely. That and a small wrap around her hips.  
 
Zin: She must have the magical woman's armour save.  
 
Harshal: 'Mystic power of the uterus'.  
 
   
 
Ys: Madam Riley - Ys Danar. *proffers hand*  
 
Riley of the Silks: I suspect you're not here for custom.  
 
Ys: You would be correct. It has come to the attention of associates of mine that you have been making inquiries, and my associates are in a position to offer services including investigation. It would be our pleasure to offer these services.  
 
   
 
The late nobleman had an item that Riley of the Silks wants - she's confident that the item will be bequeathed, rather than passed down to the firstborn. But she won't tell us anything more about the noble or the item without magical enforcement of certain aspects of the contract - but these aspects don't include success or failure.  
 
   
 
Harshal: I suspect the aspect in question is confidentiality.  
 
Ys: I suspect you are right.  
 
   
 
GM: Draconic is the most common sorcerer bloodline among kobolds, after the kobold bloodline itself. And the dragon bloodline is more common among kobolds than among any other race other than dragons themselves.  
 
Harshal: But then, given how many part-dragon races there are, apparently dragons will stick their dicks in anything.  
 
Gillert: 'I got drunk, and made a species - oops'.  
 
   
 
We agree to a meeting with Riley and some of her associates, after applying suitable disguises.  
 
   
 
Harshal: Can Zin give us all pointy ears so they'll think we're all elves?  
 
   
 
GM: Hmm, I forget to get a random prostitute generator.  
 
Harshal OoC: Oh god, not the Gygax one.  
 
Zin OoC: wait, what?  
 
GM: The Random Harlot Table from the first edition Dungeonmaster's Guide.  
 
   
 
Riley's associates all have heavy gauze over their eyes, and heavy hoods. Despite this, Ys and Zin recognise them as a cabal of deliberately anonymous wizards, who wear the get-up to protect their client's anonymity too.  
 
   
 
Harshal: I was wondering if their presence meant this was connected to the death of that other wizard - in which case, pay up.  
 
   
 
GM: They're going to be putting a Lesser Geas on you.  
 
Harshal: That'd be the way I'd do it.  
 
GM: The Geas is to prevent you talking to anybody else about the item, and against investigating the contents of the item in any way.  
 
Zin OoC: So, it's Marcellus Wallace's briefcase.  
 
GM: Pretty much.  
 
   
 
The item is a diary, but not one of the ones written by the recently dead wizard. It's actually much older than that, and rebound in bronze, and belonged to a noblemen, one Avis Scelani, killed by the recent plague that we're all so completely not complicit in.  
 
   
 
Harshal: Do we need to take any special precaution against contamination? He didn't die clutching it to his chest or anything?  
 
Riley of the Silks: I sincerely doubt it. In fact, I doubt that the executor herself knows where the item is held - the locale of the diary will be bequeathed in a sealed envelope.  
 
Ys: So the executor has the envelope? That makes things MUCH easier.  
 
   
 
The Scelani family are not an old family, and got most of their money through 'trade'. Riley got most of her information from the executor, who is a regular at her establishment.  
 
   
 
Zin: So what are getting paid for this?  
 
Harshal: I'm assuming NOT three months credit at the brothel.  
 
   
 
Riley offers 800 GP for the item, which is a fraction of what she must have paid for the Geases. On the other hand, she'll through in a 200 GP bonus if we don't kill anybody. Or even fight anybody.  
 
   
 
Zin: We shall be as shadows.  
 
GM: She isn't ruling out looting - she's commissioning you to preform a burglary, and is pre-paying you for one of the items. It's generally assumed you'll help yourself to everything else while you're there.  
 
   
 
Zin, the reptilian in the party, notices that it's quite cold in here. But Riley has been seen in daylight and didn't burst into flames, which rules out the obvious.  
 
   
 
Harshal: But no gooseflesh, or the other obvious reaction to cold either.  
 
GM: And don't say you didn't look.  
 
Ys: I was looking the whole time.  
 
Zin: All you humans look the same anyway.  
 
Gillert: Yes, we all have boots, at the appropriate height for kicking mouthy kobolds.  
 
   
 
The executor Domillia Pacia works out her top-floor apartment in Keystone, an essentially middle-class section of Magnimar.  
 
   
 
GM: Prostitution is considered a valuable social service.  
 
Ys: I'm desperately trying to not say social lubricant.  
 
   
 
We wait until she heads out, and Gillert and Harshal head upstairs with Zin in a bag.  
 
   
 
All: *singing the Mission Impossible theme*  
 
Ys: Must be an orc Skald in one of the apartments, playing the drums.  
 
Gillert: We'll slip him a few silver to play louder.  
 
   
 
Gillert picks the lock and gets to work on her filing cabinet and desk, while Harshal searches the rest of the room and browses her book shelves. There's not much of interest, apart from a scholarly treatise on kobolds that doesn't answer the question on why they're all little communistic f**ks. The letter itself is simple enough to open, despite the wax seal, but all it says is that the diary - of a well-connected woman who died many years ago - is in the late man's study, and 'your uncle is keeping watch on it'. Of course, if Gillert had remembered to prep the Mending cantrip, we could have resealed the envelope without Harshal having to break out all the forgery equipment.  
 
   
 
Ys: You know, I think I know what that letter actually means, and it's not what Harshal thinks.  
 
GM: Well, there's only so many plots put there.  
 
Harshal OoC: Let me guess, the late woman was actually Tom Riddle.  
 
GM: No. It's not a horcrux.  
 
   
 
GM: So, you're going to break into the place without doing the legwork first? Actually, which of you are actual thieves.  
 
Harshal: None of us.  
 
GM: Yeah - you're an investigator, Gillert is an Eldritch Scoundrel...  
 
Gillert: Well, somebody has to write the Necronomicon.  
 
GM: It's already been written. Or wrote itself.  
 
Harshal: Just write the Book of Erotic Fantasy - it'll sell better.  
 
   
 
GM: Do any of you have personal theme tune? I find it helps with character, sometimes.  
 
Harshal OoC: Is the there a song called "March of the Morons"?  
 
Zin OoC: With Alchemical Rope I could be Spiderman.  
 
GM: Easily.  
 
Harshal OoC: Spiderkobold.  
 
GM: Spiderkobold, spiderkobold, does whatever, a spiderkobold can.  
 
Gillert OoC: 'What's that noise?' 'Spiderkobold. He'll be here later. Once the theme tune finishes'  
 
   
 
The house we intend to burgle has been extensively renovated and added to over the years, which makes for a rather eccentric floorplan. Some faces have no windows, other windows are too small to squeeze through, and there's a third storey tower that's mostly windows.   
 
   
 
Zin: Well, if I know my rich people with big houses...  
 
Harshal: Do you?  
 
Zin: I don't.  
 
   
 
The estate also has a number of guards and rotating patrols of the ground.  
 
   
 
Harshal: So, the bare minimum to keep thieves out. Hopeful insufficient to keep US out.  
 
GM: We'll see.  
 
   
 
Something that might be to our advantage, when it arrives - towering cumulonimbus clouds approaching rapidly.  
 
   
 
Harshal: It WILL make the ropes slippery if we need to get out fast.  
 
Gillert: It's only two storeys.  
 
GM: You're still low enough level that that can kill you.  
 
Harshal: We'll make Zin go down first - if he falls, we'll use him to break our fall.  
 
Zin: *grumble*  
 
GM: Welcome to being of a race that sucks.  
 
Ys: Welcome to a party of Not Good People.  
 
   
 
Ys cuts the window open while the rest of us wait to scramble in. Of course, that leaves a disc of broken glass that the patrol might notice.  
 
   
 
Harshal: So, Gillert, did you remember to prepare the Mending spell today?  
 
Gillert: ..... I asked everybody what spells I should take earlier!  
 
Harshal: I'll take that as a 'no', then.  
 
   
 
Indeed, the house is so fancy it has at least two indoor toilets.  
 
   
 
Harshal: Fancy.  
 
Gillert: They've got the 'I want to read a magazine' one, and the 'I want to take a shit' one.  
 
   
 
Zin notices that the internal dimensions at this end of the house don't match the outside, and soon discovers the secret alcove beyond. Which is a secret wardrobe.   
 
   
 
GM: This wasn't that uncommon, given the cost of high-quality outfits.  
 
Harshal OoC: So this is wear they'd keep their fursuits, if they had any.  
 
GM: Yeah. There's also armour and weapons.   
 
   
 
And gladiatorial gear, which is weird for Magnimar, and provokes a long discussion of styles of gladiator, and the origin of the family we're robbing.  
 
   
 
GM: Basically it was a bunch of Chellaxians who got tired of all the eyeshadow.  
 
   
 
It eventually turns out that searching the top floor first was a complete waste of time - it's all bedrooms, and no study.  
 
   
 
GM: You have no idea how difficult it was to keep a straight face when you said 'the study must be upstairs'.  
 
   
 
We also find yet more indoor toilets.  
 
   
 
Harshal: I have questions about this family's diet.  
 
   
 
The study also turns out to be the very last room it could be.  
 
   
 
Gillert: F**k me.  
 
GM: Look at the floorplan - the study would also be the office, and be where visitors could go to it without going through the rest of the house.  
 
   
 
Ys: OK, now we've found the study, I'm looking around for a bust or portrait of a man.  
 
Harshal: Oh. OOOOHHHHH! So THAT's what 'your uncle is keeping watch on it' meant.  
 
GM: It's a classic misdirection.  
 
   
 
And then Harshal and Zin blunder straight into the magical trap, and Harshal falls victim to the Haunt.  
 
   
 
GM: You flee the source of the terror.  
 
Ys: Oh dear.   
 
GM: Straight out the atrium, and past the guards. At least Ys and Gillert felt uneasy enough to pause near the door, and get attacks of opportunity.  
 
   
 
Ys gets a certain amount of satisfaction from kicking Harshal's feet out from under him as he runs past. Gillert hurries to slap a hand over Harshal's mouth to stop the screams.  
 
   
 
Harshal OoC: Maybe the uncle really is watching over the book, and he's a ghost.  
 
GM: Eh. Not saying.  
 
Gillert: Brilliant.  
 
   
 
Ys sends Zin back in to search.  
 
   
 
Ys: Fear me more than the ghost.  
 
   
 
And the bust on one shelf is very obviously facing towards the chimney, which indeed contains a small wallsafe set into the stonework halfway up, and a sigil of one of the gods of the afterlife, which probably explains the haunting. Which kicks back in just as Zin is passing the book to Ys. We hurry to leave before the profound unease emanating from the book overwhelms us. It's not like the geas we're under will allow us to figure out HOW the book is haunted.  
 
   
 
Gillert OoC: So, which of us has a will save of +1 or better.  
 
Harshal OoC: Not me.  
 
Gillert OoC: Well, we'll leave the book with Zin. If nothing else he's easier to catch.  
 
   
 
We exit, stage left, collecting the more valuable accoutrements from the house we leave. That's mostly the outfits and armour from upstairs - even the silverware is only so much precious metal.  
 
   
 
Harshal: And keeping a close eye on Zin, in case he suddenly runs off screaming and dumps the book somewhere.  
 
GM: Wailing about how it's all your fault that he's going to die alone.  

So, finishing off the quotes from Return of Muerte:
 
One I forgot from earlier...  GM was talking about the vision where the heroes learned Muerte was restored to (un)life by Takofanes.
 
Maker:  Taco-face?
GM:  ... (head-desk)  No.  Takofanes.
 
As the heroes free Libertador and prepare to assault the unknown facility to shut Muerte down, they feel a slight tremor in the ground.  Maker uses her flyer bot to take a look outside, and sees a plume of smoke as an ICBM streaks skyward.
 
Maker:  Can my flyer bot chase after it and shoot it down?
GM:  Maker's an astronaut, so she'll easily recognize an Atlas, basically the same thing that launched Mercury astronauts into space.  Your flyer bot has exactly 0 chance of catching up to that.
 
Maker figures out she can gadgeteer a suborbital booster for own flight to allow her to catch up to the missile, plus a boosted clinging strong enough to attach to the Atlas.  After a brief discussion over whether to take anyone else along (other than Maker, only Shadowboxer has the necessary Life Support to survive the missile's suborbital phase, but he's one of the front-line fighters and will be needed against Muerte), Maker takes off alone after the missile. 
 
Meanwhile the rest of the team heads over to the other island, where they figure (correctly) that they can get into that section of the base through the now-open silo.  Maker's player will be running Libertador during the assault while her regular character is chasing the ICBM.
 
Maker:  What does he do?
GM:  (hands her character sheet)  Basically, he's Peru's version of Captain America.
Maker:  So I'm Captain Peru.
 
They quickly dispatch the trio of Hands of Death waiting there while avoiding being touched, and turn their attention to the blast doors leading into the rest of the base. 
 
Honey Badger:  I can try a move-through on them, but if I don't get through on the first try it's gonna hurt.
 
He slams into them at top speed -- and is exactly one BODY shy.
 
Circe:  When we get done here, can we take those blast doors home with us?  They have a pretty impressive Honey Badger-shaped dent in them.
 
HB did enough damage to part the blast doors a crack, through which he sees Gigante waiting.  The rocky brick peeks through the crack.
 
Gigante:  Wow.  Gigante impressed.  Is little man hurt bad?
Honey Badger:  (shaking off the effects of being Stunned)  Nah.  I heal fast.
 
Gigante rips open what remains of the blast doors, and the battle is on.  HB and Gigante trade punches, causing some damage to the rocky one but leaving HB knocked back into the silo - and ending up in the open area where the missile once stood.
HB:  Can't I just grab onto the walkway?
GM:  Sure, on your next Phase.  Of course, you may be a bit farther down the silo by then.
 
Libertador does a full-out shield-bash roundhouse on Gigante.
 
Libertador:  Sixteen dice?!  Maker needs one of those shields!
GM:  (thinking) Sure, if she gets some questionite and about 75 points.
 
After the heroes' concentrated attacks on Gigante take him down, they move into the hall to face Khemset (the metal-wrapped mummy), Espiritu, and a half-dozen Hands of Death.  Shortly afterward, a blast door down the hall opens to reveal Muerte and Mayan sorceress Bruja Balam.
 
Libertador:  MUERTEEEEE!!!!  (charge and shield bash)
 
Shadowboxer grabs and squeezes Bruja Balam.
 
GM:  Drop six dice from your attack.
Pops:  Why does he have to roll six less dice?
GM:  She has Damage Negation.
Pops: What the heck is that?
Shadowboxer:  It's what I have.  It's how I survive so many attacks.
 
Eventually the heroes have most of the villains down, including capturing Muerte.  So we finish with Maker catching up to the missile.
 
Maker:  Can I defuse the nuke?
GM:  If you make your Demolitions roll by enough. 
Maker:  I don't have that skill.
GM:  I'll give you an 8 or less.  I mean, sure, Muerte is a raving paranoid, but that doesn't mean he put any boobytraps or failsafes in.  You'll be fiiiiine.
Maker:  So, can I redirect the missile into orbit, and let UNTIL take care of it?
 
Using her electrical engineering and systems operation skills, she's able to fire the engines and direct it to a higher altitude.  Little knowing that Muerte had a failsafe in case the missile is redirected. 
 
GM:  (to the rest of the hero team, monitoring things from the launch control room in Muerte's base)  Maker's been giving you regular updates via the Mind Link, when suddenly she drops off.
Circe:  What, did Muerte rig some sort of dimensional travel?
GM:  No.  A moment later, you see on the screens that the nuke has gone off.  Looks like Maker just got nuked.
Honey Badger:  She's not dead.  You're smiling way too much.
 
GM:  [Maker's player name], please come with me a moment.  (once away from the other heroes)  One moment, you're clinging to the missile as it moves closer to orbit... and the next, you find yourself standing in a room with white walls.  Then Taurus walks in. 
Taurus:  We noted the launch and have been monitoring the missile's flight.  Our scans indicated the warhead was about to go off, so we pulled you up here.
Maker:  Oh.  Well, thank you.  (awkward pause)  Um, can you send me back to my team now?
Taurus:  Eventually, perhaps.  For now, though, you'll be staying with us.  Don't worry, you'll be made quite comfortable.  Zodiakos Kyklos, please prepare a room for our guest...

From Wikipedia:
 
Technology base
Due to its isolation and intentional isolationism, Wakandan technology has, until recently, developed entirely independently of that of the rest of the world. As such, the design philosophies and methodologies are different, and often incompatible, with conventional equipment. Wakanda is the world's most technologically advanced country. For example, Wakandan computer technology is much more powerful than that of the rest of the world, and is completely immune to outside hacking, as it is not based on binary electronics; it can, however, emulate the behavior of such electronics at hugely enhanced efficiencies, allowing it to easily hack almost any conventional system. Vibranium was used liberally in Wakandan tech, but the recent destruction of all Vibranium has forced large-scale redesigns.

So not to ignore you. guys,, and others, THANK you so much for both the praise and the support you have all given. I'm looking into publishing options, probably in electronic form to be honest. Bolo has been amazingly helpful in much especially.

The ending is a blur, but hopefully still satisfies... thanks for your patience and making it this far.
 
 
A lot of the rest was clean-up, in more ways than one. We had to make sure the city had public sightings of us as a team again.
 
Who puts out the call to all the supervillains that the heroes are elsewhere in large number, I really don't know, but I wish they'd cut it the hell out. While Slime, Viewpoint and Pogo were okay, they had more a more than an average number of encounters. Viewpoint claimed he'd been attacked by a group of super-villainesses who called themselves the 'fangrlz' and barely escaped with his life.  
 
Pogo, on the other hand, ran into a fellow who was looking for me.
 
"This guy says the oceans aren't big enough for the two of you, and you stole his shtick, He didn't have much time in town, had to be somewhere, but he says he'll be back in a few months to teach you a lesson."
 
 
"I stole his what?" I blinked.
 
"His theme, I never heard of him but apparently, he breathes water, he's super strong like you, and your name was way too similar." Pogo said in a rush, "He said 'tell the punk to get training, for soon he will be tested by the Sea's true strong man! Soon he will face the one, the only- Moray!'"
 
"Oh, sweet mother of God," I muttered, "It's not even the same word!" But despite my grumbling, I didn't doubt her. The Super world has villains and heroes aplenty, but it's a wide spectrum between them, and sometimes what you end up with are just jackasses looking for excuses to fight with someone and prove themselves the toughest. It was akin to the stories you heard about gunslingers in the old west. Get a reputation, and someone must test it.
 
I suppose I should have been flattered, but, pardon the pun, I really had bigger fish to fry. The Moray moron would have to wait. There was so many more important things. Like my hair cut, it was getting kind of shaggy.
 
 
"The chicks would have liked it longer," Aaron observed when I came into the apartment sporting the trim.
 
"I'm a Southern boy, guys with a mullet now a days get put through hell, guys with a southern accent and a mullet get it double," I informed him.
 
 
"You need to go hipster, tell them it's a French cut, the 'moo lay'" He suggested.
 
"I'm dating a very intelligent girl," I explained to him, "She's not going to buy that," I smiled and got my best outfit out of the closet.
 
The date that night was fantastic. I mean it, I treated Ariana to a real date at a real restaurant. The prices were more than I expected, but let me tell you when she came to her door when I knocked, it was worth it. She looked like she stepped off a fashion magazine. The heels she wore put extra swish in the miss, and I was not blind to that.
 
"Wow," I said before I could reach for the more poetic adjectives.
 
 
"You like?" She asked though the delight in her eyes told me she already knew the answer, she just wanted me to put a bit more praise for the effort she'd gone through.
 
Which was more than fair, "You always look beautiful," I told her honestly, "But wow if you didn't' just jump right over spectacular." 
 
 
I opened the car door for her and admired the way she slid on in so gracefully I think I could have made a happy living just being her chauffeur. The car was the team's, of course, and she knew that, but it wasn't like folks had the plate (We changed that anyway) and it had just gotten a new paint job. As long as I resisted the urge to send it flying above the traffic, we were just another couple on the way to a nice dinner.
 
And it was nice, damn nice. We flirted and talked and there were no villain attacks, no world threats, not so much as a fire that needed putting out. Of course, it couldn't last forever.
 
I had agreed to a patrol that night.
 
 
Of course, I didn't realize that my plans were about to be altered. I had just changed into my costume at the base and was readying to head out when Dr. Vernon called out, "Eel, I could use your help tonight? As she was dressed in her civvies and not her power armor, I was surprised.
 
 
"Certainly, Doctor, do I need to change back?"
 
 
"No, it'll be on the base and I want you in costume. I have a guest, an old friend who I can't trust, so having one of us in costume nearby and one of us out may throw him off," She answered with a smile.
 
"Why would you have a friend you can't trust?" the concept was alien to me.
 
"They can be extremely useful, for one," She shrugged, "Maybe a better term would be the devil I respect, come on."
 
The devil she respected turned out to be a black man in his late middle ages with graying hair and a suit that fit nicely enough but wasn't up to current fashions.
 
"Please, James, have a seat," She gestured to the table and asked, "Would you like some tea?"
 
"Got coffee?" He asked.
 
She nodded, then said, "Eel, would you?"
 
"No problem, ma'am," I said and got her them each a drink, her tea, him coffee.
 
"This is Eel, one of our newer members," She introduced me.
 
"Yeah," James gave me a vaguely sour look, "I've heard of him. A lot lately."
 
"This is James Elroy," She told me, "He's with government intelligence."
 
"You'll pardon me if I don't say it's a pleasure," He grumbled in his coffee.
 
"You don't see my hand stretching out either, so fine," I said.
 
"Knew you two would hit it off right away," She sipped her tea, "You wanted to see me, James?"
 
"Vivian, you know darn well why I came here," He said, "You memory wiped Eagle Eye's agents, and you have amplification belts. I'd kind of like to have both restored?"
 
A chill went through me as I realized exactly what Mind's Eye had done for Lady Obsidian as a favor. Of course, it made sense. Valorous, at least, had weeks to learn anything and everything Arctic Fox was willing to tell him about us. Surely though he would have passed on at least her secret identity by now? What good would a memory wipe do?
 
"I don't have a telepath on my team to help you, sorry," Dr. Vernon formed her fingers into a steeple and cast a glance over them at him,  "I'm sure the government has a few that can do the job though."
 
"At incredible cost and hassle," He grumbled, "And the belts?"
 
"Right here," She slid a bag over.
 
"They've been torn apart," He said with annoyance.
 
"Well, somehow they got around the waists of a group of violent burglars and when some our team defended themselves, they got a bit torn up," She replied dryly, "Not bad designs by the way. I was impressed your R&D found a way around the Genetic Maximum by tailoring for partials."
 
"You have our amplification tech," He scowled, "Damnit, Vivian. You're mad because Eagle Eye tried to steal your tech, but you've got no problem with stealing ours?"
 
"To the victor," she raised a brow, "Don't act all wounded, James. Your people broke into my house…"
 
"That was not my idea and I tried to stop them," He protested.
 
"You didn't try hard enough," She scowled and continued, "Now I believe you when say you tried to stop this, because you have common sense. I don't suppose you're going to tell me exactly whose idea it was?"
 
"You know damn well I won't put the finger on anyone, I have sympathy with you, but I also know who I work for. Besides, I suspect you have ideas anyway," Mr. Elroy countered, "There's new blood siding with some of the old and me stuck in the middle. Trying to help you."
 
"Your help blinded one of my friends," I said, my jaw grinding.
 
"I see he takes after you in taking this whole operation personally," James noted to Vivian.
 
"That's because he doesn't buy your 'standing on that wall' crap any more than we do, James. We're on the wall too, even if we are volunteers for it; and finding folks we thought were on our side pushing us off it to rifle our pockets puts us in an understandably bad mood. Yes, I have amplification tech, and not only do I have it, I'm improving it. It still only works on partials, but that's okay. There are a lot of good people half way to being to super-heroes anyway. I'm just giving them a chance if a superhero I trust sponsors them."
 
"You're sharing it!" His eyes flew open wide, "Jesus Christ!"
 
I admit, I was caught off guard too. I mean, I knew Ariana was a shoo in, but I didn't know Lady Obsidian was planning on handing it nationwide to other teams. Hell, maybe she was going global.
 
Dr. Vernon bathed in her 'friend's' panic like it was warm sunlight, and smiled, "I'm very particular. But yes, the genie is out of the bottle. It was going to be anyway, eventually one of your agents would have gotten taken by some villain, and it would out there the next week. I am hoping a controlled release will give us the edge we need against the bad guys."
 
"You know the others will play hard ball," He said, "They'll threaten to expose your team for this, one by one."
 
"I know," She said, "That telepath I don't have on my team?" She reminded, "What do you think she sorted through before blocking memories?"
 
I carefully kept my expression blank as I realized she'd changed the gender of the telepath. Would James see through it? I don’t know.
 
"You didn't," He frowned, "Vivian, those memories are classified. You could be endangering our agents' lives if you let that out."
 
"And some of our people have children. This is one box that hasn't been opened, James. I called you here to turn your junk back over, and beg you to do what you can to keep what you have in your computers and files secret. I'm not as idealistic as I used to be, all I know is these people are the only family I have left, and the people who should be thanking them are threatening them. So yes, I trust other superheroes and myself to decide which partials get elevated more than I trust the government. I trust that we need dirt on Eagle Eye to keep our dirt from being leaked, and I am trusting, that if nothing else, enlightened self-interest will keep us from escalating this. Talk to them, make them listen, or it will get so much worse before it gets better."
 
There was everything in her tone; a promise, a threat, a plea.
 
With a grimace, and a grunt, he took the bag, "I'll see what I can do. If nothing else, this fiasco has cost them some status. And I'm not blind to the fact what you've told me gives me a heads up on covering my own ass from the fall out. Don't expect me to thank you for that too much."
 
"You're welcome anyway," She crossed her fingers, "Do you need an escort out?"
 
"No. I know the way, and I'm sure Mabel is watching me anyway," the government man gave a wave to the air at the last, rose and walked down the hall way. After a few minutes Mabel said.
 
"He's gone, Doctor."
 
"And did you hack his phone?"
 
"The encryption was hard to get through, but the amplifier in your purse helped."
 
"Excellent, I want a back door into their files to erase what they have of us."
 
 
I stared at her, "Why did you have me witness that?" I finally asked. "Mabel's got your back, and I suspect you've got at least one other device in your purse that makes a taser look like a child's toy," she smiled at that weakly, "So why?"
 
"I wanted you to see, and to judge for yourself how far I've gone," She said kindly, "I have friends, Eel. Good friends. I'd like to think you're becoming one, but you've also got an annoying north pointing moral compass. I want to keep you in the loop in this because I know, when you think I've gone too far, you'll tell me. The others?  They… might not. Hell, some might cheer me on."
 
"You want me to be your cricket of conscience?" I tapped my chest in surprise, "You're Lady Obsidian, you've been the conscience of the superhero community for decades."
 
"Even the pope has a confessor, young man, and I don't claim to any form of infallibility," She told him, "You up for it?"
 
"Some of what you said scared me," I admitted, "And I think you're taking an awful big gamble with a lot of people. I think some of those things better be bluffs because if you carry them through you'll hate yourself. I think I liked it better when I did think it was all simple white hats versus black hats."
 
"Oh? A black hat thang is it?" She raised a brow.
 
I guess a horrified look crossed my features for a moment and I didn't know what to say.
 
She laughed, "Lord, Caleb. Ariana is right. You are so easy."
 
"Thanks," I said dryly.
 
"Was that no?"
 
"No, it's not a no," I said, "I'm a superhero, and we don't run from the hard choices. We can't afford to."
 
"Wise words," She smiled and rose inviting me to walk with her.
 
"They should be," I reminded, "They were in your second book."
 
"Ha," she laughed, "Young man, I'm flattered, but you need to get to work focusing on your own story."
 
I walked with her, "Yeah, The Adventures of Fish Guy," I snorted with a chuckle, "That'll be a hit."
 
"Well," She patted my hand, "Maybe not. Probably best if it isn't. Keep you humble, but I would read it."
 
"Thanks, Dr. Vernon," I smiled.
 
"Now, about those college courses…."
 
Some battles, it seemed, were unrelenting.
 
(The End of the Book, but never the story)

Last week was on average 5 hours of sleep a day, and it addedup on me. Back in the saddle... and ALMOST finished...so sorry
 
 
"Can't we do anything to help him?"  I said worriedly as Mabel's waldo extended the light into the solid white eyes of Mayo one after the other.
 
The aquatic soldier was out of the pool and in the med bay with water pumping into his mouth and lungs thanks to a modified rebreather and a tank of good old H2O. His burns were also being tended but it was the eyes that worried me.
 
"Peace, Caleb," Mayo said, "We will learn what we learn when we learn it."
 
I think he was taking it more serenely than I was. He endured it all with immense patience.
 
Damn it, I want to be serene, and patient. In fact, I want to be serene and patient right now!
 
Okay, truth of the matter was it almost bothered me how at peace he was about it. Particularly when Mabel gave us the long digital face.
 
"I'm sorry, Mayo hun," Mabel said, "Barring some super science I don't have access to, your sight appears to be lost. It might over time return; there's just so much about your physiology we don't understand but at this point, the odds are less than one in a hundred."
 
I felt the urge to punch a wall.
 
"Ah well, if it must be it must be, I didn't enjoy being a soldier anyway," Mayo said after a time.
 
"How can you take that so calmly?" It slipped out of me, "You just gave up your sight for us."
 
"I did not give up my sight," He says, "It was taken, and it's not coming back it appears. Am I upset? Yes. Am I sorrowful? Yes. But while I should learn from the past, I cannot live there," A pause, "Are you okay? Your tone…"
 
"Am I okay?" I blinked at him, "Dude, you're the one who is blind."
 
"Yet I think you blame yourself," Blind as he was, Mayo couldn't exactly 'look' around but he did tilt his head to span the room and asked the others, "Do all of you superheroes always blame yourselves for every calamity to those that you know even when you cannot be there to affect it?"
 
"Pretty much, yeah," Tornado said right way.
 
"Oh, they do it all the time," Mabel said allowing exasperation to come through.
 
"Hazard of the trade, I suppose," Lady Obsidian conceded with a dignified head incline even though Mayo could not see it.
 
"Depends on how many drinks I've got in me," Pinprick chimed in.
 
"Even though that is clearly arrogant presumption on your part?"  Mayo said nonplussed.
 
"Pretty much, yeah," Tornado nodded.
 
"All the time," Mabel said with a sigh.
 
"Hazard of the trade," Lady Obsidian repeated but smiled a bit more.
 
"Oh, hell, I hit arrogance before the first shot is down," Pinprick chimed in.
 
I glowered at them, but apparently, I had used up all my intimidation points on the bad guys because they looked amused more than anything.
 
"Fine, you're annoyingly zen, I'm arrogantly presumptive," I groused, "But it doesn't change how I feel. Could you at least express that upset a bit more vocally for a second?"
 
He nodded then looked downward and began to intone, "Oh great goodly gods of the depth and current, why did you curse me with victory over a much mightier foe. Why did you subject me to survival and a possibly long and productive life despite my challenges when you knew it meant Caleb would lecture me? Why, Gods, why?"
 
"Is it wrong to punch out a blind guy?" I asked the room.
 
"Yes," Ariana said squeezing my shoulder and speaking for the first time.
 
"It's frowned on," Tornado agreed.
 
"Now Deaf guys are jerks, you can go to town on them all day," Pinprick said, then noticed the looks he got, "What? Have you seen American sign language? Racist as hell, and they get away with it."
 
We all kept staring at him. Even Mayo who somehow managed to line up right.
 
"Fine," Pinprick threw his hands up "But if you learn what they're signing behind your back you'll feel differently."
 
"Sorry, Mayo," I finally said, realizing I was being silly but admitting, "I just wish there was something I can do. I can't help Doctor Salem, she's in the Balance. And here you are, and I can't help you either."
 
"Arrogant presumption and bigotry against mysticism aside," a voice whispered just loud enough to be heard, "He's actually a rather fine young man. He really does care. Good pick, Vivian."
 
"Thank you," Lady Obsidian said and she did sound a bit pleased.
 
I turned to see Doctor Salem. She looked like hell, wobbly and weak. She had a cane and seemed to be positioning herself by use of it and sheer willpower. Her hand shivered as if cold. She might have looked crone like before, but now her age was more than a matter of appearance.
 
"Doctor, you're out of the Balance," I blurted the obvious.
 
"Most of me, yes," She said with a sigh, "I'll have to go back. Frequently now. I'm bound to the place currently. It will be slow work getting my own energies built back up so I leave again for any duration."
 
"I'm sorry," I said, "I pushed."
 
"Young man, if I didn't agree with you, it wouldn't have happened," She said curtly, "But, as a method of allaying your guilt however silly it is, and because I will need the help, rest assured I shall have numerous tasks for you."
 
"You've giving me your laundry list?" I said surprised.
 
"Among other things," She nodded, "I can't be out as much. The good news, of course, is that the Balance is the perfect place for teaching certain basics of the mystical to a promising student who might yet show arcane prowess."
 
"Whoa," I held up my hands, "I don't like mysticism. I am flattered but I…."
 
"Oh no," Dr. Salem shook her head, "You as a student? By the three-fold goddess no," She shook her head, "I meant Mayo, of course."
 
"Me?" Mayo made a very surfacer like gesture, touching his hand to his chest as he inquired, "I am honored, and surprised. I know little of magic."
 
"Few do at the start," Dr. Salem shrugged, "But you have a wisdom, an insight that I believe would be good ground to plant the seeds in…or perhaps a better metaphor would be I think your waters hold many treasures you yourself have not yet discovered."
 
"I am, unworthy," He said, "And uncertain."
 
"Oh, drop the other part on him," I said to her.
 
"Other part?" He said, proving even the blind lift eyebrows. Which I suppose only makes sense, but you think about the oddest things in moments like your newly blind friend being offered a chance to become a witch's apprentice. Besides, I had a feeling she was about to bring up a point.
 
"Well, I'm not reading minds," Dr. Salem said, "But I suspect Eel is either wondering aloud if I can cure your blindness in the training… " she looked at me.
 
That wasn't it, I shook my head. Though I loved the idea that it might be so. Magic can do some weird stuff that science is still struggling with. Science is like the good student who shows his work in class while Mysticism is more like that kid who can BS his entire term paper without so much as citing a source and the little snot still gets a pat on the head from teacher.
 
"Or…" She continued, "He is considering that you have long wanted a way to help in the fight against mystic threats like the Eldest and his minions. I can teach you, with patience and time, to ward , to shield, and purify. You cannot defeat the Eldest, not directly, but I can help you hold him back and teach you to act as a guardian of the innocents below."
 
"I will be your pupil," Mayo said without hesitation.
 
"Called it," I said smugly.
 
"Of course, I do wonder about your taste in friends, they seem a bit smug," She informed Mayo.
 
"He amuses me from time to time," Mayo said with a bit of a smile, then added, "And thank you, Doctor Salem."
 
She stood, "It's every mystic's duty to take an apprentice at least once in their life," Her hand reached out and took his, "Ready?"
 
"As I shall ever be, I suppose," He  said earnestly then waved to us with his free hand, "Thank you for saving all of the ocean's peoples, all of you."
 
"See you around, Mayo," I told him. The others chimed in with their well wishes also.
 
Mayo then looked at Doctor Salem, "I am ready."
 
She gestured, and there was a swirling about them and they began to fade from view. I heard Mayo get another question out.
 
"Will I be able to see again?"
 
"With your eyes? No, without them? Colors you never knew existed…" And her voice became an echo and the echo faded.
 
 
The next generation of mystics looked to have some promising potential.

Some of you will be disappointed I suspect, but here's a bit more anyway . And no, it's not quite done.
 
As I fought the temptation to say, "I totally made out with your niece, dude" in my best beach brah accent, we moved on to find the incoming superheroes. Lady Obsidian had removed her helmet, though I could see a hair line crack in the faceplate. Given the woman's armor could generate forcefields that my best punches would have trouble getting through, I didn't want to think about what could tear through all that and still hurt the basic structure. Pinprick looks intact, but was in want of a shower looking like someone had let the dog drool all over their favorite action figure for an hour. Arctic Fox was, pardon the pun, as cool as ice as she was talking to Lady Obsidian filling her in. Honestly, I've seen people read off grocery lists with more emotion.
 
And they weren't alone, in addition to my remaining team mates, I saw three other figures.  Two of them were so close to each other that if you didn't know anything else about them, you could tell they were involved and happily so. Their costumes were alike, consisting of red and white. His had the Greek Psi symbol within an Eye shape logo (though it looked different from Viewpoint's) and hers had more white than red, with a logo up the side of an avian design. They didn't hold hands, but she seemed to have slipped close against him anytime he stopped moving. The third fellow was more off to the side, and he looked around with concern and frustration and his body language showed… was that disgust? His costume had a spiral like pattern spread throughout it, and he wore a full-face mask with glass lenses.
 
"Eel, I hear you've been busy," Lady Obsidian said sympathetically, her helmet cradled by her left arm, "Good work all, from what Mabel and Arctic Fox have told me."
 
"Yeah, well, you were right about Valorous," I said trying not to look at Fox as I said it, "Man, I can't believe the government would try this," I looked about at the wreckage still to be cleaned up, "Intruding into our homes, trying to steal tech like common crooks, and then having the nerve to say they're the good guys. Man, I cut them some slack, but right now, if I saw a government agent, especially some jackass in a cape, I would give him a piece of my mind. It's like a modern day 5th columnist movement."
 
I set my jaw.
 
Lady Obsidian sighed, "This is Hawkstrike and Mind's Eye. They decided to accompany us from the ocean to help us out when they heard our base was under assault," She gestured to the woman and man in the red and white outfits.
 
"Nice to meet you," Mind's Eye offered a hand and I shook it. He had a pretty good grip for a telepath.
 
"I've heard about you two," I said, "Nice work in Cape Benedict."
 
"Thank you," Hawkstrike smiled as I shook her hand. Hawkstrike was a martial artist, "It's not just us, Storm Child takes up the slack. He'd be here but our own town needed someone to stick around, and we figured, after the crisis here, we deserved a week in a nice hotel to celebrate."
 
"Two years Anniversary," Mind's Eye beamed at his wife. Hawkstrike smiled back adoringly. Just for a moment, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Arctic Fox stiffen as if she were bracing during a dental drill.
 
"Well, congratulations! I'm new here myself in Costa Sagrado or I'd suggest a classy place," I told them and turned to the third guy to take Fox's mind off the happy couple, "And you are?"
 
I offered my hand.
 
"This gentleman is the reason we were able to teleport back here so quickly," Lady Obsidian said, "This is Vortex…"
"Nice to meet you, Vortex," I smiled as he took my hand.
 
Lady Obsidian continued, "He's with the Star-Watch, a team of U.S. Government agents and superheroes."
 
A sinking feeling, not unlike the cables of the elevator you're in going far too slack too completely without warning hit me, "You're a…"
 
"Modern Day 5th columnist for Uncle Sam," Vortex said shaking my hand in a bit too energetic an arm pump, "Any other complaints you'd like me to take back to the team?"
 
"I…" I turned red.
 
"Size ten right?" Pinprick looked up and smirked. Ariana covered her mouth, Tornado didn't bother to cover his. Arctic Fox actually chuckled softly, and Lady Obsidian gave me that look a deacon gives you when you fart in church.
 
Well, I had thought God was on my side, but as the Earth refused to swallow me and spare me further embarrassment, I began to have doubts again. I can be fickle like that.
 
"I apologize, I…"
 
He waved me off, "It's okay. Given what you've been through, I can't blame you for going full on Libertarian for a while.  Operation Eagle Eye is, well, kind of intense, though I didn't think they'd ever try this."
 
"You're not with Operation Eagle Eye? As a Super?" I raised a brow.
 
"Different agency collaborates with us, but even among the Eye there are regional divisions and more politicking than you might believe," Vortex answered, "It gets ugly sometimes. But there are folks who work without," A nod of respect to Lady Obsidian, "And some of us who try to keep it on the straight and narrow from within," his face couldn't be seen, but I could somehow tell he was frowning as he looked about, "This offends me no less than it offends you. Though for some different reasons."
 
After putting my foot in my mouth once, I decided not to debate the finer points.
 
Only then did I noticed Lady Obsidian speaking softly to Mind's Eye.
 
He nodded, and he and Arctic Fox went off.
 
"Thank you again, Vortex," Lady Obsidian said, "If you need to rest up…"
 
 
"No no, my continued presence here would just be …" He searched for the word, "a complication. Besides there are others in the sea I should probably offer a ride to." A swirling, well, vortex, swarmed about him as he waved and was gone.

OK. Schedule is crazy and I'm going about 5 hours of sleep when I feel like I want 12 each night this week sooo...I don't have it done yet. Still, better to get a part in and keep this going than to sputter out at the end entirely.
 
It would have been nice to end things on a kiss. But this is the real world, a world not of kisses and closing curtains but one of flying men, undersea civilizations, six-inch tall men cursed by fairy magic and iguana people.
 
And that means the wrap up is full of paperwork, consequences, and complexity.  Mind you, superheroes have some insane short cuts. Case in point, it seemed like no sooner had Ariana and I gotten all the prisoners sedated in the medbay when word came in from Mabel the New Samartans had returned! Tornado had gotten groggily to his feet (An advantage of his high speed metabolism was his processing some drugs faster I suppose, though he was still shocky) and woke up even more when he learned his niece had been fighting the bad guys.
 
"You went toe to toe with a Purifier XI AND Valorous?' Tornado's voice slurred a bit drunkenly but was improving.
 
"And did not end up sedated," She countered in a calm cool tone, preparing to make her case, "So before you lecture me on how dangerous this is and so on, I want you to know I did what I had to do to protect a place I care about too and if there were other options, I might have tried them but there were not so…"
 
He held out one hand to forestall her, "Hey, it's okay. I actually do get it. I was trying to tell you 'good job'."
 
"Oh," Ariana looked sheepish, "Well, I had help."
 
"I think I was the one who needed help," I said with a smile to her, "That killbot pert near took my head off…"
 
"Wait, say that again?" He said.
 
"'Pert near took my head off'?" I repeated sighing as his eyes lit up in delight at the expression, "It's a legitimate expression, and you have an accent too. You know that, right?"
 
"Maybe in your part of the country I would," He smirked, "But here my way is the normal way to talk and you're the one with the accent," picking on me seemed to revive him a little. I'm not sure that spoke kindly of him, "Say something else folksy!"
 
"I will arrange a coming to Jesus meeting that has nothing to do with mass if you don't lay off the way I speak?" I gave him my most saccharine smile.
 
"Guy nearly gets his head shaved off by a killbot and he gets all cranky," Tornado sighed as if he were the victim here. 

I'm sorry you're not feeling well.
Now to make you feel like Geo. R.R. Martin.... "We don't care how you feel!!!" "Get up off of that deathbed and write us more STORIES!!!!!!!"
Doesn't that make you long for a new carrer. Feel better soon....or else!

The final battle! Only the epilogue remains
 
After grabbing a backpack to throw the enhancers I'd collected in, I moved as quickly as I could through the dark of the mall. I doubted it would do me any good. Valorous had as much as mentioned he'd gotten into the secure area already and that would be beyond Mabel's control, even over the lighting. If I was very lucky, and I doubt I would be, Ariana would be safely on the other side of that entry way and not in danger. As soon as I considered it, I realized how unlikely that scenario was. Valorous hadn't denied my accusations of taking a hostage, and if Ariana wasn't down, she was fighting.
 
Why am I attracted to the stubborn ones?
 
You never appreciate just how big a mall is until you must run the course of it. I leaped over furniture and barriers, and weaved around columns in a full tilt run. Fortunately, the location of the entrance wasn't at the other end, so it wasn't like I had to go a full football field here.
 
The good news? The Entry way was still open. I could get in. The bad news? It was open, clearly Valorous was indeed already in. Worse news? He'd taken Ariana with him. That meant she was likely hurt, bound, and/or pissed.
 
Barring the private residence suites of some of my team mates, this would be the only room I hadn't had time to explore. That was a pain, no home field advantage here.  I moved through the open double sealed doors. Looks like he hadn't had to pry them open, but then he'd likely gotten everything he needed from Arctic Fox.  Copy of her eye's retina from a high-tech scanner disguised as a smart phone. Her voice, easily from all the calls. I didn't want to ask how he got her password, but no doubt he had more than one shot at it and all the time in the world to analyze it.
 
Thank god, he hadn't closed it behind him. I'm not sure I was authorized yet. I guess worry for Ariana and outrage made me sloppy. I just barreled in instead of trying stealth. Then again, it wasn't like he didn't know I was coming.
 
But either way, as soon as I came into view the son of a biscuit eater shot me with an obscenely huge energy rifle.  The green energy hit me in the side in a particle stream that had the whammy of a wrecking ball on steroids. I don't budge easy, but that one staggered me onto the ground.
 
Then I heard a second sound, a fizzle spark and curse.
"Only enough charge for one shot?" I said and rose. There was Valorous threw the chrome hued weapon to the side. My gaze fell nearby where Ariana was pulling hard down on her forearm. The line clear through the arm between wrist and elbow told it all. He might not have shattered her hand into a hundred pieces, but he, quite literally, broken her arm in two. Only constant pressure kept it as one.
 
"Are you…" I was going to say okay, which would have been a very stupid thing to say.
 
Ariana beat me to it, "I'll be fine, focus on the fight… and kick his ass!"
 
I smiled at her spirit and turned to Valorous. It was good she had refocused me, because he was already streaking towards me fist ready to hook me hard. I decided to hold my ground and trade blows. He hit me square in the jaw rocking my head back but not taking me off my feet, I brought an uppercut in his stomach and knocked him into the ceiling.
 
I'd like to imagine his grunt of pain was louder than mine.
 
The blow had been tremendous. It wasn't to the level of Mr. Brute, but it certainly was comparable to my own.  Add to that and his edge In maneuverability, and this could be a long hard slog. My eyes drifted to that bulky belt of his. If I could tear it off during the right, he'd lose his enhancement, and I'd win this easily.
 
Of course, the jackass just had to come with contingencies of his own. Reaching into the side pocket of his belt, he flung something down hard at me that looked like an oversized gumball. With the toss powered by his superstrength, it moved as quickly as a bullet as he said, "Hey, Fish Guy! Catch!"
 
You know, there was a time when I might have agreed to play by the rules of someone who was trying to kick my ass, when I'd let him set what was or wasn't manly even if it gave him an edge. But then I got of middle school and decided I'd really like to win one and go by my own rules.
 
There's an element of pragmatism tempering idealism in your growth into an adult.
 
Or as papa used to say, "If they tell you hitting them in the balls makes you gay, what they really mean is I don't want to sing soprano."
 
Suffice to say, I did not catch. I rolled to the side, barely escaping it striking me. It exploded into a five foot radius ball of fire and still caught me in its wake. The indirect heat still burned along my left side some. If it had hit me square on, I would have been in serious trouble.
 
"You think I didn't prepare for you?" He announced, "The only fully powered and healthy hero who might be here?" Valorous floated a good twenty feet over me, "I know you're vulnerable to fire. I know you don't have much in the way of range."
 
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ariana focusing, glistening, and I realized what she was doing. She was reversing her density, growing softer, more malleable, trying to force her arm back in piece by going softer rather than harder. Whatever held her together when she went spongey, I prayed it kept her from spilling out. She'd need time to line things up and fuse.
 
I needed to move the fight away from her. If she got caught in one of those fireball blasts I…then a thought occurred to me. I reached into the backpack behind me and pulled out one of the enhancer belts, "You know, for someone who talked trash about Lady Obsidian, you sure use a lot of tools. At least she made her own. You rely on this, don’t' you?"
 
His eyes narrowed, and he rolled another fire globe in his hand, "Why don't you put it on, maybe you'll actually have a chance."
 
"I already know it won't work for me," I answered, "Mabel, you assumed with her security and comms down, she wasn't much threat to you. Did you know there are rooms where she can detect your pulse rate? Now the medbay, that's a marvel. And she has two of your agents and one of my buddies there to compare, along with one of the enhancers. She warned me, even after she hacked them, that if I tried one the best it would do hurt some, the worst? Might lock up. Instead of enhancing my power it would trap me in it as if muscle bound. That's why the government uses partials…" I threw it to the side, where it slid across the floor keeping my eyes on Valorous, "instead of A-listers. Because it adds an extra inch to the puny, but it will never let you get better than average man length. Explains a lot about your attitude, tiny."
 
Okay, maybe there is a part of me that never got out of Middle school after all, but I needed his attention on me, and I needed to piss him off badly. Very badly.
 
"You smug mother@@@@er!" He lobbed the fire globe at me, harder, but sloppier than before!
 
Well mission accomplished.
 
Frankly this whole idea was dangerous for multiple reasons.  Chief among them, I am a water sign so fire bad. But also in a chamber full of devices arcane and scientific that were considered too dangerous for mankind! Some of it was labeled, but those labels brought little comfort. When you see a large hollow oval marked "Timegate: Paradox Buffer down do not use" you know, even if you didn't finish your bachelors, that it's probably a bad idea to set off explosives near it. Add to that a kill bot from some genetic purity organization that was shut down years ago, a pulsing hovering spindle in a glass container, and severed dead man's hand that appeared to be in a frozen state of decay on an altar with a warning in Latin, and I would rather have been fighting in a field of land mines.
 
 I dove behind the kill bot, figuring it, at least, could take the hit without exploding. Good choice, the flames washed over it like it was nothing and I barely felt a thing.
 
"Valorous," I tut-tutted, "Did you lose both your balls?"
 
Well, that did it, he flew around the kill bot with, I'll give him credit, amazing speed and hammered me with blows to my body that sounded almost thunderous! His rage seemed to give him extra strength, but the lack of precision meant he neither took the wind out of me, nor did it break anything.
 
Pain? Pain I can take.
 
And he was in arm's reach now.  I hit him with a hook shot right in the jaw, his face slammed into the backside of the killbot, and he wobbled for a moment, eyes glazed, and blood coming out of his mouth. I'm not a fan of blood, but damn if giving him a bloody lip wasn't gratifying.
 
"No more games," I said, "No more taunts," I promised, "I'm just going to take away what makes you special."  I latched onto the belt and got ready to pull.
 
I forgot a cardinal rule of fighting. Don't call your shots or announce your plans unless they really can't stop you.
 
"No!" He said, rising up to kick me in the face before my grip was solid. Even limited flight meant he could get a height advantage on me. What's more, he realized he'd been baited. That rush of panic at almost losing his belt cut through that foolish anger like a knife and brought him a moment of clarity.
 
And damn it, maybe even a bit of cleverness.
 
He turned to the kill bot and his eyes lit up, "Huh, the Mark XI Purifier! I read about these, go after whoever has the most genetic deviation." And he flipped a switch near its neck, "Betting that's you!"
 
The killbot in question was roughly nine feet tall, twice as wide as I was, and looked like the love child of Gort and Robbie the Robot… on steroids.
 
"Genetic deviations detected!" It announced, its eye slit glowing and then carving a wound in my leg with a laser that would sheared it off if I hadn't moved, "Purification protocols underway."
 
"Beautiful," Valorous smirked, "I had hoped to kick your ass myself, but you know, this will buy me the time I needed to retrieve my target," he turned to head towards the glass case with the prism.
 
Before he could really move, the robot's torso spun in a three sixty allowing it's arm to whip around and strike him with all the force of a runaway eighteen wheeler and knock him for quite a loop.
 
"Congratulations," I told him, "You just woke up a Eugenics bot on the hopes it might ignore you… never mind that if it kills me and you're gone, it's going to go on a rampage in the city after this with you as still on its kill list. You're not just a villain, you're a stupid one."
 
I had wanted to kick his ass myself, but obviously, ego had to give way to pragmatism.
 
I reached into my own belt and hurled something Valorous' way. It landed behind him with a shattering sound.
 
"And you think my aim is bad?" He snorted, "Enjoy your killbot, punk. I've got things to do."
 
"Like playing good women for chumps just so you can use them?" I sneered, and then weaved to the side as another laser beam from the Purifier robot fired, "Arctic Fox trusted you!"
 
"That was her mistake!" He said seeming to enjoy my troubles with the robot despite the shot it had given him, "Frankly, carnal benefits aside, she was in the end, just a means to get in here. It was professional, not personal."
 
I rolled between the killbot's legs, forcing it to punch down instead of firing. The floor was made of some damn durable stuff and it still showed a nasty crack where that thing's fist came down.
 
"Yeah? You do know I heard your rant earlier. How you were doing her a favor, how she'd be wiser after this…" I reminded.
 
"Well, we can't all be sentimental romantics, I leave that to dumb hicks like you and poor little ice princesses who just want to be loved," He snorted and started to fly towards his prize.
 
Only to have a burst of baseball sized hail come at him sideways like the fire from a heavy caliber machine gun. I guess he hadn't realized that the vial I'd thrown had materialized its target to bring me the team mate Dr. Salem had promised me.
 
I had considered bringing in Lady Obsidian, undeniably the most powerful of the team to my thinking, but hell hath no fury …. and besides, Arctic Fox had a right to this.
 
She had every damned right.
 
He looked up from the pile of ice debris he was half buried in, "Foxy?"
 
"Don't Foxy me!" the air around Arctic Fox's body was cracking with cold. The large chamber had dropped at least ten degrees all over despite the size of it, "You miserable, traitorous, son of …."
 
"It's a job!" He made another attempt to explain, even as he turned something on his belt, "And an important one. Help me out here, and you can join my team. You can help humanity."
 
"What would you know of humanity?" Arctic Fox seethed, "Besides, aren't I a little too sentimental for your line of work? Now that I can talk to Mabel again, she's playing me all your greatest hits. The speech you gave then wasn't any more flattering than what I just heard you tell Eel. Help humanity? Wouldn't you have to be capable of being humane to do that?"  Her emphasis on the question was accompanied by another ice blast.
 
While the two no longer lovebirds were talking, I had problems of my own. That problem being the Purifier XI. I spat into my gloves and dived for it, only to get shot along the shoulder before I could close with its face. I tried not to scream as it carved a chunk out of said shoulder.
 
It reared up another blast, only to have its head twisted to the side by two diamond dense hands that jerked it hard to the right! The blast carved a groove in the wall instead of me.
 
Ariana had just saved my ass.
 
"I see the belt works for you," I tried to sound nonchalant, but I'm pretty my relief at not having my head sheared off was evident.
 
"Yeah, thanks for throwing one my way" She announced, "it’s a fashion disaster, but you know what? I'll take it."
 
"Look out!" I warned her as it spun on her just like it had Valorous earlier! There was a glow about her and its metallic arm went clean through her leaving her utterly untouched.
 
"Damn!" I was impressed, "You're a quick learner!" though it occurred to me that fast shifting may not have been new to her. She'd still practiced with her power, she just had more oomph in her powers now. Kind of like how a light weight boxer still knows how to throw a punch even if a heavyweight has the edge in arm strength.  I shifted tactics, "Think you could spit in its eye for me?"
 
"Seriously?" She said surprised, but then spat once on its eyes area where the blaster would exit from as she solidified, "Why did I just do that?"
 
"Get back!" I told her and punched it to get attention, hard as I could. I was gratified that I dented the metal monster.
 
She did back up some then scowled, "You didn't answer my…"
 
The purifier's laser lit up and… well, the lens was coated in saliva and the weapon blew up inside of it's head!
 
"Mom used to have a crush on Val Kilmer," I said, "One thing I learned from an eighty's movie with him - Keep your optics clean."
 
Despite missing part of its head, the purifier fought on! It must have had other sensors, because it still had a general idea where we were.
 
"Okay, that's clever… you know, you might have a mind for science," She started to say.
 
"Oh god, not another back to college speech," I told her and caught the incoming arm of the Purifier XI
 
"Fine, it bothers me a bit yes, and Lady Obsidian said…"  Ariana wasn't just talking, she'd gone super dense again and begun to shred at the already exposed wires at the head level, tearing chunks out of it.
 
"I can imagine," I told her, "Why don't you go help Arctic Fox with Valodorous?"
 
She twisted her gaze and looked were Fox and Valorous were continuing their own fight, "Nu uh. She's got dibs."
 
"She say that?" I inquired.
 
Ariana scoffed as if men were the dumbest creatures on the planet, "She doesn't really have to. If some guy broke my heart on purpose like that, I'd make his life a living hell for years. I wouldn't let my uncle or any other guy in my family handle him because that would be too quick… too painless."
 
"Uh…" my eyes widened, and for one brief moment the robot was the second scariest thing in this kerfuffle.
 
Ariana saw my expression and dimpled, "Second date still on after this?"
 
"Yes, ma'am," I said very politely, and bent the robot's arm backwards warping it.
 
Meanwhile, I had some reason to worry for Arctic Fox. Valorous' raw power meant she couldn't contain him in ice, he just broke through the bonds, but there was more.
 
"You know sweetheart, I didn't' expect to fight you today, but I did have contingencies for that too," He said moving forward steadily, walking because if he flew the force of her cold and ice might yet blow him back, "My suit's lined with micro heaters. The material protects me from extreme cold. Now sit down, let me get my target before I have to hurt you."
 
Much of the ice encrusting his outfit was indeed melting in rivulets, like a defroster might clear your car window in winter. He had come prepared. The robot was almost done for, dibs or not, I got ready to jump in to help my team mate.
 
I shouldn't have bothered.
 
"Jerry," She said, her eyes narrowing, "You seem to be under the mistaken impression that no one I've ever fought before prepared for cold weather. You have thermal undies, oh no…whatever will I do?" She reached out and spread her hands. What I saw at first didn't look particularly impressive, a burst of mist, tiny snowflakes and crystals in a wide cloud about him? "Maybe, Jerry, I'll drop the air around you to Antarctic levels, or lower…. How's your breathing Jerry?"
 
Valorous aka Jerry, couldn't answer. His lungs had filled with air that, well, I don't know how cold it was but he couldn't breathe it safely. He clutched at his throat for a moment and tried to escape the cloud of cold but instead of flying fell to his knees.
 
Arctic Fox strode towards him and reached down, "Don't worry Jerry," her finger tips popped and cracked with sub-zero temperature, "I'm a hero. I don't kill. I'm just going to remove something you value." Her hands went to his waist.
 
"Uhm, Arctic Fox?" I said eyes wide.
 
"Relax, Rookie," She told me, and froze the belt solid until it was as brittle as glass, and then she punched it. It broke apart easily, "I've got this."
 
Another gesture with her freehand and the cold around his him faded allowing him to breathe again, though really, he coughed and kept coughing so I wasn't sure there might not be some real damage there.
 
She buried him up to his neck in ice, the defrosters or not, it was too much for his reduced strength to allow him to break out of anytime soon.
Then Arctic Fox slapped him hard across his already bloody mouth, "If you ever try this on another woman and I hear about it I'll take more than your toy belt."  She must have put some cold in her touch because the palm strike on his jaw looked border line frost bit.
 
"Eel," She said turning from him, "You got everything covered?"
 
The robot was broken in three different parts and had finally gone out, "Yeah," I said to her. I moved closer, "Are you …"
 
Ariana shook her head at me, and I shut up.
 
"Please, Rookie," Arctic Fox shook her hair like she was cleaning something out of it, but there was a little catch to her voice, "I'm a superheroine. I deal with petty little villains every day. It's …just another day. But you are the rookie, so I'm going to leave the clean up to you while I get word out to the rest of the team what's gone down. Got a complaint, tell Lady O." She strode off like a queen.
 
I mimed tipping my hat
 
"I'll talk to her later when it's right," Ariana assured me. She was rubbing at the arm that had been broken. It looked good to me, but I guess, molecular density powers or not, it was at the very least sore.
 
I gave her a grateful look, then glanced over to the still half encased half powered Valorous, "We need to make sure he's not going to cause trouble so…"
 
"Got it," She strode over and punched him across the jaw with her density amped up, knocking him out cold! I guess sore or not, her arm could handle that last duty.
 
"I was going to say 'We should inject him with a sedative from the medbay'," I held out my hands in a 'hey' gesture.
 
"Whoops," She said, "My bad."  She fluttered her lashes.
 
"Uh huh," I told her and moved towards her.
 
She dimpled, and I couldn't help it. I kissed her. At first it was like kissing a statue, but then she turned her power off and her lips because soft and warm and she was kissing back.
 
"Hey!" She pulled back a bit, "I was saving that for the third date."
 
"Superhero time" I told her, "We could die any day, so we've got to live while we can." A bit of a smile ended up on my face, "Besides, I like to end an adventure on at least one high note."
 
"You're pulling the gather ye rose buds while we may and 'I love happy endings' bit just to get me to make out with you?" She ran fingers along my chest and looked up at me with those gorgeous chocolate eyes.
 
"Yeah," I nodded honestly.
 
"Works," She tilted up her head and laid one helluva kiss on me.

I suppose, especially in this day and age of understandable mistrust, it's easy to portray the government as 'the bad guy' , it's a tried and true staple of comic books since the 60s. I think my biggest concern is someone will read this and go "What, is he trying to channel Ayn Rand here?". Hardly. Superheroing isn't a business, and it's the opposite of someone screaming 'I'm getting mine'. it's more like a social movement with frightening power when I think about it. It's like 'what if charity organizations couldn't be touched and had power that could save or level cities? How long would they stay charitable? I don't know, and there is legitimate room for debate on how power of any sort should have some checks and balances- but this is about heroes. They're not better than us, that sends the wrong message, rather they're the best OF us. This is escapist fantasy that merely plays with real world concerns, but please, if you're reading: don't ever assume I know what the bleep I'm talking about. Mostly I want to see the good guy win and bad guys (In whatever form they take) get their lights punched out.
 
Doctor Salem hadn't been exaggerating when she said the door would only be open for a moment. No sooner had I tumbled through than I heard it slam behind me as it ceased to exist again. Somewhere, Doctor Salem was still in the Balance. She said providing me a way out early was going to cost her. I hoped not too much, but frankly, I'm not sure there was an alternative. Not unless we wanted everything to be lost.
 
It took me only a moment to get my bearings, and I was very glad of the tours and my earlier wanderings of the place. Whether it was by subconscious or deliberate design, or even dumb luck, I had landed not too far where I needed to be first. The place where life was the most endangered.
 
I was close to the pool. I began to run checking the communication in my ear.  I just hoped a certain ally was still up and going.
 
"Mabel, can you hear me?" I pleaded.
 
"Eel! Oh baby, if I had lips I'd kiss you right now!" She exclaimed, sounding as relieved to hear me as I was to hear her, "I thought you were still in the Balance! Valorous has broken in with help. My drones and bots… they had localized EMP projectors, and they've put something outside the base to jam my communications to the others! Is Doctor Salem with you? Maybe a mystic message could get out where…."
 
"Doctor Salem is still in the Balance," I answered, "It was all she could do to get me here," I slid into the pool area, and slammed the button on the top side that would open the tennis court floor to reveal the pool again. The one below was broken, but this one, while working, seemed unbelievably slow, "And Mabel, I'm a bit worried this link is being spied on, but I only just now thought of that."
 
"I don't think it is, they've got their own coms, and there is the moment of disorientation… this has been a pretty rapid assault. I think, with my coms down and my security devices circumvented, they consider me a non-factor," Mabel's tone was indeed that of a woman scorned, "I'd like to show them better."
 
"I'll give them one for you," I promised, "Sec…" I informed her as the pool continued to expand.
 
The figure of Agent L came into view before Mayo did. The man did not look good as he hung there suspended in the water. I leapt in and swam through the still narrow but expanding chasm to grab him and take him to the surface. Speed was important, so I wasn't exactly gentle as I shot through the surface and then threw him onto the other side.
 
One of the first things any aquatic superhero I ever heard of learns is some basic life saving techniques.  A little ABC check (Airway, Breathing, and Circulation) is required. Water was spilling out of his mouth. I cocked my head and listened for the sound of breathing. Agent's L's lungs were as still as the grave. Hastily I moved onto check for circulation. Ten vital seconds when by while I waited for signs of a pulse.
 
Nada!
 
I had used CPR before, both in class and out in the sea under real conditions. Making sure not to press the ribs, I put my hand in the center of his chest, and then began chest compressions. One hundred pulses per minute. Thirty compressions, a kiss of life, and ...
More water spewed out of Agent L's mouth, this time from his coughing! I spat out the pool water that had gotten into my mouth, and then called out, "Mayo, buddy, please tell me you're alive?"
 
"I…hurt," Mayo croaked surface side, "Caleb? I thought, I thought you were gone."
 
As Agent L recovered, I turned back to the water. My instinct was to haul him out of that to safety, but he was a water breather entirely. What good would it do?  I dived in get a closer look.
 
Mayo was wounded. He wasn't that much tougher than a non-powered surface male, after all , and diffused or not those blasts had burned and bruised him all over, "I'm sorry, I was in another place, another realm. I hate mysticism," I grumbled.
 
"Just another slice of the universe, Caleb," He said, refusing to look at me instead his white eyes darting about, "Just another fathom. We shouldn't fear it just because we don't understand it."
 
"Well, I don't…" I growled realizing what he was doing, "You're going all guru on me in order to keep me from chewing you out about nearly killing a guy! Darn it, Mayo. I thought the last thing you wanted to do was kill."
 
"You are right all around, Caleb," He said with a sigh, "But I am not like you. I am not a hero. I am, whether I wish it or not…"
 
"A soldier, yeah yeah yeah," I cut him off, "I overheard the conversation from the Balance including the part where you as much admitted I'd give you 'seal pup eyes'."
 
"Oh," He said after a second, "Well, now I am not too fond of mysticism myself."
 
"Yeah," I said again testily, "You'll be getting that lecture later, though I admit I don't know how else you could have taken him, but right now I've got to help the others. So… if you honestly hold on, I've got to leave you. Stop avoiding my gaze, I won't give you the seal pup eyes already."
 
"I," Mayo inhaled more of the water, "I'm sorry, Caleb. I'm not avoiding your gaze. I just can't see it. I appear to be," His eyes drifted about searching for my face and going right past it, "quite blind." And I realized his once dark eyes were now pale and white. Agent L's blasts and burst had blinded him! Perhaps forever.
 
"Christ on a Crutch," I felt like an ass for not realizing it earlier, "Mayo, I'm sorry."
 
"As am I, but neither of us can or could do much about it," Mayo said, "Go. I am done with soldiering today. You are not done being a hero. You saved the other one? He lives?"
 
"Yes," I said, "But I don't think he'll be getting up anytime soon," I told him, "I'll tie him up, I think I've figured out something about these guys anyway."
 
"He lives," Mayo said, sounding torn, "Go, Caleb. Your team and your new home need you," He put out a hand and felt about, then found and clasped my shoulder, "And do not worry about me. I like the dark."
 
I put a hand back on him, and nodded, "I'll be back for you. Maybe Lady Obsidian and Mabel can fix this so you won't be stuck in the dark fore…" A thought sunk into me, "I'll be back."
 
Rising out of the water, I called out, "Mabel! I know your security measures are spent, but …can you turn out the lights? Section by section? I may want them back on, but can you do that?"
 
"That's one of the few things left I can do," Mabel answered, "Name the place and area…"
 
"Let's start…"I said reaching down and stripping the uniform off Agent L, when the belt came loose, I looked it over. The bulkiness of it was tangible, and there was incredibly intricate wiring on the underside. It confirmed something for me, "With the Med Bay and nearby areas."
 
I am very at home in the dark.
 
Not because I am brave, or because of a goth like "I am a childe (with E at the end) of the night" but because it's not really dark for me. It's a power as common to me as seeing the color purple is to most people; something taken for granted.
 
It was going to serve me once again. Thanks, minor but sometimes crucial power.
 
I hadn't heard the female Agent's name. Normally I'd say lady, not female, but you don't invade my home away from home, stomp on my friends, and try to steal stuff and get to still be called a lady. So 'female agent' it was. I decided, given what I'd seen, to call her Sticky.
 
Like the others, she had gear, and she was using it.  I'll give Sticky this much, she was dragging Ambush on a sled she had constructed of that goo rather than leaving him behind. In her left hand was some kind of thumb drive. No doubt medical data about us.
 
In the other, she held a flash light and she was talking on her comm, "The lights aren't out in your area? Yes, we may have a problem, Valorous, they are down in mine. I'm on my way with the rest of Unit B. Agent L isn't receiving. You have the girl, so who is left? It's got to be the Fish Guy. Does, does he see in the dark?" She asked.
 
"Yes," I answered behind her, "Yes I do."
 
That was foolish of me, but to be fair, I'm not a ninja. And while I could sneak past a few gang members in the water, if Sticky had the training I suspected, she would have heard me the next step anyway. So she spun and shot out with her strands attempting to bury me and bury me fast in that odd entangling energy of hers.
 
Too bad for her I was using her friend Ambush like a shield. Her powers seemed, at least as a default, non-lethal, so I had no guilt lifting him to face her, his backside in her direction, and using him to catch the initial spray.
It was good thing for Agent Ambush I had his back and not his front to her. She might cut off his air with the full burst she had fired. Indeed, I suspect she had just given her very best shot.
And her eyes widened as she realized she'd just wasted it.
 
I dropped the highly gooped Ambush and punched her. I have never enjoyed hitting women, even when they aren't ladies. Maybe that's why I pulled my punch. She was a trained combatant, and her uniform provided some protection. What would have ended a fight with any normal merely sent her sprawling. The flashlight scattered from her hand and spread a golden beam across the floor, like a child's array of dirty laundry meant to keep the monster at bay.
 
Which, would make me the monster.
 
"Boo," I said, and charged forward. If she had time, she might have set up some of those strands to help locate me, to get a feel for me like a spider in her web. I didn't give it to her. Instead I pressed fast and forced her to spray wildly. Some caught on my shoulder, some hit my legs. But it didn't have time to really gain rigidity. I tore through it easier than most grown men could tear through cardboard.
"Stand Down, we are with a federal agency! This is a highly sensitive mission, and you are way out of your depth!" She said scrambling backwards.
 
"Where's the warrant?" I said ripping through, "Where is the knock at the door? And why.'. the theft? No, don't give me that. If this was legit, you'd have more squads out there for back up. You may be working for some agency, but this is black ops, it's illegal, and …frankly," I seized the next strand she sent and looped it around her then yanked her forward, "It's pissing me off. You're a partial aren't' you? All of you, that's how they hooked you. They found a way to reverse suppression tech, amplifiers I guess. I wonder how long they've had it? The superhero community didn't. You'd always be considered second best with us, rightly or wrongly. But you sold yourselves for a leg up, to get on equal footing, so you too could be superheroes. How's that working out for you? Save any kittens from trees yet? Or are you breaking and entering and stealing stuff?"
 
"Don't you judge me!" She hissed, "How dare you judge any of us? Lady Obsidian, your entire damn team acting like they're above the law, like the rules don't apply to them, and you have the nerve to lecture me about us cutting corners for the sake of national security?"
 
I tore the belt off her, and the strands about her withered to half their size, to nearly nothing. What was stronger than steel was now more like good solid rope.
 
"By their fruits you shall know them," I quoted.
 
"What?" She blinked.
 
"Bible verse," I answered, "A southern translation would be 'you're spewing crap but nothing's growing'. There are five teams trying to save the world out there from a threat to all of us. Valorous knows, and probably told you. What's the response? Extra security on the shores? Warning in the news to stay away from the beaches for twenty four hours?   No, some higher up gets it into his or her head this is the ideal time to slip in and finally get their hands on the goodies we've got while everyone else is rising their lives. If you gave a tinker's damn about national security, you'd be fighting side by side Lady Obsidian as she tried to save this nation and every other one. National security my ass," And I put her in a sleeper hold.
 
I suppose I could have just slapped her, but I don't like hitting women. This was a cheat, but it came easier.
 
She tried to slip out once or twice, then her eyes rolled back, and she went out.
 
I plucked up the com unit she had been wearing. It wasn't like Valorous didn't know I was here by now.
 
I heard, "B Unit, are you there? B- Unit. I've gained access, but I need some assistance here."
 
"I'm about to assist you into a wall," I informed him angrily.
 
"Fish Guy?" he said startled, not that I was up, but that I was on this channel.
 
"That's Eel to you, Vainglorious," I informed him, "You have someone. You threatened to break her hand into a hundred pieces.  I know, I saw, I heard. If anything happens to her, I'm going to forget what little good you have done in your ruse and con, and be very, very cross with you. You hear me?"
 
There was a sputter. He didn't know I'd heard everything he'd done in the Balance. How could he? It threw him off, but he rallied. I didn't hold still during this. I had taken both agents here to the med bay and injected them with knock out juice not unlike what they'd done to Tornado. A taste of their own medicine, as it were.
 
Finally, he answered, "I'll do what I have to do, Fish Guy. There are at least three WMDs in here, there's faster than light technology. There's world changing things here, and she's hoarding it like a miser. It's too important to be her call. No more pampered superpowered prima-donnas deciding they know what's best for anyone."
 
I chuckled at something, "You do know Lady O has even less power than you? Right? She's not a partial, she's just a genius. I guess I can't fuss. I tend to think of her as exceptional too. But , Valnglorious, your envy is showing on your sleeve there. I'd buy some of your complaints as being worthy of consideration, but as I told another Sunday school drop out, your ends don't justify your means."
 
"You think you're better than me," Valorous' voice growled, "You think your advantages give you the right to hold all the power forever? To keep the rest of us down waiting and begging for crumbs? I'm the one looking out to raise the common man. I'm the hero here."
 
"Says the man holding a woman hostage, breaking into things, and not thinking twice about the danger he might be bringing to a city by messing with dangerous tools he doesn't begin to understand," I snorted, "And don't give me that 'common man' crap. Hashtagblessed I may be, but I've been one of the 'common', still consider myself one where it counts, and I've got loads of 'common' friends and family. You know what? None of them would do what you're doing if they had your advantages. No, Valodorous, you could have been the hero, you've chosen to be the villain. And I? I'm going to treat you like one… practice twirling your mustache. I'm coming to rip it off your lying face."
 
And I broke the communication device I had borrowed for emphasis. Time to go and beat the holy hell out of Valorous. I am, if nothing else, a man of my word.

Co-worker: "You working until close?"
 
Me: <Looking around at empty store> "Nope, just pretending to work until close. Pays the same, though."

Thanks for the well wishes folks. As always, this is a rough draft fresh from the typing, English Teachers, Librarians, Newspaper editors, and other lovers of the  written word may wish to shield their eyes as they read.
 
 
 
The images in the mystic windows played like scenes from some demented reality show from my nightmares. Each window displayed a different section of the base just one dimensional wall away. In each scene, numerous drones and robots lay shattered: Mabel's guardians that she had used to defend against siege. In this case to little avail. The lights had dimmed on the ceiling but there were circles of red shining on the walls.
 
The window that caught my attention first explained everything.
 
Even in the dimmer lights, Valorous stood out in his crimson and gold costume. He was walking up to the sealed door entrance that would lead to the top security areas Mabel had told me of. His presence was alarming, what he was doing set my blood to boil. Tornado wasn't there. Mabel's defenses had been countered, so the only one who was in his way was Ariana!
 
She had on jeans, a pull over blouse, and one of her uncle's spare masks. Her feet were spread for fighting balance and her fists poised.
 
"I don't know why you bothered with the mask, young lady," Valorous said, "It's not like I don't know who you are. Get out of my way. I've got a mission to finish, and you're no match for me."
 
He started to brush past her only to find himself on the end of a leg sweep that knocked him to the floor!
 
"You're not getting in!" Ariana said and tried to follow up with a blow to his solar plexus, I could see the floor bend a little under her as she gathered mass going to a density that matched concrete and used what she'd learned from Tornado to land a blow with what would, to anybody else, stopped them but good, "You traitor!"
 
All he did was grunt, and then fly upright, feet slightly off the ground now so she couldn't do that leg sweep a second time "Nice punch, I even felt it a bit. Traitor? No, Ariana. When a government agent infiltrates a group of dangerous individuals, it's called going undercover. I bear you no malice, you least of all, to be honest, but there are several weapons of mass destruction and technology holding mankind back from the stars themselves within. So, I need you to sit down," And he backhanded her, "And stay down."
 
Even now weighting over a ton she staggered back into the nearest wall, making a divot. I don't know what she said in Spanish, but I'm pretty sure it was vile.
 
I had few choice words myself inside the Balance which had become my prison, "Son of ####ing #####!" I seethed!
 
Ariana lunged forward again this time moving in what looked like a beautiful circular kick. He tried to raise his hand, but it connected before he could. Flying or not, this time he didn't budge. Valorous' head twisted as if he had gotten nothing more than a slap from a weak armed date, more surprise than harm.
 
"Ariana," He said, "You can't win this. Your training is okay but as a partial you're trapped in the minor leagues, believe me. I know the frustration!"
 
"After how you led on Arctic Fox all this time making her think you loved her," Ariana spat at him, "I wouldn't believe you if you told me water was wet!" She tried for another blow, this time a punch, but he caught her fist in his own hand.
 
"Yes, I had my doubts on being on that side of a honeytrap. You wouldn't believe the hours of acting lessons went into to that. I didn't like doing it, but what could I do? Lady Obsidian never took a liking to me. Maybe I came on too strong with the flattery, maybe they should have put some sort of sympathetic beat down in my records? Who knows? But with her refusal to give me a chance I had to focus on Fox. She was easier. For all her alpha queen attitude, she actually is quite soft. She wants to believe in love. Me? I believe in duty and take pride in my work, so… I played her along as I had to. She'll mend in time, and maybe I'll help her become a little wiser," He considered, "Maybe I'm doing her a favor?"
 
"So am I!" Ariana couldn't free her hand so she snapped her rock-hard knee cap up into the groin of her captor. Valorous winced and cursed, but didn't let go of her hand.
 
"Alright," He said through gritted teeth, "Enough of that. I could shatter you, you know that right? You only get as tough as concrete! I can break that easily, I can shatter steel. Unlike you I've been given a way of surpassing my partial limitations! So it is only because I have sympathy for your plight…." He began to squeeze her hand causing her to gasp in pain, "That I am not breaking this hand into a hundred pieces and letting you glue them back together!'
 
Then he flipped her with it onto her back creating a woman shaped divot with her and let go of her hand.
 
"So, stay down there and let me get what we came to get!" He warned.
 
Ariana lay there helpless, struggling to get up, but too weak and dazed to try again yet. I knew as soon as she got her second wind, she'd try again though. She would force him to break her. Mask or not, I could see it in her eyes.
 
"I'll kill him!" Fury filled me. There was no mystic spear involved. Maybe I was talking out of my ass when I said the words, but the rage I felt towards that walking Trojan horse was very real, "Doctor Salem you've got to let me out of here!"
 
I can't, her mental voice said, I don’t have the energy.
 
"Don't you get it?" I announced, "It's not just about Ariana. Tornado, Mayo…. Mabel too, they're all in danger. He said 'we'!"
 
 
Indeed, another scene was playing out in another window, two figures in dark blue generic uniforms and helmets with tinted visors were in the medbay. In fact, the only thing they seemed to have in common with Valorous looks wise was their bulky belts. Tornado may have been out of the woods for the worst of it, but he still hadn't fully recovered; a fact his two assailants were taking full advantage of. Tornado was weaving between the strands of some kind of energy web that was constantly closing the already limited space of the room. The lines of energy seemed to be the work of the woman in uniform who was making gestures as she worked not unlike a conductor leading a symphony. The other invader was vanishing and reappearing rapidly allowing little time for Tornado to adjust.
 
"We're having a little trouble here, Valorous!" The woman was yelling, presumably into an ear piece communicator not so different from what the New Samaritans had, "He's not sedated like we hoped any recommendations would be welcome."
 
I was too focused on this window now to hear what he was saying in the other, but she nodded, "You're right, I don't really have to trap him…" And the glowing web became more diffuse spreading out, but also thinning until it was less strands, and more sheets.
 
Tornado, while not at the top of his game, blocked the blow from the tonfa the teleporter was using for some really forceful strikes by intercepting at the wrist.
 
"I don't just teleport, Tornado!" The vanishing agent announced, "Superfast repetitive actions! " And his free hand shot another three blows almost too fast to see towards the side of Tornado's head. The first one hit, the others didn't as the Latino whirlwind weaved his head at precise moments.
 
"If you mean your lips won't stop flapping, I can see why I should be concerned," Tornado said, "Tell me, does that teleporting cancel your velocity?" And he grabbed the man and spun him and spun him faster and faster before releasing him. The teleporter flew one way, flickered and reappeared to slam into another wall hard.
 
"Guess not," Tornado pressed his attack, diving through the sheets of energy which slowed him down, but not enough to prevent him from performing a whirling kick on the teleporter and putting him out hard, "Next time, be man enough to fight your own battles, eh?"
 
Tornado turned and found the goo on him now accompanied by strands.
 
"Stand down!" The woman who made the webs said, "You are half trapped anyway, and still recovering from previous injuries. Stand down"
 
"El Zorro never surrenders!" Tornado whipped through the goo and strands tearing ripping across the room and …ended up encased like a fly in amber, his fist just an inch from landing the blow.
 
She reached to the side of her belt, and drew forth a needle, injecting him, "This is B Unit. Tornado is neutralized.  Agent Ambush is down, repeat, Agent Ambush is down as well."
 
I gnashed my teeth in helpless frustration, "Doctor Salem, we just lost Tornado…"
 
I turned to move to another window waiting for her to answer.
 
The next view was of the pool!  The Agent there really stood out, then agian he would, he was glowing, allowing him to view the formerly dim room easily. And Mayo lay in the pool floating like a dead goldfish, his back breaking the surface, his body limp.
 
"Well, I found 'a' Fish Guy," The glowing agent was saying, "But no sign of the Fish Guy. He sure is one ugly ####er though, he told me he was no hero but would be obliged to protect his hosts…  so I gave him a love tap with a photonic burst of light. He went down easily actually. Must be one of the undersea guys that has all those teams in a scramble. Assuming he's still alive, I can pick him up for study later. Roger that. I'll just head onto the next area. Agent L out." He turned his back to the pool to do just that drifting up a few inches.
 
 
The formerly limp and 'downed' Mayo leapt up into action and seized Agent L yanking them both into the water. He had grabbed Agent L by the gut, and squeezed the wind out of him as best as he could as he drew both back towards the pool's deeper end.
 
Bubbles escaped from Agent L's mouth in a stream of air!
 
There was a wave of light from the agent, slamming Mayo loose and against the wall. Mayo scraped along the wall, then turned, "We should talk yes?"
 
A beam of light sheared towards Mayo, missing him and burning along the walls.
 
"I prefer the dark, you make the light," Mayo said, "But the waters don't like the light either. Ever notice how it bends it? Your aim is not normally this bad….but I know what you are thinking," Mayo scuttled along, "You will eventually hit me and then you will win."
 
A barrage of more slightly askew blasts from Agent L confirmed that Mayo was right. The man looked pissed that he'd been tricked and closed on Mayo. Mayo had been clever, but Agent L was ready for him now. My favorite undersea guru had no weapons, and I doubt his punches could get through even a diffused photonic field.
 
What he did do was talk, which confused me. Mayo was the sort to pontificate, to think the deep thoughts out loud, wax a little nostalgic one second and a bit philosophical the next, but he wasn't a chatterbox.
 
"I notice your uniform is not so colorful… you are soldier, yes? Me too," Mayo said, "That is your misfortune. If you had met Fish Guy … I suppose I should not tell you his real name, you might have lived. He is a good man, but not a soldier."
 
A sneer crossed Agent L's face and he 'flew' under the water to give another burst. This one clipped and burned Mayo.
 
Was he hoping to make Agent L run out of air just by talking?
 
"He didn't know the difference between a hero and a soldier," Mayo said his right hand tight, his shoulder burned, "Sometimes they coincide. Not always. But we know the difference, don't we?"
 
Agent L closed on him, then looked up noticing what I, with my tight view on the scene, had failed to. Above them, the pool had been closing, going into Tennis Court mode!
 
Panic filled his face and he looked about to the far end of the wall where Mayo had headed with him in the first place. The knob that was pressed to open or close it from down here had been torn off!
 
Mayo opened his hand to reveal the knob, twisted and bent in it, "Heroes will give up their lives to protect the lives of others, soldiers will do the same, if they must… but if they can think of a way to have he enemy pay the price instead, they will. That is…how wars are won. I'm told. This may end as a draw between us, but… I'm at peace with that. Let's see the next fathom of the great mystery reveals together, shall we?"
 
Agent L shot towards the closing floor/ceiling, but not in time. His flight, like most of his powers, were thrown off by refraction! He slammed against the thick barrier and fired, but his lasers, diffused as they were, could damage it, but not break through it! More air escaped him.
 
"Beyond stopping you, I suppose the real benefit of this is that my surface friend is not here to see it," Mayo averted his already sensitive eyes to the increasing intensity of the light, "He'd be very disappointed in me, give me those big seal pup eyes, and I'd feel bad. If I could do it all over again, I'd probably be chasing Tinlu about the coral bed, but at least if I'm dying as a soldier, I'm dying for a good cause.  You may wish to make peace with yourself and whatever belief system you hold onto. You don't have long left."
 
L whirled realizing he was about to die, rage and desperation filled his eyes and the glow about him intensified.
 
"I can no longer see you," Mayo said, "But I know what you're demanding. The answer… is no."
 
The last of the bubbles escaped Agent L's mouth and there was a burst of light that filled the window, and then blackness! I couldn't see a thing!
 
 
"MAYO!!" I called out, then looked, "Doctor Salem! People are dying! Valorous and his goons are about to get their hands on everything Lady Obsidian has stored away! PLEASE!"
 
This… is going to cost me, Doctor Salem groaned, Move fast when the door opens… it won't be there long!
 
Her body no longer floated but fell…. And a door appeared, and swung open. Almost as quickly, it started to close, but I was already diving through it.

Sorry folks, today is my birthday and some celebrations are staggered thanks to Mother's  Day so Monday at earliest for the next chapter most likely

New one up today. Mystics can get annoyed, and while its wrong to stereotype, some Bricks just wanna hit the the bad guy already.
 
I don't know how long I drifted there in the Balance. The first time, time Dr. Salem had taken the unnatural self-loathing away from me even before I woke. That made sense, the hatred turned inward, the feelings of insignificance, were all artificial constructs enforced by the Eldest as a means to 'discourage' me from ever trying anything like that again. So, a quick soul rinse (or whatever you'd call it) and I was soon back on my feet.
 
 
This time, I'd been hit by not just emotional turmoil but insecurities from within me brought to life, and some of the most unpleasant memories I'd ever known relived. This time, the emotions weren't just from the Eldest. They had been dug up from my own subconscious. These feelings were real, and fresh. It was like any closure I had achieved over them was shattered.
 
A childhood trauma from when I was seven, and I had the urge to go home to mom and dad and blubber how sorry I hadn't been able to save my little brother who had been dead all this time. I shook with fear at the memory of the worst beat down I had ever gotten in my life as if I were still bearing the broken arm and burn marks. This was now, and it was in me.
 
Honestly, if this was a normal day job, I would have called into work and lied if necessary to get out of going anywhere. But no, Mister and Misuses' Lambert's bright eyed boy had to go out and be a superhero.  I staggered up, and looked around, expecting to find Doctor Salem over me with glowing hands or something.
 
I was only half right, she was glowing, but she was floating like a volunteer in a magician's act about five feet off ground level in a pose normally reserved for those in caskets. She looked serene, dignified, and, well, frankly dead.
 
"Doctor Salem?" I said, then "Doc?"
 
I touched her shoulder, half way expecting her to suddenly fall to the ground so I braced to catch her. She didn't.
 
Eel, her voice came into my head though her lips did not move, They're doing it. All over the world, the heroes are facing the servants of the Eldest and shattering the conduits. We are winning.
 
I smiled at that, despite my sorrow. Yes, the wounds were fresh, but it hadn't been for nothing, "Thanks for letting me know. I guess my part is done."
 
How are you feeling? She asked.
 
"Fine," I lied kind of sort of.
 
Let's try again, the the voice in my head asked in a 'not buying it' tone, How do you really feel?
 
"Like I need a stiff drink or six and some good self pity songs," I admitted, "It's not like before…it wasn't' all illusion. But," I added, "I'll be okay."
 
Better, she said, I see the vow and wards took much of it, but I am sorry there is only so much they could do.
 
"That's all right, two six packs and some Willie Nelson and I'll be fine," I shrugged then thought about what she said, "What vow?"
 
You promised to help break the seven spears, and help me with the ritual. Pretty much in those exact words, she reminded.
 
"I knew, I knew I had heard a chime," I grumbled, "Why didn't you just ask me and tell me that a promise here would have helped shield me instead of tricking me into it?"
 
The magic wouldn't have worked so well if you'd made the promise for selfish ends, no movement from the body, but I could still easily imagine a raised eyebrow to go along with that 'trust me to know my business' tone.
 
Instead of conceding the point I subtly changed the subject, "So what's with the floating at rest state?"
 
It may surprise you to know, but acting as a counter-conduit against all those conduits and channeling more magic in the last five hours than I have in the last five years tends to take a lot out of one.
 
"Five hours," I said, startled, "I was laid up for nearly twelve after the first one. And this time there were more spears. Wards, vow, turf of your choosing or not, Doctor, I'm impressed."
 
I won't lie, I'd be insulted if you weren't, the Doctor said, I'm afraid you're stuck with me another hour or two before I can summon the door. I have very little energy left.
 
"Oh man," I exclaimed before I could think better of it, "Sorry… I hate being benched."
 
Oh screw you.
 
"Pardon?" I sputtered.
 
A mental sigh, Sorry, I didn't mean to send that one. But really?  You just went through a mental and spiritual onslaught that would have killed you if not for your own strength of will, purity of heart, and my own hard efforts of preparation and skill. You took the hammer blows, but I felt punches. Thanks to that, everyone else is destroying the conduits safely and setting the plans of the Eldest decades if not centuries back and likely helping the undersea rebels reclaim their homewaters from invaders.  The price is I am laid out hard, and you might want to talk to a therapist for a week or two and reheal some old wounds. Let me try this in terms the young might understand, you lowered the shields. The alliance can now stop the planet wrecker. You were not benched, you were crucial! Now dance with the teddy bears already! Really!  
 
 
 
She sounded put out.
 
"Sorry," I said a bit sheepishly. Okay, okay… I kept telling myself I'd get my priorities right and I was still having trouble. Another thought occurred to me, "Hey, that makes me Harrison Ford!"
 
There was a mental scoff from the mystic. Another 'slip' no doubt.
 
"I apologize," I said, "I know I keep doing that. In my defense, more action would distract me from the whammy after effects the Eldest put me through….and it would be nice to see the Princess."
 
 
Oh, her you can see.
 
"What? I can see how Ariana is doing from here?"
 
 
That takes no energy at all, especially not here in the Balance, Doctor Salem informed me, she is still on the base after all. Windows are easier than doors.
 
"Please," I said, "A few so I could at least check on the base while I wait for the door would be great."
 
Unlike the weird zoom in zoom out effects that were more natural the Balance, actual windows, well, in appearence anyway, appeared all over the place. Like the door, the windowsills appeared old fashioned, with locks of brass, and multi panes.
 
I smiled as not just sights but sounds were going through the symbolic glass. That smile died almost instantly at the scenes they displayed.
 
 
The base, and the few people in it were under attack!

Okay, long one... meaning even more violations against the English Language . Hope you enjoy
 
 
The Balance spilled all around me, before it was almost equal parts land and water, but the land was shrinking even as the view of it was expanding. More and more I took in glimpses not of flowing rivers, but great gaping oceans that seemed to pour off the edge of the metaphorical map that was the strange plane. It wasn't hard to guess why.
 
"I guess my mind is on the others right now and the sea," I confessed, "So… I'm affecting the view?"
 
"Quite right," Dr. Salem told me. Unlike before, she did not appear as a beautiful young woman. There was a glow to her, but her age here matched her many years on the mortal world. It wasn't hard to guess the reason for that either: Energy conservation, "But that's all right. Just leave me enough to sit on, and think on the ocean. Imagine going further than you've ever been before."
 
I didn't completely have to imagine on my own. A lot of brave explorers and brilliant scientists have made studying the depths their lives' work.  The Balance reared up, and suddenly she and I weren't just sitting on an Island, we were in a bubble. The ocean depths! I swore I could see figures moving in the great twilight murk of the aquatic world beyond. Whales? Squid? Flickering schools of multitude fish.
 
And the currents, I could see the currents blowing past like windstorms of the depths. The energy of them was intense. Part of my longed to drift into one, and let it carry me away…. Even if the ultimate goal would be oblivion and then renewal into… who or what I didn't know?
 
Doctor Salem sat down next to me, and pulled out a spear. She had dabbed some goo on her forehead before this, and some on my chest over my heart. Marks of some ancient culture I didn't know jack about; so much for my love of history.
 
"Take one," she said.
 
I reached for another spear, and felt the rage, the intense hatred rise up, but not only was I mentally braced for it, the wards cast on me numbed it. It was like having a drug in your system that took you out of yourself. It made me detached. I could see the anger inside me. I could feel it but it seemed less real than before. Good thing. Eight of these without some protection and I might have slapped the old woman silly.
 
Yeah, that thought indicated I wasn't as detached as I thought.
 
"Islu Katan!" She raised the spear she carried with surprising strength for she lofted it one handed, "Islu Marduk! Islu Gaia! Wyrdaan nosi! Tantu fo vragain!"
 
I had no idea what she had just said, even if I was going to get greater understanding, this was the plane for it, but she followed it up with an order, "Break it."
 
And I snapped the spear!
 
Worthless! Pathetic miserable little me! Daring to try again to gain the notice of a universe that loved me no more than a dog loved a tick. Energy that I would never grasp, power I was unworthy of, burst around me and flowed… and then was drawn into the other spear Dr. Salem carried.
 
"Grab another!" She demanded.
 
I wanted to curl up and sleep again, and hope I never ever woke up. Here I was, wasting my time in some ritual I didn't understand while my team mates could be dying, no doubt they would be dying, for they faced the blessed troops of the Eldest while I sniveled here like a child taunting an oncoming Tsunami only now realizing his mistake, "We can't possibly…"
 
"Grab.Another!" She bellowed!
 
And I did, it was useless, but if the hag wanted me to grab another, so be it. I resented it though, especially now that I held a new spear again. How dare she snarl orders at me anyway? She was just another insect, as unimportant and meaningless as I. Didn't she see that?
Apparently not, more chanting began railing out of her mouth, much like before. In my mind's eye, I thought the images of the great sea were gaining substance, clarity, but they weren't pleasant.
 
"BREAK IT!" She demanded!
 
I snapped it, directing my rage and loathing at the object. It cracked then sundered, and another wave of suicidal self loathing struck me! It was…weaker!
The Law of Diminishing returns, they had said. So it was. I still felt insignificant, but this time my survival instinct rallied more quickly. So what  if I didn't matter… maybe there was a certain reason to live. If infinity wanted to be uncaring, to remind me how it had no obligation to me and I would die miserable and alone with nary a glance, I could at least spit in its metaphorical eye and make it notice me.
 
Let's hear it for North Carolinian stubbornness!
 
I glanced up! I could see distortions along the Balance! It was like looking in a hall of mirrors if the mirrors couldn't quite agree on what they were reflecting! I saw whole cities underwater! Some were elegant spiraling towers, others were vast cave networks with beautifully adorned entrances, and others still looked like ancient Grecian architecture lit up by radiant plant life! Some plunged into the dark depths, pits rather than towers, yet they were no less magnificent for it. One floated, touching neither sea floor nor surface! Another was  a Giant Turtle with an Island nation upon its back, it's people only seeing the surface once a century when it decided to rise.
 
Wonder had slipped through the terror… but then the pictures changed, focusing, narrowing…images of vile shrines at each location! Hearts being torn out like Aztec priests of old sans restraint, determined not to raise a sun, but allow it to be devoured! The Eldest's priests … their shrines were their forges! Of course, of course!
 
One tendrilled priest twisted as if he knew was being watched. And I felt a cold chill return as his eyes flickered at hate for the intrusion on what to him was a most sacred rite.
 
I almost didn't notice Doctor Salem warning me, "Good, soon the Eldest will try other means … falsehoods and visions… brace yourself, and grab another!"
 
"What the hell do you think I've been doing?" I said a bit louder to the old crone as I seized yet another. Damn, the anger was getting through, "Sorry."
 
But she didn't have time to answer, she was chanting again, more words that flowed in one of my ears, stirred something ancient in my mind, and then left forgotten.
 
"Break it!" She said.
 
I didn't hesitate this time and snapped that sucker like a great white going to town on a surfboard.
 
They were all around a table, each New Samaritan, and Valorous!  Ariana was there too, the only one missing, was me!
"The stupid hick actually thinks he's important" Pinprick said laughing and holding up a thimble sized glass, "I'm telling you, Vivian, you got that kid so convinced he's got the right stuff, he'd let you launch him to the damn moon."
"We aim to please," Lady Obsidian, helmet less, took a drink from her own glass of wine, "Not bad, I must admit, but we needed a sacrifice for Doctor Salem's ritual and it's not like I wanted to lose a real hero."
"Hey, credit where credit is due," Arctic Fox snuggled against Valorous, "if it weren't for Ariana setting salmon man into spawning mode, he wouldn't be so distracted that he never noticed how my man, who is not a member somehow is on every other mission and always available."
Ariana winked, "Thank you. None of you are as happy to see him gone as I am. I mean, I did not want some redneck pawing at me any more than necessary."
Tornado laughed, "Can you imagine what your mama would say?"
"well, I for one am grateful," Valorous said, "And look forward to joining the best team officially soon. Here's to Fish Guy… a very useful map maker….and… hell, I can't think what else he was good for?"
Pinprick laughed, "The source of a lot of good jokes!"
 
Their laughter resounded.
 
"Oh, bullcrap," I snarled, shaking my head and scattering my vision, "You overplayed that one," I said to the thing moving past the barrier of oblivion, "They're grown adults, not middle school jackasses willing to murder… try again, punk!"
 
"Eel? What are you doing?" Doctor Salem asked.
 
"Just having a chat with the Eldest or at least I think I am," I said. Images had grown clearer of the locations where the spears had made, even taking direction, so that the others would know where to go.
 
"Yes, I gathered," She said, "No need to call him out."
 
"Makes me feel better, I'm tired of this bullying 'I'm nothing he's everything' bunk," I answered, "You just keep chanting and let me rant a bit at him. I'm calling this loser out."
 
"That loser could obliterate you with a thought," She warned, "If it ever gets free."
 
"Ah, but it's not free," I said, "It's trapped behind the barrier and now it's writing badly out of character fan fiction….Keep chanting…" Then I added, "Please."
 
And she did. I was pissed as I grabbed another spear, not just because the thing was tainted, but the honor of my friends had just been insulted. I've got a real problem with liars saying crap about my friends. Pinprick could be a jerk, but he'd looked after me. Lady Obsidian believed in me every step of the way and was trying to warn me of the pitfalls of the calling. Tornado was becoming a friend. Arctic Fox had never let me down when the fighting started. And Ariana was too sweet a soul for that nonsense whether she wanted to date me or not.
 
Valorous?  Okay, I still felt Valorous was a jerk, but I was angry for their sake.
 
"Break it!" The now familiar command came.
 
"Whoops,"  I said to the void and Shattered the fourth spear! "Should have bought American, Eldest!"
 
The wave of self loathing… and another vision…
 
The battle was not going well. Lady Obsidian held the line! A force wall held back besieging tentacles hammering, hammering against the fields like a thousand sledgehammers! Pinprick's magic arrows did nothing, and something like a barracuda shot up and bit him clean in half before continuing onto attack the next one!
I could smell his blood in the water!
Arctic Fox froze foe after foe, but the undersea warriors kept coming, until one broke through a protective layer of ice and stabbed her right in the heart with one of the blessed spears! If it could penetrate my hide, why had I ever let them risk themselves! I could have taken the blow…
If I'd been there.
I saw Lady Obsidian's helmet sinking to the bottom of the sea trailing blood.
Tornado's lifeless body floated to the…
Tornado?
 
I shook my head, "You need to pay less attention to my fears and more to the logistics!" I seethed. That vision had hurt! I felt sick to my stomach. If I hadn't realized Torando was still laid up and on the base, that might have taken me out of it completely.
 
"Grab another and snap out of it!" Dr. Salem's voice was shrieking.
 
"Wrong order, but yes," I agreed and took the fifth, "Two more to go… hurry!"
 
But there was no rushing the ritual. The chanting went at its own pace.
 
And now it felt agonizingly slow. Despite my bravado, that last vision had rattled me.
 
"Break it!" She said.
 
Thank God, I thought, and snapped it ready for the…
 
The punch knocked me through the bank wall with such force that the stone work shredded like tissue paper. My own body certainly felt the impact.
Where was I?
I was back in North Carolina, in my home town.
I knew where I was…and I knew when I was.
"Oh god," I said and looked up into the masked face of Mister Brute. He wore a pin striped outfit that looked like a period piece from golden mafia days of old, or at least what Hollywood tells us they wore. The mask, such as it was, was more phantom of the opera than anything.
I had never felt a punch as hard as the one he delivered.
"Eel, is it?" The man moved through the hole in the wall he'd just created using my body, "Eel, I warned the others that this little bank robbery was beneath us. Especially in a small town like this, I doubted it would have much of worth, but…well, they wheedled and since we had time before our real job started elsewhere, I indulged them."
"Aren't you a sweet heart?" I said cockily, far too cockily for one who had just gotten his bearings again, and lobbed a manhole cover at him with all my might as a distraction.
He caught it quicker than I thought possible, "Nice throw. Now, little did we expect this place would have a hero guarding it. I admire your dedication, but you are outnumbered, and frankly, over matched. Stay down, boy."
He flung the manhole cover back at me with twice as much force as I'd managed. I tried to move to the side but it still clipped me knocking me like band English on a pool shot.
"Get bent!" I said, backing away from the bank as I got up again, and motioned him to follow me. I needed to get him away from the crowds.
"You warned him!" A woman's voice, and the popping of flames. Firebug was one of those villainesses who enjoyed showing her body off. It wasn't like anyone was going to touch her without permission, not with blue edged flames all over her, the body said come hither, the eyes added 'and die'.
Flames burst around me and I felt it all over again! The heat searing my flesh, the light blinding me. So much stronger than what Bodysuit had managed. I grabbed for the firehydrant to open it…
And for my trouble I bled, badly. Something shot by me faster than I could see, and cuts appeared along my torso.  I called out, surprised.
"Slice has her moments," Mr. Brute said and only now did I get a glimpse of the blurring figure carrying the knives, "Speedsters, not common, but not unheard of. Now ones with blades that can cut through almost anything or anyone, and training in those blades? That's rare. "
"Can we just finish him off already?" Slice's voice was in one place on moment, by my ear the next, and then closer to Mr. Brute, "I'm bored." I realized another slash, this one across my belly was threatening to split wide open.
"Pay attention, Slice," Mr. Brute said, "Observe… he's kept an awareness of this place, where things are… the struggling for the hydrant? No doubt to try to direct a shot of water at Firebug. And he's been pulling us further away from the crowds. This is, in most ways, an intelligent young man… most ways, a truly intelligent individual would be running now. Besides, his plan isn't going to work, is it Dice?"
Dice turned out to be a bored looking blond man in a black body suit with a duster over it. The logo on his chess was that of Snake Eyes. He lowered his shades and there was a glow, "It's not his lucky day."
While they were talking about plans, I was putting them into action. I broke the hydrant open only to feel a rush of empty air flow in my face!
"Awww, just air in the line, what are the odds?" Dice laughed.
I'd never faced a probability manipulator before.  I flung the hydrant itself at him but my shot veered wide and all I did was succeed in breaking a window in the distance.
"That's your solution to ranged targets? " Mr. Brute frowned, "you throw things at them? You are not well equipped for certain challenges, are you? Come at me, boy. I may knock you around, but at least, I'll let you get close." And he walked with slow deliberate steps towards me.
I took the bait and swung at him, clocking him hard across the mouth!
"You asked for it," I said with a moment of satisfaction.
"I felt that, nice," He said, "Good. Again!"
I jabbed, and he grabbed my arm and swung me around like a child.
"Did you study any hand to hand? Do you have any idea how to apply power you've got?" Then he pinned me, "I mean, this is the boonies, I don't expect to find a Krav Maga practitioner, but surely you considered learning something beyond the basics?"
I arced up trying to break him with a sudden movement, but he kept the grip.
"Now assuming I'd be surprised by that is an insult to a man of my talents and experience," He frowned, "I don't like insults."
And he broke my arm.
I screamed. This had happened before, but the pain was no phantom. This wasn't fiction, this was real, it was memory, and it was a fact!
"I'm going to test your resolve," he offered, "Now, if you can last  one minute of what we're about to do to you without begging for mercy. I will only kill one person here. If you can last five… no one , with the possible exception of yourself dies. See, I want to teach you a lesson about numbers, and the value of team work. I want to teach you to respect experience. But first… I want to see what you're made of. And just how dedicated you are to this protection of the innocent. If you agree to this little test, we'll begin. Refuse it, and I'll have Firebug torch every building on this block and send slice loose. Do we have a bargain?"
Firebug landed nearby. I couldn't reach her.
"You're insane," I sputtered at them all.
"With a name like Apocalyptic you expected warm and fuzzy?" Firebug turned her fingers towards the nearest building and flames built up.
"Three, two…" Mr. Brute said as calmly as you might time an egg.
"Fine!" I said, these nuts would really do it, just to make a lesson clear to other heroes, "I agree!"
"Brave choice," he nodded sounding like he almost admired it.
"It's not a choice at all," I spat at his face. The glob hit the side of his cheek, "Go fu…"
"Oh, now you've made it personal," He nodded to Firebug, her hand burst into flame and touched my wounds.
And I screamed and I screamed and I…
 
"Wake up," Doctor Salem informed me! "The ritual, we can't let it slip!"
 
I was in a fetal position again. I was too scared to touch the last two spears. I was terrified, "I can't…" I shivered, "I can't experience that again, the pain the helplessness... the… I'll rather die."
 
"Young man, when the last one in your possession breaks the other heroes will be able to destroy the spears themselves without the curse striking them! They'll be able to stop this at the source! The connection of the conduits will see to that! Without it, they will be helpless at best, and most likely some of them will die as the rage eventually turns them upon each other. The choice isn't would you rather die… the choice is would you rather them die?"
 
"You're wrong," I said, reaching for the next, "That's not a choice at all." And when she said break it, I did.
 
My brother didn't hear me. The car came streaking by and I raced towards it… ready to pull him to safety. I would save the day, I would save…
I was seven years old, and seven-year-old don't out race speeding cars.
"Kevin!" I cried out.
 
More chanting, and a voice telling me "Break it!"
 
I grabbed the last one, numb, on autopilot. My brother was dead all over again.  And the feeling that it was my fault somehow was as strong as it was the first time.
I was tempted to plunge the last spear in my chest and end it all.
 
I don't know where I found the strength to break it.
 
I don't remember what vision I saw after that. I think… I think I retreated into catatonia for a moment. Only dimly did I catch a glimpse of  Dr. Salem taking the spear she had been using and snapping it between her own spindly fingers.
 
I had made that possible.
 
And now it would be possible for all the spears—everywhere.
 
I blacked out unable to feel victory, satisfaction, or even hope.

Honestly, I'll get to the BIG ritual soon.  
 
Okay, no more whining. No more feeling sorry for myself. Time to get my ass on the deck of the good ship SS: Manly and grab a mop where and when I'm needed.  And while I suspected she knew, I had a talk with the boss about it.
 
Lady Obsidian's reaction was perfect.
 
"Damn, I thought that's what she was talking about. I'm sorry, Eel. For both of us. I know you wanted to show what you could do. I did at your age, and we could definitely have used you," She said kindly, "But we need you more here."
 
"How do you always know the right thing to say?" I asked.
 
She smiled, "I don't, but at my age I've said the wrong thing enough times that I'm better at knowing where not to go. Besides," she put a gauntleted hand on my shoulder, "I do mean it.  I know it's not the comfort you're looking for, but Tornado might be stuck here as well."
 
"Hey, the poison is out, almost entirely," Tornado protested, "Just strap those scuba things on me and I'll be good to go." It would have been an impressive boast if he wasn't still laid up.
 
"Mixed feelings," I admitted, "Sorry, Valentino. I'd be lying if I said I didn’t want the company but I know they need you."
 
"At least you'll be doing something if you're stuck here," He grumbled.
 
And suddenly I felt better about my own behavior. Everyone hates being benched.
 
"Stop whining," A voice cut in, It was Ariana, "I'll be here too… mostly just puttering around and waiting for news, but you know how it is… and you don't see me or Eel complaining or feeling sorry for himself."
 
I tried not to let the chagrin rise to my cheeks, and instead said, "I gotta be where I gotta be," With my best nonchalant shrug.
 
"See, why can you be more like Eel?" Ariana said to her cousin.
 
I fought a smirk.
 
"Don't over play your hand," Lady Obsidian muttered near my ear when it started to slip out.
I swallowed the smirk entirely.
 
"I'm not whining, it's just not going to look good for the Samaritans to be down two members like this," Tornado said, "the other teams are going to be full on representing."
 
"Hardly," Lady Obsidian said, "No team wants to leave their home town fully undefended."
 
"Thank goodness for Valorous," Arctic Fox said proudly, "He's promised to take up some of our regular patrol paths and even check in on Mabel."
 
"What, he's afraid of water?" Tornado inquired.
 
"Look," Fox started to growl, "A little gratitude…"
 
"You rang?" Pinprick spoke up at that, and managed to defuse the situation before it could escalate.
 
"I hope I'm not in a coma if stuff does go down in the city," I admitted.
 
"Maybe I can help with that too," I nearly jumped out of my skin as Doctor Salem spoke behind me, "While Mabel has been taking Lady Obsidian's designs to construct deep sea survival field generators for all of you…"
 
"Limited time use on those," The Lady warned but let Doctor Salem continue.
 
"There is a ritual," Dr. Salem said, "It takes a bit of ambient magic, but with what we'll be doing anyway, we will have enough. If the rest of you would yield up but a drop of your blood…a trust I will not abuse, and I can arrange a summoning…"
 
"I whisk right to them if I recover early?" I said excitedly.
 
"You mean I won't miss anything?" Tornado blurted at the same time.
 
"Yeah, thanks guys, don't need the company at all," Ariana muttered a touch testily at the dual enthusiasm to bale on her.
 
I looked sheepish.
 
Her Uncle grinned.
 
"No, Eel is the center of the magic working where the Ambient energy will be. It won't send anyone out on the field, but it would have enough energy to bring one of you back from the ocean early," Doctor Salem said with a put-upon expression.
 
"Aw man," Tornado muttered, giving voice to my own disappointment.
 
Instead of doubling down, I remembered the manners my daddy taught me and said, "Thank you, Doctor. If something attacks the city during all this, that could be a real lifesaver"
 
The ritual went smoothly actually, a vial of crystal had a drop of the blood of the others put in it, stirred, and chanted over. A pinprick from each person was all it took.
 
There was a glow, a bell like chime, and then it was done.
 
"Here," She handed it to me, "later, break it, and call out the one you want summoned and it will yank them to your side."
 
I put it away carefully, "Thanks." I doubted I'd use it. All the important stuff would be going on in the sea.
 
"You're welcome, now finish what you need to do today, get some food, and some rest," She advised, "The dangerous ritual begins late tonight."
 
Won't that be fun, I thought.

Ouch Enough with the head cheese already! We're not at the 'exciting conclusion' yet, more talking talk... but hopefully you won't be too bored.
 
I'm sure there was some whole mystical hoo doo reason that I'd be returning to Doctor Salem at one in the morning, the "Witching Hour" possibly. For me, it meant I had plenty of time to stomp around anywhere I wanted to feel sorry for myself at having been benched.
 
I was angry, and I was bummed. And yes, I know I was being immature about it. Sleep would be wise, but I just couldn't make it happen. I contemplated options. Option one: Whine about it. Option two: Burn off some energy with exercise. Option Three: Do some responsible things in my secret identity.
 
You know what? I can mix and match, and maybe I could at least water down the first option. Tornado still had a crowd about him of concerned team mates and relations.
 
A good intense swim would do me some good.
 
I walked into the pool area, only to find something was missing.
 
"Mabel? Where's the damn pool?" I blinked at the flat surface of a room. Where the pool should be was a tennis court.
 
"Someone's in a mood," She said, "Bad news or are you still mad at me for letting Ariana peep on the end of that comm chatter."
 
"Don't remind me of that," I groused, "And yes, I just found out I got benched. The pool?"
 
"There's a small box under the light switch on the wall, flip it open, and press the button there," She answered.
 
I looked under said light switch and found the small box under as she said. It was pretty much the same color as the wall and, in my defense, very easy to overlook. Yes, there was a button. I pressed it, and there was a rrrrr sound.
 
The Tennis court opened up, splitting and separating to slowly reveal the pool under it, "Was Arctic Fox or someone playing a set?" Fox seemed the tennis sort for some reason to me.
 
"No, Mayo hit his button in the pool to meditate. It blocks the lights and dims the sounds," She explained.
 
I winced and called out, "Sorry, Mayo." I felt like an idiot. Naturally he preferred it darker, and while that could be achieved just by dimming the lights, everyone needed peace and quiet sometime. I had intruded on that.
 
"Do not apologize," Mayo said in his tongue as he rose up to answer briefly. Sometimes I had to remind myself he couldn't breathe air, "Come in, join me. You look you could use a talk."
 
I dived in, adjusting, "Actually I came here to swim needlessly recklessly fast and feel sorry for myself," I confessed, "It turns out my part in this isn't what I thought it would be and my friends will be risking their lives in the sea while I stay here."
 
Mayo tilted his head, "And why will you do this?"
 
"Oh, when I break the spears the backlash will lay me out again, they'll be gone by the time I'm done," I grumbled, "And Doctor Salem needs the energy to use it to guide us to the other sources of spears. I take it you've shared everything you can with them."
 
"Yes, yes," Mayo nodded, now floating in in that weird pose that made him look like a guru. How he found that comfortable I wasn't sure, "I was not as well traveled as many, but I told Mabel what I could."
 
"Thanks," I said, meaning it, and tried to put my own feet under me. I startled to roll upside down, "Okay, how do you do that?"
 
"Practice," Mayo said with amusement.
 
"How long did it take you? Long time?" I said hopefully as I veered to starboard despite my efforts.
 
"Oh, months," He assured me.
 
I smiled.
 
"But then, I could be an impatient child," He confessed.
 
I flipped over again, "Ouch. My ego."
 
"You will survive it, Caleb," Mayo smiled, "if you survive nothing else. Let me see if I understand your problem," He said after a moment, "Destroying the spears is nearly impossible, it is hard enough to resist them. But you can, and you pay a terrible price."
 
"Well, yes, though I'll have help this time…"
 
He went on, "It will still assault your very soul, and you will risk this, because you and Doctor Salem must guide the others so they have even a chance for victory."
"Well, yeah," I said, "But the ocean is where I excel, this magic stuff is … I don't know what I'm doing."
 
"So, your battlefield is strange and foreign to you, the way you might die is not of your choosing, but it is crucial…. You attack not where you are strongest, but where you feel most vulnerable."
 
"Well, yeah, but…" I said almost certain I had lost control over this conversation, "but… Fish Guy?" I pointed a thumb at myself.
 
He stared at me for a moment, then sighed, "Ah yes, the unique ability to breathe water. If only others had it.  Why imagine if there were other peoples with this very same gift…" He shook his head and deliberately took in a lot of water so he could breathe it out again.
 
"You're being sarcastic," I accused.
 
"It's something we of the ocean developed as part of our culture," He smiled with those needle teeth, "I give it as my gift to you."
 
"Thanks," I said dryly.
 
"See, you grasp it already, well done," He clapped a hand on my shoulder, "Caleb, do you not see what you are doing is actually braver than what you want to do? And more necessary?"
 
"Kind of," I sighed, "It's just…ah, you can't understand."
 
"For once, your gift, unique among your people, would be appreciated," He answered, "For once, what you excel at would be seen as worthy. You would both stand out, and belong. You would prove your worth as an individual and yet be even more a part of your tribe. In this way, you can show a love for your people that it is considered wrong to simply speak out of. Actions are allowed, words are not: Perhaps because somehow your culture fears that if they allowed the words, no one would do the actions? Or maybe each person would rather face danger than vulnerability?  You don't do this for vanity, not vanity alone in anyway, you do it so you will not be alone…either alone with no one about you, or alone in a crowd forgotten. This is why you wish to show them all you can do. Because you love them, and you wish, need to be loved back."
 
It was my turn to stare at him, "Well, now I feel awkward."
 
"Am I wrong?" He inquired, "I am sure I am about some details, but I doubt in the entirety."
 
"Okay maybe, what makes you think so?" I was a bit guarded. Normally I needed a six pack of beer in me before I let conversations get this personal.
 
Mayo looked like he might openly chortle, then he caught himself, "Everyone has gifts, Caleb. Everyone has something that delights them that delights no other or at least they fear it is so. We fear being judged, but we also wish others would see it as we do. As something that is wonderful and special and that we can bring to them. I knew a child, a boy, who could make the oddest noises with his throat. Not quite singing, I'm not sure what your word for it would be. Others acted like it was just sound, but he enjoyed doing it, and wondered what was wrong that others couldn't see how impressive it was."
 
"You…yodel?" I chuckled, "Because I'm pretty sure the kid was you."
 
He tilted his head back and this warbling sound burst from his throat varying in highs and lows filling the pool. It was kind of cool, and a little bit disturbing. It wasn't quite a yodel, but it was different.
 
"I am a soldier, not because I want to be, but because I have been made into one. We are uniform, we soldiers, officers like it so we are predictable to them so individuality is saved for our private time, yes? But I did fancy that if I had to ever be in battle… that is when I would make my sound!! And it would distract the foe yes, they would be too stunned to do anything, and I would use that time to gain victory! And then the next battle, all my unit would join in! And we would be awe inspiring," A grin, "Something different about me, giving to my people. It's silly, but yes, it is a very real urge. To be both special and accepted, Caleb. That is the secret of people, that while we are each unique in what we can give the world, all of us want to be accepted for it, and that is no shame."
 
 
I stared at him for a second, "Okay, maybe you do have me figured out. And…now that that's out, I guess I realize that what I want, and what my people need aren't the same thing. I guess I'm missing out on the fight."
 
"Phh, you're too eager to fight anyway, Caleb. I told you, if I had my way? I'd be back in my village trying to understand the women of my kind, a futile but far more pleasant pursuit than war."
 
"And yet you're talking liberation and I suspect would still fight if you had to," I pointed out.
 
"Yes," He sighed, "I suppose I would. I'm a soldier right now, but I will be a soldier for my people, not the Eldest."
 
"Maybe you're a hero," I smiled.
 
"No," Mayo said, "just a soldier. That is a noble thing, but it is a different thing."
 
"What's the difference?" I raised a brow.
 
"I pray to kind gods you never find out," He said to me after affixing me with a very serious look indeed.
Mayo, I decided, was a bit weird.

Okay, felt more mojo with this part.... hopefully folks like it. Oh, and Mystics suck
 
 
The world was a spiral, constantly seeking to peel away from me and flutter off into nothing, yet there was always more world, always more light to feed the darkness, so much the darkness could never drink it all in.  Infinity versus oblivion, and it was oddly beautiful. I felt like wherever I stepped, I was in the heartbeat of what was, and there was a music to it. Stars streaked past more like comets, and filled and vanished in flashes then were gone. More stars replaced them. A wind blew past me no matter which way I turned carrying smells that reminded me of home. Here that wind was soft, but at the edges of what was it became a howling gale and then just stopped.
 
"Where am I?" I asked aloud.
 
"You are in the Balance," a woman spoke up, beautiful and young with a wicked sort of sensuality to the sway of her hips. I didn't really recognize her at first, but I did recognize the costume.
 
"Doctor Salem?" I yanked my eyes with effort once more to behave themselves.
 
"Do forgive a little vanity," Doctor Salem said with a smile, "Some say we always think of ourselves as twenty-four years old no matter how withered we get. Here in the Balance, I am allowed to indulge certain conceits."
 
"It's amazing," I admitted, watching thin rivers shoot by and over falls miles away that would go nowhere, "Creation versus Destruction?"
 
"I liked Infinity vs Oblivion thought you had myself," She told me, "But either works. The Balance is that, and more. Beyond creation is entropy, and beyond entropy… the barrier."
 
"Creation is a lot smaller than I thought it would be," I mused then nearly fell over as it started to expand all around me, what had been a ten mile island looming and swelling, "Whoa…"
 
"Your perceptions tried to make it manageable for you," She explained, "But if you want to get really philosophical, you will find more and more truth revealed until you really are contemplating the infinite… how many centuries do you have?" She inquired.
 
"I'm good," I touched my brow, and tried to reel it in. I was rewarded with things returning to a more easily comprehended view "Geez, reminds me of an anecdote by George Washington Carver," I muttered.
 
"The gentleman who worked with peanuts?" She tilted her head, "Why does he come to mind?"
 
"Well, I did a book report on him as a kid," I said, "And 'worked with peanuts' is putting it mildly. What he did with agricultural probably saved more lives from famine and boosted  economy in ways that are positively miraculous. But he was modest about it. Anyway, one story I heard was that folks asked him how he got into the study of them. He claimed he spoke to God, and said to him 'Lord, teach me the secrets of the Universe', and God looked down and said 'George, that's a bit much for one man to be taking all in', and so Dr. Carver thought about it, and said "Lord, teach me the secrets of the peanut'…and God smiled and said "Well, George. I believe that's just about your size" ", I grinned at her, "Always liked that story. I think I get it better now."
 
The youthful looking mystic laughed, "Just so. And an anecdote with wisdom indeed, " she gestured to the once more manageable view, "The Balance is a representation of what is, but only one. That is not to say this place is merely a display. In magic, symbols can change that which they symbolize, if you have the power. The reason I brought you here to talk is it maybe useful to us in time to speed the next stage of things."
 
"The tracking of the spears," I said recalling, "Because all of the are linked."
 
"Very good," Doctor Salem smiled, "Yes, and it's from here that I plan to view the results, a view I intend to share with you."
 
"What's the catch?" I raised a brow.
 
"There is indeed a catch," She agreed, "You remember what happened when you broke just one of these?"
 
"Yeah, I ended up in a fetal position thinking I was worthless, and when I woke up folks called it a win," I shuddered a bit.
 
"Yes," She sighed, "I'm going to need you to break another one. Maybe more than one."
 
I turned at her, "Respectfully, are you crazy? First, I thought you insisted we get intact ones because you couldn't use a broken one to track them. Second… suicidal deathwish for Fish Guy is not how I want to die."
 
"The Eldest came out strong," Doctor Salem said calmly, "The first assault is meant to discourage, remember? If you survive it, you'll not likely ever want to try again. However, It's a rule of diminishing returns. Each time you try, there will be an assault. But each assault will be weaker."
 
"Yeah, but…" I swallowed, "Are the effects cumulative? I mean… okay, big poison dose the first time, a bit less the second, less still the third, but isn't the poison still building up inside me?"
 
"Yes," Doctor Salem said, "Which is why I'll be drawing it out the whole time."
 
"Wait, won't that put you in danger?" I frowned.
 
"Young man," She said, forcing tolerance into her tone, "You do realize I've been a superhero since before even your parents were born?"
 
"Sorry," I said feeling sheepish. Okay, maybe, just maybe, Ariana is right and I have some chauvinistic tendencies, "Okay, we'll both be in danger."
 
"I'll ward you from the worst of it and draw the soul venom out, you will snap seven, while I use the intact eighth spear to find where all the soldiers of the Eldest, at least their spears are.  Other super teams, all over the world, are standing by, in addition to the New Samaritans to find the spears while they are temporarily weakened and perhaps even find the forge. They'll then heroically try to take out the source. It will be a coordinated move between heroes the likes that hasn't been seen since the dimensional offensive of 89."
 
"Wow," My eyes lit up at the thought of it. Depending on the number and size of the other super teams, this could be dozens of superheroes plunging into the depths to stop a war before it could come to us, and to keep an ancient evil from threatening our world for centuries yet more to come, "That's… that's going to be big."
 
"You're going to miss it," Doctor Salem told me.
 
"SAY WHAT?" My voice echoed throughout Eternity!
 
"Oh goddess, my head," She touched the side of her brow, "Was that necessary?"
 
"Yes," I said, "A bit." I would feel apologetic, but… "You're benching me? On a sea mission? I'm Eel! I'm the Fish Guy! You don't gather a group to battle space aliens without a Space Guy! You don't ready for Temporal invaders without a Time Guy! You don't fight Nazis without a Flag Guy! I'm the Fish Guy, I'm tailor made for this mission."
 
"First, there are other Fish Guys out there, and gals," She said, "Not many, but a few. Some of them are even Atlantean if rumor be true, or at least part Atlantean…."
 
I winced, remembering everyone's surprise that I was mostly Scotts-Irish Anglo combo.
 
"Seccond," She continued, "There are armor guys…and gals, who are prepping their gear for deep water stuff thanks to having the time to prep and prepare. Some already had suits just for that already…. Torpedo for example?"
 
"he's still alive?" I blinked, "He's old." A bit petty.
 
"Don't let my renewed features in here fool you, young man," She reminded, "I get senior discounts myself, remember?"
"Don't bench me," I muttered.
 
"You'll be benching yourself," Doctor Salem insisted, "The ritual you'll be helping me with will, if I do my job right, keep you alive, but at the very least you're going to be in another coma for a short time. By the time you do wake up, it will be hopefully over, or at the very least in progress hundreds and hundreds of miles away."
"Can't someone else do that?" I insisted.
 
"Do you really want other heroes to break those spears, untested, possibly risking them killing themselves, just so you can plunge into the depths and punch people? So everyone will know," She said coolly, "That the mighty "Fish Guy" saved the world? Is that what matters to you? Is that why you use your powers the way you do?"
 
"No," I said through gritted teeth, "Nobody else can do this?"
 
"We might find out," she replied, "if we took days or even a week to make it so. A week where more spears are made, more of the undersea nations are further enslaved, and marine lives are twisted into abominations that will kill without remorse. With that math in play, do you think we can spare the time?"
"No," I said just as mopey as the first time, "We can't."
 
"Then you promise to do this, and of your own free will," She looked at me.
 
"Yes," I said, probably sounding like a brat, "I promise to break the seven spears and help you with the ritual."
 
Suddenly the Balance seemed brighter for a moment, and I thought I heard a chime.
 
"What was that?" I looked around.
 
"Just the universe witnessing your pledge," She said serenely. "Be back here at one in the morning. Anything else?" She gestured, and a door appeared nearby. Ironically it looked like a plain oakwood door with a brass knob, nothing fancy, rather old fashioned.
"Yes," I replied stomping towards the door, "I hate mystics."
 
"Noted," She said blandly.
 
And I stepped out back into the real world.
 
A world where I would not be part of a heroic armada.
 
I would act like a stupid compass, and then my ass was benched.

Okay, more of a filler moment, but I needed to get something down and keep it moving
 
I stared at the aquarium, it was half again bigger than what you'd find at a sea food restaurant. The sort they hold the lobsters in. It was filled with sea water, and had the usual tacky stuff. There was the fake coral, the little treasure chest, and a half sunken ship at the bottom with a couple of plants in the gravelly soil.
There were also seven shrunken warriors, the guys who Tornado and I had fought They looked confused, dazed, and angry! Powerlessly, one was hammering against the reinforced glass to no avail.
 
"Oh, that's just wrong," I frowned.
 
"Try living it," Pinprick said without sympathy, "We couldn't put them in the pool with Mayo. They'd kill him for a traitor.  And mind you, Eagle Eye would love having them, but non humans… or at least not like us types, in the hands of the US government?"
 
"The government isn't always bad," I said, knowing that a few of my more libertarian relations would have a spasming fit if they heard I had said that.
"Superheroes haven't trusted the government since McCarthy's Red Cape inquisition," He said, "You know that."
 
I nodded. Every decade had clashes between the superhero community and the government attempts to regulate them. Quite often, the government had some perfectly logical expectations. We are, after all, very dangerous people. But the consensus among many superheroes was that if you gave the feds or state governments an inch, they'd take a mile. 
 
But even then, superhero groups were hardly uniform. There were even official government teams. And many of them did a lot of good. Politics among the powered varied; just like among every other demographic.
 
"Okay, I admit you have a point, but I'm not sure it's any more right for us to hold them," I said rising from them for now and beginning to walk towards the med bay.
Besides me, Pinprick fluttered through the air shooting various lines of gossamer thread that carried him like a spider catching wind to move elsewhere. He actually didn't walk that slowly for such a little man, but obviously, his strides were hindered, so he usually just hitched a ride or used his seemingly endless supply of arrows for transit.
 
"Fish Guy, someone has to hold bad guys now and then or they start running with scissors and putting eyes out," Pinprick was far less troubled by the ethical ramifications, "You're a good kid, but let's at least let 24 hours pass before you call in the ACLU , okay?"
 
"Sure," I said, "too bad the eighth one got away though," I sighed.
 
"There were eight of them?" Pinprick frowned.
 
"yeah," I glanced at him as he swung by again at eye level, "Eight spears, eight spear wielders."
 
"Crap. One of them must have woken up, well, so much for keeping them from warning their superiors," Piinprick cursed, " I should have gotten there faster to fish them out."
 
"Yeah, you suck all right," I said deadpan. It just slipped out of my mouth. I felt like taking the wind out of him.
 
Pinprick was so startled he nearly hit a wall and then stared at me as he found a ledge.
 
I suddenly felt embarrassed, "sorry, it's just usually your'e the one telling me not to over think things and stop with the whining and then…"
 
"I'm trying to decide if I'm going to shoot you or going to bask in a weird kind of pride now," He finally stated.
 
"I'm not sure your approval in manners is something I should seek," I finally muttered.
 
He grinned, "Heh. Come on," He said leading the way. Indeed, he entered the med bay, "What's the prognosis?"
 
"They poisoned me," Tornado cursed from the bed where Mabel's Waldo's were, well, it looked like they were fumigating his wound, "Can you believe it? One of the spears, on top of being cursed, had some kind of poison."
 
"One that didn't dissipate in water?" I whistled, "That's…nasty." I had tried to search for a bigger word.
 
"Yeah, I'm laid up," Tornado said "While it's cleared. My healing is actually working against me on this."
 
"Creepy, maybe.." then before I could go on, there was a hand on my shoulder.
 
 
It was Doctor Salem, "The time of your Destiny is at hand, follow."
 
"My destiny? " I followed her out of the bay , suddenly feeling wigged out, "What destiny? I mean, I have a destiny? You know my destiny?"
 
"Everyone has a destiny, young man, but mostly it was an attention getter to have you follow so I could talk to you privately," She said wrly.
 
"Hey," I frowned.
 
"If I had told you I wanted to talk privately, you might have waved it off out of concern for your friend, Tornado is an experienced hero, he's in good hands. He has many to fuss, your absence won't make a difference," She said a bit too sure of it for my liking, "Besides, I enjoy being cryptic."
 
Yup, did not like mystics somedays.
 
 
"So.. you wanted to talk to me?" I coaxed.
 
"Yes," Doctor Salem said, "But not here," She made a gesture and a swirling circle burst into being before us… a portal I guessed, and then had confirmed when she said "After you."
I swallowed and stepped through.

Over in the Fantasy Hero thread a GM was concerned that all his players wanted to be Swordsmen, and I replied something to the effect that if you have a group consisting of Conan, the Grey Mouser, Gomez Addams, D'artaignian and Luke Skywalker that you'ld have a hell of a game.
It's about the characters not the write-ups. Same thing for the Defenders show, as long as the writers create interesting scripts and the actors make their roles come alive the show will be great. If not than the most different power sets in the world won't save it.

Over in the Fantasy Hero thread a GM was concerned that all his players wanted to be Swordsmen, and I replied something to the effect that if you have a group consisting of Conan, the Grey Mouser, Gomez Addams, D'artaignian and Luke Skywalker that you'ld have a hell of a game.
It's about the characters not the write-ups. Same thing for the Defenders show, as long as the writers create interesting scripts and the actors make their roles come alive the show will be great. If not than the most different power sets in the world won't save it.