Pattern Ghost

Yes, well, that's because Supergirl has Melissa Benoist and the other shows don't.

"Slimy. And Gross."

In which a lovable character shows a less lovable side, and a less lovable character shows where she stands on somethings
 
  I really wasn't that tired, and whatever cleansing Doctor Salem had performed on me had worked. No, any terror or insignificance I now felt was now entirely the doing of my own overwhelmed concerns and imagination. How does one hunt down hundreds of spears over seven oceans, and snap them all? Doctor Salem was working on it. Maybe she had a plan for a tracking spell. I was told by Lady Obsidian to get some rest.   I told her flatly that wasn't happening.   She sighed, and allowed me visitors, but only one at a time. I knew what she was doing. The "only one at a time" rule meant that that I'd be granting audiences like a bed ridden prince rather than just getting it over with in one swoop. Then again, I figured most of the team had better things to do.   Boy was I wrong.   "So you're okay, right man?" Tornado inquired of me, "Magic is crazy stuff. I once got popped into a dimension where everything was bright red and blue roads, and every cobble stone showed you one of your memories. Going up and down the roads, were feet, no bodies attached to them, but the had mouths where the ankle stumps would be and they would ask you riddles and not even wait for the answers. It was weird, but it sounds like what you went through was worse."   "Thank you, Tornado, I'm honestly... okay. I'm just feeling overwhelmed, but I'm not lying in the pit of mystically induced despair anymore. I'm good. I'm recovered, and I can handle anything," I assured him with more bravado than was probably warranted.   "Fantastic,"  He smiled, then, then while it didn't turn into a frown, the smile vanished "You took my niece on a date? She's a kid."   "Your 'little' niece is twenty, just two years younger than I am?" I pointed out, "So yes, I asked her out. She said yes. Going to the ocean was something she wanted to do, and I could show her things no one else could."   "What things?" He said suspiciously.   "Barnacles," I told him with a sigh, "Come on man, give me some credit. Do I look or act like a player?"   "The good ones never do," He stated matter of fact "She's my blood. You've got family, right? You can't expect me not to get protective."   I thought about my own family, particularly the women in it. The ones that had been hurt by some jerk, and the ones who had yet to be hurt but would be putting their hearts on the line. I considered we were in a modern age where we had to recognize the rights of our fairer sex relations to make their own choices.   The fact we had to recognize and respect their choices didn't make the protective urges any less genuine.   "No, I can't blame you," I said, "All I can do is tell you the truth, that I have never intentionally in my life hurt a woman who put her trust in me. I've screwed up, and I've done it accidentally, yes, but I've never been deliberately cruel."   He began to pace, which given he was floating was an odd visual. He didn't quite stay even, so he bopped high at one side of the room, then low at another, and I began to imagine him at one of those primitive blip in an ancient video game folks used to play in the seventies.   Tornado glanced over at me, thankfully pausing, "Okay, you're a good guy. That's great. You're a superhero, and she's tempted enough."   "Enough?" I must have looked a bit too pleased at the idea she was tempted.   "Check the ego, I mean she wants in our world, she wants to fight crime," He said, "And I've tried to shoo her away from it, and she scoots back in. You know that fiery Latina stereotype?"   "Yeah?" I raised a brow, "She actually didn't seem like that."   "She's not," He nodded, " It would be easier to handle if she were. Her temper would flare up bright and frightening for a moment and then after she petered out, you could handle her again. Ariana isn't 'handled', she's more like water. You think she's soft, that she'll go along, but actually..."   "She waits you out, and then finds the way in and takes it anyway, and has a lot more force behind getting places than you ever imagined," I said admiring, "She does keep a level head on her shoulders," I took a deep breath, "Okay, I understand why you'd want her away from this life, it's dangerous, but  Valentino," I said using his name even though he was wearing the mask, "Come on, with you in the biz she's already invested emotionally in the world of supers whether I date her or not. And maybe, even if neither of us was involved, she'd take up the calling if she could. You said it yourself, she's got her own brand of stubbornness."   "Well, I don't have to like it," He snorted, "And if you loved her..."   "Pump your brakes, I barely know her, though I like what I know," A lot, I thought, "But I don't know her well enough to be using the L word. Come on, man. She clearly has powers."   "Not enough," He looked grateful that was the cause, "But I'll let her tell you the details on that one. Just, go easy. She's only twenty. It's possible she's drawn to you because of what you are, not who you are. If she can't be part of our world as one of us, she could be part of it as a romantic interest."   I frowned at that, "She's only into me because I breathe water and am super-strong? Is that what you're saying?" At first it sounded insane, but then, I had used my powers to impress her in the first place. And maybe she might be looking for a vicarious kind of belonging on the team she could not, for some reason, join herself.   "I don't know that. Subconsciously ? Maybe. I'm saying she's young, idealistic, and brave. She's a kid, and even if you don't mean it intentionally, you could hurt her badly. Let's face it, superheroes are worse than cops and doctors combined when it comes to the time we can devote to a significant other," He said, "You want to put any woman through that?"   My mouth opened, and I felt both horrified at the idea of some as yet nebulous love interest waiting, miserable, for the latest newsfeed to tell her if I lived or died, and angry that Tornado seemed to think that because I was a superhero I should die alone and without anyone to come home to. Both reactions were a bit extreme, and I took a deep breath rather than respond.   Then again, I was supposed to be trying to be a hero, and that didn't stop when I wasn't wearing the costume. Innocents first.   "No, I guess I don't," I frowned, "It was just one date. I can distance myself... for her sake."   "What. A . Load. Of. Crap." came from the door way. It was said with such utter disdain that even if the owner of said voice didn't have cold powers, I would have felt a chill.   "Hey, Arctic Fox, one at time," Tornado said irritably, "That was Lady Obsidian's orders."   "I assure you," The queen of cold and ice said loftily, "If Dr. Vernon had just heard the utter drivel tripping out of both of your mouths right now, she would shake my hand for this intervention. Valentino, your niece is what, three years younger than you, four?"   "Something like that," He shrugged, "I'm not sure what your..."   "I've seen you date girls her age, in both costume and not," Arctic Fox went on, "But Ariana, who has more sense than some thirty year old women I know is a delicate Mex-american flower who can't stand the first harsh winds of romance gone wrong? She's twenty, and by now,  she's had at least one crush that ended up crushing her. Possibly hard. Given your juvenile manipulations of a man you claim as a team mate and friend, I can can see why she wouldn't tell you about that."   "Hey, go easy on the guy," I found myself defending Valentino.   "No," Tornado's jaw set, "Maybe I am too protective and ...too close to the situation. Fine, later Caleb. Sorry, for... coming out of the gate with this one, " He moved past Fox with a dirty glare and moved on.   "He was just looking after his own," I said to her after Tornado was gone. I was surprised. Arctic Fox was the one member of the team I wasn't expecting a visit from.   "And that makes it right how?" Arctic Fox snorted, "If Ariana knew he'd tried that, 'fiery latina' or not, she'd have his ass and he'd deserve it," She had folders in her hand, but didn't hand them over yet, "Do you like Ariana?"   "Yeah, but the danger..."   "Let me try again, in your own language," She put two fingers together against her mouth and gave a pretty piercing whistle that made me whistle before saying in the worst imitation of a Southern Accent I have heard,  "Hey Bubba, you think that there latina philly is nice and purrty? Then you should see if she wants to mosey on over to the footbridge after dark!"   I winced at the pitch of the whistle and glared at the accent, "Do you have to be a b*tch?"    "No, it's a life style choice I merely gravitate towards, but it gets people to listen," She took a deep breath, "Look, it's no secret I would rather have my boyfriend on this team than you. But you are a part of the team whether I like it or not,  and even you weren't, the idea that we should avoid love of all things is poisonous. Love isn't something you run from, Love is something you strive for. You open a little bit more each day, and the person you're with, he or she does the same, and then hopefully, once both of you have seen all the crazy in each other, rather than be repulsed, you...join, and I'm not talking sex. You hold onto each other and you stand no matter what against the world. That's what love is supposed to be. That's the dream, the only dream worth having in this crapsack world as far as I'm concerned. And it is not a reason to not save the world, it's a reason to save it, because with love and only love is this stupid planet worth saving."   I was stunned. I had not thought of her as a romantic. I mean, yes, I knew she had a guy she was gaga over, but that was still not what I expected, "So does everyone on this team have someone, or are you the lucky one?" I said, and I didn't mock when I said it.    "Just me," She smiled sadly for a second, clearly glad at her own fortune, and sad that others didn't have what she has, "Valentino plays the field, and plays it well, probably afraid of commitment. But that might be my own biases involved. I like him, but men."    I smirked at that, "Oh yeah, we suck."   "Fine, obviously men are no more monolithic than the more sensible sex, but I reserve the right to gloat the day Tornado meets his match and ends up wrapped around some woman's finger," She said sans mercy.   "Mean," I said, but smiled.   "If she's a good woman, he'll count his lucky stars," She added, "As for Doctor Vernon, she dates. At her age it's easy to dismiss her romancing days as done, but as she hinted earlier..."   "That was a hint?" I inquired thinking the comments on Denzel before but Fox went on.   "...She's not dead yet," There was admiration in her voice, "She's also a lady old school so if there's some peer at those science meets or senior superhero gatherings she's seeing, I'm out of the loop on that one."   "And here I thought you two were at loggerheads," I muttered.   "Logger what? speak a real language," She told me.   "It means you seem to argue a lot," I sighed at the lack of education big city superheroes had.   "Yeah, we do. Because I think I'm right and she's wrong on some things. If I didn't respect her, I'd do what I'd want and not even bother listening to her, but I do, so I argue," Her expression indicated worry that I wasn't very bright.   "And Pinprick? He mentioned an Ex..." I started to say.   "I hope she rots in hell," Arctic Fox said before the full question had left my mouth.   "Whoa," I blinked, "What did she do? Cheat on him?"   "Eventually in every way possible," Fox answered with such seething contempt that I was very glad it wasn't directed at me, "I shouldn't be surprised you don't know. Pinprick might make jokes about her when Glen isn't about, you know, those little jokes we tell because they're true and we hope the truth will hurt less? But even then he tries to stay out of the habit of openly talking trash about her because she's the mother of his son. And he never, ever, even jokes about her where Glen can hear."   "Well, that's...decent of him," I said curious as hell as to what the lady had done or not done. I guess Arctic Fox picked up on it, because she went on.   "She swore through good and bad, sickness and health..." Arctic Fox explained, "then he had his origin. He came out shrunk down, and feeling like a freak. She agreed with the feeling and left him. She took their son with her, and he had to go through hell to prove he was a person let alone the boy's father and fit enough to be so. She left him because she was embarrassed by his new stature and couldn't handle the scrutiny. She told the courts it was 'traumatic' for her. For her! " The temperature in the room was dropping, "And she lied whatever lies it took to try to keep Pinprick from being able to see Glen. Pinprick's ex didn't just bail on him, she betrayed him utterly. Frankly, I've met supervillains with more honor. If I could vote other females off the Island of womenhood? She'd have been sucking water a loooong time ago. You don't swear to love and cherish and then pull that crap and get a pass from me. I don't care if it's on some team mate or a man or woman I don't even know. You. Don't. Do. That."   "Sometimes people divorce," I said, stunned at the heat in her words even as it was accompanied by a chill, "Sometimes marriages are a mistake."   "I know that," she raised a brow, and the cold backed off, "My own family has more than one. And I feel sorry for those who find it necessary, but there's divorce, and there's betrayal. One does not have to be the other. Someone else's heart is a sacred trust."   She put the folders in my hands, "Sacred." She said in one word as if this discussion was over.   "You didn't strike me as the church going type," I admitted.   "I'm not," She shrugged, "I don't believe in God. It doesn't mean I don't have a sense of the sacred. Now read those."   "Sure," I said, "What am I reading?" The papers were notes on , what was this, T shirt patterns, action figures?  And the first pages some kind of trademark clarifications for New Samaritan Non profit?   "Ways and means to protect your super identity from becoming some other company's trademark," She answered.   "Wait, they can do that?" I blinked.   "Of course, I thought you were into history, surely you remember the Emerald Avenger and what happened to him?"    I winced, "Yeah, some company trademarked his name and costume and then put legal papers and motions out restricting his use of it."   "Do you want that to happen to you?" She raised a brow.   "No," I admitted, "But, this feels a bit like selling out."   "There are options in there to have proceeds from your action figure sales and t shirts to go any charity you like, either all of it or a percentage. So unless you really think helping St. Jude's or Project Innocence or the Make a Wish foundation is 'selling out'..." She shrugged.   "No, I get it," I was overwhelmed by this. How much would be greedy? Did I really need a job after all? What charities should I give it to? As much to buy myself thinking time, I asked, "If Pinprick's Ex tried to screw him over so he couldn't even see Glen, how does he have visiting rights?"   "If I had to guess, it would be because he got rich with investments after the divorce and she couldn't touch the money, oh, and he hired a real attorney, one of the best divorce lawyers in California," a smirk, "Who threatened to take the story mega public and portray her as the atrocious and traitorous spineless b*tch she is."   "Pinprick would never do that," I countered, "Because it might hurt Glen."   "She didn't know him well enough to realize that," Arctic Fox answered, "Sad, isn't it?"    Then she noticed me sussing the papers out, "Relax, you don't have to sign it right away, think it over, and if you need me to I'll walk you through it later," She started to leave, "Don't tell Pinprick I discussed his dirty laundry so much with you. I hate being shrunk."   "Promise," I said, then something in the paper work caught my eye, "Hey! Some of this is to trademark "Fish Guy" as well as Eel? And next to Eel there's a notation of..what is this?"   "First of all, you may not like the name Fish Guy, but even if you don't it's got Brand power now thanks to your exploits," She said at the door, "Secondly, you might might to reconsider the name Eel. It's not testing well."   "Not testing well?" I gaped at her, "It's a sea creature, like me. I can even..."   "No one cares, Eels are slimy and gross. I suggest go with Fish Guy or find something new," Arctic Fox's amber eyes locked onto mine, "If you want to have any marketability at all."   "But..." I protested.   "Slimy," She said withdrawing, "and gross."

I actually don't think the premise was that flawed, any more than the original Dirty Dozen was flawed.  SS could have been about a bunch of freakish antiheroes thrown together on this impossible mission, overcoming their differences along the way, and succeeding where others assumed (or wanted) them to fail.  And there was a little of that in what we got.  But it was poorly executed and diluted with too much extraneous crap. 

Got a bit more done tonight before midnight. 
 
 
  Someone caught my scream in hand made of light, brought her glowing fingers together, and muffled it more and more until it just silenced.   I could hear other things now.   "He told me to get to shore and I did," a woman's voice, one filled with shame and frustration, caught my ears, "I left him to that..."   "Hey, this is not your fault, you did nothing wrong," A man's voice this time. Similar sounding, consoling and reassuring to her.   "Except knock out the guy who rescued him," Another man's voice.    "I didn't realize that at the time," Protest from the first voice, more embarrassment.   "We can sort things out later," A second woman, a voice of authority and calm. Concern was there too, "For now, let the Doctor do her work."   "It's done," a voice said, another woman, filled with power and I could read nothing else. The hand was hers, I knew that much, "He's awake now. I've taken the barbs from his soul. He'll be fine, against all odds."   I opened my  eyes. I was in the med-bay, half submerged in a box/slash bed they'd arranged for me, and there was a pretty big crowd around me.  The wounds the spears had inflicted on me were gone, but more importantly? I didn't hate myself anymore. I didn't feel like an unworthy bug that had somehow gained the notice of a mountain side it had dirtied by landing on it.   "Doctor Salem, I presume?" I gazed at the woman before. She had not aged as gracefully as Lady Obsidian, but then I imagine most women didn't. Doctor Salem's wrinkles ran deeper into, she didn't stand quite as straight, and yet her eyes were surprisingly clear still. Her costume had a 17th century vibe to it, mostly in a blend of dark blues and purples. There was an almost mesmerizing torc about her neck with skull designs at the end. I could see echoes in the frame of her cheekbones to the beauty she must have had as younger woman but if her beauty had faded, it hadn't touched one bit of her poise. Like Lady O, she had an aura of command.   "You didn't tell me he'd come up quipping," Doctor Salem glanced over at Lady Obsidian. Lady Obsidian was in her armor, perhaps ready for trouble, perhaps already having faced some, "Young people," As if that explained it all.   Doctor Salem nodded to her and turned back to me, "How are you feeling?"   "Not...as shaken as I should be," I confessed, "And I'm very confused," More realizations came to me as I took in the crowd , team mates and more. My eyes shot to Ariana who gotten out of her wet suit and was now wearing a light blue blouse and darker hued jeans that fit her nicely. The others were in costume, "What happened? Where's Mayo? Did anyone get the other spears? Did they find the other underwater soldiers? I knocked some out but when I broke the spear... and who's protecting the city?"   Everyone tried to answer me at once.   "I went to the shore and called for back up, but the others were facing another threat...."   "Nothing we couldn't handle...."   "We almost had to pry you out of that fetal position you were in, Jesus kid, what did you see?"   "Lady O called Doctor Salem, when she realized it was probably mystical... and we have Valorous picking up our slack... again I might add."   "Seriously? You're going to bring up your boyfriend when Fish Guy got the mother of all magic whammies?" "But you're okay now, right?"   "Wait, is Mayo the pasty guy Ari knocked out?"   "Okay, I'm really feeling bad about that now..."   "You called an Albino looking guy Mayo? Isn't that a bit...well, racist?"   "Ahem," Doctor Salem said, her finger tip suddenly glowing with a blue light that filled the room. Everyone shut up, except for Lady Obsidian who had been letting the others ramble, "If you all don't act in a more orderly fashion I'm going to ask Lady Obsidian to order you out of the room. If you don't mind, let me answer the young man's questions on the mystic side?"   Murmurs and mumbles of compliance.   I was the one who spoke up, at risk of rousing a wizard's...err witch's wrath, "Actually, I need to confess something. I screwed up. I had this dream, and thought it was just the dream. It was actually the sending. I don't know why I picked it up. I'm not Atlantean or anything, but I guess I got caught in one of those contingencies. Even after you mentioned visions I didn't think it through and equate it with dream. If I had bothered to put two and two together I would have never let Ariana near the ocean," I said in a rush. One of Ariana's elegant raven brows shot up in an arch at the word "Let" but she let it slide, for now.   Rather than being annoyed with me, Doctor Salem was quite calm, "None of this surprises me in hindsight, Eel and you were hardly the only one who missed some clues. And as the mystic expert, I should be the one to know better. Whatever spell was cast was meant for sentient waterbreathing peoples. You maybe a surface born man, but you still fit the required qualifications. Add to that a possible subconscious command for not sharing it with anyone not of their ranks, and of course your mind would rationalize it as a dream. I'm the one who ignorantly assumed any sending would be for land dwellers. It all makes perfect sense actually. Now tell me about this dream, and tell me what happened out there as best you can remember and I will tell you what you need to know. "   The way she phrased that was not lost on me. I was the one who got whammied, didn't I need to know everything?   I gave her everything I could recall of the dream, and it came to me in alarming detail. I found myself recalling some of the armor worn, the various types of sea people I saw, and even some of the words chanted though she shushed me when I started to repeat those.    Then I described how the perfect date with a great girl went south. Ariana gave a slightly pleased smile at being called a great girl but her features grow more somber as I covered what happened after her departure.  As if it were her fault what happened next just because she could have stuck around. Some people take too damn much on themselves.     "You are, " Doctor Salem's response after hearing my response to the mystical onslaught from my vandalizing a 'blessed' spear caught me quite by surprise, "a remarkable young man."   "For curling into a ball after breaking a pointy stick?" I snorted.   "The compulsion from that spear being broken was far more powerful than anything tied to the sending," Doctor Salem said to me as if explaining the obvious, "You shattered a conduit. An anchor used by the Eldest to strengthen his ties and influence to this world. It's the last thing he wanted, and so that thing was trapped to curtail such ever being tried again..."   I started to wave it off again...   "By driving you to suicide," she finished.   "I'm sorry, try that again?" I said after a moment to let it sink in occurred.   "That despair, that worthlessness, that wasn't just a byproduct of interaction, that was meant to erase your very will to live and destroy your ability to feel joy," She steepled her fingers.   "Reminds me of my Ex," Pinprick muttered.   "How come I... how come I didn't kill myself then?" my throat was dry.   "Strength of will, true faith? Purity of heart? Perhaps you even have a destiny and other powers have need of you, but something," She continued, "Or someone, shielded you. If from within, you are very rare. If from without? Someone powerful loves you, or at least finds you useful. And that has cost the Eldest much."   "From one spear?" I raised a brow.   "The next time you do break one," She explained and I fought a cringe at going through that again, then heartened at the rest, "It will have less of an effect on you. It will never be completely safe, but you are now a greater threat to him than anyone else on this team just because you can destroy his anchors. Destroy them all, and the Eldest may find his ability to affect this world reduced to a phantom."   "First thoughts," Tornado said, "I think I saw this movie, but the good guys won so...yay. Second thought, how many of those guys in that sending had those spears?"   "All of them," I said trying to sort how I could even begin to track them down.   "And how many of them were there?"   "At least a thousand, maybe thousands," I said still stunned.   Tornado thought about how to put a positive spin on this, then smiled weakly and slapped me on the shoulder, "Hey, man, job security!"

Yes there was a Wasp in the Ultimate Universe. IIRC
 
 
And people ask me why I didn't like the Ultimate Universe...

We have guests today so I didn't get as far as I'd like, but hopefully it's not too anticlimatic a resolution to yesterday's cliff hanger.
 
 
 
Blood trailed from my shoulder into the water behind me. I've been cut before. There's a reason terms like invulnerable or invincible come with qualifiers in the super biz; qualifiers like 'nigh' 'relatively' 'virtually' or my personal favorite 'close enough for government work'. Certain lasers had sliced me when they'd have severed someone else entirely in half. There are metals, rather expensive ones, that can cut through anything, even yours truly. And damn it if Bloodwatch wasn't right that a titanium bullet at point blank in my eye would be a severe downer on my day.    But I was surprised, the spear didn't exactly seem high tech. Wait, what was it from the dream? The spears were 'blessed' by the Eldest One. Crud, I hate mysticism.   "Head towards the shore," I ordered Ariana, "Now."   Floating under the water as we were, I got to talk, she didn't. She did shoot me a briefly defiant look before breaking through the surface, stepping up onto the water as if it were solid, and running towards the shore! She could walk on water?   Later, no doubt when I had time to think on it, my carnal desire for the girl I was dating would conflict strongly and uncomfortably with my religious upbringing.   Right now, I had a fight on my hands!   The fanged behemoth they were riding and I closed. It's maw opened and I felt the pull of water rushing in threatening to drag me in like an undertow. I resisted the pull, and managed to avoid getting swallowed. The creature clamped down with a thunderclap of a snap on empty water ! Its red eyes blazed with hate.  This thing hated me, or maybe it just hated. It hated with an almost human capacity for the emotion. And that was spooky as hell.   Instead of in its mouth, I landed on the top of it where its riders awaited me.   The golden skinned fellow with catfish like bristles on his skin was the one who had thrown his spear at me was drawing a knife. I didn't know if that could hurt me, instead I focused on the spears that I pretty sure could. I moved to the side as the next fellow, a blue-green guy with something like a gladiator movie set for armor attempted to stab me. I grabbed the incoming spear while it was extended, and then yanked it as hard as I could.   He tried to out-muscle me.   Big mistake. The soldier was strong, probably stronger than the average human athlete, but he wasn't in the super range.  For him, it had to be like playing tug of war over a rope with a speedboat. That's called water skiing.   His grip came loose and he shot behind me like a piece of luggage falling off the back of a truck.  For a moment, I was terrified that the behemoth was going to devour the new target right in front of it's ugly face.   Thank god, it didn't. Two spear-less, three to...   I managed to block a third spear with the one I had just taken mister aqua marine there, but here's where the trained soldier has an advantage over the insanely gifted. They coordinate, they work together and know moves like flanking. So while I did a pretty impressive block of magic spear number three, the fourth guy had circled and got me in the side with his own.    I cried out in pain as three inches of the weapon head drove into my flesh. Judging by the look on the attacker's face, he was surprised  it hadn't gone deeper, but if he'd gotten an inch and a half lower, that would have been plenty to skewer a kidney!   I swung the spear I had just blocked with at the warrior who got the hit on me. I did not think to pull my blow! This guy had more armor than some of the others, and it was a good thing because I broke it open and probably a rib as well with the staff part of the weapon in my hand.    What was the shaft made of anyway? It wasn't like your typical sources of wood abounded in the ocean, at least not in plain old tree form!   A knife hit the side of my neck as the guy who had thrown the first spear rejoined the fight with the weapon he had. I guess it wasn't 'blessed' because it fractured without so much as raising a welt. I kicked him hard end over end in the water where he lay still and moved no more.   Served him right, I thought mercilessly eager for the next... "What the hell?" I said out loud.   How did I get from shielding gangbangers and pulling punches on supervillains until I knew their limits to cutting loose on soldiers who, except for magic spears and water breathing, didn't seem much tougher than your average trained goon?   That's not me!   The tail slap from the behemoth caught me as flat footed as one can get while under water. That's the problem with moments of desperate introspection, the folks trying to kill you do not respect them as legitimate timeouts.   Even in the buffer of the sea I found myself tumbling end over end until I actually found myself breaking the surface of the ocean and facing open sky. That sea-beast had really run my bell. I'm sure, but I think it hit harder than I did.   I wanted to kill it.   I wanted to hurt them all.   I glanced at the spear still in my hand. Why was it still in my hand after a surprise slap like that? If anything, I  figured I should have lost my hold on it. Instead I'd tightened my grip subconsciously. I found myself almost missing the straight forward and relatively clumsy mind whammy Magic Word had laid on me at the bank.   This thing wasn't blessed, it was cursed.   And I didn't want anything to do with it.   I dodged the next spear from a pale warrior who... I'd almost forgotten about Mayo! I mean, maybe it wasn't him. Maybe it was another albino like merguy. Yet if I had good money, yeah, it was him.   "Mayo, it's Caleb..." I wanted to keep my eyes on him, at the same time I knew any second the sea monster and other warriors would be joining us. I did something a superhero isn't supposed to do in a fight. I took my mask off, goggles and all.   In the dream I had been wearing some kind of headgear, but my face was visible. If I remembered the dream, maybe he would too?   "Caleb!" His eyes blinked, and I realized the light up here must be near blinding to him, but he clearly made me out. He gritted his needle like teeth as if ... as if he were trying to block out pain and hate.   "Yeah, I feel it too, and I've been holding onto this for just a few seconds," I suddenly had a lot of respect for Mayo.   Mayo knew my name, but the rest was a babble of a language I felt like I knew once but had forgotten, like that Middle school French class you let deteriorate until you're pretty much back to square one.   His inhuman face lit up with determination, and then as if he was trying to exert every inch of might in his body... he let the spear fall from his finger tips and fall down into the depths below.   The expression of conflict from his face eased and I swore for a moment he was about to cry with relief. And a scream of outrage, some word I didn't understand, came not from him, but one of his peers riding the back of that sea beast. And they weren't gunning for me. They were going after Mayo!    It's mouth opened and Mayo began to be drawn towards the gaping maw as I was, but Mayo wasn't as strong as I am.    Without even thinking about it,  I threw the spear I had been carrying (Or had it been carrying me?). Once again I blessed being a family that was so old fashioned that chucking rocks for distance was part of the ritual for passage into manhood. I'm no Payton Manning, but I had a big target, a magic spear stronger than steel, and a whole lot of upper arm strength!   The spear drove deep into the left eye of sea monster! It thrashed and twisted in a fashion more suited to a beheaded snake than a marine mammal! It's rider was thrown clear off! And given the reaction of the sea-beast, that was probably a good thing for him because I wasn't sure he'd survive the same blow that had taken the breath out of me.   Speaking of Breathing, Mayo had submerged! Of course, maybe I was amphibious, but these guys couldn't stay topside long.    It was time to change tactics. I'd gotten spoiled by my durability. I had neglected my speed. I plunged in after Mayo and shot past him. The remaining warriors were wisely staying away from the rampaging sea monster, but each had recovered a spear. I shot towards them, and they braced, probably expecting to take me down like a united phalanx of pikemen handling a mounted knight of old.   Sorry guys, no joust today.    I twisted just out of the range of a spear lunge and circled them, faster, and faster, the force of it building around them as I created a localized whirlpool.   I'd like to say this was old hat, a trick I'd pulled off dozens of times and had mastered but that would be a lie. I was a whirlpool virgin.   Okay, that sounded wrong. I'm going to leave that phrasing out of my future autobiography.   Imprecise and imperfect as my first attempt was, it was enough to send the remaining soldiers battering against each other helplessly  until they were out cold. I glanced up to see the Behemoth finally slowing in it's thrashing. It lay very still... and changed.   The fangs receded. The eyes were were no longer glowing with hellish red light, and the blights along its skin cleared.   It was a dead humpback whale.   I guess whatever magic had transformed it in life had let it go in death. I moved towards the embedded spear in its socket, and steeling my resolve pulled it out.   It was there again, unreasoning rage, unthinking hatred, it was like my soul was rolling in an oil spill. All those destructive urges I had ever suppressed, some I didn't even know I'd had, were bubbling up to my consciousness. I hadn't realized how much I hated that supervillain team back home that had humiliated me. I wanted them dead. Some part of me had enjoyed the idea I might have broken Magic Word's shoulder. He deserved worse, didn't he? And if I ever ran into that reporter for news 3....   I glanced down at the spear, "The one ring," I told it, "You ain't."    And I snapped it over my knee!   There was a flash of hellish reds and venomous greens that filled my vision.   I thought I had known hate and anger a moment ago?    I knew nothing of either.   I was an insect moving soil and calling it civilization. I was a flea on the back of greater beasts I couldn't even begin to comprehend and congratulating myself for discovering this particular square inch. I was a speck; an irritation pretending at person hood.    The entirely of my worth was defined only in that something real had noticed me, something far more ancient than I could ever fathom and more powerful than I could grasp. Science had not yet made measurements that could quantify the disparity to how little I mattered compared to the being that had graced this spear.   I was nothing, less than nothing.   Compared to the Eldest.   A pair of pale hands grabbed me, and  began to carry me away towards the shore as I clung into a fetal position trying to feel my body, and I couldn't. I couldn't feel anything but how little I mattered.   I had lied to Ariana earlier. It turns out there was something in the ocean I very much could not handle.   And it knew me now.

Seems to me that Aaron doesn't like the establishment any better than a certain vigilante that Fish Guy's recently encountered. And who better to disguise their voice than a trained vocalist?

Today's effort includes a girl in a wet suit.
 
Why do Californians often have such great tans? Well, I suspect it's because while they love to go to the beach, most of them are not swimming. And that's understandable. The Pacific, at least the part of the Pacific on the California Coast, is chilly.  Obviously, there are souls that brave the waves, particularly in the summer but even then, it rarely gets above seventy degrees Fahrenheit.
 
For me, this is no barrier. My powers allow me to handle even freezing waters without trouble. For Ariana? Well, a wetsuit was required.
 
And damned if it didn't look good on her. The material of the blue and black wetsuit hugged her form nicely, and she tried to pretend she didn't notice that I was noticing even as I tried not to notice too obviously. Neither of us quite pulled our respective ruses off, which I call even-stevens on.
 
 
Finally, I just confessed, "It looks good on you."
 
"I thought it would be bulkier," She said demurely, "But since the first time you saw me I was in a swimsuit, I can't exactly clutch my pearls now."
 
I laughed, "Probably touched up with better materials than usual thanks to Dr. Vernon. I hope I wasn't staring too much."
 
"No, you were staring just enough," She said.
 
I was losing the quip war here, and loving it.
 
"Shall we?" I gestured to the ocean beyond.
 
She grabbed the light weight state of the art scuba and turned to the ocean's face, "Let's," She put it on.
 
Shielded from the chill of the waters by said wetsuit, she began to swim out along the surface. I joined her, doing lazy circles along the same as she strained against low waves trying to push her back. She was a strong swimmer, but I suppose I was making her look bad.
 
"Show off!" She said with a mix of annoyance and amusement.
 
"Mind if I help get us further out?" I offered a hand.
 
"You said you would," she reminded, putting her breather in her mouth. Her tank held a lot for it's small size.
 
I smiled shark like at her and took her hands, each one in my own. I was going to enjoy this.
 
"Uh oh," Her dark chocolate eyes widened in realization behind the goggles.
 
"Hold my beer," I said in the language of my people, even though there was no beer to hold.
 
We were off like a proverbial torpedo and its lovely Latina payload. She had taken the precaution of putting her rebreather in, and with that in mind I was free to not just carry us over the surface, but to plunge us into the depths! Well, I had to remember not to rise too fast later. I didn't want anyone getting the bends. The Pacific was still new to me, and while we humans know less about the depths of the Ocean than we do the moon's surface, I had taken the time to study what was known. I had just the place to take her.
 
The coral reef here wasn't as legendary as some larger ones, but it is bursting with color, and when she switched the light on her belt on, those colors really came alive! Not to be outdone, stripped fish of orange and blue broke into a pattern all about us and Ariana forgot all about me for a moment as she took out her underwater camera and snapped shots as quickly as she could.
 
I laughed. I can do that under water. Look, mom, no bubbles, "Enjoying yourself?" I asked her.
 
That's when it sunk in (no pun intended) on her that I could talk down here, she couldn't, not really. She poked me playfully and then looked about again for the next sight. Excitedly, she pointed. Along the sea floor here, there was a skate shooting along. She took pictures carefully, but as it was getting away, Ariana looked at me winsomely (well as winsomely as one can with a face full of scuba gear) and I could tell she wanted something but details were lacking.
 
"What do you want?" I just flat out asked her.
 
She pointed to the skate, then to me, and then made the 'head clutch' motion and managed a 'doo dee doo' sound at the cost of releasing a few bubbles.
Oh, for the love of…
 
"I don't do that," I said, "No habla Ray or Skate.. parley not a fish?"
 
That earned me another poke, which I might have deserved. I smiled.
 
If one could give a wistful underwater sigh, she managed it. But it didn't keep her 'down' long. She was off looking around, and I realized I was letting her wander a bit far afield. I don't care which ocean you're in, it can be a dangerous place. One encounter with the wrong sort of jellyfish, and kiss your ass goodbye.
 
"Hey, don’t' get too far," I warned her.
 
Ariana heard me, but while she didn't dart off further, she wasn't exactly racing back to me. Why is we superheroes are never attracted to the overly cautious homebodies? It would solve a lot of our problems if we were.
 
As it was, I was enjoying her enjoyment. The delight emanated from her like a current all her own, and dragged me pleasantly along with it. I was having fun because she was having fun. Not that I wasn't caught up in some of the wonder myself.
 
One of my uncles lived in the mountain side of North Carolina. He loved those low mountains and woods as much as any sailor ever loved the sea. I appreciated them, but not as much as he did. He used to say that if he ever got bored with those forests, then he'd know he was bored with life. 
 
When the cancer took him, his sons and I took his ashes, went to his favorite high peak, and let his remains rip loose in the wind. It was what he wanted. And, I think, for me? It'll be my ashes mixed with the currents off the Carolina Coast.
 
Which I suppose means Fish Guy will become fish food, but to heck with it. All that means is I'll be cutting out the middle men ala worms.
 
Then I saw the shadow pass over us! She was in for a real treat! I pointed up and smiled.
 
She gasped, and began to rise with surprising speed, I mean surprising! I remembered her doing that in the pool somehow. She wasn't kicking her legs or anything, it was as if she had just suddenly become rather buoyant!
 
I needed to ask about that but I could see why she was hasty. Even in California, not everyone gets close to a Gray Whale.
 
Our visitor was a migrating behemoth of the California coastal waters. The baleen munching marine mammal wasn't really trying to get away, so Ariana was gaining on him rapidly. Maybe a bit too much so. I put an arm around her waist, and was surprised at how…cushy she felt. That's not slam on her figure or anything. I mean she felt pillowy in areas I didn't expect her to be given her well-toned figure. What was going on?
 
While I slowed her down a little, I didn't stop her and she rather than be offended at the gesture, she seemed to realize I was just trying to protect her from ascending too quickly.
 
Maybe I was being over cautious.
 
She ran her hands along the side of the gentle giant, with a sense of wonder. The whale, for his part, actually seemed to enjoy the attention. Huh, big bull was threatening to pull my date away from me entirely.
 
I guess size really does…  stop that, Caleb. You're better than that.
 
Sometimes.
 
I let go of Ariana to give the gray a few light pats myself. He was an old one I think. Judging by the scars along his flanks, he might have even surfaced an orca or shark attack at one time. The guy was a survivor.
 
"I shall call you, Whale Guy," I told him with the most serious tone I could manage.
 
There was a scuba blocked snarf from Arania at that.
 
It was an unfair advantage, but as I could talk and she couldn't, I went on, "Yes, Whale Guy. You shall my sidekick. I shall punch people, and you shall roll over them and then sing beautifully…together, we'll fight crime."
 
Another snarf, and yes, underwater laughter. She shot me a look as if my making her laugh was somehow below the belt.
 
I felt no guilt.
 
And Whale Guy was in my corner! Whale Guy wasn't trying to steal my date. Whale Guy was clearly my wingman. Whale Guy was loyal! Whale Guy was on my side…
Whale Guy was leaving?
 
I am not telepathic. I do not read the minds of marine life, I don't care how smart it is.
 
But I knew panic when I saw it.
 
Whale Guy was booking as fast as his fins and flukes could take him! Whatever was coming, out of a fight or flight response, he'd picked flight.
 
I whirled and moved back towards Ariana, expecting either a really gutsy shark, or more likely, a pack of killer whales. The later was actually far more dangerous to baleen whales. They don't call orca "sea wolves" for nothing. They are smart, organized, hungry and deadly.
 
The fact they can be adorable in their way doesn't change that.
 
They have to eat like anyone else. Despite that bit of nature and the necessity of the circle of life and all that. I was tempted to slow them down and keep them off Whale Guy. I never should have named him.
 
But what came next was not a pack of killer whales.
 
In fact, it wasn't like anything I'd ever seen at all.
 
Well, maybe in my dreams, or, at least, one particular dream.
 
That was coming back to me in a rush!
 
Five figures were riding what appeared to be another whale, but I'd never seen a whale like this in any documentary ever. It had similarities to a humpback but instead of the strands of baleen, it had fangs surrounding a gapping maw. Its eyes were not gentle and wise, but glowing red.
 
Riding him were five warriors dressed in strange and archaic armor. None of them were human, and one of them was as pale as snow.
 
"Mayo?" I gasped, "Oh god, it's real!"
 
That's when another of the warriors threw a spear at me cutting a gash along my supposedly nigh- invincible shoulder.
 
There was blood in the water, and it was mine!

Superheroes can't just 'go' to the bank
 
 
  So, the idea that some ganger who probably was not a very nice young man had been crippled on my watch was eating up at me. To make it worse, that feeling I had missed something important regarding the mystic sending continued to poke at the back of my mind. Holding an idiot ball is embarrassing enough, feeling like you were sure you were holding two of them? Well, it's down right frustrating.   I had my apartment, but I was barely using it. It was time to move some furniture in or Aaron was going to get suspicious. Though, so far, he wasn't asking questions about why I had gotten a room, was only now moving into it. Nope, he just wailed on his guitar and yelled some lyrics. He had a good voice , but I still only understood about half of it.   Something about capitalism being dead and worshiped, and how it was now a skin suit the corporations and banks wore hoping no one would notice their welfare scam. I think there were lyrics about the government practicing necrophilia on its corpse. I'll give this much for Aaron, he had a gift for imagery in his lyrics.   They were the kind of images I wouldn't want any kid under age eighteen around, but they were imaginative. Today his T-shirt had the words 'Choking Hazard' with an arrow arching down to his crotch area. I resolved to myself to try to make sure if my folks ever visited to make sure they were either well warned about Aaron or never met him.   "So how are the performances coming?" I said as I carried a dresser in. I tried to make it look like I was straining a bit, "You get a lot of applause."   "Oh," He said taking a break, "We don't measure in applause. But we did trigger fifteen people of various political stances on the right and left. So... good night."   "You count success in the number of people who freak out when you sing rather than them clapping or so on?" I looked at him out of my room now that I put the dresser down.   "Welcome to Cali, Caleb," A grin, and another screeching riff on his guitar, which I would later find out, he had named Lizzie Borden.    His music had reminded me of something.   "Later, Aaron. I'm hitting the bank, I need to set up some automatic payments on  my account," I told him.   I think he said something like 'steal a pen for me' as I left, but as he was playing still I couldn't be sure.   I didn't want Aaron waiting for his half of the rent in case I went into an adventure in space or something. Mind you, I had not yet been in space, but in this calling its best to be prepared to go full on Armstrong. Aliens were a thing. Earth had alien superheroes. It had alien supervillains. We had even been invaded twice, three times if you counted a tiny island nation now ruled by an alien overlord for four years now. Said Conqueror rules with the blessing of the locals who benefited almost overnight from his technology being used to feed them, clothe them, and who are no longer facing death squads from rival political factions. The UN is still freaking out about it with a lot of finger pointing. More than one nation tried to liberate the island (And help themselves to all that juicy alien technology) only to find their efforts repulsed with more ease than a grown man swatting a fly. The whole island has a force dome it can click on at will.
 
Yet your average joe still couldn't get a flying car. It almost makes me feel guilty I get to cruise around in one: almost.   Of course, a flying car can't help you in your secret identity as you wait in a god awfully long bank line. I had thought I had beaten the lunch crowd, but this city, while no metropolis, had a good population and that meant some places were busier than I'd expect them.   The blinds were down, which is probably why we didn't see the supervillain until he walked in. There used to be rules to superhero costumes. For example, there was a time purple and green combo automatically meant villain. White and gold? Total hero. Red, White and Blue? Definitely hero. Black could go either way, but black and red usually had scary over tones.Yadda Yadda… well, confine folks to rules even more fussy than no white after Labor Day, and before long generations will rebel. What that means: Today anything goes.   So, I couldn't be sure if the guy in the off-white tuxedo with the stylish P on his tie and a hat and mask combo was a villain or not. Odds were good he was up to no good. Most heroes don't do their banking in costume, after all. 
  "Greetings all," He said smugly, "I am Magic Word! Now, PLEASE make no attempt to trigger any alarms or contact anyone outside the bank!"   And just like that, I realized I couldn't contact the team. Others who had been reaching for their cellphones let their hands fall to their sides. One bank teller looked very uncomfortable. No doubt she'd been trained to hit a silent alarm, but now? Nada.   The two security guards on duty didn't know what exactly was going on, but they were smart enough to realize a mask was suspicious and that command sealed it.   "Freeze," One said, "Don't make a move until..."    While he was delivering his warning, I appraised the situation. Way too many people were in here. I was caught in the classic mask trap. If I demonstrated my powers, I'd out myself. If I didn't, this guy might rob the place blind.   "PLEASE," Magic Word said smugly, "Don't shot me and don't touch me. That goes for everyone.'"   The poor guards looked baffled as they put their guns away.  Then one grabbed his night stick!  I guess whatever form of mind control Magic Word used, it had some rather specific limitations. He managed to smash a pretty good blow on Magic Word in the shoulder who cried out in pain and surprise.    I raced towards Magic Word myself. If I gauged my strength right, I would be noted as just one of those reckless guys who got lucky trying to help. Nothing super about that, right? But I couldn't touch him. My hands shook as they tried and failed to cross those last few inches.   "Son a... PLEASE hand me your night stick, Mr. guard, and hold perfectly still," Magic Word almost hissed it, and he got a really mean look in his eye as he said so. This time there was no compulsion on me. He'd been too specific, not that that helped me right now. I still couldn't lay hands on him and I didn't have a weapon. Then I eyed the little desk/display they had set up with papers about promotional offers, forms ready to fill out, and yes, two ink pens chained firmly to the thing.   Magic Word took the nightstick and said, "PLEASE, don't defend yourself, and don't dodge, guard."
 
He raised the stick and struck the guard who had hit him earlier. Magic Word's blow hit the man hard across the mouth bloodying the guard's lips. Then he raised the night stick again.
 
Magic Word might dress like a gent, but he was an awfully petty bully.   Thank god the blinds were down. This might work.   I tore a pen free from it's chain while the other hostages begged Magic Word not to continue striking the guard! While it was not the distraction I wanted, it's what I had, and I used it. I threw the pen with all my might into the largest overhead light above us.   Now when I use the phrase 'all my might' I am talking steel breaking level punches.  So it didn't surprise me when the pen hit with the force of a sling bullet and then some! The light shattered in a rain of glass, and then dimmed- all in one fell swoop.     It had suddenly gotten very shadowy. I see fine in shadow.   "What the hell?" Magic Word cursed. No doubt he was about to mind control whoever did that to identify themselves or worse,, stop whatever they were doing.   I didn't give him the chance. I seized the stand the pen had been attached to, a weighty object, and before you could say batter up, struck him with it sending him flying away from the blinking and blinded guard where he smashed into a wall.   Magic Word slumped and went out cold. I don't think I broke his shoulder or did any serious long lasting injury to him, but I'll admit neither was I feeling too sympathetic. All around the room people found themselves able to act again, and new light sources, dozens and dozens of smart phones, lit the place up.   By that time, I had put the display back where it was and tried to look as confused as the next guy, "Did you see that?" I asked a lady near me.   "I didn't see anything once the lights got screwed," the lady admitted.    "I think I saw Tornado streak by and punch that guy!" I said putting as much hero worship in my eyes as I could muster, "But it was so fast.. if that was him, he was in and out."   Well, that soon go around with discussions of how Tornado had saved them, and how there must have been another crisis going on at the same time for him not to hang around. Not that it was a problem. Some villains need power suppressing tech or state of the art knock out drugs. Others need a pair of handcuffs and duct  tape over their mouths.   Like everyone else, I got a brief questioning from the police, where I acted just as clueless as everyone else. EMTs declared that they wanted to X-Ray Magic Word's shoulder, but other than that he was fine. And about an hour and a half later I even got my accounts set. I was surprised. I expected the bank to close up for the day.   But this was a high supervillain activity town. So I guess they were somewhat jaded about it.   My head stung, not sure where the headache had come from, but a good guess would be a side effect of Magic Word messing with it. I didn't see others taking or aspirin or anything mind you.    I needed to get to the ocean.   Where had that thought come from?     Outside of the bank, I contacted the base and filled Mabel in on the bank robbery and how I handled it, "I just hope I didn't leave finger prints all over the place," I confessed to her.   "Do you know how many people touch those areas every day? You're fine," Amused, "Better than actually, there's a job for Eel."   "Ah, well, my headache can wait," I said, "Hit me with it."   "Ariana has a free afternoon, and we have the gear for her to scuba. She called me to call you and say she knows its short notice but..."   I grinned, "Let me check my calendar ....yes. Absolutely yes."   Huh, I had almost forgotten my offer to Ariana which I couldn't believe myself as she was definitely memorable. Maybe that's why the Ocean was so strongly on my mind suddenly?    As for the headache, I'd scarf some aspirin. It had been so long since I had a date, I was not going to miss this for anything.

Sorry folks, short one this time. I may do more later tonight but right now, this is all I got in me today.
 
  Lady Obsidian might be able to drag my amphibious ass back to the base, but she couldn't make me sleep. Okay, she could probably knock me out, but that is not the same thing. Heck, tired as I was, I couldn't make myself sleep. I soaked in the tub and let it restore me. I got dressed, not in costume but in a pair of jeans and a t shirt I bought at a concert once.  I checked on late night news reports with Mabel, and I paced the building. Maybe I should have burnt up my nervous energy in the pool, but somehow enjoying a swim felt wrong right now.   People were on a hospital table.   Bad people, I suppose, but good or bad they'd been under my protection, and they'd gotten hurt. Logically, I knew this happened. No one, not even the greats like Lady Obsidian or Mister Ultra have a one hundred precent track record of keeping the Grim Reaper from claiming his due. I recognized that.    I still didn't like it.   The was once a mall, so I shouldn't have been surprised at how immense the base was. I did what mall walkers do. I walked in circles, well, now and then I jogged. I would stop and peek in at various sections I hadn't seen yet. Ex stores now converted to labs were plentiful. The most important was probably the med bay. My healing in water trick meant I got to avoid the place, which is fine by me. As a rule, hospitals always seem unfriendly. Not the staff per se, I've met some amiable doctors and nurses who were amazingly friendly given their huge work load. It's the feel of them. Yes, they tend to be drab and sterile, but even when they try to spruce the areas in bright colors or floral prints, it feels like putting a pink collar on an angry tiger. Yes, that is adorable, but odds are you still will get a hole in you if not flat out cut open.   Maybe it was time to test out the training area? Superteams with the resources have training areas where they can cut loose with their powers and face battle simulations, sometimes the training areas have cute trademarked nicknames. Mabel had told me the nick name of this one was the Rumble Room. Mind you, they didn't say out loud. Something about skirting legal issues with a team in upstate New York.   "You should be asleep," Mabel's voice still purred, but there was no flirtatious endearment, "And you are not up to the Rumble Room right now."   "I'm fine, Mabel, I've got energy to burn, I've recovered from the shock and being shot..I..."   "I mean your headspace," She said, "And lack of sleep."   "Look, I can.."  I started to snap, then I blinked, "I can't sleep." I sighed, "Any news from the hospital?"   "Not in the last ten minutes since you asked last time, no," she said.   "I asked ten minutes ago?" I honestly didn't remember.   "Yes, and that's another reason you need to sleep," Mabel said. Yeah, the flirtatious tones were definitely being downplayed.   I almost said 'I don't wanna' but if anything would confirm that my adult mind was in danger of shutting down that would do it. Instead of fighting with Mabel about how I could not sleep despite being more exhausted than I realized. I tried to change the subject. "Where do those go?" I gestured to a sealed door that, had this still been a mall, would have been for employees only.   "Well, some of them do go behind the other labs and so on, but it also leads to the basement and the top security areas," She explained.   "I thought this whole place was top security?" I said surprised.   "Please, guests come here often, down there? Team members only and I require a voice check, a retinal scan of your eye, and a password," Mabel said, "Some serious stuff down there?"   I was too tired to filter my curiosity, "Such as?"   "Devices that supervillains and governments alike would love to get their hands on. A few mystical, some are alien tech we managed to snatch up first, but most of it is cutting edge doomsday level superscience made right here on Earth that the world is just not ready to handle. You'd have to ask Lady Obsidian what's what. Some of it is on its own closed system in case I ever get compromised. No point in ultra high security if someone could just hack me and have me help them," her normally purring voice almost shuddered.   "You can be hacked?" I said with concern, and a bit of sympathy, "I mean, there's a lot I don't know about you but... that would scare me."   "It should, and any of us can be hacked," Mabel said, "We live in a world of telepaths and mind controllers, of shapeshifters and reality benders. Even taking that out, normal humans manipulate their fellow man every day. But thank you for your concerns," A pause, "Yes, it does scare me."   "You're an AI... I mean, actually sentient and sapient," again, no filter, so the fact that I was doing the equivalent of judging her (Was she really a her?) rights as an individual didn't sink in, "I didn't think Lady Obsidian would make one. The ethical implications...."   A return of her own chuckle, "Really, handsome, does Dr. Vernon seem the type that if she was going to make an AI she'd construct one with this personality?"   "Who made you then?" I asked, then realized how that could come out, "I'm sorry, that was rude of me."   "He's gone now," Mabel said after a pause, her voice sad and there was nothing flirtatious or husky about it, "If I promise to wake you as soon as I get more updates on the wounded gang members, will you at least put your head on your pillow?"   "Sure," I said, "And sorry again. I'm not always an idiot."   "Fortunately for you, some ladies find part time idiots kind of cute," She said as I walked towards my room here, "I bet Ariana does."   I groaned, "I knew you were watching when I showed off at the pool for her."   "mmm very nice," I know she didn't have a face but it was easy to visualize a grin, "I quite liked it."   "You're great and all, Mabel, but I think I'm more concerned if Ariana liked it," I confessed.   "She did," Mabel's purr was back, "Normally I'd never betray another lady for a fellow's sake, but if it'll take your mind off things..."    "If anything would," I confessed slash wheedled.   "Because someone might drown in there, I have some bio-scanners in the pool area. Her heart rate increased, her temperature went up a degree, and her pupils dilated...all very promising signs," the AI sounded a bit intrigued herself. I wondered if the team played the part of her soap opera? I mean, she had lots of TV to watch but...   "Hot damn," I grinned wearily.   "You abuse this knowledge, and I will let her know you know and make it sound like you ordered me to tell," She warned.   "That'd be lying!" I objected.   "And you wondered if I was sentient," She cooed wickedly.   "I'm going to bed," I said trying to mask my delight at the confirmation she'd given me, "People are mean out here."   "Oh good," Mabel said, "I thought I was going to have to lure you into the med bay and asked which sample of chloroform you thought had the nicer fragrance..."   On that note, I went to bed.   And to my surprise, I did sleep. I guess my body had finally decided enough was enough, either that or Mabel's chatter and assurances to wake me with any news had helped me settle my concerns.   And I got the news when I woke...   "All of them are alive," Mabel told me as I came out for another free breakfast.   "YUSS!" I pumped my fist into the air.   "But one will never walk again.." She finished.   My hand went down even as my face fell.   "He would have died if not for you, sugar," She told me, "Remember that."   "Yeah," I said, "Doesn't keep me from wanting to find Blood Watch and beat him with his own gun."   "You may get a chance, we'll see," She tried to assure me, "Now, what do you want for breakfast?"   "Not hungry anymore," I said, and sighed, "Thanks anyway."   Mabel gave a frustrated sort of mmmm. But let it be.

Okay, at first I thought this would be a smaller post then... suddenly it gruesome
 
Lady Obsidian took center seat at the big table. The crescent shaped piece of furniture was at high shine, and each of the other New Samaritans took their own seats.  The seats weren't marked visibly, but people, even superheroes, are creatures of habit and territory. One could read a lot into the arrangement I suppose. Pinprick was at Lady Obsidian's right hand. Tornado at her left. Right of Pinprick was Arctic Fox. Did she just like Pinprick more than Tornado, or just enjoy more room? Not that chairs were packed next to each other. Maybe she used to sit closer to Lady O herself, but the tension over her boyfriend not getting on the team had driven a literal distance between them as well a social one?
 
Maybe I was over thinking this?
 
There was that brief awkward moment of trying to figure out where I would sit, but given a choice between the ice queen and the fun-loving speedster, well, it was pretty easy. Besides, being on the other side of Tornado would balance the table out. I slid into the chair.
 
"Leather upholstery?" I said as I eased into the chair, "This is a nicely funded team."
 
A hovering tray brought me an iced tea, just like mom used to make, "Very nicely funded, and very hospitable," I added, "Thank you, Mabel."
 
"You're most welcome, Romeo," Mabel chuckled.
 
For a moment, I wondered if …aw crud. Unlike the bathrooms or bedrooms, the pool area wasn't off limits to visual. In fact, leaving that much water open without supervision when kids like Glen visited would be downright negligent. I had showed off to impress Ariana, but Mabel had seen it too.
 
Oh, AI or not, she and I were going to have to talk.
 
"Some of the team's funding comes from my patents," Lady Obsidian said with amusement "And Arctic Fox's family knows investments, but I'd say the bulk of credit goes to Pinprick," She inclined her head to him, "He provided a lot of the initial funding for us to invest and capitalize on in the first place."
 
"You're the rich one?" I couldn't hide my surprise as I looked at Pinprick.
 
"What? The little guy can't make money?" Pinprick said.
 
"Yeah! I hear six-inch-tall guys are great at stockmarkets," Tornado said and gave that 'wait for it grin' before letting it drop, "They're masters of the short sell."
"I will end you like a bad novel," Pinprick warned him before turning to me, "There may have been a bag of gold involved in my origin story. Memories were hazy, but I had quite a lot of coins on me when I came to."
 
My facial expression must have shown how much I didn't trust this story, because Lady Obsidian threw in, "He's not kidding. He had this bag of gold coins, bigger than he is. We invested it for him. And it's worked pretty well."
 
"Glen doesn't know it," Pinprick smiled, "But eventually his ass is going Ivy League."
 
"Yes," Lady Obsidian nodded, "College is very important," And she tilted her head my way, "Very."
 
I squirmed a bit, "So, you had news for us from your mystic friend to share with us?"
 
"There's trouble," Lady Obsidian admitted.
 
"Of course, there's trouble," Pinprick threw up his hands, "Has any mystic ever shown up and delivered good news? It's never 'I have seen the signs, and you know, the crops will be good and your sports teams will be victorious'. It's always 'The portents bode ill, something ancient has awakened, and it hungers' oooooo" He made spooky sounds.
 
"Quit being so dramatic, Pinprick," Arctic Fox rolled her eyes at the archer before turning her gaze back to Lady Obsidian, "So what did she say."
The armored woman paused uncomfortably before saying, "She's read the signs. There's a very old magic that is stirring, and there's a sense of very dark ambition. We should be alert, and concerned."
 
"Called it!" Pinprick declared triumphantly.
 
"Tell me she had more details than that?" I raised a brow, "I mean, mystics give me the creeps sure, but there's got to be more than that."
 
"There is," Lady Obsidian answered, "A few nights ago was a sending, a powerful one, one that engulfed the world."
 
"What's a sending?" Arctic Fox inquired. I was glad she did, because I wasn't sure myself.
 
"Well, understand that when it comes to the occult I'm quite the layman myself," Lady Obsidian explained, "But essentially it's a message cast on the frequency of the spiritual. It can often be a vision so powerful it's immersive. Subjects of a sending may think they're hallucinating, day dreaming or what have you."
"And this one went all over the world?" Tornado inquired, "How come everyone all over the world is clueless about it? I mean, at the very least you'd think hundreds of psychics would be doing the head clutch, phone calls to 911 would be pouring in about what folks saw…so on?"
 
"It depends on the contingencies and requirements wired into the spell according to my good friend Doctor Salem," Lady Obsidian answered, "She says that one can put limitations on who is allowed to key in on the Sending. They don't have to be psychic or mystical… though those might sense something is going on, brushing past them, like she did. The requirements can be things like 'Born under the sign of Leo' or 'Only those with blue eyes', or a mix. Unfortunately, she can't know who it was intended for or the contingencies in place. She only knows what she managed to divine. I gather it's like checking for residue at a crime scene for her, but that's mere speculation on that part."
 
"I always wondered," Tornado said absently, "Why she's Doctor Salem, but you're the one with the multiple degrees and you go by Lady Obsidian. I mean, you're both smart women who deserve titles of respect, but why are you the Lady in the duo?"
 
"Because when she and I were younger, I was the one who wore a slip while super-heroing," The older woman said without missing a beat, "Focus, people. Doctor Salem cast some separate divinations of her own, and she believes there is someone or something important here that might give us insight into who is behind this powerful sending and to what purpose they are working. I know this is a bit outside our bailiwick, but she wouldn't have come to me for help if she thought it would be a waste of time. Something big is brewing."
 
Something was bothering me about this, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. You know that feeling you get when you know you're missing something but can't pin it down but you're sure you'll be kicking yourself hours later? I was having one of those moments.
 
"I can ask Valorous if he knows anything related to this," Arctic Fox suggested, "If it's a really big problem brewing, we might need more muscle."
"We need brains more than muscle," Pinprick said, "At least when it comes to solving mysteries."
 
"He has a brain," Arctic Fox said defensively, "He's knows police procedures and he notices everything."
 
Lady Obsidian was quiet for a second then, "Tell him about this if you like. If it's as grave a threat as Doctor Salem suggests, then it won't do any good leaving him unprepared. One or two non-team members knowing won't hurt. Just have him keep it from the public. We don't want a panic when conspiracy theorists try to pencil in their own narratives on this admittedly blank sheet we've got."
 
Arctic Fox was pleased, "Good, right after this then. Is there anything else?" clearly she was eager to get going.
 
"Ahem, it's your turn to patrol with the N-E-W-B-I-E," Pinprick reminded her.
 
"The Newbie can S-P-E-L-L," I shot a look at him.
 
Arctic Fox shot me a look like she was being asked to wipe the nose of an obnoxious kid brother, "I don't suppose one of you would…"
 
"No can do," Tornado said, "I have a public relations event to get to."
 
"The Swedish twins?" Pinprick grinned.
 
I grumbled, at must as the injustice off it all as anything.
 
"Yes," He admitted with a smile, "Obviously in case of emergency I'll head right out to help whoever."
 
"Pinprick?" Arctic Fox looked at him hopefully.
 
"Haahahahaha…." The little man laughed then, "no."
 
"Oh, come on," She said exasperated, "Tornado is not the only one who might hope for a little romantic time. Surely one of you can take the newb on."
"Feeling a little hurt here," I admitted. I was a big guy.  I wasn't being used to being treated like the nerd at dodgeball team selection, "You guys know I did fight crime and superhero and everything before I met you, right? The city's new to me, but the duty isn't."
 
"You have a point," Lady Obsidian said, "Though the escorts were not meant to hold your hand so much as letting you get used to how each team member worked. The better you know us, the better we coordinate.  Still, as others seem to have something to do, and I need to get some lab time in… sure, keep your ear bug in, and don't be afraid to call me. Okay?"
 
"Sounds good," I smiled, "Any suggestions on where to patrol?"
 
Pinprick considered my question seriously, "Try the north pier near Stern market," He suggested, "Two street gangs, the Northside Leones and the Wardawgs are meeting. Believe it or not, to bury the hatchet… if rumors are right. That's over all good news, but it's also possible someone's itchy trigger finger and bad blood over old scraps might have them decide they just prefer to kill each other. You don't strike me as stealthy, but it is near water so…."
"I'll spy on it and make sure it doesn't go south," I said with a nod.
 
"Good news is, they're nothing you couldn't take in a fight, Fish Guy," He assured me, "switchblades and bullets not exactly a threat to you."
"I'm on it," I looked at Lady Obsidian.
 
"I think we're done for the night," She nodded, "Just everyone, remember to keep your ears open for talk of what might be that sending. It's not a lot to go on, but sometimes we get lucky."
 
Costa Sagrado had some beautiful shores, glorious blue waters beyond them, and was surprisingly clean. Mind you, the pier area was less so but it wasn't so filthy as to make me cringe going through it. There is little worse than breathing water and find out you're sucking down sewage masquerading as a harbor. To this day, I will not discuss New York Harbor. Thank god, this city was different.
 
I came near the meeting sight, and peeked my head out. I have incredible night vision. Light only goes down so far into the ocean and my powers are built for it. So, the two gangs gathering together at this late hour might as well having been having their chat by noon.
 
The Northside Leones had mostly denim jackets with Leonine designs either on the jackets themselves or tattooed on their bodies. They wore a lot of blue and gold. They were a predominantly Mexican American group, but they took any angry young Latino boy into their ranks. Strength in numbers and all that. The Wardawgs were the older gang, at least in this city. They'd been around in one incarnation or another since the 80s. Mostly consisting of equally angry young black poor, they had originally formed for mutual defense against what they saw as a racist local police force and a biased economy. Any halo either gang ever had though had been pretty badly tarnished by their own acts of theft, violence, and drug dealing.
 
They weren't breaking any laws now though. And some of them looked weary to the bone tired as they gazed upon their opposites.
 
"You keep crossing down into Mignola boulevard," the leader of the Wardawgs said, "Yet at the same time you say you want peace."
 
"Some of our gang, we got family of the East part of the street," The leader of the Northside Leones answered after conferring with some in his gang who I assumed were either advisers or the ones with the relatives, "You can't ask us to desert family. You know?"
 
"Yeah, I hear your mother is a pretty tight fit" One Wardawg further back gave a jab.
 
The Northsiders began to curse, some reaching for guns or knives, only to have their leader shout at them in Spanish to chill the hell out. The Wardawg leader turned around to the joker in their crew, "You talking or am I talking? Shut your ass up."
The situation de-escalated, and I took a deep relieved breath.
 
I wasn't alone. Neither one of these gangs wanted a fight now, despite enmity. Kids this young should not be acting like burned out war vets.
"Okay, how about you get East side, we keep the rest," The Wardawg leader said, "Just the East."
 
Some mutters, but grudging nods, "Sounds good."
 
"In exchange, we want use of St. Thomas Bridge without being hassled and…"
 
Even with night vision, I almost missed it. There was a movement above from a rooftop. I had been so busy making sure neither gang started a fight with the other that I hadn't considered a third party! There was no fancy flip and three point landing this time. I jumped out of the water yelling "Look out!" and tried to cover the incoming fire.
 
It was not a single shot.
 
A spray of gunfire came from the rooftop came down on my back and the area around me in a hard steel rain! It didn't so much as scratch my skin, but despite my best efforts, I wasn’t' the only one who got hit. One Wardawg cried out and dropped down as his knee was pierced by the resulting spray. On my other side, the Northside Leone Leader himself cursed as his left arm was tagged.
 
I wondered who the #### was doing this?
 
But it was one of the gangers that knew… "Christ, it's Bloodwatch!"
 
And they panicked. I guess I couldn't blame them. They were not bullet proof, I was. Yet the sheer terror in their eyes as it settled in who was after them startled me. They easily had the man out numbered twenty to one, though he did have the high ground.
 
Instead of organized retreat or counter attack, members of both gangs freaked and each did their own thing. A few tried to use me for cover. Several drew their own weapons and fired at the figure on the roof, but their hand guns didn't have good accuracy at that range and again. Besides, I swear some of them had their hands shaking. Others just plan ran.
 
Now, I've only hunted a few times, but honestly, this had all the marks of a turkeyshoot in the making, and the gangbangers would be playing the part of the feathered ones. Bloodwatch shot on the run, and worse, he shot with accuracy even then, a scarlet blur that fired another burst clipping three more who were trying to get to the end of the pier. They were too far away for me to help!
 
I couldn't shield them all! And for a moment my utter inability to defend them directly almost overwhelmed me. I needed to buy the others time to run.
My eyes spotted a speedboat near the pier. No engine…but for what I had in mind, it wouldn't need one, "Go now!" I said to the gangers, bent down to grab the boat, and threw it at Bloodwatch with such force I sheared a bit off the ledge of the roof as it smashed towards him!
 
Dark vigilante he might be, but that one caught him off guard. A spray of broken boat clipped him and I heard a groan. The gangers came out of their right long enough to realize this was their one chance. Those that could run, ran! Others limped or crawled, and a few, wounded (Or possibly dead already!) lay there.  
 
"Help your friends," I ordered, and to my surprise some gang members already where.
 
"This is Eel at the Pier" I announced to the ear bug, "Bloodwatch is trying to kill them all! Kids have been shot! I need ambulances, please!"
Even as I was doing that, I launched myself up to follow where the boat had been.
 
The beartrap caught my foot. Had I been non-powered, it would have mangled it beyond recognition if it didn't just flat out cut it off.
 
I twisted to get a better look at Bloodwatch. Like you'd expect, his outfit was blood red with black highlights. Color aside, there was a rather military look to what he had on. And where a regular soldier might have a patch showing rank on the shoulders, he instead had Justice's Scales with an Eyeball over them. I could see dark skin under his red tinted visor.
 
"You son of a ##### murderous psycho," I snarled at him, "If you're hoping to hurt me you'll have to do better than this." I wanted his focus on me, not the gang members. I raised my foot up ready to lift the trap and shatter it to prove a point to him.
 
"I believe you," Blood watch said, hand dropping from his gun and to his belt. There was a click!
 
And electricity coursed through my body as if I were golfing in a thunderstorm! There were two sounds besides the zzzzzark of the juice. One was a popping fizz burst sound in my ear where the communicator was. The other was some guy screaming bloody murder in pain.
 
Then I realized the 'some guy' was me!
 
Forcing myself to work through the pain, I shattered the trap and broke the circuit in more ways than one and staggered towards Bloodwatch.
 
"Why are you protecting them?" He spat, "They're murderers, poisoners, and thieves! You save them, you will be responsible when they kill others, you understand that right?"
 
Another burst round caught me square in the chest. Something was different about them? Wait, were these rubber bullets? Odd… he's trying to fry me and then spare me? Maybe he's trying to gauge my limits while at the same time not killing me.
 
Still, since he was feeling chatty, I obliged as I moved through, "It's not our place," I said, "You don't get to decide who is irredeemable and who isn't.  We stop them, we don't kill them!" I tried to grab him.
 
He grabbed my wrist instead and flipped me off the damn roof using my own momentum against me.
 
"Who does then? Some judge who goes 'ooh this one isn't eighteen yet, surely he didn't know what he was doing when he put a bullet to an innocent man's head and pulled the trigger?' Or maybe God? You a believer maybe? Think the skyfairy will sort it all out."
 
I caught myself on the ledge of one window, "As a matter of fact, yeah, I'm a believer more or less. Raised that way at least. I have doubts, but sure, how about we got with letting God decide who lives or dies."
 
I yanked hard and launched myself up to find he already crossed to the other side of the roof ready to shoot some of the downed gangers and make sure he had gotten them.
 
He turned when he saw me and scowled.
 
"Oh, I might believe there's a God. But even if there is," He said, reaching for a grenade and lobbing it at me, "He's not very good at his job. No, I believe in Justice, real justice where the weak don't have to hide from the vicious and strong! I believe that if you see a monster, you don't wait until after it's ravaged a village. You put it down before it can disturb the hair of one innocent child's head!"
 
The grenade exploded in my face, not with force or heat… but with light! I couldn't see! My own eyewear might have dimmed it a bit, but not by much and I was completely blind!
 
"You and your friends make me sick, Eel," Bloodwatch said with contempt, "You save the day but feed the revolving door that let some punk kill someone else the next week. You throw these animals in cages, so they become wilder, more dangerous animals, and then seem surprised they come back stronger and kill or poison even more efficiently. You don't train rabid dogs, Eel. You put them the #### down. Until you learn to do that, you are a placebo fighting a cancer! Me? I'm the scalpel!"
 
I swiped empty air, trying to find out where he was speaking from.
 
"I won't kill you, I don't want to kill you, blind as you are more ways than one," Blood watch said, "I've got a titanium bullet, a one shot. I could put it through your eye and I bet that would take even you out. But if I have hope at all, it's that you'll wake up and realize I'm right. I won't kill you. I Kill the guilty, not the stupid. I am going to finish I started before those ambulances closing can help… and if you don't like the sounds of the shots and screams. Cover your ears, because that's all you can do right now."
 
Nothing! Nothing was clearing!  I still couldn't see! At this rate by the time my eyes did clear he'd have killed off the gunshot victims on the pier.
 
"Screw your hateful zero tolerance bullcrap," I seethed, "Screw your arrogant dismissal of everyone who ever tried to help others reform while you spout off about your own twisted brand of despair you pretend is hope… " I raised both hands, "But mostly? SCREW YOU!"
 
I broke the roof.
 
I hadn't tried the shockwave before now because I knew it would just put a hole in this weak roof. Well, now the target was the roof, and I didn't give a damn!
I heard stone and wood alike break under me and felt myself plummeting as the edges caved in. I heard the clatter and thump of something, or possibly some one, falling nearby. I heard cursing from Bloodwatch. You know what I didn't hear?
 
Gunshots. I didn't hear gunshots.
 
I knew my eyesight had come back when the debris was lifted off me by shimmering fields of energy. Lady Obsidian scooped me out of that mess like I was a batch of vanilla ice cream.
 
"I'm okay," I told her, "I just see so I was worried if I punched I might…."
 
"Knock the debris into an innocent," She nodded, "Don't worry, the only thing hurt was a condemned building and any squatters were gone as soon as the heard of two dangerous gang meetings."
 
"Bloodwatch…" I said sitting up, "he…"
 
"Got away," She said, "Won't be the first time he's slipped one of us, Eel."
 
"And the gang members?" I asked, "Did any of them…"I swallowed, "I think I saw one get shot in the chest."
 
"You got the request for ambulances out before your com was fried," She assured me, "As for if any died? That's…yet to be determined. There are four in critical condition. Four more in Serious. If not for you? They wouldn't that well off. It's out of our hands now but you did well."
 
"It doesn't feel like it," I said, "Not with … he got away, some could die anyway. I should have…"
 
"Weight of the world," She said and I realized she was carrying me in the field away from the scene, and towards the base whether I liked it or not, "I told you that you cannot carry it alone. For such a bright young man, you do not always listen."
 
"Yeah, mom says that's why she went prematurely gray," I muttered.
 
"You should send that poor woman flowers more often," Lady Obsidian observed.
 
She was, of course, right on that one, "If this is just an attempt to take my mind off those guys in the hospital," I chuckled, "You may have to try another tact because it's only partially working."
 
There was a pause as we made our way towards the mall.
 
Finally…
"You know, Eel. There are a lot of good and reputable colleges that offer online courses…"
 
I groaned and thumped my head against the inside of the force bubble.

Thanks. I'm trying to find a balance.
 
And I am oddly proud of "Kennedy Can't Duck" as a Punk Rock band name

I'm not sure what choice they really have, in that particular instance. I mean, if I had a cinematic universe that was literally making billions of dollars, I'd try to make the rest of my properties as cinematic-friendly as possible.

I'm just waiting for the designer of the MOAB to be kidnapped and then forge his own suit of powered armor in a cave somewhere over there.
 
What?

Given the theme, I'd say check the "chop shops".

That ranks right up there with, "What could possibly go wrong?"

It's the soap.

(From Jesse McLaren's twitter)
 
PEPSI: Check out this PR disaster.
 
UNITED: That's amateur hour. Watch -this-!
 
SEAN SPICER: Hold my beer.