Chapter-01: One Year Before

"I can appreciate your idealism, but hate is a lucrative business."

-Unknown

Jamie Grey was up and tossing aside his blankets as soon as his alarm clock began blaring. Mashing down the snooze button, his bare feet were on the cool floor and he started snatching up clothing, hardly even taking any notice of what he intended to wear, and instead shrugged it on. In the back of his mind, he imagined his mother scolding him for not taking care of his appearance—and indeed, his shaggy brown hair, unable to decide if it was straight or wanted to curl, was in such a bed-made disarray that, when matched with his pale complexion, he ended up spooking people once in proper light, at times causing him to be mistaken for a homeless child or the returned dead.

Between these two, the latter was honestly the more believable. One of the many 'miracles' of an earlier Age.

Giving his hair barely more than a ruffle, he pulled on a pair of sneakers and was out the door.

###

"Heading to the park, Mom," he said to a thin woman passing him in the hallway upon exiting his room.

"Hm," she grunted in a tired tone. Adjusting the collar of her business suit she gave him a quick appraisal. "You forgot to comb your hair," she said. Jamie gave her a quick, lopsided smile. It was a scold, just as he thought, but there was little life in it.

"I'll do it later," he replied before furrowing his brow, seeing dark bags under her eyes. "You look tired."

"The court case isn't going anywhere fast," she sighed. As if Jamie's words had been a reminder, her tired eyes brightened ever so slightly as she remembered the time. "I've got to go. Give us a smutz." Leaning down she gave him a quick, and loud, kiss on the forehead. "Your father is downstairs reading the news. He's had a bad night so try not to disturb him when you eat breakfast."

"I'm not hungry anyway," Jamie shrugged, stepping out of the way for his mother as she quickly moved by him.

"Have fun with your friends," she called, heading down the stairs. Jamie gave a small wave before quickly following. As he did so, he passed a bedroom door with a picture of a white-furred rabbit, marred by pink and blue crayon scribbles. He touched the knob briefly before descending down the stairs.

###

Outside!

The word sung in Jamie's thoughts as he raced down sidewalks and across the street, his direction taking him down to Clarks Pathway, the route that would ultimately take him Clarksville Park, a place that held a rather special place in Jamie's heart—if not the world in fact. It was the heart of the city that grew increasingly more wooded as one went deeper within. That alone was important to the young boy, as it became so far removed from stone buildings and adults that it took on an almost magical, wild quality to it that always seemed to change whenever one stepped inside. One never knew what to expect once they were inside—save for the presence of mosquitoes, who seemed to be everywhere—at least to Jamie. One of his friends, a slightly older boy by the name of Justin Page, decried the whole place as one gigantic waste of space full of nothing but a swamp of green. One that, thanks to the insidious buzzing, blood-drinking insects, threatened to eat him alive.

"To each their own," the voice of the same boy said in Jamie's mind, causing him to smile. It wasn't as though they never hung out in the place together regardless of the perils.

Jamie quickly entered the fringes of the park, a wide open field of grass, the 'shoreline', such as it were, and one of the many islands of open space that occasionally broke the thick foliage. Passing by a pair of morning joggers he gave them a quick wave before veering off to the left and plunged in the direction of a wall of trees. Disappearing within the small forest, he plowed unmindfully through the brush. He knew the route by heart now, so he had no worry about getting lost.

"Hey!" Jamie called out after a few minutes of battling his way through entangling bushes. "Monster! Are you still out there?"

From off in the distance, he heard a loud 'woof'. An eager smile spread across his face and he picked up his pace. Breaking into a clearing, he set his eyes first on the statue that stood in the center and then down toward its leg, where a red leash was tied. Following its path, his gaze fell upon a small, dog-like creature. 'Dog-like', but not a dog, as the resemblance was born only by its physical similarity, at least as far as its shape went. Most dogs however tended to not have six legs, nor did they have two heads.

They also most certainly did not have midnight-purple fur.

The dog-like creature barked again at Jamie, and smiling the boy made his way over to him and took hold of two of the four floppy ears, giving both heads a good scratching. Groaning pleasurably, the two heads leaned into his hands, seeking to soak in as much of the attention as possible.

"Sorry that I had to leave you out here," Jamie said, removing his hands and taking hold of the leash so he could untie it. "You understand though, right?"

The two dog-heads tilted to one side, four eyes focused on him. Jamie sighed. He heard that Cerberus' could understand human language, but in the short time he had known this one—albeit less than twenty-four hours—it showed no sign that it did so at all.

Then again, these guys usually have three heads, and I've never heard of one that had purple fur. He furrowed his brow as he slipped the leash off from around the statue's leg. Cerebrus' were typically bred to be guard dogs, but their ownership was tightly controlled due to their temperament. This one was…an oddity to say when compared to others of his brethren, but one he was grateful for. He liked oddities.

"Let's go for a walk," Jamie said, getting up. "I'll take you back to my place in a little bit. Dad'll have gone to work by then, so I'll be able to get you some food. What do you think about that?"

The two heads barked as one and Jamie made a slightly frustrated face at him. "Yeah, I figured you'd understand that."

Before they left, Jamie took a moment to eye the statue that had served as the dog's makeshift shelter. It depicted a man wearing what appeared to be a stylish costume with a blazing sun-like logo centered on his chest. A cape billowed behind him and one hand was raised over his eyes. He was staring skyward, as though straining to see something through an incredible brightness. Jamie remembered that, once upon a time, that had been the case.

What was it again? he wondered, trying to remember what he learned in his history class. There were seven statues like this one—eight in total—depicting different 'Heroes of Clarksville' and most were in the same position as this one. Only one of them stood out in one of the open islands where the public regularly mingled.

Oh yeah, now I remember, Jamie thought, brightening up a little. Smiling again, he gave the statue a snappy salute.

"Thanks for sheltering Monster," he said to the statue before turning his head back down to the Cerberus. "C'mon. Let's go." Giving a sharp click of his tongue, he tugged on the leash so that they could get moving. No sooner did the animal start to do so did brush snap loudly behind him. Startled, Jamie spun around and nearly tripped over his feet. Behind him stood a bearded man wearing a ball cap stumble into the clearing, a bewildered, panicked look on his face. His small eyes sighted on Jamie and he lurched toward him.

"He-help me…" he wheezed. Jamie instinctively took a step toward the man, concern appearing instantly in his mind before common sense could take hold.

"Hey, are you all right?" he asked as the man fell in front of him. His hand went out to check and laid itself on his shoulder. A sharp tingle swept up his arm, and Jamie jerked backward as though he had been shocked. "Wha…?" he began, but before he could say anything else, the man stood up suddenly and grabbed Jamie by the head. The tingling sensation that had been in his hand kicked itself up several notches, erupting full force in his skull. His mouth contorted into a scream of terror mingled with pain. Through the lightning-charged fog in his head, he found that he wasn't screaming at all. The only thing making any noise at that moment was tiny Cerberus, barking and growling like mad at the man that was attacking the boy.

Somehow, Jamie found himself gripping the man's wrists, struggling to pull them apart. The air was crackling with electrical energy now, snapping and snaking around the two. Every part of Jamie's body screamed for release…but the man refused to let go.

"Not…just…yet," the man rasped, tightening his grip on Jamie's head. In response, Jamie gritted his teeth and tried to pull. He failed. He didn't know how, but something was preventing him from doing so, just as something was now keeping him from crying out. He gasped as he felt a particularly powerful jolt course its way through his arms and meet in the center of his chest. His heart gave a nasty lurch and for one long moment, he swore that it ceased beating altogether. His hands dropped to his sides, and he hung there limply, his legs somehow supporting him.

There was another loud bark from the Cerberus. He barely heard it in the darkness that was closing in on his senses, but it was there, and it sounded angry. The pressure of the man's hands on his head loosened, and dimly he heard a loud curse followed by a yelp of pain—a small animal in pain.

Something snapped inside Jamie just then. His hands grabbed hold of the man's wrists and he pulled, throwing as much strength as he possibly could into it. This time, somehow, his efforts bore fruit as he pried the man's hands off from around his head and jumped back quickly, his eyes rapidly swinging around to locate the Cerberus. The animal was lying on the ground, a scar of singed fur marring his purple coat. He was already getting up though, both sets of fangs barred and growling.

"Monster!" he called, and the dog's ears perked up. He was on his feet—wobbly but he was moving—and quickly raced over to where Jamie stood. Quickly snatching up his friend, Jamie spun and bolted, leaving the cap-wearing man behind, slumping down to his knees.

"It's over," the man wheezed, falling forward onto his hands, sparks of electricity dying down around him. "It's done."

Behind him he heard the sound of a mechanical whining, getting closer with each passing second. He signed in resignation and turned to look over his shoulder. It was a quant curiosity really. He knew what to expect. Which was why he was not surprised when he saw a cloud of black orbs with a single glass eye, glowing red, surging toward him.

###

Jamie raced down the beaten path, his heart beating a gloriously alive—if frantic—pace within his chest. He threw a look over his shoulder to see if there was any sign of pursuit, but in his haste he found himself tripping over a root before he could get a good look. He smashed into the ground—biting his tongue in the process and drawing some blood—causing the Cerberus to yelp in his arms.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, struggling off the dog. "I'm sorry, Monster! I'm…Monster!"

Before his frightened eyes, the puppy took off at a run, dragging his leash behind him. Jamie staggered to his feet, trying to go after him, but all at once his muscles cramped up, causing him to collapse to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"M-Monster…" he groaned, digging his fingers into the dirt and trying to pull himself back up. He had to find the Cerberus. He had to…

A shadow fell over him just then, and looking up, the boy found himself staring at the glowing red eye of a black, metal orb. He recognized it and he felt himself grow cold as he stared into its glaring, lifeless sight.

"Are you all right, citizen?" the black sphere asked in its indifferent, mechanical voice. It didn't sound in the least like it cared; as though the question were a mere formality that had to be done and over with in order to get on with its job.

Trembling, Jamie opened his mouth to speak, but no words made their way past his lips. Looking up past the orb, he saw a strange figure flying through the sky, a stream of fire burning behind him. The last thought before he passed out was of Monster, and how he wished he could fly.

2: Chapter-02: The Year After

Chapter: 2/ One Year After

Richard Steiner sat down in his easy chair and took another sip of coffee from his steaming cup. Replacing it on the stand next to him, he returned his attention to the images of the five men and three women on his computer screen, all of them watching him expectantly.

"My apologies for the interruption," he said, smiling at them as he waited for the caffeine to do its job. "If we may return to the topic at hand…" He paused and lifted up a data pad. "Romana Pax's latest shipment of Paxia and Companion Modules will hit the markets tomorrow. Congratulations people." His smile broadened. "The CHC approved of the change in the chemical ingredients for Paxia as well as the latest round of AI upgrades. We'll be releasing the latest patch tomorrow…" He paused and then chuckled as he checked the time. It showed 12:10 in the morning. "Sorry…today. It is rather late."

"For you," said a brown-haired, bespectacled woman from the computer screen, indicating the sunshine directly behind her, a scene that was shared by the majority of her fellow screen holders.

"Of course, Madam Elizabeth." Richard Steiner inclined his head to her respectfully. "Well, I'll be sure to have Mr. Beck push out the updates today."

"And what about his main project?" asked a balding man with quivering jowls. Richard had to bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing at the sight. He had only known the man for two years since ascending to the head of his corporation, Romana Pax, and yet he could not for the life of him not find some amusement at his physical appearance. There was a theory among some of his subordinates that Gordon Avis stuffed his cheeks daily with jelly.

"It remains on the waiting list of the CHC." He sighed, and Gordon nodded, the name saying it all. The Center of Heroi Control was at its core a bureaucracy. Nothing was fluid when it came to bureaucratic institutions.

"How badly will this effect things for us?" asked Elizabeth.

"Not much I believe," Richard replied. "All research points that the transition between the Ages is occurring faster than it should be. The senate cannot just ignore that, so we should expect an answer from them on the matter sometime soon."

Especially if the city reappears, he added mentally, but he didn't need to say it out loud. That would be on everyone's minds, from the high to the low.

"Very well," Elizabeth nodded. "In that case, we should move on to our next topic. Alfred. What is the status on Thor Industries' manufacturing of Ascension? Will it…?"

And so the conversation went. Richard sat back and took another sip, allowing everyone to have their say and make their reports. He took them all in, balancing them against what he knew. So far, the sun appeared to be rising for Romana Pax—continuing to do so that is. As his father said when he took control of the company from him: "A day ends whenever a leader steps down, and a day begins when someone takes his place. Days last as long as that leader does."

Will I last a long time? he wondered. He resisted the urge to run a hand through his mop of curly, light red hair—a bad habit from college. He liked to think so, but as things stood he risked enough for his day to be a short one indeed. All it took was for one slipup and everything he was working for would come crashing down.

"Richard!"

He jerked in his chair and at the screen. Elizabeth was frowning slightly at him, leaning a little toward the screen, attempting to inspect him.

"Uh…" He coughed politely. He realized that she asked him a question and he missed it completely "…yes?"

Elizabeth continued to frown at him a moment longer before sighing. "Never mind. It's late and you should get some rest. I'm sure you have business to attend to tomorrow, correct?"

Gordon chuckled, a sound that was met by a hearty following. "You sound like his mother."

"I'm sure she would have been a good one," said one of the other women, a blond-haired beauty with dark pools in her eyes. "We'll reconvene later this week unless things change. My secretary will provide you all with appropriate dates and we'll go from there."

"Very well," Richard conceded. "Until then everyone, and thank you Madam Elizabeth."

Smiling briefly at the woman, he logged off and shut down his computer. He sat there for a moment before stretching, feeling a slight pleasure worm its way through his muscles. Caffeine or not, he was tired.

Beck says that I work much too hard, he mused before barking a laugh. That's rich, coming from him. Pushing himself out of his chair, he wandered off in the direction of the bathroom, wondering what he was going to do while he waited for the coffee to work its way out of his system and allow him some actual rest.

The buzzing of his cell phone on his desk behind him caught his attention like a godsend. Returning to it, berating himself for leaving it behind, he picked it up and flipped it open.

Security, he thought, raising an eyebrow. An alarm bell went off in his mind.

It struck him that this may be the very moment that the sun would start to set on him.

###

Teruo Kato liked to fiddle. He was, what his guardian—John Smith—liked to call a Richard Feynman, who was noted for a curiosity that led him to fiddling from everything to nuclear physics. There was a difference between Teruo and the esteemed Feynman however. Where Feynman would work with nuclear secrets in his adult years, Teruo at the age of nine knew more than enough to build a nuclear reactor—a working one—with nothing more than spare parts and utter confidence.

Teruo liked to fiddle.

His breath coming out in a visible puff in the night air, he wiped a hand across his brow before returning to the task at hand. Presently he was digging around in the titanium skull of a broken down robot using a small, tubular device—nicknamed affectionately as 'The Doctor'—that shot out a red beam of light. The two copper wires that were lit up by the light sent out small curls of smoke. The Doctor buzzed in Teruo's hand and he clicked it off. Shifting the metal head, he raised the flashlight that had been in his lap and he peered inside, squinting his eyes to see past the shadows.

Think I'm almost done, he thought. Hopefully this will work…

Pulling out his cell phone he checked the time. It registered as one in the morning. He bit back a curse.

I'm really pushing the clock on this one, he grumbled, cramming his hand into the skull in the hopes of retrieving the prize he worked so hard on. A second later a vocal curse escaped his lips and he jammed a finger into his mouth to quench the sizzling of its tip.

It's hot, stupid… he scolded himself. Plucking the finger from his mouth, he scowled at the innards of the robot's cranium before bringing his device back to it. Yeah… It's in there pretty good and… Teruo suddenly yawned. …aaand it's way past my bedtime. Ugh. And I've got tests tomorrow.

Sparks flew as the Doctor cut through the side of the robot head, causing Teruo to jump in his seat, or rather the large chunk of jagged metal that made up his seat.

"Jeez…" he breathed, catching himself before he jabbed himself in the side. "Wha… Oh…man!" He peered inside, hoping beyond hope that nothing important got damaged by his carelessness. After just a brief moment of inspection, he banged his head against the robot, groaning miserably. "It took weeks to find this thing…" he muttered under his breath. "…and this is what I get?!"

With a roar of indignation Teruo surged to his feet and kicked the mechanoid. He quickly regretted it as splintering pain shot through his foot. Hopping up and down, stars exploding across his vision, he reached out to steady himself on a random tire and waited for the twin fireworks to finish before massaging his toes.

"Note to self: do not kick the giant, titanium-steel monster robot. You will risk breaking of bones."

His foot throbbed in agreement.

While he waited for the pain to subside he looked skyward. Spotting Mars, he tracked its course across the dark night. He found the pace worrisome. Astronomers had already pointed out that the observed speed of the planetary orbits from the ground was most…unnatural. Conspiracy theorists were already counting down the days to Ragnarök.

He gave a heavy sigh and leaned back against the bot. As he did so, he caught sight of a golden comet flying down out of the sky, plummeting in the direction of the junkyard. There was a bright flash as it flew especially close, illuminating the spot where he stood.

"Bu-wha…?!" he started, jumping away from the mechanoid that served as his backrest as though it shocked him, his eyes following the golden glow as it disappeared behind a nearby mountain of crumpled vehicles. Teruo threw himself to the ground, waiting for the explosion that was sure to follow. Only…there was no thump. No sound of impact of any kind. Only silence. Teruo blinked before curiosity took hold of his feet and started him off the ground and in the direction that the 'comet' fell, much against his better judgment. All thoughts of his labors—and the need to return home in a timely manner—were behind him.

I didn't hear the sound of air burning, he thought, rounding the pile of vehicles just in time to see a glowing aura die down, revealing a lithe, humanoid figure wearing dark clothing. No thunderclap either. Common sense finally took hold of him and he ducked back a pace behind the metal mountain. He massaged his chin ponderously. A heroi?

The plainly obvious evidence of the light show aside, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised. After all, he himself was one and the junkyard had its fair share of visitors, from kids to would-be-conquerors. There was no shortage of people who wanted something from this place. Still…the questioned burned within him. What was another heroi doing here?

He peeked around the metal mountain carefully. Yes, it was definitely a human, a girl if he wasn't mistaken by the lack of light. She wore dark fatigues and a mask that covered her face. She was also carrying something. He frowned, angling his head for a better view. Is that a computer she's got?

As he watched, a pile of metal creaked next to her and he clenched his teeth together so tight that he thought they would crack under the pressure. He needn't have feared discovery though, as a pile of garbage swung open like a door and light fell upon the junkyard's visitor. Blue eyes, feminine in appearance, sparkled in the light and she quickly disappeared through the doorway, which rapidly closed shut behind her.

Teruo was left alone in the darkness, waiting for his eyes to readjust before stepping away from his hiding place.

That…was different, he thought. I didn't think anyone would be living here. He massaged his chin ponderously again. He wondered if this meant that whoever was here knew that he saw everything.

He swallowed anxiously, his eyes furtively darting around him for signs of cameras. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, he rapidly turned around and hastily beat a retreat.

###

Jamie awoke to darkness with a startled gasp. Looking around him, at first confused by where he was, he fell back onto his bed, bringing an arm over his eyes.

Just a dream, he thought with relief before he felt a warm tongue brush up against his elbow. Shifting it a little, he spied the two large heads belonging to his Cerberus, Monster, eyeing him worriedly. He smiled comfortingly and brought a hand over to him, splaying his fingers so as to scratch both chins.

"I'm okay, boy," he soothed. Dual tongues emerged from Monster's mouth and licked at them before settling his heads back down on the boy's leg. Leaving his hand on one of the two heads he looked up at his bedroom ceiling for one long moment before closing his eyes.

In the morning he wouldn't even remember what he dreamed about.

3: Chapter-03: Beneath the Ground

Chapter: 3/ Beneath the Ground

The office building stood in the cloak of night, dark save for the odd light within and the illumination of its neighbors from without. Across from it stood a small, lithe figure wearing dark khakis, a dark-blue long-sleeved shirt, and a similarly colored mask covering her face. In the dim light, blue eyes flashed as the figure, feminine in appearance, took a step back and jumped. She flew the distance across the divide between the buildings and came down on the rooftop hard. Chips of stone and mortar scrabbled across as she hit the surface and fell into a roll. Quickly getting to her feet, she glanced around quickly before relaxing her stance. She pressed a finger to her ear.

"All clear," she said to the quiet of the night.

"Okay," replied a voice, male and deep, on the other end. "Your target is on the eighth floor in the director's office."

"Roger." The girl felt her lips tug upwards under the mask, as if at a joke known only to her.

"Be careful," warned the voice on the other end. "Security is heaviest in his office. You have to keep your Q-Field as low as possible…"

"I know the routine," the girl replied, her smile vanishing almost as soon as it appeared. She quickly zeroed in on the building's rooftop entrance and made her way to it. Stopping in front of it, she checked the door—more out of curiosity than anything else—and turned the handle. As she expected, it didn't budge so much as an inch.

She furrowed her brow and reached for the belt wrapped around her waist. Withdrawing a circular device from one of the belt's pouches, she pressed it against the door and hit the small, red button in its center. A green light lit up and at once the door popped open with a beep. Removing the device hastily, the girl entered the door and after pulling out a flashlight and clicking it on, she carefully began to make her way down the stairwell.

Thirteenth floor, she thought with dry amusement, seeing the number on the wall as he passed one of the doors leading to the top inhabited section of the building. The designer certainly wasn't superstitious.

She paused for a moment, briefly curious to see what lay on the other side, but remembering her job she quickly passed it up and continued her journey downward.

Five floors later, she found herself at her destination. Checking the door handle as she did earlier she again withdrew the circular device and pressed it against its surface. She waited for a moment before raising her free hand to her ear.

"Are you still with me?" she asked under her breath.

"Yeah," the voice replied. "Sorry. The security on this one is a bit tighter. Just a nano."

The girl nodded, waiting. Her patience was soon rewarded by the click of the locking mechanism and she pulled quickly. Retrieving her device she slipped inside and flashed the light around her, quickly taking in her surroundings.

"Seven Guardians," she whispered, hand back at her ear again as she swung her light around once more, making note of everything she saw. Imbedded in the ceiling were seven black orbs evenly spaced out. Swallowing, the girl closed her eyes and concentrated. "Looks like they're pretty serious."

"According to my sources, there should be eight. The last one is located at the end of the hallway, so…"

"…be careful, and don't use my Q-Field," the girl interrupted. "Got it." Her eyes narrowed a little as she traced the hallway. I have to make myself as undetectable as possible. Can't let all this be for nothing.

In her mind's eye she envisioned a ball of blue light, flickering within darkness. Focusing on that light, she took a deep breath. Envisioning the light dimming, she felt an energy within her lessen. Taking a couple more calming breaths, she reopened her eyes and stepped beneath the spheres, her muscles fighting the urge to tighten beneath them every step of the way. After what felt like an eternity of nerve-grinding tension, she cleared the last one and proceeded onward.

I should be coming up on it soon, she thought, counting off the numbers on the office doors as she went. Let's see… Which one…? Ah. An invisible grin crossed her features as she came to a stop. There it is.

"Okay," she said to her companion, one hand back to her ear. "I'm at the office and I'm about to crack it."

"All right. Let's take this one step at a time. Given that this is the Director's office he's undoubtedly got an extra layer of security. If we're not careful, we could end up running into the eighth sphere or even a Hall Monitor…"

"I can handle them," the girl growled slightly under her voice. No sooner were the words out of her mouth did she hear the wine of machinery powering up and a red light instantly flooded the hallway. Spinning, her eyes widened just in time to see three black spheres drop from the ceiling above her, angry red lasers swinging, searching for a target.

"Shit!" she swore as the lasers zeroed in on her. "They've caught me!"

"Get out of the…!"

The girl didn't wait to hear the rest of his sentence. In her mind's eye, the light she had been keeping down flooded her senses and she spun once more, right fist crashing into the door and shattering it to pieces. Leaping inside and narrowly avoiding deadly bolts of crimson light as they scorched the spot she had just been, she rushed over to the desk at the center of the room.

I am not leaving here without something! she shouted in her mind, spying the computer desktop on the desk. She ripped out cords and connectors, her ears straining for the slightest sound behind her.

A twitch in her muscles at the sound of a warbling sound and she hurled the desktop's screen at the first of the spheres as it came through the door. Both exploded with a flash of fire and shrapnel.

At least it wasn't built into the hard drive, she reflected, snatching up the remnants of the computer. Blue light formed around one gloved hand and pulled together in the center of her palm, a glowing star in the dark room. Gritting her teeth behind her mask, she pointed it at the window.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" demanded the voice of her partner-in-crime, panicking.

"No sense hiding it now!" she exclaimed, letting loose a volley of searing azure. It hit the window, causing the glass to shatter. Taking off at a run, she leapt into the air; light similar to her attack enveloping itself around her body.

A sphere entered the room and zeroed its targeting scanners on the girl's back.

"Adjusting weapon frequency to match target's Q-Field," it intoned before firing. The red light burst forth, briefly connecting the mechanical orb to the girl. The two lights flared upon contact, blue lashing against red as the girl flew across the cities artificial canyon. Biting back a curse in realization, the girl spun and chucked another ball of blue light at her attacker. The sphere's light brightened briefly as it cut off its attack—an act that the girl equated with a widening of eyes in shock—before her attack impacted its body, shattering it and sending its shards flying across the room. What happened after, the girl did not get a chance to see, as her back impacted the ledge of the building she was aiming for. Pain shot through her and she bit back a cry. The light around her flickered feebly for a moment, her distraction nearly cutting it off and causing gravity to assert control over her. Through sheer force of will she clamped down on it, forcing the light to awaken and burn inside her. The light flared back to life around her and she glared at the building she had just vacated.

Adjusting her grip on the computer in her arms, she glared down at it. "You're not getting away from me that easily.

The sound of her companion's voice brought her attention away from her prize and she touched her ear.

"Calm down. I got the hard drive, but I had to scram out of there fast."

"I know! Reports are already going out! You've got to…" A pause. "CHC is mobilizing. You've got to get out of there!"

The girl rolled her eyes.

"You know who you're talking to, right?" she said with a touch of annoyance and haughtiness. Not bothering to wait for her companion's answer, she dropped her hand from her ear and with a tap of one foot on thin air, she flew off, putting in as much speed as she possibly could.

It may not have gone according to plan, but for one Kira Baker, she couldn't help but feel pleased with the results.

###

She dropped down in the Clark City junkyard mere minutes later, the light from her Q-Field winking out of existence before she even touched the ground. Hefting the computer in her hands, she glanced around her out of habit, not really expecting to find anyone. She tapped her ear.

"All right," she said. "I'm here. The Maker is the key."

"Nice to have you back," came the voice of her partner-in-crime. "Satellite surveillance shows the skies clear around here."

"Thanks for covering me on that," she smiled beneath her mask. "Now are you going to let me in before that changes?"

In front of her, a pile of scrap metal shifted and parted, showering her with light, causing her to squint her eyes at the change of illumination.

"C'mon into my parlor," the voice jested. "Flies have no reason to fear my web."

"I'm not a fly," Kira frowned, passing through the entranceway. The door of scrap closed shut behind her and the floor beneath her jerked, beginning its descent.

"You fly though," joked the voice with a bit of a laugh. "What else would you call yourself?"

Kira thought about it in the few seconds it took for the elevator to come to a jerking halt.

"A praying mantis," she said finally, the doors sliding open. She stepped out into the tunnel and headed toward the light at its end.

"I never thought of you as the type to eat your own kids," her partner replied, sounding almost disturbed by her answer. Kira raised an eyebrow.

"I'm too young to have kids. Besides, Mantises are fighters."

"They also fight carts."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you another time," came the man's voice, echoing out of the tunnel's exit, so close now that he no longer needed to use their radio to communicate. Upon exiting the tunnel, Kira found herself in a laboratory that she had come to be familiar with. Although 'laboratory' was perhaps being a little too generous as it appeared less a lab and more a hodge-podge of mismatched electrical parts, bubbling chemical tubes, and computer screens. Or to simplify, Kira felt she was in the den of a mad scientist.

As if to give credence to the idea, a chair spun around, revealing a dark-haired man wearing a pair of welders goggles. He grinned manically at her and raised them.

"All right," he said, getting up from his seat and pointing over to a nearby set of cables. "Just set it down there and I'll hook things up."

Doing as he requested, she gently placed the drive on the ground and stepped away to let the man do his work. Getting down on his knees he immediately set about to connecting the cables to it and then fired it up.

"Now we shall see what we shall see," he grinned, looking up at her. "This is going to take some time. You might want to get going. The CHC is going to be locking down the skies shortly. I've…" He plugged in the last cable and got up. Heading over to a nearby screen he hit a button and brought up a map of Clark City. "…put together the safest route for you to take based on current Guardian movements." He glanced at her. "Do you got this?"

Kira furrowed her brow. "Yeah," she said. "You'll let me know when you've got something, right, Mal?"

"It's a promise," he replied, crossing his heart. Kira rolled her eyes at the childish gesture. Malcolm Maher—as she knew him—could be such a kid at times.

###

Kira stepped back out into the coolness of the night, barely noticing the entranceway to Malcolm's base closing behind her. She kicked at the ground—lightly, so as to not damage any sensitive equipment beneath it—and turned her gaze up toward the sky. She curled her hands into fists, her nails, unclipped, digging into her skin. She didn't feel anything from them though. With few exceptions, she rarely felt any physical pain anymore even from her own enormous strength. The only thing that hurt now, were things that she couldn't flat out destroy with her powers. She narrowed her eyes as her Q-Field flared around her.

"I'm getting tired of waiting," she said, her eyes flicking back to the entrance behind her. "This time you'd better have something."

With that, she knelt down and then shot skyward.

###

Malcolm smiled as he saw a clod of dirt fall in front of his face, signaling that Kira just left the premises. Tapping a button on his keyboard, he rolled in his chair over to a separate screen separate areas of the junkyard, including a sky view. He watched her retreat for a moment before pulling up the satellite map displaying the locations of all CHC activity.

"Looks good," he mused aloud. She's following the flight path and everyone else is happy. Well, except for Romana Pax." He grinned and looked back at the camera screen. Tapping a few more buttons, he flicked back and forth between separate camera angles until he saw a young boy approaching a fence. "Romana Pax and you. Sorry for interrupting you, Teruo."

Leaning back in his chair, he tapped his chin thoughtfully, wondering briefly if he should have stopped him or…or at least something. Closing his eyes, he sighed despondently.

No one said that this would be easy. Best to let things play out for now with him. I'm pretty sure nothing important happens…at least for a while. He wracked his brains, trying to assure himself of that sentiment. After a moment he shook his head and reopened his eyes. Teruo was gone.

Lost my chance. He bit his tongue. Oh well. At least there's always next time.

He smiled again. Yes. That he could feel comfortable with. He had all the time in the world to settle things.

Rolling on his chair's wheels, he returned to the evening's prize. As far industrial espionage went, he was certain that it was worthless. Richard Steiner's business computer, in all likelihood, only contained emails and basic information. Nothing that would be of use on the technical side of things, but that was fine. Malcolm wasn't interested in Romana Pax's technology. Only their goal.

He smiled. If he knew his man, Richard Steiner guarded his correspondences rather poorly.

His equipment did their job, and within short order Malcolm had access to Steiner's emails and transcripts.

Time to get to work, he thought in amusement. Cracking his knuckles, he began his task.

4: Chapter-04: Dreams and Day

Chapter: 4/ Dreams and Day

For the living know that they will die,
    but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
    and even their name is forgotten.

Their love, their hate
    and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
    in anything that happens under the sun.

-Eclesiastes 9.5-6

A woman with striking bronze skin, amber eyes, and dark hair watched the video recording on her desktop, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. There was a knock on the door to her office and the woman paused the video.

            “Come in,” Daria Foster said. The door clicked open and she looked up to see a woman with short, light-brown, closely cropped hair enter, a folder in hand. The two nodded to each other.

            “The investigation team has finished their preliminary report of the Romana Pax break in,” the other woman said, handing Daria the folder.

            “Anything particular to note?” Daria asked, opening the file and giving it a quick glance. She furrowed her brow slightly as she caught the words invulnerability and flight in the report.

            “The current theory is that we’re dealing with a heroi suspect of the Beta class, possibly within the ages of twelve to fifteen years of age, based on initial Guardian scans and recordings. Unfortunately there seems to have been some cyber involvement, as some video files and recorded scans have been corrupted or are missing from the data base. Until we can get that cleared up, nothing is positive.”

            “Is that the reason why there isn’t a Q Field signature in the report?” Daria asked. “I was under the understanding that initial intelligence stated that it had been identified by the Guardians.”

            The woman looked a bit uncomfortable at this and shifted her feet slightly before replying. Daria, noticing it, did not comment.

            “Yes. There seems to have been cyber involvement as well,” the woman replied. “The Q Field signature was one of the deleted files. We haven’t been able to recover them yet.”

            “Make that a priority then.” Daria turned over a page. “I’d like to know how a heroi slipped through the cracks, especially one with abilities such as this.” She glanced up at the woman. “Thank you Coleman, you may go.”

            With a nod, Coleman turned and left the room. As the door closed, Daria sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose.

            Gone are the days… she thought, quoting a partial line from a poem she once read in college. Her eyes flicked over to the clock. It remained far too early for her to step out of her office.

            The line from the poem never rang so true as it did now.

            Agitated, she got up from her desk and walked around to its front. Turning the folder Coleman left her around, she gave the first page a much more thorough read-through. Not that it told her anything that Coleman hadn’t already summarized, but it was enlightening all the same.

            Romana Pax being a target of heroi extremists is hardly surprising, given its position as one of the head industries in the manufacturing of suppressant. It’s been done before, just not in the past decade. So what changed?

            The words invulnerability and flight stood out far too clearly for her.

            Chewing on her lower lip, she wanted to curse out loud. Her first week as director of the Center of Heroi Control and this happens.

            The higher ups are already worrying themselves over the speeding up of the Age, she thought. They’re going to put pressure on me to get this solved so that it doesn’t interfere with their plans to deal with the bigger problem. Daria closed her eyes and sighed again, this time resisting the urge to rub the bridge of her nose. Damn you Burton for leaving at a time like this. And damn you universe for making the higher ups freak out! If it weren’t for all of you, I wouldn’t be stuck in this office, behind that desk. I’d be out there trying to solve this and…

            The ringing of her cell phone cut across her internal rant. Pulling it out, she flipped it open.

            “Foster,” she said curtly.

            “Daria?” came the voice on the other end. “Richard Steiner is here for your 9:30 appointment.”

            “Send him up,” she replied, flipping the phone closed.

            At least I’ll be able to do something other than wait for people to give me reports…

###

            Jamie awoke with a start as his alarm clock blared angrily at him. With a heavy groan he gave the snooze button a heavy thwack, knocking it to the floor with a loud clatter. From downstairs, the sound of a news report diminished slightly, as if waiting for any further sounds before returning to optimum levels. Smacking his lips to rid them of their dryness, he took a bleary look around him.

            “I woke up late,” he muttered irritably to himself before turning his gaze to the six limbed, two-headed dog that soundly slept next to him, paws strewn over his left leg. “You let me sleep in, didn’t you?”

            For Monster, an audible, sleepy huff was his only response. Rolling his eyes, Jamie pushed the Cerberus’ legs off and began to get up.

            “Beth!” he called out, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. His left leg felt oddly numb, but he dismissed it. On his desk, a small rod with a light-like eye fixed to its top lit blue and looked at him.

            “Yes?” came a computerized, feminine voice. Jamie smiled a little.

            “I overslept. Did any of the…whoa!”

            The electric eye of the rod—an Artificial Intelligence Monitoring device known as a Companion—receded and expanded as Jamie collapsed upon his trying to stand up.

            “Jamie?!” the electronic voice of Beth asked in alarm. “Are you all right?”

            “Ow…” Wincing, the boy massaged his left leg. The numbness he noted earlier was now rapidly transforming into a million needle pricks running from foot to hip. “Yeah…” he breathed, getting back up. “Leg just fell asleep, that’s all. Anyway, did any of the guys try to get a hold of me while I was out?”

            “You have no new messages. I already took the liberty of informing them that you were going to be late.”

            Jamie scowled slightly at the machine. “Why’d you do that?”

            “Your sleep patterns have been inconsistent with the recommended hours for your age group, and you woke up in the middle of the night. As today is a national holiday and school attendance isn’t a priority, I reset the alarm clock to allow you more time to…”

            Jamie interrupted Beth with a loud groan.

            Having a Companion Device drives me up the wall… his mind began, but he shut off that line of thought as he glanced at the machine, its—her, as he saw it in his mind—electric eye flashed twice, an act that he associated with worry.

            “I apologize if I have caused you any difficulties,” Beth replied, casting her blue eye down toward the floor. Jamie bit his lip, feeling like scum now, and he turned away, only to find all three of Monster’s heads up and watching him, eyebrows scrunched downward in a way that made Jamie think he was being scolded by them.

            “Don’t worry about it,” Jamie said, going over to his still open dresser and began rummaging around in it, producing a light blue t-shirt and pair of cutoff jeans.

            “If I may ask,” resumed Beth. “What was it that caused you to wake up?”

            Jamie shrugged nonchalantly. “Just a bad dream,” he replied, tossing a pair of underwear and socks onto the floor to join the rest of his day clothes.

            “Do you remember any details?”

            Jamie shrugged again. “Nope.”

            “I see… I am still required to make a report though.”

            “Go ahead,” Jamie replied, turning around. “Um…” He passed his hands over his eyes. “…do you mind?”

            “Going dark,” she said, her electric eye clicking off. Alone with his privacy, Jamie immediately stripped down and began to put on his clothes. As he slid his shirt over his head, he briefly wondered—and not for the first time—why Beth, or anyone from the Center of Heroi Control for that matter, wanted to know about his dreams, especially when they were so unimportant that he forgot about them almost as soon as he had them.

            They’re just dreams. The brain’s diarrhea. He laughed a little at the description, once given to him by his uncle once upon a time. It’s all so stupid.

            Beth gave him an answer once as to why his dreams were considered important enough to inform the government of, but her response was so heavily dressed in terms that he didn’t understand that he gave up on trying to do so. Just as he did then, the line of thought quickly dismissed itself as he no longer saw the worth of pursuing it. Buttoning on his jean-shorts, he stood up and looked over at Beth.

            “Okay. You can look again. Thanks, Beth.”

            “You’re quite welcome,” she replied, her electric eye returning to life. It swiveled back over to him as he slipped on his shoes. “You look good today. It matches the weather quite perfectly. Your horoscope indicates that today will be life changing for you as well.”

            “That’s what you said yesterday,” Jamie laughed, putting the finishing touches on a pair of laces that had come undone. “Nothing happened then.”

            He never believed in anything she said about his horoscope. He wiggled his toes a little, testing the tightness of his laces before moving over to his desk. “Ready to go?” he asked. Beth’s eye blinked once at him in affirmation.

            “Yes,” she replied. Unplugging the Companion Module from her battery charger and clipping her to his belt loop. Snatching up a sketch book he whistled over to Monster, who promptly sprang up from the bed and hopped down.

            “Let’s go boy,” he said, patting his leg. Together, the trio exited the room and headed down the hall toward the stairwell. Once more he passed the door with a picture of a white-furred rabbit, marred with pink and blue crayon scribbles. Just as before, he reached out to touch its doorknob briefly…

            “Ow!”

            Crying out in pain, Jamie snatched his hand back.

            “Are you all right?” asked Beth, her eye swiveling up at him.

            “Just shocked myself,” Jamie said, shaking his hand. The incident forgotten almost as soon as it started, he descended the stairs. Monster lingered for a moment, sniffing at the door before following his master. Beth, for her part, swung her eye at the knob, catching sight of a curl of electricity snaking up its metallic surface before disappearing into the keyhole.

            “Hmmm…” the machine wondered aloud, logging the scene in its data base and transmitting it.

            “What?” Jamie asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

            “Nothing,” Beth replied. Shrugging his shoulders, Jamie headed into the living room, finding his father sitting in his easy chair in front of the television, watching a news report. Jamie hesitated a moment, taking in the dark circles and the disinterested, almost zombie-like expression in the man’s eyes.

            "…there is still no word as CHC has refused to comment on the attack on Romana Pax,” he heard the news reporter say, and he quickly turned his attention to the tube. “Sources indicate that the attack was a rogue heroi that was not logged into the system."

As Jamie watched the news report, a pang of fear pounding in his chest, the newswoman—Allison Drew—turned to the woman sitting across from her, hands clasped in front of her.

        "Ms. Endo, there are many in our audience who are wondering if this rogue heroi is actually an agent from one of the Eurasian States as relations have become increasingly strained with them in recent times. As someone who once worked with the CHC, can you corroborate any of this?"

"Well Ms. Drew," began the interviewee, sitting back in her seat. "There's no denying that there have been problems between the Old and New Worlds—particularly Avalon—but really, there isn't anything that either side would be able to gain by attacking each other at this point, even with a small-time terrorist attack. As things stand, the words 'mutually assured annihilation' come to mind, making any direct power plays like this to be frankly too dangerous to try. I think we can rule out the political chess games."

"In that case, what do you have to say about how this will affect things on the home front? Heroi Civil Rights groups are concerned that this will trigger a new wave of anti-heroi sentiment in spite of two hundred years of good behavior."

"I can certainly understand their concern," Endo replied, readjusting herself in her seat. She seemed awfully uncomfortable, as though this were the last place she wanted to be at this moment. Deep down, Jamie felt his own stomach squirm, sharing that discomfort. “Nonetheless I am compelled to remind your audience that this individual is not registered and could very well be a deviant. We've had deviants before—heroi that manage to hide the emergence of their powers and go under the radar…"

"…which you describe in one of your books, Heroi Control: Plan for Failure…" Allison interjected. Endo chuckled grimly.

"No one's perfect, Allison, which was the point that I was making in the book. But coming back to the topic at hand, there's no—and I repeat, no—reason for anyone to be afraid of any heroi that they meet on the streets. A number of them are like every other law abiding citizen and a great deal of people recognize this."

            “Are you going somewhere kid?”

            Jamie snapped back to the world of the living room. Remembering that there was somewhere he wanted to go, he offered his father a strained smile. The man didn’t return the smile though. Jamie noticed that he had a considerable amount of stubble growing around his mouth.

            “Um…I’m just going to hang out with some friends at the park. Justin and Kyle.”

            “You do your chores?”

            “I’ll do them when I get home.”

            Mr. Grey opened his mouth as if in protest, but then shrugged and returned his attention to the television.

            “Be home before dark,” he said, his tone dull. Jamie got the chilling impression that he wasn’t really in the room in the eyes of his father; that he was just a ghost passing by. Almost immediately he tried to think of what that would be like, and in response the image of the rabbit drawing on the door upstairs came to mind.

            He shuddered and tightened his grip on his sketch book.

            “Okay,” Jamie said, turning away and heading toward the door as quickly as possible. Right now he wanted to be anywhere else but the living room. He paused briefly as he opened the door to outside and turned back toward his father. He opened his mouth but, like the elder Grey, closed it.

            Have you been sleeping at all? he wanted to ask, but he knew how his father would respond.

            “Either go outside or stay in. Whatever you do, just close the door. You’ll let the flies in.”

            Not wanting that, Jamie stepped outside and closed the door, the news report being the last thing he heard before shutting off the cold inside his home.

            “…there's no reason for any heroi to be afraid to go out at night…”

###

The door to Daria's office opened and in walked a young man with curly brown hair and a youthful face that was rather disarming in its appearance of innocence. His eyes, Daria observed, shone with more honesty than his face, revealing to her a canyon’s worth of depths.

She didn’t need to be a psychic to guess that Richard Steiner had been setting up his side of the chess board since he got his appointment made.

"Hello Ms. Foster," the man said in a strong, friendly tone as he stretched out a hand in greeting. Getting up, Daria stretched out her hand and accepted the gesture before indicating the chairs in front of her desk.

"Thank you for arriving on such short notice Richard Steiner. Please, take a seat."

"If you insist," Richard chuckled, glancing at the pair of agents behind him. "I must admit that I don't normally meet with government officials of your standing…or any government officials for that matter." He leaned back in his chair casually and folded his hands together in his lap. "But when the CHC calls, there is no choice but to answer."

"We don't like to project the idea that you have no choice, Mr. Steiner, so please do not misunderstand our mission or your reason for being here. For myself, I simply prefer to talk to people in person. I feel that something is lost in the conversation when people talk via tele-com."

"I'll indulge your preference," Richard nodded in understanding.

"Good." Daria got up from her chair and made her way around the desk, where she leaned back against it, arms folded beneath her breasts. In spite of her lax posture, she might as well have been a rigid tower to Richard.  “I must first apologize for the incident from this morning. I had thought that our Guardians were sufficient in dealing with unknown heroi.”

            Richard continued to smile at her. “There’s no need to apologize. History tells us that it is impossible to be prepared for every possible problem that may surface.”

            “I’m glad you think so,” Daria nodded. “I used to be a student of history myself in university. It was one of my majors.”

            “Is that so?” Richard asked. “Well, to each their own I suppose.”

            “You aren’t a fan?”

            “A bad habit from when I was a kid,” Richard offered apologetically. “Interest never took off with me. I’m afraid I fall on the end of the “those who do not remember history” saying.”

            “You never know,” Daria said, pushing herself off her desk and moving back around her desk. “If you’re not careful, you might end up on the other end of that saying as well.”

Richard blinked, his smile faltering. "I beg your pardon?"

Reaching in front of her, Daria turned her desktop around to face the man. It revealed an image a mist-shrouded city.

            “You’re familiar with this?”

            “It’s the reason why the CHC and Romana Pax are operating together,” Richard replied. “As well as other corporations and groups. I am actively involved regarding this you know.”

            “I do. You had an interview recently regarding it as well.” Daria turned her desktop around and sat in her seat. “Do you think that it had anything to do with the break-in?” She eyed him carefully. “The thief targeted your office after all.”

            “I don’t keep much in the way of important documents on my office computer,” Richard stated. “Which you would know by perusing through my emails.”

            “I’m still waiting for a full, detailed report on that, though you did have that image.” She indicated her computer monitor, the image of the city still on the screen.

            “It’s not a state secret,” Richard replied. “At least not from what I was told. Of course, we’re not allowed to share much in the way of details about the operation itself, which I told the interviewer…”

            “Of course,” Daria agreed. “The senate desires a certain degree of openness with the press regarding this matter. I just find it interesting that your business—your office—was targeted so soon after you gave the interview.”

            “I haven’t received any anonymous threats or have been contacted by any groups.” Folding his hands in his lap, Richard met Daria’s gaze. “I do hope that you find whoever is responsible though. The success of the operation depends on it.” A pause before frowning. “Or is that too overly dramatic a thing to say? The individuals involved might not be looking to stop the operation…”

            “What would they be after?” Daria asked. Now Richard looked uncomfortable.

            “There…was a list on my computer. Of names. Those who were lost. Even today the ‘official’ numbers are kept hidden. I imagine that it would cause a firestorm on the net if it were known.”

            Now it was Daria’s turn to frown. “I…see. There are certainly families who would be interested in that.” Raising her hands, she tapped her fingers against her lips for a moment before resuming. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Steiner. You can go now.”

            “You’re quite welcome Director,” Richard said, inclining his head toward her as he got out of his seat. As he did so, Daria’s cell phone rang and she dug it out of her pocket, flipping it open.

            Upon opening the door, he stepped outside and carefully closed the door just enough to allow him a chance to hear. He felt that he didn’t need to, but habit, engrained into him from many years of practice, told him to eavesdrop if only for a second. Just like the age that was the metal’s namesake, information was gold.

            “The Grey Case is being reopened?” he heard Daria say in a hushed voice. His ears perked up at that, but despite his desire to know more he stepped away and casually headed down the hall, hands slipping into his pockets.

            The Grey Case… he mused, his lips curling in a smile once more.

            Information was gold indeed.

5: Chapter-05: Information is Gold

Chapter: 5/ Information is Gold

“And what are we day-dreaming about?”

            Nine-year old Kira Baker looked up from the porch up at her approaching sister, Ran, as she approached, two glasses of bubbling soda in each hand. Her hair, dark like hers, fell over one eye and her smile, small, teased answers from the younger girl. Not that Ran really had to try. Kira loved her big sister and was more than happy to reply.

            “Just thinking about a story I read today,” she said simply. It wasn’t much of an answer, but Ran knew perfectly well what story she was referring to. It was the only one she had been devouring with her eyes for the past week.

            “The Warrior Princess, huh?” Ran sat down next to the younger girl and passed her a drink.

            “I wish I could be like that,” Kira continued, nodding fervently as she accepted the drink. “Go to other worlds and meet monsters just like the old stories said that all the heroi used to.” She frowned, running a hand over the glass thoughtfully. “Why’d the door get closed?”

            “They had to save the world,” Ran laughed and winked at her. “It was either that or let things go Dark. You don’t want that, do you?”

            “Well…no,” Kira admitted. “But I would still like to see other worlds and all the old monsters someday.”

            “No one’s saying you can’t,” Ran replied, lifting a finger and pointing at the ground in front of them. As if on cue, a tiny, gold-skinned, goblin-like creature popped into existence. It stood there blankly while Kira’s eyes went wide.

            “Ran!” she exclaimed, looking frantically around her. “If Mom sees this…”

            “…I’ll just tell her it was just a ‘trick of the light’.” She winked again at Kira. “I know you won’t sell me out, right?”

            “No…”

            “Good.” Ran waggled a finger, and like a puppet the goblin creature sprang to life, waving first at Kira and then flipping over to do handstands, waggling its tiny feet at her. Kira couldn’t help but laugh a little. Its feet came together into a loose pair of points, like socks that had been put on but not tightened, yet there was no sign of any such clothing on them. The creature continued to prance along, making no sound and disturbing not a blade of grass as it did so. It cast no shadow, but the creature looked as real as anything else that walked and talked.

            Ran used to be quite the hit among the children in the neighborhood, until playing with her heroi powers caught the attention of Heroi Control. They had a ‘discussion’ with their mother—whom they seemed to take great interest in—and although she didn’t say much about what they talked about, at least not to Kira, it was enough for Ran to stop being the ‘Magician’. Every so often she would perform for Kira. When she was younger, she used her powers to tell bedtime stories.

            Kira liked the horror stories the best, in spite of their mother’s protests.

            The goblinoid flipped back over and made a face at Kira, spreading its lips out with its fingers and sticking out its tongue. Kira made a face back and glanced at Ran.

            “Kind of rude, isn’t he?”

            “He’s just looking for attention,” Ran chuckled, and with another flick of her wrist, the creature vanished, replaced by a rabbit with big, floppy ears. “That better?”

            “It’s cute,” Kira said tentatively, bringing her soda up to her lips for a drink. She preferred the goblin though.

            “Looks it, but if you’re not careful…” Another flick of the wrist, and the rabbit yawned, revealing a set of very un-rabbit-like fangs which nearly caused Kira to choke on her drink. When it finished, the fangs vanished, but its eyes glowed a dull crimson that left the girl with a little chill running down her back.

            Now she definitely preferred the rabbit over the goblin.

            “I wish I had your power,” she said, becoming sullen all of a sudden. Reaching out, Ran ruffled her hair, still smiling.

            “Don’t worry about it. One day you’ll get something really wonderful that outdoes mine. You’re a special girl, Kira.”

###

            Kira jerked from her spot on her bed as the sound of her cell phone buzzing on her nightstand like an angry bumblebee broke the silence of her room. Slapping her book closed she rushed over and snatched the phone up, quickly checking to see who the caller was before hitting the answer button.

            “Mal?” she said in a hushed voice, making her way to her door and opening it.

            “Catch you at a bad moment?”

            “Just reading,” she replied, taking a quick peek outside to see if her mother was nearby. “Latest book by Stephen Green; Giants and Witches.”

            “Sounds good. Everything’s fine and the line is secure. Your phone isn’t tapped. Doesn’t seem like anyone has connected you to the break-in last night.”

            Kira closed her door behind her with a soft click, breathing a sigh of relief. “All right, what’s our next move?”

            “I’m sending you some information now via email. Print it up quick because there’s a bug in it that will delete once I’m done talking to you.”

            “Roger.” Quickly reviving her sleeping computer, she went straight to her Goggle Account and checked for messages. Sure enough, Malcolm’s latest message was right there waiting for her. She quickly hit the print button and waited as her printer warmed up. Licking her lips tentatively, she continued. “Did you find anything?”

            She wanted to kick herself for asking the question, as he promised to let her know if he turned anything up, but she had to have some verbal confirmation, if only to relieve the tension in her muscles.

            “Hard to say at this point, but there is something I want to investigate. It looks like Romana Pax has become interested in a particular individual. It might be a repeat of your sister or something else that’s connected, but it could be nothing. I’m already gathering some data, but I want you to feel him out and see what the interest is.”

            “Chasing ghosts…” Kira grumbled under her breath.

            “What was that?”

            “Nothing.”     

            “No back talk on this please,” Malcolm said, clearly not believing her one bit. “This could be a big one, and if the evidence is right it might point us in the direction you want to go. I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but we’re just going to have to accept taking baby steps on this one for right now. Is that clear?”

            “Yeah, crystal.” She glanced at the printer to see it finishing up its job. “All done.”

            “All right. I’ll keep digging. My informant should be moving into position soon, so I’ll talk to you later.”

            “Got it.” With that, Kira hung up and looked over at her inbox just in time to see the message delete itself. Sighing in agitation she lifted up the printout and took a look. The paper contained the face of a brown-haired boy that looked about a year younger than her, a name attached to it, and an address.

            She frowned. He looked a bit familiar, but she couldn’t quite place why.

            Jamie Grey, huh? she thought, folding up the paper and pocketing it. You’d better be worth this.

###

Atop a tall building, Teruo brought a pair of goggles down over his eyes. He grinned crazily and lifted up a heavy, metallic pack, and shrugged it onto his shoulders. Buckling it around his chest, he checked everything to make sure that they were safe and tight.

            “Okay,” he said quietly to himself. Clicking a button on a bracelet around his wrist, a pair of rocket engines folded outward, jerking him slightly. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out to the ledge, paused, and then jumped.

            “Whooo!!!” He let out a loud whoop as he plummeted to the streets below. Before he even reached critical velocity, he hit another button on the bracelet and the rocket engines flared to life, all but halting his drop. He grunted, but his grin remained plastered on his face.

            “Yes!” he whispered as he started to rise. “It works. It works! Just like I knew it would! I…”

            A loud alarm blared over the roar of his engines, and he fumbled a small pad from his pocket. A word was painted on it in large, glaring red letters.

            Incoming.

            “Shit!” Tapping on his bracelet again he swerved to the side and took off at a rapid pace. No sooner did he do so a group of flying black spheres descended upon him. As they approached him, they began to flash blue and red lights and emit a loud claxon cry.

            “Citizen Teruo Kato,” came a flat, robotic voice from the closest flying sphere. “You are in violation of restricted air space. You are ordered to land and surrender yourself to the authorities.”

            “Screw you!” the youth laughed, taking a sharp turn between buildings. The spheres quickly followed suit. There is a click and a whir, and a small tube emerged from the center of one of them.

            “This is your final warning Citizen Teruo Kato,” the sphere said. “Land and surrender yourself to the authorities.”

            Teruo responded by tapping his bracelet again, and his rocket pack’s engines kicked out as flames spat from their nozzles with increased force.

            “We shall take that as a negative response,” the sphere acknowledged, and at once all of them increased their pace, tubes emerging from their hidden compartments. Bright light flashed at their tips, and lanced out towards Teruo’ engines. Sparks flew as metal was sheared off, sending him spiraling out of control. Teruo howled a number of curses, frantically tapping the controls on his bracelet, trying to stabilize himself.

            “Shit! Shit! Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit!!!” The pack blew apart via a series of carefully placed explosive bolts, and the fragments went crashing into the streets below. A large parachute billowed outward behind him and caught the wind. Slowly, almost carefully, it deposited him back down to the ground, where it deflated and collapsed. His boots scraped the ground upon landing, and he peeled back his goggles. The spheres, still flashing red and blue surrounded him. With a goofy grin, Teruo pushed his hair back and bent his head slightly to get a better look at them. He licked his lips and raised his hands.

            “Sorry for the commotion,” he chuckled, glancing around at the wide-eyed bystanders watching the spectacle.

###

“Up and at ‘em, Teruo,” said the female officer as she approached the boy where he sat—or more accurately lounged. He turned his face away from the game he was playing on his cell phone, the bored expression on his face quickly evaporating into eagerness.

            “About time he got here,” he grinned, quickly exiting the game as the star fighter portrayed on its screen died in a cute, but fiery explosion. Stuffing it into his pants’ pocket, he followed the officer, a grin blooming on his face.

            “So, Jenny,” he said in a teasing tone. “Are you sick of my face yet? This is the third time in the past month that I’ve been in here.”

            “Knock it off,” Jenny replied in a stiff, professional tone. “Do you realize how much it costs just to file the paperwork every time we bring you in?”

            “Not quite.” Teruo folded his arms behind his green and white colored hair, grinning all the while as they neared the front desk. “I’m getting a clear idea though. I imagine all it would take to solve that problem would be to charge me rent for the use of that chair I was just in. I can see it now.” Teruo unfolded his hands and brought them before him, spacing them out dramatically. “The first chair to be rented by a repeat offender. I ought to take a picture.”

            “It’ll certainly last longer,” muttered Officer Jenny.

            “You are getting sick of my face,” laughed Teruo. “Take it easy. I won’t be able to come up with a plan in time to get brought in a fourth time before the month ends. Ha!”

            Jenny didn’t respond to the boy’s jab as they drew to a halt. Instead she raised her right hand to her head, snapping a salute to the grey-haired man standing before the desk, talking to a considerably younger man with dark hair and brown eyes, who was in the process of filling out some paperwork.

            “I’ve brought the perp as ordered, sir. Request permission to hand cuff him to his guardian this time.”

            Teruo laughed. “Didn’t know you were into cuffs, Jenny,” he hooted delightedly. “Now I absolutely have to get arrested a fourth time, just to see if she’ll break them out for him.”

            The young man groaned and appeared to resist slumping forward. “Teruo…”

            “Take it easy, John,” the boy winked conspiratorial manner at Jenny, whose was now glaring venomously at him. “I get the feeling that you’ll need that kind of attitude with Jenny here.” He jerked a thumb at the woman, her eyes narrowing into deadly slits. “I think she’s got a bit of a mean streak to her.”

            “That will be enough out of you, Teruo,” snapped the grey-haired man, leveling a dark look on the young boy. Something passed behind his dark eyes that made Teruo’s mouth—normally ready with a snappy comeback—consider asking his fingers in helping sew itself shut to ensure future silence.

            “Thank you Captain Cooper,” John sighed, shaking his head. He placed the pen down and turned to the boy. “All right, kid. Let’s go.”

            Teruo nodded. He cast a look at Jenny’s direction and his lips twitched, wanting to make one more shot at her expense, but the wiser part of his brain took hold of the reins and pulled them taut. Properly restrained, he followed John out after he made one last apology. Once outside however, his mouth broke free from the gate, and quickly clamored to reach its finish line.

            “She’s got the hots for you, you know,” he said bluntly, withdrawing his cell phone and browsing through his messages. “That’s the only reason I keep doing this.”

            John fixed the boy with a hard glare that spoke more volumes than what Teruo believed he ever had—or would—in his life. That was all right, he supposed. The idea of John getting riled up pleased him a little.

            I just wish he would be more out in the open about his feelings. He’s not going to get anywhere if all he does is let people walk all over him.

            “You have a funny way of ‘helping me’,” John replied over his thoughts as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “Do I even need to point out that you’re the reason that I haven’t been on a date in over a year?”

            Teruo shrugged nonchalantly. To the average passerby, one might be shocked at hearing such a statement, especially as John Smith was Teruo’s appointed guardian. To those that were a bit more familiar with them, it was a perfectly normal—to use the term loosely—facet of their relationship. If nothing else, they believed in being honest to each other, and while John was reserved often, they didn’t hold back from each other.

            In all fairness, Teruo started it.

            “Not my fault. You’re always so serious,” Teruo said, flipping from one message to the next with absolutely no interest. The one he was looking for had not arrived yet it seemed.

            “Don’t start that up again,” John replied, attempting to hail down a taxi and failing. He frowned at his charge and with lightning reflexes snatched up the cell phone out of Teruo’s hands.

            “Hey!”

            “Listen to me when I’m talking to you,” John said firmly, jabbing the corner of the phone in his direction as though it were a parental finger expressing frank disapproval. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times. Don’t make a spectacle…”

            “…of yourself,” Teruo finished, annoyed. “I know. And you haven’t said it a thousand times. Just forty.”

            John continued to glower at him, not wanting to reveal his surprise that the child had bothered to keep track.

            “It sure feels like a thousand sometimes. Remember, you get to walk around free as long as you keep a low profile. Keep up what you did today and the CHC cannot protect you anymore. There are still too many people out there that are…” John clamped his mouth shut and looked around him before returning his gaze back to Teruo. “Just keep your head down, if not for my sake then for yours.” John handed him back his phone. “Okay? This would a lot easier for the both of us you know.”

            “I hate having to hide,” grumbled Teruo, taking back his phone.

            “You were just telling me to take it easy,” John sighed.

            “It’s not the same thing…”

            “It can’t be helped. That you’ve at least been told a thousand times.”

            “Only one hundred and seventy four.” Teruo paused. “For this sort of thing anyway.”

            Great, he’s keeping score… He gave the boy a sympathetic look. “Sorry about that. How about I pop in your favorite movie when we get back to the house?” That usually takes the edge off our little arguments…

            Teruo surprised him by shaking his head. “Can’t. I’m busy.”

            John raised an eyebrow at that. He’s turning down his favorite film, Five Folds Eight? An alarm bell sounded in his mind. “Not to pry, but may I ask what with? You’re not in school right now…”

            “Private project.”

            Uh oh. John thought back to the jet pack incident. “Another machine you’ve been tinkering with? Teruo…”

            “I don’t have anything like that in the works. That backpack was all that I had time to put together recently.” Teruo scowled. “I can’t believe that the CHC confiscated it. I worked hard on it too.”

            “They’re going to destroy it too.”

            “Thanks for reminding me.” Teruo grimaced. “It took me months just to get everything to work right without risking burning my butt off, and I don’t have near enough the budget to build another one.” A devilish grin appeared on his face just then. “Guess I’ll just have to cheap it for my next trick if I want to get you and Jenny to see each other again by the end of the month. I might make it after all. She’s waiting on you. Why don’t you make the first move? It’s so sad that you look like you’re depending on me just to have an excuse to see her.”

            “Teruo…” began John warningly. The boy laughed heartily, but John couldn’t help but notice that the laugh rang a bit empty.

            Life for the Heroi is never an easy one when it’s unfulfilled…

###

Upon reaching home, Teruo was upstairs and in his room at such a rapid pace that he felt sure that John would be insulted. He craned his head a little and glared at the wooden door behind him.

            “Not my problem,” he said finally, pushing away from the door and making his way over to the other end of the room, where his computer sat at attention. He hit the power button and while he waited for it to boot up he stepped over to the small cage sitting next to it.

“Hey, Gerbil,” he greeted, pulling out a small bag full of dark-brown pellets and scooping some out. Unlatching the cage, he spilled the nuggets into a light-colored bowl. A brown-furred rabbit sitting in the corner, fat and furry, stared up at him expressionlessly, nose and mouth working endlessly. As soon as Teruo withdrew and closed the cage, the long-eared critter hopped over to the bowl and began nibbling on its meal. Teruo smiled briefly at his pet before turning back to the computer. Sitting down he typed in his password and it quickly finished loading up his screen. Signing into his email he checked his messages, his light-green eyes lit up as he spied one and he instantly clicked on it.

Teruo. Saw what you did today. Thought you were going to take it easy after what you told me about last night.

-Kitsune

            Teruo laughed and signed into his instant messenger, hoping with the feverish hope of the damned that his contact would be on. A smile broke upon his face as he was rewarded with their presence.

            Hi,” came the instant response from the owner of the name Kitsune.

            Hi yourself,” Teruo wrote back. “Did you like today’s show?

            Kitsune: It was interesting. How are you not still in jail?

            Teruo laughed aloud, his fingers making their clacking sound on the keyboard as they typed.

            Teruo: I’m what they call a special exemption. Not sure why, but it keeps me from having to be on the Pax. Because I’m so good with machines they don’t even dare give me a Companion module to keep an eye me.

            He hit the reply button, and within short order he received Kitsune’s response.

            Kitsune: It was a rhetorical question.

            Teruo grinned at that and simply shrugged. He just liked to hear himself talk—or in this case, write.

            Teruo: I keep telling John that he needs to ask out that hot officer I told you about. This is the best way I can think of to get them in the same room long enough to even talk.

            Teruo could almost hear the exasperated, yet amused sigh of his invisible contact on the other end.

            Kitsune: I am certain that there are other methods for consenting adults to meet up with each other, though I believe that they aren’t the most…entertaining to someone like you.

            If Teruo’s grin hadn’t already split his face in two by now, it was sure threatening to do so by now.

            Teruo: Well, that goes without saying. Anyway, do you have the information that I asked you about?

            There was a brief hesitation in Kitsune’s response.

            Kitsune: I’m surprised. No code?

            Teruo shook his head.

            Teruo: I’m pretty sure The CHC would want me to look into this for them anyway.

            Kitsune: Where does this confidence come from?

            Teruo tapped his cheek and typed out a response.

            Teruo: The info? Teruo paused before adding one of their safe codes to the message. Teruo: Black Lab needs to be brushed.

            The chat box blinked again. There were no words in it this time; instead there was a document. Teruo smiled and clicked on it.

            Doing so caused his computer to shut down immediately, leaving the young boy sitting there, flummoxed for a moment. His eyes narrowed dangerously as realization settled squarely on him.

            “You cheeky bastard…” he murmured. He cracked his knuckles and got up. “Figures you’d have an additional layer of security, just in case I was The CHC faking you. All right…where’s my laptop?”

###

            Teruo: You’re an ass.

            The young boy wondered if Kitsune felt any amusement to his message upon the restoration of his computer. He believed that he did, as the mythos behind his online name indicated as much, but one could never be too sure.

            Kitsune: It doesn’t hurt to be cautious. You know how I am…and how dangerous The CHC is. You’re not the one who had to skip the country after all.

            Teruo frowned as he typed back.

            Teruo: Yeah, yeah. I get it. Now no more tricks. I want to see this for myself.

            Kitsune: Oh? All right then…

            With that, Kitsune promptly dropped off their Instant Messenger, leaving Teruo alone for the time being. Licking his lips, he reopened the document, a part of him waiting in paranoia on the chance that his friend left still another layer of security for him to hack through. Nothing new developed as a program screen came up, and he felt his heartbeat drop in its rhythm in relief.

            Looks like it’s a video clip, he mused, leaning forward curiously. Sure enough, his thoughts were confirmed as his video player fired up and began buffering. Teruo entwined his hands and cracked his knuckles again in great anticipation. The CHC’s been going to a lot of trouble keeping this from getting to the media. Whatever it is…it’s big. Kitsune’s been monitoring naval movements along the eastern coast. He says that the navy is gearing up for some kind of big encounter…one that hasn’t been seen since the end of the Bronze Age.

            He felt greatly excited by that knowledge. The Bronze Age! The era that brought the end of the Dominion of Heroi and the end of the Great Conflict. Oh, for certain the Great Conflict wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. Just as nations and empires took on different rulers, it merely took on a different name. What did it matter who fought the war, so long as someone was fighting it?

            “C’mon… C’mon…” he whispered impatiently as the small circle on the screen spun, informing him of its progress… Or rather the lack of it in his modest opinion. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, the screen changed and began to show the image of an ocean, shrouded in mist. Teruo frowned. “That’s it?” he muttered in puzzlement. No…there’s got to be something more.

            There was. As he watched, a dark shape began to emerge, tall and tower-like. Teruo couldn’t be certain due to the fog obscuring whatever lay behind it. He could have been looking at the Loch Ness Monster and he wouldn’t know for certain.

            Seconds ticked by like minutes, and as Teruo continued to watch, more of those dark shapes came into view. Some were smaller, some were taller, but they all shared the same, towering appearance. Much like…

            …buildings? Teruo tilted his head to one side, a suspicion suddenly forming in his mind. Where is this? He reached for his mouse and scanned around the video screen, trying to see if there were any clues…some kind of land mark or a registering of longitude and latitude. Unfortunately, he found nothing that could help him.

            Piss… He grimaced. Leaning back in his chair, he went back to watching the film. Nothing new had occurred, though there was definitely movement from whoever—or whatever—was recording the scene. Teruo reasoned that it was one of The CHC’s orb drones.

They’re disposable enough for this sort of operation.

            He shifted in his chair as he spied something new amidst the fog and its ‘towers’. A new shape. He paused the video and rewound it, replaying it so as to confirm what he saw.

            Yeah… There’s something there all right. Something’s moving.

            Whatever it was, apparently the recorder had picked up on it as well, because the image shifted through two different light spectrums to try and pick up on it. The object disappeared promptly, and Teruo felt his mouth dry up.

            Oh no… You have got to be kidding me. It…can’t be that place… It disappeared along with the Bronze Age. Why is it…?

            He was interrupted from his thoughts as suddenly the camera perspective lurched violently, as though something had slammed into it. The last image that it transmitted was that of water flying toward it and then…static.

            Teruo sat in his chair, mystified and stunned by what he saw. Worse yet, he felt…fear for what it might mean.

            I think this Age is going to be a Dark one…

6: Chapter-06: Tossing the Lit Match

Chapter: 6/ Tossing the Lit Match

Jamie came to a stop in front of the park playground and took a quick look around him, warily regarding some boys playing hoop ball before hurriedly crossing over into the blacktop and making his way over to the jungle-gym. Jamie kept the jungle gym between himself and the boys as best as he could, but resisted the urge to hide behind it. Doing so, he reasoned, might draw the attention of the boys, which was something he did not want.

            “Bad day to bring you along,” he muttered to Monster, patting his side. The two-headed Cerberus nuzzled one of his heads against the boy’s leg, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he looked up at him with the other head goofily. Jamie sighed. That purple really stands out…

            He took another quick glance at the blacktop. So far none of the boys playing noticed him yet, but that didn’t make him feel any better. He really hoped that his friends would get here soon.

            “Come on you guys…” he muttered under his breath. Sensing his anxiety, Monster bumped up against him, trying to calm him down.

            “Jamie, it won’t do you any good to be worrying about them right now,” Beth said from his belt loop. “And you know that your friends will not get here any faster just because you want them to.”

            Jamie kicked at the dirt and groaned.

            “Not helping Beth,” he replied, flashing another glance over at the game. The ball bounced on the steel rim before falling into the hoop below. There was a loud chorus of triumph from one of the two teams and a ruckus of angry curses from the other. Jamie leaned against the jungle gym and scowled. “Why’d they have to come here of all places? I thought they had another place that was closer to where they live.”

            “If you would like, I could contact Justin and Kyle and let them know you would like to meet up somewhere else.”

            “Could you?” Jamie asked, feeling a bit relieved by the suggestion. “I don’t want to be here if they’re here.”

            As he watched the gang of boys battle back and forth, the orange ball striking the pavement, shouts and orders going between each of them, his gaze fell upon one boy in particular; a tall boy with burning red-hair, wearing a tank-top to show off his already impressive biceps, and mouth drawn back in an almost predatory smile. Jamie chewed on his lower lip, fighting down the nervous fear that crawled beneath his skin. His eyes, brilliant green, swept in his direction and his lips curled back to shout something.

            “Hey! Jamie!”

            “Oh my gods!” the boy jumped, twirling around to the source of the voice, recognizing instantly in spite of his heart pounding out what felt like a deliberate attempt to escape his chest. Jamie cringed, but at the same time rejoiced inwardly, unable to discern whether he should be blessed or cursed. He recognized the owner of the voice. Justin Page. Friend, trouble-maker, and everything in between. To Jamie, he was a good, if somewhat overbearing friend. To everyone else, he was overbearing, loudmouthed, and at times foulmouthed as well.

            Next to him as well was their much shorter and mutual friend by the name of Kyle Guziak. That left him feeling a bit better, but not by much. If there was ever a yin to Justin’s yang, Kyle was it, if to an extreme. The boy was shorter than any of them and had a confidence to match his short stature. Where Jamie was quiet, Kyle would be silent. Where Jamie would fidget, Kyle would squirm. Where Jamie would anxiously think about what kind of conversation to strike up with a new friend, Kyle would sweat and blurt out whatever came to mind, often stuttering so badly one would think that Common was a second language to him. He was not popular, least of all with girls who, much to his dismay, likened him to a slug. Pale-faced, sweaty Kyle, who stammered and stuttered his way through words and often looked ashamed to be seen in public. Still, when he was in his element, he was kind and polite, and as confident as any of them…but only when in his element.

            “Hey guys,” Jamie greeted, waving at his friends as casually as he could while Monster bounced over to the pair.

            “Hey yourself,” Justin grinned, one hand happily receiving a Cerberus ear while glancing down at the boy’s belt. “Hey, Beth. I thought you said this sucker was going to be late.”

            “He is,” the AI greeted with amusement in her tone as she swung against Jamie’s waist. “And so are you. Did you take your time getting here?”

            “Pretty much,” Justin replied. “Kyle wanted to swing by the game store today, so I figured we might as well kill some time. He jerked a thumb in the direction of the hoop ball game. “Do you want to make tracks? Kyle’s been looking like he’s ready to freak at any second.”

            “I am not!” Kyle protested heatedly. Jamie froze at the sound of his voice and quickly glanced over at the hoop ball court, wondering if any of the boys overheard him. So far it didn’t appear to be the case.

            “Try and wake the dead why don’t you,” Justin said sarcastically, fixing their friend with a dry look. Pushing himself off from the jungle gym he looped an arm around Kyle and pulled him down against his armpit.

            “Lemme go!” Kyle complained, struggling against his friend’s grip. Grinning, Kyle tightened his hold and adjusted his footing.

            “So where do you want to go?” Justin asked Jamie casually, as though Kyle weren’t fighting to break free.

            “Uh…well, I was…kind of thinking the hospital? Like you said? To see if what your mom said was true…”

            “Of course it’s true!” Justin replied indignantly. “Like I told you over the phone, that sort of thing doesn’t happen oft…”

            “Let…go!” Kyle exclaimed, finally ripping himself free from Justin’s arm. The smaller boy fell back a step and he glowered at Justin. “Jeez… Do you even use deodorant?! Your pits stink!”

            “It’s all for you,” Justin laughed, waving a hand underneath his arm. “Sorry about that though,” he said sheepishly. “The stick ran out and I forgot to ask Mom if she could get me a new one. I washed though!”

            “Sure didn’t smell like it,” Kyle grimaced, squeezing his nose shut for emphasis. “Gods! It’s like you swam up a swamp!”

            Jamie chuckled lightly and looked over at the hoop ball court. It seemed that Kyle’s cry had finally caught their attention and all activity had ceased, save for one of the boys who was now pointing in their direction.

            “Um…guys? I think we might want to get out of here…”

            “Hmmm…” Justin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, following Jamie’s gaze. “Yeah, I guess so…”

            “Justin?” came Beth’s voice, a concerned tone in it. “I can tell by scanning you that your thinking is not in line with what Jamie is suggesting…”

            “Wait, what?” began Jamie, raising an eyebrow at his friend. Justin glared at the machine.

            “Tattler… You’re like the little sister I never had or something.”

            “What does she mean?”

            “C’mon Jamie. It’s been a year and you’re a heroi! I keep telling you that you don’t have to go letting people push you around…”

            “Uh…he’s a suppressed heroi,” Kyle pointed out. “And it’s against the law for him to use his powers, remember?”

            What powers? Jamie thought, his fingers curling into his palms while his stomach worked itself into a knot.

            “Eh,” Justin waved dismissively. “He’s got Monster. These punks can’t do anything that he won’t burn ‘em for.” He winked at the Cerberus and both of the animal’s heads at once tilted to its left questioningly.

            “Uh…Justin?” began Kyle tentatively. “His fire glands were removed…”

            “Oh…right,” Justin frowned, returning his look in the direction of the hoop ball court. A smaller group of the boys had detached themselves from the others and were now heading in their direction. “Guess it’s time for a retreat then.”

            Jamie and Kyle both nodded in agreement and all three started to head off together, Jamie tugging on Monster’s leash to get him moving.

            “Hey! Grey!” bellowed a voice of one of the approaching boys behind them, causing all Jamie and Kyle to both freeze up in their tracks, while Justin continued on a couple paces before stopping, turning to look at them with a raised eyebrow.

            “Uh…guys? Isn’t this where we’re supposed to be ignoring him and keep on walking?”

            “Right!” Kyle said quickly, taking hold of Jamie by the arm and, with strength that surprised the other boy, began to drag him forward. Jamie’s feet stumbled for a moment and he threw a look over his shoulder.

            Oh great, he thought, quickly looking away as his worst fears were realized. The boy at the head of the group, burning red-hair and bulging biceps, was known amongst friends, family, and teachers as Bradley Moore. Outside of them, and more specifically to the terrified students that attended the same school as him, he was known not by a specific name but more by a feeling of abject terror. His trademark hair color was joked about once by a more learned classmate of Jamie’s as the remains of the volcano that destroyed Pompeii.

            Quickly getting his feet back under him, he fumbled for his Companion.

            “Uh… Beth?” he stammered, attempting to unclip her. Unfortunately, his fingers were now shaking so badly that they missed the chain completely.

            “Jamie, I need to record this in case he tries anything against you.”

            Jamie swallowed, trying to gulp down his fear and get some sense of calm in his fingers. He knew Beth was only trying to do her job, but if Bradley damaged her module…

            Monster growled at his side just a split second before Bradley’s next bellow caused Jamie to freeze in his tracks.

            “Grey!!!”

            Beth clipped off from Jamie’s belt as the trio spun around. Jamie had enough time to realize that he couldn’t pocket the Companion without her being noticed.

            Please don’t say anything, he thought desperately, trying to cover her with his fingers as much as he could without appearing obvious.

            “Didn’t you hear me calling you James?” the red-haired boy asked, his troop of boys coming to a halt behind him as he stopped in front of the young heroi.

            “Uh…hey…Brad,” Jamie began carefully, tugging on Monster’s leash to keep him back. “How are things?”

            “Fine,” Bradley grinned, folding his arms over his chest. “Just wondering what you’re doing here.” He looked over at Justin, who was scowling at him. “What’s your problem? You’re still hanging out with these guys?”

            “You got eyes right?” Justin replied, pointing at his own for emphasis, to which both Jamie and Kyle blanched noticeably. It seemed that their friend was intent on having things get off to a rocky start despite his earlier intention of leaving as soon as possible.

            “Just wanted to make sure,” Bradley chuckled. He looked at the others behind him. “You’d think he’d be getting tired of them by now, but hey, like my old man says, to each their own, right?”

            “Yeah, sure,” Justin harrumphed. Bringing his arms to rest on his friends’ shoulders, he began to steer them in a direction that faced away from their fellow schoolmate. “Anyway, we’ve got to get out of here.”

            “What’s the rush?” Bradley asked, a mischievous light appearing in his eyes. “You don’t have time to catch up?” Slowly he reached out toward Jamie to stop the trio, but without looking, Jamie’s hand parted from his friend just long enough to slap Bradley’s arm away before returning to its resting location. Bradley’s eyebrows rose up in surprise at this, and red warmed his cheeks as one of his friends made a sharp whistling noise.

            “You steppin’ to me?” Bradley asked, moving a foot closer. Jamie could only nod numbly. His brain felt like every fuse was popping all at once. He couldn’t think clearly and was now simply reacting. The air warmed and cooled around him in waves, and he felt an odd sense of dampness hanging close to his armpits. Sweat? He was going to worry about that later.

            He almost didn’t notice Justin appearing by his side.

            “Knock it off,” Justin said, throwing a sharp glare over his shoulder. “We’ve got a friend in the hospital that we’re visiting. They got caught in that freak heroi attack yesterday. We don’t have time for you yankin’ us around.” Grabbing hold of Jamie’s enclosed hand, he pulled it up, revealing Beth for the other boys to see. “Smile. You’re being watched.”

            “Cease and desist,” Beth warned, her electric eye seemingly narrowing. A red dot appeared on Bradley’s forehead and the boy finished retracting his hand with a chuckle.

            “Whatever you say Officer Mom,” he replied in an innocent tone. “Just don’t hurt me…”

            There was a flash of movement and Jamie’s hand was thrown to the side, skin red and stinging. Beth’s module flew through the air before landing a few feet away on the ground.

            “Piss on that,” Bradley scoffed. “You think I care?” He craned his head in the Companion’s direction. “Josh?”

            “On it,” said one of the boys, detaching himself from the group.

            “Hey!” Justin shouted, starting forward, only for Bradley to grab him roughly by the shirt and shove him backwards. Justin’s feet pin-wheeled for a moment before catching his balance.

            “Take it easy,” sneered Bradley as his friend handed him Beth’s module. “I was just having Josh pick it back up for him.” Smirking, the fiery-haired boy dusted off the machine before holding it out for Jamie. “Go on,” he said. “Just take it back.”

            Jamie eyed Bradley with suspicion, already knowing how this was going to go. He experienced enough of his ‘games’ to figure out what his next move was. What could he do though?

            Doing nothing only makes things worse. If I do something…it won’t be as bad. Usually.

            So he did what Bradley expected. He reached out, and the older boy pulled Beth back. Bradley laughed at his fruitless attempt.

            “Now say that you’re sorry for ignoring me when I called you.”

            By Jamie’s side, Monster growled viciously, eyes narrowing. Bradley only eyed him with mild amusement.

            “Keep your mutt cool,” said one of the boys behind Bradley.

            “Just give her back,” Jamie said, his face flushing deep red in anger. A slight aura began to appear around the hand that held Monster’s leash as he tightened his grip, but it went unnoticed.

            “This is stupid!” Justin snarled, and with that the boy launched himself at Bradley, surprising Jamie. Bradley, out of experience with his antics, simply launched a vicious kick at Justin’s unprotected abdomen. Justin’s eyes bulged in their sockets as all the air left his lungs in one mad rush, and he collapsed to the ground, arms clutching his stomach, gasping.

            “Jus—!” began Jamie, only for Bradley to grab him by the ear and pull him forward.

            “I wasn’t done with you,” he hissed, tugging and twisting with each word he spoke. “Come on. Say. You’re. Sorry.”

            That did it. With a guttural snarl, Monster jumped upward and his jaws closed around Bradley’s arm. The older boy screamed in surprise as the Cerberus’ fangs bit into his unprotected flesh, causing him to drop Beth to the ground again. Jamie blinked in surprise and pulled backward, the light around his leash hand intensifying briefly. With one more yank, Monster’s fangs ripped away and both him and Jamie collapsed to the ground in a heap. Swearing up a storm, Bradley staggered backward, clutching hold of his arm in order to stem the flow of blood that seeped through his fingers.

            “Bastard!” Bradley howled, throwing off his friends’ attempts at helping him. “Get offa me! I said get off!” The crowd backed off, suddenly wary of the teen. Scrambling to his feet, Jamie tried to do likewise, instantly knowing as they did that now that he was pissed, he would turn on anyone regardless of what side they were on. With a snarl, Bradley stomped over toward him and Monster attempted to lunge at him once more. Instinctively Jamie pulled him back…

            There was a meaty smack as Bradley’s fist struck Jamie on his left cheekbone, sending him careening to the ground with a heavy thud. For a wonder, his grip on Monster’s leash tightened, preventing him from retaliating. Not that it helped, nor was Bradley grateful for the further absence of Cerberus fangs in his body.

            “S-Stop it!” Jamie heard Kyle cry as he struggled to get back up. Bradley’s shadow fell over him.

            Here it comes…

            “What’s going on here?!”

            Jamie blinked as the expected blow didn’t come, but an adult did in its place. Bradley fell back as a dark-haired woman wearing a jean jacket stormed up, blue-eyes looking as though she just broke open the Underworld and all Hell was vomiting forth in all its fury and vengeance.

            “I asked what the hell is going on here?!” the woman demanded, not bothering to mince words.

            “That kid’s Cerberus attacked…”

            “…because your friend attacked his owner!” the woman snapped to the first boy who dared to speak. “I’ve got eyes like a hawk. I saw what happened!”

            “Screw you, you old bat…” began Bradley, anger still burning in his voice. The woman was quick to turn her fury on him. Much to Jamie’s surprise, Bradley staggered back under her glare, and a physical sense of oppressiveness fell over the playground, as though the air was slowly becoming solid. Jamie found himself gasping for breath as fear rolled over him like a blanket. Suddenly he was unsure if the woman was his rescuer.

            “I’m sorry,” began the woman, her voice dripping. “Would you care to repeat that? Because I was almost sure that you said you were going to get out of here.”

            None of the boys in Bradley’s troupe would admit it amongst themselves—it had to be a trick of the light, or the tenseness of the situation—but privately they would have sworn on a stack of holy books that the woman’s eyes darkened for half a second as the sensation of weight in the air increased in intensity.

            “Brad…” began one of the boys—Josh—laying a hand on the boy’s shoulder. That seemed to snap him back to reality and he, along with the rest, took a step back.

            “We’re out of here,” he replied. With one final glare at Jamie, he was true to his word, and together the group soldiered off.

            “Ho…ly…crap…” wheezed Justin, struggling to his feet while Jamie let go of a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding. “Remind me to never piss you off.”

            “Watch your mouth,” the woman said, turning to face the three boys, giving Justin a firm look. The cloud that had initially surrounded her was gone, but she held onto the air of authority just enough for Justin to grimace without making a snappy response in return.

            For once, thought Jamie, getting up. Standing up on his hind legs, Monster’s two heads went straight for his cheek, tongues lapping out in an attempt to wash the bruise that was already forming. Approaching him, the woman looked him over.

            “You don’t look the worse for wear. Are you okay?” She reached out toward his face and Jamie flinched back.

            “S-Sorry,” he stammered, averting his eyes. “I’m a little wound up right now…”

Pressing her lips together, she nodded in understanding and didn’t press the issue. Reaching into her handbag, she dug through it. “It looked like your Cerberus messed that kid’s arm up pretty bad.” She glanced in the direction of the retreating gang of boys and frowned. “Can’t say that I feel sorry for him, but…his folks might look for a lawsuit because of it.” She produced a card and handed it to Jamie. “I need to meet up with someone soon, so I can’t stick around for very long, but take this in case there is trouble and you need someone to testify for you.” She smiled comfortingly at him as Jamie reluctantly took the card and read the name off it. Amanda Baker.

             Why does that name sound familiar…? he wondered before quickly dismissing the thought.

            “Um…thanks?”

            “Is that a question or a response?” the woman grinned, hoping to ease the tension in the air.

            “A res…I mean thanks!” Jamie quickly bowed his head at the woman respectfully, earning him a raised eyebrow.

            “You’re pretty old fashioned,” she chuckled. “See you around kiddo.” Shrugging her bag back onto her shoulder, she headed off, giving the trio a small wave.

            “Jeez…” Justin breathed as Kyle approached, picking up Beth and holding him out for Jamie to take. “Are you all right?”

            “I’m fine,” Jamie replied, clipping Beth back to his waist.

            “Not you,” Justin snorted. “I can already see how you are. I’m asking Beth. She took two tumbles you know.”

            “I am undamaged,” the Companion replied. “I’m a bit frazzled though. That…was a bad one.”

            “Every meeting with that guy is a bad one.”

            “Compared to other bad ones,” Beth clarified before continuing. “He’s getting worse. I’m going to have to file a report. His behavior is becoming too dangerous. For Jamie. For…everyone around him and…” The Companion paused. “I’m sorry, Jamie. I didn’t mean…”

            “Don’t worry about it,” Jamie said, patting Beth’s casing. “Let’s just get out of here.” Tugging on Monster’s leash, the three friends headed off.

###

            Amanda Baker watched the three boys as they wandered away before pulling out her cell phone and checking the time.

            “You weren’t going to do anything to stop that mess, Agent Coleman?” she asked to the man approaching casually behind her. The man, dirty-blond hair and wearing the dark suit that characterized agents belonging to the Center of Heroi Control, did not react in surprise at having been noticed without being seen.

            “I was assessing your response, Ms. Foster,” he replied simply. “All heroi are to be approached with caution.”

            “I wasn’t going to hurt them,” Amanda said, pocketing her phone. The agent shrugged.

            “All the same.”

            “Anyway, what’s this all about?” Amanda asked, sounding more than a little bit miffed. “I was in the middle of a design meeting and I had to pull some strings to get out of there without telling anyone that the CHC wanted to see me. You’re not helping either by the way with that look.” She gave the agent an appraising look and sniffed derisively. “Where’s Daria? She gave me the call. I thought she would meet me here.”

            “I’m going to have to ask you to come with me,” Agent Coleman replied simply. Amanda’s ears pricked at a warbling sound—no, two warbling sounds—from above them.

            Guardians… she thought, not looking up.

            “What’s going on?” she asked, her muscles tensing up.

            “Please don’t resist. We have the frequency of your Q Field on file. We don’t need an incident that would become subject to public or oversight scrutiny.” His eyes, amber colored, flicked over to Amanda. “A scandal would be bad for you and your daughter I would imagine.”

            Amanda narrowed her eyes, seething for a moment before finally nodding in agreement.

            “All right,” she said. “Lead on.”