Dunno how Nick's gonna take this. Hes probly gonna be duck-fittin, cow-birthin piiiisssed off. Probly gonna wanna fire me. Too freakin bad. Hes a smart guy, but sometimes hell go in swordfirst when he oughta lead with his brain.
Took me a couple days ta git my bearins. Last time I wuz in th Rogue Isles wuz with Maggie huntin Shae Firewarder an
well, lets not talk about that, okay? This time things wuz a little easier cause I had th Rat with me.
Dunno who it wuz what done that ta that rodent, but whatever they done, hes now one smart rat. (Ive heard stories about how he used ta have a montage o mercs that follad im around until th mercs that follad th other criminal masterminds started makin fun of em.) Th Rat seemed real happy that I wuz impressed with his smarts, an I found out that if I kept blowin smoke up his [censored], hed keep tryin ta impress me. Some o them genius-typesre like that, ya know.
Anyways, th Rat took me out ta where hed seen Rosie. Showed me this stack o old crates that had this blood stain unner em. Th Rat said she wuz practicly layin inna pool o blood so he figgered she wuz dyin anyways, an thats why he took er hero ID without thinkin twice.
I usuly aint one ta pass judgement, an I wouldntve this time cept I like Rosie. Shes got some supershitty taste in boyfriends, but shes real sweet too sweet fer a stick in th mud like Nick Kinsolving. But thats not stayin on th subject.
Peggy says I go off onna tangerine when I talk sometimes. Like I fergit what I wuz sayin cause I start talkin bout somethin else
Uh
what wuz I sayin?
Oh yeah! Th Rat.
I really felt like stompin th critter inta a spotch on th pavement, but I needed im. So I held back my temper an said, Hey, Rat, where ya figger she went from here?
He scampered around in er dried blood fer a little bit then started scurryin in circles around th crates. Every circle got bigger an bigger an then he kinda changed th focus o his snifflin ta just one area where there wuz some tire tracks I coulda found on my own if I wuznt so busy tellin th Rat how smart he wuz.
But that wuz as much good as he could do me. From here on out, I wuz on my own. So I took th rodent an stuck im unner my big ol foot an squashed im.
Just kiddin. What I did do wuz I found a fifty-five gallon drum an stuck im innit, then tossed it out inta th bay with him inside. Figgered hed find a way out soon enough.
After that, I took some pictures o th tire tracks an some samples o th rubber that wuz left in em. That aint much ta go on, but if ya can find out what kinda tires they are an where theyre sold, ya can narrow down a search by a lot.
Turns out that even works in th Rogue Isles. After analala
alanalyz
figgerin out what brand they were, there wuz only one dealer fer em in th Isles legal dealers that is. Unless she got picked up by a vehicle with hot tires, it wouldnt be no problem ta track Rosie down.
Grace Emergency Hospital.
It wuz a charitable hospital run by a religious order called uh
th Order. So two days, an I knew where ta go find Rosie.
Funny how things can seem so simple when they really aint.
[ QUOTE ]
Dunno how Nick's gonna take this. Hes probly gonna be duck-fittin, cow-birthin piiiisssed off. Probly gonna wanna fire me. Too freakin bad. Hes a smart guy, but sometimes hell go in swordfirst when he oughta lead with his brain...
Shes got some supersh***y taste in boyfriends, but shes real sweet too sweet fer a stick in th mud like Nick Kinsolving. But thats not stayin on th subject.
[/ QUOTE ]
((Oh, it's SO on, mister! 
))
((Loving it! More!))
Ah! Youre awake!
Rose turned her head to see who had entered the ward. She was weak and groggy. Tubes were attached to her right arm that went up to bags that were attached to bottles and dripped steadily into the tubes. Another tube was taped to her nose shooting supplying her with pure oxygen. She hurt all over, but not nearly as badly as she had the last time her eyes had been open.
We were starting to worry, the young man in the clerical collar said as he checked the tubes that were keeping her alive.
Whr mm uh? which was as close as Rose could get to, Where am I? at the moment.
Grace Emergency Hospital, he said, And Im Brother Jeremy.
Urr ooo uh dktr?
Brother Jeremy laughed lightly, No, Im not a doctor; just an R.N.
Oh.
With gentle ease he checked her blood pressure and took her temperature. Then he smiled as he opened a Styrofoam cup full of ice and said, Here, let this melt in your mouth.
She opened her mouth a little, and he dropped two chips of ice onto her tongue.
Thanks, she said weakly. At the moment, that ice was the sweetest thing she had ever tasted.
Ill have you some lunch up here after while. If you can keep it down, then you should be out of here in a day or so.
Rose tried to remember what had happened to bring her here, but she could not, so she asked, Wh-what happened?
Ah, Brother Jeremy replied, Morphine drips and memory loss. Well, Miss
um
Doe, we saw a leg sticking out from under a pile of old crates and thought we were stopping to pick up a body.
Oh. Oh god.
Yes, He definitely had a hand in your survival. We thought wed lost you that first day.
I feel
hurt
inside. Somethings not
right.
Brother Jeremys smile faded. He looked at her with pity, which made her feel even more not right.
Im sorry, Miss Doe, he began, speaking as if the words were painful to him, Your injuries caused you to hemorrhage and that, well
Im afraid it caused a spontaneous termination...
I
I dont understand.
Sorry your
wait. You didnt know?
Didnt know what?
You were
you were pregnant.
(( grabs for handkerchiefs and starts bawling -- you and your damned well-written heroic telenovelas, Roy!!))
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Ya know, it wuz easier ta find out where them tires wuz bought than it wuz ta find out where that goddamned hospital wuz located. It wuz almost like they didnt want ya ta know th freakin place wuz there.
There aint a whole lotta tire stores in th Isles. Most people that use tires tend ta be th people like would have em brought in illegal-like in hijacked cargo ships. But I guess a charity hospital aint got them kinda connections. So Manny & Moes Auto Supply wuz able ta point me in th right direction by givin me th name o th place.
Problem after that wuz that the address they give me wuz a billin address. That dont tell ya much, an by th time ya write em a letter an ask em where theyre actuly located ya might as well ve hoofed it around an found th place th hard way.
Which is perty much what I done
Id tell ya what all happened ta me while I wuz tryin ta find that hospital, but what parts of it that aint borin re kinda violent. Took a couple o days more an' I had ta kinda do some stuff ta keep th locals from thinkin I wuz a do-gooder. I ran inta a couple o good guys workin there, an them guys, I felt sorta sorry fer. Real unnerdogs, ya know? I mean, I used ta feel like we wuz way outnumbered in Paragon City, but these guys
they have ta make up new numbers fer em, theyre so outnumbered.
It wuz one o them that told me about a emergency hospital on th south side o Capo Diablo that mostly catered ta civs that got caught inna crossfire. Seems that th perfessional criminals got their own health care system, sorta like th heroes do in Paragon City.
So finally, after five days o huntin, I wound up in th neighborhood where th hospital wuz sposed ta be.
Really cant call it a neighborhood. Wuznt nothin neighberly about it. Buncha empty warehouse-type buildins sprayed with grafitti. Wuznt no shingle hung up sayin Hospital r even a red cross showin where it wuz. How th hell wuz I sposed ta find th freakin place?
Sometimes, when yer doin what needs ta be done, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Everwhere in th Isles theres them Racnos guys. They strut around like they own th goddamned place, ya know? An they carry big guns.
Me standin there in my human form, all big an strong lookin, had em lookin my way, but when I picked up that rock an threw it
Twelve guns trained on me. I turned an ducked my head didnt want another bullet in th brain jus bfore them guys started blastin away. Their bullets started hittin me rippin through my arms an legs an one of em hit in my back an ripped outta my gut, I think bringin a piece o kidney with it. They shot me so full o holes I swear I could see dots o sunlight on the ground in my shadda. Each impact knocked me back a few feet an one of em turned me around an I wuz worryin about that headshot an what would happen an how much trouble it wuz last time I got killed.
Didnt happen though, Took me three tries with them bullets hittin me an forcin me ta move in ways I didnt really wanna move but I finally wuz able ta fall down.
A few more rounds an th shootin stopped. Th spider-capes marched away.
As soon as they wuz outta sight, th doors opened in one o them buildins, an a couple o priests come runnin out with a gurney. They got me rolled over on it then rolled me inside. I wuz hopin them guys moved fast cause I needed ta git inside an do th magic robot thing bfore I bled ta death.
[ QUOTE ]
You were
you were pregnant.
[/ QUOTE ]
o_O !!!
The professional thief and sometime mercenary called Cracklin Rosie flew high above Cap Au Diable and saw a commotion below. An Arachnos patrol was firing at a rather large man. The man wasnt going down easily and she flew down closer to offer him assistance, but then reconsidered. But maybe he had done something to deserve it. Maybe he was a Marcone. She observed the scene for a few seconds, and flew away.
Dust, leader of the Lion Brigade -- and her paramour -- wanted her to continue working with Arachnos. It was convenient for him to have someone on the inside of the organization. And there was something about the man that made her want to do anything he said.
That was why she had to keep this
what? Clone? Extra-dimensional twin? Whatever. She had to keep her away from Dust and his sister. Competition. She could handle her complex relationships, but for this other one to enter the picture
And why else would the fake want to get in good with her?
All of that crazy talk she had been told about a split. People didnt split. She was still who she had always been. The crazy talk was just that crazy.
In moments she was standing beside Marshall Brass, handing him her report on Professor Echo. She had faced him months ago, and Brass had just last week required her to write up a report. It was as if the man was trying to get her goat. If this kept up she would have to look for another contact inside Lord Reckys organization.
Brass glanced over the report then said, Rosie, I need to talk to you.
Here we go, she thought, Small potatoes again
Brass held up a yellowing newspaper and pointed at a picture beneath a headline that read, Hero Indicted in Abuse Charges.
Rosie looked at the picture closely. The man she had seen earlier.
What about him?
Brass smirked like he always did lately when she asked him a question, then said, Hes here in the Isles and hes been asking some questions. Earlier today, one of our guys pulled an operative called the Stainless Steel Rat out of the bay who'd had a run-in with the guy.
Never heard of the rat.
Not important. But somehow, the Rat knows about you.
Yeah?
Yes. Seems this Kirby guy is looking for a woman who fits your description. Tell me, Rosie, have you ever had a Hero ID badge for Paragon City?
Rosie had a sick feeling. She had hoped to find her double and put an end to her before too many others in the Rogue Isles found out about her. Now, that might be impossible, unless
Um
no. Never have. But I think Ive seen this guy. I might know where to find him.
Brass nodded. It might be better for you to find him before he finds you.
Rosie nodded back as she looked at the picture under the headline. Yes, she was sure it would be better.
Roses eyes popped open from a sound sleep. She was certain she heard gunfire.
The IVs were out of her arms as of this morning. Brother Jeremy said that a doctor would be in late this afternoon and if he gave the okay, she could leave. He didnt ask her if she had a place to go. It wasnt a function of the hospital to do anything beyond treating emergencies. As soon as a patient was declared improved enough, they were released with the offer of a free follow-up visit in a week. Brother Jeremy said that most didnt return for the follow-up. She didnt intend to be an exception.
She sat up and listened. There it was again gunfire, and lots of it.
She climbed out of bed and crept across the ward. The four other patients in the room were medicated into obliviousness. The sixth bed was empty. Rose opened the door just enough to peek into the hallway.
There was a lot of activity out there with the older priest who had helped rescue her Brother Balaam directing a group of nuns and younger priests. Some of them were preparing weapons while two young priests readied a gurney.
Get hold of Dr. Sisk! Brother Balaam shouted to someone. Get him ported here pronto!
She stood at the door and waited as the gunfire continued to erupt outside.
As soon as the shooting was over, the nuns and priests went into their well-practiced drill. The heavy steel door opened and they all poured outside, then, seconds later, they came back in with the gurney filled.
And filled it was. Two nuns held the patients bloodied legs up because his knees overhung the gurney. They all struggled to push him through the door and into the hallway.
There was a lot of shouting and barking out orders.
Get him matched, stat!
Dr. Sisk is on his way!
Prep him!
Hes dying people! Lets move!
All the while they continued their struggle to push him toward the operating room.
When the gurney passed the ward where Rose was she couldnt believe her eyes.
Kirby! she yelled.
There was a shimmer about the body, then a flash; which was a good thing because it made the people moving the patient jump back as the gurney gave way and collapsed under 900-plus pounds of titanium alloy.
Hiya, Rosie, Roy said.
Sailor was about to head to The Winter Gala in Pocket D when his communicator went off. Sonofa...! Can't the city get along without me for ONE night? "This is Sailor, go." "Sailor Rush, we need you to go to Perez Park. A Hellion by the name of Flamespark is threatening to detonate a series of bombs." Great. Just great. "Understood. On my way." Sailor walked into the bedroom and changed, cursing all the way...
Perez Park
Haven't been here in awhile. Better hit the streets and see if I can find this Flamespark punk. Psuedo-magic BS a**holes... It took a bit of persuading, but Sailor finally got the location of the building. Sailor headed over toward the Steel Canyon entrance. Somebody is about to have a bad night...
Inside, the dark and quiet merged into a palpable essence. Sailor moved quickly and quietly, disarming bombs and dispatching Hellions with as much force as he could use and not permanently disable them. Eventually, he made his way to a small room at the bottom of some stairs.
Leaping into the room. Sailor confronted Flamespark. "That's it scumbag! You're plan ends now!" "Dad? Is that you?" Sailor spun. The Hellion mask may have hidden his face, but the haircut and voice definitely belonged to his oldest son, Tyler.
The distraction was enough. "Take this hero down!" and the rest of the Hellions attacked. Sailor didn't, couldn't fight back, as all his attention was on his oldest son. What have I done? How could I have failed? What led Ty to this? The questions ran 'round and round in Sailor's mind, until a final boot to the head and Sailor mercifully was transported to the hospital...
((Geez, Sailor... How ya gonna get outta this? 
))
Gotta tell ya, she wuz a sight fer sore eyes. She looked like she'd been through hell, skinny, pale, dark circles unner her eyes. But even with all o' that, she wuz still a beauty. An' fer a gal with just a eighth-grade education, she wuz perty smart. One o' them people that got some sense, even if they ain't got so much book smarts. O' course she wuzn't itenerate 'r nothin' like that. She reads alot -- ever time I see 'er takin' a break at th' Rock, she's gotta book o' some sort. They ain't like no girly novels neither. Stuff with titles like, "Man an' Superman"; "A Brief History o' Time"; an' "Walden". That last one's th' only one I heard of. Figger it's th' book they based that old show with "good night, John Boy" innit.
But there I go again off onna tangerine.
She wuz a sight fer sore eyes. Even though she looked like she wuz next ta dead, she wuzn't, which wuz a step up from what I wuz 'xpectin' ta find. Everthing woulda been copacetic 'cept I noticed there wuz about a half dozen nuns an' priests with guns pointed at me.
Titanium's perty much bullet proof. Take a helluva gun ta take me down in robot form, but ricochets 're a diff'rent matter. Can't take chances in a real closed in area, ya know? I'd hate ta find Rosie ta rescue 'er just ta have 'er git hit by a stray bullet. That'd really cheese off ol' Nick.
So I put my big ol' metal hands b'hind my head, knelt down on th' floor, an' told 'em how I had ta change ta robot form because it heals up my wounds. Shae seems ta think that maybe I don't really have ta do that, but I ain't never tried ta figger it out. Might need ta work on it one 'o these days.
One o' th' young priests give a look ta this one older priest, an' th' ol' priest give th' young one a nod an' they took their guns offa me an' let me git up. They even let me git inta my storage compartments an' take out th' stuff I brought fer Rosie: a suit o' light body armor; a .45 pistol; a crossbow with some o' them li'l arrows; an' some o' them tangle-up grenades she likes ta use.
I thought she wuz gonna kiss me when she saw that gear.
While Rosie wuz gittin' dressed ta leave, I asked 'em how much we owed 'em fer Rosie's stay, an' th' ol' priest said, "Ya don't owe us nothin'. She's done enough just by bein' here."
Well, he didn't exactly say that, but that's what he said. It didn't quite make no sense ta me, but hell, I don't know nothin' 'bout no priests an' charity hospitals. But it wuz okay. I had their P.O. box address. I could send 'em a connerbution later. I wuz just ready ta git outta there.
So Rosie popped outta th' room she got dressed in, lookin' more like herself, decked out fer biz, lemme tell ya.
" Gotta boat waitin fer us ta take us out ta meet a flier," I told 'er.
She nodded, tol' the nuns an' priests thanks, an' we headed toward th' door.
'Course, wouldn't ya know it? Just at that moment, there wuz a loud pop an' that heavy steel door wuz headed toward us.
Roy was a sight for sore eyes. She had wondered how she was going to get out of the Rogue Isles after she was discharged, but here he was -- her savior. She didn't much care for firearms, and she would rather have had her longbow and specialty arrows than this crossbow and its bolts, but he had done his best and she appreciated it.
She hurried to get dressed and equipped, then stepped out into the hall.
The hospital staff were there. If Brother Jeremy was not a priest, she would have kissed him. Instead, she shook his hand and offered a sincere thanks, then she thanked all of them.
When she shook hands with Brother Balaam, he held the handshake a little too long for her comfort, and he had a strange smile on his face as if he knew something...
She shook that off as a result of her mentally preparing to run the gauntlet they would surely face when the went out that door.
"Gotta boat waitin fer us ta take us out ta meet a flier," Roy said.
Rose nodded and they both turned toward the door, Roy in front. It was just as well because, at that instant, the heavy steel door sprung from its hinges and came flying squarely at them. Roy took the brunt of the impact as Rose somersaulted over both him and the door and landed in the now open doorway.
It was just as she thought: The other Rose was here. She remembered before the split using the electromagnetic properties of the suit to open security doors in the same way.
"Hello, you fake," Cracklin' Rosie said. That bloody trail outside made this place easy to find.
"I'm going to kill you," Rose replied in greeting.
"Oh?" Cracklin' Rosie said with a smile, "And what about that quiet conversation you wanted to have?"
Rose held the crossbow at the ready. "Not gonna happen," she said.
"Good. Let's do this then."
"Let's."
Suddenly, Roy's voice boomed out, "Rosie duck!"
He held the steel door above his head and was preparing to throw it.
"Roy! No!
Rose tried to warn him, but it was too late, the door sailed down the short hallway to the door where Cracklin Rosie merely smiled and watched it approach. Then with a zap the door reversed directions and flew right back over Roses head and squarely into Roy. The blow knocked him backward about ten feet where he went through a wall.
A cracking sound was heard, and pieces of ceiling tile began to fall.
Hes knocked out a load-bearing wall! Brother Balaam shouted, Run!
But the ceiling caved in before the startled clergy could escape. Down it came, filling the hallway with debris and effectively cutting Rose off from any route of escape.
Roy shook off the dust and pieces of ceiling and made toward her.
No, Roy, she said, pointing at the collapse, Make sure theyre all right. Ill take care of this... electric hootchie-momma.
When Rose turned back to the door, Cracklin Rosie wasnt in it. She was escaping! Rose ran outside after her.
Thats when Cracklin Rosie said, Gotcha!
And she did too.
Rose felt stupid. Grab and drop. Thats what she had called it -- what this other her still called it. Fake an escape, wait in ambush, then grab your opponent and fly high enough so that a fall would be fatal. It was an old trick and she shouldnt have fallen for it.
Im gonna fry you, [censored], Rosie told Rose.
The sound of the Zappsuit energizing told her that her twin was about to make good on the threat. She had to do something, but what? Rosie had her in an almost complete bear hug, with only one arm remaining free.
Rose closed her fist, and punched Rosie in the face, but in her condition the blow hurt her more than it did her opponent. The her arm, bruised where the IV had been, throbbed in protest.
She felt her hair fill with static as the electricity charged the air around them. Then there was the tell-tale hissing and popping. There were only seconds left before Rosie would electrocute her. With her free arm, she unholstered the .45 pistol Roy had brought her and held it to her doubles head.
Go ahead, if you have the stomach for it.
Oh, believe me. I do.
Then do it! Well both die!
Rose squeezed the trigger.
No. She couldnt do it. She thought she hated this woman for what she had done to her, but she could not bring herself to shoot her.
From below she heard Roy shout, Hold on Rosie! Im comin!
But he would never make it in time. The suit was ready for the big burn. Up to 2000 volts would soon course through her.
Then she remembered the one weakness of the Zappsuit. The jewel which regulated and stored the energy which gave it its powers -- a Crey industries approximation of the same jewel that powered HEROID. Rose moved the .45 away from Rosies head, put it to the jewel, and fired.
There was a release of energy. She felt the heat singe her face, and smelled her burning hair. Rosie let her go and they both began a free fall. As she fell, she reached out and grabbed the dislodged jewel.
Please, Roy... make it in ti--
The thought was ended jarringly as a red and white figure streaked up through the sky, and, with his wide reach, caught them both. He tucked them one under each arm, and with the admonition, Dont wiggle too much, they went bounding high over Cap Au Diable.
She was alive, and if they made it to that flier, she would make it back to Nick. But she had no idea what she was going to tell him.
I felt like a hero. Well
a lot o times I feel like a hero. But this time I really felt like a hero, even though Rose actuly did most o th work. An I aint gonna never tell Rose that I almost dropped er.
Hadda couple o rounds bounce off me while I wuz headed fer th boat where Shae Firewarders friend, Thomas, wuz waitin, but nothin hit neither o th girls. Cheapest getaway ride I ever saw. All I hadda do wuz take a lil ol box back ta Paragon City. I think it wuz a present fer Shae.
We met our flier an wuz outta there in no time.
When we got back ta Paragon City, I offered ta carry that lectric look-alike in fer interrogation, but Rose she wont let me call er Rosie no more insisted she carry er in by er lonesome. Shape she wuz in, I had my doubts, but she hoisted er over er shoulder an strutted in like a trooper.
All in all, it wuz a successful mission an Im perty sure Roses gonna be just as good as new.
She was broken. She could feel it. Whatever hopes Rose had for a relationship with her sister were dashed. She had been a fool to think there could ever be anything there. There could be no more looking back. Nick. The kids at the Rock. That was her life. Her future. The other Rose could have the past.
As soon as she was handed them, Rosie held the folded stack of prison clothing close to her. The chill in the room was raising goose bumps on her bare skin and the matronly guard was giving her strange looks.
She still felt like shed been through hell. The prison doctor had given her a pill for her headache and passed her on to be incarcerated with the general prison population. She wasnt considered a high-threat prisoner.
As she dressed under the steady vigilance of the matronly guard, she wondered what it had all been about, and for the first time asked herself, What if shes telling the truth?
Nah. Couldnt be.
Dressed now, she was escorted down the cell block in the womens section of the Zig. She avoided making eye contact with the other prisoners and kept her head down, her eyes ahead.
Someone yelled Hey, Bethany!
Even though the call was answered by someone in a neighboring cell, Rosie turned as if someone had called her name.
Wondering why she did that would occupy her for most of her short stay in the Zig.
((to quote a certain Moggie... OOOOOOHHHHH Speculation runs rampant!))
[I had a feeling I was being quoted today :P
Nicely done Heroid. As always the dialect makes it much easier to follow the two seperate viewpoints. I do enjoy your work. Thanks]
Part of Sister Flame's Clickey-Clack Posse
The English language is an intricate high-speed precision tool.Stop using it to bang open coconuts. ~Tokamak
Dark_Respite's Video page
((just a little something written up about one of my lesser known alts an AR/Kin Corruptor.))
Conspirator Zero paced in the abandoned hangar near the wharf in the Isles imaptiantly, the spot was open and he had scanned for listening devices several times already. He haddn't told Ebon Kris where he was going or what he was up to. If she was any good at all, she'd be able to track him here. He let out an uncharacteristic sigh. The past was always there nipping at your heels, at least it seemed that way to his eyes.There wasn't anything to do now but sit tight and wait for it.
Minutes slipped past, then an hour or two. Zero lost track of the time when the door on the oposite end of the hanger opened up and several men stepped through. Zero scanned through the men, five bodyguards, sunglasses, unregistered weaponry bulging hidden holsters his helmet informed him. He focused on the lead man, a short, rotund, and grey haired man that looked like someone's jolly old uncle. He too wore a suit, concealed undernieth it lay the padding of bulletproof vest, not to mention the man's own girth.
"Senator Stevenson." Zero said in his evercold and everflat tone by way of greeting.
"Sorry for the delay, it's difficult for one of my standing to even get into the isles you see." he explained, taking out a handkerchief and wiping down his face with it.
"What do I owe the pleasure?" he asked in the same flat tone. Because of his voice control it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or honest or what.
The Senator found himself frowning, then smiled as a shark would smile. "It's about your little girl..." he said, voice dripping with glee.
Zero stiffened ever so slightly at the implication, voice slightly tighter he spoke again. "what about her?"
"Oh I don't mean to get your hopes up, She's still in that coma and being taken care of by my personal best doctors." The senator replied smoothly. "It's just that with elections having past and all.." he said with a rambling tone. "I need a bit of a boost in my numbers is all, my chief opponent is talking about how safe we all are with the heros and all." He settled his gaze on Zero, "that's where you come in."
"I don't do assassinations, Senator." his tone was flat and uncompromizing. Death in the bounty hunter's trade was inevitable, but killing willingly always seemed wasteful to Zero. "You know that already."
The senator made no comment for a time. "It's amazing at how rescorceful your daughter was. I'm amazed really, I had thought I'd tied up every loose end, but who knew one lowly accountant would go to longbow and squeal? It's a pity all that evidence was destroyed in that fire during that surprise Sky Raider attack on the Longbow investigations squad," he smiled. "and your daughter, ever the hero, put herself in the way to protect someone she was going to arrest."
"Namely you." Zero finished.
The senator nodded in agreement. "I've made sure my...shall we say, darker friends and allies cannot be traced to me by anyone." he smiled. "And as long as I have your 'Little Jenny' under my own special care and sware to the people that this brave longbow soldier and those that fell won't have done so in vain..Well I have it all, really. Including you, Zero, if that's what you're calling yourself nowadays." he turned and paced back and forth in front of Zero. "It'd be a shame if something were to happen to that little girl of yours if you said no, Zero."
Zero stared back at the senator, the reflective facemask showing it's purpose as it gave no clue to the face or mind behind it. "Looks like I don't have a choice." he finnaly said.
"Good," one of the bodygaurds stepped forward and slid a briefcase across the floor. "Take care of it or something unfortunate happens to your little girl, bounty hunter." the senator said the last two words as if they were a curse. "I don't care if you do it yourself or get someone else to do it, just get it done. No tricks, Zero. That little girl's life rides on you doing exactlly what I say. Understand?"
Zero was silent, but managed a nod.
"Good." The senator's tone became suddenly light and happy. "I must get going, I have dinner and a photo op with the phalanx this afternoon afterall, can't keep them waiting." He and his men began to make thier exit.They got halfway to the door before..
"You're a dead man, you know."
It was that cold statement by Zero, one of utter certainty and fact that stopped the senator in his tracks. He turned and smiled, which slipped into a sneer.
"Perhaps, but not by YOU, hunter." he and his men made their way out, leaving Zero standing there.
((That was freakin' SWEET!))
((Yes it was!))
Tyler Rushing was scared. A hero had turned up where he and some other Hellions were planning on setting off some explosives.
No, not just any hero. His Dad. Who would have thought? His dad was just that, his Dad. Not a super hero. Or so he thought until this night.
Tyler crept into the house through his bedroom window, the same way he had been sneaking out for months. He had to get the mask and vest hidden. He had to get moving. His thought scattered and tumbled over each other, a million half-formed thoughts all jostling for dominance in his mind...
"I didn't know the Hellions opened a junior division."
The words stopped him cold. A light flared and there he was: his dad. No, not his dad, a hero.
Sailor Rush looked at his oldest son: Except for the intervening years, he looked just like him at 16. The same stubborn set of his face, the same build, the same eyes. Except the fear. The fear was different.
"So are you going to explain yourself?" Sailor asked, steel in his voice. Ty looked even more afraid. Afraid and surprised. "So are you going to arrest me?"
Sailor looked down, "Can you tell me why? What did I do wrong that led you to this? I thought you knew better!"
Ty looked at his father: Big, bigger than Ty, but at this moment Seemed lost. "What do you mean, Dad? You've never been there for me! At least my friends..." "Your "friends" are a bunch of no good punks!" Sailor shouted. "At least they were there and they listened to me." Tyler shot back, venom in his voice.
Sailor looked up, the hurt in his eyes evident. Ty wished he could take those words back, but at the same time they rang true in his head. Sailor removed his mask and pased a hand over his face. "Ty, my job led me to a lot of places. Places I didn't want to go, but I went because it was my job and it was the right thing for me to do. Unfortunately, it took me away from what was important in my life: you, and your brother and sisters. I'm sorry you thought I wasn't there for you, but there was no other way that I could do what needed to be done. Now it looks like you went down a wrong path, and that means I failed to do the one thing in this world all fathers are supposed to do: keep their kids safe. Can you forgive me?"
Ty looked at his father. A seemingly broken man, then he noticed the tears. Dad crying? Never in a million years did Ty think he'd ever see that! His father's tears got to him, suddenly the room was swimming in his vision. "I'm sorry Dad." Ty sobbed, "I never expected it to go this far. I never meant to get into any trouble."
Sailor took his oldest son in his arms. "I know Ty, I know. It's going to be alright."
Father and son just stood there, holding each other and letting the tears flow.
Ben Kirby-Love was growing up.
It would take him 100 years to age 20 years, so growing up was going to be slow. But still, he was growing up.
Left behind this year was his belief in cooties and the inherent ickiness of girls. Questions about other long-held beliefs were also coming to him. It was all part of growing.
Ben awoke in the night thirsty from eating too many cookies the evening before. He padded across his bedroom, slowly opened the door and looked down the hallway. The coast seemed clear.
He had just reached the corner to the stairs when he heard a sound. To his ears it sounded like the tinkling of a jingle bell. With practiced ease he turned invisible and ducked around the corner to see who or what was coming.
The beliefs of childhood are precious and once let go, they never return, because after you know something, you cannot unknow it, no matter how much you wish you could. And once one of those fragile ideals is shattered, the rest begin to fall like glass balls from a Christmas tree.
Ben had wondered if he was too big to still believe in Santa Claus. He had wondered if the jolly old elf was a fantasy made up by adults to entertain "knee-babies" and kindergartners, and to encourage good behavior in children during the holiday season.
When he rounded the corner and saw the man in the big red suit, trimmed with white fur who was laying out treats at every door of every child in the house, he turned straight around and went quietly back to his own room.
If Santa wasn't real, and if consequently the vision he had just seen also wasn't real, then he didn't want to know. At least for tonight, he would believe.
At least for tonight, he was still a child.
((Merry Christmas, every one.))
Snowflakes floated down from the sky, waltzing on little eddies of wind, as if dancing to the festive Winter Ball music that filtered from above. She found herself lost in a warm smile bounded by fuzzy red earmuffs, unable to tear her eyes away. The hanging icicle lights that ran around the snow-capped gazebo illuminated them, bathing them in soft light as the world out there grew dark.
"It's gorgeous," Claire swooned, still unable to look away from her Tera.
My Tera, she thought possessively, squeezing Tera's hand with her own, a part of her watching the warmth of their breaths delicately entwine in the air, vanishing into the ether like wispy clouds.
The ruddy cheeks, glowing healthily in the cold, framed so elegantly a few loose locks of carmine hair, accented by those fuzzy red earmuffs--
--those earmuffs! So cute, so--
They'll love her, Claire thought to herself, weak-kneed and beaming.
===
Moments before, by the roaring fire of the chalet above, they'd sat together, Claire with her usual glass of Riesling, Tera sipping a mug of spiced cider. They waved to friends and acquaintances, people-watched, seeing and being seen. They were happy again. Things had been good for them the past week; Claire hoped she'd been forgiven for her inattentiveness, her unintentional habit of keeping everyone at a distance. Then, awkwardness, a moment after a friend excused himself; Tera looked at Claire, as if wanting to ask something, to know:
"So... umm... what... what are you doing for the holidays?"
Hmm? Odd question, Claire thought. Truthfully, she answered, "I... hadn't really thought about it."
Tera nodded, looking into her mug. Claire glanced at Tera, unsure of what to say--she hadn't made any plans for Christmas or New Year's, always figuring that she'd end up doing what she always did--finding a party and binging on her social interaction and drinking for the year. This time wouldn't be that different; she'd have enjoyable company. Except...
A thought--maybe Tera wanted something else?
"So, uh," Claire frowned, hesitating, "I... was thinking of going home to visit the family, if you wanted to come--"
"Yes!" blurted Tera, a little quickly, "I'd... I'd love to."
A bit surprised, Claire grinned, and nodded. "Sure!"
===
They'll love her, Claire thought, and reached up to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. A trip home ought to be fun, and we're due some vacation anyway, aren't we? She smiled, and made a mental note to call her parents tomorrow; they finally had someone to meet, after all.
((Figured I couldn't roll him up so... But don't tell!
))