After Seth...

I talked to Leroy today. It's been a week since the whole Seth thing. Neither of us was really sure that thngs were back to normal. In fact, we knew they werent. Those who had left, despite having their powers restored, still wanted to leave or stay gone.

Brice was M.I.A., again.

Dispatch was fine. Christopher had managed to trick him with the formula he claimed would work as an antidote. What it really did was put him out like a light. Of course, Christopher was long gone by the time I got back to Headquarters with Dispatch. My father and brother said that he got a call and left. No word to either one of them.

For right now, Bitter and his friends have been hanging around Headquarters. We couldn't in good faith kick them out after they had helped to save the day; but it was tempting. Twice, Torrid has managed to corner me. Luckily both times someone has come past. I don't know what his game is...i'll have to keep an eye out. Bitter is another matter entirely. we're under no delusions that if what we want conflicts with with his desires, that we're going to have a hell of a problem on our hands.

Maybe i'm crazy, but i still trust bitter more than Christopher.

Leroy told me that him and Bitter had a chance to catch up. I say them talking for a while, but Leroy wouldn't give me the details. He told me the less I knew the better. He did tell me that long before he found the figurines of the urban thirty members, Bitter had found his.
Christopher had shown it to him as a form a leverage. Christopher somehow managed to stay out of Bitter's path.

Now that seth is gone, it's time for me to go see Kara. I would have them bring her home, but it seems to be the only way to get my father and Leksi off planet. Connor has decided he wants to stay and work with the Urban 30 (meaning he wants to meet more Earth women. I'll have to warn him that earth girls aren't all that easy)

Dispatch finally explained about the disruption in the earth's systems with all of us on planet.
with everyone but Connor gone, it will give the planet time to readjust. and it will give me time do some thinking: What was it about Tony and Leroy that made them able to resist Seth?

I kept the ankh pendant that Seth was wearing. I'm still looking for a way to destroy it. The last thing we want is for it to fall into someone else's hands...like my ex, for example.

I told dispatch what arrow said and he gave me the strangest look...

Leroy still hasn't spoken to Tony, even since this whole ordeal. I agreed with him that it's probably a good idea right now. He still feels like the fall of this whole thing was because Tony failed to be in touch with his people.

And now... aside from me, him and Brice, there are no people.

The question on everyone's mind right now is what happens next?
Will there still be an Urban 30?

We agreed that we'd spend the next few weeks doing what normal people do before worrying about it.

The End of Seth

The address Christopher gave me turned out to be an old victorian style mansion on Are Street. I decided to aim for the an open window up on the third floor. Luck was with me. Nobody seemed to be around. I left the room and walked down the hallway, wondering where everyone was. I opened a few doors and looked inside, but most of the rooms were empty. Until I reached the last door.

I eased inside wondering if this was Seth's main work area. I was walking towards the desk when I noticed something floating around in an alcove off to the side. As I drew closer, I saw a glass chamber with something inside of it. I reached out to touch it when I saw a face standing beside me. It scared the shit out of me for a minute, but when I calmed down, I realized it was Arrow.

"Hi Terra," he whispered.

I frowned. "Why are you here? You're dead."

"I'm bound to Seth. When he took my powers, he took my soul." He turned to look at the glass chamber. "Only three people were able to withstand Seth. You, Dispatch, and Sonus." He smiled. "It drives him crazy. He used Christopher to get to Dispatch and Sonus. And his powers won't work against you."

"That's because I'm not human." I answered just as the lights turned on overhead.

"Ah, so that's why! No matter. Since you're here now, I can take care of you once and for all." Seth stood there in all his glory. How do these guys walk around in all this cold with barely anything on? "You sound like something from an old re-run of Batman."

He motioned to Arrow and I felt something cold wrap around me. "I"m sorry Terra," He whispered. "I always liked you." Cold began spreading through my body. Did I mention that cold and plants don't mix? I wanted to slap that smug look from Seth's face when his eyes began to widen. There was a soft moan, then Arrow was gone. What in the world?

Seth began to look scared and kept grabbing at the ankh he wore around his neck. I'm guessing that it was connected to his control somehow. Looks like it wasn't working. I unleashed my full power on him. Within minutes, he was completely covered by my tentacles and I began to squeeze. This was for Arrow, Mack, Raz, Tam,....the list could go on forever.

I was so busy squeezing, I didn't hear Bitter and Torrid walk in.

Torrid placed his arms around me. Unlike Arrow's ghost, his arms where warm and brought me back from the brink. "You look pretty pissed off little lady, but you don't really wanna do this do you?"

"Wanna bet?" I muttered. I saw Bitter out the corner of my eye opening the chamber. I loosened my hold on Seth and let him drop when I saw Dispatch tumble forward. "I've gotta get him back to headquarters." I looked over at Seth and wondered what to do with him.

Bitter smiled. "Don't worry about him. I'll take care of him for you. You, on the other hand, need to get him back and take care of your ex."

I frowned. Torrid walked over to me and laid a hand against the side of my face. "Trust me. You will never hear from Seth again." Something about it coming from him was like he was protecting me.

I nodded at him and picked up Dispatch.

More and more questions

We managed to make it back to Headquarters without any bloodshed, but it was a close thing.

Of course, the first thing I saw when I walked in the door was Christopher. "Where's Leroy?" I snapped, walking up to him.

His eyebrows raised in innocence, but I was by no means fooled. Christopher was a master manipulator. "I have no idea," he said. "However, we've discovered Seth's whereabouts. Since you're the only one immune, we're going to have to send you in alone."

He handed me a piece of paper. "This is where you can find him." he said.

"What about Leroy?" I asked.

Christopher stared at me for a moment before responding. "I'm sure he's fine. He seems to be a loner anyway. I'll get Bitter and Connor to check it out." He walked back down the hallway towards his lab. I glanced around. Connor and Bitter seemed to have found someplace else to be, leaving me alone with Torrid.

I turned to Torrid to warn him off. "You need to stay here and have your boy Bitter find something for you to do."

Torrid crossed his arms, rocking back on his heels. "You think I can't handle myself in a fight?"

I looked at him. "That has nothing to do with it. I lost one teammate already who zoomed in when he wasn't needed. I'm not going through that again." I started walking away from him. "I need to find out where Leroy is."

His eyes narrowed and his arms uncrossed. "So the rumours are true. Leroy is your boyfriend."

I stomped back over to him. "No he's not my damn boyfriend! Leroy is my teammate; Unlike you - who can't handle more than one person at a time, he's a true fighter. He's dependable. Who know's if you're gonna show up or not. You think I'd put my trust in you? Leroy's one of the few people I trust to get my back! So my first priority is to make sure he's okay. It's no less than he would do for me. You're just gonna have to deal with it!"

I could see the muscle ticking in his cheek as his hands balled into fists at his side. Was he mad? Did I care?

"If you want to know where your boyfriend is, why don't you ask your husband?" he snarled at me. Without waiting for my response, he turned and walked away.

"Dammit, Torrid! Come back here! What the hell are you talking about!" He kept walking.

Missing in Action

It caught me off guard.

I won't lie and say I didn't feel something. It was the first time I had felt anything in a very long time. Unfortunately, this wasn't the person I should have been feeling anything for. His body pressed against me letting me know that he was enjoying this as much as I was, if not more.

I actually felt the earth move. Then I realized, as his weigh was suddenly lifted off me that it wasn't the kiss. It was Connor landing, snatching Torrid up and tossing him against the house like he was a ragdoll.

Connor was livid. "Keep your lips to yourself if you ever want to use them again."

Torrid stood up and shrugged. "She wasn't complaining." He smiled. "She seemed to be enjoying it." Connor gritted his teeth and started to charge him.

"Gentlemen, I don't think this is the time or place," Bitter said as he stepped out of the shadows. I had got to my feet in time to see give a short nod to Torrid.

"Connor, don't!" I called out. He stopped inches from Torrid and looked down at him. I turned back to look at bitter. "Where's Leroy?"

Bitter looked at me and shrugged. "We got split up. You know how Leroy is. He took off. Didn't bother to ask me did I need a ride."

I turned to Connor. "Did you see him?" Connor shook his head. "I left the minute Christopher told us what happened."

I frowned. "I didn't call Christopher. I called Leroy. That's not like him not to come when I call him directly."

"Maybe he's not Mr. Dependable after all." Bitter said smirking.

Not again...

Deja Vu.

I spotted Seth's henchmen again. I was flying over Georgetown trying to clear my head.

I was cruising over M street when I noticed a lot of activity off on one of the side streets. I landed a couple of doors away and walked up, keeping to the shadows. It was Seth's men again. Either they were crazy or he placed some kind of spell on them, cause I'll be damned if they weren't out in twenty-five degree weather in just those little wrap around skirts again.

I eased up through one of the neighbors front yards and crouched behind the bushes. Pulling out my phone, I shot a quick message to Leroy letting him know that Seth's guys were at it again.

Stepping from behind the bushes, I quickly grabbed the guy nearest to me and snapped his neck. That was for arrow.

The darkness worked to my advantage. I was able to take out two more, before anybody noticed. I was hyped. This was my chance to get revenge. What I wasn't prepared for, was the ten other guys who streamed out of the house.

"Damn," I muttered and started forward determined to take down as many as I could.

I was halfway to them when everything got deathly silent except for what looked like a tornado heading towards us. We all turned and watched as it landed - and materialized into Torrid. Seth's men took advantage of the distraction to press forward. There was no time to think of Torrid, until I caught a break and saw one of the guys sneaking up on him. There was no time to go over there so I grabbed him with a tentacle just as two guys grabbed him from behind. I used two other tentacles distract them and pulled again. A little too hard I guess. Torrid came flying towards me.

One minute I was standing, the next I was on my back, staring up into his eyes. I glanced to the side to see Seth's men running down the street. I looked back up into his eyes.

"They're gone. You can move now."

"I'm surprised you saved me. I can't really say I would have done the same if our positions were reversed."

"That's the difference between us," I snapped. "Now could you please get up!"

He smiled. "You have to let me thank you properly first." I struggled as his head lowered to mine.

Another Path and a Different Direction

What can I say...the Urban 30 has gone to hell in a handbasket.

Most of our members have quit, afraid of being caught up in a freak accident like Arrow. I understand how they feel, but I can't give up...not yet. Stranger yet, some of the quasi-villians in town have stepped forward to render their services. I guess it's not only the heroes who are having their powers stripped.

Christopher (after being choked by several different people for being an a$$hole) finally managed to get around to letting us know that he had been able to develop a small amount of vaccine that should protect us from Seth. Except for me it seems. From what he was able to determine, since I'm not human, I have some kind of natural immunity.

Christopher gave shots to everyone who was there, (except Leroy - I don't blame him. I don't know if I could blindly trust Christopher either) and we separated into teams. Chris took two of the rougher looking guys, Avion and Argus, to work with him. I found out later they were twins.

I managed to talk Connor into hanging out with Leroy. I pulled my father and Leksi to the side and asked them to stay at headquarters. If I was immune, so were they, but somebody needed to be here to check Christopher since Dispatch was nowhere to be found.

Leroy got teamed with Bitter. I got the feeling they had a love-to hate-each-other thing going on. I wasn't looking to be teamed up with anyone , but I knew something was up when I saw Christopher talk to Bitter. Bitter glanced at me then walked over to hazel eyes, who they call Torrid. The next thing I knew, Torrid was strolling over to me. I had to motion to Leksi and Connor to calm down.

"Looks like we're going to be working together."

I smirked. "Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer to work alone. I don't have time to babysit."

He just stared at me for a minute. "Tempting offer, but I don't need you to treat me like a baby." He stepped closer. "I've been asked to keep you safe."

"Really?" I smiled at him and stepped so close we were almost touching. I saw Leksi and Connor step forward out the corner of my eye and motioned them back. Torrid's eyes narrowed at me seconds before a tentacle wrapped around his chest and lifted him off his feet. "I think I've pretty much got things covered," I said.

I sat him down next to Bitter and left.

Unexpected Allies....

10:00
Arrived at work. Tempted to go back home when I opened my email and saw all the requests for reports.

10:03
Connor called to ask about the Tall Redhead on the third floor. I gave him her name and hung up.

10:07
Connor called again to ask about the slim brunette down the hall. I told him that I didn't know her. Hung up.

10:09
Connor called back to ask about a girl that sounded suspiciously like Candice. Not good. I'll have to make sure Leroy doesn't come over til Connor's gone. Sent all my calls to voice mail before he started asking me about random women walking down the street.

10:54
Tried to call Leroy. No answer at his desk or on his cell.

10:56
Went downstairs to get a cup of Green Tea from the coffee shop. The guy ahead of me in line was hopping around on a pair of crutches while trying to talk on a cell phone and carry a laptop bag. Nothing could be that damn important.

11:02
Connor discovered my cellphone number in the kitchen where I left it for the babysitters. He proceeded to ask about the girl who works in the rental office. Hung up without answering.

11:02:05
Turned off the cellphone.

11:15
Got back to the office. Stared at the screen.

12:30
Went to lunch

1:30
Back from lunch. Stared at screen.

2:00
Still staring at the screen

3:00
Gave up trying to work and left for the day.

3:45
Got home to find my father, my ex-fiance, and my brother in a huddle in my living room trying to map out my life. Proceeded to tell them to mind their own damn business.

3:46
They were back in the huddle. Went to catch up on my missed episodes of CSI.

4:00
Heard the men getting louder and came to the conclusion that there was too much testosterone in my tiny apartment and that I needed to call my mother to balance things out. Couldn't reach her, she was out with Kara.

5:30
Got a call from Christopher about a possible way to fight Seth. He asked me to meet him at headquarters – alone. I told him okay, then walked into the Living Room to break up the huddle. Told them Christopher wants me to meet him at headquarters.

5:31
They all started shouting at once about why I couldn't go meet Christopher alone. Which I had no intention of doing anyway.

6:00
Finally got them all to stop shouting when Connor spotted the tall redhead from the third floor carrying groceries and ran outside to help. Went back in my room to finish catching up on CSI until it was time to go.

7:45
Arrived at Headquarters early to throw Chris off. Made all of them promise to behave. They all said okay. I knew they were lying.

7:46
Wished I had a camera to catch the expression on Christopher's face when he saw them walk in behind me. Asked what he had discovered about Seth. He started a long drawn out conversation and wouldn't get to the point.

7:50
Started to get pissed at Christopher for beating around the bush and not telling me what the hell he discovered.

7:52
We pulled my father's hands from around Christopher's neck.

7:55
We pulled Leksi's hands from around Christopher's neck.

7:58
We pulled Connor's hands from around Christopher's neck.

7:59
Leksi, Obisidian, and Connor pulled my hands from around Christopher's neck. I finally calmed down enough to let Christopher try to explain some more.

8:00
Leroy stalked in with a bunch of rough looking characters - especially the tall one in the back with the hazel eyes. Looking at the group a little closer, I saw one of them was the guy who walked up to me in the club. What did he say his name was again? Oh yeah. Bitter

8:01
Leroy demanded to talk to Dispatch.

8:14
Stared in shock when Christopher announced that he would be leading the Urban 30.

8:14:43
Held back my father, brother, and Leksi when they tried to stop Leroy from choking the sh$t out of Christopher.

A Friend of a Friend

Even Christopher was smart enough not to mess with a six foot eight pissed off alien. I never said he was stupid...just crazy. After Christopher's rather hasty exit, my brother proceeded to drill me on how the other women on Earth looked.

My brother loves the female species. I could tell some stories about the girl he dated from alpha five with the six breasts, or the girl from Hespaeta with the two.....On second thought, I'm not gonna talk about it.

"You know Terra, you're looking kind of stressed. Maybe we should go out for a drink to loosen you up." That's code for - take me out and let me scope the women.

"No I'm fine really. " He gave me a skeptical look. "What you need is to go out and relax." I told him no but he kept bugging me until I finally gave in and took him to Ava's on N Street. I managed to get him in and seated at a table in the back without running into anyone I knew. to get him started, I quickly ordered him four Long Island Iced Teas and sat back to watch the fun begin. As I expected, within 5 minutes of us sitting down, 4 women had approached him. He graciously invited all of them to sit at our table. Not a good move with Earth women, but he managed to keep them all in line.

I was too sober to watch him have all the fun. I looked around for a waiter to get another drink, but nobody was in sight. Sighing, I fought my way through the crowd to the bar. I had just managed to squeeze into a spot between a girl wearing a purple leotard and a guy with a mole the size of a giant cocoa puff, when I felt a chill in the air. I looked up, wondering if they had turned on the air-conditioning. I glanced over my left shoulder and saw a guy staring at me. I decided to ignore him. I wasn't here to pick up or be picked up.

I finally got my drink and started back through the crowd when he appeared in front of me. I automatically went on the defensive when I realized that the cold was coming from him.

"Who are you?" I asked. He shrugged. "Right now, you can consider me a friend. Or should I say, a friend of a friend?"

He glanced around before continuing. "I'm offering the services of myself and a few friends with the "problem" you guys have been having. You see, your problem affects us also. So the best thing is for us to help you."

I shook my head. "Who in the hell are you?"

He shrugged. "Just call me Bitter."






M

Standing on the edge of a Breakdown...

I WAS SO MAD I COULD SCREAM!!!!!!!

I rolled my eyes at Dispatch and went home. Once there, I couldn't sit still.

I do not believe he actually teamed that sorry SOB up with me!

I remembered that Leroy left before Dispatch made his final announcement. I snatched up my phone to dial Leroy to let him know what was going on while I paced a hole in my carpet. Didn't Tony realize that I wanted to kill that man?

I could tell he was pissed when he answered. "Yeah, Terra."

"Do you know that sorry son of a b$tch teamed me with Christopher! Dispatch knows that he kidnapped Kara! I told him the shit I had to go through with him when he wanted to take over the world! Like it isn't bad enough that he sent Arrow out to back me up after I told him not to! He knew that a$$hole Seth is out stealing everybody's powers! Who does he think he is! I'm telling you Leroy, that bastard better stay as far away from me as possible. I've been looking for an excuse to kill Christopher for the past three years!"

I ranted for another 20 minutes. I'm sorry to say I didn't give Leroy much of a chance to get a word in. I was just too pissed. Finally, I told Leroy I was going to call my parents to bring Kara home. That would go a long way towards making me feel better. I missed my baby.

I turned to walk into my room where I kept my transmitter, when I heard someone at the door. Frowning, I walked over and opened it to find Christopher standing in my doorway. "Hey Baby."

"What do you want Christopher?"

He smiled and stepped forward. "I want to see my daughter. Our beautiful, wonderful child, Kara."

My eyes narrowed as I crossed my arms in front of me. "Oh, you mean the child I could barely support with you gone, the one you kidnapped...?"

He waved away my comments. "Terra, I was just protecting her future. And I didn't kidnap her. She's my daughter. She wanted to come with me."

His face paled as my temper spiked. I'm pretty sure my eyes were glowing a bright green by now. "You lying sack of.." I started towards him, but was caught off guard when my doorbell rang. 'Now who the hell is this,' I muttered stomping over to the door.

Teeth bared, I snatched the door open. "What!" I snapped and stopped, amazed.

They say when it rains, it pours. And if that's the case, then this must be a damn Tsunami.

Hell. Sh$t. Damn. This could not be happening to me. Not today.

I slowly closed my mouth and hung my head in defeat.

Standing in front of me was my six foot eight mountain of an older brother, Connor. "What are you doing here?" I asked in amazement.

He shrugged. "Father asked me to come and stay with you. Oh, and he also said that they were going to keep Kara off planet until everything was settled." Oh well. That was good news at least.

"Connor...I don't think it's such a good idea for you to be here now. I'm sure I'll be fine. So far, this only seems to be affecting the humans...." In typical big brother fashion, he picked me up and moved me out of the way to step into the apartment. Just as he was about to step in, he turned and saw Deidre, one of my prissy neighbors walking by dressed to kill. Connors face split into a huge smile as he watched her walk past in a low cut purple top, a black micro mini and a pair of black three inch stilletos I would have broken my ankle trying to wear. Great. I had to deal with an alien playboy on top of everything else that was going on.

"Oh yes!!" he said, turning to watch her walk down the hall. "I think it's a very good idea for me to be here." He swung back around and walked into the apartment, his eyes narrowing the minute he spotted Christopher. "And what do we have here?" he muttered.

R.I.P. Ralph, the Arrow

Arrow was dead.
I couldn't believe it.


The rest of that evening was just a blur. I couldn't seem to focus on anything. I contacted my father and let him know what was happening. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have told him anything. That just goes to show how upset I was. I had just finished talking to my father when I got the message:


ALL URBAN 30 MEMBERS - REPORT TO HEADQUARTERS AT 3:00 PM FOR AN EMERGENCY MEETING.

I sighed. Now what?


I called Leroy to make sure that he showed up. I think Leroy was just as dazed as I was. In a way, I was more pissed than anything that this had happened on my watch. Debating for a few minutes, I sent back a positive response.


If something like that could happen so fast, what hope was there?

Like a good little superhero, I showed up at the meeting a few minutes early. I needed time to pull myself together before talking to the rest of the team. I sat in the peace and quiet, wondering where Dispatch was hiding. Every time he called a meeting of everybody, there was bound to be some confusion.


After a few minutes, other members started to trickle in, one by one. Most waved to me as they came in, but others gave me strange looks. I guess the word must have spread about me being there when he died. I heard some of the others wondering if maybe Dispatch wanted to have a memorial service for Arrow. I didn't think so, but far be it for me to burst their bubble.

I saw Leroy finally arrive and gaze in disbelief that people were still trickling in after him. Knowing him, he probably thought he'd be the last to arrive. I heard someone talking about the time when Ralph launched right into the side of a billboard, or the time he landed in the kitchen of the burger joint and blew up the fry machine. They laughed softly, tears in their eyes, because they had lost one of their own.

Most of the soft laughter disappeared when Todd appeared in the doorway, dressed in plain clothes and crying like a banshee. I didn't realize a man could cry so loud. I watched as Leroy waved him over and talked softly to him.

I got the feeling from the expression on Leroy's face that whatever he said to him was a complete shock. Hm, I'll have to check in with Leroy later on and find out what he said. I finally got tired of waiting and started walking down the hall to go find Christopher to figure out what kind of progress he was making.


Before I could step away from my chair, I saw Dispatch and Christopher walk in. I sighed as I sat back down Dispatch reached the podium, Christopher trying to look like an authority figure beside him. Honestly, I really didn't want to hear anything he had to say. I had defended him on more than one occasion.

But now?


He's on his own......
Let the rest of the team tear him to shreds. He should have never sent somebody that untried to try to back me up.

I glanced over at Leroy and saw his eyes narrow and Christopher and Dispatch. After a few minutes, everyone calmed down enough for Dispatch to start speaking.


"Its always sad to lose someone so dedicated to the cause. But im sure if the Arrow were here,
he'd want us all to solve this mystery and make things safe. Not just for us, but the city and ultimately, the world."


I looked around to see how people were responding. "Some of you are wondering why we are at less than half, tonight," Dispatch continued. "Most of us have already lost our powers; those that havent, quit for fear of that very thing. But those of you who are here, must continue on... the way the Arrow did."

I saw Leroy shake his head out the corner of my eye and Todd put his face down in his hands to start crying again. It struck me as funny watching the two of them....Dispatch and Leroy have some of the same mannerisms...

I knew dispatch could be a cold bastard, but he seemed almost unaffected by what had been happening. Then again, he had always been more on the outside than one with the team. All i could keep wondering was...'why in the hell is christopher here?' I soon had my answer.

"In light of our decreased numbers, we will be reorganizing for maximum coverage."
I sat up and frowned. What the hell was he up to? Low murmurs started as he called off pairings of the U30 member who were left, then looked directly at me before dropping the bomb.

"Dr. Christopher Davidson has been temporarily activated to work with the Urban 30."
I heard a "What the fuck?" come from the back of the room, but i wasn' t sure who said it. I started shaking my head even before he finished. "He's going to be working with his wife, Terra."


Dispatch and Christopher were dead men.

Not the Time to Mess with Me....

I cannot believe I have to train a newbie.

Arrow's okay - a little on the naive side - but I just don't deal well with new kids. I guess this is a testimony to just how bad things have gotten. Under normal circumstances, Dispatch would have never paired me with someone who hadn't been in the field for at least six months.

Because of his powers - he's literally an arrow - there's not too much that I can really bring him in on. I mostly make him watch from the sidelines, where he proceeds to pout with his arms crossed.

This particular day, everything had been pretty quiet, which was good. I felt that my cycle was about to start, and that was never pretty.

Unlike human women who bleed to death at least once a month, mine only shows up once a year. Most women would be dancing with joy at the chance to have one cycle a year, as a matter of fact, a lot of them take all kinds of pills and crap to try to achieve this. I wish mine was that simple.

Mine only happens once a year - and granted - only lasts for a day, but for that one day, it's like I've been possessed by a demon from the lowest regions of hell. On this day I don't interact with others for their own safety.

So there I was, lying on the couch in pain, my powers going completely haywire. The only thing that seems to help is this concoction I discovered shortly after I came to this planet. I mix half a bottle of ArmorAll with a couple of spoonfuls of Lime Away. This would usually make me kind of mellow, but since giving birth to Kara, it just didn't cut it anymore.

The only thing I could really do was weather it out. According to the clock on the wall, I only had twelve hours left before it would be over. I couldn't wait. If I was real lucky, nobody would bother me today.

No such luck.

I rolled over and groaned when I heard my cell phone began to buzz. I know Dispatch was not calling me today of all days. I made sure to leave him a voice mail this morning when I couldn't reach him.

I snatched the phone up and flipped it open. "What in the HELL do you want!" I snapped.

I almost started laughing when I pictured the expression on his face. He cleared his throat before speaking. "I need you to take your team and go down to Northern Avenue. We've got a disturbance going on down there. "

"Tony...did you get my voice mail earlier?"

He was quiet for a moment. "Um...yeah, I did."

"And what part of that message did you not understand?"

He paused again. "Terra? Are you okay?" he sounded concerned. Woop-de-doo.

"No. I'm not." I sighed. "Why can't you call someone else?"

"There's no one else. Mack's powers got zapped the other day. Raz's still in the hospital and Tam isn't leaving her side. Everybody else is already off on a call, and I dare not leave headquarters with all that's going on."

I sighed. There was no way out of it. "Alright. I won't need the rest of the team."

"Terra, I don't want you going out there alone -," he started.

I hung up the phone, took a quick shower and got dressed. I heard the phone buzzing as Dispatch tried to call me back, but I ignored it. Gritting my teeth, I went upstairs to the roof and made it over to Northern Avenue in record time. I saw the disturbance before I even got close. Seven guys dressed up in Egyptian costumes were blasting out the front windows out of one of the smaller Smithsonian's.

Too bad they're bad guys, the one on the left is built like nobody's business....

"Yo fellas!" I yelled out. "It's a little too early for Halloween dontcha think!"

The bodybuilder started walking towards me. Looking him up and down, all I could do was shake my head. "Damn, what a waste," I muttered just before four tentacles stretched out to grab him and a couple of his friends. "I'd love to stay and draw this out with you guys, but I'm not at 100% today. So just cooperate, and I can go back home and back to bed."

Everything was under control. At least I thought so. Until the one I hadn't noticed before came up behind me. He stung me with something in my shoulder that caught me off guard. It didn't hurt me - just pissed me off enough to drop his friends.

I started to swing around to him when I noticed Arrow zooming in out the corner of my eye. "Dammit, Dispatch!" I muttered. Now I was going to have to babysit, too! One of the egyptian hotties got up and ran towards Arrow. I have to admit, the kid could fight. He had managed to knock all of the guys out and then turned towards me. I saw him kick his leg back against the building so that he could shoot over to me. That's when everything started going in slow motion.

He was flying across the grass to where I was when I saw a strange expression come across his face. The guy I was fighting with stepped out of the way, causing Arrow to run into the wall. Instead of the wall bursting open like it usually does, I heard something snap and he crumpled into a heap.

Forgetting about the guy I was fighting, I knelt down to check his pulse. Out the corner of my eye, I could see the others get up and run into the museum, coming out with something that looked like a canopic jar. I didn't care anymore.

We had just gotten our first casuality.

Arrow was dead.

New Assignments

Somehow, I was able to get through the hospital visit yesterday without killing Christopher. Tomeika never moved the entire time he performed his tests. It was depressing to say the least. It was a relief to drop him back off at headquarters. He kept trying to get me to respond to his little comments about us getting back together. When I refused to answer, he finally got the hint and shut up. I took the time to think about the totems and the power they possessed.

Who in the world controlled enough magic to create something like that?

I didn't sleep well that night. I started to call Leroy, but decided to wait until I had something more substantial. I didn't want to get him riled up for it to all lead to nothing. I went to work the next day early, as usual. Today, I was able to work until almost twelve before the new intern, Samantha, popped her head into my office. "Hey Terra!" she eased into my office and shut the door. "They sent to girls over to the other office."

Frowning, I asked who.

She shrugged. I can't remember their names, somebody just said something about last year's christmas party. Oh, and somebody said that other guy, um, Brice?" Her face squinched up like she was in pain. "Yeah, Brice. Somebody said they had seen him."

I sat up straight in my chair. "Brice is back?"

"Yeah. That's what I heard anyway. I still haven't seen him." She leaned forward. "What does he look like? Is he cute?"

All I could do was shake my head. Why did these kids love talking to me?

"I don't think of him that way. You'll have to judge that for yourself."

"'Kay. Well, I've gotta go up front to cover the desk for lunch. See ya later!"

She bopped out of my office towards the front. She was just too bubbly. I stood up to stretch and go get something to eat when my cell phone began to ring.

"Terra."

"Starting today, you've got a new partner." Dispatch said.

"But-,"

"His name is Arrow. I'll text you his cell number." He added quickly.

"What happened to-," he cut me off again.

"Report back in to me after you've made contact with him." He hung up in my ear.

Damn, I hated when he did that. There was nothing I hated more than training rookies.

Time Limits

I walked over to the nearest chair and sat down. "Damn. So how in the hell do we stop this from happening?"

Dispatch nodded towards my notorious ex. "Christopher. We use science to fight magic."

This was not what I wanted to hear.

Christopher walked over and stopped in front of me. It was all I could do not to flinch when he touched my shoulder. "I've gone as far as I can from here. I've studied the totems - ," he started.

My head snapped over towards Dispatch. "You still have them?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I've had them put away for safe keeping. But they're not the originals. They're just copies meant to throw us off."

"As I was saying," Christopher continued, frowning. "I need a live subject to study. There are a million possibilities for what could be happening. I've developed a new machine that I want to use to test out what could be wrong - ," He stopped at the expression on my face.

"She's not a damned guinea pig, Christopher." I turned to look at Dispatch. "Why can't you take him?"

Dispatch's face shut down.

Sighing, I stood up from the chair. "Never mind." I turned to look at Christopher. "Get your toys and come on. The clock's ticking."

Nodding, he walked into a back room and came out with a rolling suitcase with handle. Dispatch reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "Here, use my car. The tank should be full."

"You own a car?" Tony didn't even look old enough to have his license.

He gave me a little half smile. "It's downstairs in the garage."

We followed him down to the seldom used garage. Off in the far corner, sitting in the shadows, sat a silver Lamborghini. "That's your car?"

"It's a few years old." As we got closer, I noticed that that it was a 1980. "You bought this used? Looks like it's in mint condition. I bet they still tried to charge you an arm and a leg for this."

"No. I bought it new." he said.

I looked at the car again and back at him. I knew a lot of things about Dispatch, but there was still so much I didn't know. I unlocked the doors while Christopher put the suitcase in the trunk. Once I was in and settled, Dispatch leaned over into the window. "Be careful. We don't know how any of this is going affect you. We might get lucky. So far, nobody knows you're not human. That might work in our favor."

Nodding, I glanced over as Christopher climbed into the passengers seat. "You know I'm not happy with this situation." Dispatch's eyes flicked briefly over Christopher.

"I'm not either. But what choice do we really have?"

A Reason for Everything

I stood there in amazement. "You! You're the Tin Can?"

His eyebrow arched. "The Tin Can? Is that what you've been calling me?" he growled.

"Well, what the hell else was I supposed to call you. You weren't exactly trying to give out a lot of information," I snapped.

He turned from me and wiped a hand down his face. "True. You have a point." He shook his head. "I never intended for anyone to find out it was me."

"Why not?" I asked. "With your power, we'd have the city on lock-down in no time!"

"No. That's not the way it works. The more I use my powers, the more it takes over me. My emotions get out of control. I can't have that."

"Why were you doing it anyway?"

"It was part of my bargain with Christopher. He would only agree to help find a solution if I made sure that you were protected at all times." He nodded when my eyes narrowed.

I was silent for a moment while I watched him. "I'll keep your secret." The tension melted out of his body. "On one condition."

"What condition is that?" He stepped forward to try towering over me. That intimidation crap doesn't work with me. I stepped up to meet him halfway.

"You take me to Christopher, now." He hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked out of the door. I followed close behind him, down hallways I didn't realize existed. Finally, he stopped in front of what looked like part of the wall. He waved his hand and part of it slid back to reveal what looked like an apartment. I followed him inside and he turned to the left and opened another door into a laboratory.

Christopher stood off to the side, writing notes in a spiral bound notebook. It took him a moment before he realized we were standing there. "Well, what do we have here?" he muttered. He walked over towards me and stopped less than six inches away. "I've missed you, baby."

I smirked. "Too bad I can't say the same."

"Don't be like that, Terra. I'm a changed man."

Hmm. Yeah right. "I want you and Dispatch to explain to me what's going on? I know you know what's making Tomeika sick."

They exchanged a look over my head and I saw Dispatch nod. Christopher turned back to me. "It's not a what, Terra. It's a who."

Dispatch spoke up. "The totems. Someone's using the Totems against us. Powers are being drawn through the totems and absorbed."

"So that's why she seems like she's in a coma?" Christopher nodded again.

I glanced from one to the other again. "What aren't you telling me?"

Christopher spoke up. "We've got about 36 hours to retrieve her totem and reverse the affects. If not, we'll never wake her up."

A Well Kept Secret....

After I left Leroy, I went straight to Headquarters. I was used to Dispatch hiding things from people, but this was starting to get scary. I had the feeling that whatever was going on, he had Christopher in the middle of it.

That was even scarier. Christopher was brilliant, true, but his twisted mind didn't compute helping people. I doubt the jail time helped to change his mind about that.

As I stepped inside and began to walk inside, I kept a close eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I purposely didn't walk into the command center. Dispatch spent so much time there that I didn't believe he ever slept. It was as though he was some kind of sentinel, scared to close his eyes in case something happened while he wasn't looking.

I walked quickly back to hallway where I found the locked door. I knew I only had a few minutes before Tony appeared. I managed to reach the door and tried to run my hand print again. Still no luck. Glancing quickly up and down the hall, I placed my hand on it again and concentrated. I had a couple of tricks up my sleeve that even Dispatch didn't know about. A few seconds later, the reader flashed green and the door opened.

I slipped inside and looked around. A cot sat in the far corner of the room. Several bookshelves stood against the walls. They were cluttered with different books and gadgets. I stepped across the room to another door, this one without a reader. As I stepped closer, it slid open.

My breathe caught in my throat. Inside the closet-like space was a suit of armor. Just like the one the mystery hero had been wearing.

"Dammit, Tony," I muttered, just before a voice spoke behind me with enough anger in it to send chills up my spine.

"I should have known you wouldn't leave it alone." I turned to find Dispatch standing behind me, more angry than I had ever seen him.

What should have been a good time.....

Since Kara was still off planet with my father, this was the perfect opportunity to go out and have a little fun. And what better fun than Barry's BBQ.

Of course, Barry seems to just get a kick out of asking me to bring the garden salad. Ha-ha.

I arrived a little late to find that Leroy was already there. Looking around, I spotted almost everybody, including one of the new guys, Ralph. He just happened to be the guy that jacked up Lexi in the bar a few months ago. He definitely got my vote. It was a sore note about Greg, but we should be getting some rainfall soon. If not, I'm going to have to pull a favor from mom; I'll just tell her that I'm dating another human. That should give us enough rainfall to last us through next summer.

I had just managed to find a chair and get comfortable when Leroy came over and asked if I had talked to Tomeika and Jada. I frowned. Now that I thought about it, I didn't see them at the stadium for the baby Snuffles birth either.

I shook my head. "Why don't you just call them?"

I knew Leroy was worried. Tomeika and Jada never miss the opportunity to party.

"Something's wrong." Brice said as he walked over. Hopefully, him and Leroy wouldn't get into one of their little verbal battles. They always seem to rub each other the wrong way.

We all glanced down as Leroy's phone began to ring. I could tell by his face that the news wasn't good. Turning around, I began to shush the crowd so he could hear. One by one, everyone started to sense something was wrong and began to gather around us.

"What hospital?" I heard Leroy say. I could hear Jada yelling hysterically into the phone and was able to pick up some of what she said. His face was like stone as he hung up and turned to me.

“Something’s wrong with Tomieka." Leroy said, his voice vibrating with tension. "She won’t wake up. Bring Brice and Blake. Maybe one of them can go inside her head and find out what’s going on.” Brice nodded as though Leroy hadn't deliberated ignored him.

He nodded, drained his beer and took off.

"We will meet you there." I told him. I turned around to find the new guy, Ralph, standing right over my shoulder. "What was all that about?"

"Tomeika's in the hospital." I told him gathering up my things.

He frowned. "She works with that other girl, right? What's her name?"

"Yeah. Jada. That was her on the phone." I shook my head. "Sounds pretty bad."I walked over to Barry and let him know what was happening. Before I could walk back over to Brice, Barry was in the background taking off his apron. "Okay, everybody. Party's over. We need to get to the hospital. Tomeika's down." Everybody froze. People started handing car keys over to their spouses or whoever they showed up with. Those who could fly immediately took off.

I was scared to think of what could have made her so sick.

Ean's Last Stand

Today...Ean left the Urban 30.

He was always on the fence: more of a rebel than a hero, or in this case, Superhero.

I'm guessing that this last call was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Snuffles.

Until yesterday, not many people believed that Snuffles existed; She usually likes to stay real low key. With a face like hers, I can definitely understand why. In case you've never seen her, snuffles looks like the Kraken from Clash of the Titans. She's really sweet as long as you don't accidentally stick her with your fishing hook. Then it's on.

Nobody believes that there's a 35-foot Sea Monster in the Anacostia. I mean, we all know the water's dirty as hell, that's no news. But something actually living in it?

It happened like this: I had just gotten in to work when I got the call from Dispatch.

"Terra, I need you to get your team together and get over to National's Park. Snuffles decided to take in a game. Luckily nobody's playing."

Oooookay....I sighed and hung up the phone. Looks like I won't be getting much work done today. I called my guys (Ean and Tellico) then left my office. I let the receptionist know I was going out to a meeting (my usual cover story) as I passed her desk . I managed to get the elevator to myself, so I was able to change by time I hit the garage and snuck out one of the back doors.

I flew over just to find everything a total madhouse. I counted twelve people at the scene getting tossed around like it was nothing. My guys pulled up in a cab a few minutes later, but I didn't see the Tin Can. Hell, with him around, this would have been over with in no time. I took out my phone and dialed dispatch. "Hey, where's your boy?"

He hesitated for a minute. "I didn't think we needed that much force to take care of the problem."

I frowned. "Force? Tony, you've got 15 of us on the scene, and more coming! What the hell do you mean too much force?"

"You guys can handle it, Terra." I heard the line drop. It was definitely on between me and Dispatch.

I was kinda glad he wasn't there. None of us really had the heart to hurt Snuffles, she was quiet unless somebody managed to snag her with their fishing line. I'm pretty sure it doesn't hurt her, but I'll bet it's irritating as hell. I was surprised, when in a rare (extremely rare) show of Superhero-ness, he ran down into the center of the fray. I happened to glance at Snuffles and noticed something strange.

"Ean! No! Wait a minute! She's -," I cringed as Ean stopped in front of Snuffles and got covered by some of the nastiest, smelliest looking crap that I have ever seen in my existence. "pregnant" A minute later, she let out a blood curdling yell and out pops this ten foot version of her. Oh god. Ean unfortunately, was standing right in the line of fire. He pushed up, clearly pissed, grabs the baby, and tosses it to Snuffles. She gave her version of a smile and crawled back out of the stadium.

Ean turns to me and yells. "Tell Dispatch, I'm through. I've had it with this shit."

My eyes stretched as he turned and stalked off, everybody opening a wide patch around him. Smelling like that in this part of town? He was gonna have a hard time trying to get a ride.

Questions and no answers

I'm staring out of my office window, trying not to think about that room at Headquarters, but it's not working.

Call me Pandora, or whatever other human counterpart she has, I don't care. I need to find out what the hell is in that room.

I turned back around to my desk and punched up the report I'm working on.

I give up. I can't concentrate. This other guy is making me more and more suspicious every time he shows up for a call.

His MO is always the same.

Watch us fight for ten minutes, step in and blow up everything, then roll out. I'm no closer to figuring out who he is or were he comes from. I've even tried to hide around the corner from the calls to see where he comes from.

He just seems appears out of nowhere, which really pisses me off. It's the one power I wish I could have gotten from my father. Teleportation.

I finally got the chance to tell Leroy about the walking tin can, but he doesn't seem to have any more ideas on it than I do. For that matter, nobody I've talked to so far in the U-30 seems to ever remember seeing this guy before.

I was saved my work and walked downstairs to the coffee shop. There was a new staff at the shop, and business had definitely picked up since they had people who actually knew how to make coffee.

I ordered my usual green tea and sat at a table directly across from the register, next to the window. A few minutes later, the sky went completely dark, and a guy walked in and over to the register. Frowning, I tried to remember where I had seen him before, when he put his hand out and caused everything in the place to dim. Then I remembered.

E-Klypse.

I watched as ge made a fist and banged it against the cash register. The drawer shot out and he scooped the money and put it in his pocket. All the while the cashier stood there in amazement.
I started to stand up slowly, trying to ease out and change when he turned around and saw me.

"Sup, baby?" Is this fool talking to me?
I nodded. I didn't trust myself to speak.
"How about we hook up and I'll show you a real good time?" My eyebrows raised as I thought quickly. I needed to get him outside so no one could see what was going on. Luckily, he still had it dark enough to cover me.

I stood up and rubbed my hand up his sleeve. Ugh. Polyester. "Why don't we talk about that outside, where it's nice and...dark?"

He started smiling and followed me outside, where - the minute I found a spot dark enough, I proceeded to give him the beat down he needed, then called the police and told them where to find him.

I stolled back into the shop and grabbed my tea and headed back upstairs. That was a nice distraction. Now maybe I could get some work done.

Locked Doors and Secrets

It never occured to me just how peaceful things could be in such a busy, hectic world. My father and Leksi have finally left. It took no small amount of persuasion on my part, not to mention a promise to consider becoming Leksi's mate.

I considered it. Honestly. For all of five seconds.

NOT!!!

But he doesn't have to know that. As long as I agree to think about it, he's agreed to leave me alone. Kara decided she wanted to take a trip with her grandfather to the homeworld. Saying I wasn't too thrilled about it was an understatement. But, I reasoned, it might be good for her to meet the rest of the family.

And hopefully, I won't have to put my child in counseling when they return.

This was the first time in over 4 years that I had been able to enjoy being completely alone. So why was I ready to get dressed and go out? I called Leroy but there was no answer. I wanted to touch base with him since I never get to see him anymore. I needed to see if he had any information on this mystery player.

Feeling restless, I grabbed up my bag and housekeys and left. I strolled down the street, watching the people walking back and forth, everybody in a hurry. Somehow I found myself in front of headquarters. I walked in, the click of my heels echoing off the walls. I stepped into the main control room to find it empty.

Where is everybody?

I tried every door in the place, searching for some sign of life. I didn' t find anyone until I got to the last door. A locked door with a handprint reader. Curious, I lifted my hand and placed it on the reader. It glowed green for a moment then turned red.

This had to be where Christopher was stashed. I pulled out my phone and sent Dispatch a quick text message. 'Where r u? At HQ'.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a voice said behind me, "I'm right here."

"Dammit!" I pushed him hard enough for an ordinary man to go flying into the wall, but Dispatch barely moved. Were those muscles under that baggy jacket?

"Stop sneaking up on people. You need to wear a bell or something." He gave a brief smile, then went back to his usual somber self. "Did you need something?"

I crossed my arms in front of me. "What's behind this door?"

He didn't even glance at it. "Nothing special."

"Then why is there a security scanner on it?"

Something changed in his eyes. For the first time, I was a little nervous being around Dispatch. "It's nothing. Everything can't be open to everyone." And no, I'm not hiding Christopher in there.

"Dispatch, I need to talk with him." He nodded and steered me towards the control room. "And you will, in due time."

What in the hell did he mean by that?

So What's the real reason?

Okay. I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but - I agree with Leroy. I kind of understand the logic behind what dispatch was doing by pairing us up, but I swear it's starting to drive me crazy. What is it supposed to accomplish?

Twice I've had to go get Ean from the bar, and by the time I found him, he was too drunk to be of any use. I could say that he planned it that way, but I'm trying to be nice. Tellico has me scared to death to answer the telephone, cause I never know when he'll jump out. I understand that the telephone travel thing is his power, that doesn't mean he has to use it ALL the time.

And this new guy. He still doesn't talk. Doesn't answer.

I've tried to talk to Dispatch about it but he's adamant that it has to be that way. A couple of times I tried to sneak off by myself without letting the rest of my "Team" know. But somehow, the walking toaster manages to find me anyway. A couple of times, he beat me there.

This weekend is Kara's birthday, so they're gonna have to work without me. I planned to take her out shopping - No Obsidian, no Leksi, no dispatch, no team members. Just me and her. Since Leksi got stomped in the bar - there's no nice way to put it, that's just what happened - he's been pretty quiet. Unfortunately, he still shows no sign of leaving. I did hear rumours that Dispatch might approach the guy who beat him up though. Anybody that can hold seven and half feet, three hundred-seventy four pounds of pure muscle dangling by his feet is all right with me.

Damn. Now my cell is ringing again. Looking down, I notice that I've never seen the number before. Hmm. It's probably Tellico. If I let it go to voicemail, will he be stuck until I let him out?

Deadbeats and Mysteries

Needless to say - Leroy was not happy with his assignment. I don't know what was going through Dispatch's mind when he divided everyone up, because I sure as hell couldn't see the logic.


And of all people, I got stuck with Ean. Did I mention that Ean can't fly so he takes a cab to fights? Usually if you try to reach him for something, he's in a bar somewhere. Twice he showed up drunk and just sat on the sideline cheering for the bad guys.


At least I did manage to get Tellico. He's helped me out with a couple of problems in the past and he seemed to be a pretty cool guy. It's just a little unnerving that he pops out of my cellphone seconds after I make the call about a fight. And my last member is new.

I've asked around and no one seems to know too much about him. Dispatch told me I would be working with someone named Wahrior. He's always covered in armour from head to toe, and you can barely see his eyes. He tends to stay in the background unless we need that extra piece of muscle, then he comes in, destroys everything, and rolls out.

I can't get Dispatch to tell me anything about him, and it's not like him to be completely tight lipped with me. I've tried talking to Wahrior a couple of times, but he just grunts at me like some big barbarian. Everyone just gave up trying to talk to him. Even Ean, Mr. Happy-go-lucky himself steers clear of him. We've all just decided to give him his space and leave it alone.

Something about him seems so familiar though, I just wish I could figure out who he is......

Five-0? More like 4 and a quarter

Ugh. I am not a fan of police stations by any stretch of the imagination. I'm usually able to get someone else to take my perps in for me. Too much noise, and definitely too much confusion. Everywhere you look, there's somebody cuffed to something. Four guys cuffed to a bar on the wall, one girl wearing nothing but a purple low cut leotard and matching slip-ons was cuffed to the chair beside a detective (who couldn't seem to look past her breasts when he asked her a question-little did he know that it was actually a guy) and of course, what station would be complete without a couple of drunk and disorderlies? Despite the madness, I managed to get through the crowd and stopped at the front desk.

I had to do a double take when I looked at her the clerks name tag. Marsha Jones? It couldn't be. Big Bertha? How this chick managed to get a FRONT DESK job working for the police, I'll never know. Maybe because of her past profession, (might still be her current position) they thought she was perfect for the job. She still had her long blond braids, but she had shaved off her eyebrows and drew a thin, arched line in its place that left her looking like somebody had scared her half to death. It didn't help that somebody lied to her and told her that she'd look good in bright orange lipstick. The whole effect reminded me of something from Kara's last trip to the circus.

Her eyes narrowed as she watched me walk forward, which was not a good sign. I had never personally met her, but it would be just my luck that Karl had said something about me. The last thing I needed was her causing a scene in the station. With any luck Dispatch had taken care of everything and I could get Leksi out of here before somebody realized he didn't really exist. I focused back on her and tried to look less aggressive. It didn't work. I took a wild guess from the way she laid down her pen and sat back in her chair with her arms crossed that she wasn't going to make this easy for me.

"I'm here to pick up Isoglani Ilekrismos."

"Hmph." She picked her pen up and started writing again. "You'll have to come back tommorow."

My eyebrow raised at her tone. Too bad she didn't realize that I'd snatch her across the desk in less time that it would take her draw her breath, much less her gun. I had just opened my mouth to speak when the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and the lights flickered. Oh hell.

"Look, I'm sure if you look in the system," Before Leksi manages to suck all the power out of three city blocks... "You'll see that everything has been arranged for him to be released now."

"Look," she snarled. "I told you he won't be ready to go until tommorow. Standard procedure. I don't care who you know, or think you know, you'll have to wait just like all the rest." This time we both looked up as the lights flashed again. She frowned and sat forward to look out the glass doors of the station. "Is it storming outside?"

'No but you're about to have a helluva storm inside,' I thought. "I understand that it's the standard procedure, but if you could just check-," Without another word, she just got up and walked away. Oh no she didn't! Fine. If that's the way she wanted it. I was of half a mind to leave him right there and go home. Shaking my head, I turned and went to stand near an electronic door I had seen several policeman coming from. If I left him there to blow the place up, Dispatch would kill me.

It was only a few minutes before one of the officers came out and I was able to get them to look up the info on Leksi. The power flashed two more times before I could finally get them to bring him out. Static crackled around him, and he frowned even more when he saw me. "You!" he stomped over to me. "It is your fault I am in this disgusting place. There is no privacy to relieve yourself!"

From the condition of his face, I could hope that he had learned a lesson in humility...but no, not this big fool. "Shut up!" I hissed, catching him off guard and actually convincing him to close his mouth. "You will follow me out of here with your mouth closed before I decide to let them put you back, is that understood?" He nodded quickly and followed me out of the station where I had a cab waiting. In the cab, I questioned him about how he found me and why he came, only to find out that my father was behind the whole thing.

Daddy... you are so in for it.

A New and Present Danger...

I arrived at Headquarters a few minutes before midnight to find the buiding almost completely empty. I walked to the back to the central command area to find Dispatch sitting in front of a wall filled with screens. This wasn't my first time in the command area, but I never realized just how much of the city was covered by these cameras.

I stood for a moment and watched as several scenes changed, revealing more and more of the city. Glancing over, I saw Dispatch hit several buttons on the console, then turn to me.

"You saw what happened to MT?" I could tell by his tone that this wasn't meant as a question.

I nodded. "Yeah. Does this have something to do with what happened to Raz?"

"Unfortunately, yes." He stood and walked over to a huge cabinet that I hadn't noticed before. He punched a combination into to the built-in lock and took a small figure from inside. He walked back over to me and held out his hand. As I picked it up, I realized it was a small totem carved to look exactly like MT.

"We're up against something we've never encountered before. That figure is being used as a conductor. As near as I can tell, it can drain the powers from anyone. In MT's case, it drained his above-average strength. In Raz's case, it took the static electricity she generates to power her marbles."

I looked it over carefully. "So who's behind this? And," I looked at him closely as I handed him back the totem, "What does this have to do with Christopher?"

He squeezed it tightly before walking over to place it carefully in the cabinet. "As much as you hate it, Christopher is our only hope of stopping this from happening."

"Evidently, you don't know Christopher very well. He wants to rule the world, not save it."

He nodded slowly. "I know. But I think I may have convinced him to help us." I'm a skeptic at the best of times, so him having something that even might to make Christopher help us in the slightest has me curious. "And what might that be?"

He sighed, wiping his hand over his face before reaching into his pocket. In his hand, he held another statue, one that was extremely familiar to me. That's because it was me. I remembered seeing it the night of Leroy's hearing. I looked up quickly. "What does this mean?"

"There is one of these", he nodded towards the figure, "for each member of the Urban 30." Chills broke out all over my body. If all of our powers were wiped out, this town would go to hell in a handbasket real quick. Dispatch placed the totem of me back in his pocket. "The person behind this? He's a little known but very powerful guy by the name of Seth. He's carried a grudge against the U-30 for years, but up until now, hadn't found a way to get his revenge."

"I'm going to be calling everyone in for a major meeting. From now on, no one, and I mean no one, goes out alone. I'm going to pair you with one of the new guys, a guy named Midnight, and Tellico." I nodded. "Since I know Leroy is still holding a grudge, let him know that I'm teaming him up with Enigma."

I smiled. "You are a glutton for punishment aren't you?"

He shook his head before taking a deep breath. "Yeah. It seems that way doesn't it? But if those two could ever learn to work together...."

I nooded. "I know what you mean."

"Anyway, I'll be calling the meeting early tommorow morning." He glanced down at the console, then up at one of the screens. "Don't worry about showing up,"he said before starting to push buttons. "Why?" I frowned, trying to see what he was doing.

"Because according to the report I just recieved, your friend Ilektros just got arrested."

"He WHAT!" My cell started to vibrate like crazy on my hip. I flipped it open to see my home number.

"How in the hell am I going to get him out?"

"Don't worry about it. By the time you get there, I'll have completed a manual override of their system. It's not very good to start with. All you'll have to do is get him out of there before he gets pissed off and blows something up."

I nodded and walked quickly out the door. I figured I'd better shoot Leroy a message to meet me later so I that I could break the news to him.

A meeting of minds..

I managed to finish cleaning without any other distractions, when Kara came back into the house with my father. Since it was Friday, (and my house was already clean), I was about to suggest a movie for Kara when the phone rang.

"Hey girl, it's Tomeika." I smiled. I should have known they wouldn't forget about hanging out. "What's up?"

"Me and Jada wanted to meet up with you guys for drinks tonight. Especially after what happened to MT. I bet he didn't plan to get put out like that! I mean, Damn! For a minute I thought I was watching WWE."

I had to smile. "Tonight's fine. But I've got to leave before midnight."

"That's cool. Me and Jada have to be at the hairdressers by 7 am. I can't fight crime when I'm lookin' raggedy." One thing I had to admit, the two of always had their act together when it came to their appearance. On more than one occasion I had seen guys slip them their number after a fight.

We agreed to meet at Bar Louie's at 6:30. Which left me about forty-five minutes to get ready.

My father looked at me strangely when I told him that I was going out, not because he had a problem watching Kara, but because he had a problem with me going out. Alone. With the possibility of meeting other people. Men specifically. Human men.

I quickly showered and got dressed, even taking a minute to throw on a little makeup.

"What time will you be back?" he snapped. I tried not to look directly at him when I answered. "It won't be until late. I have to meet with Dispatch at midnight." I quickly ran outside to flag a cab. As I walked into the restaurant I could see that Tomeika, Jada, and Leroy, had already started without me. Walking over to the table, I sat down and proceeded to join in. It only took me a few minutes to catch up with them since they were only on their third round when I joined in. The average superhero can't get drunk and because of our superpowers, we have a higher tolerance for alcohol. In my case, I've had stronger drinks off-planet than the stuff they serve here.

By our fifth round, I guess some of the guys in the bar thought that we were drunk enough to approach. Leroy had seen some girl over at another table and went to try to talk to her. To their credit, the guys weren't bad looking. One even kind of reminded me of Neil. He had just gotten bold enough to grab my hand, when I saw Jada glance towards the door and frown.

"Hey Tomeika. Isn't that the guy we had to beat down when we went to get that guy for dispatch?"

I turned and spotted Leksi at the same time he spotted me. And the guy holding my hand. All hell broke loose. Leksi charged over and tossed the guy to the side. His friends, naturally, took exception to having their buddy tossed across the room like a ragdoll. The next thing we knew, everybody was in on it. There were chairs, drinks, and people flying all over the place. I started to join in then stopped. Who invited him anyway? Jada and Tomeika had stood up to intervene, but I motioned them to sit back down.

"You're not gonna help him?" Jada asked, tossing back another drink.

"He's a big boy. He can handle himself." Both of them smiled at me and relaxed in their chair. A few minutes later, Leroy made his way back over to the table. "What's with your boy?" I shook my head then ducked for a flying chair. "He's delusional. He'll get over it."

I leaned over to Leroy. "I'm meeting with Dispatch at Midnight." Glancing over, I looked to see how Leksi was doing in the brawl. Some guy had him up against the wall, his feet dangling in the air. I wanted to stay to see how everything worked out, but I looked down at my watch to see it was 11:30. "I've got to go guys. Can you throw him in cab for me and send him back to my place?" The girls nodded smiling.

I looked back once as I made my way out the door to see Leksi on the floor out cold.

A reason to Panic?

Finally, a day of peace. After the incident with Ron, I decided to lay low for awhile. At least until I could get Leksi off-planet. I tried talking to my father about it, but of course, he won't listen. He's a father. They never do.

I turned on the TV and decided to do some cleaning. Vaccuuming, dusting, dishes (ugh), the usual routine. I was on a serious roll with the vaccuum cleaner when I happened to turn and notice that MT (Mack Truck) was on TV again.

What does he do? Call the station as soon as he gets the call from dispatch?

He's pounding away on Iguana Man, and then he stops to pull out his phone. Evidently, he hasn't learned his lesson from the last time. He started laughing at something on the phone, then doubled over coughing.

Coughing?

Something wasn't right. From that point on, Iguana Man grabbed a pole and took over. I hate to say it, but he beat MT like he stole something. Turning off the vaccuum, I whipped open my phone and hit dispatch's number. He'd been avoiding me the past few days, but if necessary, I'd go out to headquarters.

"Yes, Terra." He sounded tired and frustrated.

"You saw the news?"

"Yeah." I waited for a moment to see if he was going to say anything else, but there was just silence. "Tony, tell me what's going on."

He sighed. "Come to headquarters at midnight. I'll explain as much as I can."

More and more problems

The rest of the day was uneventful, but I could tell whenever I passed, that Ron was watching. I was about to leave for the day when I got a call from Raz.

"Hey Terra."

"Hey Tomieka. You feeling better?" Even though the whole stunt with Christopher still had me a little peeved, she was still a team member. Besides, Dispatch was the one I was going to take a chunk out of - that is, if he'd ever answer my calls. I'm tempted to do a fly-by, but he's probably got that place locked down tighter than Fort Knox.

"Oh yeah! Much better!" I heard her shuffling some stuff around in the background. "Anyway, to show that there are no hard feelings...we want to take you and Leroy out for drinks this weekend."

I started to instantly say no, then thought about it. My father was here and showed absolutely no signs of leaving, so I had a babysitter. Not to mention the fact that my apartment seemed even smaller with Leksi there.

"Okkaayy...yeah,sure. Why not?" I stood to finish packing my briefcase. "Just let me know when and where."

"Cool! I'll tell Jada it's a plan. See ya."

"See ya."

I hung up the phone and walked out of the office towards the front, when I heard Ron on the phone in the conference room.

"How many databases did you check?" He paused. "And you checked all the overseas databases?" He paced back and forth. "It sounded like a Russian accent, but hell if I know. He was a big guy, like 6"8, maybe 6"9...all muscle."

I eased past while he had his back turned. "He can't just friggin not exist!" I could hear the frustration in his voice. He sighed. "Whatever. I'll check a few other options when I get home." I hurried around the corner when I heard him slam down the phone.

Damn him. Damn Leksi. And Damn my father for calling him here in the first place. I flipped open my phone once I got outside to try to reach Dispatch again. Of course, no answer. I started to dial Leroy, but figured I'd wait until later. All I needed was an herbal tisane, and some peace and quiet.

I had plenty of the first, who knows where I was going to find the second.

The Lunchdate from Hell...

Lunch was an adventure. It's actually taken me several days to recover from it and him. Thanks to Leksi with his high-handed atitude, I was able to pass him off as a visiting Russian dignitary.

Its absolutely amazing the kind of service you receive when people think you're important. I made sure I took him to a restaurant far, far away from the job. The last thing I needed was half the building stolling by. As we walked away from the building though, I had one question.

"Leksi? How in the world did you get here?"

He shrugged(typical)and answered, "Your father located a driver for me." I turned to him. "A driver?" I shook my head. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

Did I say earlier that lunch was an adventure? I meant a nightmare. He barked at the servers, the busboys, the waiters, the maitre'd...nobody was safe. I finally had to lean forward and threaten to walk out on him when he made one of the waitresses burst into tears.

I managed to get him out of the restaurant......I wish it was that easy to get him out of my life.

I put him in a cab back to my house and me and my now pounding head found our way back to the office. I hadn't been at my desk 2 seconds before Ron showed up.

"Hey Terra. I didn't know you were engaged. I guess that nips that rumor in the bud, huh? Where's he from?" he asked casually. A little too casually.

Knowing Ron like I do, Leksi's picture was probably being scanned through government databases everywhere.

Damn. Just what I needed.

Back to normal.....Almost

Since the drama seemed to be (for the most part anyway)over, I figured I might as well go back to work. So that next morning, I woke up, got dressed, got Kara washed and dressed, dropped her at the daycare, and went back to work.

There were several surprised faces, even though I hadn't been gone that long. Especially Ron in Procurement. I was tempted to hang him out the window by one of my tentacles for all the confusion he had started, but decided that it wasn't worth it; he would get his soon enough.

Lucky for me, they hadn't given away my office. Even with the downsizing we just went through offices were a rare commodity. Sitting down at my desk, I dived in.

It actually felt good to be back and in the swing of things. A million reports needed to be run, some really, really dumb, and some that actually challenged my mind. Everything was going fine until lunchtime.

I stepped out of the office and noticed Ron at the end of the hall, talking to two of the staff assistants. They all looked up, startled, and the two girls quickly walked the other way. Sad. Some things never changed. Ron smirked and started walking towards me. " Hey Terra. What's up?"

"Hi Ron." I turned and started walking in the opposite direction. "Nothing's happening."

"Did you know they moved your intern over to the new building?" I shook my head. "Well, him and one of the new receptionists were getting hot and heavy in one of the back offices. Corporate decided to split them up."

"And we haven't seen your friend Edward in a while." I stopped and turned to Ron. He knew something. He always did. We still hadn't quite figured out how.

"Number 1 - Edward's not my friend. Number 2 - why are you telling me?"

He shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. You, him and Leroy seemed awfully cosy." I narrowed my eyes at him and took a deep breath to speak. Before I could say anything, one of the assistants came down the hall at a fast trot.

"Um, Terra? You have a visitor up front." She had this big grin on her face. What the hell was she smiling at? I rolled my eyes at Ron and walked towards the front desk.

I walked through the glass doors to the lobby and froze in my tracks.
Ilektros stood before me, dressed in earth clothes. Now, mind you, I never said he wasn't sexy, I just said I didn't want him. I knew that I had nobody but my father to thank for this. Lexi stood before me, dressed to the nines in a dark charcoal suit and maroon tie. Evidently, word had spread that there was a man up front, because not only did almost every woman in the office make an excuse to come up to the front, but several women who didn't even work in my office suddenly came up with a reason to visit. Too much drama for my first day back. As I glanced around, I noticed Ron standing in one of the doorways, arms crossed, frowning. I smiled back at him. This was one that he couldn't have found out about before hand.

Leslie Connors, one of the part time receptionists asked, "Terra, why didn't you tell us you were getting married?" I just smiled back and walked over to him.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" I hissed, pulling him to the side.

"I told your father that I needed to see more of your lifestyle. "We saw that this is what most 'business' men wear. He said I should..." he frowned, then brightened as he remembered. "Take you to lunch." I wasn't all that hungry, but he had to get the hell out of here. "Stay right here while I get my purse."

I walked back past Ron, who surprisingly enough, didn't say anything. But I could have sworn he took Lexi's picture with his camera phone.

All Over But the Shoutin...

There is nothing...no touch, no song, no poem, no sight...that compares to the feeling of a parent being reunited with their child. The moment is beyond any attempt at words. Beyond anything, and anyone. The feelings I had at having Kara back surpassed any moment in my life, even her birth. And it it would have been perfect......

If not for my father, Obisidian and Iketros standing in the background. I held her close, even though for all of her advanced intelligence, I knew she wouldn't understand.

So, I sat there, in the floor and held my child, for a moment forgetting that I would have to deal with both of them, and what their being here meant. I was so close to forgetting that they even existed, until Ilektros spoke.

"Terina. Would you introduce me?" It was tempting to say no, but that wouldn't be very nice considering he had just come with me to save her.

"Kara, this is Ilektros. He's...an old friend of mommy's."

"Hello, Mr. Ilektros." I was surprised when he took her hand and shook it. "It is a pleasure to meet you." My father of course, looked rather smug and sure of himself.

"Father, are you staying, or going back to the homeworld?" I asked.

"I am staying. Ilektros, also." I sucked in a deep breath. "I don't have room for you here, unfortunately." Obsidian smiled. That wasn't good. "We have managed to acquire lodging nearby. My eyes narrowed. "How near by?"

"The next level up."

I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the fact that I had Kara back, with no casualties, but it was hard to calm down when I knew I was going to have to get through Dispatch to beat the crap out of Christopher as I was SO wanting to do.

Quick Getaways

“Hey, Terra…” Leroy gasped. “Raz and Tam are here.”

“Hey, girl!” Raz and Tam said in unison.

'What the hell,' I thought. "What are you doing here! I didn't call for backup!" I gritted out as Chrisopher grabbed me from behind. I twisted slightly and managed to flip him over onto the ground.

"Dispatch sent us for Christopher," Raz said.

"Oh no." I turned and kicked Christopher backwards into his precious computer system. I always did hate all his little gadgets.

I saw Raz reaching into her little pouch as Leroy grabbed Tam to keep her from interfering. Her and those damn marbles. "It's nothing personal, Terra. Just let us take Christopher to Dispatch and we can all hook up later."

I glanced over to where Tam had managed to break free of Leroy's grip and they were battling it out in the corner. Tam was giving as good as she got. Better him than me. I looked back at Raz.

"No! I'm tired of Dispatch interfering. This IS personal." I turned and stalked back to where Christopher was lying in the equipment, when I felt three marbles hit me in the back. But no charge. I looked back over at her and smiled before running towards Christopher.

I heard Raz calling out. "Um, Tam. Ta-am." She kept throwing marbles with no response. "Nothing's happening. Tam!" Tam kicked Leroy and he bumped into Raz, who lost her balance and banged her head into the wall. Down she went. Damn, that had to hurt.

I never felt my feet leave the floor, but I sure as hell felt the wall. Tam had thrown out a force field and pinned me against the wall. "Tam, let me down!"

"Sorry Terra. Orders are orders." She walked over and lifted Chris up from the debris. He came to as she lifted him out. "Hey Chris, sweetie. We need a way out." He weekly pointed towards a blank wall. Tam ran over to it. "Where?" she asked. He reached out and laid his palm on the door. It opened and he and Tam disappeared through it.

The minute Tam disappeared, so did the force field. "Leroy, I'm gonna kill your girl."

He groaned. "Not if I beat you to it."

I motioned to where they had disappered. "Think you can get through that wall?"

He didn't answer, just walked over stuck his foot through it. I heard a crack and looked up to see a huge crack go across the ceiling.

"Looks like it's time to go!"

Leroy grabbed Raz, who was still out cold and flew up the tunnel with me two steps behind him. This tunnel seemed to be shorter than the others and put us back in the basement, where Ilektros was choking the hell out Veronica. It was extemely tempting to let him continue, but Leroy walked over and slapped him across the back of his head.

"Come on! It's time to go!" Raz was finally starting to come to as we all made our way back upstairs.

My first instinct was to go after Christopher. Leroy must have seen something in my face because he pulled me to the side. "Terra, I know you want to go beat the hell out of Dispatch, but you need to go home to your child first."

I know he was right, but that didn't mean that I wanted to listen. "All right. I call you tonight. We've got to find out what he's up to."

Leroy nodded, then grabbed Raz and left. I turned to Ilektros. "I guess you're coming with me." He nodded and followed me home.

Reunited

I took a moment to catch my breath before starting down the other tunnel. This tunnel was carpeted like the other, but I could hear machinery working at the other end.

"Oh Christopher...where are you, sweetheart? I know you've been waiting for me."

"Down here, Terra." That damn fool actually answered me. I swear sometimes he's down right scary.

At the end of the hall, I saw light coming through an open doorway. Crossing through, I entered a huge chamber. (What is it with everybody and these underground lairs, anyway?)I glanced around and saw him sitting in front of one of those huge, James Bond style computer screens. Now I know where all his money went.

Spinning around, he had the nerve to smile at me. "Hey baby. Cute little outfit. I've missed you."

All I could do was shake my head in disbelief. "Christopher, you're kidding right?" Standing up, he started walking towards me. I hated him...but damn he still looked good. "I told you Terra. I want my family back. And now here we are," he smiled. "All together again."

"Mommy!" Kara came running out of one of the back rooms. "Daddy said we could all go to the park when you got here." I was starting to feel like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

"Christopher, Kara and I are going home." I looked down at her. "Baby, go ahead to the top of the tunnel. Mommy's going to be along in just a minute." Kara's eyebrows drew together, just like her father's. "What about Daddy?"

I looked up at him. "Daddy's not coming right now. He'll be along later."

"Okay." She walked over to Christopher and gave him a hug. "Terra," he said. "I know you didn't think it was going to be that easy." Two seconds later, the tunnel I had just come down caved in.

"Dammit Christopher," I said turning back to him, "you're crazier than I thought."

He shook his head. "Not crazy. Just....determined." His face hardened. "I want my family back."

I stepped forward. "Not gonna happen. You should have thought about that before you tried to take over the world!"

"A minor detail," he shrugged. "Besides, I've got you to keep me on the straight and narrow."

"Kara sweetie, go and get what you're taking with you from the room." She nodded and ran off. I couldn't wait for her to get through the door good before I swung.

Wham. Can you begin to imagine the joy I felt as he went flying across the room? I stepped forward to finish him off when my father popped in and Kara came rushing out the room. "Daddy take Kara out of here." He nodded and scooped her up, disappearing instantly. A door opened to left and out came Leroy.

"It's about time you got here," I said. Christopher stood up and stalked over to me. "Is that anyway to treat your devoted husband?" he growled.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, so devoted, that you've got your little admin girlfriend installed upstairs!" I rushed him again.

Into the Tunnel - Ilektros

The tunnel I was directed to was damp and dark. It resembled nothing more than a dirty whole in the ground. It took me deeper into the earth with no exit other than the one I entered from. I wondered what the others were doing. Especially that one, Sonus.


His casually attitude towards Terra's plight disturbed me. This is the one she called a friend? The one she placed her trust in? I could see it was time for her to be taken back to the homeworld.


When her father contacted me, I was happy to learn that she was alive and well. Her powers joined with mine would immediately elevate us to Alpha status. However, he neglected to mention the halfling child with the earthling. Obsidian has assured me that he will be able to convince her to return. So for now, it is in my best interest to protect her.


I was so consumed with my thoughts, that I almost didn't notice the body of water that I almost walked in to. I expanded my light to see that this was somekind of underground cavern. Looking closer, I noticed the patterns of the water rippling as though something extemely large was swimming beneath.


It's best for one to chose the time and place to engage in battle. Since I am not familiar with the water species of this planet, I deemed it best to experience this at another time. Turning back, I started back up the tunnel careful to make sure that whatever resided within the water did not decide to follow.


Once I reached the opening, I noticed that there were strangely dressed females waiting in the basement area.

"Who are you?" The earth women seem just as unsettling as Sonus. How could Terra remain in such a place.

"She's Raz.."

"And She's Tam..." The girls giggled at each other. This was more fun for them, than work.
"Oh look Raz, this one has a pony-tail."

"He should go get that braided by the same girl that Leroy goes to."

"Are all you eathlings like this?" Llektros frowned.

"Like what?" The girls hunched their shoulders.

"Ok, lets get this show on the road. Where is Christopher?"

"If it is the halfling's father you are looking for, you may discontinue your search."

"That's going to be a negative, big guy." Raz walked to the other side of Llektros.

I watched as both separated and crouched as though about to attack. I raised my arms to strike, but it seems they were quicker. They both attacked me, one throwing some kind of explosive metal balls at me, while the other threw some kind of force field around me.

I generated enough energy to distort the force field and threw a bolt towards the one who generated it. I was about to throw another bolt at the one with the explosives when the ground shook and a puff of smoke came from the tunnel that Terra had taken. I was thrown to the floor, hitting my head. Before I could gain my feet, both of them had jumped on me.

I closed my eyes for only a moment to draw more power to finish them for once and for all, pushing up on my arms to rise, when I found myself hit from behind and spiraling down into the darkness.

Onward and Downward

Ilektros' light ball was pretty handy. Looking around, I could tell that this wasn't something that Christopher had decided to do overnight. The carpet covering the floor, the smoothness of the walls; this was something he had been planning for quite some time. Possibly longer than I had even known him. I got mad just thinking about it.

I had traveled about halfway down the tunnel when the lights suddenly came on dimly.

"Damn!" I lowered my hand but kept the energy orb close to me. I fully intended to use it on Christopher as soon as I got Kara two steps away from him.

The tunnel angled down at a 45 degree angle. I wondered what the other tunnels looked like. This one was actually kind of bare. I went deeper and noticed several doors on either side of the wall. Each door was made of some kind of metal. My dear husband made sure that I would never easily be able to track him down.

Considering how far this thing was going, I figured I'd might as well start checking doors. I cautiously stepped forward to the next door and twisted the knob and opened the door. I held the orb up for better light to see that it was an empty drywalled room. Strange.

I backed up and closed the door, to continue down the hallway. This time, I passed a few doors before I tried another one. I had a feeling that my luck wasn't going to hold. I'm a superhero, but I am by no means invincible. I placed my back flat against the wall and used one of my tentacles to cautiously open the door. As soon as I had the door opened completely, I heard a "whoosh".

I held up the globe to see several blades gleaming in the light. Did I mention that Christopher loved Indiana Jones? It would be just like him to set up some little crazy trap behind each one of these doors.

I cautiously opened several other doors. None of them seemed to go anywhere, or either had these wacky traps. I'll give him credit. An ordinary person would have never made it through. I finally reached to bottom of tunnel and reached two wooden doors. "Why wooden doors here when everything else was metal?"

Touching both doors, I figured out why. Only half of the door was wood. How to approach this? I had to think this through. I really didn't think Christopher wanted to kill me, but after I left him divorced him, sued for alimony, child support, and locked him up? Hm. He still might be holding a bit of a grudge.

The door knobs to each door were on the inside, next to each other. I figured best thing to do would be to trigger them at the same time. Cautiously, I placed myself between the two doors and threw them open. Nothing happened at first, which made me feel like an absolute fool.

Just as I stepped forward to look in the door on my right, an explosion blew me six feet back up the hall.

Maybe he was holding a grudge after all.