Terra Stone aka Elemental

2009-02-15T07:36:00.002-05:00

I'm in a new spot. Check out the Urban30 at http://urban3zero.com

BRB....

2009-01-09T08:26:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm off-planet until later this month.

(Need some down time with Kara after all that's gone on.)

Take Care!

Elemental

After Seth...

2008-12-26T22:45:00.003-05:00

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

2008-12-22T19:11:00.012-05:00

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.

Missing in Action

2008-12-07T09:29:00.003-05:00

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...

2008-12-06T10:28:00.009-05:00

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

2008-12-01T08:56:00.010-05:00

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....

2008-11-21T06:47:00.018-05:00

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

2008-11-14T18:25:00.003-05:00

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...

2008-11-05T09:38:00.009-05:00

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

2008-10-30T10:52:00.007-04:00

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....

2008-10-21T05:00:00.003-04:00

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

2008-10-15T09:00:00.001-04:00

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

2008-10-06T18:18:00.004-04:00

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

2008-10-01T18:56:00.005-04:00

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....

2008-09-24T19:40:00.005-04:00

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.....

2008-09-16T06:46:00.004-04:00

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

2008-09-09T14:42:00.003-04:00

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

2008-08-28T09:41:00.006-04:00

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

2008-07-23T08:47:00.002-04:00

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?

2008-07-06T20:13:00.003-04:00

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

2008-06-26T10:18:00.004-04:00

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

2008-06-10T19:12:00.009-04:00

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...

2008-06-06T09:09:00.006-04:00

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..

2008-05-30T11:08:00.000-04:00

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?

2008-05-28T14:04:00.000-04:00

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."

The Lunchdate from Hell...

2008-05-13T10:11:00.000-04:00

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

2008-05-03T09:54:00.000-04:00

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...

2008-04-25T13:55:00.000-04:00

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

2008-04-24T19:23:00.000-04:00

“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

2008-04-21T10:27:00.000-04:00

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

2008-04-20T08:23:00.000-04:00

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

2008-04-17T20:09:00.000-04:00

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.

Closer to the Goal

2008-04-14T07:38:00.000-04:00

It didn't bother me that Leroy kicked the door in. The time for being subtle was over. Veronica had probably sent him some kind of message to let him know we were here. Either that, or they had some kind of surveillance that tipped him off when we arrived. Christopher was nobody's fool, and he knew I'd be coming after Kara.

Leksi went down the steps first, with me in the middle, and Leroy behind me. I'm guessing subconciously they were trying to protect me. Which was okay. As long as they didn't underestimate me or Christopher, then we would get through this with a minimum of drama.

Just that quick I had forgotten about my father.

He was standing in the middle of the basement, eyes closed. "There are several tunnels running behind these walls."

Why was I not surprised? I looked down at the floor to see that it was concrete with not so much as a speck of dirt. I had to think. I couldn't have Leroy tear down the walls, that would destroy the foundation. My father and I were severely limited by the fact that there was no organic plant life or earth in the house.

As much as I hated to ask it, I only had one choice. "Leksi, take the power."

He nodded, then walked over to the circuit breaker. Laying his hand against the panel, he turned to me. "How much?"

"At least three or four blocks. We don't know how far these tunnels go."

He turned back to the box and thirty seconds later, everything was pitch black. The only light coming in was through a small glass block window. I heard a soft 'whoosh' as the doors slid back, leaving four holes in the basement walls.

Drawing in a deep breath, I stepped forward to the tunnel closest to me. "We're going to need to split up. And we'll need something to see by." I held the palm of my hand up. Leksi created a ball of energy and bounced it me and the others. Leroy made a face, but thank goodness, kept his tongue behind his lips.

Once we were all prepared, we each stepped into the tunnel.

New Developments

2008-04-09T18:38:00.000-04:00

I sighed as I motioned Leroy towards the refrigerator. I already knew the three of them working together was going to be a problem, but really, what choice did I have? The main focus was to get Kara....and beat Christopher's ass for taking her.

Since my father was the only one amoung us that couldn't fly, I had to send him a mental picture of where I wanted him to meet us. Before I could blink, he was gone. I turned to see Leroy had grabbed three of Kara's juice boxes out of the refrigerator. Out of all the bottled water and other stuff in there, he had to grab a juice box?

Whatever.

He sucked them down in record time and we were off. My father was already waiting for us when we got there. I looked around trying to get an idea. There wasn't a lot of vegetation on 8th street. A couple of scrawny trees here and there, and dirt patches where there used to be grass.

As I turned in a circle, I noticed that one of the houses sitting directly on the corner had no vegetation what so ever. The front yard was concrete and there were no flowers of any kind, not even a weed. The only thing resembling a plant that it did have was a big, fake plastic tree sitting in a pot. Even for 8th and H, that's strange.

On a hunch, I decided to walk over and knock on the door. Imagine my surprise when the door was opened by Veronica Tyler, my ex's old administrative assistant. I always knew that broad was too good to be true.

"Oh! Ms. Davidson! What are you doing here?" If that girl's eyes got any wider, they'd pop out. "The question is, what are you doing here?" I pushed past her into the house. "I thought you went back to Omaha or wherever the hell it is you were from?" My eyes narrowed at her. "Where's Christopher?"

Do you know this broad tried to get bold with me?

"I don't know what you're talking about." she snipped. I stepped forward. "You'd better figure it out damn quick!" I turned to walk up the stairs to look for Kara when I saw her move forward out of the corner of my eye. I had just turned to deal with her when I saw Ilektros raise his hand and pin that bitch to the wall. HELL YES!! That's what I'm talking about!

While he had her pinned, I raced through the upstairs rooms checking for signs of Christopher or Kara. There was no sign of either one of them. But I knew they had been there. I knew it.

I motioned for Ilektros to let her go. Then I stepped up into her face. It was tempting to just knock her slam out, considering I owed her for problems she tried to cause with me and Christopher when we were together. "This is the last time I'm going to ask you. Where is he?"

"I...I don't know what you're talking about!" she wailed. Damn crybaby.

I picked her up by her throat and was about to toss her narrow butt across the room when Sonus stopped me.

"Wait a minute, Terra."

I'll be damned if he didn't lean over and whisper something in her ear, then she nodded. He turned to us and said "basement."

"Where's the door?" She pointed to a door that matched the rest of the paneling completely.

I started towards the door, then doubled back. I stared at Veronica for a moment, then punched her in the face before anybody could stop me.

Like I said, I owed her.

Rounding up the troops....

2008-04-08T19:43:00.000-04:00

I was just about to jump on my father's case when I heard a 'thump' outside on my fire escape. Before I could turn around, I could feel Ilektros bristling with electricity.

Leroy must be here.

My father turned around and frowned at the window. I noticed out the corner of my eye that Ilektros, turned and frowned at my father.

I'm guessing that daddy dearest left out some information.

Ilektros started to raise his hand when I grabbed his arm. "Whoa! Not in my house buddy!" I walked over to open the window. "He's here to help us. This is Sonus."

Ilektros slowly lowered his hand, but didn't stop frowning. "Why would we need the help of this.....human."

I crossed my arms and looked at him. "You know, Lexi, I didn't invite you here. So you can either help out - peacefully - or you can take your ass back to the home world." He narrowed his eyes at me before answering. "We will do things your way, for now. But we will talk later."

I shrugged. "Maybe we will, maybe we won't. I'm not making any promises right now. I only have one priority right now and that's finding Kara. So all of you," I caught Leroy making faces out of the corner of my eye. "Chill on the testosterone rush."

"Let's go."

"Uh, Terra?" Leroy said before we could leave, "Can I get something to drink first?"

From bad to worse....

2008-04-06T21:08:00.001-04:00

I heard from Leroy around noon the next day.

I told him to meet us here, at my place, then we would go over to the last spot they were seen at. 8th and H.

I was able to tell in which direction he'd gone, but like Dispatch and I had argued about before, he just seemed to disappear. No matter what I did, I couldn't get their location to come in any clearer.

I turned to look over at my father was two steps from ballistic and kept walking into the other room, like he was talking to someone. But who? Hopefully not my mother. In spite of everything, I really like this planet and don't want to see it blown out of orbit.

I started towards him once and opened my mouth to ask when he gave me this look. I was too scared to ask. I just hoped he wasn't calling for reinforcements. Two people besides me from my home planet were two too many.

But unfortunately patience wasn't his strong suit, and my father was never one to sit back and wait for things to happen. If I wasn't careful, there's no telling who he'd call in.

I managed to get some food on my stomach. Whatever was coming up, I was going to need to be at full strength. My father refused to eat. I could feel him simmering... I know he thought I was being too nonchalant.

I sighed in relief when the doorbell rang. "It's about time," I muttered to myself. I swung open the door, ready to chastise Leroy for taking forever to get there. What I saw on the doorstep made me want to scream.

My father stepped forward and motioned him inside. "Good. I see you got the directions."

He turned to me, eyebrow raised. "As you can see, we no longer need your little Earth friend." He leaned out and shook hands with the last damn person I ever wanted to see again.

Isoglani ilekrismos. Ilektros for short. Also, my ex-fiance.

From what I could see, this was a disaster in the making.

A Load off my mind..

2008-03-27T07:34:00.000-04:00

The biggest part of my troubles was taken care of. Leroy was reinstated and I was glad. I walked out of the chambers to find him missing. Not surprising. He wasn't the type to sit around and wait for what he thought would be bad news.

My father walked out behind me. "Now where is he?"

I smiled. "Knowing Leroy? Getting his hair done."

"And you're fine with this?"

I shrugged. "It won't take long. That will give me time to locate Christopher and Kara."

"Those idols that he tossed out. What did they mean? I'm sure you realized that there was one of you."

"Yeah. I noticed. One of the other members has more information on those. It's going to have to wait for now."

"Terra, you cannot ignore this. If there is an additional danger to you, Kara still won't be safe here."

I knew he what he was leading up to, and I knew I wasn't going to like it.

"As soon as this is over, I'm taking both of you back to the homeworld."

This was a fight I really didn't want to have right now. "Daddy. I can't." I cut him off as he opened his mouth to speak. "And no, you can't take Kara back with you. This is her world, where she belongs."

"We'll discuss this later."

"No. We won't."

I turned and strode away, pulling out my cell. Leroy's voice mail picked up. "All right, Leroy. Tell girlfriend to hurry up with your head. Christopher has Kara and I need you. Also, we definitely need to discuss you holding out on me."

I closed the phone and turned back to my father. "We need to go back to my building so I can track him down."

My father nodded and stepped forward, taking my hand.

From Bad to Worse....

2008-03-12T16:30:00.000-04:00

Everyone had pretty much already arrived when I stepped into the chamber. I looked around and saw everyone - except for Engima. I would have thought he'd be thrilled at a chance to speak out against Leroy.

The hearing opened with Dispatch asking Leroy if he had anything to say for himself.

Damn. That was definitely the wrong question to ask Leroy.

His first words caused a sinking feeling in my stomach. "This is all just dumb."

I had to put my head down. I could already see this wasn't going to go well. And since I hadn't had a chance to pull my trump card with Dispatch, I didn't have high hopes for getting Leroy's help - not officially at least.

Dispatch started reading off a list of transgressions against Leroy. What was this? Everything he mentioned was before Leroy's time with the Urban 30. Why was he bringing this up now?

All hell broke loose as Dispatch made his disclosures. This wasn't a trial, or a council hearing- Dispatch was out to railroad Sonus - right out of the Urban 30. I looked over at my father. The expression on his face never changed. That was NOT a good sign.

"They condemn this man for doing what needed to be done?"

I sighed. "Yeah. This doesn't look good for Leroy. I need to find out what Dispatch is up to."

I could see Leroy was about to blow. I was shocked when he reached in his backpack and tossed out the totems he had showed me before. All except for one: There was one of me that Leroy had never showed me.

The chamber went wild when Leroy stalked out. Dispatch had a smug look on his face as he finally got the group under control. I did find it strange that Dispatch kept looking at his watch and texting someone. Who was he calling?

"Order!" he yelled. Everyone quieted down slowly and focused back on the front.

"The council will now issue it's decision on Leroy - whether or not Leroy will be allowed to continue with the Urban 30," his smile sent a shiver down my spine "or if he will be stripped of all protection from this group."

The room darkened and everyone focused on the space above Dispatch's head.

"Councilmembers, please cast your vote. All those in favor of Sonus' dismissal from the Urban 30..."

You could tell everyone was holding their breath as the councilmembers voted.

Each one of the 5 council members would respond in favor of the request by flashing a colored light; any more than 2 lights and he'd be out.

One Lavender light.

One Emerald light.

No light flashed for number 3. That was a good thing.

No light flashed for number 4 . My hopes were starting to rise. If we could just get through this last one, everything would be allright.

Then it happened. One amber light.

Leroy was officially voted out of the Urban 30.

Everyone gasped and started mumbling among themselves.

My father tensed beside me. "Terra, what is the meaning of this?"

I couldn't keep the emotion from my voice as I answered him. "Leroy has been officially dismissed from the group." I tried to pull myself together. "Any help he gives me now could get him arrested."

My father walked towards the podium while everyone talked among themselves. "Who are these cowards who must hide to render judgement against another!" Oh Hell.

"Please return to your space. This doesn't concern you." Dispatch sneered.

My father spun on Dispatch. "You. Why is it you condemn the one person who can help my daughter?"

Dispatch looked livid. "You don't understand. This group has rules that he has twisted to his own usage. He is a renegade who will bring us all down...."

"Enough!" My father yelled and threw out his hand; everybody ducked low as the glass around the council members shattered.

I figured I might as well pack my things up, too. With my father's temper, we'd be lucky to have a meeting hall at all.

I stood up up slowly, unsure of what was going to happen next when I noticed something.

There wasn't anybody behind the glass. I looked over at Dispatch. "You."

I walked down to the floor. "You did this." I heard the rumbling of the other members behind me. "You wanted Leroy out." I picked up the totems. "You knew about these."

"What else have you been keeping from us?"

"Leroy gets reinstated now. As a full member. And you will not interfere with him helping me."

"Terra-"

I turned to the group. "All in favor of Sonus' reinstatement, vote by a show of hands."

Everyone's hand raised. I turned back to Dispatch. "Sonus will be reinstated. Now."

A call for help 2

2008-03-04T10:42:00.000-05:00

I stood frozen. “Daddy, how did you know?” I stepped back and let him come in.

“Did you think I would just leave you here, alone?” He turned and started to pace. “This place is filled with uncivilized savages. Why do you think we’ve never made contact before now?”

“All they know is War.”

I really didn’t want to get into this conversation. My home planet is full of people who are full of themselves. That’s why I left in the first place. “I understand. But right now, I need to get Kara back and one of the few people who’s strong enough to help me has been banned from using his powers. That’s got to be rectified.”

I walked past him to the door. “Stay here. I have to go to the hearing and try to get Leroy reinstated.” He grabbed my arm as I walked past.

“I’m staying with you until this is resolved.”

“Outsiders aren’t allowed in the hearings.” I told him.

“In this case, they’ll have to make an exception.”

I rubbed my temples. There was a hell of a headache coming on. “Okay. Just promise me you’ll try not to loose your temper.”

He slowly raised his eyebrow at me. “I promise I won’t kill anyone.”

I sighed. “That will have to do, I guess.”

I grabbed his hand and concentrated. My body felt like it was being pulled in four different directions and snapped back together. When I opened my eyes again, we were in front of the hall.

“Sometimes I wish I was able to teleport on my own, but I hate feeling like my body is being pulled apart.”

“The feeling goes away after time.”

“Well since it’s not something I can do on my own, I’m not going to worry about it.”

I turned towards the building, then stopped and looked back at him. “Remember your promise.”

He nodded and motioned for me to go ahead of him. This should be very interesting.

A Call for Help

2008-02-25T14:35:00.000-05:00

As I walked down the hall towards my apartment, I wasn’t upset. I was pissed. Only Christopher’s crazy ass would be bold enough to just walk up to the babysitter’s and pick up Kara.

Partially, I know I’m to blame. I never figured he’d find me. Even if he had approached the Director at the school, they weren’t going to let her go without notifying me since his name wasn’t on the pick up list. I hit the speed dial-number on my phone of the one person who always seems to know every damn thing but this.

Dispatch.

The phone didn’t have a chance to ring before he answered.

“Tony-,” I started.

“I know Terra.”

“Then where the hell is she?” I growled. I could feel my control slipping more and more as I let myself into my apartment.

“I don’t know,” he answered.

“I don’t want to hear that, Dispatch. You know every damn thing else! Don’t tell me you don’t know where she is!”

“I don’t know!” He snapped. “I know that Ean called for help at 10:30. I know that you took her to the babysitter at 11:10.. I know that Christopher showed up around 12:15. I was able to track them to the grid on the corner of 8th and H before he went off the scope.”

“What do you mean, went off the scope?”

“Just that. They completely disappeared.” He sighed. “It’s my own fault. I tried to call you and let you know what was happening, but I couldn’t get through to anyone’s cell. I saw Leroy’s signal popup, but since I suspended him and he wasn’t supposed to be there anyway, I refused to contact him. Derrick’s signal came up shortly afterwards, but he wouldn’t answer the other line. I couldn’t send Tellico after you because you couldn’t answer. So instead, I had him try to follow them. He followed them through the line until they disappeared. I think the whole thing with Luminous was a distraction so that I wouldn’t be able to reach you.”

I sat down and put my head in my hands. “Dispatch. I want Leroy in on this. Call a meeting of everyone and put it to vote if you want, I don’t care. I’m calling him.”

“Look Terra, there’s things about Leroy you don’t understand.”

“Then tell me, dammit! I’m sick of the games.”

I heard him sigh. “Before he became a member of the Urban 30, Leroy operated on his own, barely on this side of the law. Sure, he’d bust up drug rackets, but then he’d keep half the money. His dealings were extremely shady. When I approached him about joining the group, it was with the stipulation that he would work together, with us, as a team. No solo jaunts, and nothing borderline.”

Pacing the floor, I got more and more pissed. “I understand that. Really, I do. But what you have to take into account is that he’s always been there for us, regardless of who’s in trouble. He’s been a team member and a team player. Set up the meeting now, Dispatch. I’m on my way.” I hung up.

Before I could sit down to think, I heard a tap at my door. I hesitated for a moment, then thought about it. Christopher wasn’t going to come back tonight.

I opened the door and froze. My father stood in the doorway.

“Daddy? What are you doing here!”

“We’re going to get my granddaughter back. With or without that so-called group of yours.”

Revived and Recharged

2008-02-22T16:32:00.000-05:00

I watched Leroy go back down into the hole after Enigma. I was honestly surprised he went. Let's face facts here: They're not best of friends and they never will be. But, maybe, just maybe they will both start to grow up a little.

Do I really believe that? Of course not. But it was a nice thought.

At least one good thing came out of this. The fight with Luminous managed to revive me in a way I hadn't forseen. Dispatch was gonna be pissed with me, true, but he'll live. If nothing else, I realized one important thing. I'M A SUPERHERO DAMMIT!!

There's no way I'm going to hide and let someone else take care of my problems for me. Let Christopher come. I've got something for him. First of all, I've got to get Leroy reinstated.

I turned back to the other members of the group, still a little dazed from everything that had happened. As I scoped out everybody and I noticed that I didn't see Mr. E. Did he make it out?

I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. Enigma! He made it! But where was Leroy.

His face twisted up like he was seriously ready to cuss somebody out. What in the hell was wrong with him now? He opened his mouth to speak, but luckily, we were all saved by the bell, or shall I say the phone. I walked over to Raz and Tam. "I've got to rollout. You guys have everything under control here?"

"Yeah," Raz said and smirked. "I've got something for his ass if he comes around."

I smiled. I just bet she did. "Hit me on my cellphone if you need me for anything." They nodded. "Hold on." Tam touched me on the arm to hold me back. "What's the deal with Leroy? Isn't he still suspended?"

I nodded. "He is. But he's always there when we need him. Suspension can't change that. " They looked at each other and nodded. "I'll see you guys later." I walked off with a spring in my step that hadn't been there in weeks.

I jumped up and sprang into the air, the coolness of the night air brushing against my cheeks. I changed right before I reached the Alene, the babysitter upstairs. "Oh Hi!" she said. "I didn't think I'd see you this evening."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh. Your husband came to pick Kara up a few hours ago. You didn't tell me he was such a cutie."

I stood there for a moment speechless. How did he find me? Where in the hell is he now?

"Is everything okay?" Alene asked frowning. "Was she not supposed to go with him? I know you mentioned you guys were separated, but you never said anything else about him...."

She looked so panicked. "No it's okay. I just wasn't expecting him to get her today." That's an understatement.

"I'll just call him once I get back in the house." I said, turning away.

"Okay. I'll talk to you later, okay?" she said closing the door.

I nodded. "Okay."

I pulled out my cell phone and started dialing. I knew he wasn't going to harm her. In his own sick and twisted way, he loved her. It was me he wanted.

Into the Lion's Den

2008-02-08T10:25:00.000-05:00

As we entered the tunnel, we could hear the screams and the sounds of fighting coming from up ahead. Before I realized what I was doing, I had run ahead of the rest of the group. Kara's glasses worked like a dream. I could see everything ahead of me like I was walking around in the daylight. After what seemed like dozens of twists and turns, I thought we were almost at the center only to find we were at a dead end.

I placed my hands on the wall and shifted the dirt to the side. Once through, we had to stop for a moment to get our bearings.

"It's coming from over here!" Mr. E yelled pointing to the left. Before I could say anything, he had taken off running down the tunnel. Damn. "Guys we need to stick close together."

Tam nodded. "It's gonna be tough. We're in a damn maze. We'll never find our way outta here."

I turned to answer her and saw something trying to creep up on us from behind.

"Ow! What the hell?" Raz said before she turned and swung. The next thing I knew, Raz and Tam were doing their dynamic duo thing (I have to admit, they can fight their asses off!). We weren't doing too bad, the only problem was that there wasn't a lot of fighting room and whatever it was we were fighting kept coming right back.

It looked like the things seemed to be made of some kind of mist. How in the world do you fight something like that? Then, bam! The light bulb came on.

"Tam, I need a force field over here!" I yelled. She threw out a field that managed to capture all of the creatures at one time. I reached out and touched the field, pulling the moisture out. We were all amazed to see the creatures solidify and turn into statues.

"Ok Tam, you can pull back." She pulled the field back and stood with her arms crossed.

Raz's smile stopped as she looked around. "It's a little too quiet. I think we'd better hurry."

We ran blindly down different corridors for what seemed like forever before a light appeared and we heard a mysterious voice say, “Light is everywhere…”

Leroy, Derrick, Enigma, and Router were standing on the other side of Luminous.

Just as we stepped forward to engage in the fight, a blinding pulsing light began flashing throughout the cave. Each time the light pulsed, someone disappeared until I found myself standing alone to fight.

'You've got to be kidding me.' I mutterd. When the light stopped pulsing, I stood alone with Lumnious.

"Cute glasses." he said and lunged at me. I was able to move in time, but it was a close thing.

"Who stuck a light bulb up your ass?" I growled back. We lunged at each other a couple of times, each time missing each other by inches. 'Enough of this'. I did not have all night to fight this idiot. I had to get home before the babysitter decided to charge me double.

Pissed off, I started directing rocks towards him so fast that most were starting to get past him. Then everything went black. I was still wearing the glasses, but couldn't see a thing. Cautiously, I looked over the top. Nothing changed. 'What the hell is going on?'

Two minutes later, I could see again, but Luminous was nowhere to be found.

A step closer..

2008-02-08T10:23:00.000-05:00

We were all about to go in when Leroy made a suggestion.
“Wait,” he said. “Let’s split in two. There are enough of us that we can approach from two sides.”

I could see the surprise on everyone’s face when he spoke. “Look, you guys can stare or we can help Ean. I can go in the front.” He looked over at me. “Terra, maybe u can make a hole and come in on the other side.” I nodded and started to walk off.

Derrick and Router were the only two who decided to go with Leroy which kind of ticked me off.

I stopped a short distance away. I looked around to find most of the group had followed me. “Everybody stand back for a minute and let me get my bearings.” Everybody took a step back except for Mr. E. So be it.

I took a deep breath and burst outwards into millions of tiny pieces as I merged with the Earth. I traveled along the top of the tunnel until I could determine where it was going. I burst out short while later, showering dirt everywhere.

“Oops. Sorry.” Raz and Tam looked a little pissed to be covered in dirt, but I did ask them to step back didn’t I? I walked over a few steps and held out my hands. Earth started showering into the air. This time I made sure I directed it away from everybody. I wanted the fight to happen in the hole, not up here.

In a matter of minutes, a deep hole formed that connected with the tunnel from the other side. I put my shades on and turned around. “That’s it. Let’s go.”

Raz and Tam hit buttons on their matching helmets. Everybody else followed suit. I took a quick head count and noticed that somebody was missing. Where was Enigma? I hadn’t seen him arrive. It wasn’t like him to miss a fight.

The Fight is on....

2008-02-05T18:42:00.000-05:00

I landed at the coordinates that Ean gave me, but there was no sign of him. I looked around and saw a suspicious looking whole in the ground. As I stepped closer, a bright, blinding light flashed out of it, nearly blinding me. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that's where he went.

I stepped forward, pulling out one of one of Kara's latest inventions. Lately, she was starting to create all kinds of little gadgets. I woke up this morning to find a pair of ordinary looking sunshades sitting on my nightstand. When I put them on, I noticed that in the sunshine, everything looked completely black. But in the dark, everything seemed to glow.

I was glad that my child had somehow anticipated my needs.

I put the glasses on and walked towards the whole. I was about to step over the edge when someone landed behind me. He was huge. Really huge. And familiar.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Mr. E." he said in a deep rumbling voice.

I raised an eyebrow. "Mr. E?" I took the glasses off and stepped towards him. He looked just like the last idol that Leroy showed me. Just like..."Edward?"

He nodded. I smiled. "Well, 'Mr. E' are you ready?"

He nodded again. "Just what I like...a man of few words."

I turned around as I heard a whistling noise come through the air. Well, well. What do we have here? Looks like my old buddy Sonus is moonlighting.

I turned to him and smiled as a few of the other members of the Urban 30 showed up. "I missed you, buddy."

Leroy gave me that cocky smile and walked forward. As the others came up, I slipped my glasses back on. "Everybody make sure to protect your eyes. He's not called Luminous for nothing." I faced the whole again and took deep breath.

"All right everybody. Let's do this."

A little teamwork goes a long way

2008-02-01T08:59:00.000-05:00

Leroy finally went and did it. I knew it was just a matter of time before he blew up at Dispatch. I couldn't do anything but sit in absolute amazement as he explained to me how he got the watch changed, and how Tony confronted him in the parking lot. Damn, I wish he had talked to me before he did that. Dispatch firmly believes in making sure that no one thinks that they're more important than the whole group.

Dispatch doesn't seem to realize just how much Leroy loves being a Superhero. I can just imagine him as one of those kids who always dreamed of fighting the bad guys. All I could do was just sit and shake my head after we hung up. I was going to have to call Dispatch and pull a favor. I really hated to do it, very seldom is Dispatch in debt to anyone for anything, but I had one that I've been holding close for a while.

I got up and checked on Kara to make sure that she hadn't been in contact with her father. That was drama that I could definitely do without right now.

I picked up my cell and took and took a deep breath before I looked up Tony's number. Well, here goes nothing.

I had my hand on the button about to place the call when the phone vibrated. Why in the world was Ean calling me?

"Hello?" At first, I heard nothing but screaming and wind. "Ean? Hello?"

He finally started talking. My heart started pumping as he described what was happening to him. The clouds, a blinding bright light...

Oh Damn. "LUMINOUS!" I yelled. "I'll call Dispatch! Just hold on!"

As soon as I hung up from Ean, I dialed Tony. "Dispatch, we've got a situation."

"What's up Terra?"

"Ean just called me, he's just had a run-in with Luminous. He's going to need some serious backup." I gave him Ean's location.

"I'm putting out the call now."

"And Tony, there's something I need to talk to you about later."

He was quiet for a moment. "I don't think you should get involved in that Terra."

"You're always talking about how we should behave as a team. A team member always has the other's back."

I could just feel him grinding his teeth. "We'll talk later Terra."

"Fine."

I hung up and called upstairs for my babysitter. The minute she got there I headed for the door. It looked like I was finally going to get some exercise after all.

What goes around, comes around...

2008-01-29T14:43:00.000-05:00

I couldn't wait to go into the office - I never thought I'd even think that - but with this "enforced" solitude, it's either go into the office for a couple of hours, or go out and start finding some poor unsuspecting villian after Kara goes to sleep. I was just about to leave out when I got a call from Leroy. I haven't seen him much lately, but he needed some time to unwind. He told me he was headed over to a meeting at the main office and wanted to talk to me. I told him to meet me in my office and we could talk there. What was so important that he couldn't tell me on the phone?

Then, before I could get off the phone, he sent me a text. "Yo, I gotta tell you something when I see you!"

Just what is he up to I wonder?

Before going into the office I decided to stop in the coffee shop and picked up my cup of Green Tea. I waved at Candice and smiled down at the little guy with the glasses. "Hi."

Was he blushing? "Hi." he answered back.

"Can I have a small green tea?" He nodded and went to the back to fix it. He came back and rang up the drink. I looked at him again, remembering that day on the bus...

"Um, I was wondering..." His face froze in shock for a minute. I really wanted to ask him about his incredible shrinking posterior, but after a moment's reflection, I figured it wasn't really a good time. "Never mind." I grabbed my tea and walked out. I'll wait until I can discuss it with Leroy. Something about him reminds me of one of those totems.

I made it into my office without too many people seeing me. I really didn't feel like answering any questions about why I was out. I had just picked up a stack of data that Malcolm had given me when Leroy walked in. He was smiling and raving about how good his Mocha Blast was. Since I knew that wasn't what he really wanted to tell me, I have to be honest, I kind of tuned him out. Though, don't get me wrong, as much as he loves coffee, if he likes that girl that much, she'd have to learn how to make it eventually.

I had almost figured out where Malcolm had made his mistake when Leroy grabbed my arm and dragged me out of my office towards the conference room. He was just about to stop talking about his amazing cup of coffee, when we turned and noticed the crowd in front of the conference room.

'Now what the hell is going on?' I thought.

I hadn't even gotten close to the conference room when I smelled it. It was like being in the Ape House at the zoo. I saw Leroy's face change color three times before he pulled himself together.

Imagine my surprise, no-my joy! To see Ron curled up in the floor like a baby, surrounded by - yes, you've got it, shit! I could see several people in the office cover their mouth and go running for the bathroom as the full force of the smell hit them.

The only thing I could think of was that Ron, the office pain in the butt, had finally got what was coming to him.

Stalkers

2008-01-22T07:30:00.000-05:00

I'm going to have to call Dispatch. This is driving me completely crazy. I'm at one with nature, which means I need to get out more. I tapped into the message he sent out about the squabble at the club. I was halfway out of the door before I realized that somebody would snitch and say it was for my own good.

I might be able to pick up on some "out of sight" action of my own anyway. I went to the grocery store the other day and noticed that this red headed chick managed to be in whatever aisle I went to.

True, this is a free country, (or so they say) but after going to the fourth aisle, I noticed that she didn't have anything in her cart. Now, I can understand the first two, but four aisles, and you haven't picked up anything? Now would've been a good time to have that scanning fiend Brice around. I looked at her until she looked up at me. I flashed my eyes from brown to green one time for good measure, then pushed my cart to the side and walked into the ladies room, hoping she would follow so I could release some of my pent up frustration.

I waited ten minutes, more than enough time, but she didn't come in. I stepped back outside cautiously, and grabbed my cart. I walked up and down the aisles, keeping my eyes on the ceiling mirrors for any sight of her, but she seemed to have left.

Smart girl. But I have the feeling that we'll meet again.

What's the Word?

2008-01-18T07:51:00.000-05:00

Leroy stopped by after work to tell me about some of the changes. I'm not even going to lie - I was jealous. Why should he be the only one to get to move to the new building? You know, Rufus has a really expensive, nicely manicured lawn. Looks like I'm going to have to do a drive by. I could see it now - dead grass, rotten roses, tortured tulips - but that wouldn't be very nice of me would it? *sigh* I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

He kept looking out of the window like a stalker. Could he be looking for Candice? Of course he was. Leroy would usually call me about something like this over the phone. I'll have to put him out of his misery and invite him and Candice over one night for one of the upcoming fights.

I don't usually watch boxing, to me it's too much violence for too little reason. But lately I've found that if I put Christopher's head on whichever guy is getting pounded into the ring, it's much more bearable. (lol)

Leroy hung out for a while, then said he had to go. Poor thing, I think this is one of her nights to work at the club. I'll try to put in a good word for him. It's not like I really have anything else to do...

New Friends

2008-01-18T07:46:00.000-05:00

It's only been a couple of days and I'm about to go stir-crazy. I'm still taking Kara to the center (I'd have to pay them anyway). But I was able to find out something interesting.

I was walking down to the laundryroom the other day and just happened to stop in the lobby to pick up my mail. Ever alert, I tensed up when I heard someone walk into the building.

Imagine my surprise when I looked up to see Candice from the coffee shop. She tilted her head when she looks at my, as if she remembers me, too.

"Hi." I said.

"Hi." she said. "You work down by the Mocha Cafe don't you?"

I nodded. "We noticed that we hadn't seen you in a couple of days."

"Oh, I, ah, needed to take some leave. I'll be back in soon."

"Oh, okay."

"You live here now?" I asked. I know I hadn't seen her in here before.

"Well, yeah, kind of. My sister lives upstairs. I'm staying with her so I can save up for a condo."

"That's great. Good for you. I'm down on two with my daughter."

"Wow! Small world! I've got to get going, I work at a club sometimes in the evenings."

I waved to her. "Good for you. Well, I'll be seeing you around then."

She smiled. "See ya." She walked up a couple of stairs and then turned around. "Oh and wait until I tell Edward. He's always hoping that you'll come into the shop. I'll let him know you'll be back."

"Edward?" I didn't know an Edward.

"The geeky guy with the taped up glasses who works the register now."

Oh, yeah now I remember. The one with the incredible shrinking butt. "Oh, I remember him now. Tell him I said 'hello'."

"Sure. See ya." She walked off towards the elevator.

A small smile eased its' way across my face as I pulled out my cellphone to text a message to Leroy.

'Guess who's living in my building now?' I sent and snapped the phone closed. I can't wait to see his reaction.

It's all over but the fighting....

2008-01-18T07:09:00.000-05:00

I started walking back into the living room when I got a weird sensation. Stopping to look out of the window, I saw a shadowy figure materialize in front of the building. After the figure fully formed, I noticed it looked a lot like Chameleon, one of E-Klypse's buddies. I was about to run out the door, he was as big a punk as E-Klypse, when I saw someone else streak out the bushes after him. Strange, that one kind of looked like, Brice? Nah, it couldn't be. Was it? Whatever both of them were gone and that's all that matters.

I stepped back into the living room to find Leroy looking at his watch. "Hot Date?"

He shrugged and told me not really. We talked for a few more minutes until Kara came out to show me her module of the new molecule she'd discovered. That seemed to be his queue to go. I walked him to the door, making sure I checked the window again on my way to the door. The last thing he needed was to get jumped by someone who found out that he's not allowed to use his powers.

I can't wait to see what he's going to be like when he has kids of his own.

Nothing is what it seems...

2008-01-12T15:17:00.001-05:00

I didn't hear from Leroy last night. That's okay. I know he's got a lot of things on his mind right now. I figured I'd try to call him later on.

I started to keep Kara home but figured that it might be better for her to go ahead to school. That way, if for some reason I happen to run into Chris, he won't be able to get both of us at the same time and she'll be safe. That center is locked up tighter than Fort Knox.

I had just sat down a little after 12 when I heard someone at the door. Imagine my surprise when I looked out of the peep hole to find Neil standing outside my door. I leaned my head against the door. It was useless. I was going to have to cut him loose. Leroy could handle himself against Chris, but I didn't want to be responsible for anything happening to Neil.

I opened the door slowly. "Neil? What are you doing here?" I stepped back to let him in.

"Well, I stopped past your job this morning, and they said you went home yesterday on extended leave. I decided to stop by today to see if you were all right."

I sighed. Damn he looked good.

"Oh, yes. I'm fine. Um, it's my parents. They're here in town. I needed to take an extended leave to help them with something."

"Oh. Okay. As long as you're all right." He stepped forward to hug me and I took a step back. If he wrapped his arms around me, that would be all she wrote. "Look, Neil. We need to talk. Some things have happened lately." I took a deep breath. "I don't think it would be a good idea to pursue this relationship."

"What?" he frowned. "Look Terra, is this about the other night? I explained about that. I thought that was all behind us."

"Neil, it's not about the other night. But it does have to do with my other job."

I could tell he was pissed. "Can I use your bathroom?" he asked.

"Sure. Straight back at the end of the hall." I started pacing back and forth and heard another knock at the door.

I peeked out of the peephole to see Leroy standing in the hallway. I snatched the door open, happy to see that nothing had happened to him before I could give him the heads-up.

"It's about time you showed up." He walked into my apartment and sat down. I quickly gave him the 5 minute version of my conversation with Dispatch and let him know that he was seriously going to have to watch his back.

I felt overwhelmed at the expression on his face. Before I knew it, I was crying. Trust me, that's not something I do often. I don't think I've cried since before the lawyer told me that all of Christopher's money was tied up and I was flat broke.

Leroy leaned over to give me a brotherly hug and I started bawling on his shoulder. He patted me awkwardly on the back just as Neil walked out of the bathroom.

Oh, damn. I stepped back quickly from Leroy. "Neil, this is my friend Leroy. Leroy, this is Neil."

Neil's eyes narrowed for a moment before he stepped forward and offered his hand to Leroy. "Sup, man." Leroy returned his handshake.

"Well. I, um, guess I'd better be going." He said walking to the door. I followed him so I could lock the door behind him. He opened the door and took a step, then leaned back and kissed me on the cheek. "Bye Terra." he whispered, then he was gone.

A Little Confrontation for a Big Problem

2008-01-11T08:18:00.000-05:00

I stopped back past the office to gather up my things and to let Leroy know what was going on. He was going to have to make sure he watched his back. Christopher never took our separation well, and he was almost fanatic about Kara.

I went past my office first. I didn’t feel like talking to anybody right now. I decided to call Brice once I got home and see what else I could find out about the totems. Once I had gathered everything I went past my supervisor’s office and let him know that due to a family emergency, I was going to need to work from home for a while.

He looked at me kind of strange for a minute, but just nodded. I really didn’t think he wanted to press the issue and have me just take off and not do work. It's not like he knew how to run the reports,anyway. So what could he really say? I stopped by Leroy’s cubicle to give him the heads up, but he wasn’t there. I was about to leave him a note when I turned around and noticed Sasha standing at the entrance.

“Leroy went to a meeting.” Okay that cancels out the note. She’d probably take it.

“Oh. Okay, thanks.”

She blocked my way and wouldn’t let me out of the cubicle. “Girl, you are so lucky to have a man like Leroy.”

“Hmm. Am I? I’m gonna take your word for it.”

“Though what he sees in you in don’t know. How did you wind up hooking up?” She leaned against the wall. “It was all those ‘meetings’ you guys were having, wasn’t it?” She evidently didn’t seem to notice that I was looking at her like she’d lost her mind. “You’d better hold on tight, if I see you’re not treating him right I’m gonna step in and grab him.”

My mouth opened and closed twice before I could get any words out. Was this for real?

“Ah…yeah. Look Sasha, I’ve got to go." Wait till I tell Leroy about this! I stepped around her, while whipping out my cell phone to send him a text message to come over to my place later on. This office is going to hell in a hand basket.

Disturbing News.....

2008-01-10T15:23:00.000-05:00

I arrived at Headquarters with 5 minutes to spare. (Yes, I flew. The subway doesn’t go there.) When I first walked into Dispatch’s office, he didn’t look up.

“Okay Dispatch. What’s going on?”

He rubbed his hands over his face as he looked up at me. “Have a seat.”

“I’d rather stand.”

“Trust me,” he said shaking his head, “You’ll want to sit down for this.”

Now he’s got me curious. I go ahead and get comfortable in one of the chairs in front of him.

“I need you to keep a low profile for awhile…” He started.

“Why?”

“I can think of a couple of reasons,” he muttered.

“Look, if this is about all that crazy crap yesterday-,” I stopped as he shook his head.

“It’s not. Trust me, this is something else entirely.” He picked up the pencil and started tapping on the desk. “Terra, you’re in danger.”

I looked at him in disbelief. “From who? Leroy? Brice? Please! I can handle them.”

He shook his head. “Terra, look. Just take a few days off, stay home with Kara. Just let us take care of few things in the meantime and we’ll let you know when it’s safe.”

My eyes narrowed. What was going on here? In all the years we had working together I had never seen dispatch this agitated.

“Dispatch, what’s going on?”

“We just want to make sure nothing happens to you.”

“We? I pull my weight around here like everyone else. If there’s something going on then you need to let me know!”

“For one, it seems that certain rumors about you reached your ex-husband at the prison.”

There goes that chill down my spine again. “What rumors?”

“The ones about you and Leroy.” Damn that was fast, I just found out myself today!

“So what?”

He stood up and came around the desk. “Your husband broke out of prison last night.”

I jumped out of my seat. “He what!” I started pacing back and forth. “That’s the last thing I need right now.” I looked back over at Dispatch. “Christopher’s smart, but it’s not like he has any special powers. I took him out once, I can take him out again.”

“It’s not that simple. It seems Christopher has been having someone smuggle supplies in to him. For the past few months, he’s been experimenting with several different isotopes. His roommate says that Christopher would talk about how once he completed his experiment you would all be together again. One big happy family.”

I sat back down in the chair and closed my eyes. I leaned my head back as a crazy thought occurred to me. Christopher never was wrapped too tight. “Don’t tell me. Please don’t say it.” I muttered.

“Terra, it seems he’s found a way to duplicate your powers. He’s more dangerous than ever. And we think he’s coming for you and Kara.”

“So like I said. Just lay low for awhile and watch over Kara.” I wanted to argue, but maybe he was right. I stood up to leave. “Fine. I’ll lay low.” I was about to leave out the door when something occurred to me. “What are the other reasons?”

“Just concentrate on that one for right now.” The expression on his face told me that he wasn’t going to tell me anything else.

Not so surprised....

2008-01-10T11:54:00.000-05:00

Leroy just walked in my office and told me the latest on the “Ron” rumor mill. Supposedly, I’m Leroy’s girlfriend and he was giving Brice the beat down ‘cause he’s been watching me. WHAT THE @*&#! And these dumb broads in the office believe it. Really, I shouldn’t be surprised. It was just a matter of time. We do usually come up missing at the same times, and you know how small minds think.

But what surprised me the most is that the rumor came from Ron. He’s a pain in the ass, but his rumors are usually on the mark. His source must be slipping…..

I guess the most disturbing thing though, is that he’s been placed on suspension. I’ve never heard of anyone in the Urban 30 being placed on suspension before. I don’t know what to say to him. He looks so disturbed by everything that I want to give him a big hug, but it would be just my luck that somebody would come walking into my office. Next thing you know, rumors would be floating around that we were getting busy on the desk.

I’m going have to talk to Brice. Since Leroy was suspended, that leaves me to try to get some information out of him. Lord knows it’s gonna be hard enough to keep the two of them apart.

I was about to let Leroy know that I would pursue the issue of the totems with Brice when the phone rang. Oh hell. Dispatch was calling.

I took a deep breath and answered the phone. “Yes.”

“Terra, I need you to come down to headquarters.” Damn, was I going get suspended too? “It’s not about yesterday, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“So what is it?”

He was silent for a moment which sent chills up my spine. “I’ll tell you when you get here. I’ll see you in 15.” He said and disconnected the call.

I looked at Leroy who was standing there looking puzzled.

“Dispatch wants me to be at Headquarters in 15 minutes.”

Unprofessional Behavior - Terra

2008-01-09T15:38:00.000-05:00

Leroy and I appeared at Brice's office door.

Leroy said, “Brice, we really need to talk.” (Leroy is being stern, almost as if Brice were the bad guy in his eyes.)

Brice looks up and responds nonchalantly, "sure."

I felt Brice trying to scan me. I needed to keep him blocked until me and Leroy got to the bottom of this. "Look.” I said. “We don't want this to seem like some kind of interrogation. But we need to know what happened on top of the building the other day. I looked over at Leroy. "Show him the totem."

Leroy held out the totem he received. "What can you tell us about this?" I asked.

Leroy asked Brice, "Does this look at all familiar? Or perhaps you can imagine another one just like it... with your face on it.”

Brice clenched his fists and stood to look at me and Leroy, eye to eye. Then Enigma Arose-"I don't know from whence these trinkets have arisen, but I will relay this to you and whomever else dare trifle with my pursuit in the knowledge of their beginnings-Don't! I will uncover their origins and when I do, the person, persons or whatever else will know I am trailing them! Now is their anything else that Wonderwoman or Superman would like to accuse me of, or have your thirsts for tabloid-like fodder been quenched?"

I thought: 'Wonderwoman?' 'Superman?' Who in the hell did he think he was? "Brice, or Enigma, or whoever the hell you are today, put your ego in your backpocket and listen. This affects all of us. Whoever's making these totems isn't just after you. This is beyond JUST YOU!" I poked a finger into his chest as I leaned over the desk at him. I had to step away for a moment to cool off. "Look. Nobody's trying to attack you. Nobody's jumping on you. But we all need to work together on this. As a team. Like we're supposed to be."

Brice sneered: "A team?!? A TEAM?!?!?!?...that's absolutely laughable."

Unfortunately, patience is not one of Leroy's qualities. Leroy walked up to Brice, almost nose to nose. "If I find out that you have anything to do with my friends getting hurt, I'm gonna tear you in two pieces."

I don’t know what Brice said that made Leroy clench his right fist as he stepped back to close his office door with his left. "Maybe you need to call Dispatch and ask him why he brought you here, because as of this moment you are no longer wanted." Leroy flexed every muscle for intimidation. I could feel the tension.

I tried to control myself. It had been so long since I let myself go completely, because it was so hard to pull back. Even when fighting I tried to restrain myself and only use my strength. My head snapped back as my eyes changed to a deep, hard green. I could feel my skin tightening as my tentacles slithered from under my clothes. I didn't need this to happen to me at work. But the thought of my other friends being in danger was just too much.

"Brice," I said as I felt myself losing control. "Do we really have to go through this?" I whispered. "Please...let's work together."

Brice kept his eye on Leroy and spoke to me. "Terra...we don't have to do anything, but you need to get your showboating counterpart off my back or the whole neighborhood will quake!"

Leroy bristled. "What, you afraid of a lil' vibration..."

Brice zoned a message to me. "Get your boy or it will all end here!"

Ean walked in just then saying he had gotten a call from Dispatch. Leroy and Brice werenose to nose. Ean demanded an explanation.

Leroy said, "It's already over..." Leroy grabbed Brice by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Cracks formed at the impact.

Ean is in disbelief that this brouhaha is all over a little totem. He warned both Brice and Leroy that he will take his gloves off and shut both of them down for quite awhile if they don't start acting like professionals, but then Leroy looks like he's going to hit Ean, too. The next thing I knew, Ean’s left glove comes off.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then the glove goes back on and Ean pulls out his cameraphone.

The building began to shake a low rumble and Brice’s eyes glazed red. He grabbed Leroy's wrists. There was a look of shock on Leroy’s face. Brice snarled. "One day you will learn that my concession to your lead is truly not because of who you are or what you believe you can do. It is my role. Can the tiger not rip the Lion apart limb for limb? Does the wingspan of the Condor not eclipse that of the Eagle? Can the venom of a rattlesnake not paralyze the great Anaconda? Do not test the power of those beneath you for they are the support upon which you draw during battle. Do not attempt to extinguish the wind beneath your wings for your flight will end abruptly!"

I saw Leroy’s eyes roll to the back of his head and he started to grind his teeth. "You want to raise the stakes... Let's do it." He released the explosion of sonic energy directly at Brice. The backlash shatters the windows and blows Brice’s computer.

He looked down at Brice. "You look like you the anaconda just crushed the breath from your lungs." Then he picked up his desk to hit him with. "There is a reason the lion is king, b!t@h!"

Brice looked up and said, "Yeah...because he hasn't been tested. Let's do this." The whole building was shaking and people were beginning to leave out in a panic. The desk Leroy was holding began to shake in his hands. Brice walked over to him. Leroy dropped the desk and began to throw blows. Brice matched him blow for blow.

"Dammit! Enough is enough! This shit ends now!" My tentacles extended and grabbed each one of them by the neck, lifting them several feet from the ground. "You two handle that macho bullshit at another time." I lifted them away from each other and sat them across the room from each other. "Leroy. Take a walk before we don't have a job to come back to. I don't know about you guys, but I need the paycheck. I pulled myself back together as both gritted their teeth. I know they both wanted at each other, but that was gonna have to be another time, another place.

Once I had myself together, I walked over to Brice and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Will you talk to me?"

Everyone's eye's shifted to Leroy as he grabbed the totem and walked out.

Brice snarled, "Your boy needs to calm that sh!t down. I am not gonna disrespect his role, but I will be damned if he comes in here treating me like some villain in need of correction. He does nothing that would warrant a fear for his power, in my heart. He knows that and it burns him. He will know that until the day he dies, for if I go first, I will continually whisper it to him at night!" He slammed his fist into desk. Everyone looked up again, this time it wasn't at Brice. It was at Leroy again as he charged toward Brice!

Leroy walked quickly back into the office where Brice stood next to me. We both looked a bit shocked to see Leroy come back, and I wondered how much damn space did Ean have on his camera phone. Just as quick as he re-entered the office, he stepped up to Brice, pushed me to the side and planted his foot right into Brice's chest. The kick forced Brice through the wall. I see Leroy was determined to get the last word.

"See me on the play ground later, school girl...", he called out as he left the office.

The Plot thickens

2008-01-08T15:12:00.000-05:00

Leroy wasn't in when I got to work. As a matter of fact, I got in pretty early so there weren't too many people at work anyway. This office has always been kind of lax, which is why I like it here. They're too busy doing their own thing to bother me. I could never have gotten this kind of peace and quiet on my home planet. Everybody there is hyper.

I sat down and thought of how I was going to ask Leroy what's been bothering him. I don't want to step on his toes, but I am concerned. I booted up my system and started to work until I figured he'd be in.

I was deep into a report when Leroy came into my office. He held out his hand and showed me a small totem that had been sent to him in the mail. He explained to me that he had also found one of Brice the day of the fight, but it disappeared off his desk. I'm guessing this is what's been keeping him so distracted.

Holding it, I got a strange feeling. There was a lot of power in this totem. I turned it back and forth, thinking it was in some way familiar, wondering what it's true purpose was.

“Do you think we need to talk to Brice, now?” he asked, breaking my concentration.

I nodded. "Yeah, we do." But still I hesitated for a moment. For some reason, I think Leroy is still holding something back from me.

I hate going down to Brice's office. He tends to be extremely suspicious of people. But if somebody was making totems of people, we needed to get to the bottom of it.

Follow ups and New Plans

2008-01-07T15:36:00.000-05:00

By the time I got home tonight, Neil had left an voicemail on my phone, asking if we could try to hook up and talk about some things. I didn't want to ask my neighbor to watch Kara again so soon after the last time - I love her dearly, but she has to be taken in small doses.

While I'm fixing dinner, I'm thinking about whether or not I want him to come over. He's the first guy I've seriously dated since I left Christopher. By the time I finished cooking, I decided that we would have to work things out over the phone. Hopefully he'll understand.

I helped Kara with her bath and let her play on the computer for awhile - after issuing a very stern warning about trying to hack into the DOJ's computers to get information on her father - and sat down to place the return call to Neil.

He picked up the phone on the first ring. He was breathing heavily as if he had been working out. That would account for all those muscles I saw bulging under his shirt.

"Hi Neil."

"Hey Terra." Man, his voice is just fantastic. "I wanted to apologize again for the other night. I shouldn't have left like that."

"True...very true. But had you waited I could have told you that it was someone calling me from my other job."

"Oh. I thought it might have been, um....."

"Another man?"

"Yeah. So, um, can we try this again? And you put your other job on notice?"

I laughed and thought about it. Why not? I agreed and we went ahead and set up our arrangements to hook up later on in the week.

*sigh* I really shouldn't have even started this relationship. How will I explain to him about what I really am? And about my ex?

I sat down and took a deep breath. I could hear Kara still tapping away on the keyboard. While she was still occupied, I could move on to my next problem.

I need to try to talk to Leroy tomorrow. He's been unusually quiet. Not that he's somebody that's loud and rowdy, but he usually stops in to say hi. He even took off Friday without saying anything in advance, even though he was filling in for Bill. But more than anything, the fact that he didn't call to make fun of the mayor is a flag that his mind is elsewhere.

A little "ME" time

2008-01-07T10:01:00.000-05:00

Yes. Through a little maneuvering, I managed to get out of the madhouse (work) a couple of hours early. My first impulse was to head straight home when I stopped and asked thought for a minute.

"Why am the hell am I rushing?"

It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I don't have to pick up Kara until 6, and it's not like I have a man I'm rushing home to. I turned my head and caught sight of the Mocha Bean Cafe out of the corner of my eye. Perfect. I need to unwind anyway. With all the confusion going on in the office, I could use a little me time. I have a feeling that the upcoming days are going to be a little hectic.

Between the superhero business, Kara, running reports, and Neil, (We're not even gonna add my parents into the mix) it's been real rough.

I walked into the shop and the first thing I did was breathe in. I can't drink coffee, but I love the smell of fresh coffee beans. It was the perfect time of day. It was basically empty except for a few stragglers. I threw my stuff on a table in the back (just in case one of my co-workers should pop in) and walked over to the counter.

I noticed that the girl Leroy liked was working in the back making coffee. Hmm. I'm guessing maybe it's a promotion for her. There's several new faces in the shop. A couple had terrible customer service skills and needed to go. One of the new guys was a little distracted as he walked over to the register to take my order. He immediately started looking down at the register to figure out which keys to push.

"Welcome to the Mocha Bean Cafe, may I take your order?" He looked up at the end of his little speech, and I realized that I had seen him somewhere before.

"Hi!" I smiled at the dazed look on his face. He still didn't respond. "We kind of met the other day, when you weren't feeling well."

"Oh - oh yes. Thanks for your help."

"It's wasn't a problem. Are you better now?"

He just looked at me and nodded. I see he's not a man of a lot of words. But that's okay.

"I'll just have an hot green tea with honey."

He nodded again. "Sure." He quickly went to make the tea. While he was making my tea, something started bothering me. Not that I was checking him out or anything like that, but wasn't his butt a little bigger the other day? Maybe it was just my imagination. I did have a lot on my mind that morning.

He quickly brought it over to me with a shy look on his face. I smiled at him again as I paid for it and told him to take care. I had just made my way over to my little hide out in the corner when I something told me to look up. Three guys walked into the coffee shop with their hats pulled low, scarves up to their noses, and their hands stuffed down into their pockets.

Now, I know good and damn well that on my one free afternoon, these dumbasses are not coming in to rob the coffee shop....

Afterwards....

2008-01-04T17:36:00.000-05:00

Leroy and I didn't get a chance to talk until after lunch. We stopped by to pick up our messages from the front desk. I try not to give people my direct line, they tend to call you for everything, whether you work with it or not.

I noticed Brice walk in and immediately went on the defense. Hopefully, he didn't catch too much of what I was thinking. I had a really bad experience with a past member of the Urban 30 reading folks minds, and he caught some thoughts that shouldn't have been public. Since then, I always check with Dispatch when we bring a new member onboard to check and see if there's anything that I need to watch out for.

I keep hearing people mentioning stuff about Debbie leaving. She was cool with me, I'm gonna be sorry to see her go. She was one of the few people I talked to at the job. I stopped by my office to check my emails before heading back over to Leroy's office. He wanted to show me something he picked up during the fight yesterday. He was livid when he got to his desk and found out whatever it was he wanted to show me was missing. It took a while for me to calm him down and get him to chill out talking about the Urban. The last thing we need is for everybody to find out about all of the superheroes working undercover on the job. We'd lose the little bit of peace and quiet that we do have.

Imagine my surprise when I find out that Neil has sent me an email. The big clucker. He could just as easily called me. But, I guess if I was in his in his shoes, I would have sent the email, too. This way, you get to say what you mean without getting a phone slammed down in your ear.

Suffice to say, it was a very nice apology email. Maybe I'll give him another chance. Just as soon as I find out why the President of the company is making this surprise visit.....

The Plot Thickens

2008-01-04T17:04:00.000-05:00

You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think somebody was cloning villians. There is no explanation that I can think of to have that many villians in one place at one time. Ean and I managed to get there before Leroy, not that it helped much. The odds evened out some once he got to fighting. I noticed Brice up on top of the building, but I didn't expect much. He's a strange bird. I've noticed him watching when Leroy and I talk. I keep getting feelings that something is off-balance with him.

Out the corner of my eye, I saw Brice hunch over then take off. Leroy signaled as he flew up to the roof to see what was going on with Brice, while Ean and I finished playing with our new toys.

We didn't get another chance to talk until the next day at work. We've got to find out what's going on with this guy.

Re-match

2007-12-30T14:49:00.000-05:00

Did I ever tell you what happened when I left the bar after my date with Neil? No?

Well it just so happens that I paid the bill (with the money he left of course!) and proceeded to make my way home. And just who did I happen to see hanging out in the line outside the club as I left? None other than E-Klypse. Did I mention that his real name is Byron? He needed his butt kicked for that alone.

Of course, E-Klypse and I had unfinished business, and what better time to finish it than the present? I ducked into the alley to make a quick costume switch. It worked to my advantage that he hadn't seen me yet.

Everyone started buzzing as I walked down the line towards him. He was partially turned around talking to some girl in a microdress so short that if she sneezed, she'd be arrested for indecent exposure.

So ever so nicely, I walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Before he could turn around fully, I clocked him with a right that sent his punk butt sprawling into the building across the street.

I heard all the exclamations behind me. This was a touchy situation. You have to be very careful when approaching super villians out of costume. People tend to think you're just walking up and whipping somebody's ass for no reason.

But knowing E-Klypse the way I do, he immediately sent out a sunburst. For some reason, I think that's his only special power. But does it bother me? I'm an earth element. I love the sun. One day he'll figure that out.

Anyway, I was really supercharged thanks to his little tantrum. We proceeded to throw down, but this time, I didn't have the same issues that I did last time. Which meant about 15 minutes later, he was out cold. The police pulled up and realized who he was. That saved me a lot of trouble. Looking at my watch, I realized it was getting late. I needed to get back to Kara.

Just as I was about to lift off, the hoochie E-Klypse (Byron-what were his parents thinking?)was talking too asked, "Hey! What did he do?"

I didn't feel like going into a long list of his transgressions with a civilian, so I improvised. "He's late on his child support payments for all six of his kids."

The expression on her face was worth it. Humans can be so gullible.

The Holiday Party - The other side

2007-12-24T16:18:00.000-05:00

That was a hell of a Xmas party.

Karl had already told me what his plans were, and I added a little something extra to lower inhibitions. I figured since he wasn't going to be here and was going to take the blame for it anyway, I figured I'd have a little fun.

It took about exactly five minutes after the punch was put out before everyone became extremely mellow. I saw Leroy when he finally got to the party. Looks like my salve had him looking like new.

I stood up to catch him before he drank the punch, but I was too far away. I'd never get to him in time. The last thing I needed was him getting drunk and starting to fly around the ballroom. Luckily, Karl cut him off before he got to the punch.

As the night progressed, you would have thought you had walked into one of the most raunchy clubs in the red-light district. By the time I stood up to announce the evening entertainment, the 19 year-old intern was under the table with the VP's wife. I don't know what the were doing, but there was definitely a whole lot of shaking going on.

The girls started singing, and I noticed that Leroy was so mesmerized by the time Rona got to her strip tease, he didn't see the President of the company leaving the room arm-in-arm with Samantha in marketing. (I actually saw them later on in the hallway looking rather rumpled).

Leroy walked over to me completely amazed while everyone lost their minds. When did the Electric Slide become a bump and grind? I think Leroy, Karl, and I were the only ones fully dressed and sober.

Rona must be an exotic dancer part-time, because she was working a table in the back. And I'll be damned if the girl didn't have enough money on the table to pay her rent for the next three months. Twice I looked over and saw her giving some serious lap dances.

I've always thought that Humans were strange creatures, and this just confirmed my theory. By the time Karl made his announcement, I was more than ready to go.

I didn't know if I was going to be able to face my co-workers this morning without bursting into peales of laughter, but amazingly, most of them called in for the rest of the week.

First Date

2007-12-19T20:12:00.001-05:00

After the drama with my parents, I needed to let off some steam. Just my luck all the bad guys seem to have hunkered down for the holidays. I'm pacing back and forth and the phone rings. Now, I haven't had very good luck with phone calls either, but I go ahead and answer anywhere.
"Hello?"

"Hey Terra,"

Well, well, well. What have we here. It's Neil. My coffee date. Just the distraction I need. Neil invites me out for a late night drink. Hmm. We might be on to something here. I quickly call my upstairs neighbor, Charmaine. On rare occasions, she's baby-sitted for me in a crunch. Lucky for me, she was happy to do it. I quickly dressed and got out of the house before something else could happen.

We met down at Shorty's, a little bar far away from the usual hangout of some of my team. Some of them are beyond nosy. We're sitting there, drinking, having a good time. When - you got it - my cell goes off. Now, I would ignore it, but I've got some bills to pay, so I need to be on the tab for this one. So I figure what I'll do is this: I'll wait for Dispatch to find someone else to answer the call.

Well, it seems nobody else wants to answer the call either. The phone rings twice more. By now, Neil's looking at me kind of strange. "Do you need to get that?"

I shake my head. "No it's okay," I answered as the phone went off again. This time it was a text message. Once again, I tried to ignore it. But unfortunately, nobody can hide from Dispatch. Within the next five minutes, I heard the bar's phone ring. Somebody called out, "Hey, is there somebody named Terra Stone in here?"

That's impossible. If I didn't know better, I'd think he had shoved a recording device in some unmentionable area of our bodies. I'd heard horror stories before that dispatch could find people anywhere, but I'd never believed it, until now.

I walked over to the bar and grabbed the phone.

"Dispatch, I swear whatever it is, it had better be damned good. And how the hell did you find me anyway?"

"Number One, it's beyond good, it's excellent. Number 2, it tracked down the signal in your cellphone."

"Next time I'll leave the damn thing home."

He laughed. "Look, we need your special powers for this one, nobody else can handle it."

That's what he always says when nobody else will answer. This is supposed to be the Urban 30. So you mean to tell me that out of thirty people, he can't find anybody else to handle this?"

Dispatch proceeded to give the details for the job. Sighing, I walk back to the table, trying to figure out how I'm gonna break the news to Neil that I've got to go. To my surprise, when I got back to the table, I found it empty, with money for the check and a note.

"Terra, give me a call when you get things together."

Damn. Just when things were starting to look up.

Unexpected Visitiors

2007-12-19T11:24:00.000-05:00

I always thought I was pretty lucky in the fact that I don't have to deal with parents or in-laws like most humans. Considering my Ex's parents are dead and mine are light years away, I get to raise my daughter in peace. Or so I thought.

Imagine my surprise when I open the door to find my extra hyper, super sensitive, my way or the highway folks standing on my doorstep. I feel a headache coming on.

"Terra! We've finally found you." My mother stepped gingerly across the doorstep, with her face screwed up like she smelled something bad. "What a quaint...what do you call this?"

"An apartment mother." I answered. I was already counting on her to get indignant and leave before they saw Kara. My father walked in, and went straight to the plants. Typical.

I asked them how they managed to find me, and they told me about the stories that had been floating around for years about the sprout (me) who had hitchhiked to Earth. Considering I came up missing at the time, they kinda figured out it was me.

I had just turned to my mother to figure out why she hadn't started in on her tirade yet, and saw Kara standing in the doorway of her room. Kara walked over to me and held my hand. I have to give it to her, it takes a lot to through my child off balance.

"Mommy who are these people?"

took a deep breath before I replied. "They're your grandparents." I don't know whose face showed more shock, theirs or Kara's. My father immediately walked over to Kara and looked at her. "She's half-human."

No shit Sherlock. "Yes. She is." My mother's face started looking like she was sucking on a lemon. "This is why you left home? To copulate with humans, and run wild, like some, some WEED!"

I was gonna have to get this broad out of my apartment before she blew a gasket. If she went off, this whole city was gonna be in trouble. Did I mention that my mother controlled lightning? One well placed bolt and BOOM! We're all going to hell in a hand basket. One little piece at a time.

I looked over at my father. He can usually calm her down. I just hoped that this time wouldn't be the exception. You see, they were trying to marry me off to this guy back home. He was alright looking I guess, but his thing was water. Could you imagine? Puddles everywhere, wet sloppy kisses, and I didn't EVEN want to think about sex with him. My parents didn't care, he was very prominent within our government, and my mother was one of the biggest schemers of all time.

Now thru this entire tirade, Kara had remained quiet.

I heard a squelching noise coming across the floor to see Kara's pet easing across the floor. Now, mind you, Kara doesn't have my powers, but she's a doozy all on her own. Her pet was a live Ficus. I saw my father's face soften (did I mention he has a thing for plants?) While my mother's looked like a thundercloud.. (did I mention she doesn't like humans?)

Without another word, she grabbed my father by the hand and disappeared. It wasn't much of a confrontation, but it could have been ten times worse. But even worse, I knew it wasn't over.

Disturbance

2007-12-18T08:21:00.000-05:00

Okay this is how it happened.

Last night, somewhere around nine, I was sitting at home, relaxing with Kara (monitoring her on the internet) when the phone rings. Now, I know it's not Dispatch, cause I already told him don't call me tonight on threat of Death.

Curious, I answer the phone, and this a**hole starts rambling on the telephone about how he's calling me to collect on a debt, and how I'm about to be charged with fraud and all this other crazy stuff.

When I owe a bill, I know I owe it. I don't need some dimwit calling me making threats. Talking about sending me to jail and other crazy crap. Who does he think he is! You don't call people, especially not that late, talking about a bill. That's just wrong.

Whenever I do get a call like that, it makes me want to go the the prison and slap my ex.

He didn't realize who he was messing with did he?

First off, he interrupted my quiet time with Kara.

Secondly, you don't make collection calls to superheroes.

In other words, I'm definitely the wrong person to call with this kind of nonsense.

I promptly hung up up on him and called Leroy.

"You got me."

He always answers like that.

"What's Tellico's number?" I asked.

"Why couldn't you just call dispatch?"

"Cause I don't need Tony asking why." He sighed then quickly rattled off the phone number. "Is that it?". I answered yes and told him I'd see him at work tomorrow.

Tellico is one of the Urban 30. His specialty is travelling along the phone lines. And he's super fast now that they've got fiber optics.

I dialed and waited patiently for him to answer. "Yo Tell."

Next thing I knew he was standing in my living room. "'Sup, Terra"

I shook my head. It did no good to scold him about arriving unannounced. He just couldn't seem to help himself.

"I need a favor." I proceeded to explain to him about the nasty collection agent. By the end of my description he had a wide smile on his face. "Dial the number. This is gonna be good." I dialed and watched in amazement as he dived into the phone line.

About 30 minutes later, my phone rings. Before I can get the receiver to my ear, out pops Tellico, grinning from ear to ear.

"They won't be calling you again."

I smiled. "You didn't give him a heart attack did you?"

"Naw"he replied. "He was a little surprised to see somebody jump out of his phone, but he's alright."

"So I won't have to worry about him calling me acting crazy again?"

"Nope. As a matter of fact, your debt is paid in full. He paid for it himself." By now, my mouth is hanging open. "He what?" Tellico grins. "As a matter of fact, he said to have a happy holiday and to let him know if there's anything he can do for you. Ever."

I smiled. "I owe you big time." He waved as he punched in his number and jumped back in the phone.

Good. Somebody who acts like that deserves to be scared silly. I would've liked the heart attack, but I'm trying to remember that I'm a superhero to save lives, not end them.

Now that's what I call teamwork. Still.....

Pieces of the Puzzle

2007-12-17T07:17:00.000-05:00

Here I am sitting in my office, enjoying the peace and quiet.

This is a rare moment for me, cause something's always happening. Either I'm getting a call about some supervillian, or I'm getting a call about my daughter from the Director of the Daycare (oh, joy!), or I'm getting a call from my villanous ex-husband (which luckily are collect so I can always use the excuse that I can't afford the call and hang up, which isn't far from truth)
Not too many people at this company have offices, but I raised so much hell about needing quiet for all the analysis and reporting work that I have to do that they finally gave in. So what was the very first thing I did when I moved in here? Did I hang up paintings, or place little pictures of my daughter all over the place? Nope.

I locked the door and took a ten minute nap.

Most people leave me alone to work my statistical magic, but this morning, Daisy decides to make a quick drive by, (she literally ran in and out of my office in two seconds flat) placing a two inch stack of papers in my tray. Now, since our last incident, she makes it a point to avoid me. I'm surprised she even came to work today. Sighing, I reached over to grab the stack and see what it was. What in the world could HR need me to do now? The only good thing about their whole department is that they almost never have to bother me.

Curious, I flipped through the stack. Health Insurance open season.

Considering I'm not human in the first place, the last thing I need is some quack trying to figure out why I have four left ventricles. The same with Kara. She's at least half human, but I still don't want to go there. I grabbed a pen and immediately started opting out of everything when I happened to run into a piece of paper in the stack that I don't think I was meant to see.

In my hot little hands, I happen to have a copy of an advanced internet background check. Now, I'm not talking about one of the ones that gives you two or three people and you have to guess who the one you want is, I mean one that tracks down everything you've done since birth. I scanned down the page a little more and realized that this one had been run recently on Karl, the new guy. And it looked like he had been paying for his little bondage sessions by credit card. American Express to be exact. Hmm, I hope his wife's not the one who pays the bills.

I'm sitting here and thinking that I really should call somebody to let them know their mistake, but then I figured, "nah". They'd notice it was missing eventually. So I kept looking to see if I could find out who had requested the report, and I came across some things that left me absolutely amazed. (Four hundred dollars for leather diaper? This boy had some serious issues! And this was the company posterchild?)

I know our HR department didn't pull it the report, because if that was the case, I'd have never gotten a job. I mean let's face it, I put a whole new meaning to the term illegal alien.

I was almost at the end of the report before I realized who bought it. As I stared at the name on the paper a lot of questions were finally answered.

I immediately picked up the phone to call Leroy. So what it was 7:30 and he didn't usually get up till 8:30? I was pretty sure that he'd be wide awake when I told him that I'd found out how Ron in Procurement was getting his information. He was in cahoots with somebody Leroy and I had been after for a long time.

Hackin' Harry.

Coffee Date

2007-12-14T15:33:00.001-05:00

Against my better judgement, I decided to meet Neil for coffee. I figured it would be for the best if I did it early in the day, before lunch, when I stand more of chance of my co-workers seeing me. So I dressed in my shortest professional suit, since my legs are my best feature, threw on a little bit of makeup (all natural, of course), and waited anxiously for 10:00, the time notorious around the city for coffee breaks.

He told me that he was going to be wearing a black suit, with a paisley tie. Like that didn't describle 50 other men wandering around this time of day. Luckily, he spotted me before I was able to pick him out. And I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. He was on the tall side, about 5'11 with a butter-brown complexion, medium brown eyes, and a nice smile.

So, we ordered our drinks and found a table in the back where we could talk in peace. He seemed to be very intelligent which was good, since I can't stand dumb, goofy men. He's drinking coffee, and I'm sipping away on my green tea. I started to really relax and enjoy myself, for a moment I could almost believe that I wouldn't have to jump up in the middle of the conversation to go knock the hell out of some fool trying to take over the city.

He placed his hand on mine. I looked deep into his eyes and actually thought about going out on a nice quiet date, when out the corner of my eye I see Leroy walk into the store. Oh Hell. He's the last person I wanted to see me.

Imagine my surprise when he walks over to the counter and starts grinning down at the sales girl. Leroy's trying to get his mack on! I was so busy being nosy, I almost forgot I was at the table with Neil. Here he is trying to throw all his little superfriends at me and he's trying to mack the coffee girl.

It's on.

The New Kid on the Block

2007-12-14T11:33:00.000-05:00

Okay, let's talk about our sometimey partner, Ean. He seems like an alright guy, but I'm sorry to say that he's already starting out with a few strikes against him in my book.

1. He made the mistake of trying to be nice to Kara. He tried to offer her a lollipop, but Miss Thing proceeded to break down the chemical content, caloric intake, and the effect of sugar on the enamel of your teeth. Let's just say, he won't try that again.

2. And speaking of teeth? His teeth. He's one of those people who smiles and shows bicuspids, molars, the whole nine yards. It's just a little too sinister for me. Reminds me too much of my ex.

3. Him and Leroy are a little too buddy-buddy. Now, I know what you're gonna say. I'm jealous. NOT! Leroy's cool with me, he's like a little brother (well, a BIG little brother) and until I meet the man who has absolutely no aspirations for world domination or running around in a pair of spandex trying to save this crazy world? - all I'm gonna say is have batteries, will travel.

4. You never know if he's gonna help or not. Prime example: There was one time he was supposed to have been flying with me, but then he had the nerve to tell me he was scared of heights. Then when we argued and I told him he wasn't fast enough to run to the scene, he asked what made me think he was gonna run. He told me he was gonna catch a cab and meet me there. And granted, he did show up, with a cup of latte' in hand, leaning on a lamppost after everything was over.

Something about him is just off. I'm definitely gonna watch my back around him.

The King of Pain

2007-12-13T18:26:00.000-05:00

So here I am, half working, half chatting with Neil, this guy I met through E-Harmony and I dare not tell Leroy. He'll never let me hear the end of it. He keeps trying to set me up with guys he knows, but they're all superheroes.

Neil and I have been chatting for a couple of weeks, trading jokes back and forth. For now, we seem to be getting along fine. But with my luck in men, that could change real quick.

I was enjoying myself until Daniel, the intern for my department, comes in and closes the door. "Guess what I just heard?" he asked running over to my desk. I quickly minimized my screen. Some of the things Neil was hinting at were not for young eyes.

"I heard that the new guy Karl, is into bondage." I know my eyes nearly popped from my head. There's no way they couldn't have.

You have to understand. Karl was this little ivy league yuppie that the office just hired to improve their chances at getting a grant. Considering the poor boy just started on Monday, I really didn't think that he had gotten so friendly with anyone that he just blurted something like that out. You'd have to see him to understand what I mean: Blond hair, blue eyes, slim build, with perfectly capped teeth. His wife, (he has picture of the two of them together on his desk) is pretty much the same. They look more like brother and sister than husband and wife. And to put the icing on the cake, she's expecting!

Strictly out of curiosity I asked "What kind of bondage? Is he beating somebody's ass, or is he getting his ass kicked?"

I don't think I've ever seen Daniel laughing so hard. "He's likes getting his ass kicked. And check this out." By now he's laughing so hard he's about to pee on himself. "They said his dominatrix name is Big Bertha." Now normally, I try not to get involved with the rumors in this office (though we have had some spicy ones), but this was too good to pass up. I had Daniel quickly fill me in on the rest of the so called "details" and sent him back to work.

A few minutes later, I happened to look up and see Leroy walk by my office coming back from a meeting, (did I mention that Leroy's always in a meeting?) when I see this crazy expression on his face. I started to call him, but then again, I've been in meetings with Ron. He was gonna need a few minutes.

So, I go back to chatting with Neil, who's trying to talk me into going out with him. I'm toying around with the idea, but thoughts of him and Kara meeting give me hives. I'm trying to figure out how to let Neil down gently, and talk him into starting with a cup of coffee when Leroy walks into my office and closes the door. "I am so sick of Ron. Him and the new guy Karl got into it in the meeting today. I bet by the end of the day Ron will have started a rumor about him."

"You're late." I said crossing my arms. "That rumor surfaced while you guys were in your meeting." From what I could understand, Ron must have hit the grind as soon as this poor kid walked in the office. How does he do it?

I cringed when Leroy pulled his arm back and looked like he was gonna hit something. Luckily for me, he was able to pull himself together. One good punch from him, and this little raggedy building would fall apart. Hold on. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea after all? Maybe I should egg him on a little more.

So I proceeded to give him some of the other details. "He supposedly has this dominatrix named Big Bertha that ties him up and spanks him. She's a very statuesque 6'2, coal black, and has blond cornrows."

"Did you say blond cornrows?" Leroy started to look really strange for a minute before running out. "I'll call you later." he said. How in the hell does Ron find all of this stuff out?

All I can say is, his days are definitely numbered.

What Christmas Spirit?

2007-12-11T18:20:00.000-05:00

I had to hear Leroy's mouth about not showing up at his house to decorate over the weekend. I would have really loved to go, but him and Kara don't always get along so hot. Kara has some of my powers, (even at her early age), but unfortunately, she's got her daddy's brain. Trust me when I say this is a lethal combination.

The Director of the Daycare center called me into her office when I went to pick up Kara on Friday. Imagine my surprise when she told me the while the other children were sleeping, the teachers got together with the director for a quick meeting about the Christmas party. Kara managed to sneak out of the room, into the Director's office, and managed to hack into the database for the Bureau of Prisons looking for information on her father. Now mind you, if this was any other 2 year old, I wouldn't have believed it. But Kara? I believe it and then some.

She evidently saw the last envelope that Christopher sent me from jail. This fool wrote that once he gets out we'll be one happy family. When hell freezes over! The whole experience with him was enough to make me want to go back to my home planet.

Anyway. Thanks to the meeting with the Director, I'm already stressed. Then I have to announce to my little girl that we're going to Leroy's to help decorate. I've taken Kara with me a few times over to Leroy's and it wasn't pretty. Kara's got this whole Feng Shui thing going on, and according to her, his place is all out of sync and gives her a headache. So here I am, trying to get her to get dressed and get out of the house so we can go help him decorate.

Finally, I just gave up. Derrick was there, and I already know how he operates. I always laugh cause Leroy thinks that Derrick's little sister gave him the nickname "Jiffy Jeff". Little does he know, that name came from Derrick's girlfriend at the time. And it has nothing to do with how fast he can run. And not to mention that our new off and on partner, Ean, was there. There's something about him that just doesn't sit well with me. So I let Kara go back to her hacking (I had already called the jail and told them to beef up their password security), and climbed into the bed with a good book. That small amount of peace and quiet was worth the dirty looks that Leroy's been giving me all day.

The Office Gossip

2007-12-06T12:13:00.000-05:00

You know, the really hard part about working with your fellow superhero is the nosy people in the office. Leroy and I work in different departments, but when something comes up and we're needed, we usually just tell people that we’re going out to a meeting.

Unfortunately, when you have people like Daisy and Ron around, it’s not hard for rumors to get started.

The other day, Leroy wound up fighting CyBerNome. CyBerNome figured he would cause a little bit of havoc with the morning rush hour traffic. He’s got to be one of the dumbest guys I know. Even if Leroy hadn’t been there, he would have caught a beat down from all those yuppies and buppies running late for work. It’s a jungle out there. They’d stab their best friend in the back to get ahead; they weren’t about to let some little silly wanna-be bad guy get in their way.

Anyway, Daisy strolls into the breakroom while I’m pouring some coffee. She goes, “Oh, I didn’t think you were here, Leroy isn’t in yet” in one of her snide little tones.

(NOTE: DO NOT MAKE SMART ASS COMMENTS TO A WOMAN THAT YOU BARELY KNOW WHILE SHE IS STANDING NEAR A POT OF SCALDING HOT COFFEE.)

Now, it just so happens that I would have been late if he needed me. I mean, he is, after all, my partner. But when I called him to see if he needed backup, he told me that his biggest problem was keeping the commuters from jumping CyBerNome.

I’m not going to go into details about exactly what I said to her. I will say, Daisy now does most of her work from home. Now I just have to get Ron straight.

On second thought, I’ll just wait for Leroy to get wind of it. He can't stand Ron anyway.

A Real Day in the Life

2007-12-05T11:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, let me tell you how my day went yesterday.

I'm sitting at work around 3:00 when I get a nasty email from E-Klypse. This fool has the nerve to tell me that if I don't agree to go out with him on Saturday, he's gonna block the Sun and kill off all life on this planet as we know it. There's absolutely no way I'm going out with him, so of course I've got to go stop him. Leroy was in some long drawn out meeting that I was glad as hell I didn't have through, so I figured I'd go solo.

So, here I am, seriously fighting it out with E-Klypse, when I happen to look at my watch and notice that it's almost 6:00. I realize that I've been fighting this fool for three hours. Under normal circumstances, I could have already wrapped this up, but a sister is cramping and that always puts my powers below the norm.

Now I have a whole new problem, it being 6, the witching hour for daycare centers far and wide, I know that I'd better hurry up cause I have to go pick up my daughter.

If I'm late, I'll never hear the end of it from the Director. This will be the third time this week. These folks are gonna wanna call Social Services on me. They don't care that you're out trying to save the world, they just want you to get your kid. You'd think they'd cut me a break. The last time this happened, it was televised on every station in the city and all over the radio. This broad had the nerve to tell me that she didn't hear anything about it and tried to charge me double.

For some reason, they think cause my ex-husband was a rich supervillian that I'm sitting on a fortune. NOT! All that money is tied up in a trust. I have to cuss out the lawyer just to get money to pay the daycare.

So I figure, let me give Leroy a quick call to see if he can either pick up Kara or come finish this punk off for me. So I'm calling and calling, and he won't answer! It's probably on purpose, he thinks E-Klypse likes me anyway. How in the hell did I wind up as a supervillian magnet?

I finally wind up busting E-Klypse upside his head with a 2 x4 so I can get my girl before 6:30. Leroy is definitely gonna hear about this.