Locked Doors and Secrets

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

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

NOT!!!

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

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

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

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

Where is everybody?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What in the hell did he mean by that?

So What's the real reason?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deadbeats and Mysteries

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


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


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

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

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

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

Five-0? More like 4 and a quarter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daddy... you are so in for it.

A New and Present Danger...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I nooded. "I know what you mean."

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

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

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

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

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

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

A meeting of minds..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A reason to Panic?

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

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

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

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

Coughing?

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

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

"You saw the news?"

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

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