THE GUARDIANS

Volume II, Episode 1

by

Eric Metcalf

Lindsey Jessup shuffled through the mall, killing time on a weekday afternoon. Her long, dark hair was tied into a ponytail that dangled down her back, with tight jeans and a denim blouse over her curvy, athletic figure. She was a pleasant sight as she wandered past The Gap, but no one paid much attention to her. While she got many looks from other teenagers, all of the lookers turned away or started whispering quietly. Lindsey didn’t seem to notice

Truth be told, she didn’t mind. She knew what all the whispering was about. While no one knew of her mental powers per se, they knew something was weird about her. Nasty rumors always seemed to circulate about her enemies, and she was well known for being able to get any guy she wanted, and she wanted them all. The girls envied her ability to steal their boyfriends, and thus any guy talking to Lindsey wouldn’t see another girl for weeks. Therefore, most of the guys left her alone to avoid retaliation.

Lindsey barely noticed. She only had eyes for one man now. Tall, slender, athletic, and powerful. She couldn’t get his face out of her mind. With any other guy, she could have just planted thoughts in his mind and that was that. Unfortunately, the man she had a crush on was Mindstar, leader of the Guardians and national hero. And, for one night this past summer, her lover (see Guardians #8).

She couldn’t forget his eyes, his touch, everything about that night. After four years of boys, she had finally had her first man, and she couldn’t keep him. For there was a third party that night. Her blonde hair and muscular, busty form were just as ingrained in Lindsey’s memory as Mindstar’s. With any other girl, Lindsey could be jealous, claim she was seducing Mindstar with her blonde hair and big tits. But Powergirl was none of that; she was as strong and loving as Mindstar. Even Lindsey’s teenage crush had to recognize that they were truly in love. Being a telepath just proved the point. What happened that night was pleasurable for all three, but it was just that; pleasure. No commitment, no attachment. But that couldn’t stop a girl from dreaming, could it?

Something broke into her reverie. Glancing up, she spotted the likely distraction. Clayton Wills had arrived only a few weeks ago, with his father and no mention of his mother. Clayton had the strong upper body of a weightlifter along with the legs of a sprinter and blonde hair in a crewcut. He also had a bad temper, as evinced by the damage he did to two football players who tried to roust him a week ago. One was still in the hospital; the other would be on crutches for another week. The sheriff couldn’t do anything, since the other two boys had started the trouble. Still, Lindsey got a bad feeling from him, without using her telepathy. His whole body language screamed trouble.

Bored, she decided to scan Clayton and see what she could find out about him. Reaching out with her mind, she tried to make contact. Instead, she ran up against a mental brick wall. Lindsey gasped. The only time she had run up against that sensation was when she tried to scan Mindstar. Clayton must have mental powers!

Clayton, who had been walking away from her, stopped as if on a leash and spun around. His dark eyes were squinting, his face a picture of angry concentration. His eyes locked on Lindsey, and he started walking towards her quickly, eating up the distance with long strides. Lindsey stumbled backwards, then she turned and started walking quickly. She didn’t want to attract too much attention, as running would have, but she wanted to try and get away from Clayton, who somehow had detected her scan and was none too happy about it.

Lindsey turned a corner, then pulled up short. She had stumbled into a niche in the wall for a pay telephone. She spun around, but she was too late. Clayton loomed in front of her, and slammed her back into the wall with a forearm to her throat.

"I know it was you trying to fuck with my brain, mutie," he snarled, blind rage burning in his eyes. "Tell me why I shouldn’t just break your neck right now, you mutie whore."

"I, I’ll scream," she gasped out. "I can make them hear. They’ll come, they saw you, chase me here."

The rage in his eyes dimmed, and he pulled back. "Yeah, you may be right," he said, his face twisting in a sneer, "but there are other ways to get you, mutie. See you around." With that, he turned and strode away, moving with purpose, but not fast enough to attract real attention. Lindsey sat back, panting and massaging her throat where Clayton had hit her. When she got her breath back, she realized that she had to do something, because Clayton was not the find to completely walk away.

Clayton stalked out of the mall, stewing and snarling. He strode over to one of the decorative trees near the parking lot and pulled out the cell phone his father had given him for emergencies. Swallowing hard, suddenly indecisive, he hit the speed dial.

The phone rang only once. "Yeah?"

"Dad, it’s me, Clayton. You remember when you taught me about that tingle in my head, the one that meant that a mutie was trying to mess with my brain?" Clayton rattled the sentence off quickly, to convince his dad that this was important.

"Yes, son, I remember. You felt it?" His father’s tone was serious, as if Clayton were an equal.

"Yes, sir, I did. I also figured out who did it, like you told me. I tracked her down and the damn bitch didn’t even try to deny it!"

"Did you hurt her?"

"Just a little bit. She threatened to make everybody come over to where I had her, and I thought she could, so I walked outside. She hasn’t left the mall yet. I thought, you might, well,"

"I understand, son. I’ll gather up some of the boys and meet you there. What’s this mutie’s name?"

"Lindsey, Lindsey Jessup. All the guys talk about her as an easy score."

"I see. Well, that just proves my point. If she leaves, tail her and let me know where she goes. You remember how to tail like I showed you?"

"Yes sir. I’ll follow her if she leaves." Clayton smiled. He did the right thing. His father was proud of him! This made all of the work, the "training" worth it.

"Very good, son. You’ve done real good. Now, don’t let me down."

"No sir." Clayton hung up, then moved back to keep a watch on both doors out of the mall.

Travis Wills put down the phone and walked over to the closet. There, hidden behind a rack of work shirts and jeans, was his midnight-blue uniform and weapon. The pride he felt at being in the Guard came back to him, tempered by the shame at their defeat. Defeat at the hands of that mutant, Mindstar. Well, maybe he couldn’t kill Mindstar, but one mutie was almost as good as another. The uniform, he decided, would be too much, but the plasma rifle would definitely come in handy.

Mike Longstreet straightened his navy-blue tie slightly as he stepped off of the elevator into the Foundation’s DC office. Someone who knew Mike as Mindstar would barely recognize him in a dark suit and carrying a briefcase. Jake Pryor walked behind and to Mike’s right, assuming a subordinate position. Jake was also dressed in a suit, with a dark red tie. Even in suits, you could tell that these two were dangerous, capable men.

The office itself was tastefully appointed; nicer than usual paintings, leather furniture, expensive woodwork, and clear lighting that didn’t glare. The secretary took one look at Mike and Jake and reached for the phone. Although she had no idea of who these two really were, she knew them by sight and knew that their ties were their authentication. "Mister Carpenter," she said, "Mister Longstreet and Mister Pryor here to see you."

Mike smiled tightly. The secretary was supposed to ask their identity, she knew them by sight and she had given the right identification. If she had said, "Messirs Longstreet and Pryor," she would have suspected something was wrong.

The secretary favored them with a bright smile. "You can go right in, gentlemen. The director is waiting for you."

Mike nodded. "Thank you, Miss Atkins." He pushed open the thick wood door leading from the reception area. Although it was wood on the outside, the core of the door was two inches of high-grade steel. The entire office was covered by security cameras, carefully hidden in the walls, desks, and ceiling. A number of the office workers on the floor below were actually security personnel, most of whom had combat experience from the recent war. Since many of the office staff were Foundation from the war, even the non-security personnel could keep their head in a fight and use weapons if they came to hand.

Brian Carpenter, Director of the Foundation, stood up from behind his heavy oaken desk as they entered. "Mike, Jake, how the hell are you?" He came out from behind the desk to shake their hands as they took two of the leather high-backed chairs.

"Doing good, sir," Mike answered.

"Getting along, sir," Jake said.

"How’s Phoenix going?" Carpenter asked as he walked back around behind his desk. The Guardians were currently in Phoenix as part of their around the country reconstruction work.

"Going good, sir. The big project is the local public hospital; someone drove a car bomb into the emergency entrance towards the end, and the whole structure took a beating. The charity work is a housing project that’s just plain beat up." In each city, the Guardians split their time between a large, high profile project and a project in the worse neighborhoods. To Mike’s mind, it was simple justice; gangs had been used by both sides during the war, and so the people victimized by the gangs deserved some assistance at least.

"Sounds good. The poll numbers on your charity projects are great. That whole idea was genius."

Mike chuckled. "You listening to polls? The temperature in hell must be downright chilly. Besides, the local heavies don’t seem to see it that way."

Jake snorted. "That’s because they don’t get anything out of those projects. They don’t get to parade us around with them. Instead, people see us with real people, doing some real good. Hurts the approval ratings for the big shots."

Carpenter nodded. "You’re both right on. Now, for the reason I pulled you two out of Phoenix. The reconstruction work is going great, but we need more. More projects done, the ability to be in two or three places at once. And that means more bodies."

Mike shook his head. "I know, I know, but we’ve got to be careful. The core of the team was together from Dallas, and Jake’s so familiar with our moves from chasing us that he works fine. Any new bodies will take time to acclimate to the team, both in combat and just living together. That will drop our effectiveness, at least in the short term."

Carpenter shook his head. "No arguing this one. We need more Guardians. I’ve got some files on some likely candidates." He passed the file folders to Mike.

Mike started flipping through them, then handed one to Jake. "Okay, here’s one condition: if we split into two operational teams, Jake takes over the new team. I maintain overall team command, but Jake’s too good a tactician and leader to waste if we need a new team leader."

Jake pulled back. "Wait a minute. I just came onto the team because Mike decided it would be better than throwing me in the tank. The team still isn’t entirely comfortable with me because I was Black Guard. You can’t ask me to lead them."

Mike nodded. "Given and overruled. You’ll be working with the new recruits mostly. Besides, the current team will do what I tell them to. If you play it straight with them, and you have so far, then you’ll be fine."

Carpenter nodded. "Condition accepted. Personally, I think you’ll be great for the job, Jake. You’re a natural leader and a good teacher, and we’ll need that as you’re training the new recruits. The first team learned a lot about heroism under fire. Hopefully, the new recruits won’t need that quite as much as your team did, Mike."

"Agreed," Mike said. He had finished flipping through the files. Not many good candidates, really, he thought. One or two looked promising, but most were just too weak or inexperienced to be that much good. Then a name popped into his head.

"Do me a favor, will you? Put together a file on one Lindsey Jessup, age 18. Lives in central Virginia, I don’t remember the town name right off hand. Terry and I ran into her while we were running from Jake and company after Foundation One went down. She’s a moderate-power telepath with some burgeoning mental control powers. She could be a useful compliment in the mental department."

Carpenter nodded, jotting down the information on a pad. "Jessup, Lindsey, age 18. Got it. I’ll have the staff start pulling that together as soon as you all leave. With any luck, you can start tracking down candidates as soon as you all are finished in Phoenix."

The phone on Carpenter’s desk rang once; an internal call. "Yes?" Carpenter answered, then he looked over at Mike. He put his hand over the microphone. "Mike, there’s a call for Mindstar from one Lindsey Jessup. Atkins says she’s young and scared witless. Do you want to take it?"

Mike nodded. "She must have looked up the Foundation in the phone book. Yeah, I’ll take it. If it’s a hoax, nothing’s lost." He stood up and took the phone from Carpenter. "Mindstar here."

"Oh my god, I’m glad I got you," he recognized Lindsey’s voice immediately. Yeah, she was scared: scared to death more like it. "Listen, I know I shouldn’t try to reach you like this, but I’m in big trouble and I think you’re the only one who can help. I was walking around the mall today, and I saw this guy whose new in town and is really mean. I, uh, tried to scan him, but I couldn’t read anything! Then he got really mad and chased me. He got me in a blind corner and called me ‘mutie’ and was about to kill me. I threatened to raise hell and he backed off, but I just saw him waiting right outside the mall. I think he’s waiting for me. I can’t stay here forever. I really need your help."

Mike swallowed a lecture on reading people’s minds without permission. She was being honest, as much as he could hear, and she really believed she was in trouble. "Okay, Lindsey, calm down a little bit. Can you leave another way, is there a door on a different side of the building?"

"No, all of the doors face the parking lot, and he can see all of them. Wait a minute, I hear some yelling." She left the line for a few seconds, then she came back on, more frightened then before. "Oh my god, there’s a bunch of people outside yelling stuff and holding signs. They’re saying, kill the mutie and stuff like that. They’re after me!" Her voice was damn near hysterical.

"Lindsey, hold on. They wouldn’t dare come in the mall. Just sit tight, I’m on the way." He looked over at Carpenter, who held up a pad with a set of coordinates scribbled down. Leave it to the White King to think ahead and have the call trace. "Just sit tight and we’ll come for you."

"I can’t stay here," she cried, "they’re going to come in any second. There’s got to be a way out the back. Come for me, please." He heard her drop the phone, then her footsteps running away.

"Lindsey, LINDSEY!" he yelled at the receiver. He glanced up, his eyes glowing a light orange. "We’re moving out now. We stop downstairs long enough to get into work clothes, then we’re airborne. Have a chopper meet us at those coordinates as soon as they can get in the air. We’ve got our radios, so we’ll stay in touch." He picked up his briefcase and stormed out of the door, Jake close on his heels. Carpenter hung up the phone to reset the line, then picked it up again and dialled Andrews AFB.

Lindsey ducked around the corner of the red brick house, her right elbow rustling the hedges as she spun around the corner. Sweat poured off of her forehead, stinging her eyes as she panted, hands on her knees. She had been running since she left the mall. A fire door towards the main drag had provided an exit, but somehow the mob out front had seen her split and followed her. Not running or trying to keep up with her, but marching along relentlessly, chanting hateful, spiteful things. She’d kept running because she knew that stopping was death. They weren’t interested in anything less than her death.

She’d been running basically north, although she’d been dodging down side streets for so long that she wasn’t sure she was still going in the right direction. If she could catch her breath, stop her legs and lungs from burning, then maybe she could get her sense of direction back, and make sure she was going north. If Mindstar was in Washington, then he was north, and every step she ran brought her closer to him. She knew he was coming for her, she just had to buy time.

As her breathing began to calm, she could hear it again. Now, it was just a rhythmic noise, rising and falling, but she knew what it was. Chanting. "Kill the mutie, only humans are citizens," and more of their slogans and chants. They had found her again. She could try to hide; maybe they knew that she had come this way, but they didn’t know where she was. But if she hid, and was wrong, she was dead; if she kept running, then they wouldn’t catch her. Until she tired and couldn’t run anymore, then she was dead for sure. But if she kept running, she bought Mindstar a few more minutes to come to her rescue. Taking a few more panting breaths, she tried to push away the pain in her legs as she broke from cover and ran out into the street.

She heard a yell, then the chanting got much louder. They were being quiet when they couldn’t see her, to try and fool her. She used her burst of fresh energy to sprint ahead of them, her sneakers slapping the asphalt as she ran onto the road. They were close now, she could smell their sweat as she ran, her arms pumping as she tried frantically to stay ahead of the grasping hands, if they caught her…

"STOP THIS NOW," a voice thundered through her mind and her ears. She tripped and fell onto her hands and knees, prostrate before her pursuers. She whipped her head upright, desperate to escape, when she saw the figures descending from the sky. Mindstar, his eyes glowing orange, and a man in dark red armor. The Crimson Knight; she’d seen him in some of the news broadcasts. The crowd had stopped cold just inches from her, as if they’d hit a brick wall.

Mindstar floated to the ground beside her, facing the crowd. The Crimson Knight landed on her other side, back just enough that Mindstar appeared to be the leader. As the Knight helped her up and checked her for injuries, Mindstar addressed the crowd. "What is wrong with you people? This girl has done you no harm, and yet you form a lynch mob to kill her."

"She’s a mutie," one man in front yells, spitting at Mindstar. The spittle smacks into an invisible field between them and disappears. "She’s a fuckin’ mind raper. Who knows how much she’s done to us?" The crowd behind him roared in approval, although the roar was quieter than just moments before.

"Listen to you people," Mindstar answered. "On the basis of nothing more than suspicion and fear, you’ve harried this girl like a pack of wild animals. You call yourselves human, but the way you’ve treated her is something out of nature’s dark side. Each and every one of you that has gone along with this is at fault." He softened his tone. "Our empathy with one another, mutant or baseline, is what makes us human. That is what separates us from animals. If we lose that empathy, then we lose our humanity. We lose ourselves."

Another voice, behind the leader, yelled, "You can’t empathize with a devil!" Too late, Mindstar saw a gun barrel, a familiar design, poke up in the crowd. Before he could drop the force wall and raise his smaller, but denser, force field, the gun fired. A plasma blast tore through the force wall and caught him high on the chest. Burning, blinding pain tore through his body and he fell to the ground, blackness rushing up around him as he fell.

"Who fired that shot?" Crimson Knight yelled, striding in front of the girl and Mindstar’s body. "Whoever fired is guilty of attempted murder of a federal agent. If the guilty party comes out right now, then the rest of you can walk. If not," he raised both arms, showing the weapons on each gauntlet to the crowd. He knew he had to regain control right now, or this was going to get ugly. If he was lucky, it was some kid who found an old plasma carbine and didn’t realize what he was doing.

He wasn’t lucky. He saw two weapons come up this time, on each side of the crowd, different from the one shooter before. He couldn’t dodge or acquire the targets in the crowd, so all he could do is brace himself. The two shots were good; one caught him on the right arm, the other flared off of his left thigh. He staggered slightly, but the shot’s weren’t powerful enough to penetrate his armor. Still, he needed to do something. There were at least three shooters concealed in the crowd armed with Black Guard ordinance and good shots with it. Even if the crowd dispersed, this situation was way too chancy with Mindstar down and the girl a non-combatant. She was kneeling over Mindstar, crying and yelling. Even with the shooters, he couldn’t just open up on the crowd. For all he knew, those three were acting without the knowledge of the rest of the crowd, or of the leader. He couldn’t risk opening fire, he couldn’t target the perpetrators, and he couldn’t take much more fire. That left only one option.

Spinning around quickly, he grabbed the girl under his left and Mindstar with his right. "Hang on," he told her as he punched his boot jets, roaring up into the air and away from the crowd. He snap-turned once he was above house level, and headed west. No parting shots reached out for him, which was a good sign. With a couple of sub-vocal commands, he called up a moving map of the area. His first thought had been making for a military base, but he saw something better coming onto the map.

"Where are we going?" the girl yelled over the rushing air.

He slowed down some; it wouldn’t do to lose his grip and his right arm was sore from that shot. "I know a place nearby where we can hole up for a while."

"We did it, Dad," Clayton said, happily. "You killed one mutie and scared off that guy in the armor."

His father shook his head, but he was smiling. "No, son, I doubt we killed Mindstar, he’s pretty damn tough, even for a mutie. Naw, all we did was scare ‘em off. Still, that gives us an advantage. Now, go back and get the truck, keys are in the ignition. Meet me over at the filling station on the highway. I bet I know where they’re going, and I want them to know who is killing them this time."

Mike groaned as he awoke, feeling a dull ache in his chest. He knew, without opening his eyes, that he was laying flat on his back on something that felt like a bed, and that his uniform top was off but something was wrapped around his chest, covering the aching spot. He smelled dust, sweat and a hint of perfume, and he could hear two others breathing in the same room. He didn’t feel any restraints, so he didn’t think he had been taken prisoner. Chancing it, he opened his eyes, wincing as bright sunlight stabbed him like icepicks.

"Mindstar, oh I’m so glad you’re okay," Lindsey said, gathering him up in a big hug with every ounce of strength in her body. He smiled at the affection, then groaned again as the hug shifted his wound. He remembered the mob scene now, and the last thing he remembered was getting shot with a Black Guard plasma rifle. As he looked over her shoulder, he could see log walls and some sparse furniture.

"Good to see you too, Lindsey," he said, pulling himself up as she reluctantly released him. As she pulled back, he saw that her blouse was shorter now than it had been, and the edge was torn. He saw Crimson Knight standing across the room, watching. Two ugly black splotches scarred the red metal, probably more plasma hits. "You’ve looked better, Crimson."

"Well, your dressing isn’t exactly a fashion statement either, boss. Good to see you back." His voice held some good cheer tempered with weariness.

"Oh, I’m so sorry I got you two into this," Lindsey stuttered, tears starting to flow down her cheeks. "This is all my fault. I, I got so used to using my power to get a read on people, you know? All I was doing was trying to figure out why he was so mean, and then,"

"Shh," Mindstar whispered in her ear. "It’s okay. We need to be here. Besides," he said louder, "if those rifles are what I think they are, then we needed to be here anyway."

Crimson nodded. "Black Guard plasma rifles. Those discharges are pretty unique, and I got one good look at a shooter. Same weapon, no doubt it. It looks like some of our old buddies escaped the roundup after the war."

Mindstar nodded. They had arrested every Blue Guardsman they could find and pin anything on, but they knew that some had escaped with their equipment. Now it looked like they had found a nest, but they couldn’t take them down without injuring civilians. "Yes it does, and the anti-mutant rhetoric is exactly what you’d expect. After all, the Guardians won the war by ourselves, didn’t you know that?"

Lindsey smiled at Mindstar’s joking tone. "You mean you didn’t?"

Mindstar laughed. "Not by a long shot. On a more serious note, where are we? Obviously, we’re not in DC, or in prison."

Crimson shook his head. "Nope. After you went down and two yahoos took shots at me, I grabbed you and the girl and split. I remembered this cabin from the war, when Firemane and Strongarm used it to hole up after we nailed Foundation One. It’s unoccupied, and it was about as far as I could go. My boot jets are just about dry, so we can’t fly out. On the plus side, we’re beyond the range of whatever jammers they were using in town, but I can’t raise DC. I keep one ear on the radio, in case someone comes flying around looking for us. If not, I guess we start walking as soon as you feel you can travel."

Mindstar started to get up, then winced in pain as the wound pulled again. "Not quite yet. Looks like we’ll have to wait for a pick up. No one else knows about this place?"

Crimson shrugged. "The Blue Guard team I sent in here would, if any of them were in that crowd that attacked us in town. Guess we’ll just have to keep watch."

Mindstar nodded, then smiled. "Well, this isn’t as formal as I’d like, but circumstances aren’t that good. Lindsey Jessup, I, as field commander of the Guardians, hereby extend an offer to you to join the Guardians, pursuant on approval by the Foundation. Do you accept?"

Lindsey’s eyes almost popped out of her head, and her mouth gaped open. "I, I, I, yes, you bet, uh, I accept," she stuttered as more tears welled in her eyes, then she wrapped her arms around Mindstar and hugged him fiercely again. "Oh, I can’t believe it."

Mindstar gritted his teeth as she shifted bandage again. "We were just talking about expanding the team, and I suggested you. Looks like that, at least, worked out."

"Yeah, but what about, I mean, you’re so much stronger than I am, psychically I mean,"

"Not a major issue. I can train you to get your strength up, and your powers are different from mine in some ways. I’m primarily a telekinetic; you’re abilities are mostly telepathic. That provides a good mix, and allows us to have telepaths in two places at once. As you can see, we’re not operating as a block as much anymore, although this was hardly planned."

Lindsey sat back on her haunches, her expression still wide-eyed. "Wow, a Guardian, I mean, wow."

Crimson Knight started towards the door. "I’ll take a look around, see if anybody’s snooping around and also see if there’s anything to munch on."

Lindsey hopped up, her expression changing to a more determined look. "I’ll come with you. That way, I can stay in telepathic contact with Mindstar and we’ll come back if anything happens. Besides, I know these woods pretty good, and I know what we can eat."

Mindstar nodded. "Good plan. I’ll just take a little nap. See you in a couple of hours." He lay back on the bed as Crimson and Lindsey left. He smiled as he caught a stray thought from Lindsey. Well, that would make things easier.

Powergirl snorted as the floor she was holding up shifted, forcing her to reset her grip. She was holding up the second floor of the Phoenix Public Hospital as repair crews worked to shore up the failing supports. Strongarm and Firemane were outside, working on the outer structure. She could hear the hiss of their cutting torches as they worked on the last damaged support.

"Powergirl, Powergirl, come in. This is Command," the earpiece radio buzzed. The signal wasn’t the greatest, since she was inside, but it was understandable, if unwelcome while she was trying to hold up this much weight.

"Command, this is Powergirl, I read you."

"Powergirl, this is a Code One emergency. Mindstar and Crimson Knight are Mike-India-Alpha in Northern Virginia. They have failed to rendezvous with air extraction and we are beginning an air search, over."

Mike, missing in action? That almost caused her to lose her grip. "What was the nature of the operation?"

"Mindstar and Crimson Knight were on a rescue operation for a young mutant in the area when contact was lost, over."

Young mutant? I bet it's that Lindsey girl we ran into. "Roger that. Confirm code one. Have SST standing by for transport, over."

"Roger, SST is fueling and flight plan to Andrews is filed. See you in a few. Over and out."

Powergirl relaxed as she felt the weight shift just enough to tell her that the supports were fixed. She let her arms drop, shaking them a little to get the blood flowing again. She was sure that the motion of her chest was causing a few stares from the work crews, but she had long past being shy, even in her skimpy orange and yellow costume. She started outside as the crew chief ran up.

"Hey, what’s going on?"

Powergirl fixed him with an I’m-in-charge stare she’d learned from Mike. "A Code One emergency has been declared. I’m pulling my people out to deal with it. When we’re back, we’ll let you know." She continued walking and, once outside, motioned for Strongarm and Firemane to come down to her.

"Damn, it’s hot," Lindsey panted as she sat down heavily on a stump. She focused on the Crimson Knight, drawing his eyes towards her. She idly lifted the bottom of her torn blouse to fan her face, exposing her breasts in their white lace covering. She could feel his embarrassment, and she tweaked it, adding in an edge of forbidden arousal. As she felt him respond to that, she let her shirt drop and turned towards him. "Aren’t you hot in that armor?"

"Ah, you get, used to it," he stuttered, standing beside a tree.

She looked into the armor’s optics and pushed another wave of arousal at him. Damn, screwing Mindstar hadn’t been nearly this much work. She thought anybody on the Guardians would be horny and want to bag her as soon as she was on the team. Guess they got a real straight arrow. Too bad he doesn’t have that much will power. "Come on, at least take the helmet off. It gives me the creeps, like I’m talking to a robot or something."

She could feel him struggle with the decision, but he finally shrugged his shoulders and pulled off his helmet. He wiped sweat off of his face after he set the helmet down. "Happy?" he asked.

She stood up, fixing him with her best sexy glare. "Uh huh," she nodded, smiling thinly. She stood up and started sauntering over to him. His face was a perfect deer-in-headlights expression. "But I’ll be a lot happier when I get you out of the rest of that suit."

He stood stock still, rocking back from her approach. His mouth was open in a surprised gasp, but he couldn’t say anything. She solved that problem by leaning forward and kissing him full on the mouth, pushing her tongue into his mouth. He snapped out of his paralysis and responded, returning her kiss with growing passion.

Clayton swallowed hard as the Jeep Cherokee his dad was driving bounced over another rut in the dirt road. Clayton, his father, and the three men in the back were all dressed in Blue Guard uniforms, carrying the plasma rifles that were the Guard’s trademark weapons. At least I’ll be under the helmet, Clayton thought.

"Dad, are you sure they went this way?" Clayton asked.

"Yep," his dad said, grinning evilly. "They’re heading for that hunter’s shack that their two mutie friends used to hole up after we kicked their asses out of their base. Except I was on the search team that found the shack, so I know right where it is." He glanced over to check the GPS receiver on the dash. "Yep, right on course. ETA ten minutes."

Mike shook off his lassitude as he heard Jake and Lindsey return. He sat up on the bed as they came through the door.

"Did you get anything to eat?"

"Nope, something better," Lindsey said.

"I just made contact with a search helo," Jake added. "They’re about fifteen minutes out." However, Mike could detect something else in Jake’s voice.

"Okay, what’s the bad news?"

Lindsey turned towards Jake with a surprised look on her face. "I picked up some traffic on an old Black Guard channel a few minutes later. It’s encrypted with a key I don’t have, but they’re close. Estimated arrival, about three minutes."

Mike nodded and grabbed his uniform top. "Well, I guess I’d better make myself presentable for our company."

"Hey, wait a minute, can you sense them?" Lindsey asked.

"Nope," Mike replied, "but it’s the logical thing for them to do. There’s always a chance that someone in the crowd was also on the team that hit this place before. I’m surprised it took them this long. They must have had to divert to pick up the rest of their gear before they headed this way, plus they’ve got to drive while we flew. Still, no time to waste." He turned and headed out the door, Jake and Lindsey following.

As they stepped outside, Lindsey looked up and around, as if trying to find a sound she had just heard. "They’re close. I can feel them." She concentrated, closing her eyes. Mike thought she looked years more mature that way, becoming one with her powers. Opening her eyes, she pointed. "Eight coming down the trail from the east, four more moving through the woods, trying to get alongside or behind us."

Mindstar nodded. "Crimson, you’ve got the woods. I’ll take the trail. Lindsey, stay behind me."

"I’m a Guardian now," she said. "I can help."

Mindstar smiled. "Trust me, it’s not that. It’s just that you don’t have any real defenses, and my force field can protect you if you’re behind me."

Crimson Knight looked around, sizing up the terrain. "You know, this is crazy. Eight of them, three of us; they’re armed and used to working as a team, we’ve got a newbie whose never been in a super-fight before."

Mindstar’s smile stayed. "True, but we estimated once that one of the Guardians was worth four or five of your Black Guard, or two of your Black Knights. If it’s just twelve Guards, I’d say the odds are about even."

"You would," Crimson replied.

Movement came on the trail, flickering at the edge of their vision. Black shapes shimmered on the horizon, moving in short rushed. "Alpha pattern," Mindstar said, tensing. "Take the initiative. On my mark. Three,"

"All systems ready," Crimson said, tensing as well.

"Two."

"Here they come," Lindsey said.

"One."

The shapes became clearer now as they closed. Four Black Guardsmen, the advance party, rifles at their shoulders. The first one motioned towards Mindstar then he started to drop to one knee to fire.

"Now!" Mindstar leapt forward in a sprinter’s start and let his first step carry him into the air. With a mental push, he flew towards the Guardsmen faster then they thought possible, especially from a foe they thought was wounded. His force field up, he bowled over the first Guardsman who tried to draw a bead on him. Two others fired, but their shots flew high and wide of the target.

Crimson Knight launched at the same instant, his boot jets flaring behind him. He flashed into the woods, slipping past one tree and shoulder-blocking the Guardsman trying to hide behind it. He fired his wrist blaster twice at other Guardsmen. One shot connected, the other cut into a pine tree. Crimson dived as return fire scorched the air.

Mindstar dropped to the ground after the first volley missed. He knocked one Guardsman from his feet with a mental blast. He dropped down and swept the other down with a leg sweep to the back of his knees. The fourth Guardsman fired a hurried shot, but it sailed over Mindstar’s head. Lindsey had to duck the blast as she closed in behind Mindstar. Mindstar slammed a telekinetic blast into the shooter, sending him sprawling one direction and his rifle the other.

Crimson swung behind a tree as two plasma blasts cut past him. The Guardsman followed his shots, spinning around the tree. Crimson fired a right cross, snapping the man’s head around and sending a gout of blood and teeth flying. He barely heard the fourth Guardsman getting in behind him in time to duck. He dropped just as more plasma went flying over his head. He got one foot under himself, then he pushed up and fired his boot rockets as he arced his back. The effect sent him up in a tight loop, snapping a couple of low-lying branches before he landed behind the Guardsman. The man spun around, his jaw open under the helmet. Crimson slammed an uppercut into the Guardsman, lifting from his feet and throwing him into a tree several feet away.

Two plasma blasts came from the second group following the trail. Mindstar dove out of the way of one, but the second caught him. His force shield took most of the blast, but enough remained to singe his right arm. He cursed at the pain.

"No you don’t," Lindsey called from behind him. The two Guardsmen leading the team tried to draw a bead on her, but they fell back, yelling and dropping their rifles to hold their heads. She turned to one of the followers, but he was unaffected. Instead, he roared a challenge and fired several shots at her. Lindsey shrieked and dove out of the way as the plasma went by.

Mindstar rolled to one knee and loosed a mental blast at the shooter. The man staggered, but didn’t fall. The Guardsmen beside him turned towards Mindstar. "Now you die, mutie!" he called.

Crimson fired his wrist blasters before the Guardsmen could shoot, knocking him from his feet. "Not this time, punk."

Mindstar got to his feet. "You haven’t figured it out, have you? Or you have and you just don’t want to admit it. Your son is a mutant; otherwise, he would not be able to resist direct mental probes, much less discern who probed him."

"You’re lying," Clayton yelled. "I’m no damn mutie."

"You’re wrong, Clayton," Lindsey said, coming up to them. "You’re dead wrong. You’ve suppressed your powers because that was the only way your father would accept you. If you would stop blocking, you could become a very powerful psychic."

"My son will never be a goddamn mutie!" The Guardsman swung his rifle up, aiming at Clayton.

He froze, his body locked rigid. An instant later, the rifle crumpled like a beer can crushed by a giant. The man just sat there, immobile. "Your boy may be resistant to mental powers," Lindsey said, "but your will isn’t even a challenge."

Mindstar got to his feet. "Crimson Knight, contact our rescue party. Tell them to provide prisoner transport for twelve at this location. Clayton, I’m afraid we’ll have to take you into custody as well. However, if you haven’t been involved in any illegal activities, then you’ll be free to go. More free, I’d bet, then you have been in a long time."

Epilogue

"Serves you right for going in there without us," Terry snarled as she playfully tapped Mike over his wounded chest. In the posh atmosphere of the Foundation’s main meeting room, fear gave way to righteous indignation. The Guardians were in their civilian clothes, seated around one end of the massive oak conference table. However, Lindsey and Carpenter weren’t in the room.

"Yeah," Kat piped up, "you and Jake got to go fight the Black Guard while we were stuck doing construction work. No fair."

"At least those girders don’t come with plasma rifles," Jake said. "In case you’ve forgotten, those things hurt."

"Tell me about it," Mike growled, then he stood up. "Well, I think this situation proves the point about expansion. Right now, we have a difficult time putting two separate teams into the field to deal with situations. If we’re going to live up to our role as protectors for the United States, we need to be in more than one place at a time. So, let me introduce to you the first of our new recruits: Mind Mistress."

The door behind Mike swung open, and in walked Carpenter with Lindsey on his arm like a bride. She was in costume: a baby-blue bodysuit with a golden belt and highlights. Like Mindstar, she had a mask across her eyes, with her dark hair in a ponytail down her back. Her face under the mask was bright red.

The Guardians present applauded, drawing a more genuine smile to Lindsey’s face as she was welcomed into the team. "Thank you, thanks so much," she said. "I know I haven’t done any of the really important stuff y’all’ve done, but I, I just hope I can do all right."

"You’ll do fine," Jake said. "Heck, if Mike can turn Kat here into a heroine, anybody can do it."