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Sentinel Comics #3
Prologue Daybreak Silver Lantern floats silently up to the roof of the Hair and Hippo. He had been meaning to track down Az and speak with her in private, but it had proven very difficult as she was seemingly going out of her way to avoid him after the incident in the hallway. With everything that had happened with the JN's, he hadn't had the time to do much of anything. An earlier ring - scan of the pub had shown that she was on the roof, very much alone in the pre-dawn hours. A perfect time to talk to her about the information the ring had given him, and avoid causing another scene. He stepped off the board and starts to walk up behind her. She is facing the East, into the rising sun, and has yet to notice him. He opens his mouth to speak. "Az..." "quiet" she whispers, without turning around. The sun had just started to break over the horizon. The sky starts to lighten, shading to gold near the edges of the sunrise. "I want to..." "SHHH" she replies, a bit more forcefully than before. Sil stands back as he realises Az isn't just up here to watch the sunrise. She has produced a small thorn from her pocket, and proceeds to pierce her ear with it. Catching two drops of blood on her fingertip, she flings it out towards the sun, mumbles something under her breath, waits a few moments, then turns to face Silver Lantern, arms crossed. "All right, now what did you want?" "Az, I just wanted to talk to you in private about a few things...but first, what was that?" "A Maguey thorn." "No, the whole ritual. What was that for?" "It's just something those of us in the Foundation do. It's an ancient ritual, designed to strengthen Quetzalcoatl without human sacrifice." "I never saw you do that before. I don't think you ever did it before." "What? Of course I did. Don't be ridiculous, Sil." "Well, when Azangel was a guy I never once saw him with holes in his ears." Sil stops and waits a few moments for what he has just said to sink in. He doesn't have to wait very long for a reaction. Az's eyes widen slightly but she covers it up, giving him an innocent look. "Sil, what do you mean, when Az was a guy...? Sil, I'm Az." she stutters. "But you aren't a guy. You aren't Warren, our original Az." Sil notices her wings twitch involuntarily as he stands there, waiting quietly. Then her shoulders slump slightly, finally giving up on the charade. "How did you know? None of the others have guessed, except for Patience, and I think she called on one of her gods or goddesses or something." Sil looks down at the ring that gives him his immense power, then glances back up at Az quickly. "I have detected the truth" "How...who told you? Pat?" "Pat knows...? No, she didn't tell me." She looks at the ring suspiciously. "You scanned me? A simple ring - scan shouldn't have picked that up....." "Nevermind that. I just know. I would like to hear your reason for lying to us. And who are you, anyway?" Az looks at him with a hurt expression. "It wasn't really lying to you really! It was just that one second I'm back home training and the next second I'm wearing the Quetzalcoatl helmet (and I haven't even finished my training which means I shouldn't be ABLE to wear it and still be alive) and I'm falling through a portal in a bag being held by this HUGE blue-green skinned guy surrounded by a hippopotamus a kid a metal alien a guy with green hair and an Amazon and they're all going "Azyou'reachick!" and the helmet is feeding me all this information telling me all your names and powers and stuff and I'm trying to remember the way to turn off the selfdestruct because someone hit it on the way through the portal and by the way this is the craziest group of people I've EVER been around but please don't tell them I lied because I don't want to have to leave I like you guys Sil what's so funny why are you laughing?!?!?" "I was wondering if you ever planned on coming up for AIR! That's the most I've heard you say at once since you got here!" Az stops, embarrassed and turning dark blue as she blushes. "I won't tell them, but you're going to have to do it eventually. It isn't right for you to lie to your friends like this. And you didn't answer me before. Who are you?" "Ciela Jarras." "Ok, Ciela Jarras, may I ask you another question?" "Sure, go ahead." "Well, I also detected that you had been hurt before your fight with Dream World, and that you were unconscious during the fight when you tried to kill him. Is this possible? Do you remember?" She shakes her head. "I tried to kill him?" "Yes. I barely stopped you from beheading him. If I had not intervened, you surely would have killed him." "And your scan says I was unconscious? Are you sure there isn't a glitch in the ring, and maybe you made a mistake with the scan?" I have no glitch... the ring protests silently to its owner. Shhhhh....I know. replies Sil silently back. "Sil, are you paying attention? You're kinda quiet over there." "I'm fine, Az, and there is no glitch. Is there any way for you to be unconscious, yet continue fighting?" "Well, yes....sort of. The helmet can take over the armour if the person in it is unconscious or killed...but the programming prohibits the taking of human life. It is also supposed to take the helmet back to the Q foundation under those conditions...at least that's what I was told." she finishes sheepishly. "How far did you get on your training?" "Ah....halfway. I actually hadn't worn the helmet until I showed up here. You can't wear it until you finish. It's the last part of the program. It's almost entirely VR training before the last test, and with that one you know if you pass or fail pretty quickly." "How's that?" "It kills you if you fail." "I don't think I want to know." "Well, you did ask...." "And there was another thing..." "What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?" she half laughs. "No, I just wanted to properly introduce myself." Sil sticks out his hand. "Norrin Sur. But you can call me Kenny." Az shakes the proffered hand. "Hi Kenny. Nice to meet you... again, I guess." By this point the sun had finished rising and light was streaming in the windows of the Hair and Hippo. Sil glances around. "The others should be getting up soon, and there's something I want to discuss with the others. I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast. By the way... Thanks for the coat and hat." Sil summons his board and flies off, leaving Az alone on the roof, smiling slightly. Chapter 1 He sat in the darkened restaurant. He could still hear the din of battle ringing in his ears. He picked up his glass of ice water and took a sip, set the glass down in it's own condensation and looked at his watch. His employer was late. Not a good sign. A cloaked and hooded man walked in, glad to be out of the early evening light. Anywhere else in the world this would have been unusual, but this was J Street. The hooded man walked over and sat down. "You were successful?" "You are late. Do you have my payment?" "I have it. Tell me what you found." The hooded man patted his breast pocket, but did not remove the hood. He sized up the man across from him, about 6 foot tall, maybe 230lbs, mid 20's or early 30's with dark hair. The dark-haired man was dressed in baggy black jeans, a denim button-down shirt with an embroidered logo over the right pocket. The logo read "Belladonna", it had little white flowers, and red berries on a vine around it. In the right pocket there was a small notepad. The dark-haired man was drinking ice water, and a lot of it, enough so that they had brought him his own pitcher, rather than keep annoying the busboys. This man had been recommended to him, but the cloaked figure looked down his nose at his obvious lack of discipline. "As per our contract I've been gathering intelligence about the J Street Sentinels for a little over a week now. I first walked into the Hair & Hippo a few days ago, I sat at the far end of the bar, this allowed me the best vantage point from which to watch the room. The bar itself is pretty unremarkable, it's a bar. Pool table, dartboards, jukebox, it's the kind of place the working class drown their sorrows. Anyway, after about 10 minutes they came in, the JSS, or at least three of them; the blonde, the kid, and chrome boy. Chrome boy had some bozo in pink bound to his board, seen a lot of them around lately, there must be a convention in town. The blonde was injured, so the chrome dude used his silver energy powers to wrap up her one leg. There was blood all over her. They put her down on this table, knocking this yuppie chick's Daiquiri all over the floor. No great loss that, but she was freaking too hard over the blood to worry about her sissy drink melting into the carpet. That fat bastard, the hippo, he came out right away, and he starts bellowing for the witch Patience. I don't know what you're worried about." "What concerns me is none of your affair. I'm not paying you for your opinions of my motivations. I'm paying you for information." The hooded man leaned forward. "You did do more than sit in the bar?" "Sure I did, I'll get to that." The dark-haired man gulped down more ice water as the waitress brought the hooded man a menu. "Hot chocolate." "Whipped cream?" The waitress looked down at the cloaked figure. Sure you prick, order something I have to fix. "No." Now the cloaked man had his denimed associate's interest. Not too many people would order hot chocolate on such a pleasant day. The waitress stalked off. Jerk probably won't leave me a tip either. "You really shouldn't drink cocoa, the caffeine, it dehydrates you." "You're drinking enough water for both of us. Go on." "They bring in the witch, Patience. She wants to relocate the blonde upstairs, by this time quite a crowd has gathered around the table. It's like a car wreck, people want to gawk. So chrome boy, uh..." The dark-haired man reached into the pocket of his denim shirt, and pulled out the small notebook. He flipped through the pages. "Silver Lantern, he starts pushing the crowd back, they'd gotten their moneys worth. Chrome's a straight arrow type; he's the kind of guy they write about in comic books. So the blonde, she starts coming around, she'd probably be a lot more attractive without the blood all over her legs, *heh* looked like she'd just had a wild date." "Get on with it I want to know about the other woman, Azangel." "Relax, I had to be careful around her, she's seen me before. I was on a security job." The dark-haired man picked up the pitcher of water he had gotten from the busboy, and proceeded to refill his glass. He watched the flow of water with some interest, as the waitress put the cloaked man's steaming cup down. "Besides this is supposed to be a superhero base, or so I thought. I had to be careful, take my time. I couldn't rush in there like the flood. It took a couple of days, but I got up stairs. Their security isn't worth a crap. Hell, Clarke's comics down on Harrison has a better set up then these clowns." "You weren't seen?" He sipped cautiously, and hadn't needed to. The cocoa was hardly warm, and she had made quite a mess of the cup mixing it. He unwrapped his silverware and put his napkin under the cup, to soak up the brown puddle in the saucer. "Look buddy," he put the pitcher down, "you have to hermetically seal someplace to keep me out, even then it might only slow me down. I wasn't seen or heard by anyone. Whatta ya think I'd dress in drag and try to pawn myself off as a woman? Please." He took another drink from his glass, leaving the hooded man to wonder about the bladder capacity of his companion. "You were saying..." "I started searching the upstairs of the pub, I found her room right where you said it would be. Her closet and drawers all had new clothes in them, a lot of them still had the tags on them. I checked out the bathroom, you know you can learn a lot about a person by looking in their bathroom." "Go on." The cloaked figure on the other side of the booth was growing impatient. "Her sink has some kind of nasty pink stain in it. Doesn't look like she was trying to wash out blood in it, it's too bright for a bloodstain. Bright pink, maybe fuschia, like the Klingon blood from that one Trek film, the last good one. Her toiletries were all new too, barely used except for this one bottle of shampoo. The room had some odd art objects, but no weapons." "What kind of art?" The hooded man asked as the waitress almost refilled his cup with coffee. The cocoa wasn't bad, but it was from a packet, he could tell. The best cocoa was the little blocks you bought from Latveria. You'd shave some from the block into your cup of hot milk, and then whip it in. Just the thought of the Latverian cocoa soured the flavor of this chemically enhanced hot chocolate-like product. He remembered the last time he savored the imported cocoa, until the denim man spoke again, pulling him from his memories. "Primitive, tribal art, South American, like Mayan or Aztec. It'd fit with her stage name." The dark-haired man took another drink. "Stage name? What are you talking about?" "Azangel. You know her 'professional' name. The one they slap on all of your merchandise. So anyway, I searched the room and found these." He reached beside him on the bench and placed four golden metal feathers on the table. "How did you get out with those?" The hooded man reached forward for them but his companion kept his hand on them. "I don't have to explain my methods any more than you have to tell me where the money's coming from. They're the same price as the last ones, if you what them." "I want them." The hooded man reached into his cloak and counted his money under the table. The cash and feathers exchanged hands. "Go on." Now he had seven of them. That should be plenty…. When the thirsty man put his glass down he continued. "There really isn't much more I can tell you about her room." He flipped through the notebook again. "Look, I was in there off and on all this week, and all of last night so from here I'm just going to hit the high points of what I saw, if you don't mind?" "Go ahead." "The only two rooms I had any problem with were Lantern's and Patience's, I couldn't get in those, the rest I scoped out. The floor plan will be in the formal written report. Generally they all have dinner separately, except for Rydgen and Bishop. Those two seem to hang out a lot. It doesn't look like Lantern eats at all, probably doesn't need to. After dinner the kid and Ry play a couple-a games of pool. Like I said, for a superhero base it's pretty pathetic. There's no command center, or formal meeting rooms, no work out area, it's sad." He took another drink. "They've just added a new guy, Captain Kitty. Big strapping guy with a cat." He shook he dark hair. "There's just something unnatural about a GUY with a cat. He's been tending bar and bouncing. That puts two cats in the place." The waitress came over again to check the hooded man's cup and asked if he wanted another. He declined, and was becoming annoyed at the constant interruptions. The waitress was glad to hear it, now she could put the table on "ignore". She placed the bill down to the accompaniment of one of those whiney-girl "singers" over the piped in radio station. "More often than not, Az is the first up in the morning. She does some kind of sun worship thing at dawn." "I'd expect that." "This morning, Lantern joined her, but I couldn't get up there fast enough to find out what they were talking about. Then they had a morning meeting. They don't do that too often, have meetings. These guys aren't organized worth a damn. Looks like Lantern's the one in charge of the team. He talked about going to find some dead guy." "Dead guy?" "Yea, uh, Wesley Dodds, they want to find his body I guess, they mentioned his ghost a couple of times, but I never saw it. Now the witch Patience, she was ready for this. She pulls out a few odd looking things and passes them out." "Fetishes." "Whatever, from there they broke into teams, each group had a fetishist." "Fetish." "Whatever. The blonde, Artemis, and the hippo took the cellar. Patience stayed in the bar and started some kind of seance thing. Lantern and Bishop searched the rest of the main floor. That left your girl, Azangel and Rygden the slacker, upstairs. I followed them. The slacker kept making jokes about the fetish, and her tolerance for his smart mouth kept dropping. She started to cop a serious attitude with him. He got defensive and wanted to know what was going on, what her problem was all of a sudden." The hooded man leaned closer, entranced. "They were arguing like an old married couple, when Ry got distracted by the fetish, he looks down at it, and she loses it." The dark-haired man pushed his hair back over his pointed ear as he took a drink. "She grabs him, and just lights into him about what a piece of trash he is. She's so furious her skin's getting darker, and so did her costume, come to think of it..." "Yes, yes, go on." His smile shone through the shadows of his hood. "You like a good story don't you? Ry's struggling to break her grip, and he's getting scared. She's still talking to him like they're on the Jerry Springer show. She hoists him up over her head, and throws him down through both floors right in front of the hippo and the blonde down in the cellar. When the dust cleared, Ry is lying in a heap and you should-a seen the look on their faces as they looked up through the hole at her..." Chapter 2 Upstairs, after the meeting.... "So, uh, Az.....what do you call a - " "I don't want to hear another 'fetish' joke, Rydgen." snaps Az at her green-haired companion, as they leave the empty bedroom they had been searching. "But it's a funny joke, man!" "Maybe to you. Will you please shut up and focus on the job at hand? My head's killing me." She glares at him, and he glares back, arms crossed. "You've got a serious attitude going, Az. Lighten up, willya?" "Sil wants us to search the pub for any signs of Wes's ghost. So far all you've done is tell me stupid jokes." Ry turns and continues walking towards the next room, ignoring her. "What do you call a -" Az sighs, then stops and puts her hand on the helmet where she had the concussion a week or so ago. Sharp pain was radiating through her head like hundreds of needles, more than enough to bring tears to her eyes. A dull roaring filled her ears, blocking out half of what Ry was saying. She suddenly had the urge to throw up. I thought Pat healed me...? This is awful..... She inhales sharply, trying to quell the nausea, and the roaring in her ears thankfully passes. "Hey, you could laugh at ONE of the jokes, you know? I'm just trying to get the stick out of your...." he pauses, now looking at her, worry creasing his forehead. "Don't finish that sentence, Ry, or I'll have to hurt you." she manages weakly. Ry grins gleefully and starts in on another joke, continuing to walk down the hallway towards the next empty bedroom, Az trailing slowly a few feet behind. A few specks of darkness had begun floating through her field of vision, nauseating her further. She stops walking and leans heavily on the wall for support, the hallway now spinning violently at odd angles. Grey specks were now almost completely clouding her vision, and she could hear a small sound, a whispering. A voice was telling her to let go....pass out.....give in......she was so confused, and the greyness was quickly turning black. They were outside Patience's room, and Ry was staring down at the fetish intently, ignoring Az and her internal conflict. "Hey, the fetish....it's glowing." He pauses and looks over at Az, now nearly clutching the wall, fighting to remain upright. "I'm calling the others, you look terrible." Ry reaches over and gently grabs Az's upper arm, trying to support her. She suddenly snaps upright, shoving Ry's helpful hand away, hitting his chest, and knocking him down. "How DARE you touch me, you -" She's cut off mid-sentence by Ry's yelp of surprise, and he looks up at her like a kicked puppy. "What was THAT for? I didn't DO anything!!! I didn't even try to touch anything this time!" He stands up quickly and glares at her. "If you weren't a guy in there I'd think you had PMS!" "How STUPID are you people?" "What are you ..." "You cannot even see what is right in front of your FACE!" Rydgen suddenly finds himself being hurled through the upper floor of the Hair and Hippo, and a few seconds later, he is looking up at both Artie and Hairbutt's worried faces. That was interesting......now let's see what our little 'Azangel' can do when I put her mind to it. Her wings unfold, and she drops like a stone though the Ry-shaped hole in the floor, shredding the wood further as she does so. She lands in the basement, and glances at Ry, struggling to heal in spite of the floorboards sticking from various parts of his anatomy. A wide grin crosses her face. She opens her mouth to speak. "LEAVE ME ALOOOOONE!!!!!!" What the.....? Realisation dawns. Oh, Ciela.....still a little fight left in you? You don't want to hurt your friends, do you? That's too bad, because I want you to hurt them! Az was only marginally aware of what was going on. She was in the basement? Had she passed out? She tries to move, tries to talk....but her entire body feels as if it is weighted with lead. Her wings spasm and her body seizes as if in an epileptic fit, as she tries to fight off the influence of whatever is controlling her. Her head still hurts, she cannot think straight, but she knows something is VERY wrong. She can hear, distantly, Hairbutt and Artemis speaking to her. She wants to warn them to stay away...that something is wrong...but no matter how hard she tries she cannot get words to form other than "LEAVE ME ALONE!". She recites an ancient prayer to Quetzalcoatl in her mind, and is shocked at the immediate response. He won't be showing up anytime soon. He is too afraid of me to help his 'champion'. You should not have let the shadows into your soul, little one. You have no idea how much I will enjoy using you for what I am about to do........" Tezcatlipoca? is the last thing she thinks before the shadows overwhelm her.... "Hi. Sorry I'm late. I'm the Wet Willie, and I'm here to join the J Street Sentinels." Proclaimed the stranger as he stepped into the Hair and Hippo. "Hhmph" replied the mangy looking feline pacing atop the bar. "Down there," said the cat as he pointed his head towards the huge hole in the floor. "Sounds like trouble." Willie said, looking down into the only cellar on J Street with a skylight. "Don't you think we should help?" "Nah, it's just the group letting off some steam." Kitty said, while a muscular fellow poured Wet Willie a cold beer behind the talking cat. "Sit here and have a drink with me." The caped feline said, motioning for Willie to take a seat at the bar. "By the way, my name's Kitty, I'm the bartender here. The big bruiser standing behind me, that's the Captain,(meow) he's the muscle. What brings you to this part of J Street?" Kitty asked, pushing the mug of beer towards Willie, as the noise from the cellar began to increase. "Well you see, I uhh..." Willie murmured as he quickly took a sip of his beer. "What happened, is that a guy kinda umm... There was this accident with this guy named LaPaglia and he sorta..." "Azangel, what has gotten into you?" "LEEEEAVE ME ALOOONE!!" "Az, it's me Hairbutt, what's the matter?" "I don't think she can hear you Hair, we need to..ARRGHH!!!" "For goodness sakes Artemis, watch out for her wings!" "That doesn't sound like letting off steam, maybe we should do something." Willie said, straining his head to get a better look see at the ruckus in the dark cellar. "Don't worry, that's just Azangel, she likes to play rough sometimes, but she's a good girl." Kitty said as he lapped at the bowl of milk that Captain had placed on the table. "Wet Willie, Wet Willie, Wet Willie, where have I heard that name before?" Kitty wondered aloud, as the biggest cheesiest grin fell across Willie's face. "Didn't you play drums with the Onionheads back in '96?" "(SIGH) No, I'm a member of the Pantheon! Well, at least I was a member of th- " Silver Lantern, Bishop try and grab ahold of Az's arms." "On it Hair!" "Gotcha!" "LEEEEAVE ME ALOOONE!!" "Artemis, either wake Rydgen up or drag him outta the way! Patience, try some spell to calm her down!" "Hair, she's too strong for me, I can't hold her for heeeyyyyy!" "LEEEEAVE ME ALOOONE!!" "Bish-OOOOOMPH!!!!" "I'm going down there, they might really need my help." Willie said, pushing the half empty glass away before jumping from his chair, chin up, with his hands on his hips. "I can't just sit here, I've got to do something!" Willie shouted. "Yer standing sweet cheeks." Willie heard from the entranceway, he turned to see small threads of smoke and the silhouetted figure of a woman move through the blinding light and into the bar. "and if ya really got'cher heart set on do sumthin'," said the gravely voiced woman "ya could slip me a twenty and we could be do sumthin' all night long." "Excuse me!?!" Willie stammered, as the woman stepped clear of the doorway, and sauntered over towards the table where he and Kitty had been sitting. Willie, in shock, couldn't help but stare at the woman as she walked by sensually, blowing a ring of smoke into the face of the aquatic hero. "Hiya Hookie, have a seat. I'll have Cap'n there mix you a drink." Kitty purred as he hopped from the table and dragged a chair out for Hookie to sit in. "How's tricks?" Patience!! How's that spell coming?" "LEEEEAVE ME ALOOONE!!" "It's coming Hair, you just hold her down while I...UGHH!" "LEEEEAVE ME ALOOONE!!" "Pat's down! Rydgen, distract Az so Artie can grab her from behind." "Distract her how? She tossed me through two floors. I'm not going anywhere near that whacked out bit - WHOAAAAA!!! HELP ME! "LEEEEAVE ME ALOOONE!!" "Drop him Az, I'm done playing with you! Put Ry down now, or I'll shove my sword so far up your OOOMPH!! Rydgen!!! Get your hands off my-" "Sorry Artemis, it was an accident! I swear it was an accident! "LEEEEAVE ME ALOOONE!!" "That's it, I'm going down!" Willie said as he leapt into the cellar, teeth clenched, fists at the ready, mind already assessing what needs to be done. "Chin up Sentinels, Wet Willie is here to help you douse this dark bird." Willie proclaimed as he began to gather all the surrounding moisture in the bar to use as one huge tidal wave at Azangel. "LEEEEAVE ME ALOOONE!!" Azangel screamed as she finally broke free of the force that had controlled her body. Her victory was short-lived, however, as the darkness quickly regained control over her struggling form. "That was an unexpected development" she whispered. "but I think I've done enough here today." she finished gleefully, looking around and seeing the damage she wrought, her injured teammates and the enormous wave of water swirling about the room. She retreated from the H&H, quickly turning down the alleyway and vanishing. "Wow, thanks for the help." Hairbutt said. "Welcome to the Hair & Hippo." The hooded man sat back. Aquarius could see his smile through the shadows. His cup of cocoa was empty except for a small puddle in the bottom. "Excellent. What happened then? Who is 'Wet Willie'?" "He's one of the Pantheon from down the block. He generates this wave of water to throw at her, he's holding it up in the air, for the cameras I guess, and she lights outta there. She spreads those big golden wings of hers and rips another hole in the place on her way out. Those Bozos let her go! They just stand around licking their wounds looking stupid, introducing themselves to this guy from the Pantheon like he's really something." Aquarius picked up his pitcher of water, and poured the last of it into his glass. "Chrome boy goes over to Patience, he levitates her with his silver energy, and in a couple of minutes they bring her around." "Were any of them seriously injured?" He'd need to know, for the coming war. "Nah, the slacker, Ry, looks like he can heal just about anything. The witch took care of Artemis, Bishop, then herself." Aquarius set the pitcher down near the edge of the table, not really expecting the waitress to notice. The hooded man thought that although these Sentinels were fools, they were a resilient bunch. "That's too…. Well, you've done an excellent job." The hooded man reached into his cloak and withdrew an envelope. He laid it on the table. Aquarius reached for it, but the cloaked man held on. "One more question, my good mercenary. Where are your loyalties?" Aquarius drained the last of the water from the glass. "Right here." He said, pulling his pay from the cloaked man's grasp. Aquarius counted the hundred dollar bills as the waitress came back around. "Anything else?" She asked in her daze. "Are you on the desert menu?" The dark-haired man asked, putting the envelope in his coat. "Asshole." She said as she threw the tab down, and stormed off. "Then I guess not." He laughed at her. The cloaked man stood up to leave and Aquarius handed him the bill. "You were late." Aquarius stood, adjusted his coat and left. The hooded man walked up front. "$11.38??" He said reading the slip of paper. Chapter 3 She sat nursing her fourth cup of coffee in what had to be the prototypical greasy spoon. "Why couldn't he find a better class of place to hang out in?" she thought to herself. "If he doesn't show up soon I'll be forced to order something." The waitress began moving in her direction, pad in hand, and Jayna had resigned herself to ordering juice and dry toast as her quarry entered the diner. "What'll it be, Missy?" sneered the waitress, "Either you order something, or I'll have to charge you for the next cup…" "I'll pay." She said, dropping a five on the table, "and tell that fellow at the counter that I'd like to have a word with him." The waitress looked over her shoulder at the counter and shrugged. "What do I look like," she asked, turning away from the booth, "A messenger service?" She took here time walking the length of the counter to where he sat, reading over the menu. She put a hand on his shoulder, speaking into his ear. He sat back, smiling broadly and looking where she pointed. His smile was instantly replaced by what Jayna thought of as his "business" face. The dark-haired man picked up his glass of ice water, and joined her at her booth. "Well, Mister Aquarius," she asked, "did you get lucky at the bar last night, or do you always sleep this late?" He curled his lip and chuckled. "That's really not any of your business either way. I don't believe you came here to discuss my social life." He always used his stage name with the female clients. He thought it made him sound sexier and more mysterious. "Only when it costs me half my morning sitting around waiting for you." She said, sipping her coffee. "Why can't you just get a phone or a pager like everyone else?" "I will as soon as they make a decent water-proof model." He said. "If we are going to sit here and play twenty-questions the least you can do is buy me breakfast." He cocked his finger and the waitress responded by coming their way, and Jayna fought the urge to comment on his rather obvious "gigolo field". She would have found him much easier to deal with if he hadn't been so damn attractive. Jayna shook that thought from her mind, and began going over what she had intended to ask him about. "So, are you hunting me down for business reasons," he asked, smiling again, "or pleasure?" Jayna recoiled at his audacity, but fought to keep her composure. "Not business, exactly… I saw you in the bar last night and wanted to ask you a few questions." "Capricorn? Yes… and as often as I can talk one into it." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, that's more than enough!" she said as she fumbled in her bag for another five. She found it, and threw it, crumpled, at him. She began to scoot across the booth to leave. "Touchy, aren't you? Lighten up!" He put his feet up on the seat beside her, blocking her exit. "With the prices you charge," she answered, "you could afford some lessons in respect." "I get in where no one else can… I get results." he said. "Are you paying for personality? Call an escort service…" "All right, all right, I don't need a lecture from you." She said, slumping in her seat. She decided this wasn't worth making a scene over. "You obviously go to the Hair & Hippo… When did they buy it? Why did the old man sell? Who are they. What are they?" They were almost to the shop by the time she realized that he had accompanied her. Once you got past the smart-ass bravado he had a way of getting under a person's skin, and you could lose yourself in conversation. She surely had. "So just what WILL you do for money, Mister Aquarius?" she asked, pulling herself back from the edge of a place she really did not want to go. His reply was another of those smiles, and she felt herself blushing. "What I meant was would you be willing to "liberate" something, a big, heavy something if the price was right?" "If the price was right, and I could find a way." He answered. She suddenly became aware that something was amiss. The door to the shop was slightly ajar. The lock was shattered and the wards, the ridiculously expensive, fail-safe wards were in ruins. "By the Gods." she whispered. "I've been robbed!" The dark-haired man stepped quickly past her and into the shop. The place was cluttered and he wondered if anyone could have planned a break-in of such a place. He moved as rapidly as possible among the racks and cases, searching for any sign of a robber still inside. "I don't suppose you have an inventory of all this stuff, do you?" he asked. "Of course I do." She said, coming inside. It was then that he saw the shattered glass spread across the floor. The front of one of the cases had been smashed as well as the glass shelves. The case was empty except for the shards, and there on the floor he found a clue. It was the only thing among the hundreds in the shop more out of place than the broken glass - a single, golden, metallic feather. "Jayna…" he called. "over here." "I'm coming." She said, working her way to him. "Did you find anything?" "Yes…" "Oh, beautiful! They emptied the entire case." She said as she reached his side. "I knew pagan religions were on the rise, but this is ridiculous. It's not like I can just waltz back there and pick up pieces like those again…" He tapped his foot on the floor. "Oh, I'm rambling aren't I? Sorry, I'm just so pissed…" He pointed toward the floor. "Look down there." He said. There was a sliver of glittering gold among the rainbow shards. "There wasn't any gold in this case." She said, squatting down to get a better look. "Probably not. I'd say your perp left that behind." He said as she picked up the broken feather. "I'll bet whatever was in that case was Aztec in origin, or Mayan." "All Aztec religious items, actually. There was a small calendar, a jade knife, a mask, an obsidian mirror, and a small statue of their jaguar God." She said. "Yea, that all fits in with what I saw yesterday morning…" Things were still not well, but considerably more subdued inside the Hair & Hippo. Silver Lantern & Patience were still out searching for signs of Azangel, while the others were left to clean up as best they could. A sheet of plywood had been hastily nailed over the hole in the barroom floor, and they now sat staring at the bit of feather lying on the table in front of them. "At least she hasn't called the cops…Yet." Said Bishop, quietly. "Yea, that is a bit odd. Don't you think?" asked Willie. "Well, it is pretty obvious who did it." Said Rydgen, nursing his still-healing injuries. "I'm not so sure about that." said Artemis, gingerly picking up the the razor-sharp bit of fletching. "I don't recall Az just dropping these things all over the place for no good reason. Maybe she was set up." "Now Az isn't exactly acting any too rational these days, is he? She… Whatever!" said Hairbutt. It was hard to tell which had made him the more upset, the current state of the bar, or Az's betrayal. "Besides, when did she find the time to pull this off?" asked Artie. "Come on, guys! She didn't have much of a head start. Even if she knew exactly what she wanted and where to look it still would have taken her some time to do this, wouldn't it?" At that the group erupted into another fit of disjointed rumbling. They seemed paralyzed, unable to agree on anything. Bishop could hardly believe his ears. Here were all these adults, or mostly adults, who seemed just as confused by all of this as he was. They couldn't just sit here and do nothing. Could they? "Hey guys… Guys!" he said, raising his voice to get their attention. All eyes turned toward the youngest Sentinel. "Is this all we're going to do? Sit around here and argue? Az is out there someplace… Maybe hurt… Maybe crazy, for all we know. Isn't she supposed to be our friend?" he said, showing a lot more emotion and passion than they had seen from him in a long time. "Aren't we the ones who should find her, get her help, or bring her to justice? Isn't that what heroes are supposed to do?" There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Bishop's words hit home. "The kid's right, you know." Said Willie, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "You train your sidekicks well…" Rydgen was the next to respond. "Bish is right. She is our problem. We can't let any of the other teams take care of this for us." "Sidekick?" asked Bishop, to no one in particular. Interlude 1 Luvcomix Mansion He wandered the halls of the mansion, searching. He was looking for someone in particular to deliver his message. It was a warning. He stopped before a door and waited. He could sense a being sitting within the room. The being felt tired and was filled with a sense of loss. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small carved figure. The figure was dressed in scarlet with lightning bolts artfully painted on it. He stared at the figure for a time and then replaced it in his pocket. He strode forward and phased through the door. A table lamp bounced off his energy aura. He wasn't very surprised at the response and waited for the being to speak. Taking in his surroundings he noticed a tidy bedroom, a desk in one corner. Before him stood a man, blonde crewcut, determined look on his face. The face was young looking but lined. He knew the lines were only a recent addition caused by great tragedies that had beset this man. He looked as if he was ready for action though. Behind him on the bed was a scarlet uniform, folded, he was about to comment on it when the man spoke. "OK, its obvious you're not here to attack me. What do you want, friend?" "I've come to give you a warning, old friend..." He gestured towards the chair, "May I?" The man composed himself, "Be my guest." He sat in the chair while the man sat himself on the bed. They faced each other. "Before you start, a question?" He nodded "Certainly." "A moment ago you called me 'old friend'. Have we met before?" "We have met in the past, but I didn't look then as I do now. We have met many times, but this is the first time you have seen my real form. Actually, in times to come we'll be great friends, Ken." If the man was surprised at the use of his real name he didn't show it. He chuckled and good naturedly replied. "Well, I guess I'll have to wait and find out the meaning of that answer in the future. Now you said you were here to deliver me a warning?" "I did. I am Guardian, and unless we act, the Universes shall be imperiled. Nothing will be left but the smell of blood and smoke in our nostrils, and carnage beyond imagining." Buried Alien straightened and looked deadly serious. He sighed wearily. "Well, we've had to deal with it before...the JSTF isn't at it's best at the moment but we'll do what we can. Tell me more..." Chapter 4 "Excuse me is this the Hair & Hippo?" Hairbutt turned from cleaning up rubble to the figure standing in the doorway. He looked to be about 40.. Grey in his temples, hard-bitten face. He had the air of someone official about him though his dress sense said otherwise. Hairbutt held out a hand. "This is, mate. I'm Hairbutt the Hippo, the manager." The man looked at his outstretched hand and smiled. "I know." And then shook it. " I was wondering if I could have a word with you and a Ms. Artemis?" Hairbutt eyed him with suspicion. "Look buddy. Just how do you know us. I certainly don't know you." The man said nothing but pulled out his wallet. From it he retrieved a CIA identification badge. "I thought it was something like that." The Hippo said wearily. "Sorry we've been under a bit of stress recently and suspicions are high." The man smiled again. "I can understand that. I have something to discuss with you but not here." The man looked over his shoulder at Bishop & Rydgen who had stopped cleaning and were watching the man and Hippo. "Fair enough." Hairbutt replied. "I'll just go and get Arty then." "I'll meet you outside." Hairbutt nodded and went over to the others. "Listen guys. Arty and I'll be gone for a little while. We've got something to do. Get things clean and then hang around for Pat and Sil to return. Ry, you’re in charge of the bar til I get back." "WOO-HOO! Free drinks!" Ry yelled. "Don't even think it Ry. Not unless you wanna see if one of your severed arms will grow outta your butt when I stick it up there." "Party pooper." Hairbutt chuckled. "Now where’s Arty?" "Checking out the damage in the cellar." ****** "So what’s he want?" "Not sure Arty. But it sounds pretty heavy. He used to be government and wants to talk to us about something." "Notice anything about him, Nutty?" "Only that he's retired and is wanting something from us. Also he runs a pawnbrokers." "How do you know all that???" Hairbutt smiled. "Well I wasn't a P.I. cos chicks dig the guns. C'mon, hon, lets go." ****** "The names Bender. Rex Bender. And I have a proposition for you both." "Well Mr. Bender, things are a bit hectic at the moment. I'm not sure we have time for..." "Just hear me out Mr. Hippo." Bender settled back and began. "Knowing your methods and reputation Mr. Hippo, I'm sure you already know that I used to work for the CIA. I was a top field agent many years ago, but since then I've retired and gone into business for myself. I run a pawnbroker shop in the Washington DC part of J Street." Arty shot a startled look at Hairbutt and was surprised to see him surprised as well. "THE Washington D.C.???" Bender smiled. "From your look I see you have no knowledge of how J Street works then. Well, if you accept my proposition I'll fill you in on it. You'll need to know how everything works here if you are too be any use to me." "What do you want Mr. Bender?" Rex turned to Arty. "Direct. Good. I like that. My story is this. I was in the park nearby about a week ago and I saw you two in action against a gang of punks. I was impressed and that’s not easy to do, believe me. Anyway, pawnbroking isn't my major occupation it's just a front. Let’s just say I'm a freelance contact for the right people for a particular job. I had other business in the park when I saw you and before you ask I won't tell you what. But I liked what I saw from you two and I believe we can do business. I get hired by "concerned party's" who need agents that can deal with jobs that are either too tough or are just a touch illegal. Not criminal, just that the law doesn't cover a lot of the things I'll need people like you for." "Well that’s not too reassuring Bender...and how can we trust what you say is true?" The Hippo interrupted. "Well.... I’ll tell you something...." Bender leaned in towards them. "When I was working for the government, I had to do things I disagreed with. That I thought wasn't right. They would say it was for the good of the country, but I would see just as many things that were good for the country as well as things that were good for a select few. I didn't like that. I didn't like that at all." The Hippo and the Huntress were surprised at the bitterness in Benders voice. He appeared to be a man with certain convictions. And he seemed to be sad at the days those convictions were compromised. It had had a profound affect on this man. "Anyway, I quit. I'd had enough of the bad, though I missed doing the good. I still had contacts in the right places and began to use those to get the jobs done that others would not or were incapable of doing. But so far I haven't been able to find trustworthy freelance agents that are competent. I think you two are different. There seems to be a bond between you both and your talents seem prodigious...." Hairbutt glanced at Arty to see what she was thinking. He noticed a very strange look on her face at that last bit. "HMMMMmmm…I wonder what that’s about?" he thought. "... I need people like you. People I can trust. And checking into you both, I believe you are the type of people I need." "Well that’s very flattering Mr. Bender," Arty said. "But I'm not sure if we have the time at the moment. Things are a little.... Troubled. We'll have to think about your kind offer." "Actually there’s no time. I have a job at the moment that is in great need of your skills. I really need an answer now." "But why us?" Hairbutt replied. "Because you faced threats that could wipe out civilization as we know it and succeeded. Because your quick thinkers and tough-assed fighters. You've got a sense of what’s right and will do anything to make sure that good prevails, no matter how cornball that sounds. I need someone like that for this job. It'll be dangerous, very likely impossible to achieve but you'll save millions of peoples lives and keep the world safe if you do. Plus you'll be well paid." "The money's not important Mr. Bender." Artemis said then looked at Hairbutt "What do you think?" "What about the others? And Az?" "Well.... I think they can take care of themselves. Az seems to be having some problems, but I'm sure the others will be able to help her. It sounds like something bigger than the JSS and our part of J-Street needs us. There’s a lot about this world we don't know about and we should find out and help where we can. Between them the others are good enough to protect J-Street from Zen and his Raiders." "True.... But their own friends and we made a vow..." Artemis placed her hand on Hairbutts arm and looked with understanding in her eyes."We made a vow to protect. We will be doing that, but in a different way. And they will still be our friends, its just when needs must, friends have to go their own way." Hairbutt nodded, "Your right.... OK Mr. Bender we're in." "Thank you.... And please, call me Rex. Don't worry, after this you can go back to your friends, but my proposition extends to a great deal more if your willing." "We'll get to that when we have to Rex. Lets go." The three walked off. "By the way Nutty, I've been meaning to ask you, What types of guns are those?" "Glock 30's, Ms. Artemis..."Hairbutt chuckled, "I like the sound of that." " I'm glad you do.... I’ve been thinking.... I’m pretty proficient in most weapons. Think you can show me how to use a gun?" "Sure. You’re an excellent shot with a bow.... It shouldn't be too hard for you to pick up." Artemis smiled, "Thanks Mr. Hippo." Chapter 5 She came through the open doorway like the wrath of God. "What the hell is wrong with those people?" she asked to no one in particular. She stopped long enough to pick up a heavy object & contemplate smashing yet another glass case. "Morons! They just sat there staring at me like they were paralyzed…" "I told you they were losers." Zan hefted the broom & leaned on it. "I don't know how they accomplish anything. " The silence was awkward. Was she going to throw that thing? "I did a little cleaning while you were gone. I picked up all the broken glass. There wasn't much else to do, and no customers. How do you manage to keep this place open?" "I don't need the money." She sighed, putting the cudgel back on its stand. "Actually, I prefer the quiet…" "Oh, I get it." he said, "It's just another front, like everyplace else on J Street." "You really are quite the cynic, aren't you Mr…." She asked. "All right just what IS your name? This is getting tiresome." She moved past him, into the counter area at the back of the shop. He admired the scent of her perfume as she stepped past. "Aquarius is fine, unless you're writing a check." She flinched, and he regretted his tendency toward a smart remark for everything. He followed her back, to put away the broom, or so he wanted to believe. "And as for me being a cynic, there's a bar right across the street that's a 'hero base', there's a fortune teller in the mall that sells real magic, and Jimmy Lee's will bring you a lot more than Chinese take-out. This whole street is full of people hiding behind masks. It's the way people cope around here." "Do you really think I don't know what this place is all about? Look around you." She said, gesturing at the shop. "Do you think I can just call up the local State Farm man about this stuff? Get real! I hired you to find out about that creep stalking this place & I end up getting robbed by the hero next-door! It's not like I can't afford to lose the items, it's the principle of the thing." "No, I don't think that's quite it. If somebody, if I, were going to break in here I'd haul a lot of other stuff out of here before I took what I was really after. A smart person would at least try to cover his tracks." He said. "You said that stuff was Aztec, right? That is going to be hard to get rid of, unless you have a specific buyer lined up in advance. You've got a case over there with at least ten grand in jewelry. Melt it down, pull the gems, and it will never be traced. A few hours work, and they have nothing to look for. Your thief wanted that stuff for a reason." "Smart or not, those things are gone, and my neighbors don't seem to be inclined to do anything about it." "You're evading me." "What are you talking about? Evading what?" she asked. "I'm really in no mood to play word games with you." Zan leaned against the counter. He liked it when he thought women were playing coy with him. "There is more to that stuff than you're telling me. I've had a ring-side seat for some serious weirdness this last week, and if you step back and look at the big picture it's just about starting to make some sense." Zan crossed his arms and looked at her. "Why don't you help me fill in the blanks, and I'll help you find your thief." The sky began to change hue heralding the night, the glorious night. Tezcatlipoca the black, god of shadows, breathed in the coming night. Savoring for the first time in millennia, that he again walked the world he once ruled. Could those jaded fools at the Q Foundation have provided him a better host than this? "She is fine Quetz. When I have the leisure of it, I shall explore all that this body can offer me." Tez was now a 'she', not a host he would have chosen for himself, but a fine and strong body it was. Not at all like the women of ancient times. He could hear Quetzalcoatl roar in anger for he had taken this, Quetz's chosen warrior, as his host. Ciela Jarras was unprepared for the end battle, her mind had resisted him, but was consumed none the less. To go to war against the hated Quetz wielding the serpent's own champion as his host and sword was to be his greatest triumph. Tez spread her wings, it was close enough to night to dare open flight. The dark figure on golden wings ruled the night sky over J Street. The others had given up the search with the coming of the darkness, and there was now nothing to slow her inevitable progress. Tez reached out with only the slightest of efforts to touch the mind of her vassal. The other was waiting for his master's arrival in a darkened alley off of the main street. The God of Shadows resisted the temptation to continue flying for the sheer exhilaration, and chose to focus on the task at hand. There would be more than enough time to enjoy all that this world had to offer once he had enough sacrifices to ensure his permanence on this plane of existence. He swooped down upon the man, almost brushing him with her deadly wings as she landed. The hooded man dropped to one knee, & bowed deeply to his God. With eyes lowered he gathered up the package from the ground beside him, and held it over his head as an offering. "I hope that these will be found worthy, my Master." He said, softly. "Open it." The hooded man brought the package back to his knee and untied the bundle, cradling it with one arm so not to spill its contents. One by one he withdrew the objects, and handed them over for inspection and approval. "You know what is required of you, priest." Tez said to the hooded man, handing back the mask, the knife, and the jaguar fetish. Tossing aside the stone calendar she commanded, "Be about it, and quickly!" The hooded man wrapped the items back into a bundle and bowed once again. "Great Tezcatlipoca, Master of the night, God of Shadows, know that I am your obedient servant. I, above all others…" His voice was cut off by razor sharp wings as she launched herself into the night. The hooded man looked up at her obsidian silhouette against the cobalt sky. He would make her notice him. He knew what he wanted as his reward for his loyalty, his devotion. One night would not be so much to ask…. The hooded man retreated from the alley, content that he was unseen. The calendar that lay among the rubbish, more accurate than any used, reflected only the street lamps. The mist of the cooling night air drifted across the calendar and solidified into a hand that lifted the discarded thing from the ground. Aquarius brushed the dirt from the disk and placed it under his arm. It was a bit of a walk to Alexander the Great's, but he made good time. He entered the building through a inconspicuous side door, climbed the narrow stairwell to the upper floor, and knocked. He could hear her hurried footsteps approaching the door. "Who is it?" she called, hand on the lock. "It's pizza… Who do you think it is?" He could hear her opening several locks, as he waited none too patiently. "I'm out here with the Prize Patrol… Damn, you have better security here than downstairs!" "I sleep here, besides you would be surprised how much of what is down there takes care of itself." She let him into the apartment, wiping her hands on a towel, after resetting the locks. "I hope you're hungry." She said, as she walked deeper into the place. "Sure." He followed behind her. He couldn't help but notice that although this part of the building was not as cluttered as the shop below it was still a haven of the old and curious. "Who's the best merc on J Street?" He flashed her a wicked smile as he slid himself onto a stool in the kitchen. He had to admit that whatever she was cooking did smell wonderful, and his stomach reacted accordingly. Pulling a liter bottle of spring water from his pocket, he drank deeply and waited for her response. "So, I guess that means you found something?" she asked, her back to him. She stirred the pot on the stove, and offered a bit of steaming something for him to taste. He opened the right side of his jacket, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, showing her the edge of a familiar artifact tucked safely under his arm. "Maybe…" He let the jacket fall closed and leaned forward toward the proffered spoon. She brought it closer to his lips and he took a taste. "Hmmm… Thish ish good." He mumbled. "I excel at Greek peasant cooking." She said, obviously pleased with herself. "So, where did you… How did you… Can we get the rest?" He leaned back and wiped off his lips, then reached into his coat and set the calendar on the counter. She examined it and except for a small nick, it seemed no worse for its adventure. She couldn't help but be impressed and realized she was starting to like this brash fellow in spite of her better judgement. "Who's the best merc on J Street?" He teased, flashing her his most charming smile. "You are, but you're also the only merc I've had anything to do with on J Street." She said with a laugh in her voice. "Do you want to eat this in here or do you want to go in the other room?" "The bedroom? You wicked girl." He laughed as she hit his arm. "Wherever. Who's Tez-cat-li-poca?" Jayna raised one eyebrow and swallowed hard. The name had hit her like a blow. It looked like the pronunciation was close enough, for someone who only knew enough Spanish to order lunch from El Rebozo. She collected herself and set a plate of steaming stew over rice in front of him. The steam hit his bottle and condensed on its surface. The silence was getting awkward. "Tez is considered by some to be the greatest god in the Aztec pantheon. As far as I can tell, he's totally evil." "She." He said around a forkfull. "She? I've never seen Tez represented as anything but male… But then again, I'm no expert either." "He's a 'she' now. From what I saw tonight, and what I saw in the H&H, I'd have to say that your boy Tez has taken over Azangel." He pushed another forkfull in his mouth and chewed. How can he be so calm about this? She wondered, "Don't you realize what you've just said? There are Gods, real Gods walking on J Street." "I know what I said. Tez-blah-blah, has taken over one of the best looking women on the block. I know, it sucks." Aquarius saw the look of horror on her face, he was being too flip again, she didn't react well to that. He put his fork down and hefted the bottle. "OK, so now what. He's a GOD, he's a she, and he's on J Street." He resisted the urge to mention Jerry Springer. "You don't know much about Aztec religion do you?" Two hours later he walked with Jayna down the sidewalk on the way to the Hair & Hippo. The bar would be closing soon, but that wasn't why they were there. She had explained the bloody rituals of the Aztecs to him. They made Jack the Ripper look amateurish, it had convinced him to come back here, with her, to talk to the Sentinels one last time. He looked at the sign across the street and wondered how he had let her talk him into this. Wasn't he the one that usually talked women into things? There would be a lot of risk, a lot of pain, and not a lot of profit. Chapter 6 Silver Lantern had been looking for Azangel for hours, and hadn't liked what he had found. It was night now, and things might get worse. He decided that he should get the other Sentinels for the confrontation to come. He returned to The Hair and The Hippo, landing outside the front door. He didn't have time to "unlock" the various "Oan locks" from the roof. He jumped off his board and burst into the pub, carrying a golden metallic feather. The place was empty. "SENTINELS!", he yelled "Hey, Sil. Welcome back!", Rydgen said as he stood from his crouch behind the bar. "I was just finishing up some inventory and..." 'Rydgen, not now. Where is everyone? I found this feather of Az's. We must find her NOW!", The Oan Sentinel commanded. "Sil, that's what I'm telling you. Hair told us to wait here until you and Patience got back. She got here like five minutes ago and went to her room to get some 'stuff'." "Good. I'm glad she's back. We can go then. SENTINELS!!", he yelled again. "Sil, there's more. Az has stolen some things from a shop owned by a lady named Jayna. She brought THESE feathers to us. We were cleaning up...waiting for you and Pat...when this guy comes in..." "SIL! I'm ready!", Bishop yelled, leaping down the last few steps from the upstairs. "You're not gonna believe what happened! Oh. I guess Ry already told you that Hair and Artie left with that guy." "What? What guy? Willie?", Sil asked, turning back to Rydgen. "Umm...no, not Willie...another guy.", Ry replied. "See, this guy came in and spoke with Hair and Artemis...and they left with him. Willie left on some personal matter right after that." "Who was the guy, and when will Hair and Art return?" Silver Lantern asked as calmly as he could. (Patience was coming down the stairs.) "We don't KNOW.", Bishop answered. "He spoke with them in private...and they left with him. They said they'd be back...sometime.", he finished, seeing the stern look on Silver Lantern's face. "Yeah.", Ry said to back up Bishop. "And Hair said I was in charge of the pub until then. I closed the place and told Kitty he could take the night off. We were just waiting until you..." "Until WE got back." Patience finished. "Silver, Az needs to be stopped. I found a dead body, and it appears that..." "Yes. I know.", he interrupted her. "It appears that SHE did it. I found a body of a man with his heart ripped out of his chest..and THIS was sticking in him." (He held up the feather.) "'She', Silver?", Pat asked curiously. Could he know that Az was a different person than Warren...that Az was a REAL woman?, Pat wondered. 'Yes, Patience. I said 'she'. We will discuss it later.", he shot back. Stay calm. No need to be angry. Hair and Art have left without explanation; Wes the ghost is missing, and Az is a murderer. But I can stay calm., he instructed himself. "So, let's go already.", Bishop said, ready for some excitement. "Just a second." Silver said coldly. "Hair and Art have left with 'a guy', and will return 'sometime'. And Willie and Kitty are out, too. Correct?" "Yeah. That's right.", Rydgen answered. "Okay. Everyone sit down and listen up.", Silver said plainly. (They stopped and looked at him. When Sil was upset, he spoke more human-like; it hadn't happened in a while.) "Silver, I really think we should..." Patience was saying. "THIS won't take long.", he said rudely. (Pat decided an argument wasn't going to help anybody. She, Rydgen and Bishop sat at a table.) "I don't know WHAT has happened to this team lately. We've lost focus of what we are doing here.", The Oan began. "We're Sentinels and we have a responsibility...to stop Zen. He followed us into this 'J Street', and that makes him OUR responsibility. But we have ANOTHER responsibility..and that's to each other. We have to look out for each other and cover each other's back. From now on, I want everyone to COMMUNICATE with me...with all of us. We have to get ORGANIZED. We need to TRAIN." The three other Sentinels looked at him, not sure what to say, or IF they should interrupt. He didn't seem "finished" yet. "We've lost Thanos.", Silver continued. "Wes has pulled a disappearing act. And now Az is stealing and killing? Okay. FIRST we find and stop Az; find out what is going on with her. THEN, we're going to have a real talk and everyone can speak his or her mind. And I hope Hair and Art are back for it." "Sil,', Rydgen said. "They musta had a pretty good reason to leave." "I'm sure they did, Ry, and I would LOVE to know what it is." (I can't believe they left at a time like this!, he thought to himself.) "And I have a pretty good reason...TO STAY. Sentinels, this meeting is adjourned." They stood and headed for the door. They had to find Azangel. Chapter 7 "What the heck?" asked Aquarius as he came to a stop in front of the door to the Hair & Hippo. "They're closed!" "Isn't that grand?" said Jayna, close on his heels. "That could be a GOOD sign. Maybe it means they are already on her trail." "Ooomph! Hey, why don't you watch it?" a startled Aquarius cried as he was almost bowled over by Rydgen as he hurried out of the front door of the bar. "Outa the way, man!" exclaimed Rydgen. "Can't you see the bar is closed? We've got things to do." "Not so fast, Ry." said Jayna, touching the young man gently on the arm. He looked at her quizzically. "It's Jayna." she whispered to Ry, smiling & pulling up her goggles. "Where's your leader, the hippo?" she said loudly enough for the others to hear. "We have some more information we think you might want to know." "The hippo isn't here." Said Silver Lantern, pushing his way through the now crowded doorway. "Who are you, and what do you want?" "This is Jayna, the lady I told you about." Said Ry. "Nice get-up, by the way." "Thanks," She said smiling at Ry, "and this is Aquarius… My associate." Aquarius gaped at the four Sentinels, now assembled on the sidewalk. "This is it?" he asked. "You're going out to fight a dark god, and this is it?" "God… What god?" The Sentinels plus two had been in the air for some time. Silver Lantern and Bishop rode on the emerald board, Patience astride her broom, and Rydgen, Aquarius, and Jayna towed behind in an Oan bubble. Jayna checked the contents of the many pouches on her "utility belt" for the third time since leaving the bar. The six blown-glass spheres and three crystal vials were safe and accessible. "So just what are those things you keep fiddling with?" asked Ry. "They are a few things I thought to bring, on short notice, that might help in this fight." she answered. "The 'marbles' contain powdered silver and the vials have, well let's just call it holy water." They had flown over the sites where the bodies had been found. A check of the location where Aquarius had last seen Azangel found nothing, to no one's great surprise. The search area had been widened, and then widened again, all eyes on the ground below. < /P> A sudden shadow momentarily blotted out the moon, and just as suddenly the cosmic board and its riders were strafed by focused beams of energy. "Sil, it's Az!" shouted Bishop. He ducked involuntarily at the assault, as an Oan shield materialized to protect him in the nick of time, while unfortunately breaking Silver Lantern's concentration on his other construct. The bubble containing Ry and the two "irregulars" faded from existence, its occupants dropping swiftly toward the ground below. Board and broom climbed and circled in an almost synchronized dance as they first attempted, and then succeeded in driving Tez/Az to a nearby rooftop. "You realize that we need to find a way to drive out this god that's possessing Az without harming her, don't you Sil?" asked Patience as they flew over the rooftops. He nodded grimly in response. Silver Lantern imbued Bishop with a small portion of the Power Oan and told the young Sentinel to jump as he circled the roof to land. "You guys can take this fall, right?" asked Ry, looking less confident than he sounded. With that Aquarius realized that he had to be the architect of their rescue. Reaching within himself he began to shift, forcing every molecule of his body to reform. With his last solid movement he pointed himself at the ground to try to gain just a few inches ahead of his falling companions. The act of forming a puddle or pool would be nothing, but to gather the strength in time to create enough surface tension, to absorb the impact and break the others fall, would stretch his abilities farther than he had attempted in a very long time. He was almost as surprised as they were when the maneuver worked. Patience landed on the roof edge opposite Silver Lantern and began preparing a spell as Bishop, awash in his borrowed power, strode purposefully toward Tez/Az. He attacked with a flurry of kicks and punches, which went largely, ignored as the possessed Sentinel tensed herself in preparation for flight. "Hey, come on and fight me!" cried Bishop in frustration. "Stand and fight!" Wet Willie's words were coming back to haunt him. "I am NOT just a sidekick." he thought to himself. Az turned toward Bishop, her face almost unrecognizable in its dark fury. "Yea, that's it!" said Bishop as he launched another flurry of attacks. She parried blow after blow, finally pinning his arms to his sides and throwing him through the roof and into the building below. She became airborne once again with Silver Lantern following close behind. Seeing the group of three on the ground below she dove at them. Ry and Jayna held on to each other as they bounced across the jelly-like surface of Aquarius' water form. Rydgen being the first to reach solid ground turned to help Jayna and was struck down by a strafing run from the angry god. He was knocked off his feet and pinned to the ground with a volley of Az's golden feather projectiles. The liquid Aquarius stretched to envelop her as she passed, and swiftly began to raise the pressure of the water surrounding her. She was squeezed ever tighter and soon she ceased all movement. Jayna knelt over Rydgen, pulling the feather-blades free as quickly as she could. She realized her mistake half a moment too late, when he began to smile evilly and snatched her by the throat. As Silver reached ground level could see that Az was being safely held, but he wondered what that Jayna woman had done to rile up Rydgen so. "Target entity has changed hosts." he "heard" the ring say in his head. "Rydgen is currently the host."He swooped in beside them, and began extricating Jayna from Tez/Ry's grasp. Aquarius dropped the pressure on the now calm Azangel, and sat her on her feet. She appeared more than a bit confused. The last thing she clearly remembered had been much earlier in the day and inside the bar, and she was certainly now outside in the night. Bishop exited from a building to her right. He stopped momentarily to scan the scene & headed toward the action. Silver Lantern and Rydgen grappled, all the while surrounded by an eerie black mist. Jayna, with the aid of her glasses, could see the God's attempts to posses the Silver Sentinel. She had to admire his ability to keep Tez at bay, but as she had no idea how long he could last she decided to act, and pulled a vial from one of the pouches on the belt at her waist. Bishop came to a halt a few feet away and stared up in disbelief. In place of the mobile wall of water was now a huge man-shaped creature of ice. As it began moving toward them it made cracking and popping sounds, and bits of frost fell from its body. "Move it, Chrome-boy!" the iceman shouted, and the Sentinel ducked to one side just in time to miss the giant fist that smashed Rydgen flat. The misty shadow moved from the icy crater, leaving the now unconscious Ry to possess Bishop. Patience, her spell now ready, cast forth her power into the night. A ball of glowing energy floated down upon the group below, and Tez/Bishop stumbled forward. He gagged, and lurched, a foul black ooze flowed from his mouth, as the god was forced from his body. Patience & Azangel shouted at the same time for Sil to contain the ooze, as the mercenary Aquarius backed off a bit and re-liquefied. Silver Lantern reacted quickly, calling forth the Power Oan. "Target entity has changed hosts." Silver Lantern looked toward his new enemy. The hulking water form surged and boiled darkly. It appeared to absorb the illumination cast by the streetlights. A great dark laugh surfaced from its depths. "To me my board!" Sil called as he steeled himself for the battle to come. Azangel launched into the night sky beside him. "Ciela! Are you ready for this?" "Ready?" She spat at him, tying to hold her rage in check. "I've trained all my life for this. Just stay out of my way!" Ciela Jarras felt her anger coil within her, like a sacred serpent. The Oan Sentinel looked at his teammate, although free from Tez's control she seethed in the air beside him. He couldn't concern himself with that now. Nor could he be bothered with the translation of the prayer-chant she began that the ring offered him. "Aquarius…" Jayna said dwarfed by the sight before her. "We have to do something." Bishop coughed as he staggered to her side. "No." She said admiring his bravery. "This is far beyond us now." She looked at the vial of sacred water in her hand, and in spite of her years, she felt very small and helpless. She cracked open the vial and poured its contents onto Rydgen's unconscious form. Patience stood on the rooftop at what would have been eye level with the Tez/Aquarius water-form, if it had eyes. She stepped away from the edge; she had to cast something, but what? In her centuries of experience she had never battled gods. Sil and Az circled around the dark liquid mass, firing blasts into it only to have them redirected. "How does one fight a fluid?" Sil silently asked the ring. "The possessed entity may not react well to a change in state, heat is recommended." He flew nearer the winged Sentinel. "Az pour on the heat! Let's see how he reacts to it!" She barely tolerated his presence here as this was her fight, but perhaps he was right. Through the helmet controls she turned her plasma cannons to full power. "Ready!" She hollered at his darting form. "Now!" Sil shouted as he fired with the Power Oan. If this didn't work his power reserves would be in jeopardy, as he had spent most of the day searching for the possessed Azangel with no time to recharge. Tez/Aquarius reeled under the combined attack. Patience, having divined how best to aid her teammates, cast hellfire into the water. The light generated by the assault began to illuminate the water-form through Tez's black shadows. On the ground Rydgen sat up in his cold damp hole and was stung by the heat radiating from Aquarius. Jayna and Bishop grabbed Ry and pulled him to safer ground. Within moments Tez/Aquarius began to boil violently. Steam raged into the night as the water-form shrank. Tez could bear no more. He could not stay in this volatile host. He leapt again. "Target entity has changed hosts." "Dammit!" Silver Lantern howled at the night. They were not equipped to fight gods, but fight they would, to the last. The Oan Sentinel banked the board to face Tez again. He was in charge, and the lives of the Sentinels were his responsibility. He braced himself for the inevitable, and looked with hardened heart at the shadows that enveloped Azangel once more. Silver Lantern faced his teammate, his friend, and saw only the dark god within. The silence was broken by a whirring sound, and Sil noticed Jayna on the ground spinning a sling. "David against the Goliath." he thought. Patience wiped the tears from her face. Az had endured so much since coming to the nexus known as J Street, Patience could not bear to see her teammate raped in this way by Tezcatlipoca and had wept. She didn't know what Jayna was planning but she had to act. When Jayna let fly with the tiny glass vial, Patience cast a simple spell, one to insure that the fragile projectile would find its mark. Tez wrapped his shadows tightly about the champion of his hated enemy. What could stop him? He would secure Quetz's champion as his host, he would corrupt this arrogant shiny man, he would… The crystal vial shattered upon impact with Tez/Azangel's lower back. The water, far purer than any other upon this world and charged by another ancient god, caressed her like a lover. Tez/Az began to scream. His host, his perfect host, had been ruined, purified in one accursed instant, and now Tez had to vacate his chosen host. If he could not take Quetz's champion as his own he would destroy her utterly. Silver Lantern could hardly see Az through the shadows before, and now they darkened, solidified, and fragmented. Patience was crying out to him. "Sil, get out of there! We can't win this fight on the physical plane!!!" The Sentinels looked at the shadows falling away from the larger one enveloping Az. They could see the shadows taking shape, and realized that the fight was far from over. Chapter 8 The Sentinels turn to face the mass of shadows now swirling angrily around Azangel. They watch in horror as the darkness begins to solidify slowly, pulling closer around her like molasses. Although they could see her struggling inside it, fighting to get out of the viscous, almost liquid, substance, she was having little success. Any attempt to break free was met with even more of the shadowy substance, as if it was gaining strength from her struggling, and then multiplying. Jayna pulls out a small, silver-filled glass sphere from her belt, preparing another attack, but a quick motion from Patience stops her. "We have to give Az time, she has to finish this herself." Jayna nods in understanding but keeps the small globe out, in her hand, anyway. She wasn't really sure how effective the spheres would be against the dark god, but holding the weapon gave her some small measure of comfort. Just then, a blast of pure energy smashes out from inside the darkness, making a big enough gap for Az to stumble through. She falls to the ground, gasping for air and slightly dazed. She is barely clear of the writhing mass when a small silver sphere explodes against Tez's side, sprinkling her with silver-colored dust. "Glad you could make it, we were starting to get worried." "Funny, Bish......really funny." she mutters. "What is this stuff?" she asks, brushing some of the silver off of her costume as she stands. "Who are you?" Azangel directs this at Jayna, who is now fingering another sphere. "I'd rather not say." The blue-skinned woman glares at Jayna for a moment, then ignores her, turning instead to speak to Sil. "He's relatively weak now. We need to try to stop him before he has a chance to regain his strength." The winged Sentinel glances around quickly, eyes stopping on Jayna again. "Who is she, who was that water guy, and where are Hairbutt and Artemis?" Sil shakes his head, "She's a neighbor, and nevermind about them now." Silver Lantern focuses his attention back on the silver-coated mass of shadow. More of the silver dust was beginning to float to the ground, sliding off the shadow like water off of a duck's back. But other than this slow, gradual movement, there was no motion of any sort from the ShadowGod's form. "More importantly, why isn't he attacking? Why isn't he moving?" "BECAUSE I'M HOLDING HIM YOU IDIOT!" Pat hisses through gritted teeth, a huge amount of strain apparent on her face. "Some HELP would be appreciated...He's weaker than he was but I can't contain him with this spell much longer." Looking back at the shadows, Jayna sees a face forming along the outer edge, trying to pull free of the darkness. It is quickly pulled back inside. She thought it looked vaguely familiar. She wondered idly if it was anyone that the JSS knew, knowing that Tezcatlipoca would happily use their friend against them. She didn't have to ask for the ghost's identity, however, because the answer came before she could even form the question. "That looked like Wes." came Bishop's voice, barely above a whisper. "That can't be Wes. Just ATTACK the damn thing while we have a chance!" snapped the Silver Sentinel, Oan energy lashing out against the nebulous mass of shadows. Az releases another droplet of energy from the center of her costume, and more pieces of the Shadow god's mass are sheared away by the resulting explosion. The severed pieces gradually lighten in colour and vanish. Jayna slings the second of the spheres into the shadow, but instead of the powder sliding harmlessly off as it did before, it adheres, and the remaining shadowy mass writhes and grows slightly dimmer. The JSS can now clearly see a form struggling to free itself from the wispy darkness. There is a gasp of pain from Pat as the Shadow god surges forward, breaking free of her spell, and she falls to the ground, stunned. Then, suddenly, like the answer to a prayer, the last of the shadows vanish like smoke. The form they had just seen inside the swirling mass becomes clearly visible, and it gestures towards them, hands outstretched, palms open, as if to indicate it was harmless. "Stop...please..." it speaks in a broken whisper. "You're hurting me. I....I thought.....we were friends..." The Sentinels pause their attack, horrified. It seemed like it really was Wes in there. It looked like him, sounded like him, even stood like him. Had Tezcatlipoca somehow absorbed Wesley's spirit into himself, and only now, with the god's power fading, was the ghost able to make itself seen again? Was it really Wes, or was it some last-ditch effort by the dark god to trick them? Almost as if the phantom sensed their doubts, it continued. "You have to help me...I'm so very cold...it's dark...I'm scared.... please help me....." "It's a TRICK!" Sil catches a flash of movement as Az shoots past him, and towards the ghost. He reaches out with the Power Oan but misses catching her as she slices through the ghost, plasma beams cutting into the spectre of Wes. It staggers and falls to the ground. She loops around for another attack. Sil looks at their fallen foe and senses, knows instinctively... "Az, NO!" He reaches out with the Power Oan again, and she dodges him, focusing on the fallen Wes. As her wingtips contact the spirit again, it furls out again into a mass of solid shadow, trapping her by the wings. Sil rushes forward, but gets tangled up in the tentacles now forming the base of the shadowy version of Wes. As Sil struggles to free himself, more tentacles ensnare him, holding him fast, and the ghost begins to speak. The voice is no longer the voice of Wesley Dodds, it is pure evil. "Ciela, dear...you seem to appreciate my gifts, your precious wings......but I do not believe you are worthy of them." There is a sickening, wet noise, and Sil glances up to see Az flying towards the front window of a nearby flower shop, and then through it. What was the noise? He pulls himself away from the tentacles and sees Patience running towards the flower shop, towards the unmoving Az. Jayna and Rydgen are looking up in mute shock. He glances upwards as well, and quickly regrets it. Az's wings are dangling , bloody, from the shadow's hands. The dark god flings them towards the JSS, feathers spinning away at odd angles, and laughs as Jayna and Rydgen duck for cover. Where is Bishop? Bishop watches the battle from a few yards away. So far he had been of little use in the fight, he was out of his league fighting a god......actually they all were but at least the others were experienced enough to stay alive.... He was pretty useless....at least in this fight. Willie's words come back to haunt him, and he sighs. I'm NOT just a sidekick...Am I? As soon as had seen Az swoop around for her second attack, and all that happened after, Bishop's powers...the uncontrollable time - travel power he barely understood .....kicked in with a vengeance. I hate this part..... Bish thought as time warped around him. He was never sure if he should enjoy the ride or throw up... Going on a rollercoaster after a five-course meal was less unsettling, probably because he was never really sure when or where he would end up... When he found himself a few feet and even fewer seconds away from Az's second attack, Bishop steadied himself for what he was about to do, thinking to himself,If she won't listen to Sil, she won't listen to me...here goes nothing! He lunges at Az just as he hears Sil scream again. "Az, NO!" Sil reaches out with the Power Oan again, and she dodges him, focusing on the fallen Wes. As her wingtips contact the spirit again, Bish appears out of nowhere and slams into her, knocking her to the ground. "GO!" he shouts, shoving her again for good measure. Tentacles of solid darkness whip out and snare Bishop, pulling him upwards to face the Shadow god. "That was...unexpected. How could I have missed you, little one? No matter...you should not have intervened. It will cost you dearly." Az, Sil and Rydgen try frantically to free Bishop from the tentacles but simply get tangled up in more of them. Patience backs up a step and begins an incantation, and a tentacle lashes out and strikes her face, breaking her glasses and knocking her down. She quickly gets back up, energy crackling around her hands and quickly building. Patience is a person you never want to anger, and the ShadowGod is about to realise that fact. A dark aura now surrounds Bish, limp in the ShadowGod's grip. The energy around Patience continues to build in intensity, as the ShadowGod tosses Bish aside. "You can have this meat back now." He mocks, still wearing Wes's face. He knows they do not believe his ruse any more, but the momentary anguish he had caused them with this form had been delicious... Sil finally breaks free of the tentacles and rushes to Bish's side, hoping Pat will free the other two Sentinels. He notices Jayna out of the corner of his eye, readying the last of the vials of water. As soon as Sil nears the youngster, he begins to speak. "Az has her wings, right?" "Yes, of course she does, Bish." Sil looks at the younger Sentinel worriedly. "I did it." Bish looks weakly up at Sil and grins. "You did great, Bish." "I guess I showed him, huh?" "Yes Bish. You did. Now be quiet and let me see if you're all right." Behind them, blasts of sizzling white light shoot from Patience's hands and shear away the tentacles now holding Rydgen and Azangel. They scatter away from the main body of darkness, which still looked exactly like the ghost of Wesley Dodds, but with dozens of whipping, lashing tentacles. They were not going to fall for the same trick twice... As soon as her teammates are clear, Patience blasts it again, this time tearing through the midsection of the "ghost". It howls in pain, the sound sending slight shivers down her spine. She ignores the sound, and the tentacle that lashes out at her blindly, watching intently for an opening. She sees what she was waiting for, and signals the others to attack "Az, Jayna, now." she states, calmly. The last vial of water, another blast of light from Patience, and twin plasma beams strike the still screaming apparition. The shadows separate completely from the spirit, curl into themselves and vanish, leaving only the nearly transparent ghost of Wesley Dodds behind. Pat turns away and starts to walk off. "I told you I could separate Tezcatlipoca from his host. I just had the wrong host the first time. I thought it was Az, but he was really feeding off Wes." She shrugs, and continues. "Tezcatlipoca released him because he was done with him, there is no energy left in him to feed on. He used it all up fighting us." "What about Wes.......we can't leave him here!" exclaims Bishop, now standing, but leaning on Sil for support. "Wes's body is dead, and his spirit is fading. I can't help him, no one can. But at least he's free from Tez." Jayna watches as the remains of the spirit dissolve, leaving nothing behind to mark its passing, not ash or ectoplasm, or even a trace of psychic residue. She had never seen any being so utterly destroyed, and it frightened even her. She wondered about the sanity of trying to defeat a being capable of something like this. "Did you destroy him...Tez?" came Rydgen's voice, quietly. Patience turns and eyes Rydgen. "Tezcatlipoca? No. He LEFT. He's going to build his strength, leave a few more dead bodies around, and then he will be back. More than likely, he will be more powerful than he was here." She turns and walks off, in the general direction of the pub. "Sil, is Bish ok?" Rydgen turns to face the Oan Sentinel. "He's not hurt physically, but....." "......but?" "His powers are gone." "Gone?" "There's no trace of chronal energy in his body, none at all. He's completely normal." Interlude 2 Grendel's Pond Bar & Grill "You've heard of the J-Street Sentinels?" Joe Grendel leaned back in his chair, "I've heard rumours...A new team to J-Street. I've heard they operate out of a bar & night club somewhere on J-Street. What's this trouble got to do with that lot, and can't they handle it themselves?" Guardian spoke earnestly. "This will be something bigger than they can fight. We're talking about the fury of the Gods here. Total devastation." "Big deal. That stuff's old hat to the Pantheon. We have our own Goddess amongst us. If they come here we can deal with it." Guardian paused. "That may be true. But I think even you might pause at what could happen to the Multiverse if the Sentinels fail. Do you think the Pantheon could handle over 2000 rampaging Gods?" Joe was startled by this, but recovered quickly. "Probably. But you'd better tell me more anyway." Guardian began. "According to Aztec tradition, the gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca took turns creating and destroying the world, doing so four times before the present age, the age of mankind. The "Fifth Sun", or present age, began with a meeting of the gods at Teotihuacán, where the gods offered their own divine blood to start the sun across the sky. But this self sacrifice was not enough to slake the sun's "ravenous thirst", so one god was chosen as a sacrifice. This god, poor and covered with sores, threw himself into the brazier. This was not enough to make the sun move in the heavens, however. All of the gods eventually sacrificed themselves, and the sun began its journey across the sky. That is why humans, following the example of the gods, had to sacrifice themselves. This current age will last until the return of the gods, and the destruction of the world by Tezcatlipoca, in the Mayan year 5124, the Islamic year 1391, the Illuminati year 6012, the Gregorian year 2012 - in other words, NOW." Chapter 9 In the Hair and Hippo pub all was pretty much quiet. After fighting a dark shadow god you would expect everyone to be a bit tired. Jayna and Aquarius had left the pub to their respective sanctuaries a few minutes ago, and everyone else had dispersed to their bedrooms to lick their wounds after getting their tails stomped by a deity. (Think about it. This is a god they were fighting, not some mortal in a retarded costume. This god has a habit of switching hosts, which made it hard to fight. During the fight, the Sentinels and their friends found that Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of darkness and evil stuff that has been possessing Azangel since the Sentinels fought off Zen’s Raiders, was actually anchored to the ghost of Wesley Dodds, who has been missing for quite some time. As difficult as it seemed, they were able to shake Tez off of Wes. In the end Wesley’s spirit was used up and faded away and Bishop, in a successful attempt to stop Azangel from losing her wings, nay, her life at the shadowy tentacles of the shadow god, had his time travelling powers drained away by Tez. Everyone else was left drained period from exhaustion.) Azangel sat on her bed, hunched over with her elbows on her knees and lower arms dangling between her legs. Depression wasn’t the word for how she felt at this time. She had been the tool of the enemy. Not just the enemy, Tezcatlipoca for Quetz’s sake! The very entity she had been trained to keep from entering this world, this plane, this dimension!! Ciela Jarras, the Q foundation’s biggest failure, and a mockery of the title of Azangel. Her descendants will live in shame. That is if she or anyone else lives long enough to have any descendants. There was nothing she felt she could do. She reluctantly stood up from her bed and grasped her helmet. She pulled it off of her head, letting her costume vanish with it, leaving her nude. She was in her own room, so it didn’t really matter. Ciela threw the helmet into the closet, landing it on the top shelf. She was not worthy of the title of Azangel, the Q foundation’s most powerful warrior, and best defense against Tezcatlipoca’s attempt to destroy the Earth. Azangel walked over and closed her closet doors, not wanting anything more to do with the helmet. She had disgraced it considerably in her eyes. Head down, she dragged her feet walking back to her bed. She laid herself down, pulled the covers over herself, and fell asleep quickly. Rydgen and Bishop were sitting in the den, watching the static on the TV screen. Bishop was slouched in the same manner as Ciela earlier, except with his head in his hands. Rydgen put his hand on Bishop’s shoulder and said, “Bish, man, come on! Don’t be so down about losing your time travelling ability. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be…” “Rydgen!” Bishop snapped, sitting straight up. “That’s all I had! That’s what made me fit in here with you guys! Without it, I’m just a kid in the way. I might as well be your measly sidekick!” “Hey, wait Bishop, that’s not so. You’re doing very well in your training! You’ve learned some valuable fighting skills from Artemis, and whenever she and Hairbutt return you can continue it. Til then me and the others can teach you some stuff too.” Bishop looked at Rydgen, still seeming unconvinced. “Listen,” Rydgen said, “you’re a great guy, you’re smarter and more advanced than most people your age, and you have years to get the hang of being a hero without moving through time. Not that it’ll take you years to learn, I mean. Bishop, you’re a valuable asset to the team as you are, time travel or not, you are important. In fact, that’s the first time I know of since we got here that you went through time. We wouldn’t have noticed the difference if you hadn’t told us what you did. Before that you never used your time ability, and you’ve been a great part of the whole. I know how insignificant you may feel, because I felt absolutely helpless against that Tezl-tapioca, or whatever, god. Powers do not a hero make. Am I making any sense to you Bishop? Because I forgot where I was going with this train of thought.” Bishop smiled, which led to chuckling, which then led to laughter. Rydgen joined in, glad to see his comrade in a better mood. “Thanks, Ry,” Bishop said as his laughter abated. “You’re right. Just because I’m a powerless kid doesn’t mean I’m some cannon fodder second stringer. I can hold my own, and I’m just as much a superhero as you guys are.” “That’s the spirit, Bish! Now, we’d better get to our rooms and get some rest. I think we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” In Azangel’s closet, on the top shelf, a light shown dimly. It centered in the helmet once worn by Ciela Jarras, who is now sleeping soundly in her bed feet away from the closet. Slowly the light spread around the helmet, increasing in brightness. Nothing else was lit up by the glow, only the headgear. It continued strengthening its light, getting brighter and brighter, until it was so white and pure that looking into it would blind most ordinary people. Then a sudden flash of the same kind of light engulfed Ciela’s room for a nanosecond. Afterwards the helmet powered down until it was just a few shades lighter than it was originally. The only reaction from Ciela was her repositioning under her covers mumbling incoherent babblings. The next morning was rather dreary. Rain had been pouring down since early in the morning, and was showing no signs of letting up by the time everyone was awake. Even after a full night’s sleep, our Sentinels were still feeling the aftermath of last night’s struggle. Things were bumped into, feet were dragged, and liquids were spilled. Rydgen was the first downstairs, because he had to get things set up to open for today’s business. Silver Lantern came down shortly after and started breakfast. Bishop and Patience made their ways downstairs after a while. Last downstairs was Ciela in a simple jeans and T-shirt. No one noticed because they all were in normal street clothes. All except Silver Lantern, who wore his costume as long as he wore his ring, and he wasn’t about to take that off. There was silence for the most part of the morning as everyone was feeding and waking up. Finally the silence was broken as the Oan spoke. “So what are we going to do about this little problem we have?” he asked everyone in general. “Which one?” Rydgen answered. “All of them, Ry. Hairbutt and Artemis haven’t returned yet, and that troubles me. Jayna and Aquarius seem to know more about our god problem than we do, and that worries me. On that note we have a dark god running around trying to destroy this world, and that disturbs me…” “And it seems that Tezcatlipoca is still able to kill people despite our efforts,” Patience commented. Silver Lantern turned to Patience in surprise. “How do you know this, Pat?” “I read it,” she replied, flipping the newpaper in her hands to show the Oan Sentinel the front page, which read: Mysterious Heart-Wrenching Murders Hit I Got the Mojo Comics! Yes, the murderer who has been ripping the hearts out of its victims has struck again, leaving a mess so gruesome even we consider it too gruesome to print. Whoever has been carving up our denizens must be caught and brought to justice. The only clues found at any of these murder sites so far has been golden feathers of unknown origin…blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah… “Did that say ‘golden feathers’?” Bishop asked in amazement. Ciela looked up from the table she was slouching over. “Yeah,” Rydgen said, as he and the others looked over at Ciela. “I thought we drove him away last night,” a voice came from the door. It was Jayna, with Aquarius right behind her. “We read the paper this morning, and came over to see if you got the news,” Aquarius added. “Azangel, are you sure you are completely free from Tezcatlipoca’s grasp?” Silver Lantern asked Ciela. “Absolutely sure,” she said, standing up. Silver Lantern’s ring scanned Ciela and verified that she was under complete control of herself and hasn’t been possessed since the fight. “How can you be so sure, Az?” Rydgen asked. “For one you can stop calling me Azangel!” she spat. “What?” “Why?” “Because I am no longer worthy of the honor and title of ‘Azangel’. I have failed the Q foundation immensely. I will never don that helmet again. I am Azangel no longer!! “Warren, pal, take it easy,” Rydgen tried to calm the furious winged warrior. Ciela decided now would be a good time to reveal her true identity (as if she wasn’t going through an identity crisis as it was…) “I am not Warren either!” she yelled. Silver Lantern relaxed a bit knowing that at least one deception will be brought into the light. Patience was comforted knowing that she was right in deducing that Azangel wasn’t the same Azangel that the others thought she was. Bishop and Rydgen just looked at each other in amazement, then looked back at the person, whoever she was about to announce she was. Jayna and Aquarius had only known Azangel briefly, and believe she is what she appeared to be. “Okay, know I’m really confused here,” Rydgen said, shaking his head. Bishop nodded in agreement with Rydgen’s statement. Ciela sighed, and told them about how she was really Ciela Jarras, hasn’t finished her helmet training, by ways unknown ended up in Warren’s place, confused and disoriented not knowing what to do or who to trust, and the whole bit. The ones in the room who didn’t know the story sat there absorbing it all. “I’m really sorry I lied to you all about who I really was. I just was so confused…” “Now that introductions have been properly made,” Silver Lantern interrupted, “I think we should investigate the multiple murders over at I Got the Mojo Comix…” Chapter 10 Sil, as usual, found himself being ignored by the rest of the JSS. Aquarius was leaning over Az, speaking quietly to her, as she stared, eyes unfocused, into the distance. Sil was concerned for her, after her 'announcement', she had sat down and blissfully ignored all questions asked of her. Aquarius was now speaking quickly and motioning with his hands, with Az paying some small bit of attention to him. She mumbled something to him that Sil didn't pick up completely, and Aquarius nodded and walked over to the window, motioning her to follow. She continued sitting, tuning him out again. Aquarius frowned at her, but said nothing more. Sil 'cleared' his throat loudly, trying to get the attention of everyone in the room. "As I said before, I think we should go investigate the multiple murders over at 'I Got the Mojo Comix'…Maybe we can find something the police missed… " "Hey chrome-boy, maybe you'd better wait a little while before you go running off to the scene of a major crime." Came Aquarius' voice from the front window of the pub. "Why would that be, Aquarius?" Sil pointedly ignored the merc's attempt to annoy him with the phrase 'chrome boy'. "What is more important than trying to clear the name of one of my teammates?" "I dunno, but I think it's gonna have to wait, 'cause you've got company." Aquarius replies as he jerks his thumb towards the window. Sil moves quickly to the window and looks out. Three uniformed policemen and a female plainclothes officer were walking briskly up to the front door of the Hair and Hippo. They weren't on a social call, obviously, but they weren't barging in with guns drawn, either, which he thought was a good sign. Sil decides to let this scenario play out on its own. The JSS were not criminals, after all, and he did not want trouble with the local authorities. A pounding knock echoes through the bar, and Ry, behind the counter, cleaning up from breakfast, had not yet seen just who was at the door. He looks up from the soapy dishes and shouts, "We're CLOSED! Come back tonight!" He turns to Sil at the window and smirks. "The drunks are coming by earlier and earlier, aren't they Sil?" Sil opens the door before the officers can knock again. "May I be of some assistance?" "We need to speak with one of your tenants, a woman with metal wings. Is she here right now?" The female to whom he had been speaking holds up a badge, and Sil makes out 'Inspector Torres' on it before she flips it quickly shut. Silver Lantern steps back from the door and motions the officers inside. "I'm right here." Answers Ciela quietly from the table she's still sitting at. Her wings are folded up along her back, less than a quarter of the size they were when unfolded. One of the uniformed men walks over quickly and grabs Azangel's upper arm, trying to pull her to her feet. "Upsie-daisy sweetheart. Let's go sit in the van…" She doesn't react, continuing to stare into space. His eyes rest solidly on her 'attributes', and he grins slightly, forgetting to put handcuffs on her. Torres looks over at the cop, rolling her eyes. "How many times have I had to warn you, Murphy? Just cuff her and CAN the comments!" The woman turned back to Silver Lantern. "You're the leader of this 'superhero' group, right?" She asks, flipping open a small notebook. Sil nods, but with a quizzical on his face. "Surveillance video from an ATM machine near where you fought some huge black BLOB yesterday. You SEEMED to be calling the shots, is this correct?" She taps her pen on the notebook "There was no sound on the videotape, so it's hard to tell." Sil looks over at Rydgen. "That is correct. I lead the JSS, and Rydgen here" he motioned to the green-haired Sentinel, still behind the bar, "is in charge of the Hair and Hippo. Can you tell us what is happening?" "All information is classified until the conclusion of the investigation. I can tell you this much: We aren't charging your friend with anything at this time, only taking her in for questioning, fingerprinting, and the like." Torres looks around at the motley group surrounding her. "Be glad we aren't taking you ALL in. She looks over at Bishop, now sitting next to Az. "How old are you, kid, thirteen? Where are your parents? Do they know that you're in a bar at 8 am?" Rydgen shifts uncomfortably behind the bar. Oh crap. Where's Hairbutt when you need him? "I'm fourteen, actually…" Bish mumbles in response. "Wonderful, just wonderful. Look, we're just here to take the young woman..." She looks pointedly at Az. "What's your name, anyway?" "Ciela." "…Ciela downtown for questioning. You're going to have to fix these things, though, because you never know when the police might be called to come by again." Patience, who has been standing quietly at the doorway, murmurs. "Is that a threat, detective?" "No, Miss, it's a promise. The police here on J-Street are used to having to deal with you superhero - types, we pretty much give you all free reign if you don't tear things up too badly, make things hard on the normal citizens here on J-Street. But this group, whatever you call yourselves, I don't care…you've done a lot of damage in the short time you've been here, one of your members is possibly a murderer…" "Az didn't do anything!" interrupts Bishop. "…not to mention the fact that you're running a bar with a fourteen year old kid in residence. If you think we AREN'T going to come back, you're dumber than you look." "Um, Inspector Torres?" "What, Murphy?" Torres snaps. "What do we do about her wings?" The female cop rolls her eyes upward. "Try handcuffing her arms BEHIND her back - if she unfolds them while she's handcuffed, she'll most likely cut her arms off. I doubt she's stupid enough to try it." "Well, she was stupid enough to drop a feather at the crime scene…" He smirks at Az, pulls her arms roughly behind her back, and whispers "Izzat your calling card, honey?" "Murphy, knock it off NOW or I'll do my d*mndest to see you suspended!" Sil almost grins. This woman was TRYING to be fair to Az, at least. He had wanted to say something to 'Officer Murphy', but Torres had beaten him to it. Sil was rapidly becoming annoyed with the guy, he struck him as a lecherous jerk, making rude comments and openly staring at Az. She deserved better treatment… But then again, so would any of the JSS in a similar situation, he corrects himself. Torres' voice broke his train of thought. "There is one other thing. We need the helmet she wears, to run a couple tests." "It's on the top shelf of my closet…but the helmet doesn't like to be handled, it might defend itself against strangers." Ciela murmurs. "Defend itself…?" Torres mumbles under her breath. "All right, so 'it' doesn't like 'strangers'. Let the kid go get it, he's not a 'stranger', now is he?" Torres clearly didn't believe Az's warning, this was apparent by her tone of voice. She was being sarcastic. "No, it wouldn't do anything to him, he's my friend. Just don't try to put it on, Bish." She tries to joke. Two of the cops lead Az out of the building, leaving Torres and Murphy behind, Murphy holding an evidence bag. Bishop dutifully climbs the stairs and enters Az's room. He wasn't thrilled about what was going on, but he was going along with it, anyway. He simply didn't believe Az could have killed those people! Top shelf of the closet…HAD to be the top of the closet…he thinks, looking up at the helmet, just out of reach. Grabbing a chair, he goes back over to the closet, climbs up, and looks at the helmet eye-to-eye. It looks brighter than before! Bishop reaches out to grab it by one of the spikes, but a thin beam of light shoots out of the helmet, hitting Bish in the eyes. He falls backwards off the chair, landing with a loud thud. Bounding back up as if nothing happened, Bish jumps up, ignoring the chair, grabs the helmet from the shelf and sprints downstairs. Torres is standing just outside the door, watching two of the officers place Az inside the modified van they had arrived in. Specially built to haul superpowered beings, it could hold nearly any type of creature, from vampires to golems, armored battleborgs to microscopic evil elves. There was quite a bit of damage inside from prisoners struggling to escape, but their current prisoner sat down calmly and didn't move as the doors closed on the van. Torres was relieved the winged warrior wasn't resisting, it made the whole operation a LOT easier. Bish drops the helmet in the open bag, and turns to leave. Murphy seals the bag, and remarks to no one in particular "Why would a hot babe like that wear a starfish on her head? The blue body paint's bad enough, looks like a damn whor..." "Enough! I'll hear no more of this!" The Oan Sentinel shouts, eyes glowing silver, glaring angrily at Murphy. Patience stood right behind him, saying nothing, but looking even angrier than Silver Lantern was. Murphy turns to leave, muttering "What crawled up their @$$es?" Murphy shoves Az in the door of the police station, followed closely by Torres, threatening again to report him. Az is surprised to see Patience, crouched in the center of the room, tracing outlines on the floor with colored chalk. "Nice to see you again, Ciela. Let me finish up here, and we can leave." "Patience, I hate to tell you, these are cops, I don't think they're going to just let me go…" Az whispers. "You worry too much, Az. These cops don't care anymore." Pat smirks slightly. "Induced apathy. Very useful spell." As she continues drawing, two officers walk past Az, and head for a table of donuts and assorted pastries. Murphy walks past, and Patience quickly reaches up and snatches a tuft of hair from his head. He glances down at her, but continues walking, oblivious to the witch. Az stands quietly, watching. "You aren't gonna turn him into a frog, are you?" "Don't be silly. I have more class than that." She finishes with the runes on the floor, stands up, and brushes off her hands. Then she pulls a slip of thin paper, an egg, and a quill- tip pen out of her cloak. She cracks the egg, and uses the yolk and the quill to write on the paper. Az, looking over her shoulder, recognizes Japanese, but can't translate it. Pat, as if reading her mind, translates for her. "It means 'water'." Patience then walks over to the donut table, picks up a croissant, and wraps the paper around it. Az, totally out of her depth now, tilts her head to the side and says nothing for a few moments. When she does speak, she asks, hesitantly, "Food poisoning?" Pat grins at her. "Nothing barbaric like that, this is just a little payback for his behavior. I wouldn't HURT him…much." Patience walks back over to the runes on the floor, finds the one she wants, and places the croissant in the center of it. She steps back a few paces, and begins chanting in Latin. She finishes the chant, repeating YAPAPA several times. The chalk runes begin to glow brightly, then seem to hover above the floor. The small, glowing symbols streak from the room, ignored by the still oblivious officers. "Since he liked your breasts so well, I hope he enjoys having them himself." Patience grins at Az, as the blue skinned woman shakes her head in confusion. "WHAT did you do…" There is a blood-curdling, high-pitched scream from the next room, cutting off Az's query. "You didn't…." "Oh, yes I did. Possibly the best thing that could happen to him." Murphy, now with breasts bigger than any of the other women in the room, comes back in, and stops about where Pat had worked her spell. Back under the full power of the apathy spell, he, now she, calms down immediately and head for the donuts. Az stares. "How long…?" "Depends on him, really. Under normal circumstances, the spell will last a year and a day. If he begs, maybe I'll turn him back…AFTER I know he's learned his lesson." Pat grabs the key to the handcuffs from Murphy, and unlocks Az. Azangel retrieves the evidence bag containing the helmet, and they leave the police station, with Az saying, "I think this is a mistake." "You worry entirely too much." *************************************************************** Chapter 11 "How long are we going to stand around here?" Aquarius whispered anxiously in Jayna's ear. "Patience asked us to wait for her, and I'm inclined to do just that." said Jayna, staring out at the street from the front window of the bar. "She has the skills to uncover more than we can… Besides, here they come now." She turned toward the interior of the pub. "Sil, Patience is returning, and she has Az with her." ***************************************************************** "Yea, I'm sure I know how to get there. I've been there twice before." Said Rydgen. "Right over there," he said, gesturing down the street, "is where I got hit by that car." He paused momentarily, collecting his thoughts, and then strode purposefully into the intersection. "Ok. Head down… Wander, wander, wander… Screech! Thud! Roll, roll… Get up… Argue… Punch! Stagger, stagger… Wander, wander… Stroll, stroll… There it is! Told you I knew where it was…." The group of four now stood outside the storefront of I Got the Mojo Comix. Yellow police tape criss-crossed the entryway. The front door of the shop stood open although the signs read closed, and a curious few milled around on the sidewalk, looking through the open doorway. "I think we had better go around to the back…" Said Aquarius. "I don't want to be seen crossing a police line." That sounds like a plan." Said Rydgen, "I think there's an alley down this way." The four move down the block to the alley. As they enter the store from the back they can hear the sound of a carpet steamer. Lit by light-bulbs hanging from the ceiling by their own wires, the back room is a clutter of long white cardboard boxes, bookshelves packed with trade paperbacks, and a small foul restroom. "Well, at least the back room looks ok." Said Ry. "Uh, huh." Said Jayna, shaking her head. "This place has all the charm of a sewer." "Oh, I think it has lots of charm…" Said Aquarius, staring at a poster of a scantily clad, big-breasted bad girl. "Wouldn't you agree, Ry?" "Hmmm? Oh, yea." Said Rydgen, taking his eyes from another, similar poster. "Drool on your own time, boys." Said Patience, heading toward the front of the shop. "We have work to do." Once inside the shop proper, they could see dark splotches staining the pale gray carpeting & a young black man deep inside the shop bopping to some unheard tune, coming from the headphones he was wearing. The noise from the steamer almost drowned out the off-key ramblings of its user. He appeared to be about 5'11" in height, 230 lbs. He was wearing a Dawn T-shirt and baggy jeans with a stripe running down the side. A chain hung from a belt loop and disappeared into a pocket. As they step out into the shop proper, they can see that the place is a bloodstained mess. There are spatters everywhere, and great blotches on the carpet, which the young man is attempting to steam up. Not far from their entrance is the chalk outline of a body inside an amoeba shaped crimson stain, with a bloody handprint nearby. "It looks like our killer put his hand down to help himself up…" said Rydgen. "Or a cop, or a paramedic…" said Jayna. "Ugh! Not more of you… How am I supposed to get this place open if I have to keep talking to you hero types?" asked the young man, obviously startled. "More of us? Who else have you been talking to?" asked Patience. "Some really big brown-haired guy from an outfit called the Time Police… Bouncing Boy and a real hero from the J Street Task Force, Parallax. They were both around earlier today asking about the murders, though not together mind you…" The poor fellow was obviously quite upset, and looked more than a little ill. "Look, it's just like I told everybody else. I didn't see a thing. I was in the back pulling this week's books for a customer, when the screaming started. I got down behind the racks, and called the cops." He shut off the machine and leaned heavily on the wand. "By the time they got here the screaming had stopped. I didn't come out until after the stiffs were gone. I don't know anything except we lost a couple of our best customers." He started the machine again and began to scrub at the stain. "If this keeps up we are gonna have to close… Ugh!" He once again turned off the cleaner, staggered to trashcan & coughed weakly into it. He straightened up and wiped his mouth on a bandana. "God this sucks. I ran out of anything to puke a couple of hours ago." The shop stank of cleaning supplies and wet blood. Slappy began working on cleaning up another chalk outline. Aquarius was keenly aware of the heat & humidity caused by the steamer as he began to look for any remaining clues. "Looks like he used these Awesome & Maximum Press comics to start mopping up the blood." Ry said, looking into another huge trashcan. "Well they're no good for reading." Answered Aquarius, chuckling, trying to find some humor amongst the horror. "The one over by the counter, " Slappy pointed at the stain he just finished with, "was a big Liefeld fan. His plan to corner the back issue market just fell through…" he said, shaking his head sadly. "We'll try to stay out of your way." Said Patience. "We only want to look around a bit." As the team searched the shop for anything that might help clear Azangel, Aquarius became more and more agitated. "This is my fault." He said, quietly, coming up behind Jayna. "How can this be your fault?" she asked. Aquarius took her by the arm and led her into the back room. "The feathers that have been showing up at the murders, I stole them." "You what? Jayna asked, shocked. "Look after you had me watch for that prowler, I got another job, scouting out the Sentinels. I'd been hanging out in the bar & sneaking into their rooms since right after that. The first feathers I got were from Az on your roof, remember? You didn't want them, but my next employer did. He hired me to check out the JSS, especially Az, and I did. I got him seven of those feather blades! I stole the murder weapons and sold them to him!" "So you know who did this…. You've known…" Once he started to open up, the words tumbled out in a rush, cutting her off. "Jayna, how do you think I knew how to find that guy? How I 'stumbled' on to him & Az talking in that alley. I was following him because I knew where he was and I'd just put two and two together. All this blood is on MY hands. He was your prowler! It all adds up, don't you see that? I sold him the last of those blades just before the murders began, a couple of days ago." He hung his head. "Well… You didn't know what he was up to. How could you?" "Look Jayna, I've always operated just outside the law, but nothing like this… Nothing like this! What the hell am I supposed to say to these people? 'Oh hey Az, I'm real sorry I was snooping around your room, checking out your underwear, and giving this Aztec wanna-be the means to set you up for mass murder.'?" "Whatta you think Pat?" asked Rydgen. "I haven't found a thing." "Too much Psychic baggage cluttering up the place. I can't get a clear reading." Said Patience, clearly frustrated. "Police, reporters, Marvel Fanboys, DC Zombies, this place is thick with strong opinion and emotion. I need to see the bodies." "The bodies? Eeewwwww!" Rydgen followed Patience into the back room. Sometimes he wondered about her. How could such a pretty young lady be so cold? He thought to himself. "I can't get anything here. We need to go to the morgue, so I can look at the victims directly." Jayna and Aquarius both flinched when the others entered the room. Neither of them appeared to be too happy, and there was tension in the air. "Why don't you guys step on outside for a minute, Patience & I need to talk." Said Jayna. Rydgen and Aquarius rolled their eyes and grumbled a bit, but both seemed happy to get outside. "All right, you wanted a little privacy, what's up?" Said Patience, levitating herself up to sit on a stack of white boxes. "Aquarius knows who the murderer is." "Right." Said Patience, obviously skeptical. "How does he know that?" "Because, Aquarius used to work for him." Said Jayna softly. "He gave him the feathers he's been planting all over the place." "He what?" Pat's temper was beginning to flare. "Uh huh. I know how bad this looks." Said Jayna, followed by a long uncomfortable silence. "So how long have YOU known?" "I just found out." "Wonderful! Just wonderful." She sighed heavily. "Well, this isn't the first time we've had a traitor in our midst. How could he just sit by and let Az get put through the wringer like that?" "Even the Sentinels weren't sure that she hadn't done it, and she is one of your own. How could you expect him to be? Look, right or wrong he's come clean now. He's been helping with this investigation all along. He was the first one with information about this 'priest' person. He was the first to realize that she was possessed, and he was right there fighting against Tez. I think we should cut him a little slack." "That's sounds just like you Alexandra, always on the side of the underdog. I thought you looked familiar." Said Patience, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "What are you after this time? It better not be something of mine." "I thought we settled that a long time ago. You don't have anything that I haven't learned to live without. As far as I'm concerned our truce still stands. We haven't been at each other's throats since Caesar crossed the Rhine, and I'd prefer to keep it that way." Said Jayna. "Like it or not, I'm involved in this. He's been using things stolen from me to commit these 'crimes'. Let's just deal with the here and now." "We'll have to tell Silver Lantern." "I know…. We'll have to tell everybody." "But now probably isn't the best time." "Absolutely! We need to have the evidence to back up the truth, and we will probably need his help to get it." City Morgue, J Street much later that night… The team slipped quietly through the door that Aquarius had opened for them. "I could have done that." Said Patience. She had been on edge since leaving I Got the Mojo. Jayna's revelation regarding Aquarius had angered her, and keeping quiet about it hadn't done anything to lighten her mood. "Yea, but would you have looked around for the night watchman?" he asked. "I'm a professional." She snapped. "Whatever. Through there," he pointed. "Just don't expect much more outta me, once I do a mist, I'm pretty screwed till I can get some sleep." "Alright you guys keep watch. Jayna you can help me." The two women moved quietly into the cooling room. After checking the clip-boarded charts hanging on the wall, they began looking for the corresponding vaults. The room was cold and silent. They both saw their breath in the dimness. "Here we go. I found one." Jayna pulled the latch and swung open the heavy door. She grasped the frigid metal of the drawer, thankful for her gloves. "How much of this do you want uncovered?" She asked as she pulled the body out into the pale light. The corpse lay on its tray covered by a white sheet. "It's up to you." Said Pat. "You don't have to uncover the wound it you don't have the stomach for it." "I've seen worse. We both have. Remember the Crusades?" "It always has something to do with religion doesn't it?" "It does have the tendency to bring out the best & the worst in people…" Jayna slowly pulled back the sheet exposing the gaping hole in the young man's shattered chest. Patience stood at the head of the tray and began calling upon forces ancient and terrible. Although she was accustomed to the ways of her kind, Jayna was still taken aback when the dead lungs inhaled. The intake of breath was slow and raspy, and echoed in the silence of the cavernous room. The body's cold, pale eyes opened, and the head tilted slowly upward toward Patience. The body flinched as if once more in pain, a look of terror crossed its face. "Please don't hurt me bright mistress." His voice barely a whisper. "Haven't I suffered enough?" The four silently walked the night streets making their way back to the Hair & Hippo. "Ya know Pat, I don't think the testimony of a dead guy will be admissible in a court of law." Said Rydgen. "Maybe not, but at least now I've got a good idea who we're up against. Of course I'll have to question him a bit to be sure." Patience gestured at Aquarius. "His testimony is admissible in court. You are planning to hang around long enough to testify aren't you?" Chapter 12 Spider-Man jumped up over the Rhino, causing the large brute to charge into a nearby construction site. The villain picked up a large orange support beam, and swung it at the wall crawler. He dodged it, of course. The super-heroes always do. Spidey flung himself onto a building, using his spider-powers to stick onto the side of it. Leaping again onto the Rhino’s back, Spidey kicked his legs out and sent the crook flying into an 18-wheeler full of highly-explosive gasoline. It blew up, almost consuming the web-slinger as well. The police came, the hero scurried off, and the Rhino was taken into custody. “Wow,” Bishop said aloud. “That was cool!” The young Sentinel sat on his bed, the newest Spider-Man issue in his hands. He read it with interest, taking his time to study every panel of every page. He had always loved Spider-Man, the way he had to deal with personal problems as well as being a hero. Better than Superman, for instance, because Spidey couldn’t just punch a hole in things. “Bishop! For the last time, get down here, now!” He sighed. Instead of helping his two other teammates – Silver Lantern and Azangel – pick up the trashed bar, he had been reading a comic book, not something “constructive” enough for Sil’s taste, especially considering the J-Street Sentinels current situation. “I said I was coming already!” Bishop yelled back. “That was twenty minutes ago!” a reply came from back downstairs. Obviously Sil was starting to get a little mad. Bishop got up and started toward his door. He opened it and began to descend down the stairs, Sil throwing his arms up in relief. “So he is alive!” “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” the young hero muttered. Just then Bishop tripped, his legs stumbling out in front of him and his body began falling down the stairs. But instead of hitting the hard ground below, he spun around and did a small back flip, his feet landing smoothly on a nearby table. Bishop’s jaw fell to his knees and Sil dropped the glass he had been cleaning. “Did… did I do that?” Bishop whispered. “I don’t know… did… you…?” Sil couldn’t believe what he saw, and went over to his teammate. “I haven’t been able to do anything like that since Tezcatlipoca stole my powers,” said Bishop, still in disbelief. “It’s like I was agile again… just like Spider-Man or some… one…” he stopped. I did a jump just like Spider-Man did in the comic I just read… exactly like it! “Something’s odd about your abilities, Bish… but until we find out what, we do need to get this bar cleaned up. Why don’t you help Az in the back room?” **************************************************************** “I know your're upset… You can talk to me, if you want,” Bishop spoke to Azangel. The winged member of the J-Street Sentinels sat silently, not moving or motioning him to leave. Okay… that’s a good sign… They remained in the room, Az staring at the ground and Bishop uncomfortably moving about. The silence was almost deafening to Bishop, but he still decided not to say anything more. “I’ve failed the Foundation, Bish. The one thing I’ve been trained for all my life -- all my life -- has got the better of me. I let Tez go… and do you know how many people might die because I failed?” “None,” Bishop whispered, settling into a chair in the corner of the room. “What?” “No one’s going to die because you failed. You know why,Az?” “I’d love to be enlightened, kiddo,” she sarcastically quoted. Bishop paused. “People may die, Az. Hell, we might die trying to stop this… this god. But you didn’t fail anyone. No one’s gonna die because of an error on your part, because you didn’t make one. All of us together didn’t stop him… that’s got to tell you something, doesn’t it?” “It may,” Az said quietly. Again, both heroes remained silent, the solitude of the room almost overwhelming. “Look,” Bishop began, “let’s not turn this into a ‘Full House’ moment. I know that you know that you didn’t do anything wrong. I just thought it might help hearing it from someone else. And remember, Az… a true hero won’t fall to a threat twice.” Chapter 13 He had decided it best not to join Rydgen and his small party in the investigation at the I Got The Mojo Comics' crime scene. "I must be the least stealthy member of us.", Silver Lantern said to no one. "Or maybe Azangel, with her blue skin and golden metal wings, gets that distinction." He corrected himself. I hope she pulls through this. I can only imagine what it must feel like to be possessed and used like a puppet. "Ring, where is Azangel now? And Bishop?" he asked his Power Ring telepathically. They are both in the pub. Their close proximity indicates that they are conversing. The silent reply came. "I hope they're helping each other. With her possession and his Chronal Power loss, they could both use an ego boost." He thought to himself. He was alone finishing repairs to the pub's flooring and support structure in the basement. No one will be punching a hole into HERE so easily again. He was satisfied with the extra support courtesy of his Galacthetian technology and Power Oan. (He had altered the new steel beams and flooring into a non-terrestrial and harder alloy.) "Hello, Silver One." a voice said from within a wall. Sil turned to it, raised an Oan Shield, and prepared an Oan Blast. His fists glowed brightly. "Easy, Silver One. I have not come to continue our struggle." It was Tezcatlipoca oozing through the wall, to stand before The Oan Sentinel. "I have an offer for you." "I DON'T MAKE DEALS WITH 'DEVILS'!" SL shouted at the Aztec god of Shadows. "Must we use labels?" Tez remarked. "Call me Tezcatlipoca; it is my name." "Very well, 'Tezcatlipoca'. I will make no settlements with…YOU!!" Silver Lantern fired a two-fisted blast at Tezcatlipoca but it passed through his immaterial form, and ripped a hole through a opposite wall. "HAHAHA", laughed the ShadowGod, as he phased into the floor. "Very well. We must show our might BEFORE you will hear me out." Sil scanned for him. He was there, moving throughout the flooring and into a wall. POW! A force of pure darkness hit Sil from behind, knocking him off balance. He turned as he fell, firing another Oan Blast. It struck the re-enforced steel plating above, bending it as a shower of sparks rained down. "Show yourself, demon!" Silver Lantern shouted, as he stood again. "Tezcatlipoca is no demon. He is a god." whispered another voice in a reverent tone. It was a hooded man standing in the doorway. Silver prepared to fire at this newcomer. "Who are YOU? What are you doing down here?" Shadowforms shot out of the floor at SL's feet and held him, creeping up his body, enveloping him. "NO!!", he shouted and released an OAN PULSE, an omnidirectional Power wave. The blackness around Silver dissipated. Tez merely laughed. "I have not come here to discuss my priest." said the Shadow god, reforming in the basement. "Allow me to speak, or must we destroy this building in battle?" "Very well. Speak then." "Silver One. 'Silver 'Lantern', your abilities are most impressive. You are a formidable foe. NOT that you are able to stop me. NOT that you are more powerful than I, but.you do have your strengths." "Enough with the compliments; I don't need them, ESPECIALLY not from one such as you. Tell me why you are here, before I lose my patience." (The Oan Sentinel was prepared to strike out again even if it damaged The Hair and Hippo.) "I have your attention. Good." Tez remarked. "I want you to be my host. I want to possess you." "WHAT?!?" Sil shrieked, glowing brightly with Power Oan. "Please, Silver Lantern. Hear Tezcatlipoca's reasoning." said the hooded man calmly. "Do I know you?" The Oan asked the man at the doorway. (He seemed familiar somehow. Who was he?) "Silence, priest!" Tez commanded. "I allowed you to accompany me; do not anger me. I will discuss matters, NOT you." The priest stepped back, up two steps of the stairs. Tez formed between him and The Oan Sentinel. "Welcome me, Silver Lantern, and you can control my…appetite, and save lives. I could be mostly satiated by your energies...fewer would need to die." "I will not be corrupted by your darkness. You would want to use MY form against my friends...against others. You must be mad; I would never agree to such idiocy." "You disappoint me, Silver Lantern. I believed that you would see the logic of such an arrangement. I offer a symbiotic relationship that would benefit you, as well as me. You would be one with a god, and with more power than you have now. You would be worshipped as I am worshipped. I would feed of your energies and be in less in need of blood. I would not need to kill so recklessly. YOU could even help me choose who to sacrifice for my...for OUR continued existence. "Your logic is not my logic. You must be stopped. I cannot aid you." "Surely, you cannot believe that all deserve to live. You must know that there are those who, if dead, would be for the better of society. It is of these that we could have sacrificed." "I am a protector. You are a destroyer. It is that simple." "You are a fool, Silver Lantern. We could be a balanced dual-being. Instead, you choose that we be enemies. I have been for thousands of years…and will be so for thousands more. I am more than you. You cannot stop me. You might even die." "Better that I die opposing you, than die as one with you...IF you CAN kill me." "Savor your life, Norrin Sur. When next we meet, I WILL kill you. You have chosen your death...instead of life." "No. I have chosen to be who and what I am." "Good bye, Sentinel. We will meet again soon…for the last time." (Tezcatlipoca oozed through the floor and was gone.) ****************************************************** Sil ran up the stairs to find the hooded man. He was gone. He must have left during the dialogue, because there was no trace of him in the pub or out on the street. He was gone. "Ring, who was that? Do I know him?" he asked internally. Insufficient data. came the silent reply. "Guess. Any idea?" I do not 'guess'. I have no idea. "Speculate!" Silver thought 'louder' to his ring. Insufficient data. "Thanks, ring. Thanks for nothing." Silver Lantern finished the repairs, and began to work on the security system. He increased power to the various Oan Shields. He recharged himself. interlude - Rydgen's room Rydgen crashed on his bed as the world spun around him. He wasn't ill from what happened in the morgue; he's seen similar things in his pre-Sentinel life. It's just everything that's gone on in the past two weeks is pounding down on him. First off was the whole thing about dimension-jumping. He can't remember how he arrived in the Weilandverse. Shortly after at a dinner party he and several others chased a mad chatter into yet another universe. Fortunately they were able to settle right in, with shelter and jobs and all. That made it easier. The first scrap with Zen Reaper and his peons was successful. Could've gone better though. All well, all evil masters slip away somehow. Except, what bothers him right now is how did Zen get back to the Weilandverse to brainwash, or clone, or whatever, those specific chatters? Since he sent Thanos through the dimensions, it shows he has the power to go anywhere. So why pick on this place? He bets there are other places with no heroes to stop him. Then a thought popped in. This is J Street, and from what Silver Lantern told him it's a nexus of temporal portals and other weird interdimensional fluxes. Control the source, control the universe. Something like that. But now there's a dark god out there ripping people's hearts out. Rydgen has never gone up against a god of any sort. That's a scary notion. The first battle was a complete disaster! Who knows what will happen next time? To compound this matter, it looks like the trip through Thanos' Bag O' Evil messed up with his DNA makeup. His arm shouldn't have come off as easily as it did in his fight against Chicken Puppet. Getting run over by the car after pushing the JN into the street shouldn't have messed him up so badly. And he also should have healed faster after the crash, but hours after his face was still healing. This didn't bode well with the flannelled Sentinel. Also Hairbutt and Artemis were still gone without any word of what the hell they're up to. What to do? he though as he was lying limply on his bed. This team is made up of great people, and I enjoy their company... but I'm really not much of team material! And what happened the last time I was in a team? Because of me they all ended up fried, nuked, shot, stabbed,... get a grip, Ry... that was years ago. I don't know how much longer it is until this team ends up toast because of my failure... Chapter 14 "I think we all need to sit down and have a nice, long, serious talk." Silver Lantern paused for an instant, taking a deep breath before slowing turning to face Jayna. "I… We appreciate all that you and Aquarius have done to help us during this 'crisis', but you don't fully understand the effect this has had on us. At this moment I think that we could benefit from a little time alone, to recharge, as a group." "You are quite right." She stated, placing her hands on her hips. She took the opportunity to take a long look at the interior of the bar. "I don't know any of you as well as you know each other." She shrugged her shoulders and walked across the room to admire the tapestry hung on one wall for the first time. She ran her fingers over the ancient fabric, admiring its quality and state of preservation. The scene depicted was a gather of immortals, and she mentally ticked off the names of those pictured one-by-one, including the woman who was now using the name Patience and herself. "That's not entirely true." She said, looking over her shoulder at the Oan Sentinel. "Your friend Patience and I have a history…" Silver Lantern was just starting to contemplate that bit of information when Aquarius walked in through the front door of the pub, a liter bottle of water hanging from his fingers, and dripping condensation on the floor. "Now really isn't a good time for…" Sil began. "You're telling me!" Said the dark-haired fellow, pulling a chair from the tabletop and making himself comfortable. The Hair & Hippo would be opening soon, "So, how much have you told him, Jay?" "Nothing so far." She answered walking back over to the only occupied table. "I was waiting for you." Sil resigned himself to hearing them out. It appeared to be the only way he could get them to leave. "All right," Sil sighed sitting up in the chair, "tell me what?" Aquarius took a deep drink from his bottle and his irritating self-confidence seemed to fall away like so much shattered glass. "There are things that you don't know about the dynamics, the people here on J Street." Said Jayna stepping over to Aquarius and placing a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of support. "Like what I do, what I've done, to make a living." "I'm afraid I don't see what this has to do with the Sentinels." Snapped Sil. "You will." Said Jayna. Aquarius sighed and looked away from Silver Lantern. Maybe it would have been easier if Sil didn't appear the same all the time. "Could you get everybody down here, so I only have to do this once?" "Are you certain this is entirely necessary?" Sil asked. "Everyone is fairly emotionally and physically drained at the moment." "It's necessary. If you don't believe us, ask Patience." Jayna said. ********************************************************* "I don't know all the details, but I do know that he's more deeply involved in this than anybody realizes." Patience turned away from the collection of oddments strewn across the table in her room. Silver Lantern was mildly curious about their purpose and origins, but was far too wary to inquire. "I think we should listen to what he has to say. It will give me a chance to check on his motives and determine of he can, or should, be trusted." ******************************************************** The Sentinels sat in stony silence. Silver Lantern and Patience were their usual, impassive public selves. Azangel was wooden and lifeless, like a sleepwalker. It was difficult to know if she had heard any of what Aquarius has been speaking about. Bishop seemed confused, and perhaps hurt or angry. It was hard to tell. Rydgen, on the other hand, was much easier to read. He had kept his silence during Aquarius' confession, but had become increasingly more agitated the longer the dark-haired mercenary spoke. Now he sat with red-faced fury, breathing deeply, trying to decide how to react. When he could no longer sit passive in the chair, his hyperactive nature overcoming his cognitive abilities, he exploded from his seat and was on top of Aquarius before anyone else could react. "You BASTARD!" He spat in Aquarius' face, gripping him by his shirtfront. "You stinking pond scum! Was your 'fee' enough to compensate you for the all those dead people, for what's happened to her?" He jerked his head in Az's direction. "Nothing could make up for that." Aquarius said softly, not trying at all to defend himself. "I didn't know that you were the 'good guys' and he was the 'bad guy'. It was just another job." Rydgen's face was deepening from crimson to purple, and he drew back his arm, forming a fist to smash this creep in the face, "Just another job? Work this!" a powerful hand gripped his shoulder from behind. "Ry, this won't solve anything." said Silver Lantern. "It won't bring back one of them." "Sil is right," said Jayna. "Save your anger for the real villains in all of this. Aquarius didn't have to tell you any of what he'd done, and you never would have known…" Ry gaped at Jayna in naked disbelief. "How can you defend him? He lied to you too!" "I hired him, remember?" Jayna bent over Aquarius' shoulder and pried Rydgen's fingers from the mottled blue shirt. "Besides, I've been on J Street for longer than a month. I think I understand the dynamics of this place a bit better than you do. Hardly anyone here is what they appear to be. Aquarius here has a good rep in certain circles as an information gatherer and problem solver." She held Ry's hands in hers for a moment, hoping that some of her calmness would seep into the young man. "Do you still think that I'm just a simple shopkeeper?" "Ry, pace if you have to," said Silver Lantern, "but don't pummel our 'guest' and try not to break the place up. We just got it back in order." Rydgen snorted and stomped off. Sil watched Rydgen put some distance between himself and Aquarius, and ardently wished for a swift conclusion to this horrible mess. Aquarius has been right with us fighting Tez. He thought to himself. He's brought us valuable information, and had nothing to gain by telling us the 'truth' about his working for the hooded man. "We'll be going now. I think we've overstayed our welcome." Said Jayna. "I know this isn't a good time to say this, but if you need us, if you want us, we're with you." "Good plan." Mumbled Rydgen to himself. "Keep him right where we can keep a close eye on him…" ********************************************************* Even his victim's screams could not drown out the satisfying, wet, crunch of cracking ribs as Tezcatlipoca's chosen priest went about his appointed task. He reached inside the gaping cavity to wrench the prize from its place inside the warm confines of its dying host, basking in the spray of fresh blood as he held the still beating heart high above his head. He took great satisfaction from his position as facilitator for the terrible god. "It's good to enjoy one's work." He thought to himself, smiling. Chapter 15 The weather was just right, the sky calm and mesmerizing, a slight breeze played through people’s hair and clothes, and a pair of Honey Badger Birds were cooing loudly at each other in a tree branch. Well, that was until a good-sized rock flew millimeters over their heads. They were effectively pissed off now (such is the nature of this breed. The slightest annoyance and their claws extend, ready to tear into whatever caused their anger, sometimes even into a bystander), but were too nearsighted to tell where the stone had come from. They took off, looking for a more peaceful perch instead. “Ry, there’s no need in taking your frustrations out on the local wildlife,” Bishop said, watching the winged, four-legged birds fly away. Rydgen walked alongside Bishop, his hands now in his flannel pockets. His brow was furrowed, barely making his eyes visible. “I don’t remember much of what happened during our fight with Tezl-tapioca, or whatever the hell his name is, due to being unconscious and possessed. But now knowing that my life was in the hands of turncoats like Aquarius, and even Jayna can’t be ruled out, it all just makes my spleen have seizures.” “But Rydgen, if they were really working for the bad guys, do you think we’d have been allowed to live through the battle?” Bishop asked, trying to break through Rydgen’s anger. The two of them were now walking on a trail entering the forest in which they found the Superman Jal Store hidden within. That was not their current destination though. “Maybe that was their plan, to let us live, then strike us when we least suspect it!” Bishop skipped ahead of Rydgen and blocked his way. “Listen, Ry, I know you’re angry about Aquarius working for the other team, but this isn’t like you. I have never seen you this mad about something before, and I don’t think the others have either. Come on teammate, you know there’s no reason to be so upset, so settle down and relax.” The two Sentinels stood there in the middle of the trail, Rydgen looking down at Bishop with a stone face and crossed arms, and Bishop looking back up at him expectantly. They stood like that for a good five minutes, but it seemed like all afternoon. Rydgen caught Bishop by surprise and grabbed him by his collar with one hand and lifted him to eye level. Ry’s eyes narrowed as he sneered and spoke. “You know, you’re absolutely right my young friend,” he said, forming his sneer into a smile. “I have no reason to be so cross about Aquarius and Jayna.” He set an extremely relieved Bishop back down on his feet. Man, even just lifting Bish by one hand is more difficult! “Come on, let’s explore these woods a little more.” “You really had me worried, Ry!” Bishop said as they continued their journey. “I feared you were going to toss me into a tree or something…” “You have more to fear than a mere arboreal collision young one!” a low, menacing voice said in front of them. They looked ahead to see one of Zen Reaper’s minions, Roland the invincible warrior! “Oh hey, if it isn’t Roley-poley Roland!” Rydgen exclaimed. “How have you been? I hope that dagger Artemis used on ya didn’t leave a scar! Ha!” “Um, Ry, I don’t think making him angry would be a good thing to do,” Bishop spoke quietly to Rydgen. “Don’t worry little man,” Roland said, “a clown like himself cannot possibly anger me.” “Oh, so I’m a clown now? Do I amuse you? What, am I here to do frikkin’ backflips, juggle little balls, and throw pies for your enjoyment? I’m some kinda Bozo here to make you laugh? Is that it?” “That was a horrible impersonation Ry,” Bishop said. “Hey, I tried.” “Well trying will not keep you from being my captives!” Roland said, walking swiftly to the two. Rydgen ran to intercept Roland, who sidestepped and knocked Rydgen in the back of the head as he went past. This caused him to stumble and fall to the ground, but he leapt back on his feet right after. “Okay, that didn’t work…” He ran again at Roland, but this time leapt up and grasped a branch with both hands, letting his momentum swing him around the branch once, after which he let go, speeding towards Roland. Bishop was sneaking up on Roland while he was focused on Rydgen’s attacks. Rydgen was about to collide with Roland’s chest, but Rydgen’s feet were caught by his hands, swinging Ry around behind him and into Bishop’s approaching body. Bishop got back up in the same way Rydgen did previously, with Ry following suit. “Good recovery, Bish,” Rydgen commented supportively. They stood together, letting Roland be the one to approach this time. As he did, he drew out a sword from underneath his robe. “This could be bad…” Bishop had an idea. “Rush over at Roland and knock him off his feet while I distract him,” he whispered to Rydgen. Ry didn’t have any time to argue as Bishop ran towards Roland. Ry took off after Bishop, only to see him jump up and disappear into the trees. A second later he back flipped out of the foliage behind Roland, causing him to turn to face Bishop. Rydgen took this opportunity to speed up and slide into Roland’s legs as he started to swing his sword at Bishop. Instead he fell backwards, dropping his sword a few feet away. Rydgen got back on his feet as Roland did. “I don’t need a weapon to defeat you two!” Roland yelled. Roland ran towards them, moving his arms in martial arts style as he aimed towards Bishop, but instead he struck Rydgen in the throat, surprising the both of them. Bishop jumped and grabbed a branch above him, just as Rydgen had earlier, swinging his body around the branch. Rydgen was still clutching his throat, gasping for air as Roland focused his attacks on the older Sentinel, believing that all he had to do was take care of whom he believed to be the stronger of the two, and the younger one would yield. He hit Rydgen rapidly and repeatedly in the torso, not letting him recover enough to defend himself. Rydgen may have good reflexes, but martial arts give him a hell of a time. Bishop, who had been keeping his eyes on Roland, let go of the branch on his downswing, bringing his full weight colliding into Roland’s back. This caused Roland to fall into Rydgen, knocking them both down. Bishop stood defensively as Roland got up off Rydgen’s body. “The little sidekick shows spunk. I hate spunk in a kid!” Roland said as he swung his fists at Bishop. Bishop took Roland by complete surprise, using his own assault on himself. When Roland realized what Bishop was doing, he shifted back into martial arts, soon overcoming the young Sentinel. Then he stopped suddenly. “Yes, Roley-poley, that’s your own sword point you feel on the back of your neck,” Rydgen said from behind Roland. Bishop’s attack allowed enough time for Rydgen to reclaim Roland’s fallen weapon. Now Roland was in a spot. His invincible robe didn’t cover that part of his neck, and even though he does heal well, having his neck severed would be very inconvenient. “I have underestimated your abilities, Sentinels… especially you little one,” Roland confessed sourly. “But mark my words, I will not be so easily fooled our next battle. When my master Zen Reaper comes up with an ultimate plan to get rid of you misfits, I will be the one to triumph over you fallen carcasses!” “Ooooooooo, Zen Reaper is going to be angry Rydgen!” Bishop said mockingly. “Whatever shall we do?” “Make sure Roland doesn’t make it back maybe?” Rydgen replied, penetrating Roland’s neck slowly with the blade tip. “NO! No, as fellow warriors, you can not end me like this, in this manner! It is very dishonorable,” Roland pleaded, his eyes wide with fear. Rydgen stood there, sword still pricking Roland’s neck. Bishop could see Rydgen’s face darken, the anger from before returning now. “Rydgen! You can’t really be serious!” he yelled to his comrade. “He’s an agent of evil, Bishop,” Rydgen said in a deep, monotone voice. “He can’t be allowed to continue his master’s biddings. He has to be stopped and this is the best way to do it.” To prove his point Rydgen pushed the sword tip a little deeper into Roland’s neck, causing him to scream in agony. Bishop couldn’t let Ry kill someone coldly like this. He jumped at Rydgen, knocking him back away from Roland. Roland took this opportunity to flee from the anger driven hippie. “I will be back!” he yelled as he disappeared into the forest, “and I won’t be alone! Zen Reaper and my brethren shall return to wreak chaos on this-“ Ry and Bish heard a rather loud thud which cut off Roland’s sentence. They heard him get back up, recovering from what they figured him running into a tree, too wrapped up on his retreat speech to see it coming. “Bishop, are you okay man?” Rydgen asked. “I think I should be asking you that Ry,” “Oh, yeah, I’m fine! I was just bluffing about cutting his neck. Pretty good, eh?” Bishop looked at Rydgen warily. “Er, yeah, heh heh, you had me fooled…” “How about you? How did you imitate his moves so well?” “It’s strange, but it’s like all I have to do is see someone do something, and I can do it exactly and as flawlessly as the other person did it.” “See? I told you you don’t need superpowers to be a hero! Just use your brain power, Bishop!” I think it was a little more than just using my intelligence, Rydgen. “Yeah, I guess so, Rydgen.” The two comrades at arms walked back the way they came, to return to the Hair & Hippo pub. They didn’t notice the figure in the shadows of the woods though. The hooded man had been watching them since they entered the forest, studying them. He saw them defeat the warrior Roland. And he now knew where he could find a suitable host for his lord. Chapter 16 The hooded figure followed Roland through the forest and watched as the Raider stepped through an energy warp. Following close behind the invincible warrior, he tested it, and discovered it was permanent, so apparently it was a dimensional nexus like others around J Street. So Zen Reaper was located in a dimension off of J Street, where his dark lord's powers would work in all their glory! This accursed place had been causing Tezcatlipoca problems, both good and ill. He had been able to survive without a real host, but had not been able to see the future, and none of his spell-castings had functioned properly. It would be good for the dark lord to be himself again. With this information, he headed back to J Street, to his waiting master. "I am glad to see you two are back." Silver Lantern spoke as Rydgen and Bishop walked back into the Hair and Hippo. The Silver Sentinel looks at them, at the sword Ry was still carrying. "Where did you get…" "It's a souvenir, Sil! We beat Roland!" Bishop blurted out. Rydgen grinned at the Oan Sentinel, who stared at them, mouth hanging open. "You…beat…" Sil shook his head. It must have been some OTHER invincible warrior, he thought to himself. Rydgen was behind the bar getting a cold glass of Pepski, and he knew he was in for another of the boys' long stories. Before they began, he wanted to talk to Bishop about yesterday. "I meant to ask you, Bish. You spoke to Az yesterday; did you have any luck with her? I have been concerned for her, it is taking her too long to snap out of this …whatever it is she's in." The youngest Sentinel shook his head. "She's just…shell-shocked, I guess. She thinks it's her fault those people died, that she's a failure. I tried to talk to her, she's just not listening." Rydgen walked back over and they all retreated to the back room, away from the customers. Ry quickly began his tale of how he and Bishop defeated Roland… Meanwhile… The hooded man trudged up the mountainside, towards Zen Reaper's fortress. An energy barrier surrounded the castle, or he would have simply 'stepped' there, walking through shadows. So far no one had opposed him, he assumed that one or more of Zen's Raiders would be greeting him soon. If they didn't, he had overestimated Zen, and would have to reconsider his opinion of the villain, his suitability as a host. He did not have long to wait, as soon as he reached a small plateau, he found himself surrounded by several of the Raiders, including Roland the not-so-invincible warrior. He grinned under the hood, knowing his quest was soon to be fulfilled, and he fingered the artifact in the inner pocket of his cloak. His master would be most pleased with this host, he already knew of Zen's power, his evilness. "Take me to your master, we have important business to discuss." He demanded. "Oh, we're sure you do. But why don't you tell US what this important business is, and the Master will get back to you.", spoke up a rock-encrusted creature. "Maybe, one day, if he feels like it." Chirps a slender blonde with huge eyes. "Trixxy, dear…why don't you convince our friend here to leave? Say, by having him jump off the cliff?" "Sure thing, Rol." She turns to the hooded form, and purrs seductively, "This won't hurt a bit." She slides up to him, putting her hands on his chest, starting to push him gently towards the edge. "You want to jump for li'l Trixxie, don't you?" She was trying to use some form of mind control on him, and he was not overly impressed. "Not really." He grabs her by the throat, holding her at arm's length over the edge, thinking of how satisfying it would be to rip her warm, beating heart out, and offer it to his god, blood to seal the upcoming covenant… A pity he needed these beings to carry out Tezcatlipoca's ultimate plan. "Do NOT cross me, Raiders. I have come to offer an allegiance, my master and yours, for they share a common goal." "And what goal might that be, stranger? Release my servant, and perhaps I will hear you out before I kill you." The stranger complies, putting Trixx down gently on her feet, safely away from the edge. Flashing Zen an ecstatic smile, he realizes the villain cannot see his face through the obsidian mask he is wearing. The hooded priest reaches up and removes his mask, uncovering his face. He removes the massive, dark robe and steps towards the shocked Zen. "Ah, Zen! How nice to see you again! Let's go inside and talk, shall we?" Zen nods in mute agreement, and he and the ShadowGod's servant go inside, the Raiders following close behind. "…And then he ran into a TREE!" finishes Rydgen, laughing. Silver Lantern was still having difficulty believing the story, but the sword was Roland's, according to Patience, who had come downstairs midway through the story. "Congratulations on your victory, I suppose." He stops to gather his thoughts. "If Roland was that close to the Hair and Hippo, the Raiders may be planning an attack. We need to be more careful, and not make trips outside without letting the others know, we have enough things to worry about with this ShadowGod without losing members to Zen and his minions…" Silver Lantern stopped talking as Kit Kitmer stepped into the back room. The feline bartender never left his post while they had patrons, so it must have been serious. "You've got a visitor, people." He said "A cop." "Let me handle it, Sil." Pat steps through the doorway, and goes to greet their guest. A few minutes later, Patience returns, followed by Detective Torres, the same plainclothes officer as before. Torres grabs a chair and sits down, eyeing the collected Sentinels. "Tell me a story, folks. Who's this guy?" she asks, as she tosses several photographs onto the table. There were more grainy surveillance video stills, along with pictures taken of the crime scene. Another body, chest torn open, and another blood covered feather left behind. In this stack of pictures, there was one that caught the Oan Sentinel's attention. The killer had gotten somewhat careless; the police had gotten a decent shot of him from the tape. His face was unrevealed, unfortunately covered by an obsidian mask, splattered with fresh blood. Silver Lantern recognizes the figure immediately. "He was in the pub yesterday, threatening me…along with a creature known as Tezcatlipoca. I have no idea who he really is, but he seems powerful." "He's our murderer." "I believe you are right, he is the murderer…What about the rest of the Police Department? What do they think?" Sil glances up at Ry, who glares but says nothing. "The PD is trying to build a case against your girl Az, and they have a lot of circumstantial evidence. Witch - girl breaking her out didn't help matters much, although all the evidence of that little trick did vanish…" "I apologize for that. Patience…" Torres laughs and shakes her head. "Murphy makes a much better woman than a guy, and no one but me remembers him ever being a guy. Very nasty spell, young lady." She fingers an amulet around her neck, a small, glittering stone. "It's anti - magic, very effective. I've had it for years." Patience shrugs, waiting for them to finish their discussion. "Azangel did not commit these murders, and we can prove it. Bishop, go get Jayna and Aquarius, please." Elsewhere: "Your master is offering me this great power, but what does he want in return? The destruction of the JSS, something which I have been planning since my arrival on J Street? Your master doesn't seem to want much. What do I have to do to RECEIVE this great power?" "You merely have to want it to enter you." He holds up the small polished obsidian disk, dangling it from the end of a chain. "Place this around you neck and the power will be yours. Quite simple, really." Zen took the artifact, and turned it over in his hands, examining it. As far as he could tell, it was merely a highly polished stone. He began to suspect this man was insane, that this whole promise of unlimited power was nothing but a charade, and it angered him greatly. He was no fool, and this imbecile was obviously mistaking him for one. He placed the stone around his neck and sneered at the man across from him. "If this doesn't work, I will personally tear your head off and stuff it up your.." Zen's threat is cut off by a massive rush of shadows pouring out of the mirror into his mouth, his eyes, and his nose, choking him. He tries to move but the darkness holds him tight from all sides and refuses to release him. He tries to call out for the Raiders, but he is mute with shock as the shadows spread out within his body, permeating his every cell. After a few more seconds, Zen Reaper's form relaxes, the last of the dark god's being having made the transfer into him. Zen laughs, a deep, ominous voice full of malevolence. "Now we can truly begin, master." "Have the JN creature gather the Raiders, my servant. We have much work to do before nightfall." Aquarius was now speaking to Torres, Rydgen having left to help Kitty up front, as the pub was now packed. The feline bartender was having trouble keeping up with the customers. Sil stood in the doorway, back turned away from Aquarius, Jayna, and Torres as they spoke. "Look, this is what happened." Aquarius begins. "While I was working for Jayna, Azangel accidentally swiped at me with those wings of hers. It was a mistake, I snuck up behind her, she turned around too fast, and slice… Anyway, I was uninjured, but she did leave a few of those featherblades behind. Because I was employed by Jayna at that time, I offered her the feathers first; she didn't want them, so I kept them. My next employer, the guy you have photos of, hired me to do some research on the JSS, specifically on Azangel. I sold him some "collectibles", the featherblades, they are JSS memorabilia...." Torres listens to Aquarius's story quietly. He finishes and she gets up from the table, picking up the pictures and shoving them in his face. "How much blood money did this murderer pay you? And why is it I get the feeling that there is more going on here than you're telling me? I don't suppose you'd do us the honors of coming downtown and giving a statement, and helping us get a SKETCH of the guy…" "I can give you a statement now, if you want, and a good description of the @$$hole, I saw him without the mask a couple times. But I'd prefer to stay away from police headquarters. I have to maintain my client's right to privacy, you know." "Their headquarters aren't that bad, at least it's clean. You'd love the jails back home." Az said as she entered the back room. Silver Lantern was somewhat relieved to see Azangel out of her room; she had been out since Aquarius's announcement. She was trying to joke, at that. Maybe she was feeling better. "How did you get her out of her room?" Sil asks Patience Patience looks at Silver Lantern, frowning. "She wouldn't come out of the room until I made her look normal." Aquarius cocks his head to one side. "Who's the babe?" "Don't call me that." "What can I call you, and when?" "That could get you slapped, Aquarius." Jayna said to him, laughing. "But I still don't know who it is!" He protested. "That's Azangel, Aquarius. She's under a Feth Fiada. It makes someone conspicuous into someone inconspicuous and very easy to forget." Patience stated. "Not THAT easy to forget!" he interrupted. "Anyone who isn't in the JSS will see her as a normal human. As the original spell didn't include you or Jayna, you're seeing her as anyone out on the street would. I'll fix that now that you're here." In the main bar, the phone begins ringing. It continues ringing all through Patience's second spell, and even after she finishes it and sits down. "I think I like you better this way, Az. Is that what you looked like before you turned blue?" "Shut up." Torres looks disapprovingly at Aquarius, then turns to Patience. "Maybe you should turn HIM into a woman for a while. He seems to need an attitude adjustment," Patience shrugs, and sits down next to Az. "Maybe one of you should answer that?" Torres motions towards the other room. "I'd like to ask some more questions, and that constant ringing is getting annoying." "Kitty can handle it." With that, the phone stops in the other room. "Much better." A few seconds later, Rydgen reappears in the doorway, and looks at the Oan Sentinel. Interlude 4 Limbo. "How did it go?" Guardian was replacing the three figures he had carried with him back onto their appropriate shelves. He turned to the speaker. "I've delivered my warnings. It's up to them now whether good or ill comes from it, old friend." The person he spoke to was barely visible within the glowing light that surrounded him...the glow appeared to be made from lightning bolts surrounding him. The bolts were also emanating from his indistinct shape. He sighed. "I wish I could be more help, but as you know, since my death and rebirth within the speed force..a lot of my previous knowledge no longer exists. =)" "I understand BA. It can't be helped. :-)" Guardian could sense puzzlement emanating from his companion and anticipated the question. "I know, I know Buried. I have acted in the past to aid the heroes whenever I have seen fit, but never openly. Why now?" "=)" Guardian sat down. "In all my long existence I have had my reasons...let me tell you some of them. I have always lived outside of time and reality. Don't ask me of my origins...not even I know them. One day, I was just here. I had developed a sentience and knew of nothing outside of limbo. Until my awareness stumbled upon that of Jonah the Monitor. Through him I discovered J Street. It intrigued me and I studied the heroes that existed there. To try and help me understand them, I created the figures that surround us. Each figure helps me trace them and also to tap into their thoughts and emotions. I became a watcher, but with no purpose. Eventually that wasn't enough and I discovered I could travel to J Street and I would observe their actions. They became my friends, though they did not know of my existence and I never revealed myself. Eventually I started to aid them in little ways when they didn't realise it. A bit of luck would happen, or someone with a bit of information would help them. As you know I can perceive something of the future. Well, actually, as time doesn't exist in limbo, I can open a window that will show me events in the future and I can help the heroes prepare for them." "Which is how I can be here," Buried Alien interrupted. "I still exist in the past you visit, but at this point I am part of the Speedforce." "Exactly. You've been a great friend to me over the years and I don't see why death should stop that :-)" "=). You still haven't told me why are you acting openly now?" BA asked again. "Well old friend, lets just say I'm tired of having friends without friendship. It's time they became aware of me. Watching from the outside no longer holds any interest for me. I've learnt about being human from them all. Now, for good or ill, it's time I learnt about myself." "You can spend a lifetime doing that you know. =)" "I know. But I have lifetimes to spare :-)" Chapter 17 “Hello, Hair and Hippo where our prices ain’t all that bad. How can I help you?” Kit Kitmer said into the telephone. “Uh-huh. This is the Sentinels’ place.” He replied. “Oh really? He’s asking for them by name, huh? Okay, I’ll tell them. Thanks; bye.” The cat hung up the phone. “Who was it, Kitty?” Rydgen asked while serving some drinks to a table. “Dunno, but he says some space pirate name of Brak is tearing up J Street with his crew and shouting for you guys to face him.” “Damn! Okay, mind the pub, Kitty. SIL!! EVERYBODY!!” The flanneled Sentinel yelled as he ran to the back “conference” room. “We got trouble down the street!” Captain Brak, space pirate, was standing on the bow of his metallic Spanish Galleon, hovering over a hundred feet above J Street. The ship glistened battleship gray with cannons like those seen in Japanese manga; long and pointy like needles. Truth be told, it was difficult if not impossible to know which end was the bow and which the stern. “Avast, me hearties. To the victors go the spoils.” He barked orders to his robotic crew, who were destroying property and pillaging on the street below. Various alien life forms and humanoids were rushing about in the street, most of them trying to get away from the robot pirates. Quite a few people just stood around, mouths agape, staring at the massive ship. Silver Lantern flew up to the pirate captain. Maybe he could talk this being into leaving, and avoid any further damage to J Street. The massive cannons had yet to fire, if they did, they would certainly take out a few buildings, and he did not wish to see that. “I am Silver Lantern of the J Street Sentinels. We have come to stop you, per YOUR request.” “Ahoy, matey, welcome aboard the USS Jolly Roger. I am Brak, captain of this space-worthy vessel and her crew." Brak gestured to the robots down on the street and spread out among several blocks. "Impressive lot, aren't they?" Sil glanced around; the deck was deserted except for himself and the captain. “Yes. Well. You and your crew must surrender. My power is superior to yours, and I do not wish to see you or your 'men' destroyed. Order them to cease their activities. Even now, the Sentinels are engaging them in battle, and your robots aren’t putting up much of a struggle.” “Aye. ‘Tis true they be simple naives. But I am afeared to tell ye I be not surrenderin’. Y’see, I be allied with the scoundrel called Zen Reaper, and his laddies be fightin’ at my side.” “Zen Reaper? I don’t detect him or any of the Raiders presence." He found it hard to believe Zen would associate with such a lousy excuse for a villain, and he almost laughed. “Well of course ye don’t 'detect' them. They're not here.” Brak pushed a button on a console. “They be on their way.” “Hello, Mr. Silver Lantern, sir.” Said a regular guy, mockingly, as he walked onto the deck from below. This guy wasn’t dressed like a pirate. He was wearing blue jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt. He doubted this was a Raider or a pirate…more than likely he was a civilian that Brak had captured, to assist in this little charade. “Hello to you.” Silver replied as he analyzed the person. He was normal, and Sil dismissed him as a threat. He widened his scan, looking for the ship's main computer, so he could use it to shut the robots down, and stop the fight before it started. The young fellow walked up to the Oan Sentinel. "Let me introduce myself. I am Stonius, and I'm quite pleased to meet you. I've got a secret for you...” He leaned over, whispering to Sil. "I’m a Raider.” He transformed in an instant into a gray-colored, rocky THING, and slammed both fists into Sil, knocking him off balance. Grabbing and holding the Sentinel in a rock-hard grip, he jumped over the side of the ship, holding the Sentinel's arms and pile-driving him headfirst into the pavement below. The ground where the two impacted cracked and buckled, creating a small crater. Stony stood up quickly and body-slammed him again for good measure. Minutes earlier, the Sentinels stood on the street corner and watched Silver Lantern fly up to the pirate ship. The Sentinels couldn’t believe how ridiculous these robots were. Their brightly colored pirate attire would look better at a Liberace concert than it did on killer-pirate robots! And whoever called them that was WAY off base, the robots hadn’t killed anybody, they were just walking around breaking things. They were slow moving zombie-like automatons, no threat to the Sentinels at all. “Lantern gets to go talk to Captain Bligh and we have to deactivate all these pathetic rock’em sock’em robots?” Aquarius asked the group in general. “He prefers to be called Silver, or Sil by his friends.” Patience retorted. “Can we just get this over with and get back to the pub?” Azangel asked. “I really don’t think I should be in public right now.” Patience sighed. "No one knows it's you, Az. Remember?" “You should have worn your helmet and gear, Az.” Rydgen said to her. “You could have shorted some of these bozos out with your taser…blasted them, whatever. I should’ve brought my new sword to cut them into bits.” “It’s only yours because you 'bought' my half, Ry. I helped get it from Roland with you, remember?” Bishop interjected. “Umm…do you two always squabble? I’m with Az; let’s get these machines shut down.” Jayna added. “Are you HEROES? Are you gonna stop these d@#& robots or not?" A multi-armed, green skinned woman yelled at them. She grabbed Rydgen's flannel with two arms, pointing her remaining four at several robots. "Do something!" “Right! We were just discussing our best course of action…" Rydgen was saying. A human blur crossed the street towards the team. Aquarius, always with eyes in the back of his head, was preparing for the oncoming attack. "Heads…" He began to shout to the others. “Good night witch!" The man said as he stopped behind Patience, zapped her with a stun gun, caught her in his arms and ran off with her. It was all over in less than a heartbeat. "…up!" Aquarius finished. "PAT!" Az screamed, as Bish and Ry woke up to what had just happened, and began running after the speedster. "Heads up again!" Aquarius shouted, seeing a walking tank coming at them, firing energy beams. Silver slammed into the surface of J Street, Stonius dropping on top of him, trying to crush him. He Oan-blasted his assailant off of him, and summoned his board. Someone was hanging onto his board, slowing it down, tearing a trail in the pavement with his massive feet. “Shiny Man hurt BobDoleHulk friend Stony! BobDoleHulk hurt shiny man!” The green giant released the board and plowed into The Silver Sentinel. “Senator, you’re under mind control of Zen Reaper." Silver said as the two struggled. “Fight it!” “BobDoleHulk fight shiny man! Zen Reaper is BobDoleHulk’s friend!” And with that, he punched Silver across the street, through a car, and into a wall. Getting back up, he looked around, and saw the other Sentinels two blocks away, facing off against an armored foe. He summoned his board so he could go assist them, but a concrete truck "flew" into him from the side and knocked him flat. "Did you feel THAT, baldy?" Stony yelled as he ran at the Sentinel. Silver tossed the wreck off of him and blasted Stony in the face with an Oan Bolt. He was getting angry, and silver energy flared from his eyes. He started towards the stone - encrusted Raider, and was halfway there when the earth shook. The tremor was only the beginning, the asphalt buckled and cracked underfoot, churning like liquid. He fell, unable to keep a foothold on the treacherous ground. As it swept past him, it gathered momentum, and by the time it reached the other Sentinels, it "pushed" them aside like ten-pins. Ry was smashed into a building, Bish rebounded off the same building and jumped to safety atop a light -pole, and Azangel took to the air. Aquarius formed himself into a super-strong ice dome, covering Jayna, and the asphalt flowed over him. The tsunami continued down the street, crushing several abandoned cars before it vanished from their sight. Chapter 18 "What the hell was that?" Rydgen asked as he stood up on the sidewalk and looked at the cracked rubble that had been J Street. He saw Bishop drop down from his perch, a bit further down the block the merc Aquarius was shaking asphalt off his ice-form, he and Jayna looked none the worse for wear. He ran over to them, making sure they were all right, anyway. "Man! That was great!" Shoc was yelling in excitement at his handiwork. Az saw the Raider standing in the middle of the road and flew right at him with her fists in front of her. An energy beam broadsided her, coming from the walking tank, and knocking her out of the sky. Another of the tank's beams caught Rydgen, sending him skidding across the broken ground, and away from the fight. [The name's tgs. Remember it.]He said as he lumbered over to her. Mist surrounded the mechanized foe, looking to short it out; it was Aquarius. The attempt was useless; the battle armor was both air and watertight. The engines and weapons systems, however, were very hot…and as Aquarius began freezing himself around tgs, things began to short out, electrical sparks flashing amidst the ice. “GRAGGHH!!” BobDoleHulk had leapt at Silver and was within mere feet, so Silver deflected him with a double-handed Oan Blast. Twenty of Brak’s pirate robots ran out of neighboring buildings to surround Silver. He started blasting them to bits, like swatting angry hornets. He recovered from their attacks quickly, and was bulldozed by Stony in the back. Aquarius had stayed near Jayna in his water form. He “froze” himself into a Frost Giant and swatted at a goofy looking guy with a puppet on his hand, trying to drive him away from her. “Rent a life, you loser!” he yelled as he continued to wail into the doofus. He was mildly surprised when the puppet's eyes began to glow, and even more surprised as twin beams of energy shot out towards him. "Ow! Knock that off!" The ice giant roared as twin beams of heat burned away at him creating clouds of steam. Pete, Chicken Puppet's host, took to his heels as a massive hand of ice swung at him, almost connecting. "Loser." Aquarius looked at the damage the beams had caused, he hadn't lost a lot, 3 maybe 5 cubic feet of water. He could deal with that, and adjusted his form to compensate. "Yoo hoo! Hey handsome!" A curvy blonde called to him from the debris-strewn sidewalk. "Not now baby, I'm working." "C'mon, you sure? Trixxs isn't just for kids." She said pulling up her micro-skirt a little, showing off even more of her thigh, and focusing her powers of persuasion against this easy target. Aquarius felt that old familiar head rush and turned to admire this beauty. "That's right, c'mon down here loverboy." Trixxs called, heaving cleavage at him. As Aquarius shifted form and began walking towards the vixen, Jayna saw her protective shadow leave. "Aquarius? Where the hell are you going? Aquarius?!! Stupid man, always thinking with his crotch!" Az was firing her metal feather-blades at Chicken Puppet, trying at the same time to dodge his 'egg beams'. She hadn't connected once yet, and couldn't figure out why, other than the fact that the whole street was moving. She couldn't concentrate, and was having trouble keeping aloft. She decided to gain more altitude, hoping to get a better view of things. As soon as she did, the world turned upside down, and she slammed into the pavement instead of reaching the sky. She tried to stand, but found herself surrounded by stone walls, imbedded with nails, spikes, and human bones…there was nowhere to move, so she simply stayed down. Shocwave and DreamWorld looked at each other and grinned, then DW reached over and quickly stabbed her with a hypodermic needle. They waited a few moments and DreamWorld dropped the illusion. When she didn't move, they picked up the half-conscious Sentinel and carried her off. “Hello, foxy lady.” A wolf-man with eyes red like fire said to Jayna. She kicked him in the gut; she could get his name another time. He lunged at her and she countered with a crouch and tripped him as he passed her. He recovered quickly and stared at her. "Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?" He taunted, trying to scare her with a line he had taken from a movie. "Worse than you could possibly imagine, furball." Said Jayna, crouching in a defensive stance. He lunged again but this time he took a quick crouch at the last moment to catch her when she ducked him; but she didn't. Instead, she put her hands on his back and somersaulted over him, easily avoiding his outstretched, clawed hands. Timber Wolf-By-Night leered at her as she stood waiting for him to attack again. She didn't have to wait long. Their "battle dance" had just begun. Rydgen had finally stopped skidding down the street, his shirt and back were in tatters, and pieces of the shattered pavement were sticking out from numerous cuts and scratches. He was ticked, to say the least. He stood up and dusted himself off. "When I get my hands on that walking junkpile, I’m gonna…” “DIE!!!” screamed a flying demon as it swooped down at him. Rydgen rolled on the pavement to avoid the talons. The talons dug furrows into the remaining pavement; they were razor sharp. Bishop saw Rydgen standing up; he was a tough guy to take all the injuries he had and get up like it was nothing. “He’s like Wolverine; he takes his licks and comes back for more.” Bishop said to no one. A man ran into the street and into Bishop’s way. It was Roland! “Alright, kid. Where’s my sword?” He asked as he attacked, throwing daggers at the younger Sentinel. Bishop leapt sideways to avoid the knives, remembering the moves of Spider-Man. Silver Lantern was a wrecking machine; his Power Oan was destroying robots and deflecting BobDoleHulk and Stonius. Every time he tried to head down the block towards the Sentinels, one of the two behemoths blocked his path, or drove him down the street and further away from them. He hoped one of the others had taken charge while he was 'occupied', that the Sentinels were winning their fight. “Who’s next?” Silver Lantern asked as he blasted another robot into scrap metal, and deflected their energy beams with an Oan Shield. Stony and BobDoleHulk rushed him from both sides, so Silver’s board slammed into one as Silver blasted the other with both fists. Warning. Power Oan level is at five percent. Suggest recharge immediately. His Power Ring told him telepathically. “I’m busy, ring!" He thought back angrily. “I’m not walking through a park here!” After his last encounter with Thanestro on Yquem-La, he had commanded the ring to warn him when his power level reached 20%, and continue giving him warnings after that. It turned out to be distracting during a fight. Jayna's fight with the werewolf was tiring them both. She wasn't making any headway, but she wasn't taking any serious hits either. Her thousands of years of battle experience balanced out against the wolf-man's feral rage, but somehow she missed DreamWorld sneaking up behind her. Armed with another stun gun, he zapped her, catching her and lowering her to the ground. "GGRR!! Shee'zz miine." Growled the wolfman between snarls. 'Easy, Timber Wolf, Zen told us not to kill any of them; just capture them, remember? Go pick on someone else while I finish up here, ok?" He had handcuffed her and hog-tied her. Timber Wolf-By-Night growled some more and shook his head in anger. But he was obedient to Zen's will, and stormed off after another Sentinel. Bishop was busy dodging Roland's twin daggers, trying to fight back. Roland had the advantage of weapons and a longer arm, so Bish was having problems. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Ry fighting a demon. A genuine, red, bat-winged, horns-on-his-head, pointy tailed demon. He wished he could somehow team up with Rydgen but Roland had him busy. The fact his younger opponent was still standing intrigued Roland. Here was a kid with no formal training, and he was able to hold his own in what should have been a quick fight. "How long did Artemis train you, kid?" He hissed at Bishop. "Or maybe your witch-girl cast a spell on you, so you'd be able to fight?" Bishop knocked Roland on his tail with a low foot sweep, copying a move Roland had just used on him. "Maybe it's just that you aren't as good as you think you are?" Roland fumed, how dare this KID speak to him this way! He was an invincible warrior! He was…. On his back again, Bishop having picked up a piece of debris and sweeping the Raider off his feet with it. This isn't so bad! Bish thought. I think I can beat him! Rydgen had punched the hell-born monster four or five times square in its face, and it had simply laughed, cackling at the blows; 'Hellshoque', as it called itself, had one tough hide. He had great bloody gashes in his arms where Hellshoque had slashed him several times, they healed up, and the demon slashed him again. They had been fighting this way for some time, they seemed to be evenly matched, more or less, if you ignored the fact that he wasn't hurting the demon… "Say good night, Mr. Unstoppable." "Wha…?" He was stunned several dozen times in quick succession by Foxx's gun and fell to the ground. Jon didn't bother to catch him. "Hellshoque, good work. Go pick on someone else." The fastest Raider alive said to the demon, as he completed the handcuffing and hog-tying of Rydgen. The priest of Tezcatlipoca was enjoying the show from the coffee shop. Silver Lantern had certainly put on quite a light show, but apparently he didn't have any "zaps" left in him. He was fighting Stony and BobDoleHulk fist to fist now. He would fall soon. "Okay, Mr. Monk Another one's down for the count." Jon Foxx said as he entered through the back delivery door. "And none have been killed, I trust." The hooded man replied. "Nah. Just stunned and roped, as Zen…I mean…as ShadowZen ordered. Ready to be brought to the mountain lair." "Good. Have them brought outside the shop now. I want Azangel to see them helpless when I introduce myself to her." Silver Lantern's Battery had "popped" out of his ring automatically, meaning his ring was drained of Power Oan. All he had left was the reserve charge leaving him with his enhanced form, which wouldn't last more than an hour or so. He had his battery in his left hand when BobDoleHulk smacked it away and it "flew" high and far. In response, Silver's board slammed into BobDoleHulk for the umpteenth time. "That board of yours seems to hand a mind of its own. Let's see if that's true." Stony said punching Silver in the face once, twice, and nearly a third time, before Silver pushed the gray-rocked man off of him. He staggered, exhausted and dazed. "GGRRAARR!!" BobDoleHulk grabbed the pesky emerald Board and smacked the Sentinel with it. Silver fell down on his back. "NOW BOBDOLEHULK KILL SHINY MAN!!" "Easy, big fella. We ain't killin' nobody right now, per the master's orders." Stony explained to the enraged jade giant. "Our friend Zen Reaper wants to talk to him first, THEN he'll let you kill him." "TALK IS DUMB! But, BobDoleHulk will wait 'till after talk, friend Stony." BDH replied, still holding the metallic Board. "Right. Good." Stony replied. "Oh, man, is he dead? He ain't breathin'." "He's not dead." It was the priest. "Kenny never breathes; he doesn't need to. I would imagine he'll wake up with a major headache." "We got 'em all, Mr.Monk. As instructed." Jon Foxx said as he stopped abruptly in front of the hooded man. The black-cloaked man turned to the Raiders. "Excellent work, Raiders. My master…OUR master will be pleased. Put them on the ship and prepare to leave." "And Foxx...don't EVER call me that again." He spoke icily to the speedster. "If you do…I'll put you out of our misery." Jon Foxx stammered a little. "They…They're all K.O.'d except for the kid and Miss Wings." He pointed to the drugged, but still conscious and heavily bound, Azangel, and then to Bishop, held fast in the grip of the Hellshoque. "I caught him while he was fighting Roland…alone." The demon added. "Who…who are you?" Azangel asked the hooded priest while in her drugged state. "Why do you hate us so much?" "Yeah! What've we ever done to you?" Bishop added as he squirmed, trying to break free, but it was useless. "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. Ciela, YOU, should know me better than your teammates. I'm crushed that you don't recognize me. And Bish, we chatted enough that I thought you might at least recognize my voice." He removed his obsidian mask and lowered his cowl. "Warren?" Az asked rhetorically, groggily. Bish stared at the blue-skinned, former Azangel. Up until a few days ago, they thought Azangel…Ciela Az…WAS Warren, transformed by Thanos' bag of evil into a woman. "In the flesh." The former Azangel, their former friend, answered. "Umm…hi Warren…long time no see." Bishop added awkwardly. Chapter 19 Torres watched as the Sentinels rushed out of the bar, following Rydgen down the street. Glancing outside, she saw the Silver Boy Scout fly up to the creature that had apparently been calling for them. It was onboard a huge floating ship which looked like a manga-ised pirate ship, but she would have sworn it was spaceworthy. She stepped back inside and reached for the phone. The fact there was a space-slash-pirate ship floating over a hundred feet above the ground explained the hideously garbed robot now entering the bar. Kit Kitmer looked up from behind the bar. "Cap'n, show our guest out, willya?" The strapping bouncer walked up to the 'pirate', grabbed him, and tossed him out the door. There was a satisfying crunch from outside the bar, Captain had tossed the first pirate into several others, knocking them all into a mangled pile she could see through the open doorway. They were pretty shabby excuses for robots; she'd owned sturdier tinker-toys. Hanging up the phone, she turned her attention back down the block. The other pirates were pathetic…they wandered aimlessly, destroying whatever was in their path, including trashcans and mailboxes, no rhyme or reason to their movement. She skirted the robots and moved closer to the action. She had tried to call for back up, only to discover that all circuits were busy. Apparently this was not the only 'disaster' happening on J Street. She figured there was probably another Kobold riot going on at the other side of the street, or maybe giant, dog-headed aliens from the planet Kalcan had invaded. The possibilities were endless, this WAS J Street, after all… In any case, a floating ship like this wouldn't freak out longtime citizens… It might panic a few of the 'newbies', but it wouldn't draw THAT much attention from the cops or the big guns, especially if there was something…bigger going on. She'd gotten pretty close to the fight, close enough to see some punk standing in the middle of the road put both hands together and *wham*. There was a sonic boom, and then the ground began to shake, she couldn't keep her balance and ended up on her rump. She looked up to see a wave of concrete, asphalt, and twisted debris heading straight towards her. She hauled ass into a sturdy-looking building, and watched in shock as the wave passed by outside, carrying away a few abandoned cars and unfortunately a couple gawkers as well. Well, if you stand around watching parahumans fight, you're gonna get hurt… Poking her head out the door, she could see that the tidal wave had scoured the fronts off of a few of the buildings closer to the street, she pitied those who lived further down, the wave was gaining strength and speed, it would soon widen and start toppling buildings. Well, one of the OTHER supergroups will just have to stop it…this group's a bit tied up. ********************************************************* Kitty watched the window of the pub as the wave went past, taking most of the front wall of the building with it. Light from the setting sun poured in, and the cat put his head in his paws and sighed mightily. "This day just gets better and better." He said out loud in the now empty bar. "Meow" "You said it, Cap'n." he replied to the bouncer. "Hey, welcome back, lady!" Torres had re-entered the pub through the new, extra-wide door, and was heading upstairs. "Uh-uh, no way, lady…that's off-limits. Nobody goes up there…" Kitty stepped in front of her, meaning to block the way. She picked the cat up and held him where they could see eye-to-eye. "Which one's Azangel's room?" "Can't tell you that…Cap…" Torres placed her hand over the cat's mouth, cutting off his sentence. "She needs the helmet. This is not open for discussion. Show me." The caped feline led her to the room, and Torres quickly retrieved the helmet, dropping it in a duffel bag and sprinting out of the pub. ********************************************************* As soon as she got back down the street with the bag, she knew the fight was over. She couldn’t see any of the Sentinels except for Azangel and Bishop, Az was apparently drugged, and Bish was being held tight by a female demon. She wasn't close enough to hear the discussion, they were talking to… @#$%^&@!!!!!!!! It's the guy from the picture! The murderer! She dropped back a step, into the shadows of an alleyway, hoping none of them had seen her. The dark-robed figure was still talking to the captured JSS'rs, and he surprised Torres by reaching up and pulling off the mask, then removing the robe. By the Sentinels' reactions, they knew him. "Ah, it seems we have a visitor. Foxx, if you would be so kind…" There was a burst of wind, and suddenly she was in front of the murdering googer. She dropped the bag, and it hit the ground with a metallic clang. She quickly pulled her gun. "You're under arrest…" she said feebly. The skin underneath the obsidian mask had been of the same color, and now it was split by a toothy grin. "You are joking of course." He reached out and grasped the barrel of the gun. Shadows swarmed out of his hand, covering the gun and her hand up to the elbow. It was so cold it burned, and she dropped the gun and jerked her hand out of the darkness. The weapon never hit the ground. "Foxx, place these two with the others." He picked up the bag and opened it, and his smile grew wider. "Bring our little 'hero' as well. Let's go." He raised both arms in a grand gesture, and a doorway made of shadows sprang up from the ground. Raiders filed through, carrying the unconscious, sedated, or otherwise out of it Sentinels. "BobDoleHulk, Brak. Stay here and find Silver Lantern's battery. Contact me when it has been recovered, and no sooner." Well, if you stand around watching parahumans fight, you're gonna get hurt… She reminded herself, as the apparent 'leader', the murderer she was after, grabbed her and carried her through into the darkness. |
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