Pursuit of Justice (1x1 Mitheral and Industrial Lace)

[Industrial Lace]

Antonella sat in Kevin's car over going notes she had been scribbling down. Along with venting she wrote to in a sense, get it off her chest. Mostly it started off with her own worry as to how she understood Keiko but Kevin couldn't and what did that exactly entail. Her last hearing check was fine, but nothing out of the ordinary that she knew of. Then they began to turn into Kevin in general and the stupid car. That was scribbled in annoyed Spanish; while she felt tempted in keying Kevin's car. She wasn't going to randomly run into a gunfight without purpose and especially not in another person's car. Men, the word that sneaked into her thoughts had her mumbling incoherent curses and insults.


"MIERDA CARAJO!" Antonella gasped practically running off the seat when she saw the freakshow. 'Another one' she groaned with disdain wondering if maybe getting too involved with Kevin would have her sprouting white hair soon enough.


When Random Stranger began speaking Antonella began writing everything down on shorthand. With a code she and her brother's have worked on since they were teens and started to get into the military. It was a mix of spanish, english, and limited brazilian portuguese with random elvish tucked here and there (Kevin wasn't the only one who was a nerd).


"I have only four questions. One: the location of the race; two: if there's a way to help John out; three: why tell me all of this....and four: did you really have to show Kevin my baby pictures?" Antonella asked all her questions not beating around the bush; but the last one was more for her sake than for anything else. Antonella waited paitienly even while she kept an eye out for everything in her surroundings.

 

[Mitheral]

"I have only four questions. One: the location of the race; two: if there's a way to help John out; three: why tell me all of this....and four: did you really have to show Kevin my baby pictures?"


The strangely featured mask of Random Stranger contorted at the last question. She had arranged the pictures to show off the ones with a young Antonella still showing off baby fat - on purpose. Did she have to do that? What would Freud have said?


She asked for the burner phone she had provided and opened up a GPS / Driving conditions App. Then she entered both the address and two waypoints. “Follow that route as best you can. You’ll make good time without being spotted as a tail. You’ll be a few blocks over where his drones can’t spot you. I know how he is hiding the cars. They aren’t really stolen. They already belong to him. He bought them from junkyards and rebuilt them. That’s why they will never show up as stolen. The only list they would show up on is a dead car list. Police don’t check those.


“How can you help him? I’m not sure. I have an idea, but it is dangerous. Give him a reason to live. Right now he doesn’t care about surviving this. Show him he doesn’t have to go it alone. Offer to help him in general. The one other way I considered is to introduce him to Diana CantrelL. She’s is also heading to the race as well. She’s lost family. He’s lost family. Between them they may find a reason to live before they both die.


“Why tell you all this? Kevin Brady. You are helping him. Both of you are already in way over your heads. It won’t be long before a metahuman hit squad comes to kill both of you like they did the Cantrells. Professor Muerte is ruthless. Just ask the Donelleys. I’d ask Mr Donelley though, not Mrs.” She paused, then continued. “I guess it all goes back to a crime I witnesses - a double homicide. I was nearly killed in that incident - badly injured. I survived because a random stranger came by and pulled me to safety. That’s where I get my name - Random Stranger. Now I help people. Can you think of a better reason?”


“As to the last question, I am going to plead the 5th. Would you like Kevin’s baby pics and videos? I have tons of those.”

 

[Industrial Lace]

"Follow the route, infiltrate and give a reason to live." Antonella nodded as she held the phone.


She couldn't help but snort at the Professor Muerte bit. It was like they couldn't make that stuff up. "With a name like Professor Death.....he really should kill his PR agent and invest in a new one." She added with a shake of the head.


"Well RS is better than Good Samaritan I guess." Antonella shrugged aas to where Random Stranger got the name.


"I'd rather see them when he's comfortable showing them to me. I'm pretty old school on that aspect of a romantic relationship." Antonella said with a frown. The answer to that gave her more of an idea as to why those pictures were shown. 'Great, first Keiko and now this. I'll chain that workaholic to bed if I have too.' She thought with a brilliantly placed poker face. She didn't have the safety of a mask to hide her emotions. So she did what she did best when working: detach herself from the situation and plot for after hours.


"Well I think I know everything I need. You'll contact me if you want to make me do stuff or the like. Though if I was brutally honest, wouldn't it be easier to throw me into the line of fire?" Antonella asked with dark smile.

 

[Mitheral]

With the information Random Stranger had provided tailing John wasn’t even necessary. He could have lost her easily anyways. And it sounded as though he had good reason for paranoia. When Antonella arrived John was already talking to some of the other racers trying to get a race. Judging by their expressions noone wanted to race him. He was simply too good. But he was smiling and making a new challenge that was harder to pass up.


“So my car is too much?” He nodded agreeably. “Okay … you pick the car I drive. A few conditions. It can’t be an automatic; has to be a standard. Has to have decent rubber on it. And I get to have a little time to tweak it a bit to be race worthy. Oh yes, and it needs to be fuelled up. If I damage the car, I’ll repair or replace it. In fact, I’ll offer a free tune up afterwards. And I’ll place MY car up as the prize if I lose. Whoever loans me the car doesn’t lose theirs. Oh .. and the car can’t be stolen. It has to belong to the person who loans it to me.”


It sounded like a bet they couldn’t lose. They still didn’t trust him…


As Antonella observed the crowd she spotted one form highly visible in the crowd. The woman was dressed in a string bikini. The cloth covering her would have made postage stamps look bigger. She help a handful of flags and looked as though she was going to be the one to drop the strip of cloth that would start the race. She walked past John and brushed against him with almost electric effect. She had his full attention for a moment.


“Hello …” John looked the woman up and down.


The woman smiled demurely and reached out and handed him a bikini top - canary yellow. (Not the one she’s wearing.) “Win the race and you can have the bottoms too.”


That put a smile on John’s face. His eyes never quite made contact with hers. He was too busy looking lower. Clearly his hitting on Antonella was just a symptom of a favorite pastime.


But that wasn’t what caught Antonella’s attention. The woman’s face was one she recognized. Diana Cantrell - in person.


Diana walked back to where she was supposed to start the race while John hovered over the car that had been provided. For a brief moment he stood up to clear his head so he could work. That was when he spotted a car he knew very well. The real surprise was the driver, Antonella. He smiled at her and nodded slightly.


The car he had been brought had been sputtering and backfired a little. Wisps of black smoke spewed from the exhaust as he revved the engine. He shook his head and leaned in.

 

[Industrial Lace]

Antonella kept to herself mostly as she observed the makings of the race. She changed her clothes into a pair of booty shorts and a crop top with hair , and make ups different than what she usually did. Personally she felt better in a motorcycle than a car. Yet it didn't mean she could race if she felt like it.


When she saw Diana, Antonella felt like going out of the car and talking to her. Yet she didn't want to raise more attention to the girl. So she just kept quiet and prayed that whatever happens nothing to happen to Kevin's car. Or she'd strangle him if he even attempts to go all I told you so.

 

[Mitheral]

Socially, Diana was a chameleon. She had virtually no sense of modesty. That was very much a necessity with the life she led. And, for the moment anyways, her costume was the perfect cover - or lack thereof if one wanted to make a pun. From what she knew of John Hughes his biggest weaknesses were fast cars and faster women. She smiled inwardly. Well, she was definitely fast.


In a matter of minutes Ihn had the engine of the loaner car roaring to life. The laughter that some of the racers had been enjoying began to fade. A smirk crossed his face. He looked over and winked at the guy who had loaned his car as he withdrew his head from under the hood and let the hood drop. He moved around to the driver door his face starting to become serious. This was his racer’s face. He was casting all distractions aside. He reached inside to pull out a helmet - his own - from where he had set it. Noone was laughing anymore.


Moments later Diana took her position holding the canary yellow bikini top high. She remained poised as the drivers revved their engines. Then the top dropped and they were off. The one surprising thing - or perhaps not so surprising - was that John took the time to stick an arm out the window to snatch the bikini top as he roared by. A faint smile crossed Diana’s lips.


Once the drivers were off Diana walked over to where some thug was holding some clothes and a backpack. She quickly began donning her regular clothes again - despite the friendly objections of some of the young men. She laughed, flirting lightly. But they knew she wasn’t really being serious.


John’s purpose for racing began to make sense. Oh sure he clearly loved to race. But after he had won the race he was handing out a few of his cards for his shop. This was advertising. Oh sure it was illegal. But in a single race he made a dozen customers from well outside his usual operating area. That Kevin had assigned her to tail this guy now seemed a waste. All he was doing was establishing his cover.


Of course, how he had managed to make a car that should have had no prayer of winning a race into a serious challenger in minutes was virtually magical. Given recent experiences with gifted individuals, it seemed entirely possible that John was doing something here. A review of facts were in order.


John Hughes was “stealing” cars. He was so fast at making them disappear that even within a minute of losing the car at his shop police found nothing. And he was alone at the shop when they searched. Here he was tuning up a loaner car in minutes to race qualification specs and winning the race. What sort of power could do that? Technopath? The idea fit. He’d be able to tune up a car, disguise it, wipe or alter serial numbers.


John nodded his head at Antonella and jerked it to encourage her to come on over. She was receiving a few odd looks from the crowd. The car she was in didn’t fit her. John handled that easily enough by explaining exactly who she was - minus a couple details like that she was a PI. He just mentioned that she was a customer and a friend. She had driven her car right into a crossfire between a gang and cops. That naturally got translated as her car being shot up by cops and ‘damn, they weren’t paying to fix it?’


Diana also studied Antonella, reading body language. There might have been attraction between John and Antonella, but didn’t seem to be anything going on. Diana might think a guy was cute, but she wasn’t the sort to break up relationships knowingly. Still she eased off the charm a little with John, just in case.


Of course, Diana didn’t give her real name. But the look she gave Antonella made her realize that she finally recognized the PI. With the race being over she finally suggested food. John had clearly had something else in mind - and Diana knew it. But she eased his fears by telling him she wasn’t forgetting the bottoms - and that he was still going to get a chance to collect. She suggested spaghetti.


Kevin called while they were enroute to find a place to eat - John and Antonella both knew some good places that stayed open late. Kevin was not quite ready to entertain guests at his place and didn’t offer. He said he was going to be bringing his own guest, a guy named Matthew.

Matthew Channing


Matthew was about Kevin’s height, but had a wiry frame. His eyes were a deep blue that was intense. He scanned the restaurant rapidly. To the casual observer he was simply attentive. Antonella saw a man looking for a way out. Both men looked as though they had just changed clothes after being in a fight. It was hard to say who had lost.


Diana read the same emotions from the group that Antonella could. So she started the conversation off light offering her name and profession. Her professed career of choice was student - studying criminology. She eased the tension by telling John to behave or she would get her handcuffs.


Kevin was honest about both name and profession. John was as honest as he had been with Kevin and Antonella so far, though he added illegal street racer as his hobby.


Matthew was the surprise. He politely introduced himself as Matthew Channing. He was a hematologist and had set up a free clinic that went out onto the streets to treat homeless families. He also admitted to having a hobby of solving puzzles and had a collection of them. Oddly he turned down the meal and simply ordered an orange juice - pulp free.


None of them were admitting their ‘other’ professions.

 

[Industrial Lace]

"Well, well if it isn't Tony." The waited said in a purr as he eyed the party. "They placed you here doll?"


"Gino, I thought you forgot what good hospitality looked like.


Be as it may, the place Antonella recommended to eat, and ultimately won in having the group go to. Was picked for a reason, to put it simply it was her turf. Ex-army buddies, or other friends she's made in two years frequented the place. Heck it was run by a friend. Gino served with her brother, yet retired early with family issues.


He didn't go back to running the family ski resort. He opened an Italian restaurant, right next to a bdsm club that Antonella actually frequented, run by more friends. There were always there when she was in a pinch. Semper fi and all.


With sweet talk he left he group to a table that was separated from everyone else, and actually behind closed doors. There were two tables and one was already occupied.


"Tony." The two women greeted.


"Feng, Charlotte." Antonella greeted as the girls got up yo greet.


Feng was a Chinese doll, if not for the face she was covered in motor oil and car grease. Her hair tied in two signature side buns, and she looked perfectly normal up to the prosthetic left leg. It also appeared to be entirely mechanical. She wore a sleeved jacket that covered her hands up to her wrist and one hand wore a glove, to which Tony never knew what for.


Charlotte was another story. She wore a light pink fetish outfit. The shocking factor? The girl was albino. White skin, hair, and red eyes. Charlotte happily hugged Antonella and in turn went and hugged each, and everyone of them. Then she turned to Antonella with warm enthusiasm.


"It's so nice to see you Tony sweetheart. Are you jumping over to Bomber after your meal? They can also come " Charlotte asked warmly extending an invitation.


"Maybe Charlotte, maybe." Antonella replied as she looked at both girls serious. "Dolls this thing is invite only; Charlotte do me a favor and jam." She said to which Charlotte nodded.


With Antonella being introduced that supers were a possibility Charlotte and Feng always stood in the back of her mind as possible supers. She wasn't sure, but she bet on that hunch now.


Charlotte went over to the abandoned computer and touched a few keys before giving Antonella a thumbs up. To which Antonella smiled, and went back to her seat.


At that moment the doors opened with waiters and waitresses bringing different appetizers and a wine bottle filled with oj for the gentleman. Feng gave Antonella a hug and Charlotte gave Antonella a quick kiss on the lips. Everyone left leaving just Antonella and everyone else.


"Ok, this is secure, with food and jammed. Charlotte and Feng are geniuses. So we can talk." Antonella said not beating around the bush.

 

[Mitheral]

Even with his eyes hidden by dark sunglasses Matthew’s demeanor was rapidly deteriorating to a very foul mood. He was getting tense and surly and kept looking around at one wall, his face severe. Then the one woman turned on the jammer and he jerked his head away and literally crushed the glass of OJ in his hand and stood up.


“I’m sorry people, but I need to go. I can’t concentrate in all this …” he practically growled and gestured about. The stench is killing me.”


“Garlic?” Kevin asked innocently.


Matthew looked almost angrily at Kevin and almost snapped. But the look on Kevin’s face was one of confusion and disbelief. Try as he might Matthew couldn’t stay mad at a question like that. He half laughed. “N-no. Idiot. I’d love garlic if I could eat it. I press garlic juice into an occasional veggie juice mix. No I was talking about the stupidity next door. what kind of idiots pay for that crap or subject themselves to torture willingly? That one guy is so fat he makes pigs look skinny. Sorry Kevin, but it is making me sick.”


Kevin looked at the wall blankly. It was in the direction of Bombers. He wasn’t exactly keen on places like that either. In fact he echoed the sentiment - though perhaps not so angrily. He just couldn’t see anything romantic about it. And he’d just as soon be dead as need something like THAT to spice up his love life. He frowned. He really didn’t want Matthew to walk away.


Diana could smell the place as well. It wasn’t doing much for her appetite. But then she wasn’t anywhere near as shocked as the boys. It was the claim to a place being secure. She simply didn’t trust that - not with the sort of people hunting her.


John tried to remain calm. He wasn’t liking this one bit. Crap like this could ruin years of work on his cover. He was already getting the impression that Kevin hadn’t expected this. No this was the work of the woman who had suggested this location - Antonella. Instead of getting angry he offered a different suggestion. “If we want secure, how about we find a more secure place? And keep the circle of friends smaller. Kevin, I’ve known you awhile. You’ve known Antonella. Diana already knows who I am. Matthew here is a complete unknown though.”


“That’s not true,” Kevin announced. “I know more about him than he knows about himself I suspect. Why don’t we get our food to go? Antonella, sorry, but the location is bothering some of them. Feng, Charlotte, I appreciate your efforts, but these people have legitimate trust issues. I’d just say let’s all sit and eat, then go discuss stuff, but there’s the next door business issue.”


Matthew had started to get angry again, but kept himself in check. Then he growled. “Just a moment. I’ll be right back.” With that he stepped out of the room for nearly a minute and came back in with a riding crop and hat, plus a handful of chains - the locks all opened. “Asshole! I freed him, chased off the damned succubus and he gets mad!” He was shaking the riding crop angrily.


(Anyone with really sensitive hearing might have heard the dominatrix screaming in terror. I am guessing there is considerable soundproofing. That begs the question as to how Matthew saw or heard anything at all.)

 

[Industrial Lace]

"Well if everyone was so vocal on a place before we might've not had this problem." Antonella told John rolling her eyes to what Matthew did. "I'll tell them to put it all to go. It'll take a little bit." She said getting up and gping out of the room.


'Well that's a recipe for disaster.' She concluded with a face. It actually got to a level of annoyance; mostly the trust issues. It was something different than what Antonella has worked with; having a team that each would bend over backwards or die for the other person. She had done it too, and shared the feelings of that


Yet so far with the group in the room? Maybe for Kevin and perhaps John she'd make an effort, emphasizing maybe. With everything packed and placed in a box for easier transport Antonella walked back into the room to see Matthew waving a crop and complaining .


"Don't hold that unless you know how to use it." Antonella said removing the crop from Matthew with limited patience. "Besides not everyone is into the sado-masochist spectrum. For most of us bdsm is about trusting your partner and a power play. It'd be good to use rope on some of you." She said a hand on her hip as she mumbled the last part.


"John, dove; everything's packed so just say the word." Antonella said trying to be sweet but her patience, which was limited to begun with; was wearing thin.

 

[Mitheral]

Matthew spoke up once they were well away from the restaurant. “I … have a place that’s about as secure as it gets. Think bunker but with the only access being me. Kevin, do you really trust these people?”


Kevin looked leery. “Well, that depends. Trust them for what?”


Matthew smiled. “Well, I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” He looked serious. “You know what I mean. About what makes you and I different. I have no plans to end up in someone’s lab or cage.”


Kevin nodded. “Ahh … so this isn’t about … vigilantism.”


“Oh hell no. I don’t plan to advertise, but that’s the least of my worries.” Matthew almost sounded annoyed and impatient. I do have enemies. You do NOT want to meet them. You’d probably pee your britches.”


Kevin snorted. “Okay, I get it. Fact is, most of us have issues with being someone’s lab rat. Matthew, John, and Diana, I trust Antonella. Antonella knows about me. She also knows a little about John and Diana. Thing is, I am not just trying to protect myself; I am trying to protect all of us - plus a couple others. I, too, have a secure location. But it is the residence of someone who has nowhere else to go. And I already strained that trust by taking Antonella there.”


Matthew nodded. “Then why don’t we start with my place? I’ll have to take you all in one at a time.”


Kevin nodded. This was hardly ideal. “I suppose it will do for a start. But I really want a place we can all meet - under our own power - that is off the grid and private. I have such a place, but .. Antonella? You think Keiko would mind? Let’s go ahead and take a look at your place. Then we can move over to mine if I can arrange it.”


Matthew home turned out to be something only accessible by multiple teleports in utter darkness. Only the final destination had any light at all - and only when Matthew bothered to turn it on. And it was like a cave. More specifically it was part of the old subway system - a section completely blocked off. Unless one could teleport or use some means to get through solid rock, they weren’t getting in. Like the sub base, cell reception was zero.


Matthew showed no signs of strain from teleporting 30-40 times in rapid succession to move the four new friends. But he seemed visibly relieved to be home. His home was a biomedical lab that made anything Kevin had look like junk. He had DNA sequencers, UV spec photometers, mass spec photometers, hoods, 3D printers, an industrial refrigerator and a couple small normal ones. His bed was a simple mattress with some covers.


The walls were covered with over a hundred jigsaw puzzles that had been put together and shellacked, mounted and framed. Likewise there were dozens of 3D puzzles - Rubik’s cubes and the like all displayed in completed form. He also had a display of origami - though this was rather sparse and it was hard to tell what he had actually made. But there was a stack of books on the subject near them, and a stack of papers with mathematical formulas and sketches if what were probably the things he was trying to make. Finally there was a chess collection - several styles of regular chess, 3D chess, 3 way chess, Star Trek chess, and even some forms that looked like they might be ancient versions of the game.


One wall of the room had stacks of book carton boxes with a few card tables and some money counters on them. There were also bags of what looked like cash. There had to be millions...


But the real “surprise” was when he gave a sharp shrill whistle so high pitched that only Antonella heard it. She had already heard the bat pinging the room. As soon as he whistled it took flight, flew an erratic course around the room and made a beeline to his hands. It was a tiny fruit bat. “Everyone, this is Koda.” He looked at the think and practically made cooing noises to it. “I think he’s a little hungry. SOMEone messed up my schedule.” He walked over to one of the small fridges and took out a dish with some juice in it and set it on a table with a latch that held the bowl to prevent spilling.


“Welcome to the batcave - the REAL batcave. Well, abandoned section of subway. My real name is Shadowhawk. Matthew Channing is the name the monks gave me when I got to Earth. Any questions? Oh … don’t drink anything in the fridges. It is a diet mix for me. And unless you like blood …”

 

[Industrial Lace]

"Before we even start the whole trust thing. You are all a bit on the batshit crazy paranoif spectrum. Like it or not ya'll be needing me soon. Sure i can't regenerate or crap like that. But from what I see I've had the most experience in trusting others and working as a team. I also have connections and can have things brush past like something that a druggie thought up while watching X Files." Antonella said hands on her hips. "When you know you guys don on spandex."


"Keiko? Mind?" Antonella asked the question incredulous. "You do remember our meeting? She'd probably be better of left alone and not bringing a mechanic that's more than a mechanic, miss Cantrell whom I can't talk about yet, me whom she didn't hesitate showing displeasure. Then there's that." Antonella said pointing at John, Diana, herself, and finally Matthew with finality as if he was enough of a reason why that'd be a horrible idea.


When it was her turn for Matthew to take she held her ground and blindfolded herself. She already didn't do well with heights. She didn't want to think about where the idiot might take them. Knowing herself she wouldn't be so compliant if she saw.


When all were safely put in one place Antonella looked around with a shrug. She understood nothing on half of the machines. What she did guess that they were expensive and unless the guy was loaded, stolen. Then there was the large stacks of cash. Capo much, she thought with a shake of her head.


A shrill whistle caught Antonella's attention and she covered an ear as a reflex. It wasn't like when Keiko.. ..talked, hers was shrill but it was like a high pitched dog whistled.


"Coño whomever did the whistle I'd appreciate it if you'd shut it up." Antonella scowled with a face.


"When you got to Earth? You're not human? The fuck are you then? Kal El? Kryptonian?" Antonella asked not buying it by a long shot. With a shake of her head Antonella moved to the food they brought and opened the box looking in.


"Hey they gave an entire pan of lasagna and one of carbonara. Anyone wants? There's salad, garlic bread, and a tomato bisque which is to die for. There's also wine and a couple beers, juice for the alien too." Antonella said looking through the amount of food they gave her. If anyone else went to get the food they'd gotten not even half the excess Antonella was given. It's the perks of friends, she thought with a smile.

 

[Mitheral]

John, Diana and Kevin all three reached out for food. They were all starved. Not a single one had made it through the day without heavy use of their powers. Matthew gave them a moment to start feeding their faces. Antonella’s question was running through his head.


“I’m not Kryptonian. In fact I am just the opposite. Kryptonians are powers by the sun. I am powered by darkness. It is called Obtenebration - shadow magic. I can teleport short ranges in shadows or darkness. As to what I am, I hesitate to show you. I am what you would call a Dhampyre. When the feds called me Vampire - and no, I am not the one they are looking for - they got it half right. I am only half vampire. My mother. My father was a demon - though not the biblical sort. He was more of an alien that looks like a demon, but related to bats. Never met him though.


“My mother raised me to become an acolyte of Darkhold. But I escaped to Earth when I was a kid. The monks took me in, taught me English.” He nodded absently. “Yeah …” Then he seemed to get a little irritated. “But YOU,” he looked accusingly at Antonella, “are a Doubting Thomas - Thomasina. Ita? Whatever. You are going to need to see to believe. Now I am going to warn you all. My true form scared the posies out of the girl that was using that whip. Not much of a whip if you ask me. And yes I have used a real one. The demons used to make me torture people - or get tortured myself. You have a twelve foot tall Mogradoth standing over you with a 16 foot fire whip enhanced with shards of laen and you don’t argue. You survive. Watch and learn.”


Matthew removed his glasses to reveal eyes that were pitch black - like the demons from Charmed and Supernatural. His mouth opened to reveal sharpened fangs. Then he truly began to change...


In his demon form he had sleek, batlike wings. His skin became a black velvet leather with the faintest sheen of iridescence. His eyes became the pitch black of those demon eyes in all those TV shows with demons. A long leathery prehensile tail forms (similar to Nightcrawler, minus the fork). Short, razor sharp teeth appeared - sort of like a cat’s, black razor sharp talons formed (not especially long, but good for traction on a brick wall). No horns.


“Note to self,” John muttered aloud. “Don’t piss off Matthew.”


Matthew actually smiled and slowly resumed his human form, replacing his glasses. “Ehh, I am pretty mild mannered. Though, I guess there are some things that still bring back bad memories. Sorry about Bombers.” He didn’t sound like he really meant it, but was at least making an effort to be polite.”


Kevin spoke up. “Antonella, I am sorry about your friends. But you can’t really tell me that there aren’t people - humans - who wouldn’t give anything to get us into a lab and under the knife to see what makes us tick. Or those who might try to coerce us into working for them. Telling anyone about us places YOU in danger. No matter how good their intentions, they might be coerced as well. You were placing your friends and all they hold dear in danger. I want to find a way to get us all a briefing by Random Stranger about … organized crime … and get an idea who wants to do what. He says it is all interconnected - the military weapons, drugs, assassinations .. all of it. John, the same people who gave the order to try to kill you, also killed Diana’s family, and my father.


“John, they wanted a technology you developed. Diana, your father was getting close to exposing them and interfering with their plans. My father got too close as well. Now John, I am still wondering how you managed to make those cars disappear. That has my boss in fits.”


John smiled. “Same way I am going to fix Antonella’s car. The cars came from a junk yard. I never stole them. I already owned them. The cars they found on sight were the cars I drove - just changed.”


“You’re a technopath.” Kevin observed. He turned to Diana. “You either are able to become invisible or camouflage yourself, plus run really fast. I studied the shot patterns of Pale Rider. He had trouble tracking you and he is rumored to never miss.”


Diana nodded. “First time for everything - camouflage. Hence the skimpy suits. My abilities don’t alter my clothing.”


Matthew looked at Antonella and pointed. “She hears into the ultrasonics. What’s your powers?”


Kevin looked over at Antonella. “She what?”

 

[Industrial Lace]

Antonella raised a brow as Mathew spke accusingly to her. Hands at her hips she saw his 'true' form. It looked bat like she had to give it to him. Even the joke on the batcave made sense now. The bat mascot? A bit too much if she was asked.


She believed what she saw but her annoyance on him in general combatted her otherwise scared reactions. And to be honest; after most of the stuff she's seen (Keiko being a milestone) it didn't phase her as much as she imagined.


"Guess I have to have salt around me then Hellboy." She said with dry humor as she sipped at her beer.


"Kevin; most of us have secrets. Sure your secret is big enough as stuff goes but seeing as how supers exists I have a hunch on one of my friends. And I tend to be right on hunches. So they'd have as much to loose as you do." Antonella told Kevin not enjoying his mild paranoia.


"John you made me a happy woman with that." Antonella told John on the mention of fixing her car.


"The fuck you mean ultrasonics?" Antonella asked chocking on her beer. "I'm the sane normal person of this group." She said filled with incredulous rage. She didn't have any powers; why the hell did he talk about her having any.

 

[Mitheral]

John Hughes had withdrawn into a state of contemplation. Kevin Brady had spoken about the death of his family giving a name to the murderers, but also hinted at knowledge of the people that had placed the contract - or rather of having an informant that knew a great deal more. Diana had clearly had close contact with a group of their enforcers - metahuman enforcers. He was beginning to wonder if this liaison might be worth putting his cover at risk.


Meanwhile the subject of Antonella hearing into the ultrasonic range had come to light. “Yeah,” Matthew nodded his head. “You didn’t see her cover her ears when I called Koda? Normal humans can’t hear that. The pitch is too high. Cat’s bats, rats and dolphins hear up in those ranges.”


“Hunh,: Kevin grunted. “That’s interesting. Wait, can she hear ..?” Kevin stopped before he started talking too much about Keiko. “What else can you do Antonella?”


Matthew hefted an imaginary rock. “We could throw things at her and see if she’s invulnerable. Wanna beat up your girlfriend Kevin?”


Kevin glared at Matthew. He knew it was a joke. Matthew seemed to like pushing his buttons. “Uhh … no!” Then he brightened. “We could throw her off a tall building and see if she can fly?”


“Burn her, burn her!” Matthew quoted Monty Python.


“Throw her into the pond!” Matthew and Kevin quoted in unison.


Diana looked at Antonella and leaned over conspiratorily lowering her voice. “Great, two geeks discovering one another’s love for British humor.”


Kevin was trying not to laugh, avoiding Antonella’s eyes lest she be getting mad at him. “Sorry …” he laughed despite his best efforts not to. When he trusted himself to speak without laughing again he turned to Antonella. “Maybe you aren’t as much the normal human as you think. I am thinking that whatever you can do will have something to do with water. But that is just a wild guess. You went into the Coast Guard when all your brothers went into the Army.


“I’d like to have Random Stranger run a background check on Feng and Charlotte before taking them into our confidence. If it was just my risk, that might be different. He seems to have a way of learning things about people that would otherwise be hard to learn. I mean stuff not available on any computer either. It is like he has eyes everywhere.”


Kevin abruptly changed the topic. “Matthew, those are DNA sequencers. What does a hematologist need with those?”


Matthew smiled. “Pet project. I have also been researching xenobiology - specifically regarding shapeshifting. I have been trying to figure out more about what I am. Why, that mean something to you?”


“Actually, yes. You can change back and forth. Do you know why or how - biochemically speaking?”


“Not really. That’s the point of my research. It has to do with the built in triplex DNA physiology. That’s about as simply as I can explain it without you needing 4-5 years of biochem under your belt.” Matthew had taken on a more serious demeanor. Kevin’s interest had sparked his interest - and a far greater sense of cooperation.


Kevin looked at Antonella. “You think someone we both know might be interested in bouncing ideas off someone like Matthew?” He frowned. “Although, I’m not completely sure I want to introduce them. He’s a bit of a nutcase.”

 

[Industrial Lace]

"What else can I do?" Antonella asked sarcastically going for the untouched bottle of wine.


Annoyed at the talk of what to do to her; she served herself and opened the box of cannoli taking one. If anyone would see her seethe, they'd know better than continue. But there was Kevin and Dracula being all buddy buddy.


"Well then maybe Kevin can sleep with him next time." Antonella leaned into Diana and whispered back with a giggle.


"Do you want social security numbers or just full names Mr. Brady?" Antonella asked being very formal. She hasn't called Kevin Mr. Brady since perhaps the third time they met. Which would be enough to show her "mild" anger.


"It's your friend and not mine. There's also the fact that Japanese is a must and he'd have to hear apparently supersonics... or ultrasonics like me." Antonella shrugged. "Then again Mr. Brady, some could call you a nut case. But that's up to personal opinion and all of those social constructs.

 

[Mitheral]

Kevin winced when he heard Antonella whisper to Diana. He might not be able to hear ultrasonics, but his normal hearing was off the charts. She may as well have been yelling at him. Matthew likewise overheard her - no surprise there. The corners of his lips curled up mischievously as he caught Kevin's discomfort. He gave the faintest wink at Antonella and whirled to face kevin.


"DARLING!" He snatched his sunglasses away and batted his eyes at Kevin, leaning in at an impossible angle. Then he reached into a shadow and pulled out a mariachi guitar. he had a whole collection of musical instruments among which guitars figured prominently. Then he strummed the guitar and broke out into a rather well executed rendition of



in fluent Spanish. In truth he had an awesome singing voice and he held nothing back.
While Matthew sang, Kevin tried to respond to Antonella. Matthew kept butting in, but Kevin managed to get a few words in edgewise. “Well, I think the fact that he is … batty as a fruit bat named Koda - “ he tried to sound agitated, but the truth was that he couldn’t stay mad at the guy. “-- I would think he can hear her. And she understands English just fine.” He looked a little annoyed at Matthew as the guy increased tempo and volume just to make it harder to speak. “And now I REALLY wish we had brought your friends. I am thinking one of them could have kept him in line.” He scowled at Matthew again. “Enough with the bromancing? I am in enough trouble. You’re a bad influence.” He turned and looked at Antonella. “The devil made me do it?”


“I will try to make it up to you Antonella. Really.” Kevin tried not to make it sound like pleading. “Names will do, but numbers will also help I’m sure.”


Once Matthew had finished his act, he gave a graceful bow and blew Kevin a kiss. The look on Kevin’s face was priceless - largely because he couldn’t be sure if Matthew was serious or not. And Kevin most definitely did NOT lean that way. As soon as he looked away, Matthew winked at Antonella just to let her know he was messing with Kevin.


“So .. what ideas?” Matthew asked.


Kevin frowned. “Genetics stuff.”


Matthew looked even more intently. “YOU know where she is, don’t you? The flying creature that patrols near the Brooklyn Bridge. You mentioned the name Keiko. You mean Keiko Masanori, don’t you?”


Kevin just stared. He had never connected Keiko with a last name. Noone had. Keiko Masanori was the name of the daughter of the Chief Inspector of Tokyo. She had been an exchange student at the University of New York. She had gone missing when a fire hit the biomedical research labs she had been working in. In the wake of her disappearance there had been a huge manhunt. But that had been a couple years ago.


“Her last research grant was about the use of hybridized amphibious tissues as skin grafts for burn victims to induce rapid regeneration. She must have inadvertently created a proteus virus. I’d be glad to help. I just might be able to help her reverse her condition. No promises. But I’d certainly try.”

 

[Industrial Lace]

"She mentioned she was better with japanese than English. Its so he has to understand her talking." Antonella told Kevin with a shrug. "Its easier to tapk in your native tongue than a secondary language."


"Yeah blame Dracula; that'll help you." Antonella added with sarcasm crossing her legs and fishing out another cannoli. She took out a small notepad from her pocket and wrote down the information handing it to Kevin.


"Full names are Charlotte White, and Feng Zhi Liang... or Liand Feng Zhi depending on the hemisphere. With Charlotte being albino there are instances on hospitals. So medical records will be plenty; and Feng is veteran and had a hip amputation si paper thrail there too." She added making it obvious it'll be easy to find them.


When Matthew winked at Antonella she waited until Kevin wasn't looking at her and flipped the guy off. It was almost like having your boyfriend's best friend or little brother annoying you to monopolize him. It was childish and annoying and she didn't want to give Matthew any more attention than necessary at the moment.


"Mr. Brady before you run off with your boy toy....warn Keiko first before she skewers you like an eel and has bat for sushi." Antonella gave a light warning turning over to John and Danielle.


"So around when did you guys start your .... abilities? Was it like puberty or something?" She asked mostly out of fear for herself. "Sorry if it sounds offhanded. I'll shut uo when you say so. Mixing beer and wine isn't always best." She added awkwardly.

 

[Mitheral]

John shrugged. “Pretty much my whole life. But the whole Forge thing didn’t start until my teens. Those the really just the tip of the iceberg. My abilities are part of what make me such an ideal driver.”


Diana nodded. “Mine started when I was pretty young. I was playing Hide and Seek. Other abilities started once I took up archery. And I began combat training as soon as I was old enough to walk, maybe sooner.” She paused to think. Antonella clearly had a reason for asking after all. “New abilities generally showed up as a result of situations - triggers. Like with the archery it was my vision. I was focusing on my target and my vision suddenly zoomed in.”


John nodded. “Yeah, pretty much like that for me. My ability to alter cars and such was last. That one began with under the skin scans and zooming in my vision to study damage to a cylinder. I had cracked an engine head doing what my Dad had told me not to. He was a little pissed at me. Then the crack repaired itself. But even that ability had a trigger.” Then he grinned. “The under the skin scanning was the result of wishful thinking in my early teen years. Metal, plastic, glass, cloth … Let’s just say that I learned a thing or two about girls at an early age. Don’t worry, I grew up a bit since then.”


Matthew spoke up. “Birth. But that one is a given.”


Kevin shrugged. He had picked up one of Matthew’s Rubik’s cubes and tried to mess with it. the plan had been to screw it up so the guy had to work on it to fix it again. Only when he tried to do so, he found it wouldn’t budge. He looked down a little confused for a moment. Then a slow smile crossed his face. “Uhm, Matthew … is this glue?”


Matthew’s absent playing of the guitar stopped abruptly. He gave Kevin a mild look of annoyance. “Not exactly.” He snatched the cube away and put it back on display. “I ‘fixed’ it. It’s … epoxy.”


Kevin’s smile broadened. “You broke it? And glued it together? That’s cheating!”


“It worked. Now it’s fixed.” Matthew stated defiantly. “They are easy … in theory anyways. It’s just … It’s not important. They are all fixed.”


Kevin shook his head. Then he looked over at Antonella. “Uhm .. honestly, I don’t remember. Most began after I got shot on the Bridge. But I had lesser versions. My body seems to adapt to survive after the fact. I assume you are asking because of the whole ultrasonics things. I can see three scenarios right off the bat - no pun intended.


“The first - as the pun suggests - is that you have the abilities of a bat. And Matthew. I suggest you don’t speak. The second is that you have many enhanced senses and hearing is just one of them. The third - and more likely if you ask me would be dolphin related. Unlike the rest of your family, you went to the Coast Guard - drawn to water. I am a little surprised that your abilities never surfaced. But you may have been so good at your job that they never had a reason to. Or you may have used them unknowingly. I know Matt and I were joking about throwing you into the pond. But that may be exactly what has to happen. Of course, you may have a completely unrelated ability. And in comic books sometimes it takes an event like falling into toxic chemicals or a tank full of moray eels to trigger a change.”

 

[Industrial Lace]

Antonella listened intently to what Danielle and John had to say. Her hands gripped the wine bottle hard as she listened. It was weird having to think on such things; triggers and all that. Wheb Kevin added a couple of things she looked at the bottle and hummed to herself.


"I got into the Coast Guard because when my family immigrated illegally here the one who helped was the coast guard when we hit shore. The whole wet feet dry feet law." Antonella voiced up taking a sip of wine.


"And thinking things like you all said....I think there was an occasion once." Antonella said leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. "My team has been following leads on a group that did human trafficking. Taking girls to be sold off; we were desperate but we still weren't cleared. I panicked at the thought of missing a perfect opportunity...so I acted very slutty and was managed to get spotted and taken by them. Discretely I was able to communicate with my team and got them onto my coordinates. Then there was the initiation.


"They took the girls to be raped and hooked onto a drug. Make them dependent so they have no choice but do what they say for the next fix." Antonella seethed; it's been the first time she openly said the story of what happened. "When it came time for me to go in; around the third time it happened. I acted compliant, so they didn't feel the need to tie me down. Their loss was my win. I killed the two of them and got my hands on the drug they had. It was to be distributed through IV, very helpful.


"There were only six or eight men working the stint. I was alone, away from backup and the only weapon I managed to get was a blade and a couple of vials of drugs ready to be injected into a target. The next guy was easy to get. All i did was waltz naked and asked for the other two guys. Said they didn't finish making me feel good. Bozo got close and I injected him going straight for the neck.


"He had a satellite phone and I got in contact with my team again. They were already on their way...so I had to hold the ground. I tied the drugged guy and continued on. Control room was close so I made a bit of disturbance to make one guy go out. He got drugged and tied in moments.


"I had orders to not kill everyone. We wanted infirmation. Other groups and the like." Antonella explained with a shrug. "I did get the guys gun and made way for the final two. I killed one and alerted the last guy who began blindly shooting. It was for my gain since he ended up empty and I still had five rounds.


"Angry the guy went out and i went into the steering wheel changing the course. I didn't notice the guy coming for me. He beat the shit out of me. But as Mr. Brady said all my brothers went military. They made sure i could keep uo with them by their standards than coast guard standards. I was marine trained in the coast guard. Fighting was normal for me. So we had our blows and we were on the deck. The water was insane. High waves and currents from a storm. He managed to get my gun from me since i slipped. Barefoot and on a wet deck, go figure.


"He shot me and I hit the water. I'm lucky it didn't kill me." Antonella said lifting her top to not only show her lack of a bra, but also the scar on her left ribcage. "The water was a different story. It was hard to stay afloat with the current even as I fought with it. I heard a gunshot and saw the mans body fall....ontop of me which drowned me even more. I don't know how but i managed to get away from that dead weight. I was desperate, running out of air so I screamed. They heard it; I was under water but they heard it like if I was out on the deck. By the time i was rescued by a chopper, they said it took them two minutes to spot me, I was passed out. So i never really thought it out of the oridinary. Could that have been a trigger?" She asked finishing her story. "After that there was understanding Keiko but that's recent."

 

[Mitheral]

John was a little slow on the uptake. He was a little too busy staring - and not at the scar. Diana was too busy rolling her eyes at John for staring. Matthew didn’t have an answer. Kevin was the one who stared at the scar - and he had seen it before - recently.


“Yeah,” he answered quietly. “Yeah, that could be a trigger.” He offered no further explanation. The sight of a scar on Antonella bothered him visibly.


John finally looked at Kevin. “You’re an idiot.” That got him elbowed by Diana. He smiled at her. “And so am I.”


Kevin didn’t smile though. “Saw that the other day and wanted to ask. Wait, did you say you screamed … under water … in a storm?” He blinked. A human voice couldn’t carry that well. Either she was extremely lucky or … Thing of it was, the only way to test that theory could drown her. “Now I am wishing we had met at the other place.”


“But she rescued all the girls?” Matthew asked. It was rescuing the girls that had held his attention. His head shook back and forth a little as though watching some scene from his past. “So that’s an honorable wound…” He smiled a little and raised his head as if comprehending a fact for the first time - as if he hadn’t really understood the concept. “The girls were rescued?” he repeated himself.


“Speaking of rescues, why don’t we get out of here?” John asked. “I have a feeling this isn’t what Kevin collected us to talk about. And to be honest, I’m not keen on being stuck in places I can’t get out of under my own power.”


Kevin nodded. “Yeah, I had something else in mind. I have a lot of information about the people you are after, John. But it’s a lot to process. And I was hoping to get the briefing from someone else - in person - finally. Antonella wants to bring a couple friends of her into this, but I want to vet them first. So I think we should take care of that, then all of us meet up for a real briefing. John, hopefully I can get you to slow down on your current mission for a day or so.”


“How do we know your informant isn’t a cop or something?” John asked.


“She isn’t,” Matthew announced matter of factly. “Purple costume? Random Stranger? She’s cool.”


Kevin looked at Matthew blankly. “She?” Then he closed his eyes as he winced. “The baby pictures. Oh crap.”


+++++++++++++


Kevin set the meeting up for the next night. By that time Random Stranger had completed her research. She called her data “rough” and “rushed.” She complained about Kevin setting up a meeting too soon. Truth was, she thought that Feng and Charlotte might be working for the other side. She included in her report that one of them could probably manipulate electrical energy and was most certainly a hacker. That meant that a data search might show up as a cover ID. What she didn’t mention was that she had been researching everyone in that area for years now and had isolated who was who. Of course, at the time she had been more concerned with a threat to herself. Bombers did get visited by more than its fair share of agents. She also suspect a couple of the girls working there of being agents. But they could as easily be Legion agents working undercover.


The initial gathering was set up for the docks near a semi active container yard. He offered the use of an empty container to change into scuba gear, and had plenty of spare evidence bags for cell phones.


Random Stranger arrived again - this time rising right through the dock. It didn’t take long for her to have her arms crossed hugging herself nervously. She introduced herself by her codename.


Kevin decided to start with Antonella - largely because Keiko had at least met her. Keiko came out of hiding much quicker this time. “Where’s the doctor one?” she scritched at a pitch only Antonella could hear. Then she wrote simply “Doctor?” on the blackboard.


Kevin smiled. “Coming. There are several people. I hope you are ready for so many. I didn’t tell you everything about them, so be ready for some surprises. Some are like you and me.” He noted that Keiko’s tail was lashing about excitedly. This must be like Christmas to her. “I’ll be right back.”


John was next. He just stared. To his credit he didn’t panic. ‘Primal and highly intelligent’ had been the words Kevin had used to describe her. He had left out monster. But he held his tongue and tried not to judge. he was glad he had been warned though. Diana was next. That elicited the expected reaction. Again, Kevin had warned Diana. Diana moved to show her interest was in John. That calmed Keiko down quick enough. But she still managed to bump into Antonella to try to shove her between Diana and Kevin. Antonella she knew. Diana she didn’t.


Next were Feng and Charlotte. Each time Keiko asked about the doctor. By the time Kevin brought Random Stranger, Keiko’s tail was lashing about impatiently. A no this time provoked some words in Japanese, probably impolite ones. She looked at Antonella and slowly calmed down. Then she wrote a rather impolite word in English - obviously describing Kevin - then erased it.


Diana smiled. “Keiko, I presume? Kevin’s a guy. He’s just trying to show off a ‘discovery’ he’s made. Matthew is the last one - and he’s next. That will be the Doctor. You want to get a little revenge? Try to look bored. In fact, after some of Matthew’s hamming last night, we should all look bored. Hamming … showing off.” She had caught the look of confusion.


Back on shore Matthew was more than ready to head on in. Kevin warned him. “Sorry to keep you waiting, but after I told Keiko that I found someone studying the very problem she’s been working on, she’s been over excited. I didn’t want her to jump you and barrage you with a zillion questions.”

 

[Industrial Lace]

"We were passing a hurricane at the time. On the outer edges of it. So you can imagine; but a category 3 is violent in water as opposed to land. " Antonella explained with a nod. "I never reached the surface."


"The girls were rescued...and thanks to us we were able to find four other boats. Around one hundred and fifty girls were saved." Antonella told Matthew with a nod lowering her top.


"And she has a great way of popping into your car." Antonella added to Kevin with a face.


*****************


"He's coming believe me Keiko he isn't the best person to meet." Antonella told Keiko with a smile. "If you're tempted in drowning him I'll help you."


"Feng, Lottie this is Keiko...and yes he is." Antonella said laughing as both girls looked around a bit at the spectacle.


"Tony....I can't see here. It's strange." Charlotte said looking around with a frown.


"The place is jammed sorry Lottie. But I'd rather have someone on my side." Antonella said with a small shrug hugging the girls.


"Bored? Miss we should act as if he doesn't exist wuth what hapoened yesterday at work." Charlotte told Danielle with a frown.

 

[Mitheral]

When Matthew arrived he found a room full of people completely ignoring events down by the dock. Keiko did her best not to look but her tail lashed and she broke discipline by sneaking a look over her shoulder. Matthew gave a small wave. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this was Keiko.


He stepped forward and gave a traditional bow. Then he said something in Japanese. the look on Kevin’s face made it obvious that Matthew had royally screwed up whatever it was he tried to say. Keiko’s own expression was one of confusion. She bowed, but wrote on the blackboard. “I understand English. But I am also please to meet you.”


Matthew frowned. “That bad?”


Random Stranger deduced the mistake Matthew had made. “You looked the words up one at a time. You should have translated the whole phrase at once. That would have helped with syntax.”


Keiko couldn’t contain herself any longer. She started to babble in scritching noises so fast that even Antonella and Matthew had trouble understanding her. They sounded like questions about research. Then she turned and started scribbling on the blackboard excitedly.


Kevin looked at Antonella. This wasn’t part of the plan. But he hated the idea of interrupting. Keiko’s hopes were up. “Keiko … give the man a chance to catch his breath.”


Matthew smiled and held up a hand. His voice was calm despite his own excitement. “It’s alright. Kekio, they asked Random Stranger here to give us a briefing about the people that are bring in all the guns. While she sets up, why don’t you show me your lab real quick. I need to assess your facilities to see what equipment and chemicals you need.”


That was enough to calm Keiko down. It didn’t take long either. Matthew was frowning when they came back out a few minutes later. “I’ll take a longer look after the briefing, but there is a LOT of stuff missing you need. And we are going to have to see if you have made things worse with your cumulative experiments. But I am definitely going to do what I can to help.”


Random Stranger had brought a small laptop and projector. Kevin set up a screen that had been in the sub base since the 1950’s. It was old school, but it would work. The laptop looked like it had been torn apart and modified with HD, extra memory, and others stuff. The reason was soon evident as projecting the picture onto a screen for everyone to see would have meant a poor quality image. As it was, it was barely acceptable by modern standards.


Lori was nervous as she could be. She simply wasn’t used to being around so many people. She wrung her hands every few minutes and tugged at her costume. “Oh - okay. Let’s, uhm, get, uhm .. this … briefing thing started. I, uhm, I ..Can I start over? Never mind. I’ll just, you know, keep going. Uhm … I’m sorry. I’m just not used to speaking to groups.”


“Okay … Hydra. Some of you read comic books as kids? They used to have fights between Legion and Hydra? Well, both were real. Some of the proceeds from the comics went to funding Legion’s fight against Hydra. Hydra was beaten in the 1950’s. That is probably when this base was shut down. But as you know from mythology, if you cut off a head of the Hydra, two grow back. Hydra has since been rebuilding.


“They have expanded operations to supplying the world’s terrorist cells and organized crime affiliations to build a tremendous wealth. They actively support laws that make their goods illegal just so they can raise the price. They are engaged in military espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and research. Their goal is world domination. I know all this because I grew up with Hydra. My parents were political dissidents that sought asylum. They ended up working for Hydra. But they tried to defect - to leave Hydra. It got them both killed and I was a witness. They have been hunting me for years. Only by living off the grid - by never speaking near a computer without scrambling my voice - have I stayed alive.


“Now then, here is a partial hierarchy of Hydra:” She put the chart on screen.


ENFORCERS


Rasputin


Mr. Hyde


Jack the Ripper


Blackbeard


Cardinal Richelieu


HEADS OF HYDRA


Lord Cobra (Ozzymandias)


Professor Muerte


Ankylosaur


Dr Draconis


Red Mist


Fear


Fourth Reich


“The role of the Enforcers appears to be to keep the Heads in line with Hydra policy. This implies that there is a layer of leadership above the Heads. Each of these members of Hydra has subordinates assigned to them. Well, most do. Some are solitary and don’t need any - like My Hyde, Jack the Ripper and Rasputin. I believe these Enforcers are the original legendary people you have read about. I have personally met half of the Heads - Muerte, Lord Cobra, Ankylosaur, and Fourth Reich.


“The subordinates of the Heads are themselves a mix of metahumans like yourselves, and agents. Now the one you need to concern yourself with in the immediate future is Professor Muerte. He controls a group known as Terror Inc. For the most part Terror Inc uses agents. Their operations resemble typical terrorist operations. But to deal with you Muerte is going to come at you with serious firepower. His metahuman hit squad consists of the following:


Professor Muerte


Scorpia


Iron Man


Hellburner


Pale Rider


Wildcat


“Muerte was a lackey of someone called Dr Destroyer back in World War 1 or a bit after. I haven’t actually found any records. That is rumor I overheard from when I was a kid. Dr Destroyer worked with the Nazis. Muerte is hispanic and used to be horribly disfigured and was getting old.. He has since reportedly rejuvenated himself. Scorpia is also hispanic, an assassin who specializes in the use of toxins. Three guess as to what her poison of choice is? She is believed to be Muerte’s mistress. Iron Man is Muerte’s right hand, little more than a blunt instrument lacking the imagination to even come up with a codename more original that the one he uses.


“Hellburner is a rising star in Muerte’s service. He is a cross between Ghost Rider and the Human Torch. He looks like Ghost Rider, has claws, and flies. Wildcat appears to be an experiment in genetic hybridization. The feline features are minimal, claws and eyes. But she was raised feral and trained to attack. Finally, the one I fear the most - Pale Rider. he could kill us all in about a second - even me. He looks like a train robber from the days of the wild west and can summon a spirit horse. He wields a pair of six shooters that pack far more firepower than they should. He is skilled enough to ricochet shots routinely. Worst of all, he is a ghost, able to dematerialize. In other words, I am not safe from him. And the worst I carry is a hand taser.”

 

[Industrial Lace]

"Of course muerte would be Hispanic. Professor Death...and the Iron Man. If we were going off by originality we win hands down." Antonella said pouting as she looked at the images.


"Miss Stranger; if what you are saying is true. We are a bit over our heads. I for one, am not a fighter. I can do my best in what I do but fighting isn't something I am confident at all." Charlotte voiced up calmly as she saw everything. "Also with the enforcers being those of legend...is there a way Hydra can increase their longevity? Or is that the power they themselves have?"


"Pale rider is my concern. If he does go up in smoke can we even expose a weak point to get through with the mission?" Feng asked engrossed with what she saw.


"Told you they're good." Antonella whispered to Kevin.


"RS do you have an idea for location? Or a heads up how long we have before all hell breaks loose? Because if our time is short I'm going to be drowning and trying to see if you can hear." Antonella asked with little humor.

 

[Mitheral]

Diana spoke up. “She’s dead on - all of it - at least as far as Terror Inc goes. And I have encounter Hydra agents before. I was in training to face them before I went home. At home I face the entire metahuman hit squad. She left out the description of Iron Man. He’s just some guy that turns into Iron, can fly, and is strong enough to rip a car in half lengthwise. Also, Professor Muerte is a sort of Dr Doom wannabe - powered armor and all.”


Lori thought about the question of longevity. “I’m not sure about the whole longevity thing. But I would hazard that long life if either a perk or a requirement. As to how they might manage the feat, I have no clue. Like I said, there is at least one more layer above the Heads and Enforcers. As to how long we have, I believe it is only a matter of time if you keep interfering with their operations. So long as you keep hurting them in the pocketbook, they will eventually take steps to stop you.”


Matthew grunted a little. “So … stop taking so much?”


John laughed a little. “How much money did you have?”


Matthew shrugged. “127 boxes, 32 bags, and two tables. I never bothered to count it. And I have more stashed elsewhere. They just have it sitting in those big containers sometimes. I tried to empty one out, but it was just too much work - so I took what I could and burned the rest. It pays for a LOT of spaghetti though. And a lot of people get medical treatment from my clinic.”


Lori walked over to retrieve one of the bags she had brought. “I brought burner phones. They are set up with Apps and additional security encryption - virtually unhackable even by a supercomputer.” She eyed Charlotte and Feng. “Even by whichever one of you is the hacker. I use Malboge encryption. It does slow the phone down a lot. But at least it is safe. And yes there is a built in voice encryption to disguise your voice even if someone gets ahold of one of these phones. There is also a quick power disconnect built in. It disconnects the battery without having to take the back off.”


Diana spoke up yet again. “You never gave us a timeline or location.”


Lori shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen account activity to suggest a hit has been ordered on all of you. However, I have seen evidence that Muerte has been operating locally. Oh, and he may have a couple new metahumans working for him. I just can’t be sure that any of them are actually metahumans. One may just be a highly placed recruiting agent, a woman who has been frequenting the docks and low end sports clubs, mostly looking for muscle. The other is some Australian guy. I have no data on him though. He does appear to be a thief. Muerte will likely use him to obtain military technology. Muerte is especially keen on communications equipment, cybernetics, and biowarfare.


“The fact that Terror Inc is operating like that suggests they aren’t actively hunting us. However, I suspect that the disruption of the gun smuggling meeting the other day will provoke a response. I also spotted Scorpia a few times along with Iron Man. Those two team up a lot. I’m not sure what they were doing, but I made a list of possible targets. It’s a pretty short list. Their attention was on one area from multiple angles. The only thing in that area that would make sense as a target was a maximum security prison for the criminally insane.”


Kevin frowned. “So they aren’t idle. They are operating on a whole different playing field. sounds like they plan to break someone out of prison. Maybe that’s what the thief is for.”

 

[Industrial Lace]

"So they're on home turf and we have to walk on even more fragile eggshells." Antonella said with a groan at the very idea. "I don't think we have enough for an army....so a militia is good enough for now."


"I only hack if necessary and in ensuring the safety of my friends. I wont overstep boundaries." Charlotte told Random Stranger feeling a bit of hostility from the woman.


"The biggest question is Kevin. Who do they want to bust? Do you have an idea RS?" Antonella asked Random Stranger.