RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Writer's Block Hero Revolution #10

"Nice ride you got here," Phil remarked, sitting up slowly. "But last I saw you, you were out like Bobby Hull's teeth."

Ed raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind." Phil looked around. "I guess I should thank you for pulling me out of the drink."

Ed shrugged. "I did what I could."

"And it worked, apparently." Phil chuckled. "And here I thought all this time that the UFO was just some cheesy plot device!"

"Huh?" Now Ed was confused.

Phil thought a moment. "Again... ummmm... never mind. Not really sure where that came from."

Ed shook his head and turned around. "Take us to the building."

Phil stood up slowly. "You better drop me off somewhere on the way."

"Are you insane?"

Phil gave a noncommittal gesture. "If I am, that's the first I've heard of it."

"All right, then," Ed conceded. "Where?"

"The south wall. That's where the others are."

"How do you know?"

Phil tapped the side of his head with a finger.

"Oh, all right." Ed got the idea. "Then what should I do?"

"You just might have to park that thing and get yourself to HQ. I don't want you going anywhere until Quantos looks you over."

"This from a guy who was drowning a minute ago."

"That's different. I'm expendable. You're not."

"Well," Edulcore said, "I hate to change the subject, but we're here."

"Okay," Phil said, "Just... drop me here."

"I'll just beam you down..."

"Ye cannae do that!" Phil blurted in a thick Scottish accent. "The tr-r-r-r-ansporters are malfunctioning, Captain!"

"What?" Ed jumped.

"Gotcha." Phil grinned as he started to dematerialize. "Oh, and have a nice day."

///Reports have been circulating, that an Airliner which was headed for Europe was taken in by Jason’s fury. We have conflicting reports on this breaking story as some claim that the Airliner simply disappeared into thin air, while others speculate that in went down into the depths of the Ocean. We are hoping to find more on this soon, stick with Action 11 News\\\



A large build man sat on a comfy tan recliner. His sipped his hot cocoa as his shook his head at the possible carnage.

So sad.

The man scratched the side of his cheek, his hand ruffled along his beard, which had grayed with time. His longer hair was still brown in spots, his face was rough with time and scarred along his forehead. His dark blue shirt was wrinkled in places, his jeans worn out and gray.

Feet from him, in a carriage, his baby cried. The news, the hurricane, they say babies can sense when trouble looms. The man’s wife was quickly by the baby’s side, and lifted the beautiful baby boy from the carriage. She playfully spun about but the babe still cried.

“Jackie, here here.”

The man’s voice commanded an attention. Deep and strong.

“Here Sir, work your magic,” Patricia said with a laugh and a kiss on his rough cheek.

As the baby was placed into the man’s hands, its crying stopped. He smiled and clapped his hands.

“William Jr. loves his father.” Jackie’s voice was sweet and innocent.

The man laughed with joy.

Wind battered the outside wall. But the wall was strong, thick and lined with steel. Nothing would be striking through it anytime soon.

A door opened with a violent fury, and a young man in uniform appeared. He quickly walked towards the man with his child. There he stopped and stood in attention.

“Yes?” the man asked.

“Colonel. He speaks.”

“Very good.”

The man kissed his child on the forehead and handed him to his wife. He than followed the young solider. They walked through the house and into the basement, which was huge.

An underground fortress.

Work stations; weapons being produced in mass quantities, soldiers training.

The Colonel followed the young solider down another level. Screams could be heard from every direction. Caves and crevices covered grim images of bodies hanging. Bloody. Scarred. Raped.

Tortured beyond the limits of one’s mind.

The Colonel lifted a drapery and stepped into a low-lit cave. A young boy had his hands stretched out over a wooden board. His body was slashed through out. His blood covered the floor, his face pale and head held in a vice.

“Finally, young Axel speaks?”

The young boy opened his right eye; his left one was swollen shut. He opened his mouth and a swab of blood gushed out. He tried to coff with it but couldn’t find the breath.

“…you sick bastard…”

The young boy spit out.

“Did you’re parent teach you better?”

The Colonel said as he motioned for the man to tighten up on Axel’s restraints. The thin metal wire dug into the young boy’s flesh. Axel held back the pain though. He grinned his teeth together with such force that he cracked a few.

“Now, give me the access codes.”

“…never…”

“You will give them to me.”

The Colonel’s anger grew and he turned toward a solider, “Release the restraints!”

The solider never asked twice and released the wires. The Colonel grabbed young Axel by the hair and slammed him hard onto a table near by. He slammed his head onto the table once again. Taking his hand, the Colonel held the boy’s face right next to it. Picking a hammer off the bench, the Colonel reassured the boy, “Your pain shall stop when you give me the info I desire.”

Axel’s eyes were wide open as the hammer came down on his pinky.

His screams filled the air.

It wouldn’t be long before the Colonel got the secrets he desired.

The Colonel always got his way.

Always.

Danny was growing increasingly worried by the fact that Mxy was currently nowhere to be found. They needed Mxy at a time like this. He was their most powerfull ally.

And, although Danny had faith that Mxy could look after himself, he was concerned for the welfare of the very mortal and very vulnerable Mick Harrison.

"Mxy... where are you..." Danny said quietly, audible to no one but himself. And, of course, Hal. Danny, finding it difficult to stay aloft amidst the high winds despite the presence of huge eagle wings sprouting from his back, had taken refuge atop a nearby petrol station. It was one of the sturdiest buildings in the area, and an adequate place for Danny to cast an eye over the surroundings. The rain pelted him, but the presence of duck feathers on his back seemed to prove the old cliche correct.

<Maybe you should follow the cows...> Hal offered in the way of a helpful suggestion.

"What...?"

<The cows. Mxy's cows.>

Danny looked outward, and sure enough, noticed a couple of Mxy's hero cows hovering above the town, a couple of kilometres away. They seemed to be flying away from the site of whatever it is they'd been doing a moment ago.

"I can't believe I'm trapped eight decades in the past, following a pair of flying cows through a hurricane to find a magical fifth dimensional being... this never would have happened a year ago."

Hoping the wind wouldn't prove too much of an obstacle, Danny took flight.

Grimm watched in silence as Phil disappeared up inside the UFO. "I thought that was just a bad joke Ed kept making."

Suddenly, the UFO zoomed off towards the town.

"Hey! What about me? Ya sons of . . ."

Grimm turned around and began making the trek back towards the town. With all this running around and the wreck of the hovercraft, he was beginning to feel more than a little useless.

He briefly paused and looked back out towards the sea. He could swear he saw something for the briefest of moments. A head? No, nothing. Odd. . .

He caught up with Blackwulf and the two began making their way back to the apartment complex. It would be night soon, and the storm was almost here. There would be nothing else to do but find someplace in the basement and ride it out.

They spotted Danny flying overhead. "He must be looking for Mxy." Grimm said.

"And I am thinking he has found him, comrade, look." Wulf pointed at the flying cows overhead.

"Yep, gotta be Mxy."

The wind and rains began to hit harder and a large tree began to uproot itself from it's place in the ground. With a large kraaack! it tore free and headed straight for the two men.

"Get back, Wulf." Grimm said, reaching for his axe. He would have to time this just right.

As the tree flew towards the two, Grimm took careful aim, and swung the axe with both hands, splitting the tree in two large pieces that continued off until landing on nearby storefronts.

"Greem, " Wulf started, "I am thinking that tree heading for us was just a little too convenient."

"Wulf, we're in the middle of a freaking hurricane. There's gonna be lot more stuff than trees heading for us if we don't get to cover."

"Yes, but it flew straight for us! That is being too much of coincidence for me."

"C'mon, let's see if we can catch Danny and Mxy and get back."

[ 10-27-2002, 10:33 AM: Message edited by: Grimm ]

Phil waited for the last flickers of the teleportation effect to die away, then looked around. The others were headed back inland, and far enough ahead that they were almost out of sight. Oh well. They were all going to the same place anyway. No real hurry. Phil braced himself against the wind and started plodding toward town.

Total chaos was beginning to overtake the island. Even the rescue forces were loosing their cool. "All these buildings are empty!" one of the officers yelled to the rest as they began to load up the last of the citizens. The van they were using took off.

Dirk's wet hair crept down over his forehead and came close to his eyes. The rain was cold and hard. It stung his body like pins being jabbed into his skin. "We should check this building," Chance said pointing to one to his left. Dirk walked the opposite direction. "Where you going?"

"To check this one out."

"Why?"

"Three very good reasons. One, it didn't look like they checked this building. Two, we'll do a helluva lot more if we split up. And three, I really don't like you and prefer to spend as little time with you as possible." He turned and began to walk away.

"I was never too fond of you, either," Chance retorted. "You are way to unpredictable. Besides, a man who relies on guns isn't much of a man, is he?"

"You want my attention?" Dirk said as he turned around. "Well, you've got it. For your information, I don't rely on guns. I use them for whatever purpose I see fit. As far as being a man, I more man than you will ever be. You might hit the weight bench every once in a while, but you still rely on your little luck power to get you through the tough times. I'm the only guy in this outfit who can't shoot laser beams out of my ass, and I'm just as good as any one of you." He wiped the hair from over his eyes as he continued. "This is it. This is what I've got. No powers. No divine intervention. Just a man who's only power is his own skill."

Chance looked away. Dirk nodded his head and gave a grin. "I see. I know what this is all about. You don't like using your powers, do you? You would rather be known for your physical prowress. Instead, everyone will look at you as the 'lucky guy,' won't they? I'm the man you wish you were. 100% all natural."

Chance tried to protest Dirk's conclusions, but the gunslinger had already begun to walk away, "I always knew there was a little demon hiding under that boy scout uniform." He disappeared into the building leaving Chance on his own in the storm.

Danny followed the cows for a while... until they dissapeared.

"Dammit! Bloody things just faded away!" Danny said.

<I'm the only one here,> Hal said, <You don't have to say "bloody" all the time>

"Shut up, H... Wait, what's that?" Danny said, after noticing something near the place where the flying cows dissapeared. "Is that a door floating in the sky? That's weird..."

<Of course it's weird... How can it remain there with all this wind? I don't think floating doors were this strong in this age...>

"Hold a second... The cows didn't dissapear! They crossed that door!" Danny said, speeding up his flight, "That must be where Mxy is!"

Danny reached the door, and placed his hand on the knob.

<Shouldn't you knock first?

"Fuck that," Danny said, opening the door.

<The lenguage!>

As Danny crossed to the other sied, both brains inside his head were flooded with completely un-understandable information, giving both Danny and Hal headaches of epic proportions. At that moment, their senses sent so many error messages to their brains that they felt like they were using Windows 98.

Between the terrible confusion, they were able to understand the words "Wait, let me fix that!"

Soon, his mind cleared and Danny found himself in a small, normal-looking three-dimensional living room, with all the elements a normal living room has (some of them perhaps a little bit forced, like a mom and a dad).

"That should keep your brain calmed," Mxy said.

"Mxy!" Danny yelled, "You have to come back! You have to help us with the hurricane!"

"But that's exactly what I wanna do, Danny! I can stop the hurricane!"

"You can't just do that. The implications on earth's atmosphere would be disastrous...!"

"But I could make it so there wouldn't be any implications at all! In fact, I could go further and fix this whole planet while I'm at it... No more hunger, no more natural disasters... Tell me why I shouldn't do that"

[ 10-27-2002, 10:26 PM: Message edited by: I'm Not Mister Mxypltk ]

The clothes the relief workers at teh shelter gave Tayden were itchy. "itchy"..strange sensation. The name tag on the overalls said "Bob Jenkins". "Wander if this guy is naked now" he thought with a laugh. The people in the shelter where the strange big guy brought him were all pretty upset (an understatement if there ever was one.)

Tayden walked over to a little girl clutching an old looking one-eyed doll. She was so scared she didnt notice him at first. Tayden smiled as the girl look up at him. Her grip on the doll loosened and she smiled. She felt warm inside like she was at home under the covers. "Hello...what's your name." Tayden said looking at the doll. The girl giggled. "She can't talk, but her name is Lori". "Oh..and who are you" said Tayden. "I'm Emma" the girl's smiled vanished as she said "A tree fell on my mommy......my mommy is in heaven, now." "Yes she is Emma, but she's also in here, honey....always" Tayden pointed to the young girls heart and then hugged her almost as tight as she had embraced the doll. At that moment, clarity of purpose struck Tayden. He knew as sure as he was human now that he is here to comfort. He is here try and help as many Emmas as possiple not lose there mommys. Helping the brave men who saved him was a good place to start. But for now there are alot of people in this building who need a shoulder and he had two.

Tayden suddenly felt sure. Wings or no wings. Time to go to work.

[ 10-28-2002, 08:26 PM: Message edited by: Sonhaven ]

As Grimm and Wulf made their way towards the city, they noticed a light in a nearby building.

"Hey! Hey! Up here! Wooooo!!!!!!!!!"

They looked up towards a balcony. A young woman with brown hair was leaning over the railing with a beer in one hand. She lifted up her shirt with one hand exposing her breasts.

"It's a hurricane party! C'mon up and join the fun!"

"Comrade, she is having large tits, I am thinking she would bear many puppies."

"Wulf, these idiots are having a party during the biggest storm since Camille. I'm honestly tempted to leave them to their fates."

"Whooooahhhh!!!" The girl suddenly pitched forward and fell over the railing.

"Do not worrying, I am catching you!" Wulf shouted over the wind. And catch her he did. "You are being ok, yes?"

"Y-yesh, *hic*, you know, you're kinna cute. . ."

Grimm was growing more annoyed every minute they spent here. "Listen, do you have any friends up there? We've got to get out of here fast."

"Nope. Jusht me. They all leff me. They always do." The girl pouted in Blackwulf's arms.

Suddenly, they were startled by a voice off the side.

"Thru howling winds and pouring rain, all evil shall fear the Hurricane!"

They turned and looked behind them to see a man of about average height, wearing a green and black costume, with green hair and a green cape. He was standing on top of a parked yellow volkswagon.

"What treachery is this? What harm have you done to that poor girl, you monsters?"

"Oh, great. Listen, pal, we don't have time for this. In case you haven't noticed, there's a real hurricane about to slam into this island full force." Grimm informed the stranger.

"Ah, but I have noticed. Get that citizen to safety. I shall deal with the threat with my "Hurri-powers!" He stoicly said.

"Riiiiighhhht. . .Listen, we have to go now. You have fun playing in the storm." Grimm and Wulf resumed walking towards the apartment, the girl still in Wulf's arms, now passed out.

The man leapt from the top of the car and bolted out towards the storm. He jumped up into the winds and was carried aloft.

"I'm flying! I'm really flying! Yeah! No one can stop me!"

He was carried full into the vortex of the hurricane.

"Greem, he IS flying. Look." Wulf pointed at the man.

"That idiot's not flying, Wulf. He's been pulled into the storm. It must be closer than we figured. C'mon, we've got to get back to safety. It's almost night."

And the two headed back to the apartment complex.

Phil was beginning to think he might have miscalculated things again. His first mistake was in underestimating the seriousness of the situation back when the hurricane was first approaching. His second was in trying to play the hero all by himself, and he had nearly bought the farm because of it. Phil doubted his luck would allow him a third strike.

But it was beginning to look like having Ed drop him here wasn't such a good idea. The wall was taking a real pounding from the incessant waves, and the wind threatened to pull Phil right off his feet. It was taking nearly all he had to shield himself from the fury of the storm.

And sure enough there didn't seem to be anybody left out here.

Phil decided it was probably time to head back to the building. He made his way up the slight incline leading from the wall up to town, picking his way over the rocks nimbly in spite of the winds whipping around him, which he barely felt due to the powerful shielding effect he had thrown up around himself.

Something caught his attention.

Out of the corner of his eye, Phil noticed something odd. The waves seemed to be pulling back ever so slightly. Gradually, the surf continued to recede. Soon there was a noticeable difference in the water level.

It seemed like things were calming down, but Phil knew nothing could be further from the truth. All that water that seemed to be going away was sure to come back, and when it did, everyone would know it.

There it was. Almost to the horizon, off in the distance, a fuzzy-looking greenish line was just becoming visible. It was an incredibly thin line, yet within a few moments, it had doubled in height. Soon it doubled again. Phil was all too aware of what he was seeing.

This was a wave big enough to scour La Perdita clean.

And it was headed straight for him.

"Ok..Ok. One more." Tayden said as the laughing Jason refugees crowded around him and got quiet to listen to what he had to say.

"Your not going to believe this next one....what if I told you that it wasn't Helen of Troy but Hal of Troy......Paris was Gayer than a......" Just the Tayden was interupted by a loud swinging open of the shelter doors. It was the big guy and another familar face.

Grim dragged in the drunk woman as the Russian sported two large women on each of his shoulders as well as a huge grin to boot.

"Here's a few more that are going to stay whether they want to or not." Grim said rather perterbed. He was just about to go back out into the angry storm when he felt a strngly warm hand grab his wrist.

"Wait" Tayden said with a solemn stare "I can help."

The wind tore at their faces.
Both of the girls ran to seek shelter.
One in chrome-shiny armor, and one in a red leather miniskirt and matching boots.
The one in armor and brown hair, called to the blond next to her;"Okay Crasher, this is were I leave you. Make sure to return home immediatly. Or your father will be very angry with both of us!!"
"Yeah, yeah!!" replied the blond with a grin. "Are you sure you can do this though? It sure is big."
The armored girl shrugged.
"I won´t try to take the whole wave, just the base, so it loses it´s momentum and crashes down before it can reach the main land. Go now...I don´t have much time.
"Okey, dokey A. But come home in one peice, okay?"
And with that she blinked out of existance.

The armor clad girl grimaced at the wet winds and begun running towards the beach.
A huge shadow loomed over the ocean, and a distant, deep thunderous roar could be heard from the approaching wave...and what a wave it was.
A true Tsunami. Just about 35 metres in height...wait a minute...something is wrong here, she thought.
A wave this size could never be generated by a natural storm like this.
Having reached her destination she looked for the base of the wave, and focused all her attention on it.

Suddenly a scream came from close by.
She looked after the source and saw a girl sitting in a small boat on a pier. Her wailing had gone unnoticed in the howling wind.
Deciding in an instant what to do she ran towards the boat. It was close to being ripped apart any second now.
She focused on the girl, and she disappeared from sight only to appear next to the now stressed up heroine.
She looked up at the incoming wave...it was almost to close now...but she had to try anyway.
With the girl safely tucked in her arms, she refocused on the base...and mentally pushed harder than she ever had before.
She realised that the beach would be destroyed and all the coastal houses as well, but her deed would save the houses that lay more inland.
And then she released her power...
The base of the wave disappeared...and the wave crashed down.
The beach sank under the enormous force, and the nearby harbor was torn to peices.

The armored girl was flung across the land with the little girl screaming in her arms.
A helmet automatically appeared over her head, but the brute force of the wave smashed her against a closeby apartment building. She blacked out.
The little girl scrambled to her feet and saw strange men looking out a window from the house...she yelled; "Help, please! She is hurt. She saved me from the waves. Please help her!! And I want my Mommy!!!" she started to shake with cries....

Phil awoke with a start. He must have hit his head on something. He was lying on the ground halfway up the hill from the south wall, which looked to have been totally wiped out. What in the world had just happened?

I dunno, Phil mused, but it must have shot continuity all to hell.

He slowly got up and looked around. He could go down to what was left of the beach and see if there was anyone who needed help, or he could make his way back to the building and help out there.

There would be more waves like that coming, to be sure.

What to do?

Time to improvise.

As Chance left, a middle aged man waved his arms high in the air, his lips signed the word "Help." but it didn't matter. He could not be seen. The man couldn't catch his breath, the dangerous winds and rain pounded on his brittle bones.

His luck had run out. He turned only to see his home collapse onto itself. His wife, grandchildren, and his dog Henry were killed.

He could only watch.

There was no hero to help him.

His hand clutched his chest.

His heart stopped.

He died.

All he needed was a little luck.

As Tayden gripped Grimm's arm, he felt a sudden surge of memory pass through him.

He was back, at the battle for Heaven. Impious war raged on, brothers fell on both sides. There, in the middle, the dark cloaked form winging through the fields and touching the fallen on each side with it's scythe.

And Tayden knew who and what Grimm was, everything about him and the mantle he had taken on. Something he had hoped never to see again.

"--can you do to help? Didn't we pull you out of the drink once today, already? Hey, I'm talking to you, pal."

"Uh, w-what?" Tayden suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Nevermind." Grimm turned and strode back out into the storm.

Chance searched quickly through several beach-houses hoping to run across no one else.

They don't understand. None of them do. Luck is not a power or ability that can be controlled. It just is. And most of the time lately it just isn't. It's supposed to always protect me -- at least in theory -- but it doesn't necessarily do anything for anyone else around me. In excessively negative situations, my "luck" becomes "bad luck" for those around me.

Kristofer Schanz felt a pang of regret for the middle-aged man and his wife and grandchildren who had died in the collapse of his house. His self-protecting luck could do nothing for them. If anything, the amount of luck required to protect him would make all those around him extremely un-lucky. Chance idly wondered whether it had been his fault that the man's family had died but quickly pushed it out of his mind. Luck sometimes felt like more of a curse than a blessing... especially since Chance's conscience bothered him for every life lost -- every life he was unable to save.

Stupid. You're only human, Kristofer. Well... actually meta-human, but you're no Superman, since your only "power" is the power to survive against all odds. Doesn't do jack-squat for anyone else, though. Wasn't any sense trying to explain that to my teammate, though. A job needed to be done, and petty argument wasn't getting anyone anywhere.

Chance winced as he recalled the harsh words he had said to Dirk Bell. That was so childish of me, and an unfair low-blow to make those comments, even though it was what I was thinking. I should have just kept my mouth shut back then. Why did I let him get to me like that? Tiredness and lack of sleep is no excuse for beginning arguments with my allies, especially in the middle of a crisis in which teamwork is vital. And it's pretty obvious that, to get along with Dirk, I'll need to use kid gloves. He is a valuable asset to the team in his own way, if he's handled correctly. Real battles should be picked carefully, if need be, on important issues, not personality differences.

A cow wearing a cape suddenly flew by, udders flapping in the wind. That was enough to jar him (or ANYONE) out of his reverie.

"What the hell am I doing here?" Chance said as he looked around at the beating wind, his words lost in the air before even he could hear them. "I'm no hero. I never claimed to be..."

Against all his instincts, Chance continued on, looking for people to help while waiting for the rest of the team to show up and do whatever they could. There was nothing to do but just survive and try to help as many as possible against the odds.

Doc was right. The effect the Chance drug had on my body chemistry is different than Pete's was. He was truly the luckiest man alive, but I'm merely luckier than most. My lesser luck is compensated by an ability Pete never had though -- my body also redirects all damaging and/or lethal force back to its source. Another so-called "power" that does no one but myself any good.

Chance frowned as he began to consider a thought that had been growing in his mind over the past 24 hours: What if this storm was his fault? What if he had brought all this bad luck on La Perdita as Pete had done on Malvan-X back in Mandelovia and every branch all across the globe? Pete had then been so negatively focused that he brought upon everything around him -- in that case the Malvan-X building and indeed the corporation itself -- incredibly bad luck.

Ever since Chance realised that a quirk of fate had cheated Pete out of his own life, Chance had taken all that upon himself. His conscience demanded that he find a way to help Pete, though he be seemingly dead and beyond mortal help. He'd been so narrowly focused upon the negatives since that time. Could it be that he had strengthened the storm that was brewing off the coast of La Perdita? Was a bunch of bad luck he irradiated ultimately responsible for the deaths incurred by this storm? The more he thought about it, the more he realised how negative his thoughts still were presently and how that wasn't helping at all.

But how to start thinking in a positive way again, amidst all this destruction and death? And would it make any difference to anyone or anything even if he could somehow stop thinking so negatively?

What if the only thing I can do to save La Perdita is to leave the island???

Chance stopped. It was obvious he wasn't doing anyone any good right now. But to turn tail and flee when so many needed help? No -- it was against every instinct in his body. But what if it was the right thing to do?

Kristofer Schanz fell to his knees and did the only thing left to do. Something he hadn't done since he was a child. He closed his tear-soaked eyes and buried his massive fists into the sand...

...and Chance began to pray.

[ 11-04-2002, 06:43 AM: Message edited by: TheTimeTrust ]

As his tears began to flow, he felt a soft touch on his shoulder.
A beautifull woman clad in white robes and golden hair that swayed in the wind, spoke with an ever so soft voice;"Don´t cry my friend. There is allways hope. There still is purpose in life...for you and all creatures. Let me help you find that purpose."
Drying his tears, he looked at her more properly and asked; "Who...?"
"I am Maria. Let me ease your pain. I can help you find you destiny in this life."
And then she sat down and gave him a warm but soft hug. A motherly hug. A hug that felt full of love and safety. Chance relaxed in her arms and cried again...but this time he wasn´t really sure why he cried.

Tayden fought the wind as he went out after Grim and Blackwulf. The gnat like bites of rain made it hard to open his eyes. Just when he was growing unsure that he would find them , SLAM. He had smaked right into the big Russian's backside. "HA! You don't give up! Here I help you." With no effort Tayden is lifted off the ground and onto his feet. Tayden raised his voice so he could be heard over the wind "Listen, I have been doing this for a long time! I can help."

Grim was more than pissed off now "People are dying I don't have time for....." Just then lighting flashed in the distance and lit up the street for a moment and for that moment Grim could have sworn he saw the sillouette of an army or a mob standing behind tayden. Then it was gone. "My God" Grim started. "No just a messenger" Tayden said loudly with a smile. "I can help"

Grim looked over Tayden. "If you drop......you stay there" Grim was angry. Blackwulf had an expression of shock. Tayden said "Fair enough". The three then started down the street. As Grim's back turned Tayden's smile left. "His presence bears further investigation" Tayden thought and trudged forward.

[ 11-04-2002, 06:42 PM: Message edited by: Sonhaven ]

The laptop was completely destroyed. What a pity, thought the phantom-like, invisible man who called himself "Griffin" after a character in a classic novel he once read as a child. His eldil stone gave him further abilities than the H.G. Wells character had, though. Currently, for example, he was in spirit-form. Mere invisibility would do little to help him now. It wasn't only his laptop that had been destroyed due to this accursed hurricane... his hired flat had been struck by a freak accident as a car earlier picked up by the storm fell directly upon his apartment building.

Well, this storm had certainly taken an interesting turn as, in spirit-form, the Englishman saw new spirits pass through the ether every few minutes due to various little deaths. But Griffin hoped that this tedious hurricane would soon pass. He would have to replace his laptop, of course, and the appearance on the scene of his old youthful rival did not bode well for his paid mission. What were the chances of someone who knew him not only showing up on the island of La Perdita, of all the obscure little islands in the world, but that he would immediately go to work for the same obscure little organisation that Griffin had been hired to spy upon? It was certainly more difficult now than ever to believe in coincidence.

Perhaps one of the many telepaths this island seemed to attract was behind this? Griffin had already done background checks, though, and from what he could tell, Montag had known none of them before.

Griffin put all these thoughts out of his mind and tried to keep concentration on where he was and what he was doing. If he allowed any of his thoughts to drift for too long while in this ethereal state, he would end up forgetting not only where he was but who he was. And then, if he forgot everything and remained a spirit because of forgetfulness, how would he receive his payment? "Always keep your eyes on the money," a wise man had once told him. That wise man was dead now. Go figure.

If he were to describe the sensation of being a spirit in the midst of a storm, the closest description would be like being suspended in water underwater in complete serenity while up above the wind and the waves raged and battled each other for dominance, eager for destruction of any poor ship-bound fool who was stupid enough to brave the storm.

The physical world had little effect on the ether, the spirit world, but it did have some effect. If Griffin stopped concentrating on where he was, he would very easily start drifting in one direction or another, like an object in an anti-gravity environment.

Damn! Got to stop letting myself be pulled along by idle strains of thought, Griffin thought suddenly in an attempt to jar himself back into consciousness. Pretty soon, he knew, he would have to return to physical form before he lost his sense of self altogether. By that time it would be too late for him, and he might as well really be dead.

Maria led the now relaxed Chance across the windy cliffs and stopped just outside a small boat house that amazingly was still in one peice.
She opened the creacing door and guided him in.
Inside, a lovely garden full of fruit trees and berry bushes was seen. the sun was shining and a small stream flowed lazy on his right.
His mind was reeling at the wonder he was witnessing. It was like Eden had been described to him as a child.
She sat down in the grass, and smiled at him. He got the point, and sat down next to her.
"You said something about my destiny...? he asked nervously as she continued to smile to him. She was extraordinary beautifull.
She replied with a soft voice; "Ssschhh...patince my child...destiny awaits no longer." And with that cryptic statement she dug out a small tin bell out of her pocket and shook it.
The sound couldn´t have carried far, but it had a lovely angelic sound to it. He heard a noise to his left and two men in dark brown hooded cloacs, bowed to the beautifull woman, who´s presence was like balmed honey on Chance´s mind.
"Welcome Mr Chance. We hear you seek a meaning in life. We can provide you with the means to do so. You are the one we have sought for many generations. A man of destiny...a man that can and will make life better as we know it. Welcome to the Brotherhood of the Hood."

Chance smiled politely and nodded, while inside his "bullshit sensor" was ringing heavily. All right, I'm willing to play along for now to find out what's behind this mystery, but there's no way I'm going to let my guard down. Already he was wondering why he had allowed himself to be led by a complete stranger into an even stranger situation in the midst of a crisis. And as he continued to think about it, he wondered why he hadn't already left...

"Right. So, thank you, gentlemen, but I'm not really interested in joining any cults today," Chance said grinning. The men began to protest, but Chance ignored them and began walking around the so-called "garden of Eden".

"Very impressive technology you have access to. So, is this an incredible hologram simulation? I saw something like this while visiting M.I.T. a few years back." Chance bent down to smell one of the brightly-coloured flowers and frowned. "Hmm. Or perhaps simply some kind of transportation technology? When I stepped through the boat-house door back there, did I step across the world to a sunnier climate somehow? I know Krauss and some of his boys at Oxford have been working on matter-energy conversion with some limited success..."

"Mr. Chance, we..."

"Please, call me either 'Chance' or Mr. Schanz. Chance is just a nickname."

"Mr. Schanz, you are the one we have been seeking for many generations..."

"Yes, yes, you've said that already. And I must admit, I let the moment get to me..." Chance glanced over at the robed woman who was simply too beautiful to be true, and wondered if she had some kind of empathic ability -- could she somehow have manipulated his thoughts and emotions in order to bring him here for whatever reason? "...but I'm far too sceptical to believe something simply because someone told me to believe it. Nevertheless, I'm here, and I'm willing to listen to you, if you can help La Perdita in some way and if you don't delay me for too long. I've got to get back to my team." He folded his arms and stared at the robed men, trying to resist looking at the beautiful woman in white...

[ 11-05-2002, 08:11 PM: Message edited by: TheTimeTrust ]

"We will assist in any way you deem necessary to rebuild the houses on your island. It´s but a fraction of our abilities. if you would try us out, and see for yourself what you can do for the world with the help of our organisation, we will assist you in every way." One of the men said with an encouraging smile.

Ofcourse this raised Chance´s suspicions even more...what was this Brotherhood?
"And what would you have me do for you then?" he said with a sceptical grin.
"Nothing you wouldn´t do naturally. Just be there when we need you...to assist in a business transaction now and again."

Business eh? Yeah right. Drugdealers?...No to corny looking...too serious.
I can see you´re doubting our word child." said the woman with a smile to die for. "Here is a simple offer to ease your mind. A check for one million dollars, to help build your island...take your time. In one week we will come to you again, and we can discuss this with abit more wisdom behind us." she gave him the check.
Hesitatingly he took it and looked at it...

A tourist bus speeded through the empty slick roads of La Perdita. Hail pelted the every side of the automobile as the windshield wipers worked hard but were no use in helping to see in to the darkness that engulfed the small island. The passengers of the coach all had big smiles on their faces and felt at ease. They swayed with the turns almost on a pleasure high. Never complaining, nor feeling the fear that most would in this situation.

“Gremm, buddy, you’ink thes were the best idea?”

At the wheel was the large “biker from hell,” who if he didn’t know better would think he was almost back there. The features of his skull face never changed as he concentrated on the darkened roads in front of him.

Wulf turned toward the passengers they were able to round up and keep safe so far. The empty looks and smiles made Wulf raise an eyebrow.

“Could I get some of what they’re on?” The large set man said with a smile and a pat on the back to Tayden.

Tayden, who was in deep concentration, shook abruptly and lost concentration, for a moment, everyone panicked at once. Then, they were back in heaven.

Under the Complex

Dr. Henry Quantos looked on with shock. The Island had been covered in darkness during mid-after noon. The storm had keep getting worse, never letting up and never giving people a minute to breath.

Near-by, Grissom Montag let out a sing of relief. The man known simply as Priest did the same, never letting Grissom notice.

“Close call,” Grissom said, “But I never doubted our abilities.”

“It should be able to hold up for at least the night.” Priest paused, “But we should keep an eye on it just incase.”

Priest’s left hand shook a little, he subtle brushed his right hand over it, and held it in place.

Grissom noticed this, “Every thing ok buddy?”

“Let’s just say that all ‘gifts’ have their little side effects.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“I’ll be fine.” Priest shrugged it off as nothing.

Out on the Island.

Dirk Bell leaped over a ledge with a baby in his hand, he used his back to break the fall. Rolling with the baby carefully cradled in a blanket in his arms, he was able to finally make it to the basement doors. Trying to open the doors, he noticed that they had been locked from the inside. He pounded on the door as the building slowly crumbled around him.

“Open the freaking door!” Dirk yelled, pounding his right arm on the hard steel.

His eyes closed and he took out a small gun. Holding the baby’s head close to his chest, he carefully covered the girl’s ears.

BLAM

The door quickly flung open when his boot connected. Rushing inside, there a group of people, afraid in the corner. A man in a business suit had a shotgun in his hand.

“SHUT THAT DOOR!” he yelled with fury in his eyes.

With one swift move, a brick that had laid next to Dirk’s foot nailed the guy in the head knocking him out.

“I’ll say this once,” Dirk commanded, “This door stays unlocked. You hear any screams, you get off your ass and help.”

Dirk handed the baby to a young lady and quickly exited. As he got back out into the street, the winds had gotten worse. He covered his face as the rain pounded the side of his body, it would be best to find cover right about now.

Before he could react, a hand grabbed his side and lifted him off the ground and into the air.

“Don’t worry good citizen, the Psi-Unit will keep you safe.”

Over the Shoreline

Phil stood his ground, using will power to fight the very force of the tides that had begun to strike with a vengeance against the very island itself. Blood began to flow from his ears as his teeth grinned together.

His head throbbing with the very power of the earth and nature against him.

For a second his mind wondered. That was all it took for him to be over powered. The water collapsed around him, caving him in and throwing his body around like a rag doll.

He hit the rocky edge of the shoreline and the wind carried him back over the land and through a small shack on the outer boarder of the shoreline.

By some miracle, Phil was able to open his right eye, his left side bruised. Hovering over him was a large man in primitive dress.

His tanned skin and pure white Mohawk gave him a distinctive yet crazed look.

“Ton Ton thanks the Gods for this prize. Ton Ton shall feed well as the storm cleans the evil from our home”

Under the Complex

The basement doors flug open. People began rushing in at Grimm and Wulf’s guidance. Tayden was at the back of the group. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Grissom and Priest quickly moved to help everyone in, and to keep the peace.

Grimm grabbed Tayden by the shirt so he could close the doors.

“Wait, there are people out there.”

Grimm paused and looked out side. Tourches and the reflection off blades shined in the near distance. Truck and car headlights broke through the darkness.

They were here.

This was bad.

Very very bad.

Phil wasn't sure of what to think, or do, or order from the Chinese take-out when he got back to the apartment. The weird figure loomed over him, muttering some odd incantations with his eyes closed. Phil couldn't trace the exact dialect of gibberish this Ton Ton character was uttering, but he didn't feel like sticking around for an introductory course.

Slowly picking himself up very quietly, Phil gathered what physical strength he had left. He reared back.

And punched Ton Ton in the face.

And then, in true heroic fashion, he ran like hell.

Interlude (Flashback) 1997
Jerry's Food Mart:La Perdita Main street.
“Man, I hate this stinking J.O.B!” Wes said to himself.
“But it pays the bills.” He replied as he grabbed the broom and headed for the door.
“Clean the lot, and clean the pumps, and clean this, and make sure my shoes are cleaned. Damn "wicked stepmother" shit's gotta go!”

“Can you help me?” a voice came from the corner of the building.
“Is there someone there?” Wes responded.

“Yes I need something that only you can give me!” the pale and gaunt young woman turned to reveal that she was wearing nothing under her long coat.
“I see, umm... and what is it that only I can give you?” Wes said as he moved to the back corner of the building that the young women was at.

“You can keep me warm on this cold and lonely night. Can't you? Or are you just cold inside?” she asked in a tone that was almost hypnotic.

“Look, I gotta watch the store but if you want, I can meet you somewhere when I get off.”

“That won't do. If you can't keep me warm now then I might freeze to death, and that wouldn't look good for you, now would it?”
The young woman pushed the coat back to show her breasts.
“Are they not worthy of keeping WARM?”

“You know what fuck the store yea let's go.“ Wes said.
La Perdita Times: Cleark found in cooler dead of Hypathermia.

Flash Forward
“Lt. Roberson, are you ready for the assignment?” The Capt. asked.
“Yes Sir! I am prepped for the assignment and ready to leave.”Wes replied.
“Your orders come straight from Commander Stein, and are for your eyes only. You have been given this unlife for a purpose. Now you will give that unlife for the cause.” The Capt. spat.
“Yes, sir, I will fight until the Harbringer is dead and so are all of the others. They are the enemy and my orders are clear. Thank you sir, we shall shed no blood and draw only pain, sir.” Wes retorted.

A warehouse on the docks
“Jarvis, is he ready yet?”Stein said.
“He should be, Master Stein.” Jarvis said.
“Wake him and make it ready. The Harbringer is to die this night or you will die.”
“But master, the storm is going to make it hard ........” Jarvis was cut off in mid sentence.
“The storm is of a grand scheme, and greater design than you know. The others will be here in just a few minutes. Make him ready. I will return to the Mainland and await your progress report.” he said as he left the room.

“Yes Master, your will is my command.” with that, Jarvis set about waking the sleeping Shawn and setting the preporations for the timer.

“There, you have 3 hours and then your time is over. So make the most of it.” Jarvis said to Shawn.

[ 11-08-2002, 09:50 PM: Message edited by: Grimm ]

If it isn't one thing, it's another, Dirk thought to himself as he was pulled up from the ground. His elbow came back and connected with the bridge of Delvin's nose. In the shock, the PSI-Unit member let go of the gunslinger who tumbled to the ground.

Dirk returned to his feet as a surprised Delvin landed in front of him, exaiming the blood that was now collected in his hand. "I do not understand, citizen. I am here to rescue you."

"You're here to piss me off," Dirk replied. "And you're doing an A-1 job of it too. Shouldn't you be out sellin' cookies or something?"

"I am with the La Perdita PSI-Unit. We are protecting the citizens of this island from the powerful hurricane. The PSI-Unit is La Perdita's main line of defense in these matters. I must insist that you cooperate."

"Listen here, Sunshine, I'm not cooperating with a damn thing. It just isn't in me. I was doing just fine before you decided to play hero. You want to be of some help? Go back to your tee-pee, put on your jammies, say good-night to John Boy, and leave this to those of us actually doing something." He turned to walk back to his duty.

"Citizen, I...." Delvin shouted after Dirk in an attempt to regain the superhero image that he had had before.

"Damnit!" Dirk cried out as he turned back around. "If you're psychic like you claim, then you know that you're about three seconds from having my boot up your ass." His concentration left the psychic teen. Something from beyond their area had caught his eye.

"I must insist....," Delvin tried to continue before Dirk began to hold his hand up to silence the youth. ".... I insist that you.......... I insist that you accompany me to the nearest shelt...."

"Would you shut the fuck up!" Dirk finally yelled and then turned his gaze back towards the road behind Delvin. Several truck and cars passed by. The occupants looked armed and crazy. "Fan-fucking-tastic."

[ 11-08-2002, 11:12 PM: Message edited by: thedoctor ]

Grimm turned towards his teammates.

"Get inside, now."

"What's going on?" Tayden asked.

"Greem, thees is not going to be good." Blackwulf said, as the three made their way back inside.

As they got inside, the shut and barred the door and made their way down the basement level.

"We've got trouble, " Grimm said, not pausing.

"Yes, we know, the storm. . ." Dr. Quantos started before being cut off by Grimm.

"No, not the storm. We've got more pressing problems. Where's Euro?"

"I believe he's still out there in his ship, looking for stragglers." Quantos replied.

"Can you get in touch with him?"

"Yes, he seems to be able to pick up radio signals, though we're not sure how."

"Contact him. Tell him to round up the rest of the team and get back here asap. We're going to need a secondary line of defense. If worse comes to worse, we'll need that ship to evacuate these people."

Quantos made his way over to the to the radio and began attempting to contact the former Eurostar.

"What about the rest of us, mate?" Grissom asked, walking up, followed by Priest.

"You're Montag, right, the security expert?" Grimm asked.

"I am." He answered.

"Can you jury rig some defenses in case they get past us?"

"You mind telling me exactly who and what "they" are?"

"They are being vampires, comrade Montag." Blackwulf answered the man without a trace of his usual mirth in his voice.

Montag's eyes went wide at the notion of this.

"You're having me on."

"Nyet, comrade. I have had many dealings with these beings, most recently at a bar here in town. I am thinking they are now seeking revenge for what happened there."

Grimm turned to Priest. "You, you're with me and Wulf. We're going to be the first line of defense against these things. If we go down, it'll up to the to the others to get these people out of here."

Priest pulled out a large, futuristic rifle. "I'm ready."

"What about me?" Tayden asked.

"We need you in here, keeping these people calm like you did on the bus. You'll have to aid in evacuation if we can't stop them."

And with that, Grimm, Priest, and Blackwulf strode out the door and shut it behind them.

They looked at each other in silence for a moment, before turning their attention towards the large gathering several yards ahead of them.

Dark figures moved about, salivating in the cool air, winds whipping past them, seemingly unnoticed.

Grimm pulled his axe from out of his scabbard, and turn it in his hands. It tingled lightly with a blue glow.

Blackwulf cracked his knuckles on both hands, and glared at the horde.

Priest cocked his rifle and and readied another futuristic weapon.

A figure stood at the front of the crowd and began to speak.

"So! This is what stands against us! Three humans. Cattle! Barely worth the effort it will take to kill you all. Well, then step right up, "gentlemen"," There was a sarcastic lilt to his voice, it was the former clerk, now an agent of Stein.

"Who will be the first to pay in blood?" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly, a shout rang out. Wes screamed in pain and anger as a bullet flew past his face and shattered his left ear.

"Who dares?" he hissed. . .

"I'm your huckleberry." came a voice from off to the side.

He turned in the direction of the voice and saw Dirk Bell, guns drawn, one smoking. The PSI-Unit member Devlin, standing behind him.

And at that moment: all hell broke loose.

"Bloody hell..." Grissom muttered to himself as he stripped a wire with his incisors and crossed it with another. His six bare fingers moved deftly around his makeshift workbench as he tried his utmost to figure out a securty device.

He had nothing to fight a buttload of vampires offensively. All the wood in the shelter was being used for other purposes - chairs, benches, and the like - which meant no stakes. Garlic was a perishable substance and, seeing as how it'd been left upstairs, it had probably perished by now. Grissom wore a small gold cross around his neck. He was sure it'd protect him, but his own safety was not at issue here.

It was the safety of the other people in the shelter - predominantly civilian lives. The new guy had been pretty good at keeping everyone but Griss and Quantos from panicking. Hell, the way they were smiling, it was almost like they didn't even know where they were.

Grissom Montag placed the cover on a small metal box that had, at one time, been a standard security system control box. Attatched to the box was a long, thick cable that wound itself to the other side of the box in a loop. On the loop were several black market-level laser emitters and receivers - presents that Montag had picked up on one of his early mercenary adventures. He'd been waiting a while to use them... and now seemed as good a time as any.

Now to test it...

Montag laid the security device out on the table and carefully aligned the emitters with the receivers. If this thing didn't time right, as soon as this thing got turned on, there'd be disaster, that's for sure. Pressing the old code for the security system, Montage watched as the laser generators hummed with life and shot out a dense webbed pattern of red laser beams, which intersected and crackled with energy.

Montag smiled as he picked up a small piece of cloth and dropped it onto the laser array. A quick fizzle later and the cloth had been completely burned up. Griss' smile grew. This was gonna work perfectly.

After a few minutes, Grissom had successfully rigged up the laser array and taught Doc Quantos to operate it.

"Why are you teaching me this, Grissom?" Quantos asked nervously when Griss had given him the operating codes.

"Well, my work in here is finished, so I was thinkin' 'bout headin' on out to help in that fight outside," the Englishman said, nodding his head toward the door. "I'm pretty handy in a scrap, although, I've never really fought a vampire before..." Grissom paused as he scratched his five o'clock shadow, making a scratching sound as his dry hands met his hard stubble.

"Could be fun," he said finally, pulling one of his firearms from his belt and handing it to Quantos. "You might be needing this..."

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Quantos asked, eying the gun nervously.

"Think of it as Contingency Plan A..." Montag said with a wink, pulling his small pack onto his back and latching his pocketed belt to his waist. "If that array goes down, you and that gun are the only hope for these people."

"I'm a man of science," Quantos began insistenly. "I don't take much stock in myths like 'vampires', but, just to say that these legends are true, what good is a gun going to do against a vampire?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I encase all my bullets in silver..." Montag said with a smirk.

"I thought that was werewolves..." Quantos said pensively.

"It is," Grissom said, raising his eyebrows, "but you never know when one person's weakness will work on someone else's..."

"Well, I'm reassured..." Quantos muttered sarcastically.

Grissom surveyed the area once more before he left, looking for anything that might be of use.

That's when he saw it.

"What's that doing here?" Montag said, pointing to metallic object laying next to one of the survivors.

"He must have brought it with him from the bus that just arrived," Quantos said, sliding the gun into his pants and walking back over to Grissom's computer relay. "Why?"

"It's just the thing to protect this room from the outside..." Griss said with a smile. Jogging over, he hefted the item into his hands and jogged back to the door.

"Well, Doc," Grissom said, pulling his unkept hair away from is face, "here goes nothing. Don't forget to activate the lasers when I leave..."

"You're a good man, Montag," Quantos said, giving the Englishman a mock salute. "Good luck."

"You too, Doc."

Outside the shelter, the storm raged on in more ways than one. The rain stung as Grissom slammed the shelter doors. Rather than using a chain to bolt them shut, as Grimm had thankfully been too preoccupied to do earlier, Griss turned to the metal object he'd found - a tire iron.

"Looks like a cross to me," he said quietly, turning it in his hands. He then shoved the ends of the tire iron through the door handles on the shelter door, locking it from the outside.

Then, pulling his gun from his shoulder holster and his knife from his boot, Grissom Montag turned around and surveyed the scene of the battleground.

Grimm was doing a good job, lobbing off vampire heads with his axe. The guy known as Blackwulf grinned as he cracked skulls together. The energy that Priest had been siphoning from the old generator had made quick work of more than a few of the attackers. The gunslinger and the kid also had done a fair share of damage.

...but the attackers still came in droves...

Popping his neck, Grissom cocked his gun on his leg, spun his knife in his hands, and leapt into the fray.

This was gonna be fun...

The ground was soaked with rain and blood. It seems like an endless charge kept coming at them. The bulk of the onslaught was going towards the building where Grimm and the two new guys were. Someone else came out from the building. Yet another new guy.

Dirk was using his guns to hold back the opposition. Bullets didnt' seem to do much more than slow them down and piss them off. Delvin was using his powers to knock them back, but the vampires kept getting up and charging again. Dirk dropped his empty guns into the mud and unsheathed his sword from under his coat. "It's time you started doing something destructive," he yelled back at the young psychic.

"What do you mean?" He saw the look on Dirk's face. "No. I can't do that. I can't......... KILL. That's wrong. I must triumph using other means."

Dirk saw the charge getting closer. "Damnit! They're already dead! Besides, if you don't kill them, they'll kill you. Plain and simple." The blade of his sword started to connect with the bodies of the legion of the undead. Bodies fell around Dirk while Delvin continued to psychically push the vampires back.

As the tally of the fallen undead raised, Dirk felt one of them tackle him. The slid down a steep enbankment. Dirk recognized the face. It was the jackass that he had shot earlier. The one with the big mouth. "Damn you're and ugly fucker." The two struggled as the storm and siege continued on.

Delvin now found himself the focus of the vampire attack. The number was too many for him to simply keep pushing away. The kept getting closer and closer. As he tried to protect himself with a bubble of psychic energy, the nearest vampires increased their speed and showed their desire to kill. His bubble was weakening, and the attack was getting stronger. Without any other choice, Delvin forces the brick wall of a nearby building that was barely standing fall onto the majority of his attackers. Some of the bodies were only half way trapped underneath the rubble and tried to clay their way through the mud and out from under it. Though most of them were taken care of, the attacking vampires still threatened his young life.

Dirk was learing two things about vampires. They were very stong, and they had apparently lost all feeling in their crotches. Wes, having pined Dirk against the ground, decided to go in for the big bite. As his fangs came close to the gunslinger's flesh, he heard a clicking sound and saw a knife slide out from underneath the man's sleeve. The blade scraped across the vampire's right eye.

Clutching his eye, Wes stood up and turned to take his revenge on the mortal. He was greeted with a 2x4 to the face, yet he did not go down. Another smack to the face was followed by a third. Wes felt blood flowing from his mouth and felt with his fingers. "My fangs! You broke my fangs!"

"That ain't all I'm gonna break, Count Fucknut," said Dirk as he slammed the board into the vampire's face one last time causing him to fall. Dirk took out two more pistols and riddled each leg with bullets, making them immobile. "Try and stand on those and they'll snap like twigs under you."

"You'll pay for this," Wes said as expected.

"Do yourself a favor. Get new material," the gunslinger said as he dropped an grenade onto the vampire and jumped behind a hill. Flames erupted from the small sphere and engulfed Wes's body. The vampire cried out in pain as his body burned. At that moment, he had a wish that he never though he'd ever had. Wes wished that he was mopping the floors of Jerry's Food Mart at three in the morning.

Allthough small, the airport at La Perdita still had the dignity to have a even smaller hotel called, La Perdita Paradiso.
It´s thin structure had by some miracle been saved from the onslaught of the weird weather.

Four people resided in one of the rooms.
They were still debating about their ability to help the poor people outside.
The elder man put his fist down and looked at the older woman and the children.
"We have to get out there and help them, we have the abilities, so why shouldn´t we?"
The woman sighed; "You know why...when our prey comes back, we will need all our power to contain him."
"I thought you said he would be one of the good guys."
"Usually yes, but consider for a minute what he´s composed of; An angel, a demon, a being from outside of this reality, a otherdimensional alchemist and a young boy. He is unstable at best. We have to help him regain his original psyche. Or we will all be lost."
The two children looked at them with worried eyes...
*****

Ameristar regained her wits and saw that the people of the house she had crashed into were taking care of the girl, and so she stood up relaxed and happy that her first attempt at living like the MBL people was a success. A lot different than she was used to.
Here she would be doing her work openly...not hunting Georgios in the dark or men in cloacs living underground.
Her thoughts were interupted as she looked out the window and saw the light from a small boat house as the door opened and a group of people came outside.
She recognized the girl immediatly...Maria!!!
Without hesitation she drew her two guns and teleported just eight feet in front of her.
"Okay people freeze! Put your hands were I can see them!"

Chance was getting irritated, now what? This group seemed more like a mafia than anything else...and who was this girl trying to be?

Ameristar saw the check in Chance´s hand.
"Aren´t you a member of the MBL Inc.? So this is how you define loyalty? By taking money from the enemy to be their little spy eh?"

[ 11-10-2002, 01:03 PM: Message edited by: T5 ]

Vampires?

Why should I marvel?

I have been attacked by a bigfoot, something like a werewolf lives some levels below me, and another of my teammates is a living grim reaper.

Why wonder?

One minute ago, the voice of Doc Quantos came out of nowhere inside the UFO, asking me to check for the rest of the members, being them Danny, Mxy, Phil and Chance, catch them and come back to the complex, that is under attack from vampires.

Right now that I am without feathers.

Funny tough. What use would be feathers with vampires?

On the multipurpose screen in front of me, a reading shines: it’s Chance, near a little house boat that seems to have no trouble amid this hurricane.

Just like my saucer…

Beam him up, UFO.

Just when the beam goes down, the reading double. Someone is connecting with Kris, maybe he’s holding his hand or…

“Euro!”

“Jackie?!”

Beside Chance, still with her hand over his arm, stands Jackie, the girl I met over a train in the desert, when I was travelling with Turner across America, and that I briefly saw a few days ago in Paris, at the old man home. What she’s doing here?

“Euro, this man is betraying your team!” she shouts, pointing at my Swedish friend.

“Miss, you are doing a great mistake calling me that way” he replies.

Oh, good, more arguments. Just what we need now.

“Hold on, people. We have a situation at the complex. Let’s save the discussion for later.”

How I am speaking? Straight out an old spaghetti-western.

“There are vampires attacking the complex, taking advantage of the lack of sunlight. It seems they have to do with Wulf and what went up in the bar, yesterday. Danny, Mxy and Phil seems unreachable, we must return there right now.

“Vampire!” shouts Chance, very surprised. Jackie seems not amazed by the revelation. But the scientist regains his coolness in a moment: “We need wood to fight them. Fly to the pluvial forest, quick!”
Now the UFO hovers over the trees. Jackie, or Ameristar, like she want to be called, has swelled a tree and is braking it apart, to create spikes, thanks to her resourceful armour. I am the commands, and Chance is behind me, looking outside.

“You seems troubled, Kris. Yesterday, on the flight to Paris, you seemed happier. I don’t know how to say… very positive, maybe. Your face was like I never saw on people at last in the last months. Is the hurricane you are worrying about?”

He turns toward me. “You are an acute observer. No, it’s not the hurricane. It’s… more. It’s this universe. It seems the same compared to the one where I come from. But only superficially. I have talked with Quantos, I have looked at his files about your team, since the beginning. I don’t like this place.”

“Well, it’s not an easy world to live, especially for metas like us. But you are the luckiest man on Earth, you should be happy!”

“No. It’s all wrong. I have been here only a few days… but it’s always dark, there are shadows everywhere. In my Universe, the colours were… deeper and brighter. Things here seem more… complicated. Lies everywhere, governments acting like villains, norms hating metas…”

“Wait wait wait. Where do you come from the metas are not discriminated?”

“No. Not at all. Thanks to you, mostly.”

“What? How?”

“It’s simple. It was when the metagene was discovered and you were revealed to be a metahuman…”

“And the Olympic Committee asked me to surrender my records and medals…”

“No, Ed. Not where I come from. There, you spontaneously renounced to your medals, before the Committee could ask”.

What! I renounced to my medals… to my life… by my own free will? No way! But… it makes sense… it’s what I would do… now.

“Kris, what happened next?”

“Well, it made sensation. The media were with you. You became the voice of the metahumans. People that lived hiding their powers went out. You left the sport stardom, to study ans to become a lawyer, and then went to America to found the MBL. The Metahuman Board of Legitimation. It was founded by Malvan X, and you worked closely with Quantos to study the potential of the metagene.
When America, and shortly after most of the Earth nations, produced appropriate laws to secure rights for the metagene carrying people, you felt you did your part, and was about to retire when the incident in Mandelovia happened.”

“The meteor?”

“The meteor. Just, it was a true meteor, there. And you died, plain and simple. We found the body. But Malvan X was nevertheless destroyed. I was there those days. Quantos was one of the few survivors of the fall, he had a little, neat idea and asked me to join. We bought this… that… complex in La Perdita and created MBL Consulting, calling it in honour of your previous creation…”

“I understand why you seems confused. That’s the paradise, and here’s Hell.”

“No, it’s not Paradise. But surely things are easier. There is good and there is bad. There is white and there is black. Here all seems grey. Quantos has talked me about the EPS. I can’t think of a team like that in my world.”

A world without Walker.

A Paradise indeed.

“Beam me up, big potato!” shouts Ameristar.

Big potato? Where I did hear someone calling me like that? Patatone… it was Italian… the dream I had before, when I was caught in the hurricane… what kind of connection…

“Do you think they are enough?” asks Ameristar, with an armful of wooden spikes.

Chance takes one, balances it in his hands and smile.

Time to go.

MBL, we are coming!

A crowd of people had formed at the edge of the natives' shantytown. Most of them weren't lucky enough to have been rescued by the MBL and were seeking shelter among the penniless - and currently equally vulnerable - natives. They figured they were relatively safe, a bit higher in elevation than before, as the village was nestled a third of the way up the slope of the volcano. But nobody could be sure how long their luck would hold out.

"MOVE!!!"

The crowd parted like a seven-ten split on a Friday night at the alley. An ancient army-surplus Jeep roared through the break in the crowd, with a dazed yet determined Phil Smith at the wheel. An enraged Ton Ton was almost keeping pace, spitting his fury in a stream of imprecations in his native tongue. Phil couldn't get the damned Jeep past 20 on the formerly dirt road, which was now nothing more than a really long mud puddle. But he knew for sure he wasn't going to make it on foot. And he had to find the others.

Because he knew they were in trouble.

The blinding rain was making driving nearly impossible, but Phil - still bleeding and battered from the hammering the waves had dealt him - was hellbent on finding the rest of the MBL.

As if mocking him, the headlights died, plunging Phil into a near-black night, with an enraged native hot on his heels and an uncertain fate ahead of him.

Dirk heard the cries of pain and felt satisfied with what had been done.
“Dumbass ugly fellow, fangs and all, man, this is gonna be fun.” he said to himself.
“I love the smell of burnt flesh in the afternoon.” the gunslinger said as he turned to where the charred ashes should have been.
Using that time old Bell catchphrase he uttered “What the fuck?”Where he thought the corpse should have been was standing a very live, naked,and pale vampire.

“You have the wrong type, I like fire. It keeps me warm in the chill of the night. If you want to kill me, you have to try harder, think faster, be stronger, the cries of pain were for my clothes. I loved that shirt and now your flesh is going to replace it.”
The Pale said as he began to move like a blue streak.
“We are faster and stronger than you ever thought of being. We are more than a match for you, we are more than a match for the Harrbringer, we are invincible and we are.....” the voice of the Pale went silent as the hand of the great Russian wrapped around it, choking the words from it and sending it into a frenzy.
“Comrade Bell, you are having a party with a Pale and not inviting the rest of us?” Blackwulf said as sarcasticly as he could.
“Something like that.” was the only thing the gunslinger could get out of his mouth.before he witnessed Wulf crush the life from the eyes of the Pale and drop him.
“Is he dead this time?”
“I am being not so sure. They are being harder to kill than the regular flesh types and are having no body heat. They are called Pales.” Wulf said as the Pale melted into the ground and disappeared.
“Comrade, I am needing a good word for explaining this situation .... and it is being ‘Aw, fuck!’ I am thinking he is getting away.”
“Let us be helping Greem to push the others back.”
“I need more fire power then!” Dirk said.
“You fall back and be getting what you are needing and I will help push the brunt back.”
With that the gunslinger headed for his weapons cache.

Moving with a speed that was unknown to the size and shape of the Big Russian he arrived at the front line just in time to see Devlin’s psychic encasement fail, and the mob that had laid seige to him take the young PSI member. The cries of pain will echo forever in the walls of the MBL for the one that fell.

[ 11-12-2002, 12:21 AM: Message edited by: Grimm ]

Tayden heard the cries from the outside.

"Listen" he said. "We are not invalids. Those men may be dying out there. I've seen these things before. For lack of a better way of putting it...they are corpses with demons inside. I know you have all heard the stories about how to defeat them but its not crosses or archaic symbols that keep them at bay.........its the faith in what they stand for......you just need to believe" Tayden smiled.
Just then someone in the crowd yells "they risk there lives for us, man.....its time to return the favor" Somone else follows suit "yeah lets do this"......."I'll bend my bow to your will sir!" Everyone just looks at that guy. "Come on I always wanted a reason to say it.....geez"

Tayden stood up and said "come with me"

[ 11-11-2002, 08:11 PM: Message edited by: Sonhaven ]

The crowd ran for the door, ready for action. The first wave ran and pushed against it. They were stopped dead in their tracks. The rest of the group rammed against them, not knowing that the door wouldn't open. "What is it?" one of the group asked. "The door," another answered, "it's locked." The group let out a collective sigh. Tayden felt that there were a few things that he was going to have to get used to.

Dirk was making his way back to his room and to his weapons cache. He didn't have much that would kill a vampire, but he had plenty that would make them think twice about messing with him.

As he searched his room, he noticed something. The tarp that he had put over the hole was flapping about. It was possible that the wind knocked it loose, but it would have made it completely come off. It was as though someone had put it back. "Oh, Christ! Give me a break," he said before another Vampire was making his way towards him.

With cat-like reflexes, he scoops up the Sonic rifle into his hands and lets off a blast. The vampire was pushed back through the hole and out over the surrounding buildings and back into the storm. "Anti-climactic, but effective." This had proven one thing, though. The attack wasn't helter skelter. Someone found a weak point and infiltrated it. That took planning. That took brains. The group he had handled so far didn't possess them. Someone, or something, else was behind this; and he/it had a purpose.

THE PSI UNIT

A family sedan sped along the suburban streets of La Perdita, skidding and speeding wildly out of control.

The car was being driven by one Timothy Jackson. His wife and young daughter were passengers. And he was driving through a hurricane.

Now, this is not something rational people do. Rational people do not get in their cars and drive across town to Aunt Betsy’s where the bomb shelter is because a storm has hit. Rational people know that to do so when the roads are being battered by pouring rain and howling winds is suicide.

Timothy Jackson was not currently a rational man.

His house was under attack. The island he called his home was under attack. And all he knew was, he had to get his wife and daughter to safety.

And here he was. Moments after leaving the driveway. Spinning out of control, about to run off the road and kill himself- and his family- by hurtling headlong into a bank of trees.

Timothy Jackson tried not to think about death. The car span in a full arc, it’s headlights illuminating the row of huge oak trees at the side of the road, one by one. As if the trees were each stepping into the spotlight, announcing their intentions to kill him.

Timothy closed his eyes. The sound was just as bad as the sight.

And suddenly… the car stopped. He opened his eyes.

His car was perfectly still. His wife looked terrified, and his daughter was crying, but the car had stopped and they were all alive.

He looked out the window, and noticed two people in black costumes floating above the road. They started down at the car.

The Psi Unit.

“Don’t worry!” One of them yelled, “We’re here to protect you!”

FRANK

Frank was an ordinary man. A businessman. He worked in one of the many offices contained in La Perdita’s landmark Royal Crown Tower. The tallest building on the island.

Frank heard all the commotion outside. The wind, the rain, the cracking of distant falling trees and crunching of much closer destruction. And he, like most of his co-workers, decided to stay in the building, rushing to the crowded basement floor. This, of course, seemed the logical thing to do.

In nineteen seventy-eight, when the Royal Crown Tower was built, the mayor of La Perdita was one Victor Swift. Victor Swift was a well regarded man. He kissed the right babies, shook the right hands, and the public loved him. To the residents of La Perdita, he was a well loved, well respected man.

He was also as crooked as a boomerang. The La Perditan government at the time was in bed with the mafia, who controlled all the island’s building works.

When the proposal for the Royal Crown Tower came through, it was Victor Swift himself who approved it’s construction. Victor Swift who, in order to keep his steady flow of kickbacks and mafia money coming into his hands, made sure the construction was done on the cheap.

The building’s girders were second rate. The concrete walls practically hollow.

For all the hoopla surrounding it’s construction, the Royal Crown Tower was never built to withstand the full force of a hurricane.

Of course, no one knew any of this. As far as the locals were concerned, the Royal Crown Tower was sturdy, strong, and well built. An architectural marvel.

Anyone who lived and worked in it was sure that it would protect them from the elements. The creaks and groans they now heard from the support structure were just natural sounds, they told themselves.

Frank huddled in the basement, hoping everything would be okay.

GRISSOM

The MBL’s security expert was currently in a tree.

Why was he in the tree? Vampires had chased him up there. There were currently three of them around the base of the tree.

At first glance, this may seem like something almost approaching an act of cowardice on Grissom’s part. Running from a fight.

But even an Englishman can have a plan.

Stretching just above the tree, between the MBL building and the powerlines on the outside street, was an electrical cable that supplied power to the building.

Of course, the power to the building was all but gone. They were running on generators. Still, Grissom hoped there may still be some electricity left in the live cable. It was a slim chance. But a chance, nonetheless.

What the vampires didn’t think was important right now was that it had been raining for some time now. And they were standing in a puddle of water.

Grissom sat in his tree. And removed a knife from his pants. Climbing to the top branch, he reached up, and sliced the power cable. It fell, the exposed end striking the ground right in the centre of the puddle.

Sparks flew. Vampires fell. Grissom smiled.

“Tossers,” He said, as he jumped out of the tree.

QUANTOS

Henry looked down.

A women lay stretched out, a bloody bandaged wrapped around her head.

She wasn’t going to make it.

He cried.

DANNY AND MXY

Danny stood in the room Mxy had constructed for him. It was perfectly normal, which was strange for Mxy. Almost as if he was trying too hard to make Danny feel comfortable.

Mxy hovered a few feet in front of him.

“Why?” Mxy asked.

“Because…”

“Because why?”

“The world has been made a certain way. By nature, or god, or whatever. We may not like it, but that’s how it is, and to come barging in with fifth dimensional magic and remake it how you[ like it… that’s not right.”

“It would be better!”

“It would be what you think is better. That’s nobody’s decision to make.”

Mxy floated to the floor, so that he was standing face to face with Danny. An expression of regret and confusion crossed Mxy’s face.

”I only want to help.”

Danny looked into Mxy’s eyes. They were the colour of hope. Universes lived and died inside those eyes.

And they really did only want to help.

“We can help. We can use our gifts. We can bend the rules every now and then… we just can’t break them completely.”

Mxy looked throughtful.

”Let’s do that!”

“Now Mxy, can you get us back to our friends?”

”Yes! I can! Right now!”

“Great. Because nature’s arse needs a kickin’, and I know just the team to do it.”

Outside

Things had gotten worse. Vampires, creatures of the night had stormed the outside of the Complex.

Blood was flowing down the street. A river of crimson deeping in color as the seconds passed.

Priest's white shirt was stained with blood. He wiped his face as another creature jumped at him. Catching the creature by its neck, Priest tightened his fists. Priest moved one hand up onto the creature's head. With one swift pull, the creature was in two.

Priest had lost his weapons in the struggle. There were just too many of the creatures.

He heard a click and quickly turned. One of the creatures had his weapon. He smerked as the creature pressed the trigger. A blade flew out of the handle taking off the vamp's hand. The creature staggered back.

Priest picked up the weapon.

"Energy pulse, 70%"

Priest turned the weapon on himself and fired. He grinned his teeth at first because of the pain. Dropping his weapon, his body mass incresased by 100%. With a grin, he towered over the create. He lifted the vampire off the ground and pounded him into the ground until there wasn't enough of the creature to regenerate. Rage was over taking the usual peaceful man.

A rumble filled the air. With out notice, jeep hit him and both went crashing into the brick wall of the complex.



The words "I will do what I must." echoed in the man's head.



Smoke rised from the wreckage and a hand broke through. Priest pulled his body out of the rubble. He was hurt, but knew that he must fight on.

And suddenly out of the blue (errrr grey) the magificent UFO hovered over the HQ, and the herioc shout "MBL Assemble!!" was heard and Eurostar, Ameristar and Chance appeared from within and threw themselves into the fray of battle.

Chance saw two vampires actually staking each other by mistake and laughed.
Eurostar helped Priest with a vampire that tried to kiss his neck.
Ameristar armed with hammers and stakes went forth and started to turn the tide...and Ameristar wondered "Where did these creatures come from?"

[ 11-17-2002, 02:04 AM: Message edited by: T5 ]

Somewhere outside Puerto Mibela...

Despite the rage of the hurricane, the natural rock formations outside the city remain peaceful (as peaceful as they could be given the current situation).

Suddenly, the noise of rain and wind furiously hitting nature is disturbed by the sound of a cellphone coming from inside a cave.

"Hello...?" a voice says from inside the cave, followed by a yawn, after the cellphone rings a couple of times.

"Shirley! How are you, my dear?" the voice says, "Oh, no, don't worry about me, I'm safe where I am... But how about you? Where are you? Is that safe? Are you sure, honey? Okay, okay... So, is that boyfriend of yours with you there? He's not? Well, if that's... Honey? Shirley? Hello?"

No noises come from the cave for a moment.

Meanwhile, in the basement under the complex...

"Shit," Shirley says.

"What happened?" Kit asks.

"I was talking to my uncle Otto over the phone and the connection broke... I hate to leave him worrying like that... Poor uncle Otto, he's gonna think the building fell on me or something..."

"Ah, it's pretty common that the phones don't work well during natural disasters," Kit says, "I bet he knows that's what happened"

Back on the cave, the sound of a motor starting is heard. Soon a car comes speeding out of the cave. Inside it, Shirley's uncle Otto (a half bear-half human meta) yells "I'M GONNA SAVE YOU, SHIRLEY!"

Grimm had an axe. He liked his axe. It had served him well. And right now, he was running with the theory that a good decapitation was a solid solution to most any problem. He swung, and connected. With a squelchy sort of sound, a head fell to the ground and landed half-submerged in mud. The body followed a split second after.

“GRIMM! BEHIND YOU!” He heard a voice from behind yell. He spun around, to find Edulcore pointing to a vamp that had tried to sneak up on him. Grimm ducked the vamp’s first attempt at a punch, narrowly missing being struck by the powerful fist. He stood back up, and headbutted the vamp right in the nose. The creature stumbled backwards, and landed in the waiting arms of The Raptor.

Edulcore ran a clawlike finger across the vamp’s jugular, spilling blood. Just to be sure, he snapped it’s neck, and threw the body to the ground.

“Nicely done,” Grimm said.

“Can we be sure it’s dead?”

“Hard to say…”

Grimm was slightly startled as he realised that a hail of bullets passed between him and Ed. He turned his head to find Dirk with his machine gun raised.

Dirk ran in between Ed and Grimm, gun raised. Standing on the other side of his two team mates was one of the vamps. He pushed Ed aside, and leapt at it. He came down on top of the thing, and pressed the tip of the gun to it’s eyesocket. The first round of gunfire to the chest hadn’t quite finished the creature off. He hoped this would do the trick. Or at least slow it down.

He pulled the trigger. The vampire’s skull cavity filled with bullets. It’s brain turned to soup.

It’s arms still flailed wildly about.

“…the fuck?” Dirk said softly.

But what was disturbing him even more than the still-moving vampire was the very situation he found himself in. It was a hurricane. He was in the middle of a Pacific Island hurricane.

He should even be able to stand up straight, let along wage a battle against the undead.

The pounding wind and rain should make it impossible for the team to even be outside. He wondered exactly how the hell all this was happening.

On the third floor balcony of the team’s building, there sat Stefano of the Psi Unit. The fifteen year old telekinetic hero was huddled in the corner, looking down at the battle below. The battle where the small band of metas was fighting the horde of vampires, and being greatly outnumbered. But still, they fought. Stefano didn’t really know these metas. And he wasn’t sure he entirely trusted them. But right now, they were fighting to save the lives of innocent civilians in the basement. He had to help them. He poured all his energy into creating a telekinetic bubble around the area of battle, a few hundred metres around the front of the building.

He knew that although some wind and rain got through his bubble, their strength was greatly reduced, and that would have to do.

He knew that if the full force of the hurricane broke through, the heroes didn’t stand a chance. They’d be dead before they could get to safety.

He also knew that he couldn’t keep this up for much longer. Already he felt his power waning. His body and mind growing weary. He wished someone was here to help him. He wished Daniela was here.

Dirk didn’t know any of this. He had to be content wondering why the hurricane hadn’t killed him, and keep on fighting. He was currently sitting on top of a dead vamp. At least, he hoped it was dead. It was the one he’d just turned into a bullet-ridden corpse.

“You’re a pretty good shot, aren’t you?” Dirk heard someone say. He turned to find Priest addressing him.

“Yeah…”

“Take this. Go to the first floor balcony. Count to ten. Shoot me,” Priest said, handing Dirk a gun.

“What?”

“It’s an energy pulse. It will charge me up. It’s set to eighty percent. It’ll hurt like hell, but I’ll be able to take out a bunch of these bastards. Go. Now.”

“Right,” Dirk said, and ran to the drainage pipe that led up the side of the building. He jumped at it, and began to climb. Priest was smart, Dirk thought. An elevated position, away from the enemy. A clear shot. No one jumping him while he tried to fire.

Grissom wondered exactly why the hell Dirk was climbing up the side of the building. But had little time for such concerns as he noticed one of the creatures running towards the drain pipe, obviously intending to cut Dirk off before he could reach his target.

By quite the stroke of luck, Dirk’s weapon’s bag slipped off his shoulder as he climbed, and fell to the floor. Of course, Dirk didn’t find this quite so lucky. Grissom dived for the bag, and pulled out a small explosive. The vamp was right above him, clinging to the drain pipe, inches below Dirk. As it reached out to grab him, it felt a hand in his pants. Before any perverted thoughts could go through it’s brain, it looked down and noticed Grissom.

Grissom looked up at it.

“Sod off,” He said, and kicked the vamp in the chest, using the pipe to push himself up. The vamp fell backwards, landing on two more of them. A third went to help it up.

Grissom dived in the other direction, covering his ears. He noticed pieces of vamp flesh falling to the floor around him. He smiled.

Chance watched the explosion rip four vampires apart. And he realised that he probably would have been caught in the blast, had he not slipped in the mud and gone falling down an embankment, out of the line of fire.

“Lucky…” He said to himself.

“Well the luck stops here!” A vampire yelled, jumping towards him. The creature threw a punch at Chance, who never got an opportunity to move out of the way. The punch connected… and Chance stood his ground, unfazed. The vampire, however, was thrown backwards.

“A useful power,” Ameristar said, “But do you need a hand here?”

“I’ll be fine. Go watch the door,” Chance replied.

Ameristar looked over at the door to the basement, where a couple of vampires were standing, banging at it and trying to get it unlocked. She sprinted towards it, slipping in the mud a couple of times but never losing sight of the goal. Diving at one of the creatures, she drove the stake deep into it’s chest. The other lunged at her, and she fell to the ground, slipping between it’s legs. It turned, and leaned over her. It bent down to grab her neck… and she thrust another stake into it’s heart. Leaning back, she pushed it right in with her foot. It collapsed on top of her.

Blackwulf picked up the body, tossing it aside. He extended a hand, helping Ameristar up.

“You are new here, yes?”

“Yes…” Ameristar replied.

“Well, if you are here to help, you are welcome, Comrade!”

She smiled. But gratitude turned to confusion as she realised that Blackwulk was picking up the bodies of the two vamps she had just staked, and dragging them to a pile in the garden.

“…what are you doing?” She said, following after him.

“Is sometimes being hard to tell when pales are really dead. So I am being piling them up, and destroying them with Comrade Dirk’s explosives. Just to be sure. If they are in little pieces, they are not regenerating. Hopefully,” Blackwulf explained.

Ameristar thought this explanation sounded fair enough. Right as she thought she heard someone yell out, “TEN!”

She turned to the source of the yell, and noticed someone on the first floor balcony fire some sort of energy weapon at one of the metas.

Dirk shot the gun towards Priest, impressed at the weapon’s obvious power. It struck Priest right in the middle of his back. The energy was quickly absorbed.

Priest’s body mass grew until he dwarved the vamp in front of him.

“Hello down there,” He said, as he wrapped a hand around the vampire’s skull and squeezed.

Meanwhile, on the third floor balcony, Stefano was losing consciousness. He’d done all he could… but still he couldn’t hold on. The storm would break through his shield. And all would be lost. His eyelids grew heavy. He was about to pass out.

Unnoticed by any of the combatants below, a doorway opened up in the sky above the battle. Out stepped Danny and Mxy, protected from the elements and held aloft by a force field of Mxy’s will.

“We need to help them…”

”We can do that!”

“How is the storm not killing them?”

”I think it’s telekinetic! I can feel it…”

Phil, perhaps. Or one of the Psi Unit, Danny thought.

“If the TK fails, the rain and wind will kill them…”

”I can stop the rain. I can stop the wind. I can stop the storm!”

“Wait. Remember what we talked about. If you change an entire weather pattern, what consequences will that have elsewhere? We can bend the rules. We can’t break them.”

”…bend?”

“Yeah.”

At that moment, Stefano passed out. His telekinetic shield failed. The team was exposed to the full fury of the storm. Rain pelted them. The wind whipped up.

And they felt it. Everyone on the ground then thought they would die. When, suddenly… the rain bent. The wind bent. Right above the area of battle, and extending out for a few hundred metres, the rain and wind suddenly took a sharp turn from it’s normal downward direction and flew sideways, out into the evacuated, empty areas of the city.

”Bend!” Mxy yelled.

Danny smiled, and shook his head.

“Nicely done. Now, let’s get down there.”