"Don't worry, Disco. The rest will make sense later, I'm sure..."
At that, a door whisks open, revealing a bearded man in the dress of an MBL lieutenant. His gun was drawn, aimed directly at Danny Davis' head.
"FREEZE! MBL!" the man said. Startled, both men at the table jumped up. Davis raised his hands above his head in surrender as Walker merely turned his head and began to chuckle.
Davis looked at the Indestructible Man in confusion. "What's going on here, Patrick?" he asked, his hands trembling slightly.
"Daniel Davis, meet Redros, formerly 'Fluffy' of TOMB..." Walker said, a smirk running across his features. Davis dropped his hands and cocked his head slightly to the right in confusion as the large soldier laughed, removing his helmet and lowering his weapon.
"Nice to finally meet the great Disco Steve," Redros said, extending his arm to the younger man.
"I thought you were a dog," Davis said in momentary confusion.
"Bite me," Redros said in mock frustration.
"Isn't that your job, Fido?" Davis responded with a grin. Redros punched Davis in the arm playfully, then turned to Patrick, who greeted him with a brotherly embrace.
"Long time no see, old timer," the former Smasher said as the two men pulled away.
"Yeah, well, I told you I wouldn't be back until I found him, so..."
"You've done it, then?" Walker asked, getting a bit excited. "Where is he?"
"Upstairs," Redros answered, nodding his head upward.
"Can I meet him?" Walker asked.
"He's looking forward to it, I'm sure..."
Walker smiled and patted his old friend on the back.
"What letter are we up to these days?" Redros asked as Davis began to walk out of the room.
"'K', I believe," Walker said over his shoulder.
Redros chuckled. "Well, at least we're not easily defeated..." he whispered to Davis, who was now walking beside him.
"You can say that again," the former Disco Steve whispered back.
Meanwhile...
The first subbasement of the Eurocave had been converted to member operations and machinery stations, spreading almost the entire width of the camp. A small segment in the middle was designated as the MBL museum, containing bits of paraphernalia from past adventures of both the MBL and TOMB.
Harrison Owens had found himself lost in the small room, eagerly looking over the many trinkets and exhibits on display. The item he found most intruiguing was a disembodied metal hand, which was battered, dented, and a bit rusted. A small plague below read The mechanical hand of Arnold "Bibbo" Bibbowski, who lead both TOMB and the League until his death at the hands of Shock Headed Peter.
However, it wasn't the hand itself that caused Harrison to be so engrossed with it, but rather, the small platinum ring attatched to it. There existed on the ring a small stone, which gleamed magnificently behind the glass.
"It's all pretty impressive, no?" came a voice from behind. Harry whirled around, finding himself face to face with a beautiful young woman. She looked to be in her early twenties with short brown hair and a slight tan to her skin.
"Uh... yeah," Harry said, breaking into a smile. "Yeah, it is..."
"They said that the ring could summon objects from other Hyperboards..." the girl said, walking up alongside Harry, looking in awe at the mechanical hand.
"Really?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. "I hadn't heard that..."
"Well, it wasn't largely advertised," the girl said, smiling as she pulled a small whisp of hair behind her ear. "But, still, when you talk to people who are largely 'in the know' about these things, like my mom, for one..."
"Your mom?" Harrison asked, turning from the hand to the girl. "Who's your mother?"
"Oh, my name's Ariel Chase," the girl said, extending her hand. "My mom was Joanna Chase, also known as the Sunbird. She was on the League after the War..."
"With my mom!" Harry said, taking her hand in his own. "I'm Harrison Owens... my mom was Vidalia Owens - the Hybrid Onion!"
"Wow!" Ariel said, shaking his hand and smiling widely. "It's so great to meet you!"
"Likewise," Harrison said, smiling.
The click of bootheels approaching quickly caused the two to straighten and once again begin looking at random pieces of antiquity from about the room. Ariel found herself looking at a wedding cake top from an alternate timeline, while Harrison studied something called an "orgazminator".
Harrison turned as three men entered the room. One he recognized immediately, but the other two he'd never seen before. There was a man in a business suit, probably in his mid-thirties and another man with greying hair and a scar on the left side of his face. Familiar as they looked, Harrison had no clue who they were.
"Mr. Owens?" the tall grey-haired man asked, looking down at the smaller, black-haired journalist.
"Yes?" Owens said, raising his eyebrow.
The tall man extended his hand. "My name is Patrick Walker. I worked with your parents. This," Walker indicated the man in the suit, "is Daniel Davis, once known as Disco Steve. We'd like very much to talk to you..."
"Lead the way," Owens shrugged. Walker smiled and turned, walking out of the room. Owens filed in behind Davis and Redros, looking back at Ariel as he left. She smiled and waved as he left, then returned her attention to a plaque which had once been situated on the Mandelovian Palace...
