HEROES Chapter 2

When Grey leaped up into the tree and discharged his firearm, the cops all drew their weapons.

"Gun fire." Tyrone said into the radio on his collar. "Suspect is armed and dangerous."

"Drop the gun!" Ordered Jimmy. "Drop it now!"

Then the female officer moved ahead of the men as she recognized the signs of the syndrome the man suffered from. "Everyone hold your fire!" she told them. Then she spoke to the man in the tree while keeping him in her sights. "We don't want to harm you, but you have to drop your gun now or we will open fire." She explained to him, with deliberately slow words so that he might be able to understand what she was saying. "If you drop your gun and come with us peacefully, we can talk about 'Wrangler'. When was the last time you took your medication?"

The other officers kept their guns aimed directly at the deranged man. Each of them were questioning the dextrous leap he made and considering the fact that they may be dealing with a meta-human, so they were extra cautious, just in case this guy started shooting laser beams out of his eyes or something.

"F#$& you, I ain't doin' shit!" Grey shot back, then leaned back against the branch, the gun still dangling from his hand, and rubbed his eyes. It was getting harder and harder to stay conscious and his tics were becoming unbearable, several nearly knocking him out of the tree. Still, he ignored the woman's question and shouted back at them again. "You . . . you seen-- F#$@!-- Wrangler or . . . or not?!" he demanded. "Lookin' for someone and . . . chillin . . . ain't no crime! I ain't goin nowhere!" As he slowly moved to reposition himself, a violent tic shook the entire top half of him and he finally slipped, dropping the gun as he grabbed for the branch.

Grey's feet dangled for a moment before he managed to toss himself back up onto his branch. Looking down at the gun laying on the ground, he swore loudly and eyed the cops, considering making all of their guns quietly malfunction. He was always hesitant to use his powers around cops as it would, if connected to him, most highly risk exposing his true nature. Eyes fluttering, Grey moved onto a thicker part where several branches came together, making a kind of cradle and leaned in there. His stomach was churning, his vision blurred and swaying, and he could only hope he could get these damn pigs to leave him alone before he inevitably puked and passed out.

Tim, decided to top off the Hummers fuel tank as Morgan chaged. Always on the alert, an instict ingrained in him from his ntraing bot as a Navy Seal and as a police officer, Tim noticed the man hanging out by the restrooms. When he saw the man corner Morgan, pressing her to the wall. Tim left the fuel pump running and moved quickly and silently up behind the man, slipping a 40 Caliber semi automatic from the shoulder holster under his jacket as he approached. Placing the weapon to the side of the mans head, Tim said calmly "Ya best be listenin' ta me real close thar ya perveted scumbag, ifin' ya don't want yur head ta be air conditioned real permanat like. Ya put yur hands slowly on top of yur head and back away from the young lady real slow like. Then I reckon ya best be droppin' ta yur knees and cross yur ankles. ..... Now I have had a couple of real bad days mister, so I reckon it wuld be real smart of ya ifin' ya din't make any sudden moves." Tim then poked the muzzle of his weapon sharply against the side of the man's head. "Do it now." Tim said forcefully.

Sean had shifted to shadow and slipped out of the car with Tim. Hiding in Tim's shadow he waited to see what would happen next. He didn't want either of his new friends hurt. As Tim waited for the man to respond Sean moved over to the man's shadow. Should anything go wrong he was ready to act.

"Yur one lucky son oa a bitch, taday. Ifin' ya weren't Morgan's daddy I'd just shoot ya an make the world a better place. But ya are her daddy an I ain't gonna shoot ya taday. ..... I've seen Morgan's eys an seen what good she kin do. I'm right sure she din'y get that thar qaulity frum yur sorry ass. I here ta tell ya dirtbag, ifin' I see ya so much as mile near Morgan agin, I'll send yur ass right ta hell..........Comprenda?" having said that Tim wrapped the man sharply right behind his ear, knocking him cold. The man fell forward on his face.

Tim walked back to the Hummer and removed the fuel nozzel from the tank. He opened the back of the Hummer and rumaged thru a bag John had laid in the back. Tim took out two long nylon zip ties, walked over to the man laying prone on the ground, slipped a zip tie around his wrist, behind hi back and one around the man's ankles. Picking him up by the ankles, Tim drug him over to the front of the store, dropping his feet. Tim then walked in and up to mthe counter, reached in his back pocket and paid for the fuel. He said to the old man behind the counter as Tim quickly flashed his Gold Dallas Detective sheild and Identification so quickly the man did not have time to read it. "Thar's a pervert jus' out yur dar, that likes ta hang 'round bathrooms. I figure he likes little boys as well as little girls. he's hog tied real good so he won't be a bother ta ya. I reckon ya oughta call the police and hav' him hauled away. ......... Thank ya kindly sir."

Tim then walked calmly out the door as he passed the man lying on the ground, Tim gave him a swift kick in the ribs, hearing the bones snap. Then walked out to the Hummer, climbed in and drove north east into the rising sun.

When Grey dropped his gun the officer, Tyrone, holstered his side arm and drew a taser. "I have a clear shot." he alerted the others.

"Take him down." Growled Jimmy.

Tyrone aimed his weapon at the man as he began to sink into a mass of branches, like some primate ready to bed down for the night. "I'm taking the shot." announced the officer. He aimed and prepared to squeeze the trigger.




Back at the yet undisclosed military base...



Alarms echoed through the hallways of Detention Area Delta as all exits were sealed with iron blast doors designed to detain even the most heavily armed escapee. The area really only consisted of two long corridors, parallel to one another and all the cells in the aisle where Toril, Yelena and Cassius had been imprisoned were unoccupied. The reason being that Delta was a closed sector that Vacily utilized for his own personal agenda, but Shawn and Cassius had been moved to another sector; a separate facility on the other side of the base. Both of them were now, to the eyes of the military, terrorists and were being treated as such. Shawn was being kept in an induced coma and had been openly designated as a meta-human, thus the next day he would be transported to a R.A.I.D. detention centre and Cassius had been stripped down, given a pale grey coloured prisoner's uniform and thrown into solitary confinement under the name, John Doe.

From Toril's perspective the entire base was on high alert, when it was actually only their own detention area, still he leapt up on his bed once more and shouted at Cassius, "Hey! What's going on in there!"



Sara-Lynn Tessier, within her technologically secure chamber, awaited Yelena in the guise of Cassius to lead Zoe into the specific areas that were hot zones which would enable them to focus their weapon. Once she accomplished this easy task, Killswitch would be rendered unconscious and at their mercy.

Once Tim and Morgan are back in the Hummer Sean rises up from the shadows, becoming solid. He kneels in front of daddy dearest. "There was something he forgot to tell you. Come near her again and I will know and I will visit you again." He removes his sunglasses to reveal his bright white eyes and black pupils. "I will always know where you are. The Shadow is everywhere." He melts back into the man's shadow then quickly returns to the Hummer.

Tim glanced in the rearview mirror, into the back of the Hummer, "I'm a thankin ya too Sean." Tim said, then glanced over at Morgan "I 'pect he won't be troublin' ya 'gin with his lies, Morgan. He's gonna have lots 'a explainin ta do har shortly. That is aftr them folks back thar git done with him. 'spect they don't look kindly on ole men hangin round fillin' station bathrooms." Tim said as he reached up and turned the Hummer's radio on, pressed search and the morning news came on.

"Thar ya go talkin' crazy agin." Tim said. "I ain't droppin' ya off in no woods. Me an you ar pardners and Sean har has joined up with us. So he's a pardner too, I figur, and pardners don' leave pardners along side the road ta fend fur themselves. That's the way of it. So I don' wanna here no more of that Loco weed talk." Tim said " 'Sides ifin' and I'm sayin' ifin that crazy old man tries any shit with ya, He'll be steppin' inta a hornets nest like he ain't never seen." Tim then concentrated on on road

John McMannus hobbled over to his work bench where suspended over it was a flat screen TV, it's protective plastic covering splattered with grease and grime and a few phone numbers written with sharpies on the sides. He carefully placed the rear axle on two steel work horses, then grabbed his oversized novelty remote and turned up the volume so he could listen to the morning news. Searching around the bench he located his giant mug, a gift from John Jr. when he and his class went on a field trip to Washington State Park. On it was the classic 'still image' of Sasquatch from the famous, Patterson video and around was the caption, 'I SAW BIGFOOT, AND HE GAVE ME THIS MUG'. John wasn't too jazzed on the humour, but the fact that the kid thought of getting a mug to accommodate his oversized hand meant everything to John.

John grabbed the newspaper and spread it out over a work table beside him and what he saw on the front page made McMannus' rigid face flex into a scowl. There on the front page was a composite the bore the resemblance of Tim, under the head line, 'WRANGLER WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE', a pun on an old western style wanted poster, but John wasn't the least bit amused. He then heard Gloria Newcastle begin her report on the Wrangler, recapping the events of the man-hunt occurring across the state. She also went to comment on the strange occurrence of what could only be described as 'mass hallucination' that had occurred on the George Washington Bridge during a high speed chase that supposedly involved the Wrangler. "Several people said that it suddenly felt like they were moving underwater or through quicksand and suddenly they were unable to move. The event was only seconds long but in that time, the Wrangler who had been driving a late model mustang, eluded police and federal agents. Agent Richard Jameson, who was the federal officer involved in the first incident that occurred in the Battery Tunnel, would not provide comment." She reported.



McMannus watched the report, slowly shaking his head. "Tim, what have yuz gotten yurself into." He said to himself and it was at that moment that he saw a black crown vic, that stank of police pull up in front of one of the open bay doors.



Jameson turned off the car and stepped out, simultaneously with Henkel. "You sure about this place?" asked the senior agent.

"This is the address." Replied Jameson, taking his sunglasses off and scanning the area for any signs of a black, 1967 mustang. Then both of them tried to keep their jaws from dropping with the large meta-human limped into view, the gears of his mechanical leg echoing though the shop.

"Can I helps yuz guyz?" Asked McMannus, although he didn't sound the least helpful.

Henkel turned aside to his partner, "Now let me handle this." he whispered. He then approached the giant man confidently and produced his identification. "Special Agent Henkel and his is my partner, Special Agent Jameson. Are you John McMannus, meta-human registry number 185-3895TD8?"

Even John's stone face couldn't conceal his disdain for hearing his registration number read aloud, as if we were some prisoner in a concentration camp. "What yuz guyz want? I gotsa buzy day ahead of me."

"We would like to ask you a few questions if we can."

"Doez I have a choice?" Rumbled McMannus as took a sip of his coffee.

"Look we just need to ask you a few questions." Said Henkel innocently, as he pulled out a composite of the Wrangler and held it up for John. "Have you seen this man before?"

"Never seen 'em, now buzz off." Answered McMannus, and that's when Jameson could no longer tolerate his innocence and stepped of Henkel.

"You listen here, meta." Jameson growled, "How would you like to see the inside of detention centre?" Then to put a strong period at the end of his sentence poked his finger into John's chest. Jameson tried not to show the pain, but it was evident that the shock of the strike against the mutants rock like pectoral was very unexpected. He forced himself to stifle the pain and keep his eyes trained on McMannus who just stared coldly at the agent like the unyielding mountain of a man that he was.

Henkel pictured Jameson being torn limb from limb if he didn't back down. "So you mind if we have a look around?" he said to divert the tension.

"As a matter a' fact, I do. Yuz guyz got a search warrant?" Demanded McMannus.

"We'll get one." Threatened Jameson.

"Well I'llz be waitin' right here then." McMannus defiantly replied, knowing all to well they wanted the car, but it was far away from his shop, stashed in a warehouse and there was no way they could link it to him.

Henkel tapped Jameson on the shoulder to prompt him to leave then he turned in mid-stride and offered the meta-human a good morning. Then as soon as they got into the car and Jameson pulled away, Henkel laid into his partner. "What the hell is the matter with you! F&*@! You don't pull shit like that with a meta! That macho bull shit doesn't mean squat to that guy! Did you even bother to read his file?"

McMannus watched the two agents drive down the road and when they turned the corner he pulled out his specialized satellite phone. It looked like an electronic aberration but it was completely untraceable and gave him free long distance too. He hit one of the big buttons and Tim's cell phone chimed. "Hey, it'z me. Some feds wuz just here, lookin' fer the Wrangler. I'm not gonna tell yuz how to live yer life, but yer gettin' yerself in ta some deep shit, Tim. If'n yuz needz me, just ask, okay."

Henkel, adjusted his collar after letting loose on his partner and just when he was about to make another point, his phone went off. "Henkel." he answered.



"Agent Henkel, this is Blake Birkshire." Greeted the caller, and upon hearing his voice Henkel leaned back and thought what else could go wrong this morning. "Did you see the news report this morning? I am just calling to find out why you haven't alerted R.A.I.D. as to the nature of this, 'Wrangler', you've been chasing across New York."

Time - 8:46 am - Friday

In the back of the Hummer Sean had stretched out as much as he could. The snoring had finally stopped but now he was muttereing incoherently. This went out for almost half an hour before the dark man woke up. At some point his sunglasses had fallen off, revealing the bright white eyes beneath them. He looked from Tim to Morgan, unaware that his glasses were off at the moment. "Did I miss anything?"

Sean grins. "Dealing with garbage is what I do best." At the mention of his sunglasses he touches his face and nearly panics. Very few people ever saw his eyes and those that did usually flipped out. Once his glasses were back on he let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that. My eyes are a little sensitive to light. But they do help me see in total darkness. Kinda cool."

Sean watches Morgan for a moment then slowly slides the glasses off his face. "Been wearing them so long that it feels wierd without them. Of course I've never really thought of my eyes as cool." He is clearly uncomfortable with this but he is still willing to give it a shot.