HEROES Chapter 3

Fleeing from New York, Toril, Cassius, Yelena and Shawn headed back to the safe house in their phony ambulance but little did they realize that Colonel Vacily Petrovsky, utilizing his military resources pursued them from afar. They followed a minute tracking device embedded under Toril's skin in the hopes that Vacily would be able to capture Killswitch whose mutant ability, cyberkinises was vital to his plans to destroy all meta-human records across the world.

Under the advisement of Killswitch, Cassius decided not to return to the safe-house and instead headed up to a remote family cabin. There they could rest and Shawn, who was still unconscious from his confrontation with R.A.I.D. enforcers could recuperate from his injuries. In the middle of the night, just when all had fallen asleep the marines struck and after a brief struggle the heroes succumbed to the well trained soldiers (and a little help from Surge, utilizing his electrical powers to once and for all render Wraith unconscious).

Back in New York City, still being pursued by the FBI agents, Henkel and Jameson, Tim Rutherford made his way to the 'Monte Moving and Storage Company' where he collected a black 1967 Ford Mustang GT that had been kept in storage for several years. Once again the lone wolf was behind the wheel of another muscle car, but this time it seemed that he was destined to have a passenger to share his adventures. A young woman, named Morgan Shepherd, bent on protecting a local dog from being struck by Tim would become entwined in his life and bring along her own pursuer.


Tim learns quicky that Morgan is a meta-human and immediately feels a connection with her. It has been five long years since the murder of his wife and child and for the first time since feels something when he is with the beautiful young lady. He also finds out she possesses the power to manipulate and utilize animals through a form of animal telepathy. An ability he will discover caused the death of a family member and brought upon her the scorn of a vengeful father.

While Tim and Morgan continued to evade the NYPD and the FBI, the rest of the group were imprisoned in an unused section of Marine Corps Base Oneida, a virtually unknown military installation controlled by Colonel Petrovsky. It was there that Yelena learned that the one responsible for their capture was also a man from her past whom she had known as Aleksandr Ruskov. Vacily will recall his masquerade fondly, while Yelena will only possess memories of pain and torture and yet he will offer her a chance to prove herself to Beacon and earn a place at his side. After Yelena learns that Zoe's life will be sacrificed in order to carry out his plans she will betray him and assume Killswitch's identity in order to protect her. Her ruse, however, is quickly discovered and she and Toril end up in a cell with Cassius who is being kept as leverage against Zoe.


A villain, known as Grey Pyre joins the hunt for the infamous Wrangler, the name that the police and FBI are using to describe Tim Rutherford. His boss for reasons yet unknown wants, Wrangler and has hired Grey, a highly dextrous meta-human, hit-man with tourette's syndrome and an uncanny ability to make devices go awry, to get him. Tim is now being pursued not only by the law but by a relentless meta-human. As they make their way further north and Tim and Morgan's fondness for one another grows stronger he learns that they have another man tracking them. Frank Shepherd, Morgan's father joins the chase, driven by vengeance and his intense hatred of meta-humans. At the same time as well, Tim and Morgan also meet up with another meta-human who is a living shadow, named Sean Miller and known as the Shadow. With his aid, Frank Shepherd's relentless pursuit is put on hold and it also inadvertently leads to his capture by the FBI when he catches up with Morgan once more in Troy.


As we now enter chapter three...

Frank Shepherd has been imprisoned in Troy, New York and is awaiting his psychiatric evaluation. He is biding his time until he sees an opportunity to escape and continue his pursuit of his daughter so that he can make her pay for the death of her innocent cousin.

Tim and Morgan, while being chased by R.A.I.D., decided to lure them away from Troy and the safe-house.

Sean 'the Shadow' resides at the safe-house with the anti-social Zoe, awaiting the return of Tim and Morgan.

Shawn 'the Demon' is being kept unconscious on the base and awaits transport to the Eastern RAID Meta-Detention Centre.

Cassius, Toril and a yet unconscious Yelena are attempting to escape the military base but little do they know that even if they do elude the marines that pursue them, an even greater threat awaits them in the forests beyond. Their only hope resides in the other heroes arriving in time to assist them.

DiVine and Siege are still being held at the Easter RAID Meta-Detention Centre, hidden beneath the Eden Foundation in northern New York State.

(please feel free to add anything that may have been missed or requires more emphasis)

The team of R.A.I.D. SUV's still trailed behind Tim and Morgan, following via satellite imagery, awaiting for them to stop and vacate their vehicle allowing them to chance to surround them and move in. They had been oblivious to the presence of Morgan's spying hawks, that had flown back several miles to alert her of their pursuit.

Birkshire closed the file folder on his lap, leaned his head back against the rest and rubbed his eyes. "Where's he going now?" He asked the surveillance technician behind him.

"Just turned on to State Route 7, sir." Replied the enforcer.

The supervising agent nodded more to answer one of his own thoughts than a response to the enforcer. He was sure now that the felon the FBI had nicknamed, Wrangler was in fact the meta-human called Cowboy. The profile that R.A.I.D. had assembled years ago, was almost identical to what the F.B.I. had come up with, basically a paranoid individual with psychotic tendencies who saw himself as a 'saviour' figure. A classic vigilante who their psychiatrists assumed had lost someone very close to him due to violence, perhaps a wife or child and the event was so traumatic that it brought about a psychotic break. Prior to the transformation evidence pointed to 'Cowboy' being in law enforcement, as his movements and actions always bore an innate sense of justice.

From the information provided by the FBI, Birkshire was aware that , Cowboy had 'partnered' up with a meta-human called Morgan Shepherd. A small task force had been assigned to tracking her down with little results. He remembered it well because he had personally oversaw the investigation for a time but after his promotion he had lost track of the case. After his review he learned that the girl, like so many other meta's had simply fell off their rada. She hadn't committing any major crimes or caused significant disturbances and so the file was shelved until she resurfaced. Now she was back in their sites and with the notorious mutant , Cowboy who Birkshire surmised might be experiencing, the 'White Knight' syndrome with her. He would have to be extremely cautious not to provoke him by threatening the girl, as his increased sense of duty would make him protect her at all costs. Such provocation would not help their capture of the meta-human who had been designated a 'Class 9' because he could manipulate time. Class 9's were under no circumstance to be allowed to move freely in society even after registration and Birkshire wanted to make sure they got this one before he did too much damage.

Yelena hadn’t been that out of things since her last “session” at the facility in Siberia. So when Sun Storm’s weapon was used at such a high frequency on her, she was completely unprepared for it. While she knew she would be knocked out, she didn’t think it would be THAT bad. Little did she know the woman who controlled the weapon had a particularly sinister streak in her that caused the shape shifter more pain than was called for AND made sure she was knocked out for a good long time.

Unfortunately for Toril, he had to be the one to handle her dead weight, limp body as he helped them all escape from the hell they had been brought into when Vacily followed them to Canadaguia. But now, as Yelena began to regain her senses, she groggily forced her eyes open to look around and realized she was in fact dangling several feet up in some sort of shaft.

Instantly the shape shifters body tensed and she tried her best to stop a gasp that made its way past her lips before she realized it. Toril, sensing Yelena’s return to the conscious world, knew he had to act fast or the shape shifter would strike first and ask no questions later. His voice was nothing but a whisper but the urgency in the tone was unmistakable.

“Yelena! It’s Toril. Don’t do anything rash. Cassius and I are trying to get us the hell out of here and we’re in an elevator shaft. One peep and we’re done for. Hey….wait! What are you….stop it! You can’t do that ye…..!”

Still a little groggy, she went to work undoing the tether straps used to keep her glued to Toril. The big meta tried the best he could to stop her from doing such a thing, but she was rather persistent and with Toril having no choice but to hang onto the ladder, Yelena released the tether that kept her strapped to him and felt herself beginning to plummet.

If Yelena had been in complete cognitive function she would have realized what Toril had done but she was still a little disoriented with everything. Thankfully Toril was a quick thinker for both of them and as Yelena undid the last part that kept her attached to Toril, the man quickly reached out and grabbed her hand. Yelena was about to cry out but when she was suddenly stopped from falling, the breath was knocked from her lungs. Clinging desperately to Toril’s hand, she dangled there for a moment as she looked down then looked up into the handsome face that held her life, literally, in his hand.

Reaching up with her other hand, the blue skinned shape shifter pulled herself around, with Toril’s help, onto the ladder below him. Closing her eyes and pressing her forehead against the cold metal of the ladder, she stood there for a moment to get her breath back and regain her full senses. It was a few moments later before she could look up at Toril as he cast a worried glance down at her and asked if she was going to be OK. Nodding, Yelena looked down then back up at him again and spoke breathlessly.

“Da….lead way out of here.”

Still in her true form, she decided to remain like that until they were in a more well lit area of the place. Right now she had good camouflage and besides, no one could see her like this clearly. As Toril started climbing back up the ladder, Yelena began to follow along behind him. Knowing that by now Vacily knew she had betrayed him, Yelena only hoped Cassius was OK and that Vacily understood why she did what she did. Sacrificing just one life is unacceptable. No matter the reason why.

Cassius who had been trailing blind (due to the blackness of the elevator shaft) behind Toril, quickly slid a few rungs down the ladder to avoid being knocked off by Yelena. Although weary and weakened from his beatings, the young man's will and the anticipation of freedom spurred him on and allowed him to move quickly when needed. Toril frowned, as he swung the shape-shifter to the ladder just above the kid. She was easier to handle when she was unconscious and though she weighed nothing more to him than a bag of flour to a regular person it was never easy to hold onto a squirming cat.

Before releasing her, Yelena noticed the steel wrist band on Toril, glinting in the dark. He peered down at her, his eyes glowing a soft blue, signifying that he was seeing the world via the kinetic energies that surrounded everything. Satisfied then that she would be able to make the climb, Toril pressed on but they all stopped when the beams of light flashing below them caught their attention.

It was apparent then that Vacily's soldiers were lurking at the bottom of the shaft. Toril looked up judging the distance of the elevator car which was another two floors above them. "We can make it." he said back to Yelena.

Still a little fuzzy the shape-shifter didn't consider what they were going to do once they reached the elevator since there was no way around it. She just followed as quickly as she could making sure that Cassius was close behind. They had to move fast, since it would be like shooting ducks in a barrel if the marines spotted them in the shaft and already beams of light were flashing up and around them.



When they reached the elevator, Toril moved onto the steel beam that marked the bottom of the floor below them so that Yelena and Cassius could move past. He had suspected that it was a one way ticket for him. "You and Cassius are small enough to squeeze through the recessed shaft and around the elevator." He told Yelena. It was very apparent that the big meta-human could not maneuver through the tight space but as far as Yelena knew that shouldn't matter to Wraith, he could just become the wind, she thought.

Toril held up one of his hands and pointed to the steel wrist band. "They are a common magnetic alloy." He explained, "I can't go with you. Not with these on." The bands were smooth, with only very tiny seems and no discernible holes anywhere.

A beam of light stopped on Toril and a man screamed from below, "I've got one!"

"Get up there!" Shouted Toril as he moved across the beam and stepped on the narrow platform before the elevator doorway. Digging his fingers between the doors he pried them apart then all of his strength forced the doors open ready to face whatever was behind them, but there was nothing. Toril had not anticipated that the abandoned mine shafts doorways had been completely sealed and before him was a wall of cinder blocks.

Gun fire ricocheted off the walls of shaft and struck the bottom of the elevator. Toril pushed himself as far as he could into the narrow alcove of the elevator doorway providing a safe haven for the time being, but he knew that once the soldiers climbed the ladder they would be able to get the angle necessary to hit him. It was only a matter of time.

Leaning back he tested the integrity of the wall and it was far too solid to break through without a hammer. There was also very little he could so with such a tight air space other than summon a few blasts that would only delay them and his powers were also hampered by the contact of the metal. Even if he could force the air out of the shaft and suffocate the soldiers, he couldn't guarantee that Cassius and Yelena would not be affected, he was pretty much dead in the water. He wasn't even sure if he could still adequately fly.

Toril angrily clanged the bands together. If only he could get the damn things off! They were chromium steel, formed right to his wrists and the only thing that resembled a locking mechanism was a bluish coloured circle about the size of a dime on each one. A chip of some kind he surmised, so a electronic signal was required to open them. He hammered one against the corner of the wall, pain ripped up his arm and the band was hardly dented. "Great." Toril anguished.

Yelena watched the meta human struggle with the bracers he was forced to wear. Between the pounding in her head, the shouts form below, the gun fire filling the shaft up, the ricocheting of bullets all around them and Toril shouting at her, she was able to hear the bracers were what was preventing the large man from taking his air like form.

Noticing the blue, chip like emblem on the bracer, she recognized it as being similar to a bracer they had used on another meta in Siberia. It was an electronic key of sorts, but what they discovered was that even these electronic keyed devices weren’t full proof. A mild electrical current could cause them to short circuit and as a safety feature, they would automatically open.

Squeezing through the shaft into the elevator itself quickly followed by Cassius as he struggled and eventually got into the thing as well, Yelena used what she had of her enhanced strength and busted open the control panel of the elevator. The baggy uniform Toril placed on her was not helping matters in the least but she didn't dare take it off yet. Pulling the wires from the floor indicators, she stretched the wires as far as they would go and got down on her stomach, yelling for Toril

“Toril! Give me wrists!”

The ricocheting bullets were becoming annoying and she let out a string of curses as Toril took cover into the small space he found himself crammed into. When he gave her a puzzled look, Yelena frowned and yelled at him.

“Do you want bracers off or not?”

Toril dodged some more richocheting bullets before he yelled back at her.

“Of course I do!”

“Then put wrists up here! I try to help you!”

Toril was, to say the least, frustrated with the Russian shape shifter. After all he had done for her she expected him to read her mind as well??? When the man didn’t move fast enough for her, Yelena yelled at him again in her native language then held up two ends of the wiring she ripped out. Placing the two raw ends together she showed him it was allowing a mild electrical spark of some sort which was good because the sleeves of the uniform kept sliding down her arms and covering her hands. Once again she looked at him and yelled over the noise of what was happening around them.

“Give me wrists!”

Two of the marines were climbing up the ladder, while the other two below were laying down a suppressing fire. He wasn't sure what Yelena was up to but it had better be worth it for him to straddle gun fire. Taking a deep breath, Toril pressed himself against the wall and leapt across the shaft landing safely on the steel beam and grabbing hold of the ladder.

One of the climbing soldier stopped is ascent when he saw Toril at the top of the ladder and looping a leg over a rung he leaned back and reached for his weapon. He now only had seconds to react, but to make matters worse, the breaks on the elevator began slip. "Shit!" screamed Toril. Yelena must have cut the wires that kept the magnetic locks on the wheels engaged and now they were beginning to fail.

Securing his legs firmly against the beam, Toril braced his arms under the elevator and pushed up as hard as he could to relieve the pressure on the brakes. He wasn't sure if he could hold the full weight of the elevator but perhaps if he could provide some support the clamps would hold. Then the brakes failed. A wave of burning heat rushed through Toril's muscles as he felt the entire weight of the elevator settle on him. He wasn't sure how long he could hold it and he prayed that Cassius had a good hold on the maintenance ladder and wasn't holding on to the elevator when it went.

Below him he could see the marine. Smoothly he removed is rifle from his shoulder and holding onto the ladder with his legs he expertly leaned back and took aim. There was no way he could miss.

"Yelena!" Toril roared, "Any time would be good!"

While Yelena and Toril shouted at one another and the elevator began to slip beneath him, Cassius swung out of the elevator, grasping the ladder just above Toril. "Watch out, dude!" he shouted before he quickly drew his gun, aimed just passed Toril's face and fired a clean shot that tore straight through the soldier's forehead. As the man plummeted down the shaft, Cassius twisted his body almost unnaturally, bringing his knees up close and letting go of one hand so that the other aimed the gun down the shaft and his head peered over his shoulder down into the darkness. "Righteous," he said, grinning down at Yelena.

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A few hours and several cigarettes later, Zoe kicked her chair roughly out from under the table. It had been far too long, even taking the cautious routes. Surely the Cowboy wasn't stupid enough to get lost. His accent may have made him sound like an idiot at times, but the man had proven himself capable in more ways than one. Manipulating the computer, she connected herself to the radio she knew was in his Hummer. "Tim," she said, the calmness in her tone masking the worries that swam through her head, "where the hell are you guys?"

Sean comes out of the shadows by Zoe. "It occured to me. Shouldn't they be back by now?" Then he heard her calling Tim on the radio. "Nevermind. You seemed to have had the same thought."

When Toril heard Cassius shout from above him to 'watch out', he froze. He knew what was about to happen and remaining perfectly still would be his best chance of survival. His large body was in front of the ladder, while he balanced on the iron beam supporting the weight of the elevator car while, Yelena dangled nearby with the electrical wires. He couldn't look up to see where, Cassius was but he knew that he had to be in the small recessed space of the ladder between the shaft wall and the elevator. It was an impossible shot, and as the gun shot echoed through the shaft, Toril had expected that was the last sound he would ever hear. Instead he felt the bullet's wake as it rushed past his cheek and found it's mark right in the middle of the soldier's forehead. He watched as his body slumped lifelessly off the ladder and fell into his partner trailing behind him, a blow that would have dislodged a normal man but there was nothing ordinary about a marine. Holding fast, the body glanced off the soldier's back but he managed to hang on, only losing his rifle from the impact, but he still had his sidearm.

Hanging over the ladder, Cassius squinted into the darkness at the remaining soldier. "Shit, dude..." he muttered, taking aim again. "Not sure if I can pull off that level of radical again," said Cassius, turning to put his gun hand back on the ladder and peer over his other shoulder at the man below Toril. He took aim once more, but was reluctant to fire as this would provoke the man and give away his rough position, which was behind a much larger target. Turning towards Yelena with his steadily blackening eye, he said "how goes the hot wiring, dudette?"

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After Grey felt sufficiently full, he lit a cigarette and strolled up to the cashier and flashed the newspaper clipping. "You seen this guy?" he asked, not even trying to mask the annoyance in his tone.

Frank lied on the prison cot, his eyes trained on the ceiling trying to envision every detail of his plan. Each time he ran it through his mind he would foresee a new problem and start once again from the beginning in attempt to compensate for all the probabilities. Frank had already done this at least a hundred times and he was finally tiring. There was just too much to consider, each stage relied upon the success of the one before it and the first one was the most critical of all. He knew that if he could just get that one tumbler into place we would be able to align all the events to follow into that perfect combination that would set him free.

The piercing hum that felt like a spike being driven slowly into his brain was gone. She was gone, and in the absence of that demon he had discovered something. A strange sensation he had never felt before, an enlightenment as if an angel had touched his head and given him direction, and he indeed believed that's what it was. He had been chosen to rid the world of his devil spawn child, and all the other tainted mutants polluting the world. That's why he had been granted something special, a latent gift that would set him free and give him the strength to destroy meta-humans. He know realized what the hum was, it was the angels singing to him, warning him of the presence of the demon, meta-humans. That's what they were, all of them. Demons! But he would use their song against them, use it to bring all who opposed the angels to their knees.

"Frank." Called a guard.

"Eeeyip." He responded, his eyes remaining fixed on the ceiling.

"You have a visitor." The guard announced, "Approach the gate and put you hands through the opening."

Frank did as he was told and looking down the hallway saw a sight that made him beam inside. It seemed that the psychiatrist had decided to visit him that night, but more importantly, he a very well grown man much like himself, a bit soft in the belly but a perfect fit nonetheless. Frank could hear the first tumbler fall into place and a wicked smile fell across his face.

Frank's wrists and ankles were cuffed, then two guards ushered him to a room at the end of a long corridor and he observed that the department must have been between shift changes because they were running a skeleton crew. Another tumbler fell. In the room sitting at a table with two chairs a large balding man awaited with fresh coffee and a plate of donuts.

"Hello, Frank. I am Doctor Stevens. How are you?" The shrink greeted politely and precisely while the guards sat Frank down and then took their respective positions in the room to ensure that he behaved.

Frank found the security camera in the corner of the room, but as he recalled no one was monitoring them at the moment. "So if I choose the sprinkled donut, what does that mean?" he joked.

"Nothing, the sprinkled ones are mine." Replied the doctor adding to the humour, to which Frank forced a loud laugh.

"So Frank." began the doctor, "I am here to learn whether or not you may require any special attention. You can assist me by answering all my questions honestly and being as forthcoming as possible."

Frank nodded. "Oookay... shoot, doc. I'm ready." he said, nestling into his chair like a kid at Sunday school.

The doctor was delighted by Frank's enthusiasm and proceeded. "Now, I would like to begin by learning a little bit about yourself, Frank. Can you start by telling me about, let's say, your daughter?"

"My daughter." Repeated Frank. He leaned forward, chuckling to himself, "Let me tell you about my daughter." Frank then started laughing maniacally and the guards started to approach him fearing that he might become violent, while the psychiatrist just sat back with a stunned expression trying to make sense of the behaviour. Frank's face was beginning to turn red he was laughing so hard, and then it quickly became evident that he was in great pain.

Frank tried to laugh away the painful pressure in his head but it was only getting worse. The voices of the angels began to sing to him. They grew louder and louder until it felt like his head was going to come apart. A stream of blood gushed from Frank's nose as he placed his hands at the side of his head to try ease the pain, and for a brief instant, his eyes turned completely black. The guards and the doctor could then hear the sound too and covered their ears in a futile attempt to shield them from the crippling high pitched whine he generated in their minds. Then the pain was over, almost as soon as it began.

Frank gasped and leaned his head against table. Blood dripped from his nose and ears and he was covered with sweat from the strain. When he raised his head he couldn't believe what he saw, the guards and the doctor did not move, they remained frozen in place like wax dummies. Standing slowly, he approached one of the guards and poked him. The guard remained still, but when he reached for the guards gun the whining sound started up again then subsided as he withdrew his hand. Frank didn't have time to figure out how his gift worked and simply concentrated on what he needed to escape and that was clothes and the doctor's ID badge.



Wearing the doctor's clothes, Frank slipped out of the room and closed the door behind him. He took a deep breath, composed himself then proceeded down the corridor toward the main office. He walked past an officer typing up some reports and as he became more relaxed with the charade even gave a friendly female officer a wink. He was just about out the door when a large, burly cop barred his way.

"Excuse me..." Said the officer then proceeded to look down at his ID badge.

Frank panicked. The ID card had the doctor's picture on it and he wasn't sure he could get past the big cop before the others came to his aid. He was so close! Why did this guy have be so freaking nosey!" Then as Frank grew angry he heard the angel's again, softer this time but still painful. A tiny trickle of blood began to drip from his nose then the pain suddenly stopped; the officer, staring directly at the ID badge completed his sentence, "... Doctor Stevens, could you please sign out."

Frank had no idea what the hell just happened. There was no way anyone could mistake the picture on the ID card for him, but somehow the cop had. "Uh, sorry about that." he apologized, then found the last entry the doctor had made, wrote down 9:45 pm and scribbled a signature.

The cop then offered him a tissue. "Here Doctor Stevens, you seem to have a nose bleed."

"Oh, thanks." Said Frank, "The damn things been like fountain all day. Took a racket ball to the face this afternoon."

The officer scrunched up his face. "Ouch. Well you take care now."

"Thanks, you too." Said Frank with a wave then proceeded out of the building and into the parking lot. He reached into his pocket and took out some keys, pressed the unlock on the fob and located the good doctors car, a brand new red coloured Audi. Frank got in started it up and whistled as he checked out all the bells and whistles in the vehicle, "Nice."

Frank was long gone by the time the doctor and the guards came to their senses. All they could remember was, Frank laughing, a terrible high pitched sound then nothing. It was as if a half hour of time had been stolen from them and only Doctor Stevens, who Frank had ordered to sit back down in his underwear could attest that something did in fact happen to them.

Tim, glanced at Morgan, smiled, then looked back at the winding road, "Na ya rest, I know who's followin' us now, thank ya and ur friends." Tim said as Zoe's voice came across the secure radio link in the Hummer. Tim keyed the mic and said "Yep we're har, seems as we hav picked up sum raiding coon hounds on ar tail. We'll shake em soon, they ain't gonna chase thi ole bar up a tree, least not withouta fight.

Figgered it best ifin' we kept them dogs off yur block. We figured on takin' in the Green Mountain National Forest, do a little fishin' at a place I know up har, 'fore headin back home. Any word from ar Russian cousin an yur friend? How's it goin' with yur house guest?" Tim said knowing Zoe was smart enough to understand the code he was using.

"Heard nothing from cousins or friends," Zoe replied coldly, "house guest seems as uncomfortable as I am. I hate when people stay out past curfew, then someone has to go get 'em," she growled. Leaning back in the chair, she glanced over at Sean for a moment but said nothing.

It took all of Yelena’s strength to hold herself in such a way that she could reach Toril’s wrists with the wires she ripped out of the elevator control panel. When the device started to slip she felt a rush of panic and adrenaline rush through her giving her the extra strength she needed right now.

The wires were stretched to their max when she finally reached as far as she could, straining, to get to the metal bracers on Toril’s arms.

“Almost….there….”

Feeling the elevator suddenly give way only to stop as soon as it started caused her to startle and pull back once more. When she saw Toril struggling to hold the entire weight of the elevator she knew she had to hurry. The only concern she had then was what to do when the elevator gave way beneath her. She would cross that bridge when she got to it.

Stretching as far as she possibly could again, she finally came within reach of the metal bracers on Toril’s wrists. Of course when Cassius fired the shot that went over the big mans face she nearly lost her reach again but somehow she was able to keep her concentration going.

At last she touched the live ends of the wires to the bracer on his right wrists and as soon as the device was short circuited the bracer snapped open and fell from his wrists as it plummeted down the elevator shaft to land with a metal ching when it hit bottom over the sound of gun fire.

“What the hell?”

The marines heard the noise as well and when one of them recognized the bracer he looked up.

“Oh shit!”

Stretching even more, feeling her muscles protest at being stretched so far, Yelena closed her eyes, clenched her jaw and forced her body to reach even further to get to Toril’s left wrist. It took a couple of tries but at last the live ends touched the locking device at the same time successfully short circuiting it. This bracer as well snapped open and fell off Toril’s wrist in like fashion.

As soon as Yelena heard the bracer snap open she let out a cry of pain and relief as her body grew limp. The muscles couldn’t take any more stretching and because of what she forced them to do, her entire body worked at pulling them back where they should be.

“DONE!”

Feeling herself slip from the elevator she knew she was about to fall to her death when she felt a hand grip the tail end of the oversized uniform shirt she was wearing. Her body began to be pulled back into the elevator, slowly, but methodically. Turning her head to look over her shoulder she saw Cassius straining to pull her back into the elevator. His feet planted firmly on the wall for leverage and pulling with all his strength.

“Hang…on….dudette….”

As soon as her hands were within reach of the elevator, Yelena reached back and helped Cassius pull her into the elevator. Once again they felt the elevator slip and she knew they had precious seconds left. As soon as she was in the elevator, as one they both jumped back onto the ladder as quickly as they could making themselves as thin as possible.

Tim listened to Zoe, then keyed the mic again "That sure don't sound like ar cousin, she right nar always gits in befur curfew. Kin ya work sum magic on all that thar fancy gear ya got, an' find out whar thay might have wandered off ta? Ifin'tn ya do me an Morg har could pickem up. Ya can give 'em a good tounge whippin' once we get em home. Any other idears ya got we'd right like ta hear."

Tim glanced in the rearview mirrors, then over at Morgan. "That ain't good, I figgured that we'd drew the hounds away. Looks as tho sumthin' has happened that I din't figure on. I reckon we outta shake these coon hounds and get ta the cabin, lay low till Zoe comes up with sumthin' fer us ta go on."

As the second bracer slipped from his wrist, Toril's powers were no longer dampened and he a surge of relief rushed over him. He could see the lights below him and the gun fire that had been deflecting off of the steel beam was getting uncomfortably close now. To make matters worse the remaining marine on the ladder had just drawn his sidearm but unable to hold a flashlight at the same time could not readily make the shot due to the darkness.

Cassius had swung into the elevator once more to assist, Yelena. In her weakened condition, suspending herself under the car must have been too taxing for her, considered Toril. It was only then that he realized that there was a hatch at the bottom of the thing. His muscles ached, and he was forced to lower the elevator onto his back as his arms were giving out. The car suddenly fell close to a meter as the elevator settled on Wraiths shoulders. He wanted to scream at them to take the maintenance ladder that went on the outside of the car along the wall, but they had scampered into bloody thing again!

The marine on the ladder, aimed his pistol carefully as he angled himself around the steel beam that had been shielding the meta-human from the gunfire below. Toril turned his strained face to the soldier like a trapped animal awaiting the killing blow, but then he smiled and the marine knew exactly what was going to happen. Quickly he grabbed the service ladder, dropping the pistol in his haste as he pressed his body tightly against it trying to squirm into the small alcove.

Toril praying that Yelena and Cassius had found their way safely to the ladder relieved himself of his burden and fell down the shaft. His body rushed past the marine followed by the elevator just grazing the soldier's back side. Below, the two marines searching the shaft with their lights could hear a rumble then they saw the rapidly descending car preceded by the plummeting form of a large man.

The soldier's screamed and leapt for the doorway as the figure faded into the air like a ghost and the elevator slammed into the ground. One marine managed to make it out while the other was crushed, but the survivor did not get away unscathed, as a shard of debris was embedded in his leg from the explosion.

The remaining marine, a captain, clung to the rungs, thanking his maker that he was able to fit into the alcove of the service ladder when the elevator rushed past. All he wanted to do after that was climb back down and make his report but then his training and sense of duty kicked in. Looking down the shaft he could see no sign of the large man; he had seen him action and knew what Njordhagen was capable of. He expected that he would have survived the fall but perhaps his prolonged exposure to the bracers kept his abilities suppressed, he wasn't sure. Reaching down, and retrieving his spare, side arm from his ankle holster the soldier moved the weapon to a more readily accessible location. He peered upward, searching the blackness to see if the other two remained above him (on the service ladder), or had they fallen to their deaths?

Swinging out from the ladder, Cassius dropped his arm directly below himself. Aiming it at pitch blackness, he fired three rounds before he paused, keeping his gun at the ready. Though he could see nothing, there was the distinct grunt of pain followed by a loud thud as a body landed far below them. Sighing in relief, Cassius swung his arm back and grasped the ladder with his fingertips as he kept his hand wrapped around the gun. Then, looking into the pitch blackness, he paused for a moment to shout to wherever Toril had gone. "Hey dude!" he shouted, "any more?" In spite of his characteristic grin, he was reluctant to hang around too long and after only a few seconds, he began scrambling quickly up the ladder, his movements silent as an alley cat's.
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Zoe paused, narrowing her eyes and thinking for a moment. Then, she seemed to remember that Sean was there and turned her cold, brown eyes onto him. "They're taking a long route," she explained, "but something's wrong with the others. If you want to make yourself useful, you may be headed to Vermont." As she opened her mouth to continue, she suddenly stopped, a faint glint in her eyes as though she'd had a small epiphany. Linking herself again to Tim's radio, she spoke to him. "You said you're being tailed? Even taking an evasive path?" she repeated. When Tim confirmed, she jumped into action, turning to the other computer in front of her and watching as windows and screens seemed to fight for the spotlight.

Finally, the entire screen went black with white text flying across it at light speed. The screen flashed strange lights over Zoe's pale face as the text scrolled in one grayish blur down the monitor until it finally stopped and she closed everything almost as quickly as she'd opened it.

"Keep an eye out," Zoe warned Tim, "and work quickly. I've caused an error in the connection between the satellites they're using to track you. But I wouldn't guarantee more than an hour before they find it and fix it. Severing it completely would be trickier and I want to stay out of cyberspace as much as possible for now. I don't know what Beacon wanted with me, but I need to keep a distance."

"Roger that." Tim said as he punched the accelerator on the Hummer. "Morgan ya best be strappin' in, I think we might have ta do sum four wheelin' right har directly." They had sped along VT7 for 59.6 miles when Tim turned right on to Ossie Rd drove 0.7 miles then made a slight right at E Main St/VT-125, then continued to follow VT-125 for another five miles. He then turned left onto an old logging road and followed it to a shallow river, driving around the bridge and down the embakment, he drove shifted into four wheel drive and drove north through the river.

The flowing water rose to the lower part of the doors on the Hummer as they drove another twenty miles up the river. When they reached what appeared to be a gravel river crossing, Tim steered the Hummer up the embankment to a hunting and fishing cabin, with a satellite dish on the roof, on the river bank. Tim turned the Hummer around and backed it in under a lean two car port. Turned off the engine and looked at Morgan. "Well, it aint much, but it'll give us a place ta hang ar hats fur a spell. This here lean two 'll keep them damned satellites from spotin us. Ain't nobody gone come snoopin round this time a year, septin' maybe the conservation agent, an he's my cousin. He's family, so we ain't got ta worry 'bout him. Ya feel like gittin' outa this har truck and stretchin' yur legs. I'll go an get the generter runnin' an the lectricty on whilst ya get the gub inside. It'll tak a few fur me ta get the water on an the hot water heater to get any water hot, then ya can get a nice hot bath ifin' ya mind ta." Tim then got out of the SUV and walked to a small out building that housed the generator and well pump.

When Cassius reached the top of the ladder a hand reached out to help him up, and he knew right away who it was. Toril easily hoisted the young gun fighter on to cement platform then returned to help Yelena. "Thank you." He said speaking Russian, "That was fast thinking. I am in your debt."

Toril had opened a hatch at the back of the small area and cool blue moon light filtered down over the steel ladder and reflected off of the floor providing enough light to see by. The hatch was not very high, and Toril had to stoop a little when he walked. Across from them over the shaft were the mechanical winches and cables that hoisted the elevator that now sat in a heap of rubble at the bottom.

They all sat down for a moment and shared a well deserved laugh at death, but as Cassius hastened to carry on, Toril raised a staying hand. "Just let me rest a little longer, Cassius. The old body doesn't recover as fast as once did and even in my prime lifting that elevator still would've knocked the wind outta me." Toril then noticed as the young lad's face frowned curiously, and he could read the question he was thinking of in his eyes, "I'm old kid, although I don't look it." he stated as a fact with no hint of vanity, the he explained further, "You see, some people... people like me, believe that some people are born with what is being called a meta-syndrome. A series of traits caused by several mutations, which is why in some meta's they can't find the," Toril raised his hand to make the sign for quotations, "mysterious 'x' gene." He then paused to rub out his shoulder, wincing a little as he rotated it, then groaning he continued, "People like me and I'm guessing Yelena have several mutations, and one of mine that I share with other meta's is the 'longevity gene'. Colonel Petrovsky has it too."

Toril leaned back against a wall, observing Yelena for moment. It felt like old times and though his body ached, he had found the last few days rejuvenating. He turned his attention to Cassius. "You did good down there kid." he complimented, "There are maybe about ten people in the world that could have made that shot and one of them's dead. His name was, Dead-Eye, 'cause usually anything he aimed at ended up... well, you get the idea. He was human like you, but what he could do with a gun made people believe he was a meta. I know the days of capes and masks are gone," he said regrettably, "and it's not your style, but if you're ever looking for a name I know he'd be proud to have someone like you carry it on."

Toril stood up and dug his hands into the small of his back forcing a good stretch. "Well we better get moving before I start getting all teary eyed, talking about the good old days."

Wraith lead the way, and the others knowing now that contact with any normal magnetic metal dampened his powers explained why he never used any weapons, that and he simply hated guns. They stepped out onto the roof top of a five story building and except for a few air conditioning units and some sort of roof shed at the centre (about ten yards away from them), there wasn't much to offer any concealment. Looking around in all directions, it became very clear that they were pretty much at the center of the base, which covered an area of about ten city blocks. They were on the tallest building as well, everything else was much lower and all the lights in the facility were designed with shields to reflect the light downward to make it less noticeable from the air. The lights were dim as well, which would provide some advantages to hiding.

Toril made his way to the structure at the center of the roof top which was most likely just the roof access and put his back to the wall and crouched down while trying to decide what their next move would be. "So, how do we proceed on blowing this taco stand?" he asked the others. "Not that I'd abandon you guys, but even if I wanted to fly out of here, I have little doubt I'd be trying to dodge rockets, and maintaining my wind form for an extended period of time while moving is too strenuous. We need to pick the safest route we can and find away for you two to get through the fence."



The RAID SUV's cruised north along Vermont's Route 7 about a mile behind Tim's hummer. Supervising Agent Birkshire was trying to figure out where, Cowboy was headed and as they passed through Brandon. Observing his habits, Birkshire was sure that Cowboy was driving with a definite destination in mind and to the east of them was the Green Mountain National Forest. He took his eyes off the map and looked east to the tree line where the vast expanse of the forest began then called back his surveillance officer, "Has there been any change to meta's speed?"

The enforcer checked his monitors, "No, sir. He's been very consistent."

"Where is he now?" Requested Birkshire.

"He's just passing by Ferson Road and..." Replied the enforcer then, "Holy shit!" as all hell broke loose. All their satellite feeds went down, and they were completely blind.

"What's going on?" Demanded the Supervisor.

"Sir, we've just lost all sat-comm links." Answered the enforcer nervously.

"All of them?" Questioned Birkshire, and he knew that something was fishy. "How long before we can re-establish connections."

The enforcer stared at the system and didn't even know where to begin. "An hour, sir. Maybe."

"I want everything back on line in twenty minutes!" Commanded the Supervisor.

"Yes, sir." Answered the enforcer with doubt in his voice.

"Dammit." Growled Birkshire, "Someone's helping him. Driver, proceed to East Middlebury then head east, and step on it!"

RAID was already too far behind to catch up with Cowboy so, Birkshire played a hunch that he was heading into the National Forest, it just seemed like his style, but finding him would be a trick. When they reached Route 125, otherwise known as East Main Street, the driver asked where they should head to next. The sat-comm links were still down, and it didn't look like they were going to be restored any time soon. "Drive to Ripton." Birkshire ordered, "We'll stay there until we can re-acquire the meta's location." If they could.

Tim, walked around the small building and opened the propane gas line valve, opened the valve leading the propane powered generator, pressed the start button and the generator fired up quietly. He then turned the pump on to the well and turned the water on to the cabin. Tim walked over to the back of the cabin and into the utility room turning on the main breaker and then each breaker individual. Closing the door to the utility room, Tim returned to the Hummer, opened the back hatch, removed a couple of black duffle bags, closed the hatch and walked into the cabin, sitting the duffle bags down on the floor.

"Sumpthin smells good." he said as he removed a lap top computer, a police scanner and a handheld VHF/UHF secured multi channel radio from one of the duffles. He set the scanner on a table by the door and turned it on. Tim then set the radio and the laptop on the coffee table, infront of the couch, removed his jacket, laying it on the coach. He then pluged it in, connected it to a router that connected to the satellite dish and booted it up. After the computer booted he opened an encrypted server link and opened a secure encryted e-mail account. He typed a message to an encrypted secure email address

"Zorro-
Your cowbirds are in a nest. Thanks for the help, location of rest of flock? Please advise.
Range Rider"

He hit send and the message was routed thru fifteen secure enctypted servers around the world, before finnaly reaching Zoe. Tim then got up and walked over to the table, sat down and said "Damn Morgan ya shur knowd yur way 'round a kitchen."

When Toril thanked her for helping him out, Yelena merely nodded her head. It was the least she could have done for him after all he had done for her. When the large Norwegian stayed Cassius from moving any further she was equally thankful. Her body was still reeling from both the affects from the weapon that had been used on her and the incredible stretching she had forced her body to perform. She was not as limber as she used to be in her youth when she performed in the Olympics for Russia.

As they reached the roof top she stayed low and peered over the edge of the building to get a look at their surroundings. Like Toril Yelena noticed how the light was deflected downward and dimmed. They had their stuff together to hide their presence from prying eyes at night, that’s for sure.

When Toril sat back against the wall, Yelena shed the uniform that he had placed on her body. Extremely self conscious of her appearance, she quickly morphed into the usual illusion she wore now that they were out of the tunnel and in plain site of each other. Sitting beside Toril, she took a moment to catch her breath.



Remembering what Toril had said about the longevity gene, she finally broke her silence and explained a little about herself. It was the first time she had talked to anyone about herself outside the tight knit group she had been with for so long.

“I was born in 1953……if I not have blue skin, this is what I look like. Must keep real self concealed for fear retribution by citizens and capture by RAID only to be deported again. I NOT be deported….ever again.”

She held Toril and Cassius’ gaze for a moment before she moved away to study their surroundings again as she peered over the edge of the building. With the lights dimmed and the darkness of night surrounding them, Yelena looked around and saw an abandoned Humvee. Whistling softly to get their attention, she motioned for Toril and Cassius to join her. Keeping her eyes trained on the Humvee and surrounding area as she spoke quietly as she p ointed out the Humvee.

“Why not hide in plain sight?”

When Toril and Cassius peered over the edge of the building and saw the building, Yelena morphed into a uniformed marine and spoke in a very masculine voice.



“Unless you have a better plan, sir.”