HEROES Chapter 3

Cassius grinned at Wraith's suggestion to his becoming a masked adventurer. "Dude," he replied, his bruised face lighting up with his usual crooked grin, "I gotta name. Hangin' around a buncha metas, they started callin me 'Sapien' when we were out in the field." There wasa pause before he added, "ya know, like Homo Sapien but like, Homo was like, totally not gonna cut it, ya get my drift?" Looking out at the base spread out before them, he let out a sigh and muttered, "dude, I could like, totally use some serious flaming tabacco right now." Daring to let his muscles relax even a bit, he laid the gun, still in his hand, against the cement and narrowed his one seeing eye in thought. The other had gone completely black and was nearly swollen shut. "Serious conundrum, dude..." he muttered, eyeing the security still holding them into the base.

He looked up however when Yelena motioned them over. Peering over the side, he saw the Humvee and raised his eyebrows. When Yelena spoke in the manly voice beside them, he grinned again and nodded. "Excellent..."
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As soon as the e-mail reached Zoe, she composed a quick reply, momentarily shutting off her travels through Beacon's system. The e-mail's path would be severed as soon as Tim received it and he would have to open a brand new one in order to reply. The letter read in her characteristic cold tone:
Found partner. Have cousin's planned destination. Don't know if stayed put. Big friend set to be in same place. 2 Helen Kellers with same name. Not sure which is which but have an idea one is original.

As the e-mail appeared, Zoe reached out to the radio scanner Tim had set up and let her voice whisper through static out into the kitchen. "Cowboy, read your e-mail." As soon as he had confirmed that he had, she read out what she had discovered on where Beacon had at least recorded holding Cassius and Yelena. "I think the big guy was with Yelena in the cell that was supposed to be Dominic's. Only thing is, they have probably broken out and could be wandering around the facility still. All I have is where they are supposed to be. As for the deaf-blind kid. His name was Shawn something but there are 2 Shawns on record. One is Sean Hastings which is in the 5th sector. The other though is Shawn Powell with a codename "Demon." Considering what I sawof him that would be appropriate. He's being held in a coma awaiting transfer to RAID. I think that is probably him. I've been watching the news. Some Feds from RAID were found dead by some kind of poison or acidic burns they are almost positive was a meta. Knowing Beacon, they wouldn't want to hold on to someone unpredictable like that but this is assuming they know what he can do... and what he can't. LIke I said, that's just my speculation but you should be able to go from there."

Toril had almost burst out laughing when Cassius mentioned the longer version of his nickname. "Sapien, eh? Well you're young, names change. Anyway, if we get through this I have something you might be interested in." he mentioned, then Yelena slinked over next to them. He was surprised to learn that he and Yelena were about the same age. She also vowed never again to be deported before stateing her plan and transformed into the perfect semblance of a jar-head. Toril was impressed and a little creeped out but he completely agreed with Cassius, "Yes, 'excellent' indeed."

"So what are we going to do about handsome here." Said Toril, referring to Cassius' swollen face. "I think I can probably pull of the charade, but that mug is going to raise some questions should we run into any other marines. You better keep your hat down as much as possible — 'Sapien'." Toril chuckled a little when he used the nickname, not that he didn't think it suited him, but just to jostle the kid and ease the tension of the situation.

Toril looked around and didn't see anyone in the immediate vicinity. "Well no time like the present. Let's go." he said, and the big man grabbed Yelena and Cassius around their waists, hefted them off the ground and leapt over the edge of the building. His flying power could carry his own body weight and allow some maneuverability, and even though he could not ascend with much extra weight he could still lightly descend while burdened. Yelena and Cassius could feel winds swirling around them as they plummeted the five stories at ankle breaking speed, then at the last story of the descent it felt as if they landed upon a soft cushion of force and the wave of air, like a splash in water, fanned out as they lightly touched down on pavement. "Hope one of you knows how to hot-wire a car." said Toril as he casually walked over to the humvee trying to look the part of a marine.

Yelena wasn’t prepared for the sudden close contact with Toril when he wrapped an arm around her waist and hefted her up over the edge of the building and then plummeted to the ground with he and Cassius. While she trusted Wraith’s ability with his powers she had never been a benefactor of his abilities before now and to say the least, she was a little unnerved. When she felt the wave of air push out around them and they landed gently to the ground, she wasted no time in separating herself from Toril and rushing over to the Humvee hot on Toril’s heels. While she was still in the guise of the marine, her voice was her own for right now.

“No need. Military vehicles equipped with push starts in case of hostile situation.”

Grabbing a hold of the drivers door handle just as Toril was reaching for it, the male marine with the feminine voice gave the large Norwegian a smile.

“Niet. I drive. You navigate. And make sure junior keeps out of sight. Da?”

Before the meta could answer Yelena had the door opened and slipped behind the wheel and fired up the engine. As soon as Toril and Cassius got in she put the vehicle in gear and took off. Her speed wasn’t all that fast but she wasn’t wasting time either.

It didn’t take long before they came to their first check point. Fortunately it was night and therefore the lighting wouldn’t be that great and if she knew the military, they put their most inexperienced personnel on guard duty in the middle of the night. As they pulled up to the gate, she slowed the Humvee and brought it to a stop. Right away the marine came to attention and saluted then held it. Yelena was confused at first but then she realized she must have used an officers uniform to morph into. Giving a quick salute she gave the marine the command he was hoping for.

“At ease marine.”

As the marine dropped his hand he peered intot he Humvee to get a better look at who was in the vehicle with the officer he just saluted.

“Yes sir. Where are you headed, sir?”

“That’s classified information, marine. I could tell you but then I would have to kill you. And since I don’t want to kill you and you don’t want to be dead, I’ll pretend you didn’t ask me that.”

The marine swallowed hard.

“But…sir…I’m required to see every ones credentials before I let them p-pass.”

Yelena as the marine officer gave the young marine a hard look.

“Are you deaf? Didn’t you just hear what I said? Now I’m ordering you to open this gate and let me pass or I’ll make sure you’re cleaning shit from field latrines in the desert for the rest of your miserable commitment. Have you ever cleaned a field latrine, marine? Do you know how much they smell? Do you want to find out? Or would you rather spend some time in the brig? I can arrange that you know. Insubordination doesn’t look good on your record, marine.”

The young marine was visibly shaken and he couldn’t say yes sir or no sir fast enough. By the time Yelena got done chewing him out he was more then happy to open the gate and let her pass without daring to ask another question or inquire as to her purpose for being there. Yelena waited until they were a few feet away from the gate before she said anything to her passengers.

“We not be so lucky next time. We need to be prepared for more hostile greeting at next check point.”

Looking in the rear view mirror of the Humvee, she asked the all important question.

“You still have ammo, Dominick?”

Toril just sat cooly in the passenger seat. He was a master of not being seen, not hiding in the open so he just left the masquerade in the hands of Yelena. This is what she did best and experience had taught him to let those in the know, take the lead. At the present he was just enjoying the ride, he hoped they wouldn't have to fight their way out, but he prepared himself for one.

At all the perimeter check points, the guards had just received new orders sent by the Colonel himself:

Tim sat on the couch, starring at the lap top. ..... "Yep the watr oughta be good an hot by now I figer. As fer aa a plan, I jus' an't shur yet. Zoe gave me a here abouts as ta whar they was, but we both figer they're on the move agin. Yelena ain't one takes kindly ta beein locked up an' told what she can and can't do. Damned head strong Russian that one an tough as old plow horse meat. So I figr on sittin' har a fer four hars or so, lisenin' ta tha scanner fur any stranger shatter. We kin get some rest and head up north 'fore dawn. Ifin' we don't har from em or Zoe. Sides we're both tuckered plainout, an makin' desions whilst tuckered yur bound ta make mistakes. An sweetheart, mistakes we can't aford." Tim patted her on the thigh and said "Now go on an' git yur bath took, then ya can listen an watch whilst I take mine. Then we'll both grab a couple hars sleep."

As Morgan got up, Tim opened another secure email account, configuring and routing it through 25 different encypted law enforcemnet servers around the world.

"All ya gots ta do is just keep an eye on things. Ifin' anything pops up give a holler. Sorry we ain't got cable or nothin up har fur ya." Tim got up and walked up the stairs, grabbing a clean pair of jeans and a Dallas Cowboy's Jersey from his backpack, he had gotten from John. He stepped into the bath and turned on the shower. As the water heated up to a steam he shaved and brushed his teeth. Stpping into the hot shower, Tim let the hot wter take some of the stiffness and fatigue from his bones as he bathed and washed his hair. Finishing up he stepped out of the shower, dried his body and used the hair dryer to dry his hair, brushing it out. He then slipped into the jeans and jersey walked barefoot down the stairs. " Yea ready to get some shut eye thar Morgan?" he said

Tim's eyes popped open and he sat quickly up in bed the balnket and sheet faling off his bare chest. He smiled at Morgan, pulling the sheet and light blanket back. "Ya shur can sweetheart." he said patting the matress beside him. As Morgan slipped under the sheet and blanket, Tim wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He whispered "Ain't nuthing gonna hurt ya Mogan ya just cuddle up right cheer. I ain't gonna let nuthin' get ya." he added as he pulled her closer, giving her a kiss.

Sean crouched down by Zoe as she conferred with Tim. When she was finished he looked over at her. "So, what's this about Vermont and what is it you need me to do?"

Zoe leaned back in her chair and lit another cigarette. "Not sure yet," she replied, looking at Sean out of the corner of her eye. "The others are being held at Beacon in Vermont and Tim and Morgan are headed there... all I could do was give them that information I hacked out of Beacon's system. Unless Tim comes back here you may have to come up with a way to get to them... if you want to help that is." She added this last part with a truly open-ended look to her as she peered over at him. It was as though she wouldn't honestly care if he chose to help or not.

"I still want to help if I can. If you know where I can find tranportation and some directions I'll head out now." He was very eager to help since they had already helped him so much.

Zoe paused, thinking for a moment as she puffed on her cigarette. "Destination I can give you... transportation... well..." she paused again, a cloud of smoke obscuring her face for a moment. "Normally, we drive people... but since Dominic is one of the people missing..." she sighed in mingled frustration and resignation. "I need to stay here and make sure this place is guarded. Can you take a bus to Tim?"

"Sure can. I'll leave once the sun goes down unless you want to see me smoke." Sean smiles and looks to see if Zoe will at least crack a smile at his attempt at humor.

Alas, Zoe's icy demeanor remained and she merely scribbled the address onto a piece of paper before tearing it and handing it to Sean. She then held up a hand for him to wait and began rifling through a box sitting at her feet, cigarette dangling from her mouth. Finally, she emerged with what looked like a tiny, white pebble. "Put this in your ear," she said, "I will be able to talk to you that way."
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"You still have ammo, Dominic?" Cassius paused, his heart jumping at being addressed by his first name. Popping out the magazine, he inspected it grimly.

"Runnin' low, dude..." he said, then padded himself down just in case. "Aha!" he said as he discovered a magazine on the uniform he was wearing. "The dead dudes doth provide!" he declared.

Sean just shrugs as he takes the slip of paper, reading it quickly. He then looks at the white thing before placing it in his ear. Sean shifts to shadow and back to solid. "Ok. It shifts with me. Good. Anything else before I head out?"

Looking up before pressing the cigarette out into an ashtray, Zoe shakes her head. "Just don't get yourself killed," she replied, "and don't tell anyone about me or this house." Now she turned to him with a warning stare, "if you do, you will regret it."

Sean takes a step back. "Whoa there. No need to threaten. I'm not even entirely sure where I am to begin with. Sort of slept most of the way here." He grins then heads out the door. "Until next time, Miss Zoe." Once he is out the door Sean shifts and melts into the shadows.

Shinigami still in a meditative state stared blankly at his swords, the altar of the only god he had ever known, a harsh deity that respected only the victor and to all others dealt death. While his mind's eye swept across Marine Corps Base Oneida, his own irises turned to silver, reflecting the dancing candles about him. He had remained in trance for time while he searched for his prey, and at long last his vigilance was rewarded when he had spied a rather 'non-human' descent from a five story building.

"Wraith." Whispered the swordsman as he studied the trio. He recognized the one known as Dominic Cassius but the marine puzzled him, but then he realized that it must be the shape-shifter, Yelena.

His cell phone rang and Shinigami's eyes darkened as he once more saw through them. Procuring the phone he checked the caller I.D. and recognizing the number returned the phone to the table beside him without answering. He did not have time to listen to the worries, demands and idle threats of his employer and decided to let Colonel Petrovsky deal with matters in his own way. When and if, they escaped the base he would act, and not before.

The warrior humbly bowed before his swords and spoke a prayer in his native language. He then, turned while remaining in a kneeling position and poured himself some tea into a small ornate cup. As he took a sip, the flavour reminded him of his ancestral home in Noshiro, where the rare leaves were cultivated and recalled a time when life was simple, when he was a boy running along the rocky coast without a care in the world. It was only five mere jumps away, five seconds for him and yet it had been years since he had walked the forests of his lands and set foot in his own dojo. Every time he chose to draw blood with his blades he imagined that he would at last find peace and return home, but he knew that day would never come, so he drank his tea and remembered.

"Marnin' sunshine, sumptin' shur smells good. Yur gonna have me plumper than a prize hog, ya keep this up." Tim said as he walked into the kitchen. He looked at the window and said "I see yur friends ar right happy ta se ya this marnin' as well. Did ya sleep alright sweetheart?" Tim said as he gave MOrgan a kiss on the cheek, then poured himself a cup of coffee.