Walking With Strangers

Staff Sergeant Blue Baloo knew he was going to die. He paused on the brink of a precipice, a cold Minnesota wind whipping his Air Force uniform around his bear-like body. Gray hair sprouted from his skull like short porcupine quills.

He glanced over a massive shoulder. Somewhere in the forest behind him, a group of professional hunters was closing in on where he stood. He couldn't outrun them. That had been the plan at first. Now he knew it was hopeless.

His keen mind boiled everything down to two choices. He could wait for the hirelings to catch up with him. That would put him at the mercy of the men hunting him. They hadn't shown much of that quality so far.

Or he could jump into the raging water far below where he stood and take his chances. If he lived, the roaring stream would take him to the small dam that made Lake Marlowe possible. Then he could find a phone to call for help. The big hitch in that plan was living through the ride.

"Hold, varlet." The booming voice made up Baloo's mind. "I wish to bandy words with you."

Baloo glanced at the furry bulk of the berserker known as Fenris Ulf, wrapped in fur, and horned helmet. The gleaming two bladed axe looked like a child's toy in his fist, but was actually almost as long as the sergeant's arm. Gleaming blackness burned from the eyes in the wolf face he wore.

Baloo jumped off the edge of the cliff. He had time to hope he didn't hit a rock when he did hit. Then he struck the water and went under.

The giant bounded to the water, prepared to throw his terrible axe with a mighty swing of his arm. He paused. There was no sign of the sergeant. He let the axe drop down to his side.

"Where is he?" Mr. Wolf arrived in his neatly pressed, black BDUs, and polished boots, rifle held in his hands. Sunglasses covered his weathered face. His hair dropped back from his wide forehead. "We were supposed to bring him back."

"Verily, friend Wolf, he jumped into the water rather than face me in a manly manner." The Viking tucked his axe in his belt. "I had hoped to render him senseless with the flat of my axe."

"I'll let you explain to Mr. R." Mr. Wolf pulled out a cigarette case and took a Marlboro out to light after slinging his rifle. "Let's gather the others so we can finish the job before we have more bad luck."

"Lead on." Fenris Ulf looked down at the boiling water. "I doubt the coward will survive his foolish act."

"I would rather be sure." Mr. Wolf led the way into the watching trees. He smoked his cigarette as he glided through the foliage.

Fenris Ulf tore his gaze away from the stream. He crashed through the brush, a challenge to any who heard him.

Anyone he encountered at that point would have a cleaved skull for their trouble.

The subject of the big hunter's ire swam down river with powerful strokes, riding the swift current instead of trying to fight it. He wanted distance. Trying to fight for shore wouldn't give him that.

Baloo surfaced in time to push off a boulder in his way, then slipped over a small waterfall. Above and behind him, he expected bullets or energy beams from his pursuers. He swam around a whirlpool and grasped another boulder near the opposite shore by chance. His big hands held on as the water battered him.

He had to get out of the water and get moving before he froze to death. If he could get to Lake Marlowe before nightfall he might have a chance. Otherwise he could expect to freeze in the small woods outside the small city.

Baloo pulled on the top of the boulder. He got half his body out of the water. He yanked again. His legs came free of the punching liquid. His lungs fought for air so he laid on top of the boulder until he could feel his heart slowing down, his breath slowing to normal.

Then the sergeant got to his feet. He turned to face the direction the lake and its city should be in. Then he started jogging. He had to make it somewhere to change clothes and warm up before the sun went down.

And he needed to check in with someone who could try and stop what was going on at the base hidden in the woods. He felt like both of his objectives were out of reach. He had nothing to lose by trying.

His footsteps crunched as the water dripped from his freezing skin. At least the exertion was warming him enough to keep him going. He could easily see someone finding his frozen skeleton years in the future and asking who could this be.

Quin Martin wondered how he had been talked into the situation he was about to deal with as the Question Man. How had he become a hero in the first place? He should be doing research now instead of thinking about the meeting he was about to go into.

He decided to blame Odd Dorfman. He was the man who had started all this. Odd had met someone in trouble, and had volunteered Quin to help him out. Then he had asked Quin to at least talk to the man about his problem. Oz Mike Michaelson had urged him to follow up and go to the meeting.

Quin decided that Oz Mike shared the blame for this situation.

Quin pulled his mask on. Odd had pulled it out of his hat when the group that had saved Marlowe had decided to stay together. It was a clear sheet that would protect his face while rendering it featureless.

The rest of his disguise was a simple suit and hat. The long coat necessary for Minnesota weather made his body almost as featureless as his face. Anonymity would help him in the long run.

The person he was meeting stood out in the small bar crowd. He had gotten a seat at a booth at the back of the place. He carried weight that could have been okay if he was forty years younger. His face spoke of bulldog tenacity. His glasses said he was well on his way to being blind.

Quin made his way to the booth, pushing through the young crowd trying to have a drink after work. He kept his collar up to cover the mask so no one would freak out at the faceless man. He settled into the booth. The other man looked up, smiled at the disguise.

"You must be Odd's friend." The older man extended a hand. "I'm Darby. Frank Darby."

"I'm the Question Man." Quin shook the hand, not needing his special power to know the man was a former policeman. "What can I do for you, Mr. Darby?"

"I hope you can help me solve an old murder." Darby sat back, waving a waitress over to take an order for a beer. Quin blocked his face with a hand until she had left.

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" Quin blocked his face again when the waitress returned with the beverage while the old man arranged notes on the table in front of him.

"It started almost forty years ago." Darby looked his notes over through his thick eyeglasses. "I walked a beat then. I found the body while walking my patrol."

"Hold on." Quin held out his gloved hand. He took the notes and scanned them, memorizing each fact with a glance. "Let's go. You can show me what you're talking about."

Quin handed the notes back before standing and heading for the door. Of course Odd had wanted him to get involved. Who else could solve a mysterious crime than a man with all the answers? All that was needed was the right questions.

Quin waited on the sidewalk, hat pulled low. Darby walked out of the saloon, parka wrapped around his big body. He walked over, looking puzzled.

"What do you think?" Darby frowned. "Can you help me?"

"I think it has been a long time to try to find out what happened, and yes, I can help you, if you have the right questions." Quin looked down at the sidewalk. "Why don't you walk me through your report at the scene?"

"You think I'm crazy." Darby's frown deepened.

"Anything we come up with won't be admissible." Quin started walking. "Are you sure you want to delve into this?"

"I have to know." Darby shrugged, walking along, keeping pace easily. "This is the only one I couldn't crack. I have to know who and why."

"Let's walk then." Quin knew the city had changed in the last forty years, new companies exchanging services and products across the border had caused a bubble boom that had been replaced with several strong companies that helped keep employment up for the expanding population.

"I thought you knew everything." Darby glanced at the new buildings as they walked, already walking back in time as they went.

"I know answers to questions but what's the point if I don't know what I'm telling you." Quin paused, checking his mental map. "What do you remember about that night?"

"It was cold as anything." Darby looked back, not even checking his notes. He had already read them hundreds of time before this. He knew what they said by heart. "It was as dark as the pit, and we were asked to look for vagrants that might have frozen in the alleys and culverts."

"Show me where you found the body." No wonder Odd had wanted Quin to help out with this.

"Right." Darby smiled then. "It's a few blocks over. That's why I picked Kerr's as a meeting place."

Quin nodded, glad that his guess had been confirmed.

Oz Mike Michaelson liked walking around the town of Marlowe. It was a new environment for him to learn. He didn't know how long this feeling would last, but it wasn't like he could go back to his chosen profession.

Superhumans weren't allowed to compete against normal humans, and his power allowed him to surf water itself.

His savings weren't going to last forever. He needed a job, a place to stay, and a new hobby that didn't involve water.

After the thing with the Lake Marlowe giant, he had been offered a job as a superhero. They all had been. So far the only one that seemed enthusiastic about that was Super Squirrel. Mike couldn't blame him for that. It meant an end to his wandering life.

It also meant the same thing to Oz Mike. He had surfed all over the world, chased every wave he could find, won big prizes and small. Until he had started wanting a break from it all, he had probably clocked more time in the air than an astronaut. Now he was at loose ends.

He definitely didn't feel like a hero.

Sirens woke him from his reverie. A yellow and white fire truck pushed its way through evening traffic. Someone probably had set a fire in the burned areas still left over from the rampage. If it burned out of control, it could still reach undamaged houses outside the ravaged areas.

Mike ran after the truck. Maybe he could help out with his talent. Firefighting seemed a natural for what he could do. He needed some water to speed up the pace.

Oz Mike looked around as he ran. Marlowe had some fountains to enhance the park land feel of the small city, but none were near. He couldn't open any of the nearby hydrants he saw. What did that leave?

Mike looked around, seeking some inspiration. All he saw were small restaurants, businesses, and places looking for renters. The fire truck left only its warning wail to lead him on. There was no way to catch up now.

Mike paused. He stared at place on the corner. He realized it had all the water he needed. He could almost kick himself.

Mike ran into a taco stand, pulling on the goggles and scarf he used as a disguise. He pushed into the bathroom, checked the toilet, then turned the sink on full blast. He needed water, and now he had it.

Oz Mike went to the door as the water leaped under his feet. Suddenly he floated in the middle of the restaurant. Everyone had a blank face as he hovered in front of them.

"Don't let anybody go into the bathroom, please." Mike waved before heading out the door on his stretching line of power.

The surfer decided he needed altitude so he could figure out which direction to go. He forced his liquid horse to climb into the air. A few blocks over he could see the flash of emergency lights and the smoke from a burning building. He nodded to himself.

Time to see if he really was the hero Enforcer wanted him to be.

Oz Mike soared through the air, riding his wave across the sky. People looked up, alerted by water splashing on them as he passed. He dropped down above the street where the fire fighting crew unrolled hoses to go in the burning building. His stream held him next to the fire chief as he looked at the seven story inferno.

"Need a hand, Chief?" Mike had seen the craggy faced Olson during the monster attack even if they hadn't really stopped to talk to each other.

"We're getting set up." Olson turned grim blue eyes on the newcomer. "What can you do?"

"Give me some more water and I can go in and search the place before your guys have to go in." Oz Mike looked around. "I can be pretty fast."

"This is Fire One." Olson held his walkie talkie to his lips. "Open a third hydrant."

Mike spotted a crewman running to a hydrant out of reach of the trucks and their hoses. The man popped the front off. Water spilled out in the street.

"Thanks, Chief." Mike waved a hand as he directed his suddenly weaker stream over to where the hydrant poured its resources away. Someone must have went in and closed the sink taps off. That was okay. He didn't need that source anymore with a closer reserve to draw upon.

Mike gathered the water under him, shaping it in a slide reaching up into the top window of the building. He smashed the glass aside with a shoulder as the slope carried him forward. He was glad he had covered his face as the smoke billowed out of the office he was in. He had promised a search without thinking. Now he had to carry it out.

Oz Mike plunged into the inferno, letting his slide enter before him. The water soaked the rooms down as he passed. Sprinklers poured down ineffectually, and he added them to his engine to increase his speed. He did the same for any bathrooms he passed. Soon he was a roar, knocking down doors, cascading down steps, extinguishing small blazes with just his passing.

Oz Mike smiled. So far everything was going okay, and he hadn't seen anyone who needed him. Maybe the building had been empty when it caught fire. There was no telling until the blaze was put out and the source was found. He just had to make sure that no one waited for rescuers in the smoke.

Oz Mike heard coughing when he was halfway down the structure. He looked around, spinning in place on his extending platform. Steam shot up as the loose water flew in droplets around him. A hand appeared from behind a desk, clawing for support.

Oz Mike flew over, grabbing the arm attached to the hand. A middle-aged woman coughed weakly in her hand. The surfer slung her over his shoulder. He headed downstairs as fast as possible.

He hoped any others trapped inside could hang on until he could come back inside and find them.

Odd Dorfman sat in his bookstore, counting the minutes until he could close. He had discovered a screen out of his hat when he was walking in that morning. It showed him the town as he watched it on his counter top. A few odd customers wandered the aisles but they were minding their own businesses at the moment.

Odd had found the odd bowler he wore constantly. It had been in a thrift shop when he had still been in his teen years, looking for a means to rebel against the establishment. He had accidently discovered the talent it gave him.

Odd had liked to drink to excess when he was younger. He had gotten plastered at a party. He had fell on his hat, sticking his hand in the mouth of it. He pulled out something that instantly sobered him up with its too many tentacles and eyes. He shoved it back in before anyone else knew what had happened and decided to walk his shattered buzz off.

Anyone else would have thrown the hat away before it did something worse. Odd kept it, experimented when he was alone. He learned two things. The hat gave him a random item based on where he was standing. It also gave him a knowledge where that item could be found once he started to look for it.

He had helped save the town but he knew he had been in the rear while everyone else had done all the hard work. He had just reached in his hat and pulled out a show stopper. If one of the GMs for his roleplaying games had done that, he would have shook his head at the deus ex machina.

Still, he was on the team at least as back up. The government agent they had met through Enforcer had said as much. A childhood dream was fulfilled like that.

Why wasn't he happy?

The bell rang by the door. Odd looked up and smiled. His lovely wife stood there with a smile on her face. She carried a plastic bag from the crafts store with the handles wrapped around her wrist.

"How's your day been, Hon?" Kitty took his breath away every time he saw her. Her golden hair, periwinkle eyes, voluptuous frame could net her anyone but she had chosen him.

He still couldn't figure out why even after all the years they had been together.

"Slow." Odd leaned back in his chair. All of his worries vanished with Kitty's arrival. "How's things gone with you?"

"I sold a couple of things with a few more orders to be filled." Kitty pulled out several folded sheets of material to give him a peek. "The Black Five Regiment has ordered new standards for their re-enactments of the Dunsinane Burning."

"That's the one with a big black five on a yellow background?" Odd thought it resembled the air cav symbol he had seen in the movies.

"I thought you were asleep when I was laying it out." Kitty looked at the ceiling, remembering that night. "You were sick and on the couch."

"That's the only thing I do remember from that whole weekend." Odd shrugged. Customers still wandered the shop. He looked at the clock on the wall. Time to get rid of them so he could have dinner with his stunning wife. He put the screen he had pulled from his hat under the counter. "Last call everyone. We're closing for the night."

The small crowd came up to the register slowly. Some wanted to keep roaming the stacks but Odd just pointed at the time. He waved them out one by one, then locked the doors. The last thing he had to do was count the day's receipts and make his deposit. He could lock the money in the safe to take to the bank in the morning.

"Despite seeming to be slow, we had a fair day at the book store." Odd wrote out a receipt and placed it and the money in a deposit bag. He sealed the bag and put it in the drop drawer of the safe behind the counter. "We'll be able to pay the rent and utilities for sure."

"What about this government offer?" Kitty went to the alarm next to the front door. Their quarters were in the back of the store, sealed away by a locked door. "Are you going to take it?"

"I think so." Odd lowered a metal grill over the glass frontage. He tucked the screen under his arm. "I just wish I could do more than be back up."

Tim Bucket threw an orange tennis ball against the wall of his school. He did it to practice accuracy. He had power to spare, but his part-time career needed him to be able to hit a dime in the air at a moment's notice.

He had hated giving up pitching for the baseball team. He didn't hate it, but he couldn't cheat and there were other things than sports. He just needed to get good enough at them that his father left him alone about having to quit.

At least Coach Reilly understood and was reasonable about losing his best pitcher. He had actually been nice about it. That had surprised Tim at the time. He couldn't remember a time the coach had been nice about anything.

"Leave me alone." A girl walked away from the school. A car of thugs slowed traffic to keep pace with her as she moved along the sidewalk. The car and the group inside looked like someone had used a baseball bat on them. "I don't want anything to do with you."

Tim went to the bag he had dropped near the wall. His first thought was to call the police on his cell phone. Let them deal with the problem. He decided they wouldn't answer the call unless it was some kind of emergency. By then, things would have gotten out of hand.

He reached in the bag and pulled out a face mask. He slid the straps on, pulled his baseball hat on over it. He dropped catcher's padding over his shirt. It had a yellow T in a yellow circle in the center of it. He grabbed his arsenal of baseballs last.

Tim hoped his disguise would keep trouble away from his home. His dad would want to move from Marlowe if things got too bad. He grabbed his bag, sealing it. An underhand throw dropped it on the breezeway where students lined up to wait for the bus.

No one seemed to have noticed what he was doing.

Tim followed behind the slow moving car. The girl was crying at some of the things the guys were saying to her. He frowned underneath the face mask. What would the Enforcer do?

He would drop one of those energy blasts on the skirt chasers.

Tim grabbed one of his baseballs. He jogged to catch up, tossing the ball up and down in his hand. Maybe if he just said he was watching they would move on to some other girl where he wasn't getting in the way. At least he had tried to be reasonable if he did that.

"I'm not asking you." The guy in the back with the broken nose stuck his hand out of the back driver's side window. He grabbed the girl's arm. "I'm telling you to get in."

Tim threw the ball. He had seen enough.

The baseball left his hand with the speed of a bullet, a blur of motion before it crossed the two foot mark. It hit the guy reaching out the window in the arm. Snap went the arm. The girl pulled out of the slack grasp with a jerk. She jumped back from the car, hands up for the limited protection they gave her.

Tim reached into his bag, grabbing another baseball. He heard someone scream someone was shooting at them. His eyes narrowed on the passenger who was reaching for something. He couldn't allow a gun to be used this close to the school. The former pitcher cranked back his arm.

The baseball blasted through the back windshield. It hit the headrest of the passenger seat. The headrest came off as the sphere started to ricochet inside the car. More shouts filled the air. The driver hit the gas, burning rubber to get away from whatever was shooting at them.

Tim grabbed a third ball, wondering if they were coming back. He waited, eyes searching the streets. He dropped the ball when he decided they were gone to take care of the wounds he had inflicted.

"Why did you do that?" The girl looked at Tim. She looked scared to the Trebuchet. "They'll just come back and hurt me the next time."

"Call the cops and file a report." Tim turned to go. He was already starting to attract too much attention in his mask and catcher's pad. "That'll get things moving so you won't have to see them until you put them in jail."

"I can't do that." The girl looked down at her book bag and purse. She had retained her grip on them throughout the excitement. "What about my family?"

"You have to stand up for yourself sometime." Tim headed for the breezeway where he had stowed his civilian clothes. "The cops won't believe me. I'm wearing a mask."

Tim glanced over his shoulder. The girl followed him. He couldn't just let her see his real face. The next thing he knew, everyone would know who the masked kid on campus was. His dad would be less than pleased.

Tim had to get rid of her.

"Go call the police and file a report." Tim grabbed hold of a breezeway support. "They'll get those guys and put them in jail."

"I can't do it on my own." The girl looked at Tim, holding out one hand. "What about my family?"

"If you really think the police can't help, call Odd's Books and leave a message." Tim yanked on the metal column. He flew up to the concrete awning. "Maybe he knows someone who can help you."

"Maybe he knows someone?"

"Maybe." Tim grabbed his bag, stuffing mask and makeshift armor in it. The baseballs went in next. He headed down the awning, making sure to stay out of sight from the ground as much as possible.

Tim hid his Trebuchet disguise on the roof of the school with a quick toss. He looked around. No one could see him as far as he could tell. He braced himself with his arm, and gently tossed himself to the ground.

Time to walk off before anyone could catch up to him.

How did Spider-Man get by the way he did.

Billy Keys headed down to the basement of the building he maintained. He often wandered the premises to look for problems before they developed. The basement might be the start of something he needed to fix.

Several things pointed to something growing down there. First there was a smell. It drifted up to the apartments. Several of his renters complained about it. Tracking the smell had led him down the steps to the bottom of the building.

Then there were the holes in the walls he had found. He had plugged all he could find but figured that more would keep coming as long as the source was still out there.

Experience pointed to a problem he had seen before in other buildings. He didn't like the thought of it. So he had to go down in the basement and look for himself. Then he could figure out what to do about it.

Rats were the bane of a healthy building.

Billy pulled a flashlight from his pocket and flicked it on. If he had turned the overhead on, the rats would have run like cockroaches. He wanted them to think that he was friendly. That way he could figure out the source of them and plug it.

Billy ran the light over the concrete room. He didn't like the way green dots flickered back as the light moved back and forth.

He went to the light switch and turned the overheads on. Two bulbs in descending lamps from the ceiling flashed on. A brown carpet stood at attention, blinking in the sudden light. He frowned when they didn't run from the exposure.

That wasn't ordinary. Billy examined the room, nodded at the hole in the bottom of the wall on the other side of the room. That must have been the entrance. How could he get them to go out that way?

As Billy pondered what to do, the rats took off through the hole. They formed an orderly line and moved single file through the hole and out in the alley beyond. The super moved closer, playing the light on the wall.

That was something you didn't see every day.

Billy moved closer, light still shining in front of him. The rear guard hissed at him, exposing sharp teeth. That wasn't usual either.

Billy took a step back. There was more to this than met the eye. Rats usually didn't form up in packs like this. Maybe someone was in charge, someone who could control rats.

Billy knew it was possible. Super Squirrel did the same thing with squirrels. The super ran up the stairs. He needed to find out what was going on. He reached the basement door and stepped outside with a thought.

Billy looked around. He spotted the line of rats forming into a marching band a few feet to his right. He didn't expect that. The rodents turned and started marching away from him at full speed.

Billy scratched his head. He should follow them and find out what was going on. He also needed to repair the hole in his wall before they came back. He shook in place, trying to decide what was more important.

Finally he put the flashlight in his pocket after turning it off and walked after the marching army.

He could always get some concrete for patching the wall from the hardware store later. This might be his only chance to follow the rats back to their boss.

The procession worked its way across Marlowe to the forest at the edge of town. The rats broke up and ran in different directions, acting more like normal rats than they had so far. Billy lost sight of them in the underbrush.

Billy scratched his head. He still didn't know what was going on but at least the rats were gone for now. He would just have to keep an eye out for more problems from them. That meant constant vigilance.

He was already doing that, so a little more wouldn't be that much of a big deal.

He pulled out his pad and wrote down what he needed to make repairs. It would take some time but eventually he would have all the holes filled, everything back in order. Passing the word on seemed to be advisable. Maybe the others had run across something like this before.

He had helped save the city but that wasn't what he liked to do. It had been an extension of keeping his building safe. A giant monster would have destroyed that with a flick of its paws. Save the city equaled saving his building seemed an easy equation in his mind.

Billy headed back to his building, reaching for his phone. He had Odd's number. The book seller knew where everyone was. He could alert the others.

Chad Reilly walked the football field at the back of the school. He had a lot of thinking to do about his future, and pacing helped him with that. The football area was big enough that he could walk around it while he thought without being bothered.

The first thing was his baseball team. Tim Bucket was his star pitcher. His other pitchers just couldn't throw the ball as hard as Tim. On the other hand, he couldn't keep Tim on the team since he could throw a car through the air. That was bound to result in calls of cheating.

Tim made the hard decision to quit on his own. His scholarship hungry father must hate it, but the boy's future would be marred if his secret was ever found out. People would forget any good he had done as Trebuchet, and concentrate on the fact he had an unequaled advantage as a pitcher and used it.

Then there was this deal as a training officer with this group of would be heroes. That had dropped in his lap, even though he was retired from the Project, and his powers were slowly fading away. He didn't have much longer as a hero. It didn't feel right to try to get back in harness.

He might get one of his new comrades killed if his powers faded at the wrong moment.

Reilly also had a load of work as a teacher when the baseball season wasn't going on. He had tons of work to grade and clear for his students. Usually he did that after practice. His new responsibility would cut into that unless he could set up a schedule to work with the new team and cover all his bases.

Basically it was looking like he was going to be busy juggling a mess that used to be a well ordered life. He would just have to take steps to improve things. That's what they had taught him in the service, and the Project.

Reilly paused on the field, realized he had walked in a circle for almost an hour. He wasn't getting anything done pacing. He better start by making some phone calls and checking in with the others. He could work on his papers after that. Tomorrow he would start working the relief pitchers and figure out what they could do.

Reilly wondered when he had stopped worrying about the future. It seemed to have slipped away from the way he did things. He knew he had avoided as much risk as possible when he had started out. Now risk was a thing on a checklist to be marked off.

Reilly talked with Odd Dorfman. The Question Man was out helping someone, the rest hadn't checked in yet. They were probably still deciding on if they wanted to be a team and help others.

Reilly pulled up some tiling under his desk. His costume sat in the metal box he kept it in if he ever needed it. He pulled it out. Maybe he could do some low flying around town, get some practice in.

Hopefully his body would keep on letting him get away with minor things as long as he didn't do anything major like he had against the lake monster. Blasting its mouth had nearly sent him down for the count, even though he had put a professional face on it.

Reilly took the gray suit, hood, boots and gloves, out of the container. He covered the chest up with the tiles, tamping them down with his thumbs. He changed in his office. He made sure to keep the blinds closed so he could preserve his identity as much as possible. Once ready, the Enforcer floated into the gym to the skylight in the ceiling. He opened the window up and drifted on the roof.

Reilly didn't have enough for the fast flying he had possessed in his youth. On the other hand, he could jump really far with an assist. That would give him distance and speed without taxing his body beyond its limits.

The gray clad Enforcer leaped from building to building in quick arcs. The thought that he must look like a giant bunny crossed his mind. He smiled under his hood as he sized up his next landing zone and jumped again. He would be at the book store in a few minutes at this rate.

Super Squirrel and Alice the Owl were famous. They both found it odd and perplexing. Before reaching Marlowe, they had tried to avoid people without hesitation. Now kids wanted their autographs. It was a complete turnaround so sharp Squirrel's furry head still spun.

Who could have predicted that when the two of them had went against their better judgement and tried to save the small city from the overgrown lake monster? The thought they were going to get killed had been uppermost then.

"It feels good to be out in the open." Squirrel and Alice stood on the roof of the hideaway they had confiscated when they first reached town. "I don't know what we're going to do about living in the light when neither one of us has a job."

"Tell me about it." Alice smoothed the feathers on her wings with her thin hands. "Hero work won't get us money."

"I got an offer from the city to help their parks and recreation guys." Squirrel scratched his muzzle with a sharp talon. "It's not much but it would be enough to put food on the table."

"That's better than what I got." Alice smiled, her round eyes blinking in the late sun. This was about the time she went out and hunted and her friend went to bed for the night.

"What do you think about being the official super heroes of the town." Squirrel had already said he wanted it. And if it came with a check, so much the better. Alice had said she wanted time to think about it before making a decision.

"I'm not for it." Alice frowned, turning her gaze toward the buildings that surrounded their nest. "I still remember how people treated us before we went out to stop that thing. Just because we're famous now, tomorrow the same people praising us will turn on us for any perceived slight."

"So we should pass?" Squirrel scratched his muzzle again. Being a hero appealed to his inner swashbuckler, but he wouldn't do it if Alice wouldn't at least give her approval.

"I would like to be human again." Alice hugged his thin shoulders. "If Aylwin can help us with that, then we can give her a little help in turn."

"Being human isn't all that great." Squirrel smiled. "At least we're together now. You wouldn't even like me if we didn't look like this."

"You wouldn't like me at all." Alice shook her head. "At least you're a hero now like you always wanted. Your dream has come true."

"What good's a dream without someone to share it with?" Squirrel looked out on the horizon, smiling just a little bit.

Alice hugged him even tighter. This wasn't exactly the life she had wanted for herself. Turning into a bird woman, moving from town to town, only daring to show her face at night where she was best suited to move around had not been something she had expected when they asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up.

"I wonder if we can call for pizza." Squirrel hugged her back. "We can stay up all night watching movies, doing the cha-cha, playing video games, look adoringly in each other's eyes. What do you say?"

"I'd like to see you do the cha-cha." Alice laughed. "You're on. But I'd like to take my night flight first."

"What movie should we put in first?" Squirrel hopped up and down. "Batman Begins? Iron Man? All three of the Matrix movies?"

"The Lake House." Alice leaped from the roof top, wings spread wide. She did a spiral upwards.

"The Lake House?" Squirrel stuck out his tongue.

"I'll get popcorn on the way back." Alice pointed herself toward town and soared away on silent feathers. "Be ready for some cuddling."

Squirrel scratched his muzzle again, before turning away with a fluff of his tail. The Lake House? The only good part of that movie was when it ended. At least popcorn and cuddling would make it bearable. He headed downstairs, walking along the railings of the stairs until he got to the ground floor of their nest.

He started humming as he set up the television, a stack of movies, cushions for a sort of couch, empty glasses and a supply of canned sodas even though he could only drink one. The carbonated water made him a little sick if he drank more than one. He debated calling for pizza until Alice was back from her evening flight.

He decided to go ahead and call. He didn't know when she was going to be back, but he should give the driver plenty of time to find the address. After all, the two of them were using a tree at the head of the road as a mailbox.

No one must know where the super secret Squirrel Cave actually lay. It was a thing men weren't meant to know.

Additionally they wanted some semblance of privacy without having to resort to guard squirrels.

Thia Halmedes smiled as she hung the target on the range rope with clips. She had finally found a place where she could practice, and no one knew who she was, or what she could do. It was good to be anonymous among the other shooters on the line.

Her power had gotten stronger since the battle with the Zornwill. She needed practice so she didn't hurt anybody but the person she was aiming at.

Thia pulled one of her pistols out of thin air with one hand. She pressed the button to send the target down the firing lane with the other. As soon as it was more than three feet away, she fired with the pistol. She kept pulling the trigger as the paper kept moving away from her. A large hole appeared from the use of firepower. Then the target split apart with the two upper corners still hanging from the clips.

That was excellent.

Thia pressed the button to recall the clips back to load another target. She frowned as a group of shooters hovered around her cubby.

"Can I help you?" She glared at the others, a small mix of men and women.

"That was some terrific shooting, miss." One of the men held out his hand. Thia looked at him until he withdrew it. "I'm Tyler Durden. We would like to know if you would like to join our shooting team."

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Thia put the target papers back into the unused tray. It looked like her practice was over. "I'm cheating."

"Cheating?" Durden looked at the destroyed target.

"I'm using ammo that explodes on impact." Thia looked at the amazed faces. "It destroys the target every time."

"We have been watching, Miss." Durden looked at the others. Some of them nodded. "You are a really good shot, and we need someone like you. We want to win the grand prize at the end of the year."

"What happens if I get caught cheating?" Thia looked at the crowd. "What happens to your team? Don't get me wrong, I like to win every time myself, but what happens to all of you? Is that worth it? I think banning from competition is the common thing."

"Could you at least coach us?" Durden held out a hand. "Our averages are good, but not as good as the other teams out there. We want to get to the regionals this year, if not the championship."

"I don't how I can help you, but let's see what you guys can do." Thia shook her head. Maybe she should have practiced on some tin cans in the parking lot of her apartment building. "Just go ahead and set up some targets, and maybe I can give you some pointers."

Thia walked the line as the shooting team fired off a clip of ammo each at the papers down range. She offered some insights and her advice caused better aim. She didn't see herself as a teacher but the averages did go up by a small margin.

Maybe she could be a coach instead of an active participant. At least then she wouldn't be cheating. She had never thought she would have a skill she couldn't use in a game, but there she was.

"You guys are great shooters." Thia looked at the papers one by one. "You don't need me at all."

"The other guys are twice as good as we are." Durden shook his head. "I don't think we can match them."

"Let's go see how good they are." Thia folded the papers up, put them in her bag.

Aylwin braked at the yellow and black crossbar, government issue Lincoln covered with dust from following the access road to the hidden outpost north of Marlowe. She had orders to check in on its decommissioning before moving on.

The Project had decided to consolidate some of the seized property instead of leaving it scattered across the United States. Most of the equipment Aylwin had seen had been museum pieces from the Fifties and Sixties when Atom America and Blake's Seven had been most active.

Of course some of the things still packed a punch for all their quaint looking tubes and miles of wire.

"Name please." The guard loomed in her vision, standing close to the window to match her id with the list on a clipboard he held.

"Aylwin." Aylwin looked at the face of the guard, struck that she knew him. She couldn't place the face.

"Identification." The guard held out his hand for her card.

Aylwin stared instead, flipping through the cards in her memory. The Project filed every superhuman captured during a crime. It didn't matter where in the world that happened. And Aylwin updated her memory every month, taking in new faces whenever she had a break from her official duties.

She knew this man.

"Have we met before?" Aylwin reached under her jacket, supposedly for a wallet.

"I don't think so." The guard loomed closer, face blurring slightly.

Aylwin pulled her pistol, leaning away from the door. The guard grew fur and too many teeth. She blasted away through the door. The bullets wouldn't do anything to the Garou, just push him back with the blasts.

Aylwin turned, firing at the other guard as she put the car in reverse. She didn't want to get caught in a crossfire while standing motionless. The other guard soaked up the energy blasts, transforming into fire. The agent hit the gas, backing away from the gate. Fire struck the hood of the car, melting the metal, scabbing away the black paint in seconds.

Aylwin kept the gas down. She couldn't drive the car long, but she couldn't bail out with the Garou on the ground. She had already exhausted her ammunition just buying time.

Garou bounded across the open ground as she backed down the driveway. He landed on the hood, uniform catching fire. He ripped the front window out of the way with massive claws at the end of his fingers.

Aylwin hit the brakes. A smile crossed her bland face as the werewolf flew forward, grabbing hold of the roof so he didn't fall off. She hit the gas again, trying to keep him off balance. She couldn't afford to have him get inside the car next to her.

The other false guard floated down the road. Flames leaped from his hands as he tried to disable the car. He succeeded in melting the tires away. The front of the car dropped on the asphalt. The partially melted rims didn't bother to throw up sparks as Aylwin forced the car along a few more feet.

Aylwin grabbed her briefcase and dropped it on the gas when she was close to the trees that lined the road. She bailed out as Garou ripped the roof apart with its claws. The agent reloaded as she vanished into the woods.

Aylwin mentally went over the gear she had on her person. It wasn't enough to take down two powerhouses like The Garou and Sundog. The name clicked in as she reviewed all of the fire elementals the Project knew about.

Aylwin paused to take a breath as the car went up in a ball of fire. She doubted anyone had seen it, and couldn't count on help. If she could get in touch with Chad Reilly, that might be enough to get a real team of agents with an arsenal of weapons to take care of this before it got to be too much.

What would Garou and Sundog want with a decommissioned base? It didn't fit their profiles in the cards she had memorized. They were muscle only.

Aylwin grabbed her phone, keeping an eye on the mess she was fleeing. She knew Garou was much faster than she was, and had a werewolf's invulnerability. If he got within reach of her, she could expect to be ripped apart.

Aylwin pressed the dial function on the phone. It would automatically dial the closest active agent she knew. No point calling inside the base since it was compromised.

Reilly's phone rang three times, then went to voice mail. Aylwin groaned. She left a short message before she hung up. She needed to call someone else.

She looked at her phone's screen to push the button to call the next nearest agent. The phone vanished in a spray of metal. She dropped, listening for the sound of a bullet.

"We don't want to hurt you, lady." Sundog's voice drifted to her. "Give it up, or our guy will shoot you."

Aylwin looked around, searching for a passage she could use for cover. She needed to buy time. Reilly was her only hope now.

A tree to her right lost a piece of its trunk. The buzz of a moving body convinced her that she was zeroed in. She had to buy time. She couldn't do that if she was dead.

"Either we have a meeting of the minds, or we don't." Sundog's voice indicated he stood closer to where she lay. "Which is it going to be?"

Aylwin raised her hands. She kept the pistol where she could reach for it if she had a chance. Maybe they would be careless.

"Don't move." Sundog cleared some trees. "I'm not getting paid to kill anybody so let's keep this as friendly as possible."

Aylwin gritted her teeth as she got to her feet. She kept her hands where he could see them. The first chance she got, she would show him how friendly she could be.

Mr. Wolf flipped the cover of his phone shut. Things had gotten worse in a matter of minutes. Collie had reported the capture of an agent at the gate. Her car had been slagged, but they didn't know if she had been able to get a call out.

That meant he had to get his team moving faster, and get ready for an assault by members from Project Z.

All in a day's work for the Canines.

Mr. Wolf reviewed what he knew, eyes closed behind his sunglasses. Then he came up with a plan. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best he could do with the amount of unknowns in play.

"We are going to have to get ready for a possible raid." Mr. Wolf stubbed out his cigarette on his boot heel. "Fenris Ulf, head back to the base. Sundog and Garou will need your muscle. Fenris and Stone Dog, head downstream and find that sergeant. We're not getting paid to kill him, but he has to be cut off. Shadowpup, head over and watch the road about a mile or two below where Crosshair has set up his post. If you see anything out of the ordinary, radio a warning."

"I welcome the feeding of my axe with the blood of varlets." Fenris Ulf's eyes glowed at the thought, casting green sparks in the air.

"Hopefully we'll be out of here before that." Mr. Wolf nodded and the meeting broke up.

Mr. Wolf and Fenris Ulf turned north, headed for the base they had invaded. Fenris, Little Fen because of his relative size to the bigger Ulf, and Stone Dog started downstream, following the water. One of Stone Dog's rock hounds carried them on its back. Shadowpup, a kid adopted from the life of a street urchin, faded into darkness, used that to travel west toward the road.

They didn't know how long they had before the government arrived, so they had to maximize what time they did have.

Mr. R had to be hurried along so they could move to the next phase. That would be fun.

Mr. Wolf thought about getting into another line of work as he and Fenris Ulf moved silently through the trees. He found shooting people to be a lot more work than he wanted to do. He was getting too old to fight other people's conflicts. Retirement seemed to beckon as he daydreamed along the path, moving without having to think about where to put a foot down.

They reached the fence. A hole let them get on the base grounds. Mr. Wolf pointed for his minion to take to the roof to watch out for incoming. The wolf faced berserker nodded, swinging the axe in his giant mitt in a circle and then letting it carry him to the top of the building. From there, he could hurl his weapon at anything that might approach the main edifice in the outpost.

Mr. Wolf looked at the main gate. Sundog waved back at him. Hopefully they had pushed the car off the road and covered it with branches to slow down detection.

Shadowpup checked in with a click over the radio. He should have picked a place where he could see the road and no one could see him.

Mr. Wolf stepped into the building, decided to talk to the prisoner. That might give him some clue how long he had to get the rest of the mission done. If he had to, his troops would pull out and leave the client on his own.

You couldn't spend your money in Leavenworth.

Mr. Wolf walked down the hall to the offices they were using for a brig. He opened the door. The three Air Force personnel had been joined by an older woman in a black suit and tie. None of them looked happy to see him.

"I'm Mr. Wolf." He lit up a cigarette and took a puff. "I'm wondering what you're doing here."

"I'm part of the decommission team." Aylwin looked around for something she could use while she talked. They hadn't seemed concerned about gagging her. That could be good or bad depending on what it meant. "What do you want here?"

"I'm being paid to look after things for someone." Mr. Wolf knew that sometimes people were sent out to check on bases when they were being decommissioned. He should have expected this to happen.

It was a big kink in the plan, but nothing he couldn't iron out.

"I'm willing to let you people stay here in this room and leave you unharmed as long as you stay out of the way." Mr. Wolf didn't bother to adopt a friendly pose. It was better if they thought he might kill them at any second. "On the other hand, if you leave this room, you will be shot. We're going to find what we're looking for and then leave. Someone will be told you are up here and they should come up to free you before you starve."

"What if they don't?" one of the Air Force men glared at the mercenary.

"Not my problem." Mr. Wolf shut the door.

Staff Sergeant Baloo hit a rock and was glad. The pain cut through the numbing cold that threatened to pull him under. One slightly blue hand gripped the stone, pulled with the remaining strength in his bearish form. Riding the water down to Lake Marlowe had seemed like a good idea compared to having his head split open.

Looking at the dark forest, feeling the cold in his bones, and the drag of his uniform, said otherwise.

He wrung his clothes out on the move. He didn't know how much time he had before the wolves caught up with him. He certainly couldn't waste it freezing to death.

Baloo jogged along, heading for the lights of Marlowe. If he could get there, he could call in. Worse case, he could ask the local heroes to help out. They had handled Zornwill, but a mindless monster didn't compare to mercenaries willing to inflict anything to win.

He wondered what could be in the old vaults that had required a robbery. Surely better technology was on the open market in the decades since Project Z had started. Cutting edge in the fifties didn't hold a candle to what had been unleashed in the last few years.

Who was Mr. R? Why had he hired Wolf and his friends to break into a decommissioned base? How had he even known such a base was there? Was that a hound baying back there in the night?

Baloo paused, looking over his shoulder. Mr. Wolf was the kind of guy to make sure. Who had he sent to finish the job? The staff sergeant didn't think much of his chances against the superhumans he had observed during his escape. He figured that Fenris would be the easiest to deal with compared to the rest of the mob.

Sun Dog had his flames. Garou was indestructible. Fenris Ulf was an avatar of berserker rage. Shadowpup could use darkness as a weapon. Stone Dog made moving stone hounds. Mr. Wolf was better armed at the moment. All Fenris could do was bite through steel. What kind of super ability was that?

Baloo started jogging again. He needed to get as close to Marlowe as he could if he wanted to avoid endangering anyone living close to the lake, if anyone still lived close to the lake. A lake monster and uncovered chemical dumping couldn't have been good for the property values.

The sound of hounds calling filled the air behind the Air Force non-com. He didn't bother to look behind him. His feet dragged his lumbering form among dangerous obstacles. He couldn't spare the split second look over his shoulder if he wanted to keep moving.

At least he knew Stone Dog was behind him. Any information was good information. How could he use it to better his situation?

Baloo reached a clearing, cheered by the fact he had entered a path carved by Zornwill's rampage. If he could traverse its length before the hounds caught up with him, he could maybe play hide and seek among the ruined houses and buildings that must have stood in the way of the lake monster's march before it ended their defiant existence as shelters and places of businesses.

If he was really lucky, he might even find a weapon under the debris. Anything would be better than his numbed hands at this point.

Baloo heard a scrabbling to his left as he jogged down the furrow he had encountered. He turned. Glaring eyes appeared in the dark. He turned to head into the trees. No way could he fight a stone hound in the open. That would be like handing himself up on a plate.

Baloo jumped over a fallen tree trunk, squeezed through where two trees leaned together, and kept moving. Claws scrapped wood behind him and he knew he didn't have a lot of time left. He saw something glinting in the grass ahead. He grabbed it as he ran pass.

Someone had lost a baseball bat. Rust spots on the surface of it told Baloo it had been in the rain for a little bit. He expected it had been blasted from one of the stomped houses as Zornwill had cruised by. It didn't matter where the bat had came from. All that mattered was he had it in his hands.

Baloo felt movement close to him, turned and swung the bat. The metal hit something hard enough to be a brick wall. The vibration went up in his shoulders. Then the stone dog ran into him like a mini Cooper. He went down under the blow.

"Freeze, old man." Stone Dog rode up on the back of one of his hounds, dressed in fox hunting uniform and mask done up in brown. "We don't want to hurt you any more than we have to, but we're not putting up with your guff either."

Baloo looked around for the baseball bat. He saw it laying on the ground a few feet away. If he could reach it, maybe he could take the fox hunter down.

The hound glared at him, dripping pebbles on his wet uniform. Fenris picked up the bat. He bit it in half, chewed on the metal, swallowed the part he had reduced to pieces. He flung the two pieces away in the dark.

"Don't test us." Fenris shook his cowled head, the green and dark red F of his costume reduced to shades of gray. "I had to ride the worse thing to ride outside of a unicycle with no seat to catch you. Biting your head off would make up for that."

"You got me." Baloo sighed. This was a pickle.

Quin Martin and Frank Darby stood in a dark alley between two industrial buildings that had seen better days. Quin's coat blew in the rising wind. He held his hat down with one hand while scanning Darby's notes in the other.

"You found the body here?" Quin looked around the alley. It matched every version of a dumping ground he had ever seen on television. "Tell me what it looked like."

"I came down from that end." Darby pointed at the other end of the alley. "I walked to the end of the loading dock. There were big bins like for construction there next to the wall. I found the body between the loading bay and the first bin."

Quin looked up and down the alley, and then at the wall where the bins had been that cold day. He walked the length and started back.

"What do you think?" Darby stuck his gloved hands in his coat. "Did we miss something?"

"It's cold." Quin's eyes glowed under the mask. "Yes."

Quin paused as his power snatched the two answers from his lips. He felt that sensation of hooking into a vast stream of information moving around him. It just waited for him to plunge in and never want to leave its embrace.

"What did we miss?" Darby turned a full circle, looking at the crime scene the way it was years ago. "I've looked this place over dozens of times."

"The killer was wounded. He left his blood at the scene. There was enough for a blood typing." Quin pointed at the wall where the body had lain. "The detectives investigating the case thought it was her blood. No one knew."

"Did the perp go to the hospital?" Darby pulled out a pad and pen. Excitement made him hop in place.

"Yes." The Question Man barely showed signs of life. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all.

"What's his name?" Darby smiled. This could be the answer to everything that had haunted his whole career. Countless man hours devoted to this one case had been wasted until this point.

"His name is Marcel Marceau." The Question Man shook off the knowledge that shrouded his mind.

"I know that name." Darby flipped through his notes. He didn't find what he wanted in the scant pages. "It belonged to someone interviewed in the canvas."

"Now is the time to go back and look things over in the evidence bag and see if you can find anything that will connect to Marceau." Quin shrugged. He handed the file back. "I'm sure you will find connections now that you know who you're looking for."

"What was the motive?" Darby put the file and his notes in the pockets of his heavy coat. "Why did he do it?"

"He didn't like the fact she was breathing his air." The Question Man pulled his coat up, hunching down in the wind. "If you can find him after all this time, and find enough to arrest him and bring him in, I suppose I can help with the questioning."

"Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Darby watched the mystery man start limping toward the end of the alley and to the street beyond.

"Keep this to yourself." The Question Man looked and turned down the street. He had expected something like this, and his power had not failed him in that respect. He needed to keep questions down somehow.

Quin needed to get back to his place. A good lie down and a book sometimes cleared the foggy feeling that hung around after what he called a reading. Then he could sleep and recharge for the next day.

Quin hoped Darby didn't do any Dirty Harry type of thing based on a few answers in an alley. The police would think he targeted an innocent man over a crime he had been investigating for decades. Marceau could walk free after anything like that.

He wondered if he had done the right thing letting Odd talk him into using his ability for this dead investigation. Maybe he should have said no.

Quin limped along until he reached a hidden door he had asked Odd to help him with in case there was trouble at his loft. He looked around. No one seemed to be watching him, or looking his way. He stepped into the alcove, shut the door, and headed up a ladder to his apartment. By the time he reached the top, his right leg and arm hurt like a knife plunging in and out of his flesh.

Quin hung his disguise in a space behind his closet after closing and looking the secret entrance to his place. He felt hungry and nauseous at the same time. He decided to get a small bowl of cereal and see if that calmed down the side effects from using his powers.

Quin settled at his counter, poured some Cheerios in a plain bowl, poured milk and sugar in on top and mixed it up. He started on his dinner, concentrating on the feel of the oats and milk and sugar. Gradually the drain he had felt faded. He drank the milk from the bowl when the cereal was gone and washed it out under the kitchen faucet.

He would have to call Odd and ask him not to refer any other unsolved mystery to him in the future. He hated to do that, but he didn't want to have a stroke solving some crime that happened before he was born. Maybe if he had a better handle on his power, he could do that without fearing his brains leaking out his nose.

Saving the city from a giant monster had been necessary. Serving delayed justice on some miscreant seemed okay but not an immediate threat to everyone Quin knew. He would have to pass on that.

Quin checked his watch. Odd and Kitty should be having dinner. He should go ahead and talk to Odd in person. That way they could work out some kind of ground rules about letting other people know what he could do.

Odd would help him out.

Quin pulled on his parka and limped out of his place.

Oz Mike Michealson worked his way back and forth through the building. He had found several people that needed to be carried outside. His water slide steamed against the fire trying to push it back. Smoke drifted behind him as he moved.

"Thanks for your help." The chief pointed at a stray bush of flames trying to expand out of their cordon. "It looks like we almost have it under control."

"Give me some more water and I'll help you finish putting it out." Oz Mike rubbed a sooty hand on his sooty face. "It's no problem."

"We're going to shoot it into the bottom floor." The chief pointed at one of the doors. "Once we saturate the floor, we'll start looking for anything still hiding in the walls."

"Pour it on." Oz Mike bounced in place. "I can handle it."

The chief spoke into his radio. The hoses concentrated on the building. Oz Mike stood in front of the water. It lifted him off the ground and followed where he wanted it to go. The former surfer smiled as he rode the solid spray.

The concentrated water beam blasted the inside of the building as Mike directed it along the halls and up and down the stairs. He concentrated on the heaviest areas of heat. That would help the firemen the most when they came in the building after him.

Mike let his control go after a few minutes of this riding. He dropped to the floor. So did the water. All he could see was a wasteland of smoke. He slid along the floor toward the door. The dirty liquid gathered itself together and helped him out the door.

Mike headed out in the street. He coughed. Maybe he had taken in too much smoke while helping out. He went over and sat on the step on the fire truck. He needed the break at the moment.

"Go get checked out, son." The chief spoke into his radio. "Some oxygen might just be the thing you need right now."

"Thanks, Chief." Oz Mike coughed again, drawing in some deep breaths. "I have to get cleaned up and meet some friends."

"Get checked out first." The chief pointed to an ambulance. "I don't want to tell you again."

Mike nodded. What was the harm in having the EMTs check him out before he went on his way. Worse came to worse, he could stop by Odd's for some of that tonic he cooked up sometimes.

The paramedic gave Mike some oxygen and checked him over. He asked if Mike felt dizzy or short of breath. When the answer was in the negative, he advised that the surfer go to the hospital, but he seemed okay to get there on his own. Michealson thanked him, took one last breath of pure air, then started walking away.

Oz Mike checked his watch. Odd and Kitty should be sitting down to dinner right about now. If he hurried, he could make just in time for dessert. One slice of one of Kitty's cheesecakes could make a man explode with happiness.

Oz Mike looked up at the sky. He figured he could cut straight across town without worrying too much about time. Marlowe had a lot of little twisty streets that went nowhere that he hadn't quite learned how to fit together.

Oz Mike started walking. Rivulets of water gathered together under him, carrying him along. He looked down in surprise, then remembered that run off from fighting the fire would be in the street. He had wanted to go and his power was helping him get there as best it could.

Oz Mike concentrated on the water shoving him along. There had to be a way to keep it from being anchored at one end and stretching out from that point. Maybe if he told it to pool under his feet. One side stretched forward. The other side contracted. It wouldn't be as fast as using it as Tarzan uses a vine, but it should be faster than walking.

Oz Mike crossed town on his improvised skateboard. People on the street glanced at him, trying to figure out what was going on. Mike smiled and waved a grimy hand as he passed. He would have to clean up when he reached Odd's place.

Oz Mike turned into the street where Odd lived. He spotted Quin Martin coming down from the other side of the road. The Question Man limped along the sidewalk, head down.

Oz Mike let the water carrying him drain away as he fell in beside the quiet fact checker. The look on the other's face prevented him from saying anything as they walked along.

They reached the door to Odd's domicile. Quin knocked for admittance. Maybe some of Kitty's food would fix him up.

"What happened to you two?" Odd's eyes were round as he looked at his two friends.

"Hurt myself using my powers." Quin indicated Oz Mike with a thumb. "Fought a fire."

"You two can tell me about it while Kitty cooks something up." Odd stepped out of the door. "I'll tell her you're here."

"Can I use your bathroom to clean up first?" Oz Mike let Quin step in first. He looked like he needed a place to sit down more than the surfer needed a bath.

"Yes." Odd and Quin answered the question together.

"Let me get you some towels." Odd walked to the linen closet and produced a towel and wash clothes he didn't care if he ever saw again. He handed them over. "Knock yourself out."

"Thanks." Oz Mike took the things and vanished into the bathroom.

"Let me get you a cup of coffee, Quin." Odd frowned at the tired looking Martin, sunk into his coat, head down.

"Thank you." Quin closed his eyes. His brain geared up to answer questions instead of toning down to merely listen. Maybe it had been a bad idea to associate with his friends.

Odd went into the kitchen, pulling down a cup for Quin. Kitty had her head in the refrigerator, looking for more ingredients for dinner. Odd started the coffee machine working as he thought.

"What do you think?" Odd knew Kitty had heard the entire exchange from the kitchen. Their living quarters wasn't that big.

"If Quin keeps using his power, he might burn out, maybe have a stroke." Kitty placed her choices on the counter to get them ready for cooking. "We need to help him if we can."

Odd stared at the coffee pot, waiting for it to give him an answer.

Tim Buckett decided that he needed to talk to Odd. He made sure no one was behind him as he headed for the closest bus stop to the school. He should call, but decided it was better to talk face to face.

He had given Odd's name as a contact for his other identity. The least he could do was tell him in person.

He hoped the girl decided to call the cops. That would be the best thing for everyone involved.

He should talk to Coach Reilly. He wasn't on the baseball team but maybe the coach would be able to deal with the guys in the car. A little baseball barrage might not have taught them the lesson they needed to know.

Tim hoped his gear would be safe on top of the school while he took care of his errand. He needed to deal with that before he went home.

At least some of the others knew what he looked like so he didn't have to explain who he was. That could be embarrassing trying to tell a bunch of adults he was the one who threw cars at Godzilla. He knew he wouldn't believe it without a demonstration.

He wondered why those guys in the car had it in for the girl. Maybe that was something he could ask the Question Man. He might have to look them up again to see how he could make sure they wouldn't go by the school again.

Tim shook his head. He had been a hero for almost a week and he had his first villain. Life was like a comic book.

Tim saw a shape leaping from rooftop to rooftop as he rode on the bus. He couldn't quite make the person out from his window but he suspected that it had to be the Enforcer. They were moving in the same direction and the only other person he knew that could fly was a shapely female.

He wondered why the Enforcer would be going to Odd's. Maybe it was a new case. He hoped it wasn't another monster. One giant turtle dragon destroying the city was enough for him.

Tim got off the bus as close to the book store as he could. He started walking as fast as he thought would still look normal. He would have to go back to the school for his Trebuchet gear and books after he talked to Odd. Maybe he could get a lift from Odd or the Enforcer.

He paused when he reached the bookstore. The lights were off. He glanced inside with the hope of seeing someone moving in the darkness within. It looked like he had missed the man in the odd hat. He paused, thinking of his next move.

"Gone for the day?" The voice drifted down from above. "Try around back."

Tim looked up. A faceless gray mask looked down from the roof. He waved rather than call something back. He had enough savvy not to attract more attention while he was on the street.

Tim started to the other side of the building. A look around didn't reveal anyone following him.

Tim spotted a light in the window. It looked like Odd was home after all. He looked up. The Enforcer didn't peer down at him. Tim rang the doorbell, listening to the chimes play their musical notes.

The door opened a few moments later. Tim didn't recognize the woman looking at him. She smiled but he could recognize the question in her eyes.

"I'm Trebuchet." Tim nodded at the way his confirmation changed her face. "Could I talk to Odd, please?"

"Come in." The woman stepped out of the way. "We're about to have dinner."

"Thank you, Mrs. Dorfman." Tim stepped across the threshold. "The Enforcer is around somewhere. I don't know if he is coming in, but I saw him on the roof."

"I'm here, Tim." The Enforcer dropped down from the roof. "Hello, Mrs. Dorfman. I'm also here to see Odd."

"We have enough food for both of you." Kitty gestured him inside also before closing the door.

Tim and the Enforcer walked in the small living room. Quin and Oz Mike were already there. The Question Man looked half dead. Odd came out of the kitchen with a tray of coffee cups and pitcher in his hands.

"How's it going, fellas?" Odd put the tray down. "Coffee?"

"I have something to tell you." Tim paused as he tried to think of the right words for the bad news.

"We have an alert." The Enforcer looked at the others. They didn't look ready for a fight from where he stood.

"First things first, guys." Odd poured himself a cup of coffee and started sipping it black. "Go ahead, Trebuchet."

"This girl had problems with these guys at school." Tim didn't think what he had to say was more important than an alert, but he might as well get it out of the way. "I gave her the bookstore's number to call if she needed help."

"That's not as bad as I thought." Odd poured some coffee for Oz Mike and the Enforcer. "I expected something like you blew up the school, or something. The alert, Enforcer?"

"Aylwin called to tell me she was in trouble." The Enforcer held up a cell phone. "She's not answering my callbacks."

"That could be trouble." Odd handed out the cups. "We'll have to get the others if we want to find out what's going on."

Billy Keys looked out the window of his apartment as he dialed Odd Dorfman's number. The rat army made him think there was a supervillain in town. That seemed absurd. Why would a supervillain visit Marlowe?

That was like robbing Mayberry.

Still the others should know a rat king was out there. If things started happening, they could figure out how to deal with him.

"Hello?" Billy didn't recognize the voice. It sounded like Mrs. Epstein. Maybe he had called the wrong number.

"Is Odd Dorfman there?" Billy didn't see any more rats from his window. "My name is Billy. I would like to talk to him please if he is there."

"Of course." The voice smiled. "Hold on. I'll get him for you."

Billy started counting as he waited for someone to come back and talk to him. He got up to sixty before Odd's voice said "How's it going?"

"I think I have a smart rat problem." Billy turned from the window. "I'm not sure yet."

"We're having a meeting at my place." Odd gave him the address. "We're short you, Thia, Alice and S.S. Could you pick them up and bring them by?"

"Problem?" Billy looked around his apartment, taking in the look of it. He wanted to remember it as it was before he left.

"We don't know yet." Odd sounded cheerful on the phone. Billy couldn't tell if it was real or fake. "We're discussing options right now."

"I'll do what I can." Billy thought maybe he could find Alice the easiest. He wasn't sure. "Have you tried to call?"

"Voicemail only so far." Odd tapped something on his end. "You're the fastest one of us, so I thought maybe you would be able to locate them easiest."

"I'll see what I can do." Billy hung up, thinking. He could maybe find Alice if she was out flying. He got his binoculars from its place on a shelf. If he could do that, she would know where Super Squirrel was. That left Thia. He would have to work a little harder to find her.

Billy went to his door, used that to get to the roof of the apartment building. He looked at the tallest building in Marlowe, using that for the place where he needed to start his search. He used the roof exit of his own building to get to that one.

Billy searched the skies over the city with his spyglasses. Finally he saw a flying form flitting through the night sky. He used the exit of his launch building to get to a building close to where he had spotted the winged woman. He pulled the flashlight from his belt and played it up where he had last seen someone he hoped was Alice and not another flying creature of the night.

That would be embarrassing to mix people up like that.

The winged woman drifted down, staring at him with golden eyes. Billy waited until she folded her wings, putting the light away, as he marshaled his thoughts.

"Hello, Billy." Alice the Owl almost smiled. "What's happening?"

"There seems to be a problem." Billy gave her the polite smile he used on his tenants. "Group meeting at Odd's place."

"I'll get Squirrel." Alice spread her wings out. "We'll be there as fast as we can."

Billy watched her leave before considering how he could find Thia. She would be a little harder than Alice since she didn't patrol the streets.

Billy decided the best thing to do was try her house, then work the neighborhood from there. He had seen her around the apartment building a few times, and visited her house once. A circular pattern from those two points might net him something.

Billy found Thia's house was empty. He started moving through the neighborhood, looking into likely places she could be. Finally he found her at the shooting range behind a gun shop a few miles over from where she lived. A crowd surrounded her. They seemed to be taking notes on what she was telling them.

"Fan club?" Billy looked at the people. He noted they all had firearms while he only had his tool belt.

"Hey, Billy." Thia frowned at the super. "This is the Marlowe Shooting Club. Shooting Club, this is Billy. I thought you stayed close to your building."

"Problem has come up." Billy nodded at the members of the Shooting Club. "We might need a shooter."

"I hope it isn't as bad as the last problem." Thia waved at the group of competitors. "I'll be at practice tomorrow. Don't worry about a thing."

"Thanks, Coach." One of the men waved back and the gathering started breaking up to go their separate ways.

"Coach?" Billy led the way to the door of the gun shop.

"Problem?" Thia slung her bag over her shoulder as she followed.

"Don't know yet." Billy opened the door to Odd's place.

Thia frowned, trying to decide which part of the statements Billy was talking about. She decided he referred to whatever had sent him looking for her, and not her apparent coaching skills.

"Alice and Super Squirrel here yet?" Billy spoke to Odd. He got back a no from the book seller and a yes from the Question Man laying on the couch.

The doorbell rang.

"Looks like I was wrong." Odd went to get the door.

Mr. R. trundled down the aisles, metal head spinning as he scanned the shelves with electric eyes. Sounds of frustration escaped his barrel body. He should have found the item he was looking for by now.

Maybe his robot brain was breaking down faster than he had anticipated.

Mr. R. paused at one shelf. He searched the assortment of labels in front of him for the one that would give him what he wanted. He needed help though he didn't want to admit it.

Footsteps reached his metal ears. Mr. Wolf showed himself at one end of the aisle. A cigarette was on his lips. Sunglasses covered his eyes.

"Find what you're looking for yet?" Mr. Wolf lit the cigarette.

"No." Mr. R. paused in his search to confront his employee. "I can't find it anywhere."

"I have an agent." Mr. Wolfe indicated the distant storeroom where he had locked his captives. "She said they are decommissioning the base. Maybe they already took your gadget."

"Wonderful." Mr. R. spun on his tracked wheels. "Let's talk to this agent. Maybe she has a manifest of what they have already sent out."

"And if they have?" Mr. Wolf paced beside the metal monster as it rolled along the aisles.

"Then I will pay you to help me secure the items in question." Mr. R. didn't sound as impatient as he acted. "Same working rate, of course."

"Naturally." Mr. Wolf walked ahead to open the door for his employer. He had wanted this done today so they could move on to better climes. He might need to kill the witnesses to buy time for his escape of the country.

Being a mercenary was a dirty business.

"I have very little time." Mr. R. looked at each of the four captives with his electronic eyes. "I wish to procure an item called the Arthur Power Generator. Where is it?"

"There's no such thing." One of the base personnel sneered. "You wasted your time breaking into here."

"I'm on a strict time table." Mr. R.'s three fingered hand extended at the end of his pipestem arm, a barrel protruded slightly. "Give me what I want, and I will not harm any of you. Waste my time, and I will have to inflict damage until I get what I want anyway."

"I'll help you." Aylwin struggled to her feet. "I'll need access to the base computer system."

"I have no hesitation about executing one of these others if you try anything." Mr. R. waved one of his tubular arms at the Air Force men. "I have had enough delays for the time being."

"There's no need for any threats." Aylwin wondered if she could cripple Wolf, then push the robot over before either one could react. A commotion down the hall caused her to stop and think before she found herself dealing with additional numbers.

"We caught your runaway." Fenris showed his enormous choppers in a smile as he and Stone Dog walked a sergeant down the hall between them. One of Stone Dog's hounds growled to prevent any excitement now that the prisoner was ready to be locked in the makeshift brig.

"Lock him in with the others." Mr. Wolf puffed on his cigarette. "The agent has decided to cooperate as long as we don't do anything harsh to our hostages."

"No problem, boss." Fenris pushed the burly sergeant into the cell with the other captives. The door swung shut and locked as Mr. Wolf and Mr. R. flanked Aylwin and let her lead the way toward one of the small offices the personnel used for their paperwork.

Aylwin indicated her bound hands. The two misters looked at each other, before Mr. R. snapped her bonds with his metal claws. She sat down at the desk, booting up the computer. She didn't think they would allow witnesses to the crime.

She wouldn't.

Aylwin thought about the situation, already thinking that her SOS had not gotten through. It was up to her to buy time and think of a way for them to get out alive. She didn't see a ready situation that would fit that at the moment. If she had a weapon, she might be able to get lost in the aisles until she could think of some kind of plan.

The operating screen lit up on the desktop as she still ran options in her mind. She still had a trick up her sleeve. She didn't like to use it, but anything was better than nothing.

"The Arthur Power Generator?" Aylwin punched the name into a search bar on the inventory program.

"That's correct." Mr. R. lifted himself on his tracked wheels to try to read over her shoulder.

"It's been destroyed." Aylwin tensed to make her move.

"What?" Mr. R. placed both hands on her to move her out of the way so he could read the screen himself.

Aylwin wrapped both arms around his metal body several times. Mr. R squawked as he flew through the air and landed on his side. He bounced against a shelf and it fell down on top of him as he struggled to right his barrel shell.

Mr. Wolf went for his slung rifle as he stepped back from the surprise attack.

Odd Dorfman served tea and what he and Kitty called pot luck. She had taken a set of random ingredients, mixed them together, and cooked them in the oven. He marveled at her cooking but he was also used to the great taste, and his weight gain.

The others took plates, wanting to get things started and find out what was going on with Enforcer's phone call. Odd's calm manner seemed to make them think and cool down before rushing off.

"I know we need to answer the distress call, but first we have to help Quin." Odd looked at his empty plate, wishing he had time for seconds. The adventure stories he read cautioned him against killing too much time.

Besides he could get leftovers later if they lived that long.

"How do we do that?" Tim also looked at his empty plate. That was the best meal he had ever had.

"Hypnotism." Quin smiled. "I can be hypnotized to ignore questions that aren't important."

"You know I have just the thing." Odd smiled. "I used it on my nephew."

"Do we need to ask why?" Oz Mike frowned.

"He was a smoker." Odd headed for the closet. "He was always trying to quit."

"So you zapped him?" Super Squirrel found that it was hard for him to move from where he and Alice rested against the wall.

Alice nudged him with an elbow.

"Sure did." Odd brought out a handgun with a satellite dish around the muzzle. "Worked like a charm."

"How is it supposed to work?" Thia looked at the ray gun, imprinting it on her memory. She had worked with her powers to expand her repertoire. A hypnotizing ray could be better than a bullet in the right situation.

"He shoots me in the face. Then he tells me to ignore any question that seems irrelevant." Quin nodded. "I like it."

"Let's see if it works." Odd aimed the ray gun as everyone else cleared out of the way. He pulled the trigger and gave the command as Quin's eyes rolled up in the back of his head for the brief seconds that the beam was on.

"How do we know if it worked?" Trebuchet concentrated on Quin's face as it became more mobile.

"What is the color of the third bird on any branch in Washington, D.C.?" Enforcer crossed his arms. "You pick the branch."

"I don't know." Quin smiled. "I don't know. This is great."

"Glad to help out." Odd went back to the closet to put the ray up on the shelf. "Now we have to concentrate on Enforcer's distress call."

"I'm pretty sure it's from Alywin." Enforcer checked his phone again. "She hasn't answered my call backs. The phone sends my calls to voice mail."

"So we need to know exactly what's going on." Quin felt his mental hook up come to life. Facts were waiting for the right question.

"Why did Aylwin call me?" Enforcer started with the obvious question. More would surface from the answer he was sure.

"You're the closest agent of her agency." Quin smiled. His mental screen spat out the answer without the overload he had encountered earlier.

"Why did she call at all?" Super Squirrel stood, his tail flickering behind him.

"She came under attack by mercenaries." Quin rubbed his hands together. This was definitely much better. "Next?"

"Let's focus on the five W's and the H." Oz Mike sipped his tea. "Who did it, what do they want, why do they want it, where are they, when are they leaving, and how do we stop them?"

He ignored the looks from the others. He had covered all they needed to know as far as he was concerned.

Quin's eyes lit up from within, spilling green fire into the room. The smile he wore told the others he didn't feel the effect that lit his skull from within.

"Garou and Sundog caused the call because they were hired to guard a base from intruders. They are leaving when their employer finds what he wants. Garou can be imprisoned as long as we make sure he can't claw his way free. Sundog will have to be put out with fire extinguishers then we can deal with him with ordinary means." Quin's eyes slowly dimmed to normal.

"That was pretty concise." Enforcer nodded. "Let's get going. We can figure out the rest on the way."

"Hold on." Odd held up a hand. "Where is this base, Quin? Can you put it on the map?"

Quin nodded. He searched the shelves until he found an atlas of the midwest. He turned to the map of Marlowe and its environs. He pointed to a spot on the other side of the lake.

"Can you reach out there, Billy?" Odd frowned at the wilderness markings on the page.

"I can get us close to one side of the lake." Billy indicated the area he meant. "There's a house I used when Zornwill came out of the water."

"There's where we'll start then." Odd smiled. "I'll need some equipment."

"I'll need to get my stuff too." Trebuchet indicated the absence of his padding and mask. "I need to call my dad. He's probably freaking right now."

"Let's go." Billy went to the door. "The right tools for the right job first."

"My stuff is at the school." Trebuchet put his plate aside. "It's on the roof."

"No problem, kid." Billy opened the door on starlight and the Marlowe skyline.

"That's cool." Trebuchet stepped on the roof of his school. He went to his bag and gathered his equipment. He stepped back into Odd's living room with the gear.

"You can change in the bathroom, Trebuchet." Kitty pointed to the room.

"Thanks." Trebuchet dragged his bag into the bathroom and shut the door.

"Let's go, Billy." Odd gave him an address. "I have just the thing in mind."

Billy opened the door on a busy street blocks away from the little apartment. He waited for Odd to step through before closing the gate. They returned after a few minutes. Odd carried a steel case in his hand.

"This should help us against the two we know about." Odd adjusted his bowler. "First we reach the house, then we go out to where this base is and look things over."

"I can look at it from the air." Alice looked at the others. She didn't know what they expected, but if Squirrel was going into danger, she would go too.

"That's a good idea, Alice." Enforcer nodded. "Be careful. If they see you, the game is up."

"I can handle it." Alice squared her shoulders. She had been avoiding people for years. A night flight over a secret base should be a snap.

"Hurry up, Tim." Enforcer called. "We're leaving."

"I'm coming." Trebuchet came out of the bathroom, pulling down his mask. "I'm ready for a no hitter."

"Let's go, guys." Enforcer wondered when he became the top kick of a unit. Was he the top kick here? "Let's save the world."

Billy opened the door to the house he had indicated was the limits of his range as Quin pulled on his own mask to protect his face. The Strangers walked through, sliding across space in an instant. The super shut the gate, taking a deep breath of cool air.

"I'm off." Alice spread her wings, flapping into the air.

"Be careful." Super Squirrel moved out into the yard. The trees were close enough for him to use them as a highway to wherever he needed to go. The others would have to find their own way to the fight.

Aylwin had to deal with her enemy, get back to the hostages and free them, and send out a call for back up. Her bullet list seemed easy when she took a second to form it. Getting it done seemed to be the major stumbling block.

One thing at a time said her training. Start with your current enemy.

Aylwin grabbed Mr. Wolf's rifle with a hand at the end of an elongated arm. She pushed the muzzle away from pointing at her before he could pull the trigger. Her limited stretching would not protect her from bullets cutting through her body.

Mr. Wolf grabbed her wrist. He turned, pulling on her already stretched limb. The appendage stopped stretching and started pulling her closer to him so he could fight close in.

Aylwin retracted her limb to speed up the process. Mr. Wolf let go of the limb to get out of the way. His reflexes were too slow to avoid the sudden human projectile. They both hit the deck and rolled with the impact.

Aylwin jumped to her feet. Mr. Wolf rolled some more, pulling a pistol as he finally came to a stop near some empty shelves. The agent ran down an aisle to get out of the line of fire. The crack of a firearm followed the whiz of killer bees in the air.

Aylwin considered her options. Nothing really appealed to her. She could turn to try and deal with Mr. Wolf. She could try to get the hostages. She could try and call for back up to put a stop to this robbery.

Everything looked equally dangerous and fraught with risk.

The agent paused to look around. She had wandered into a section of the warehouse where some of the equipment still remained on the shelving. She started looking for something that she could use. She needed a weapon if she confronted her current enemies again.

Aylwin started moving down the aisle, looking for something that wouldn't blow up a wall, or half of the state. She heard footsteps hurrying along. Mr. Wolf was faster than she thought.

Aylwin grabbed the top of the shelf. She pulled herself to the top of the metal rack. She looked around. She could jump over to the other aisles without any problem. She spotted Wolf and a couple of other Canines searching for her.

She didn't have to imagine what would happen if she got caught.

Aylwin jumped over to the next shelf. Then she crossed to the one after that. She dropped down behind cover before anyone got a shot off. She decided that escape was the most feasible option at the moment.

Aylwin knew an exit had been built in the north wall. She needed to get there before the goon squad caught up. She paused to listen. No one was close, but she could still hear faint sounds of movement circling around.

Then the baying of hounds reached her to urge to keep moving. They had set dogs loose to find her.

Aylwin decided to get more height. That would allow her to orientate herself to point at the door. Then she could try to make it there before the dogs caught up with her.

The agent grabbed the nearest rack with her elongated arms and pulled. That was enough to allow her to vault to the top again. She dropped down to the other side after a moment to look around. She had to go to her left. That meant going over every shelf in her way.

That wasn't unexpected.

Dogs barking told her to move faster if she wanted to get loose before the net closed for good.

Aylwin pulled herself up and started running. She jumped the gaps with longer legs. Her stretching had lessened in power over the years but it was getting the job done.

Heavy pattering focused her on the pursuit for a second. It sounded like dogs running, but they must be as big as VW beetles from the sounds erupting from the shelves.

Aylwin dropped down from the last shelf. The walls were lined with empty racks. She pulled at one of the edges. The furniture moved away from the wall smoothly. A door stood next to a key pad. She dialed the pass code as fast as she could. She pressed the key.

The door slid open. Aylwin stepped inside the secret tunnel. A dog made of rock charged forward as she pulled the shelf closed. She winced as it smashed into the metal covering. She closed the exit and started for the other end of the tunnel.

Aylwin ran with the knowledge that the hidden door wouldn't slow them down for long. She had to reach the outside before the dogs got through. Her stretching wouldn't help in the confined space of the corridor.

She hoped the metal of the cover would hold them long enough for a head start. She knew she wasn't faster than those dogs, much less a bullet.

Aylwin reached the other end and opened the door there. She pushed the camouflage away so she could step out under a stand of trees. She looked up at the sky to read the stars long enough to get a direction to move.

Marlowe rested in the south. They would expect her to head that way. She needed to head in a direction that would carry her somewhere unexpected so she could loop back to the city and call someone.

And she had to be fast about it if she wanted to get a good lead before Wolf's boys broke through to take up the chase.

Aylwin grabbed some of the lower branches of a nearby tree and pulled herself up. She pulled herself across to another tree. Once secure in her new perch, she swung across to the next one in line. Let them try to track her now.

She hoped they couldn't track her the way she was moving.

Aylwin also hoped they wouldn't expect her to head west away from city and lake. Both of those would be the promise of some kind of help. If she fled away from them, and then circled back, maybe she could slip them.

"I think we need to know what we're getting into here." Enforcer looked at the group. They didn't have a lot of training, but he had no doubt they were formidable as a force.

A giant turtle lizard could vouch for that.

"Ask me." The Question Man smiled under his mask. He didn't feel the pain from overusing his ability now.

"Let's stick with the basics." Enforcer checked his phone again. "Who, what, where, and how. Then we can take them."

"Could you be a little more specific?" The Question Man's eyes started to glow.

"Who else is out there besides Garou and Sun Dog? Is there anyone else with them?" Enforcer put the phone away. "And where are they?"

"Mr. Wolf, Stone dog, and Fenris are at the base trying to find Aylwin. Shadowpup is ahead of us near the road. Garou is at the base's gate. Sundog and Fenris Ulf are inside the base. Mr. R. is in the base somewhere." The glow faded from the masked man's eyes.

"Shadowpup is watching the road?" Super Squirrel looked north toward their unknown destination. "He could spot Alice."

Squirrel raced into the forest, chattering as he went. He vanished within moments. The group heard the branches of the nearby trees move. Hordes of miniature gray warriors took up the battle cry and followed him.

"There goes the element of surprise." Thia raised a long rifle to her eye. "How do we take this Shadowpup guy down?"

"We'll need a bright light." The Question Man frowned. "I didn't think to bring one."

"I got it covered." Thia's rifle changed a little. "Let's see if we can catch up with our loose cannon."

"Anyone have an idea how we're going to do that?" Trebuchet looked around in his helmet. Only Billy seemed to have a way to move around and that only worked when there were doors around.

"I do." Oz Mike laughed. "I just need to get to the lake. You guys get something to stand on. Come on, Billy. I need some of your magic."

Billy flipped the door of the house open to a snack bar near the lake. Miraculously it had survived Zornwill's rampage from the lake bottom. It had recently reopened for business now that the government had cleaned up the lake.

"You heard the man." Enforcer and Odd started talking at the same time. They looked at each other.

"We need platforms to ride on." Odd finished.

The heroes gathered together fallen logs. Odd produced rope from his emergency kit and they lashed the logs together. It looked like a decent raft. Enforcer wondered what was next, having a good idea what Oz Mike could do.

Billy stepped out of the closed door. He gave the others a thumb's up when they looked at him.

A wave appeared a minute later. It looked like half the lake made up its body. Oz Mike stood at the crest, holding his arms up. The Strangers boarded their makeshift boat as the water rushed down on them.

The wave flowed under the raft and picked it up. The heroes struggled to keep their balance as the water carried them into the road and away from the lake.

"This is awesome." Tim laughed. "This is the greatest."

"Don't get used to it." Oz Mike pulled on the lake water to keep his wave moving forward. "I don't know how long I can stretch this out. We might have to set down long before we get to where we're going."

"Which way is Shadowpup?" Thia had her rifle to her shoulder again.

"That way." The Question Man pointed into the darkness at an angle from the road.

"Excellent." Thia turned, fiddling with the scope on the top of the rifle. "Let's see if I can give Squirrel a helping hand."

Thia looked through her scope, panning it left and right. Super Squirrel and his army of rodents filled a section of the forest heading right where the Question Man said the enemy waited. No way they would be unnoticed the way they were chattering at full volume.

Thia shook her head. If he didn't watch out, someone would take him down.

Thia rolled the scope to point back on target. She had no idea where the target actually stood. She did have an idea how to fix that problem.

Thia pulled the trigger of her rifle. A swarm of darts arced out into the trees. Light exploded along her firing line from the flares. A man in black appeared, but she couldn't tell if he was surprised by the barrage because of his full face mask.

Thia smiled. That was all she needed to do. Squirrel plowed through the vegetation with his war cry echoing through the forest. The man in black raced to the nearby darkness to disappear again.

The army of squirrels prevented that. They swarmed over him with sharp claws and sharper teeth. Shadowpup went down with one of the rodents trying to rip a long ear off of his hood. He tried to shrug the monsters away so he could step into the darkness again.

Super Squirrel leaped across the space. He kicked out. The mercenary went back down. The mutant landed on top, swinging with his squirrel strength behind the blow. The man went down and stayed there.

"Take that, villainous scum." Super Squirrel and his squirrels danced with their hands in the air.

"One down." Thia put her rifle up. "Now we have to deal with the rest."

"The guards on the gate won't be that easy." Odd clutched his bowler to his head with one hand, held his bag of tricks with the other. "They'll see us coming unless Mike shuts his wave down before we get there."

"I'll put you down short of the gate." Oz Mike looked around at the edges of his behemoth. "I'll keep some of it to help deal with this Sundog."

"We need to find Aylwin and anybody else that might be in trouble." Enforcer cracked his knuckles.

"Got it covered." Billy spoke up. "Just get us close to a door."

"Us?" The Question Man looked around.

"Yep." Billy took his keys off his belt and put them in his pocket with a rubber band to hold them together. "Can't do it without you."

"Sounds like we got a plan." Odd laughed. "Let's save the day."

"There's the base." Thia pointed. "Two turkeys are waiting out front like the QM said."

"Let's do it." Enforcer leaped from the wave. "Stay close, Trebuchet."

"I'm right behind you." Trebuchet used his right arm to push off from the raft, baseball dropping into his hand from his ammo bag.

Garou saw the two heroes dropping from the giant water hand. His furry side came to the front with his berserker blood heating up. He loved to rip things apart. Why should a bunch of meddlers be different?

Sundog activated his own transformation. The night retreated from his fire bursting in the open. He didn't mind burning some guys down if they got in the way. He considered it a fringe benefit.

Billy grabbed the Question Man's arm and pulled. He wasn't a combatant. He was a mover. And the Question Man held the key to getting everything done without any loss of life.

Enforcer gathered his strength. He was still as strong as ten men. He hoped it would be enough to get the job done.

The werewolf came at the veteran adventurer, drool hanging from his muzzle. Claws reached for the gray costume intent on ripping the hero apart. Wet work was what the Garou was all about.

Enforcer knocked the grasping paws away, grabbing for Garou's neck. He hooked a forearm under the monster's chin, clapping his mouth shut for the moment. They struggled for brief moments before the mercenary threw his aged opponent clear with a shrug of his powerful shoulders.

A baseball bounced off Garou's head. That knocked the werewolf off his feet. He felt a hand clamp around an ankle and wrenched double to tear the grip away. He almost laughed at the boy holding on to his limb. Then he vanished into the air.

Sundog heard his colleague howl on the way up, but he had his own problems.

He faced Oz Mike Michealson, Odd Dorfman, and Thia Halmedes. They rode a wave. The water loomed above him like a giant hand. He fired a bolt of fire into the water to try to slow it down.

Oz Mike smiled as his friends jumped clear. He rode the wave down, crashing into the fire slinger. Sundog turned the water to steam on impact before he went out like a snuffed candle.

Sundog tried to get to his feet. He needed to dry out so he could relight. He should have expected some kind of water user showing up. It was the way his luck ran.

A giant hand of neon blue and silver wrapped around his middle. It squeezed. He took a deep breath, but found that air refused to fill his lungs. Then a baseball bat slammed against his head.

"That felt good." Thia shook the bat away. "I could really get into this do gooding."

"You'll be a credit to the Marines." Odd flexed his hand. A gauntlet covered it, lights flickering around the fingers.

Garou slammed into the ground. He hit so hard he dug a crater in the road. He reached for the edges of the hole to pull himself out. No one threw him to orbit, let him crash to Earth and lived.

The kid's arm would come off like a chicken wing.

"Give it up, dog boy." Enforcer braced for impact. The power gained from Project Z's experiments could let him battle Garou toe to toe for at least a minute.

"I'm going to kill all of you and leave your bones scattered across Minnesota." Garou leaped to his feet. He looked over the small group. None of them had the stopping power to put him down. He could keep fighting until he had dealt with them.

"I don't think so." Odd held out his gloved hand. The giant hand appeared in the air. He flexed the fingers. "We want you to give yourself up, or we're going to have to pound you. I don't want to do that because I'm a peaceable man, and my wife wants me to be careful about how I exert myself with my lumbago. What do you say, big guy?"

"I'm going to kill you first, big guy." Garou leaped, covering the distance in a gray streak. He could rip this guy apart despite his fancy glove.

Baseballs flew like meteors. Garou had committed to his charge. The leather projectiles smashing against his back and head threw him off target. He still had enough to get within reach of Oddhat. Then the world turned to bright white. Garou landed in the guard checkpoint.

"We should wrap this up." Thia dropped the missile launcher from her shoulder, letting it fade away.

"How do we do that?" Trebuchet pulled out another baseball. "This guy is tough as heck."

"We just need to wrap him up until we're done." Enforcer headed for the smashed kiosk. "Then we can turn him in to the Project. They'll be able to hold him."

Garou smashed out of the wooden wall, grabbing Enforcer by the neck. He went to bite the masked man's face off. Rage blinded him to the back up. He wanted to kill everything that opposed him.

Enforcer grabbed his snout and jaws. He pulled on his remaining power, feeling it burn away as he tried to keep the deadly teeth from his face. A switch in grips was called for before he gave out completely.

Odd's giant hand reached out. It wrapped around the werewolf. He squeezed his gloved hand, and the energy hand closed on the furry menace. Garou yelped from the pressure even if it didn't hurt him.

"I like a workout as much as the next guy." Odd lifted Garou off his feet. "But you are taking this too far."

Garou howled in frustration. He tried to wiggle out of the tight grip. That left him snapping at the air.

"It looks like we're done here." Thia smiled. "I wonder how that fur coat will look on my bed."

"Let's get with the others and deal with the rest of them." Enforcer stretched the kinks out of his arms. "Bring them along, Odd. We can't leave them alone out here."

"Billy and Question Man probably have the rest of them wrapped up by now." Trebuchet gathered up the baseballs he could find. Some had bounced off into the treeline.

"You know better than that, kid." Thia pulled the out cold Sundog closer to Odd's floating hand. Oz Mike picked up his feet and the both of them lifted him so that one finger could hold him against Garou.

"If Billy can find any bystanders and get them out, that will make our job that much easier." Enforcer shook off the sudden weariness he felt. "Let's go."

"How do we get in?" Trebuchet took one last look around for his ammo before he joined the others walking through the shattered gatehouse area.

"Hopefully my retinas will get us in." Enforcer gestured at his eyes.

"If they don't, I got a key." Thia took her belt off. She spun it around Garou's muzzle and tightened as far as she could. "Quiet down, you."

A plain delivery van sat beside a truck and a jeep issued to the Air Force beside the block building's loading door. Enforcer walked to the door on the side of that. He pressed his eye to the scanner next to the personnel door and let it do its job. The scanner told him he was denied.

"They took my scan out of the system after I retired." Enforcer stepped back. "I guess we go with plan B."

"No problem." Thia pulled out the biggest gun she could think of and waited for the man in gray to move back out of the way. "This will be loud."

"Might as well attract all the attention our way." Enforcer covered his ears. "Do it."

The Strangers backed from the door to give Thia plenty of room. She took aim at the center of the metal facing. A pull of the trigger created a jet of flame that melted a hole through the barrier with a roar vaguely similar to the rush of a jet engine. She paused to examine her handiwork. The door had turned to a puddle, along with part of the wall.

"I think we can go in." She replaced the demolisher with her customary rifle. "Let's see if Billy needs any help."

"What about the Question Man?" Trebuchet held a baseball as he tried to crowd in behind her to get through the carved out door.

"QM can look after himself pretty good." Thia looked both ways before heading into the depths of the warehouse.

"We can't let them run amuck." Odd dragged his prisoners through the opening with much bumping of heads.

"No we can't." Oz Mike gathered what water he could before stepping in after his friends.

Alice the Owl drifted across the night sky. She enjoyed the soaring and the wind beneath her wings. Being on the ground made her feel clumsy and slow compared to this arrow flight.

She drifted above the building where the trouble was taking place. It looked like any other warehouse she had seen since she had went on the run with Squirrel. The others would be arriving soon, and the only thing she saw that matched what they were thinking was the burned out wreck that had been concealed under some trees and the two guards that didn't look like guards at all to her.

Alice circled the building again as silently as drifting leaves. Dropping in on the goons could be done, but she didn't want to get into a rumble and have to run if she couldn't win. That would let everyone else inside know something was up.

The baying of hounds attracted her attention. The sound carried but didn't seem to concern the two at the gate. She put it down to them being used to dogs chasing someone in the dark.

Alice landed in a tree and looked around as quietly as she could. She didn't want the hounds to catch on to her scent and alert their master she was watching.

A movement through the treetops caught her eye. A woman with a round face leaped from tree to tree with the help of her arms stretching out to cross the feet wide gap, secure a grip, then pull her over the drop. The woman wore a black suit, but had lost part of her jacket somewhere.

Alice looked back along the path the woman had followed from the warehouse. Three men struggled along in the dark. They followed a pack of hounds made of rock. The strange dogs sniffed the trees and then bayed when they were sure they were still on the trail.

Alice decided the woman must be Enforcer's Aylwin. He hadn't mentioned she had powers.

Alice took wing, floating through the trees until she was ahead of the woman in the suit. She waited until the woman landed in the tree she had picked out before grabbing her, placing one hand over her mouth. The night flyer made a small shushing sound in the other's ear. The woman nodded.

Alice expected one of the three to be in control of the hounds. She didn't know what the other two could do. She didn't want to challenge them head on. She had to be sneaky and get Aylwin away before they found the two of them.

She could do that if the older woman cooperated. Living on the run had taught her about having to move without being seen. The night cloaked her as effectively as invisibility. She didn't know how much she could extend that protection to her companion.

Alice decided to circle around the trio and head back to the building. Maybe she could lead them into an ambush. The others should have reached the front of the warehouse by now.

There was strength in numbers.

A roar turned all eyes to block sitting in the dark. The three men turned and started running toward the explosion of sound. The dogs coursed ahead, barking and howling for blood.

Aylwin swung down, extending her legs like battering rams. She caught one of the masked men in the back. That drove the masked man into a tree. He hit and went down. The dogs stopped, broke apart, sank into the ground.

The other two turned, caught by surprise. The one with the rifle turned to aim in the night. Alice thought he was the most dangerous since even a stray bullet could still kill. He couldn't be allowed to fire.

Alice dropped her full weight on his shoulders about half her speed. That was enough to drive him into the ground with her on top. She darted back up into the trees as he tried to throw her off. She didn't want to get close up. She had a feeling she would lose any real fight if she stuck around.

The woman in the suit grabbed the last man with his oversize choppers and slab of a jaw. She flung him into a trees as hard as she could, driving the back of his head into the wood. She kept her limbs clear of the wide mouth. He went down with a bullfrog sigh.

That left the third man who went for his rifle. Alice dropped on him again. He collapsed. Then he rolled. Alice floated to her feet instead of falling down to the ground. The commando pulled his pistol so he could point it at a hostage instead of an attacker. A long arm knocked the weapon away into the night.

"I think this is where you give up, Wolf." Aylwin's voice drifted from the trees. "It's over."

"What's next?" Wolf held up his hands.

"We put you in the system for attempted murder, and let you have your day in court." Aylwin didn't descend to get close to the mercenary. "That's what we do with criminals."

"I'll pass. Jail doesn't appeal to me." Wolf made a flexing motion with his hand. Bright light turned the night to day for brief seconds. When it faded, he had vanished.

"Aylwin?" Alice couldn't see. Her eyes were geared for the night. A sudden flare affected her more than a normal human. She decided to stay still in case she ran into a tree by accident.

"He's gone." Aylwin looked around for something to tie her two victims up. She decided on utility belts after emptying the contents into her own pockets. No point in leaving anything useful behind.

"What do we do now?" Alice blinked several times, feeling tears running from her eyes.

"We make a call and let the others know that we're okay and they only have to rescue the four Air Force men trapped inside the building." Aylwin searched the stolen contents until she came up with a cell phone. "We also tell them that a robot is also in there looking for something."

"What do we do next?" Alice wiped her face. Her vision was blurred but returning. She looked around, glad that she hadn't moved. Several trees penned her in.

"We wait until we get an all clear." Aylwin dialed the number. "We can't let these two getaway like their boss. It means we'll have to sit the rest out, but at least we can get some back up for your team."

"I wouldn't say we're a team." Alice blinked the last of the blur away. "We're a loose collection of people."

"If you stay with it, you'll be a team." Aylwin hung up, then dialed another number. "Maybe a family."

Alice frowned at that. She had left her family behind when she had grown feathers and wings. Squirrel was the closest thing to a family she had at the moment. She couldn't see that expanding beyond the two of them.

Aylwin spoke into the phone about troop movements and transportation. She waited for a few seconds. Then she gave a password. She nodded at the answer she received then hung up.

"We have a few hours before troops from the Project show up." Aylwin looked at the building. "We should take our prisoners and hook up with the others."

"I'll take the guy with the teeth." Alice figured he was the lighter of the two mercenaries. She might struggle but she should be able to drag him through the forest to the warehouse.

"See if you can round up some help for us." Aylwin grabbed the two men by the scruff of the neck and started dragging them slowly along. "That would be better than helping me drag these lumps."

"I'll be right back." Alice spread her wings, then launched into the air.

Alice circled the facility, disappointed that no one was around the brick edifice itself. She expanded her search. She spotted an army of squirrels coming down the road. Squirrel hopped at the front of the still expanding horde, carrying someone on his back.

He was just the person she wanted to see.

"Hey, Alice." Squirrel waved, pausing in his run. His minions gathered around him. "I bagged one waiting for us."

"There's two more behind the place." Alice landed, looking at the rodent army. "I left someone to guard them, but she's alone."

"No problem." Squirrel smiled. "Where are everyone else?"

"I haven't seen anyone else." Alice shrugged. "They must have gone inside after clearing the outside."

"Let's get with this woman and put our prisoners under guard until we have everything straightened out." Super Squirrel chattered for a second. Three of the squirrels broke off and headed for the light reaching from the opened storage site. "Then we can see if the others need any help."

"I think they got the rest of this handled." Alice petted one of the squirrels looking up at her.

"It wouldn't hurt to make sure." Super Squirrel whistled and led his wild entourage off the road and into the dark trees.

Billy Keys pulled the Question Man towards the gatehouse door. That should get them across the parking area. The others kept the two watchdogs busy while he opened the door to the interior of the warehouse.

"Which way do we go from here?" Billy looked around the small open area they stood in.

"This way." The Question Man started left, eyeing what remained on the shelves as he passed.

The two rescuers proceeded with a small amount of caution. They didn't want to run into anything dangerous. They weren't equipped to deal with anyone more dangerous than thug with a gun. The Question Man couldn't answer eyebeams, and Billy couldn't move things without a door to use.

They found Fenris Ulf leaning against the wall next to where the Question Man wanted to go. He rubbed a rock down the edge of his axe. Sparks flew from the blade.

He eyed the two of them, a grim smile on his wolf face. He rubbed the rock against his axe's blade one more time before putting the stone away.

"What have we here?" Fenris Ulf straightened, giving his weapon a swing to limber the arm. "I expected not two varlets to intrude on my repose, but your coming is welcome for I feel a bit restless and inclined to violence."

"I would like to take a rain check." The Question Man raised both hands. "We're just looking around. Ignore us."

"I'm afraid my axe longs for the splitting of skulls with a laugh on my lips and fire in my eye." Fenris Ulf advanced, chuckling as the other two retreated. "Ready weapons and prepare for your deaths with a warrior's pride."

"Run." The Question Man pushed Billy into a side aisle while he headed back the way they had walked from the front door. Maybe splitting up would help them out.

Fenris Ulf swung his axe. It sliced through the shelf in his way, splitting the metal bars so the top of the rack fell into the next aisle. The contents scattered to the floor around his ponderous body.

The mercenary grunted. The janitor had already made it pass the next piece of furniture, and moving fast. The other man sprinted for the front of the building. He didn't seem that much of a challenge to battle, but he couldn't be allowed to go outside and warn anybody about what was going on.

It didn't occur to the berserker that it might already be too late to keep up the masquerade of normality.

Fenris Ulf drew back his axe and threw it. The weapon whistled as it went. The target threw himself behind cover. The blade sank into the wall, slicing bricks in two.

The Question Man considered whether or not he had done the right thing. That took long enough for him to catch his breath, and dodge down the aisle with the storage racks on either side. At least the big monster couldn't see him.

Fenris Ulf walked forward, holding out his hand. The axe freed itself from the wall and spun through the air to its owner. He caught it as he reached where the masked man had ducked for cover. A quick glance told him the man had reached the other end of that space.

Fenris Ulf braced powerful arms against the shelf closest to him and pushed. His mighty muscles ripped the shelving up from the floor. The thing's weight took over and dropped it on the next one in line. That shelf bent and then came free and the both of them knocked a third down. The rest fell like dominoes to the far wall.

The Question Man winced at the destruction. He ducked down to avoid the flying axe while he tried to think of some other way to keep Fenris Ulf from killing him. His mind had blanked out everything but the need to run.

He needed a question he could use to his advantage.

The Question Man dove in the triangle caused by the shelves propping each other up. He climbed in, moving as much as possible around the old weapons that had fallen to the floor. The deadly blade would have to strike blind while he kept moving.

Fenris Ulf walked to the front of the space where he had seen his enemy duck into. Killing the man would be as easy as pie. All he needed was to destroy his cover and reveal him to his death.

Fenris Ulf grabbed the edge of the shelf and picked it up. He grinned at the coward crawling there. He freed his axe with one hand for the killing stroke. The masked man flung one of the useless relics at the mercenary to fend him off a few seconds more. The shining blade sliced the round cylinder body of the thing easily. The two pieces fell to the floor with a clinking of metal on concrete.

"You were far braver than I thought." Fenris Ulf released the axe on the backswing. "Perhaps you will sit at Valhalla's table with the others that have opposed me to their regret."

The Question Man swung with the next closest object that he grabbed. He didn't want to die, knew that the furry marauder possessed more strength and toughness and should be avoided, and knew that the others would breach the door at any moment. His thirty year old artifact deflected the thrown blade at the last second, spinning it away over his head.

The Question Man threw the notched relic at Fenris Ulf before jumping over the fallen shelf and running. The two pieces of metal rebounded off a furry arm as the mercenary tried to turn to keep up with the smaller man. He held out his hand for his axe as the masked man ducked behind another rack still standing upright.

Fenris Ulf laughed. The wood and steel axe handle slapped in his hand as he started to pursue his prey. He should be angered, but instead felt some elation of having a worthy opponent to battle. He wondered how long the mortal could duck him before the head came off.

He had forgotten about the janitor in his bloodlust.

Billy Keys kept an eye out as he circled back to the room the monster had been guarding. He pushed a key into the lock and opened it. Men in Air Force uniforms shouted questions. One of the men, a sergeant, had managed to get his bound hands in front of him somehow.

"Quiet." Billy held up a hand. "I am going to get you outside so we can talk."

Billy started helping the personnel through the door to the boat rental cabin on the lake. It was far enough away that any mercenary wouldn't be able to get to it fast without being able to do what Billy could do, but close enough that help could arrive if there was a problem.

"Get me out of these cuffs." The sergeant held out his hands. "I want to get some licks in."

"I don't have anything to do that." Billy shook his head. "Wait here. Someone will come get you when this is over."

"What if I don't want to do that?" The big sergeant shook his manacles.

"Not my problem." Billy stepped through the closed door of the boat rental place and landed back at the cell. Now he needed to do something about the crazy axe thing whatever it was.

Billy grabbed something that looked like a baseball bat with a hand guard as he headed back to where the Question Man fled from the furball. This was totally a bad idea. He should be running far away from the monster instead of walking toward it.

He hoped he could drop the Viking critter with a swing of his new weapon. Otherwise the monster would drop him like a bad habit.

Billy swung. His weapon connected with the wolf monster's winged helmet. It went flying across the room. Its wearer glared at the super with fire dripping from its eyes. The axe went up. Then it came down.

Thia Halmedes raised her weapon and fired. She had provided herself nonlethal ordinance. Their failure prompted her to think she had made a mistake.

The hulking thing impersonating a Viking didn't move from the trio of hits she inflicted. It merely glared at her as if sizing her up for a pine box. And it didn't look afraid of her friends either.

"More troublesome meddlers to vex me with your desire to outlive a blow from my faithful companion." The wolf monster grinned slightly. "We shall see how hard your skulls are before I am done."

"I don't think so." Trebuchet let fly with his readied baseball. The projectile split in two as the blade of the axe swept through it. "Maybe I was wrong."

"Come, youth." The canine advanced on the group at the door. "Young blood is the best."

Enforcer leaped forward to confront the menace. His glowing fist rocked the giant back on his heels. A backhand sent the retired hero flying. He hit the wall hard enough to leave a crater in the brick and concrete.

Thia worked on her rifle as Trebuchet unloaded a barrage of baseballs. The leather missiles came apart as the axe worked its own defense. Fenris Ulf laughed until the water caught him in the face and tried to drown him.

The warehouse had water so the men stationed their could use the bathroom, wash up, have something to use to boil for food. It was nothing for Oz Mike to summon some of it to add to his own supply from the lake and use it to batter at their enemy.

Thia raised her rifle again. She fired what looked like rubber balls into the cold water. The round spheres hit and started expanding, started hardening into connecting bands. She kept up the barrage until the target quit moving.

The group paused to watch Fenris Ulf struggle in his prison. The hardened foam should hold an elephant.

The Viking wolf ripped the cocoon away after about a minute. Fire boiled from his eyes as he regarded his enemies. Valhalla would welcome their spirits at the feasting hall.

"How do we stop this guy, Question Man?" Trebuchet held another baseball in his hand. He looked to work an angle. A straight throw would just be cut down before it reached a target.

"Get rid of the axe." The Question Man ducked behind cover as the said weapon tried to cut him down before he could speak.

"That should be easy." Trebuchet threw his own weapon, letting it spin in a curve against the side of the villain's head. The monster shrugged it off as he reached for his spinning axe.

Oddhat reached into his leather bag with his free hand. He had put it on the floor at the back of the group. His other hand still kept Sundog and Garou suspended in the air. He made sure to keep them in front of him while he searched for the tool he needed. He found a disc with a mike attachment to fit over his mouth. He put it on.

"We need you to send the axe somewhere else, Billy." Odd's voice sounded in his head and in Billy's. No one else seemed to hear it. "He'll have to throw at you in front of a door."

"That should be easy." Billy grimaced at what he was about to do. He had never been good at attracting attention, preferring to keep to the background. Now he had to step into the spotlight. "Hey, moron! Is that your face or did a cow take a crap on your neck?"

Fenris Ulf glared at the super, raising his axe to throwing position. Foam covered the sides of his mouth.

"You mother must be the terror of every Labrador in the neighborhood." Billy kept his hand on the cell door handle, ready to use it. "The howling to get away could be heard for miles. They would have chewed their legs off to get away."

Odd warned the others with his mike. He didn't want them to attract attention away from Billy. They were winging it, but it looked like their notion would work as long as the super didn't get killed.

"Who's your daddy?" Billy forced a grin. That was better to turn the screws. "That's right. You don't know."

The axe flew with its deadly grace. Billy ducked, pulling the door open as he stepped away. The spinning blade entered the portal to the other side of the lake. The door shut before it could return.

"What have you done, varlet?" Fenris Ulf advanced, hands flexing as his roar filled the open space.

"Now we hold him until his time runs out." The Question Man regretted saying the words out loud. The wolf monster turned at bay for the first time.

"I shall never be held by the likes of you." Fenris Ulf headed for the wall, punching through it with a fist of fury. He followed through with a shoulder, smashing the concrete like a wrecking ball.

"Everyone cover for Trebuchet." Odd picked up his bag. "He's the only one of us who can really stall for time."

Thia and Trebuchet raced outside the melted door to cut off their opponent. Oz Mike pulled the water to give him a wave to ride into the hulking monster. Billy doubted he could do anything else to Fenris Ulf. He went to make sure the Enforcer was still alive after the blow he had taken. The Question Man joined him as Odd Hat walked outside to help the others.

Thia fired her foam gun again. She didn't need it to stop Fenris Ulf. She only needed it to get Trebuchet close. The kid could throw a car. The fleeing mercenary had to weigh less than that. The globs wrapped around the Viking's upper body and neck before she blasted his legs. He went down under the yellow blobs. Muscular arms struggled to rip the stuff away.

"Straight up, Trebuchet." Odd spoke into his mike. "We need him to be stalled until whatever happens, happens."

"No problem." Trebuchet grabbed a free leg. He jerked and the bundle flew into the night sky like a rocket. He stepped back, looking up at the yellow vanishing against the velvet darkness.

"Good job." Oz Mike searched the air from the top of his water column, gave up after a few seconds.

Trebuchet must have hurled him into orbit.

"If the axe flies back to his hand while he's up there, we'll have to separate them again and start over." Odd made sure his two prisoners were still secure in his energy fist. "If it doesn't, we'll have to stop him from hitting the ground on impact and dying."

"No worries, mate." Oz Mike drew more water from the warehouse pipes. "I think I can handle that part of things."

"Let's hope we have him where we want him." Odd pulled a set of eyepieces out of his bag. "I promised my wife I wouldn't get killed."

Odd searched the night as a horde of squirrels arrived. Alice the Owl perched in a nearby tree as Squirrel and Aylwin dropped their catch on the road.

"What's going on?" Aylwin looked up at the sky too, wondering what everyone was looking at up there.

"Trebuchet just threw a big monster into the air." Thia held her own scope to her eye. "We're waiting for it to come back down."

"Awesome!" Squirrel waved his hands. "I wished I had been here to see that."

"Shouldn't he be coming down?" Trebuchet frowned under his helmet. "I threw him hard, but a body isn't designed to travel far."

"Here he comes." Odd and Thia focused their equipment on one part of the starry expanse. Odd smiled. "It looks like he still doesn't have his axe."

"I got him." Oz Mike lifted up, pulling more and more water from the warehouse for height. He created a slide under the falling mercenary who seemed smaller under all the goop that remained. The two of them spiraled down to the ground as the surfer ate away the speed from his catch and slowed him to a crawl. They reached ground level, and Fenris Ulf fell the last few inches to the ground with a human yelp.

"It looks like we have everyone but their boss." Aylwin smiled. Chad had praised his friends, and he had been right.

"Let's get him." Super Squirrel helped shove the mercenaries into Odd's much bigger grip. "He can't be tougher than these guys."

"He might have cut his losses and fled the scene." Aylwin led the way into the warehouse, wincing at the hole where the door had been.

The Strangers split up into two groups. Oddhat, Alice the Owl, Oz Mike, and Billy Keys stayed to help the Enforcer. The rest went with Aylwin to search for Mr. R. Once they knew where he was, they could deal with him.

Aylwin had already lost Mr. Wolf. She didn't want to lose the real mastermind behind the break-in. Maybe something could be done to immobilize his metal body and install it in a cell.

"What does this Mr. R look like?" Super Squirrel traveled on the standing supply shelves, hopping over the aisles.

"A robot with a round body, tracks, and long arms." Aylwin paused to pick out a direction to go. "He'll probably be waiting for us after what we've done."

"We can handle him." Trebuchet looked at his small supply of baseballs. "If I can get close enough, I can throw him through the roof."

"Don't underestimate him." Aylwin wanted her service pistol. "If he thinks of something, he will put us down. Right now, he doesn't know what you can do so we'll have a small edge."

One of the squirrel army arrived, saluted, and gave its report to Super Squirrel. It started back the way it came.

"The robot is just ahead." Super Squirrel stood up to get a better view. "It's standing still."

Aylwin nodded, pressed on until the next cross lane. She spotted the machine standing a few aisles down. She didn't think the head not turning meant that it wasn't aware of them.

"You're under arrest, Mr. R." Aylwin gestured for the others to keep back in case the robot decided to engage. "Come along quietly."

"I don't think so, Agent Aylwin." Mr. R's head turned then to give her his full regard. "I will continue my quest. Someone must know where my heart is."

"I can't allow that." Aylwin raised her hand. "Whatever you're looking for is Government Property. I have to take you in for trial and sentencing. You know how this goes."

"I'm not going to be responsible for what happens next if you don't help me." Mr. R.'s eyes glowed as he reached inside his shell's programming. "Once I have the heart, I will retreat to my place and retire."

"I can't let you have it." Aylwin checked her watch. Agency backup was out of range to be much help. She had to stall. "Everything we confiscate is held for study and then destroyed. It's not returned to the criminals we arrest. Come with me before anyone else is hurt."

"I don't think so." Mr. R.'s body opened up. Small rockets poked their heads out of their launchers.

Aylwin jumped to one side as the first volley reached for her. The shelving took the blows, spraying shrapnel from the explosions. She didn't see the rest of the group as she hit the ground.

She hoped no one had been killed.

"I told you but you wouldn't listen." Mr. R. rolled forward. "Now I will have to kill you and everyone who knew I was here."

"I don't think so." Trebuchet grabbed one of the rectangular shelves and flung it across the space between him and the mechanical menace. Beams of light erupted from the metal claws at the end of Mr. R.'s waterhose arms. The rack came apart in a small cascade of molten metal.

Thia took aim and fired with the rifle she had conjured up. Missiles of her own reached for the robot. Tracks dug into the concrete and backed under cover. Booms filled the air from the near misses.

"How do we stop this guy, Question Man?" Super Squirrel leaped across space, racing along the shelves as beams of light reached for his furry form. His called out question made his masked colleague pause to think.

"We can give him what he wants." The Question Man smiled under his mask.

"What?" Aylwin glared at the amateur hero. "That's not an option."

"It's our only option." The Question Man stood tall. "Everybody, stop shooting. Cease fire. We're giving the machine what it wants."

"Do you know what you're doing?" Aylwin looked to see if Mr. R. was not stretching an arm over the storage equipment to blast at them with its mechanical hands.

"Yes." The Question Man waited for the ceasefire. He didn't want to try and talk while everyone was shooting at each other. "Do you want this heart thing, or not?"

"Do you know where it is?" Mr. R. sounded like a heavy duty car speaker in action.

"No." The Question Man started forward, holding up his hands. "That doesn't mean I can't find out."

"How will you do that?" Mr. R. appeared, weapons still ready to shoot. Most of them pointed at the masked man.

"I can answer any question." The Question Man checked around him. The others seemed to be following his lead. "All you have to do is ask."

"Where is the generator?" Mr. R. seemed more self possessed now that no one was shooting at him.

"It's powering a secret facility in Antarctica." The Question Man felt an itch on his forehead from sweat pushing against his mask. "We can arrange transportation."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Mr. R.'s head swiveled to take in his surroundings.

"I haven't changed my mind at all." The Question Man stepped forward. "You can't get to it where it is, and if you stay here trying to fight us, the Project will stop you from leaving. All I have to do is buy a few more minutes."

Mr. R. reversed down the lane. Rockets leapt from the launcher in his body. The Strangers leaped for cover as the explosions rolled over them. The robot reached the far wall and started to cut through to the outside.

"What was the plan?" Aylwin pulled herself out from under a pile of wreckage. She reached over and helped Thia slide out from under a similar heap. "He's gone."

"I told him what we were going to do so he would leave." The Question Man had dodged the blasts but not the dust kicked up. He brushed off as much as he could. "All we need to do now is get Super Squirrel's friends to follow him until he stops to figure out how to get to Antarctica from here."

"What if he doesn't stop?" Aylwin looked around for Trebuchet.

"Then I'll have to come up with another plan." The Question Man waved at Squirrel to put the next part of his plan in play.

The Strangers had been able to borrow a van from the agents arriving at the storage depot. They piled in after handing over their prisoners and retrieving the Air Force personnel from the lakeside.

Staff Sergeant Blue Baloo insisted on driving and pushed his bearish bulk behind the wheel.

"Which way are we going, folks?" Baloo wheeled down the long driveway toward roads leading into Marlowe and Minnesota beyond.

"Take us south." The Question Man settled in the back, bracing himself against the walls of the van. "The airport is that way."

"Why the airport?" Aylwin checked the borrowed rifle she held. She had left her jacket and tie behind while picking up a vest to protect her body.

"Because that's where Mr. R. is going." Squirrel rode in the front, tail curled around him. "We might be able to get there before he does if we hurry."

"He's going to try and get a plane that he can use to fly down to Antarctica." Aylwin shook her head. "He can't really expect to stay in the air if we want to shoot the plane down."

"He can if he takes hostages." The Enforcer stood in the center of the van. He held on to a strut in the roof to stay on his feet.

The Enforcer hurt from the blow he had taken, but felt he had to stay in the game until it was over. He didn't want the others to be hurt just because he decided to sit on the sidelines. He owed it to them to keep moving.

"What's the plan, Question Man?" Trebuchet frowned at the small amount of ammunition he still had in his bag.

"We're going to get aboard the plane Mr. R. picks and ambush him." The Question Man decided that he would ask for a team vehicle with comfortable seats when he had the time. Bouncing against the metal floor of the van wasn't pleasant at all.

"Sounds easy enough." Thia had braced herself like the Question Man. Her arms folded in front of her. "We'll have to be careful so we don't blow the plane up while we're trying to take him down."

"What about the people who will be onboard the plane?" Billy knew the answer to that before anyone said anything. His power could get everyone off without the robot knowing unless he had some kind of x-ray vision and used it before he boarded.

"We'll get them off the plane before anything happens." The Question Man closed his eyes. He felt tired, but not as bad as he had before he had been hypnotized.

Baloo put his foot down, roaring along the road. The lights bobbed as the van bounced on the gravel, then asphalt. He headed for the city as fast as he dared. He didn't know how fast the machine could roll but he planned to be at the airport in plenty of time.

"We have to take him before he knows we're there." Aylwin pulled out a phone and started calling. "If he ignites any jet fuel, we could lose the runway, part of the airport."

"We will." Enforcer looked the group over. They seemed to have their second wind. He knew he did. The internal energy that powered him had pushed his ribs back in place for the moment, but he would still be able to lend a hand to deal with this problem.

"Is everyone ready?" Odd had his bag on his lap, gauntlet on his arm.

"We're ready." Super Squirrel flexed his arms. "I'll unload my guns on him. The machine won't know what hit him."

"You might want to kick him instead." Thia almost laughed at the thought of Squirrel grappling with anybody with his thin arms.

"Access road coming up." Baloo pointed at a small sign off the road they were rolling down.

"We'll use that to get on the runways." Aylwin made another call. "Which plane are we using for the trap, Question Man?"

"Oceanic 481." The Question Man stood and pointed at an airliner rolling away from the departure gate. "Tell the tower to hold it."

Aylwin passed the word along as the van rolled down the runway after the plane. Baloo concentrated on not driving into the jet engines' wake. He still had to drive it away so Mr. R. wouldn't be suspicious of a trap.

The jet rolled to a stop. Aylwin snapped the phone shut. Everyone got to their feet. They seemed ready to do the job to her eyes.

"Alice, we'll need air coverage." The Question Man opened the side door of the van. "Just call when he's close."

"No problem." Alice gave Squirrel a peck on the cheek. "Be careful."

"Always." Super Squirrel watched his love take flight and soar until Billy closed the door and reopened it on the inside of the plane. "Let's do what we have to do."

The Strangers stepped through the door. As soon as they were gone, Baloo kicked the gas and drove off the runway toward a nearby hangar. Aylwin watched the perimeter in the direction Mr. R. had to come from on his way from the storage depot.

"How's it going?" Oddhat looked at the passengers staring at him. None of them looked happy to see him. They would really be unhappy after he said what he had to say. "Everyone, we're going to ask you to leave through the front door. There's been a bomb threat to the plane. We're going to have you disembark until we make sure the flight is safe."

He held up his hands to silence the panicked questions being thrown his way. The last thing they needed was a stampede.

"Just come up front and exit." Oddhat pointed at the door where Billy stood. "We'll try to make this as quick as possible."

"You heard the man." Enforcer started walking the aisle between rows of seats. "Get off the plane before you get blown up."

That got the people moving. The Strangers kept them at a slow pace so no one had to be trampled. They wanted the plane empty, and not deal with a medical emergency at the same time. Enforcer glared at anyone trying to shove people in front of them. That gave the crowd a pause because of the yellow light burning from the eyeholes of his mask.

The Question Man talked with the pilots. They joined the line of staff and civilians stepping back into the terminal. He looked at the other heroes. They checked the plane to make sure it was empty.

"Now we wait for our rabbit." He started back to the cockpit so he could watch from the windows. "You guys better find places to hide."

The Question Man settled into the pilot's chair, and waited for the next move.

Mr. R. rolled through the forest. He used his hands to get around obstructions. Luckily his eyes amplified ambient light to see by. That kept him from hitting things as he fled toward the airport.

He needed to get away from Marlowe as fast as possible. Sneaking aboard a plane flying out of the airport seemed to be the best idea. His hand lasers should be able to penetrate the hull and allow him to board somewhere in the belly.

He hadn't counted on the local heroes to interfere. He should have since he knew the Enforcer had came out of retirement to deal with the giant lizard from the lake. He should have expected them to arrive at the base and interfere.

He had relied too much on the Canines. Mr. Wolf had let him down. At least he didn't have to pay the other half of their fee. That was a silver lining.

Mr. R. spotted a plane waiting on the runway. It looked like it was in almost the exact position he needed to start his escape plan.

He rolled through the fence, slicing the links with his metal claws. His tracks smoothed out on the tarmac which allowed him to roll at top speed under the plane. Now he had to get onboard before the plane took off for its next destination.

Mr. R. extended his pipestem arms. His dagger fingers spread to give his cutters a clear shot. He spun in place. Hot sparks drifted down around his barrel body. The hull section dropped into his waiting grip.

Mr. R. held the circle in one hand. His other grabbed the edge of the hole in the belly of the plane. He pulled himself up and inside. The hull plugged the wound he had created with a few passes of his hands.

All he had to do was wait until the plane landed and he could try to get a plane to Antarctica before Project Z found what he was looking for and moved it again. He had to get there before something else happened to get in his way.

The plane slowed down and stopped. Mr. R. looked around the cramped storage space. He spotted a door to go up into the passenger section. He covered that with his cutters. There were plenty of reasons that the plane would stop moving before taking off. None of them had to mean someone had seen him getting aboard.

That didn't mean that someone hadn't seen him.

Mr. R rolled to the door. He focuses his cybernetic eyes on the passageway leading upstairs. He didn't see anyone waiting for him. Maybe he could take the plane over and fly it where he wanted.

Mr. R. reached up and opened the door. He listened. He didn't hear any sounds. Shouldn't there be people speaking before the plane took off?

Mr. R. paused. If he had hair, it would be standing up. Something was wrong. That left him with two options. He could go ahead and try to take the plane over against unknown circumstances. He didn't want to do that. He wanted fast travel with no complications. His other option was to cut through his patch and exit before the plane started moving again. He could drop down to the runway and find another plane to hijack.

Mr. R. went to the patch. He unlimbered his cutters. It was better to find some other means to travel rather than to fight his way out of some trap.

The section fell out of the circle Mr. R. cut. He paused when the metal disc only fell a few inches. Claws grabbed the center of the cutout and pulled. A metal surface stood under the plane to block his passage to the ground.

He had just cut his way through a jet floor. He could cut this new obstacle just as quick.

The two cutters cut another circle in the roof of the barricade. Nothing could be allowed to get in his way. The circle dropped inside the vehicle below. Gunfire answered his door making.

Mr. R. considered his actions before he dropped down into the fusillade. He was reasonably bulletproof but a stray shot could do some damage he didn't anticipate.

"You're under arrest." Aylwin's voice drifted up through the hole. "Give up now, or we'll take you down."

"I refuse." Mr. R. backed from the hole. He needed to get to the controls before someone thought to immobilize the plane.

"Don't make us drag you out." Aylwin shifted into view for a second, trying to spot Mr. R. The cyborg backed up even more, aiming his cutters at the opening.

The moment he saw something trying to get in the cargo area through his opening, he would use the intense lasers to cut them. He didn't want to do it, but avoiding capture was the most important thing to him at the moment. Nothing could stand in his way.

"Hey, buddy." A new voice came up from the hole. "I know you think you can fight your way out of here, but believe me, you can't. I want to get to a rack and catch some zzzz's. Give everybody a break. We don't want to have to hurt you."

Mr. R. didn't answer. He turned and headed for the door. He could use one of his remaining missiles to punch a door. He could drop to the tarmac and roll down to the runway. His treads could carry him out of trouble unless there was a great number of agents waiting for him.

If there was, he was a toaster.

Mr. R. pulled himself into the passenger compartment. He flipped open the missile compartment as he swiveled to get a clear shot at the side of the plane. Something furry jumped into the missile compartment.

"Hands up, tin man." The voice came from behind Mr. R. "Or face the wrath of Super Squirrel."

Mr. R. turned his body to face the other way. A furry squirrel the size of a man in a blue T-shirt and jeans grinned at him. The cyborg paused. He armed a missile to shoot. One side of the plane was as good as the other.

"You heard him." Another one, a girl with a rifle, stood to the Super Squirrel's left. "Give it up."

A giant hand blocked the opening of the missile launcher. The blue light fingers wrapped around the barrel body of Mr. R. He looked for the source. A man in a purple and silver bowler projected the hand from a gauntlet he wore.

"We're ready for you." The man in the hat shook his head. "It's time."

Mr. R. considered the options available. Somehow it had to shake off the hands, punch a hole in the jet, drop down to the runway, and roll. That didn't seem possible to do with his rockets. He would have to cut them.

Mr. R. raised his hands to fire the lasers. He decided to shoot the girl with the rifle and the man in the hat. The human squirrel didn't seem like much of a threat.

Mr. R. activated his cutters. He paused. Nothing happened. He tried again. It was the same result. He checked the status. The monitor told him it was off line. Something had damaged the lasers.

He realized it was the furry thing that had jumped in his chest when he stepped into the passenger cabin. That was the only thing it could be.

"What have you done to me?" Mr. R. decided to shoot a missile while they talked. The launcher told him it was offline also.

"Took you down." The girl kept the rifle on him. "I don't hear you saying you're giving up."

"I'll never give up." Mr. R. tried to reroute power to fire the missile. That should break the grip on his body. He would take some damage but that was acceptable for freedom.

"I think this has gone far enough." The Enforcer stepped from concealment and grabbed the cylinder head. He twisted and the brain center popped out of the socket holding it to the body. The eyes went dark.

A squirrel stuck its head out of the resulting hole. Wires hung from its mouth.

"Good job, Kowalski." Super Squirrel gave a thumb's up to his follower.

The squirrel spat the wires out, gave a salute, then headed out the opened door that was further up the main body of the jet and concealed by the curtains separating the sections. It dropped down and ran for the trees beyond the airport.

"What are you going to do with its head?" The Strangers gathered around Enforcer and his prize.

"I'm sure not going to put it on my wall." The man in gray placed it on a nearby chair for someone else to take away.

epilogue

Mr. Wolf cursed as he walked toward his office. He had to get word to the others that he was going to break them out. He wouldn't let his men sit in prison for long.

Mr. Wolf paused at the threshold of his office. Crosshair Collie sat at his desk. The sniper's rifle pointed at the door. The glow from the mercenary leader's laptop lit the beige and brown mask of the shooter.

"Come in, Dick." Crosshair gestured at the visitor's chair. "I can't really say I am glad to see you."

"What are you doing?" Wolf sat down in the indicated chair. He kept his hands away from his body. He had hired the sniper for his skill. Reaching for a weapon would get him dead.

"I am transferring the team's funds from the central pool to my own account." Crosshair's aim didn't waver. "Then I am leaving."

"I never thought you would steal our war chest." Wolf had thought that and had put passwords on everything. He figured Crosshair had cracked the protection to activate the transfer. "The others are headed for prison because you ran tonight."

"I know." The laptop beeped and Crosshair typed with one hand. "I planned it like that. I have been waiting for a long time for an operation that I could use to get rid of everybody. Thanks for that."

"Glad to be useful." Mr. Wolf couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "So you let your friends get captured for money?"

"Yep." Crosshair shut the computer off. He pulled out a pistol and shot the drive. Why leave evidence behind? "Only this time I'm working for myself. The others can sit in jail for the rest of their lives as far as I'm concerned."

"What brought this on?" Mr. Wolf decided to keep his former henchman talking. That was the only way to buy time for him to think of a way out of the mess he was in.

"I'm thinking of retiring." Crosshair stood up, rifle moving with him. "I don't want to leave anyone behind who knows who I am."

"Only I know who you are." Mr. Wolf didn't like that turn in the conversation at all.

"Exactly." Crosshair pulled the trigger of his rifle.

Mr. Wolf dropped to the floor. His amazed expression came from the impact of the bullet against his skull before it plowed through to the other side and out the back. Another bullet made sure of the deed like that was necessary.

Crosshair put a spare uniform and gear on the headless corpse. If anyone discovered the body and checked the DNA, they might discover the deception. It would be a dead end since the sniper's own wasn't in the system. It would just alert anyone in the know that a deception had been put in play.

He doubted his former comrades were that smart. He wondered how long they would wait on Mr. Wolf before they started thinking about escaping on their own. The Canines did have a policy of helping captured members out of their prisons.

Leave no one behind was their policy. Crosshair wasn't going to rescue them this time.

Crosshair walked down to his room. He rechecked that he had left no clue for anyone to track him down with in the bedroom/office/tiny workshop. Then he changed to his civvies and packed his gear in two spare travel bags bought and hidden for just such an occasion. He left everything else so it looked like Mr. Wolf had killed him and took off.

Crosshair went to Mr. Wolf's room and cleaned it out. Everything portable went into the luggage. The luggage went into the trunk of Wolf's personal vehicle, a black Honda. Stolen car keys got the sniper on the road. At the first chance he got, he would dump everything and switch to a new car under one of his aliases.

The millions in the Canines' war chest could cover a new set of wheels with no problem.

Crosshair drove off the ranch. He turned and headed South. He wasn't worried that security would be able to show anyone his face. He had taken care of that before he had transferred the funds to his own account in the Caymans.

Crosshair hummed along with Inxs as he drove to the closest city. He planned to leave the car in the worse neighborhood he could find, and ride something else to the closest train station. Then he would quietly roll out of town on the iron rails.

Crosshair rolled through town, flipping channels on the radio whenever the music stopped. He had waited for a long time for a job to come along where he had thought the others would be captured. He thought it might never happen with Wolf directing everyone and planning on the move. Then those people from Marlowe had shown up and he knew the time was right to fade away before they spotted him lurking in the trees.

He had thought the chances were excellent they would be called on to stop Mr. R.'s search. He had also been prepared to call them himself if too much time passed before they arrived. When he saw the agent use her phone, he had waited just long enough before shooting the phone out of her hand.

Too soon and her call wouldn't have gotten through, too late and the others would have noticed something off and said something to him about it. They would have also twigged onto the fact he was still alive based on a slow move when he had never been that slow before.

Some of them might have twigged on it. Garou and Fenris Ulf used their heads to hang their fur on.

Crosshair pulled the car over to curb of the worst looking street he could find in Minnesota in the middle of the early morning hours. He called for a cab on a pay to use cell. He pulled his bags out of the trunk and waited on the sidewalk for his ride. As soon as the cab pulled behind his stolen car, he told the driver to take to the train station as the bags went in the trunk.

He got in the back and waited for the cab to start moving.

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