SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 1987
In the months after his return home Steve Roberts has started his new job in Camden, NJ working as a Private Detective. The cases haven’t been as exciting as something on television but Master Warrior’s early morning flights from Philadelphia across the river to Camden have given him a chance to patrol both cities.
It’s Saturday morning and he would rather be home in front of the TV, but David called with some questions about a case they just wrapped up, so he is headed to the office. That when he saw the factory fire on the News. He didn’t even have a chance to shower before changing to Master Warrior. Luckily his dirt and odor goes with his clothes when he changes.
On the way to the fire he passes over the Philadelphia Zoo. It has been nearly three months but Master Warrior can’t help but to think about what happened at the Zoo. When he and Paddy got there, Paddy was right his badge did more to get them to see the Zoo Veterinarian than Master Warrior could have done. The Vet told them that upon examining the lion he discovered that it was rabid and had to put it down. By the time the men got there the Vet had already put the corpse in the crematorium. It all made sense at the time he assumed the shadow would have appeared to burn as it turned to dust in the oven. But Steve can’t help but feel as though something still isn’t right.
Steve has to consider the other shadows as well. People still talk about the attack of the saber-tooth tigers and the Cyclops. If he had done what he needed to do no one would remember those events. Only the bears and the Centaur events are completely forgotten.
Master Warrior can see the building fire now from a mile away. Not being a trained firefighter he isn’t sure what he can do to help but he still has to try. Master Warrior recognized the old paint factory from News report of its bankruptcy. It must be a truly volatile fire if the men are staying so far back from it. Master Warrior loops around the scene looking for any details that might give him an idea of what to do.
A ladder truck sits at the north side of the building up wind to the flames. Two firemen hold a fire hose on the blaze from the top of the ladder. Master Warrior moves in closer to land on the ladder behind them. “Hey! what are you doing?” one of the firemen shouts at him.
“Give me the hose I can get it in closer,” Master Warrior tells them as he takes hold of the high pressure fire hose behind them.
“You can’t get any closer,” the fireman shouts. “Not dressed like that anyway!” “The heat is too much!”
“I’m more resilient than I look!” he calls back taking the hose from the men. Master Warrior hasn’t tried this before as he leaps off the ladder. It takes him a few moments to trigger his flight vest again with the help of the water pressure in the hose. Then he glides in as closer to the fire, as close as the length of the hose will allow him. It is like pissing on a campfire, the stream of water is just not enough to douse the flames.
Then suddenly there is an explosion from inside the burning factory that sends Master Warrior back and jars the hose from his grip. The hose snaps back at the firemen on the ladder. Philadelphia Fireman Vic George is the one at the top of the ladder and he is sent ground ward. The instant the Fireman loses his footing Master Warrior feels the tinge at the back of his skull and he is zooming to catch the man before he hits the ground.
Vic is shaken for a moment as Master Warrior catches him. The Fireman is in shock as he grabs Master Warrior around the neck to hold on as they fly. “Wow, thanks, thank you, you saved my life,” Vic says as he takes hold of the hero’s arm.
“Not a problem, after all, in a way it was my fault you fell,” Master Warrior replies carries the back to the pavement. “I was trying to help when I really don’t know what I’m doing.”
“My name’s Vic, Vic George,” the fireman says still shaken as his feet are dropped to the ground by Master Warrior.
“You can let go now Vic, you are back on the ground,” Master Warrior says taking the fireman’s hand from around his neck. EMTs rush to take Vic into their care.
“That was incredible!” one of the EMTs says as the other cares for Vic.
“I owe you my life!” Vic George calls back to Master Warrior as he is taken away on a stretcher.
“Just trying to help, although I don’t know how much of a help I’ve been here,” Master Warrior says.
“I’ll tell you what you can do to help!” the Fireman Captain says walking over to the men. “Take those canisters of foam and drop them on top of the fire.”
“Not a problem, how many?” Master Warrior tells the Captain.
“How many can you carry?” Captain Charles asks.
“I can carry twice my own weight when I’m flying, so about 400 pounds,” Master Warrior tells the fireman as they walk over to the back of the truck where the foam canisters are stored.
“Eight should do it, at fifty pound each,” the Captain explains. Two other firemen tie sets of two canisters together with rope. “Just drop them the heat will be the trigger” The firemen unstrap the foam canisters from the back of the truck and hang them over Master Warrior’s shoulders. He takes hold of the ropes to hold them in place. It takes a little juggling but Master Warrior manages to hold them, four against his chest and four against his back. “Now remember drop-em and move,” the Captain tells Master Warrior. “It might be a big blast so I’ll call all my men back.”
Master Warrior waits as the firemen clear the scene, he is a little nervous, he hasn’t done anything like this before. He gets the signal from the Captain and Master Warrior takes a deep breath before running to leap into the air again. Resisting gravity is harder this time than he thought it would be carrying the eight metal canisters. He also has reduced maneuverability without his arms, that hold the ropes. Somehow Master Warrior manages to get directly over the center of the fire. He can feel the heat on his bare skin as he lets the canisters go, sending them straight down into the heart of the blaze. Soaring back Master Warrior sails back away as the foam canisters explode inside the old factory, throwing globs of fire resistant foam outward over the flames.
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 1987
Philadelphia Police Headquarter
One Franklin Square
Philadelphia, Pa
Patrick Berger listens to the reports on the radio of Master Warrior’s weekend exploits as he sits in his car in a parking garage not too far from city hall. The media just can’t get enough of his roomy’s new persona, he thinks. The radio takes his mind off of what he is about to do. Police Commissioner Aspen has asked him to his office for a meeting that Paddy was not to tell Commander Olpere about, before his shift starts. The last time he was to the Commissioner’s office it was with Steve. That time Paddy took credit for things that were not completely his doing. He can’t help but fear that is what is about to bite him in the ass. It is time to face the music, he admits to himself as he turns off the car to get out.
Making his way to the Commissioner’s office he is only a minute late as the flirty receptionist directs him into the office. “Ah, Detective Berger, I am so glad you could come on such short notice,” Commissioner Aspen says standing up from his desk to approach Paddy with a hand shake.
“Thank you, sir,” Paddy says taking the superior’s hand. “But I am still only Officer Berger.”
“Yes I know, but you would like to see that change wouldn’t you?” the Commissioner asks. “Please take a seat.” “I called you here this morning because I believe that Commander Olpere is not doing enough to achieve my goal of meeting with this Master Warrior as he calls himself.”
Paddy is surprised by Aspen’s angle. Olpere has been treating Master Warrior like a vigilante that needs to be arrested. “The Commander has never made mention of this goal to any of us in the Unit,” Paddy replies not wanting to sound too accusatory of Commander Olpere.
“I thought as much,” Aspen responds. “I was hoping that you as senior officer in the Elite Squad could do something to subtlety influence the Commander to my cause.”
“Sir with all do respect, I am not the kind of officer that would undermine his Commander,” Paddy insists.
“Not at all, but you are out there on the front lines more than she is,” Aspen suggests. “If you should get the chance to speak to the man I would like you to invite him to shall we say a summit of sorts.”
Paddy thinks the suggestion through, there is no way Aspen could know Master Warrior’s secret or that he is his roommate. This is all a freaky coincidence. Then it strikes him, is the Commissioner offering him a promotion if he gets Master Warrior to this summit? More importantly, “I don’t think that would go over too well with Commander Olpere,” Paddy says.
“Commander Olpere has no need to know about any of this, It could be just between you and I,” Commissioner Aspen suggests. “I just need to know if Master Warrior and I are on the same page for what is good for this city is all.”
Paddy thinks it over again for a moment as he checks his watch. “Let me just say that if the opportunity should arise I will do what I can as long as Olpere does not find out.”
“That is all I am asking for Detective,” Commissioner Aspen misspeaks again as he moves to shake Berger’s hand again.
“Officer,” Paddy corrects again.
“But don’t you like the sound of Detective Berger better?” Aspen entices.
“Only if I’ve earned it!” replies as he turns to leave the office.
Trademark Investigations
Camden, NJ
The office is rather small and cramped but it is clean to clients that come in for consultations. Dave managed to squeeze a second desk into the office for Steve which meant getting rid of an old leather couch. A good thing in Steve’s opinion. Trademark Investigations has been known for doing a lot of contract business for large corporations in the past, but Dave claim he has taken walk-in cases on occasion to break up the monotony. In the three months Steve has worked here there has not been one walk-in case to date. Today that will change.
It is around lunchtime when a man in his mid-thirties enters the office with two women around the same age. “Good afternoon, my name is Allen Johnson and these are my sisters Rosetta and Irene,” the man says introduction them. “We would like to hire you.”
“Name’s Dave Rogers and this is my associate Steve Roberts,” Dave says taking the lead as Steve shoves his lunch into a desk drawer. “What is it we can do for you?” he asks shaking the man’s hand to direct them to office chairs against the wall. “Please have a seat.” “What seems to be the problem?”
“My wife and child are missing,” Allen explains sitting down looking distraught. “They have been gone since last week.”
“Have you contacted the police?” Steve asks walking over the where three siblings sit.
“Yes, this isn’t the kind of case we usually handle,” Dave agrees.
“No, no, I would prefer to do this without the police,” Allen insists.
“They think they killed, Lisa,” Rosetta the youngest looking of the sisters blurts out.
“Ro, be quiet!” the other sister Irene insist grabbing the girl by the arm.
“If this case involves a murder, then it really isn’t our field,” Dave tells them. “You really need to turn yourselves in.”
“It’s not a murder, it’s a curse!” Rosetta says out of turn again.
Steve intrigued by what the girl is saying but doesn’t have a chance to respond as Allen Johnson slams a bundle of twenty dollar bills down on the desk. “I have money!” the man asserts.
Before Dave can respond to the offer of money Steve pulls him aside to say, “Maybe we should take this case.”
“What are you talking about, these three are some kind of con-artists,” Dave replies in not so soft a tone.
“Maybe, but when I agreed to work here you said that we would take off the street cases,” Steve replies. “This is definitely off the street and it is clear that the guy has the money to pay us.” Dave thinks it over for a minute. “Five hundred bucks is enough for at least one day,” Steve argues.
“Okay we will take your case, on one condition, two days cash up front,” Dave says sure that this crew doesn’t have the money to pay up.
Allen Johnson reaches into his coat pocket to pull out two more bundles, adding them to the one on the desk. “Make it three days!” he says.
In shock Dave picks up the cash and fans through it, the bills all look real to him. “Well then I guess we need to get started,” Dave says to Steve’s agreement. “When was the last time you saw your wife and child?”
DeScalo Estate
Ridley Park
South Philadelphia, Pa
Nicholas DeScalo is determined not to follow in his father’s footsteps to disaster as he has taken over the family business. Although he still does holds all of his business meetings in his father’s recently remodeled study. “How long has it been since you started working for me?” DeScalo asks Ted Mathews as he offers the man a drink.
Mathews is seated in a high back chair looking none too pleased at the implications put forth by his host. “I am a contractor not one of your thugs,” Ted replies impatiently waiting for the punchline to this meeting. “Our business was completed when I got you what you wanted from that cop’s apartment.”
“Yes, you did indeed get me what I wanted from Officer Roberts home, but I believe you took something else as well,” DeScalo says taking a seat across from Mathews. The two men stare each other down as they sip their whiskey, neither saying a word. “Did you think I would send you in there without backup?” “I had one of my men watching you the whole time.”
“I told you when we entered this arrangement that I had a score to settle with Roberts too!” Mathews replies sitting his empty glass on the table. “Anything else in that apartment was fair game as far as I am concerned!”
“That is true but what you took has upped your game, hasn’t it?” DeScalo asks taking files from a drawer of the side table. “You’ve become quite the Hell Cat of the burglary world since you started wearing that suit.”
“I prefer the name Hellion,” Mathews scolds as he opens file that DeScalo passes him. Hellion was a nickname given to him by his father when he would get in trouble as a boy. His father told him stories of a demon who his grandmother often spoke of from legend. In the legends the demon became a hero after overcoming his own pride. Ted chose the name as a tribute to his father more than because of the story.
In the folder Descalco has given him there are many photos of a man wearing a black catsuit complete with mask and ears. Mathews wonders if he is truly caught or if he can still talk his way out of this situation. “These photos prove nothing, it could be anyone in that suit and what does that have to do with Roberts’ apartment?”
“I’ve got these too,” DeScalo passes two more photos, one of Mathews 
leaving out the window of Steve Roberts’ bedroom. a black sleeve dangling out from under the back of his shirt as he climbs down a tree at the side of the building. And another of him wearing the suit, after he has removed the mask. The photo was clearly shot in the window of his own apartment.
“I suggest you have your man stop following me or he will regret it,” Mathews says standing up to leave.
“You know at first my man thought is was some kind of homoerotic fantasy you were living out,” DeScalo says stopping the burglar in his tracks. “You know committing crimes wearing a Halloween costume stolen from a cop.” “Then he discovered that the costume has the ability to camouflage you.” Mathews turns back to the mob boss, an angry look on his face. “In the beginning it seemed that you were using the suit to hide in the shadow and then he saw you can hide in plain sight when wearing it.”
Mathews simmers for a moment not sure what this man wants from him. When he stole the suit he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was for the thrill of wearing it to steal stuff. But then he discovered it has some kind of micro-circuitry woven into the fabric. It took Mathews some weeks to figure out what the circuitry could do but when he did it made a good addition to his own talents. “What is it you want from me DeScalo?” Mathews demands.
“A partnership of sorts,” DeScalo says putting down his glass to get up from his chair. “I’ve given some thought to the fact that Roberts has made no attempt to find the suit.” “Either he doesn’t know that it is gone or he doesn’t know what it can do.” “At any rate I was thinking he wouldn’t like what you are using it for.”
“Get to the point!” Mathews demands again his anger building. “Roberts isn’t even a cop anymore, I checked.”
“I know but he could still pose a threat to my business interests,” DeScalo suggests. “He and I have something of an understanding, I leave him alone and he leaves me alone.” “But it you were to act against him, that would be different.”
“So you want to hire me as your new Enforcer?” Mathews says looking to the tall man who has stood silently in the corner the whole time. “Take his job?” the thin man says pointing at the thug.
“No, not at all, I am just asking for you to change your objectives slightly,” DeScalo requests. “Roberts is working as a private detective in Jersey, why not make his cases harder to solve, keep him busy.” DeScalo moves to a wall safe that he opens not at all concerned that he has a known thief in the room.
“So you can work more freely in Philly?” Mathews questions eyeing up the combination to the safe. “Why do you think some P.I. in Jersey is so big a threat to you?”
DeScalo steps back from the safe revealing the bundles of cash inside. “Don’t concern yourself with that now.” “Agree to be my partner and this cash is yours.”
“What’s to stop me from coming back later and take your money?” Mathews grins.
“Him!” Ted Mathews feels the steely hand of DeScalo’s Enforcer on his shoulder, crushing his clavicle as his knees buckle. “Do we have a deal or are you just another piece of trash for the city dump?”
Mathews looks to the man’s hand on his shoulder as it squeezes, it looks like it truly is made of steel. He can feel his bones bending. “Yes!” “Yes, we have a deal!” the man on his knees shouts as the Enforcer releases him.
“Very good!” DeScalo says reaching for the money in the safe.
Route 130
near Woodlyn, NJ
After some research, Steve and Dave have found the Johnson’s story is full of holes. Making a few calls Dave learns that there is no record of a Lisa Warner-Johnson living in New Jersey nor was there a marriage license ever filed for her marriage to Allen. There are no birth records for a child either, something Allen explained away by telling them the child was born at home.
Further interrogation of the three revealed much more than Steve or Dave wanted to know. The youngest sister, Rosetta confessed that she had taken the child for a car ride because it would not stop crying. By now Dave is convinced that these people are insane but their money was good so it was a road trip to the woods where Rosetta claimed she took the child.
Not trusting the trio, Dave had them all pile into the back of his car, so Rosetta could take them to the sight. She claimed that she had taken the baby for a ride in the car to help it drift off to sleep. “I was just driving aimlessly, not really going anywhere,” Rosetta explains over the seat after setting the course of the trip with Dave.
“I’ve been wondering, you keep referring to the child, was it a boy or a girl?” Steve asks as he rides shotgun. The three in the back seat seemed confused at first by the question. “It isn’t that hard of a question, you said it was born at home surely you know the sex.”
“It was a boy!” Allen asserts proudly.
“Don’t be ridiculous, it was a girl,” Irene contradicts the father.
“How is it possible that the three of you can not agree on the sex of a baby you all cared for?” Dave asks feeling completely scammed now, his time wasted.
“There, there!” Rosetta shouts pointing over the seat. “That is where they ran me off the road!”
“Who ran you off the road?” Steve asks as his danger sense kicks in slightly. Dave pulls over to the side of the road where there are clearly tire digs in the sandy shoulder.
“The kidnappers in a van of course,” Rosetta replies confidently.
Dave turns around in his seat to look at the girl, “Back at the office you didn’t tell us any of this!” “Which is it, a kidnapped or abandoned?”
Rosetta looks to her brother and sister and then back to the detectives they have hired. “It is both, the kidnappers made me watch as they buried the baby alive.” Allen is visibly shaken by the words, buried the baby alive.
Dave gives the girl an angry glare as he says, “Come on Steve lets have a look around.” “You three wait here!” Steve and Dave get out of the car to look around the scene. “There is definitely a set of car tracks here,” Dave says pointing to the sandy shoulder. “These others look like motorcycle tracks not those of a van.”
“I would say a lot of motorcycles too,” Steve suggests. “She could be telling some version of the truth.” Steve has the strange feeling that something bad did happen here or soon will.
“Take a look over here,” Dave calls at the edge of the grass. “There is a break in the tall grass that leads down to those trees.” Dave starts down into the grass at the side of the road.
“Wait up!” Steve calls trotting down after his partner. The sense of danger is not great enough for Master Warrior to make an appearance but Steve still feels that Dave should not be left alone. As they walk into the shadow of the trees it is clear that there were many people here from the boot impressions in the dirt. “These look like men’s work boots,” Steve suggests as Dave stoops down for a closer look.
“There was definitely a group of people here recently, but we have no way of knowing how that works with the girl’s story,” Dave tells Steve.
Steve spots something else not far ahead, a mound of soil. “Look at this,” he calls to his partner as he jogs to the sight of the mound. Both men stand over the small lump of fresh dirt not speaking. “We have to look!” Steve says kneeling down to start pushing the loose dirt aside. He really hopes that Dave is right that all of this is nothing more than a hoax. The sandy dirt gets under Steve’s fingernails as he digs deeper below the ground’s surface until he spotted it. A small hand with five perfect fingers pokes up from under the dirt.
“Oh my God!” Dave exclaims at the sight of the baby’s hand. “She was telling the truth!”
Steve doesn’t touch the hand as he moves away more of the soil. When he uncovers the arm to the shoulder he realizes something. Taking hold of the arm he pulls the whole body out of the dirt. He turns holding it up to Dave. “It’s a rubber doll!” he exclaims. “I’ll admit it looked real but this was never a living child!”
“Shit, these people are nuts!” Dave swears. “We wasted a whole morning on this bullshit!”
“No, I don’t think so,” Steve says as he sees someone approaching from the trees. “There is something else going on here.” Steve stands up still holding the baby doll in his hand as a motley group of bikers emerge out of the trees to approach the two men.
“That crazy chick, Ro send you here to get the baby?” the largest and dirtiest of the bikers questions. Dave and Steve look to each other as a total of six leather clad men step toward them.
“What do you know about this ‘baby’?” Steve asks holding up the doll by the arm.
“Few days ago the crazy chick shows up here with it, says it won’t stop crying,” the leader of the pack tells them. “We buried it for her and then we showed her a good time, didn’t we guys?” The man chuckles taking out a hunting knife from his belt. The other five bikers hoot and cheer as they close in and around on the detectives. “We like showing young girls who come around here a good time, guys like you not so much.
When he was a cop, this would have been around the time Steve would have pulled his gun to make a show of defense. Although as private Detectives both Dave and Steve are licensed, neither carries a gun. Dave is a black belt and prefers to use his body as the weapon. Steve has no problem with that, he knows that anything they come up against they can handle without the use of guns.
“Look guys we aren’t cops and we aren’t looking to cause you any trouble,” Dave says always the moderator first but Steve knows that his partner loves nothing more than a good fight. “So we will just be on our way, before anyone gets hurt.”
“I don’t think so,” the big man says. “Pound then into hamburger, boys!”
“Does that ever work?” Steve asks Dave.
“No, than God!” Dave replies as the first man comes at him. He blocks the man’s knife welding hand and hits him with a right cross. Steve knows he could easily take all of these men down in minutes but he lets his partner have his fun.
Dave and Steve aren’t really working as a team yet in a fight like this so, each of the detectives take on three men a piece. Steve makes sure to get rid of all of the knives first, giving them each a toss into the trees. Then the leader of the bikers comes at him swinging. Steve lets the seven foot giant get one good punch in on his jaw first. Unseen by Dave he just grins as the man can’t even draw blood from his mouth. “You punch like a girl,” Steve jokes as he lands a right to the man’s gut bringing big man’s face down to his knee. One down and out!
Dave is more methodical more Martial Arts oriented as he uses the attacking men’s strength against them. Landing blows and dodging them to cause the men to effectively take each other out of the fight. Two down and Dave moves on to the final attacker one on one.
Steve takes down his second attacker as well. The man comes at Steve trying to land a flying drop kick on him. Of the many things his mother taught him, taking down an airborne attacker was the easiest. Stepping aside at the last minute to grab the attacker’s arm is the best method. Then using that arm to redirect the attacker’s flight and momentum. Steve’s increased strength makes that a breeze as he sends the man into a tree. Steve’s last attacker is not as daring as the others choosing to simply pull out a gun from under his leather coat. At this close range there is no need for gauntlets or a magic cape only a well placed chop to his forearm to make him drop the gun. Then a punch in the face.
Steve turns to find that Dave isn’t doing as well with his last man that will not go down. Steve lends a hand or rather foot to kick the man’s legs out from under him sending his down for the count. “Let’s get out of here!” Steve announces. “Before these thugs wake up!”
Steve and Dave head back to the car where the three siblings still sit inside waiting. Both men are disheveled with dirt on their shirts and pants. Dave has a cut over his left eye that bleeds slightly. They get in the car and pull away from the side of the road making a u-turn to head back to town.
“Did you find anything?” Allen asks urgently.
“Just a buried doll and some bikers that said they showed Rosetta a good time, care to explain that?” Dave says angrily.
Philadelphia Elite Squad
1st Precinct
Philadelphia, Pa
Traffic was heavier than Paddy anticipated so he gets back to the precinct late. He is barely able to sit down at his desk when Commander Olpere calls from her office, “Berger, about time you showed up, get in here!” As he got up from his chair his mind races with ideas of what his boss would want so early in the morning. Olpere always seems to be one step ahead but finding out about his meeting with Commissioner Aspen would be just beyond what she is capable of doing.
As Officer Berger walks to the Commander’s office he sees through the windows that there is a man waiting inside. Paddy has never seen this guy before but is eager to find out who he is. “Close the door, Berger,” Commander Olpere instructs as he enters the office. “This is Detective Paul Grimes, your new partner.” “He comes to us from Chicago and I want you to show him around, get him broken in on the city and how we do business here.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Officer Berger says reaching out to shake the new guy’s hand. “Patrick Berger, but everyone calls me Paddy.” “Good to meet you!”
Detective Grimes shakes Paddy’s hand but not with the same enthusiasm. “Yes, good to meet you too.”
“Why don’t I show you around our facility here first, then I’ll show you the case I have been working on,” Paddy suggests.
“I would prefer to just get to work,” Grimes says coldly. “I am not much for small talk.”
“Okay then, your desk is the empty one right out there across from mine,” Paddy instructs. “I just need a minute with the Commander.” Grimes simply nods and leaves the small glass office.
“What is it Berger?” the Commander questions her gruff tone has become a staple since the first appearance of Master Warrior. He is sure there is much more she is not telling other than the Commissioner wants to meet the new hero in town.
“Why is it I am training a Detective when I am still only a beat cop?” Paddy asks holding up his badge. “I have put in my time on the force and in this unit, I have even taken the Detective’s exam!”
“An interesting question, Officer Berger,” Commander Olpere says sitting down behind her desk to take a file folder from the drawer. “This file contains your Detective exam test results.” “Would you like to know what those results where?” she asked with an eyebrow raised.
“Of course I would, how long have you been sitting on them?” Paddy inquiries trying not to sound too demanding to his superior.
“I have been waiting for you to come to me because these results are shall we say interesting,” Olpere replies laying her hand of the folder to hold it to the desktop. Paddy is really confused now are all of his superiors going to blackmail him today? “I will be honest with you, every member of this team was chosen because they were either Zeni-humans or suspected of being such.” “Except you.” “You got a pass because Roberts wouldn’t join unless you did.”
Paddy had always known that he was on this unit mainly because of Steve but he never knew that to the people in charge it was a fact. Paddy’s anger cools as he slumps down in a chair. Now it was all out in the open and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Then he looked to Olpere’s devious eyes. Was he about to get the sack even before he has a chance to go behind her back for the Commissioner?
Commander Olpere lets Officer Berger sweat for a few minutes before saying, “You had a perfect score, in fact you are the first person ever to take the exam and score so high.” “My question to you is how did you do it?” There is a silence for several minutes. Is she accusing him of cheating? Before he can defend himself she speaks again, “I’ve given it some thought over the weeks since I got your results.” “Why would a street cop with this much smarts still be a street cop for twenty years?” “When choosing the members of this team we all believed it was Roberts that lifted you up, made you look better than you were after so long on the force.” “But this says something different,” she said patting the folder on the desk. “It says that you just never applied yourself…….or you cheated.” “Which is it?”
Paddy is at a total loss for words as he sits there staring at the folder on the desk. He knows he didn’t cheat. He always loved his job as a beat cop until Michelle passed. Then Steve came along, he somehow breathed a new life into Paddy. Helping him get past his loss and move on. Paddy hadn’t realized it before but Steve has played a much bigger part in his life than thought. After twenty years that super powered rookie made him a better cop in more ways than one!
“I want you to take the test for the Zeni-gene,” Olpere says shattering Paddy’s daydream.
“What?” Paddy replies. “I’m no Zeni-human!” “I can barely lift my ass out of bed in the morning.”
“Zeni-humans come in all shapes sizes and ages,” Olpere replies. “Your essays on the exam show a remarkable talent for recall of what you read.” “It is not plagiarism, but it is close.” “You take the Zeni-human marker test you get your Detective shield, simple as that.” “I believe your brain has more power than you realize.” “That is why I’ve teamed you with Grimes.” “Detective Grimes has some very unique mental talents that will be put to good use in this squad,” the Commander tells him without coming out and actually saying Grimes was a Zeni-human.
A spinal tap is not something Paddy ever imagined he would willingly have but he would rather get his Detective shield that way than betraying his boss to the Commissioner.
The Johnson family home
Camden, NJ
Steve and Dave return the siblings to their large home on the edge of the city. Steve is struck by the fact that it is rather broken down as the siblings lead them up the front steps. Inside the front hall Steve notices a figure lurking at the top of the stairs. Steve gazes upward to the ceiling to see a large hole in the glass dome at the top of the three story entry hall that has been leaking onto the floor for some time. The floor boards are warped and rotted, it is a wonder no one has fallen through them. “Wow, this place is a dump,” Steve whispers to Dave. When he looks back up the stairs, the figure is gone.
“What are you talking about?” Dave replies. “I’ve never been in a place this luxurious.” At first Steve thinks Dave is just being sarcastic until a slight tinge of his danger sense let’s Steve know that his partner is seeing something much different. “Wow, this is incredible!” Dave exclaims. He leans to Steve to whisper, “I don’t feel so bad about taking their money now.”
Irene takes the still sobbing Rosetta up to her room as Allen shows them around the house. “Why don’t we start with your bedroom,” Dave suggest. “Perhaps there is something in your wife’s personal things that could tell us something.” “What was her name again?” Dave asks even though they did a full search of the woman before they left the office. It is not like Dave to forget such a detail.
“Blair,” Allen replies striking a loud cord with Steve. At the office Allen said his wife’s name was Lisa.
“Of course, Blair how could I forget that?” Dave replies as he begins to follow Allen toward the stairs. Steve grabs Dave’s arm to guide him around the rotted boards in the floor, that he can clearly not see for himself.
There is something else at work here, Steve is sure of it. It is like returning to this house as reset the rules of this game that Dave is now playing. “Does anyone else live in this house or is it just you and your sisters?” Steve asks as they climb the creaking old stairs. Then Steve spots that shadowy figure again. It silently slips into a room at the end of the hallway.
“Just the three of us now and my wife of course,” Allen tells them as they reach the second floor. There is mention of the child this time, as if the revelation they made on the road trip has corrected that flaw in the story. “My mother Pearl lived with us until she passed away last July.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Dave says no longer questioning everything Allen Johnson tells them as fiction.
“It was a relief really Mother had become somewhat reliant on medication before she passed,” Allen explains. “She often talked about a voice in her head calling her to it.” “She passed away quietly in her sleep.” “Here we are this is the room I shared with Blair.”
The three men enter the room and only Steve sees it for what it is, dirty and messy. Dave begins looking through a tall chest of draws lifting up invisible items as if he is searching for a clue. “Is there anywhere else that your wife may have kept a diary or something that she may have written her thoughts in?” Dave’s outlook on this case has changed since they entered the house. He is taking it much more seriously.
The mention of last July strike a particular memory in Steve’s mind. “Do you remember the date your mother passed, last July?” Steve asks trying to piece something together that makes sense.
“July 11th,” Allen answers. Now Steve knows a truth that no one else does. Pearl Johnson was more than just an addict. There is a good possibility that she was one of the Bernr parasite mutants. The day Pearl died was when Steve and Benue attacked the Bernr Queen, killing her. Or is it possible that the mother is somehow haunting her children? Even with everything Steve has seen that still sounds ridiculous.
“May I use your bathroom?” Steve asks trying to take the opportunity to look around unhindered by Dave or the Johnsons.
“Yes, of course,” Allen replies. “It is down the hall to the left.” Steve leaves the bedroom to head toward the door he saw the shadow slip through at the end of the hall.
He can hear Rosetta still crying in one of the rooms with the door closed. “I don’t understand, why couldn’t I remember what those men did to me?” Rosetta sobs. It is clear to Steve that someone has been playing with these people’s minds and still is. He can only guess that it is his Amazon heritage that has kept him immune to the effect even after entering this house, unlike Dave. The only thing he can reason is the mother is still alive. Like most Bernr mutants they appear dead at first, before fully transforming.
Steve goes to reach for the door knob of a room that he clearly knows is not the bathroom when he gets a stronger burning pain at the base of his skull. Master Warrior was created for a reason he contemplates. If Pearl Johnson is on the other side of this door he could never explain how Steve Roberts is immune to her power or how he knows what she has become. Looking back down the hall both ways to ensure he is still alone Steve touches the diamond stud in his left earlobe and he is transformed into Master Warrior. In proper attire the danger alert calms as he reaches for the doorknob again.
Opening the bedroom door Master Warrior steps inside closing it behind him. Near the window an old woman sits in a high back chair. She grins at him as he looks at her, then she flips him the bird. “Pearl Johnson I presume?” The woman has a look of shock on her face as he speaks to her directly. “Oh yes, I can see you.” “I assume the others can’t.” Master Warrior steps closer to the woman in the room lit only by sunlight that shines through the window. “Is it mind control you are using on your family?”
“They see only what I want them to see!” Pearl replies. “You on the other hand are quite a sight to see yourself.”
“You can call me Master Warrior,” he tells her. “Has there ever been a crime committed here?” “Has there been a kidnapping or a murder?”
“My foolish children only want to think Blair was kidnapped or ran off.” Pearl replies. “There minds refuse to accept the fact that Irene and Allen murdered her when they were drunk.”
Master Warrior glares at the old woman trying to figure out if she is telling the truth and then he makes his decision. “That isn’t even what happened is it?” he asks.
“My children treated me terribly for years,” Pearl says. “All any of them wanted was for me to die so they could have my money!” “So I gave them their wish, but I made it so they all had to stay in this house to keep the money.” “Even in death I am the ruler of this family.”
“So you used your new found power to punish them,” Master Warrior suggest stepping closer to the woman.
“There was never a Blair Johnson or a baby, I put that illusion in their minds.” “My son couldn’t get laid in a whorehouse!” “Especially not by the likes of Blair Warner!”
“Blair Warner?” Master Warrior repeats. “Like from the ‘Facts of Life’?” “The character played by Lisa Whelchel?” Then it strikes him. The confusion of Allen’s wife’s name. The farther they move from Pearl the weaker the illusions become making them confused.
“I played with them, giving them joy and then ripping it away!” “Taking advantage of each of their own personal demons.” “Just like they did to me.” Pearl smiles pleased with herself.
“Do you even care that Rosetta was raped by a biker gang?” Master Warrior says hoping to find something to redeem this cruel mother.
“That little bitch is the worst of them!” the mother says of her youngest daughter. “She was a conniving witch from the time she was a child.” “Rosetta is a liar and troublemaker!” “Last year she even tried to poison me!” “She got what she deserved!” Pearl stands up from the chair anger in her eyes. “Last June, I even called the police when she tried to kill me.” “A pretty young redhead police woman even came to the house.” “If not for her I would have never had any hope of revenge on my ungrateful children!”
A pretty young redhead police woman, Master Warrior thinks that sounds familiar. “Do you remember the officer’s name?” he asks.
“Who cares about her, it is me you should be worried about!” Pearl answers. “I have held my children prisoner here for nearly a year lost in dreams of desire, who’s to say I won’t to the same to you.”
Master Warrior smiles, “Isn’t it clear to you that I am immune to your illusions?” “I think it is time you release them too.” “Your hold on them is already weakening if the sought outside help to find Blair.”
“I have more than one trick up my sleeve,” Pearl grins. “If happiness isn’t your weakness, perhaps fear is?” Pearl glares at Master Warrior and he is instantly taken in by her stare. Their eyes lock and he can not look away, nor does he want to. Master Warrior’s cape whips out from his collar around in front of him as if to shield him from the old woman’s gaze, but it is too late. Master Warrior falls straight back to the floor with a thump, stiff as a board.
The Faulkner Building
The Office of Dr. Samuel Carson
Center City, Philadelphia, Pa
Xander Beachum has not been himself as of late. Ever since he was mugged on Market Street a few months ago, he has been having trouble with his vision. By noon he usually has a headache that no amount of over the counter pills can soothe. Most of the time he can barely get his eyes to focus making his job as a personal trainer difficult. He has seen several Optometrist who all give him the same answer, there is no visible injury to his eyes. It appears that he has somehow lost his ability to focus, maybe caused by a blow on the head from the mugging. Problem is that he has seen other doctors that tell him he has no signs of ever receiving a blow on the head that would cause such an injury.
Xander is left with only one option Psychotherapy. This is his second visit to see Dr. Carson. In recent weeks Xander has taken to wearing dark sunglasses all the time. It helps him to focus somewhat but mostly it keeps people from seeing his roaming eyes. Dr. Carson specializes in stress disorders. It has been suggested to Xander that he might have some kind of PTSD from the mugging and a psychiatrist might be the best way to cure his eye sight problem.
Like his first visit to Dr. Carson, the psychiatrist spends most of the time droning on about possible triggers to Xander’s problem. He replies to a few directed questions but for the most part Xander’s mind like his eyes wandered off into other thoughts.
“Xander are you even listening to me?” Dr. Carson exclaims drawing his patient’s attention back to him.
“Oh, yes, of course, Doctor” Xander replies startled by the doctor’s announcement. “It would be foolish of me to pay for these sessions and then not listen to you.”
“Then answer my question, have you ever used steroids on a regular basis?” Dr. Carson repeats. “Because long term usage can lead to both hearing and eyesight problems.”
Xander thinks for a moment on how to answer the question. He has been using steroids for nearly a decade to enhance his physic. Most of the stuff he takes is completely illegal for the competitions in which he has competed. To tell this doctor now would put his reputation at risk. “No, never,” Xander replies.
“I’m not going to be able to help you if you continue to lie to me!” Dr. Carson insists. “I find it hard to believe that you got that build without some kind of workout enhancers.”
“How I run my workout is none of your concern, doctor!” Xander charges his anger showing.
“There is no need to get angry or defensive, I am only trying to help you,” Dr, Carson tells his patient. “We need to work together if we are going for this treatment to be successful.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Xander shouts standing up. “You are going to be no help to getting my sight back, you just want to judge me!”
“That is not true, I am not judging you at all,” Dr. Carson pleads.
“Arrrghhh!” Xander groans turning back to face the seated doctor. His dark glasses slide off his face as the doctor watches in horror. Xander’s eyes bulge and begin to move closer together. “Arrrghhh!” Xander cries out again staggering forward as his eyes merge into one.
“What the hell is happening to you?” Dr. Carson shouts standing up to fall backward over his chair. Xander Beachum looms over the doctor seven feet tall his clothing stretched tight over his expanding body. For the first time in a while Beachum can see clearly, but his mind is enraged beyond the comprehension of his actions. The creature that Beachum has become reaches out to take hold of terrified psychiatrist who struggles to flee. “Get away!” “Let go of me!” Carson shouts trying to kick his attacker as the large hand closes around his arm.
Overcome by the steroid rage, the concerns of Xander Beachum are gone now as the one-eyed creature breathes heavily into the doctor’s face. “HUNGRY, EAT,” Beachum growls as he pulls the helpless man closer to his face. The doctor’s screams are heard by no one as the Cyclops sinks his teeth deep into the man’s flesh, tearing his arm off at the shoulder.
APRIL 14, 1987
Philadelphia, Pa
The South Street club is crowded, loud, and smoky as Master Warrior pushed his way inside. Rick James’ “She’s a Very Kinky Girl” pounds in his ears as he walks through the crowd. His foe blends in perfectly with the flamboyantly dressed patrons. It is like some kind of Halloween costume party. Reaching to the medallions on his collar to retract his cape, now Master Warrior fits in perfectly, he regrets to admit to himself. He moves through the dancers on the floor staying firm on his goal, even when a young woman dressed as a butterfly takes his arm trying to dance with him. The music is too loud to hear her words but he knows her intentions. Politely he pulls away from her as he scans the club.
Master Warrior spots the back of his target’s blonde hair as she moves through a door at the far side of the club. Making his way to the door he is prepared to break it down. To his surprise the door has been left unlocked. Slipping inside the door closing it tightly behind him the sound of the music is dulled. Master Warrior now stands in a long corridor lined with the doors to many rooms. He rubs the back of his neck wondering why his danger sense is not working. How can he feel nothing when trailing such a dangerous foe.
Stepping forward down the hallway he hears a scream. Instinctively he charges for the door from which the sound came. Taking the knob he breaks it open to find only embarrassment. A nude young woman sits atop an older, overweight man on a massage table. It is clear to Master Warrior what they are doing and why the woman is screaming and there is nothing dangerous about it. “I am so sorry!” Master Warrior says backing out of the room closing the broken door.
Master Warrior continues his investigation, the farther he gets from the club the less he can hear the music. Soon his sharp ear are toned in on the screams and moans behind each one of the doors along the corridor. It is all too clear to him what these rooms are used for and he does not want to barge in on any other rooms.
Then at the end of the hall there is a room that is silent. Master Warrior presses his ear to the door, still nothing. All he could hear is the vacuum of the space beyond the wood. He tries the knob, again it is unlocked. Clearly he is being invited inside.
Inside a blonde woman, the one he has been following stands with her back to him. She is dressed in black leather like a dominatrix. When she turns to face him she holds a bullwhip in her hands. He recognizes her instantly. “Cynthia Steele!” he exclaims.
He has not seen this witch since he was fourteen. For years he thought that his mother might have killed the woman for kidnapping him back then. But now he stands face to face with his most feared personal demon. Master Warrior feels powerless, unable to move another step. He has no memory of the time he spent as her prisoner as a boy. His parents always told him it was for the best that he did not remember. Still somehow deep in his soul he feels the pain she left inside of him.
Cynthia speaks in a language he does not understand but it is somehow familiar, “Xsyomh zomw son!” Instantly iron forged chains lass out from a vertical table behind him. The chains bind his wrist and ankles pulling Master Warrior back tight to the table. A fifth chain swings out over the table and across his chest holding him tight. Even if he had the urge to struggle he would find himself beyond escape.
“I have waited a long time for this,” Cynthia purrs as she steps up to the table. Reach out her hand Master Warrior doesn’t even have the will to turn away as she touches his chin turning his head from side to side. “You have grown into a handsome man.” Then her hand moves down to knock on the metal of his flight vest. “Let’s see what the rest of you looks like shall we?” Stepping back she speaks another spell, “Xpigsomt zu timu”
Instantly Master Warrior’s uniform is gone and he is held to the table nude. The cold iron chains on his skin made him tremble or is it fear? He can’t even manage to get out a syllable as Cynthia approaches him again. He feels a tear run from his eye as her sharp fingernails scrape over his bare chest. “Yes, you have become a magnificent specimen of manhood as I suspected you would!” “You’ve grown in all the right places,” she purred as he hand moves down his body farther taking hold of his manhood. “I’m going to milk you dry,” she cackles.
From the shadows in the corner of the room a man’s voice speaks Italian, “I am not done with this one yet little human!” Trembling Master Warrior turns his head to see who the voice belongs to but can not focus on a face, only a large hand that reaches out from the darkness to take hold of Cynthia Steele’s head. The witch is lifted from the floor, her hand releasing Master Warrior. The new arrival is clearly male and very strong as he crushes Cynthia’s skull in his grip.
Suddenly, Master Warrior awakes on the floor of Pearl Johnson’s bedroom. The old woman lays unconscious on the floor nearby. His stomach growls with hunger. How long has he been under her spell? he wonders. Getting up to his knees he crawls over to the unconscious woman his fingers going for her throat. Master Warrior finds a pulse, she is alive. But what was that? he wonders. Was that my own mind fighting back against the illusion or was it someone else dispatching my foe? At any rate, Pearl Johnson is down and the hold her power had over him would appear to have severed.
Master Warrior hears footsteps moving toward the room as he reaches for the stud on his earlobe. Master Warrior’s uniform vanishes to be replaced by Steve Roberts’ close again. Dave and the Johnson siblings burst into the room. “What the hell happened?” Dave exclaims. “One minute we are sitting down to an eight course meal and the next it is anchovy pizza.” “In fact this whole house turned to shit!”
“Mother!” Irene exclaims at the sight of the old woman on the floor. “What is her body doing here?”
“She has been here all alone,” Steve replies standing up from beside the old woman. “She never died she only wanted all of you to believe that, so she could torture you.”
“How?” Rosetta cries. “How is that possible I gave her the pills myself.”
“She had been turned into what is called a Zeni-human,” Steve explains. “She had the power to cast realistic illusions on all of you.” “There never was a Blair Warner-Johnson or a baby.” “It was all just a mean trick to make you miserable because that is how the three of you made her feel.”
“If this was all some kind of trick than why didn’t it work on you?” Dave asks.
“It did but I wasn’t seeing the same things as the rest of you,” Steve replies cleverly. “I was drawn here to this room.” “I guess she had other plans for me.”
“What plans?” Irene demands. “And what did you do to her?”
“Nothing, she just pass out,” Steve replies. “It would be wise to call her an ambulance or the police, if you would rather.” The siblings look at each other guiltily knowing that the police are still not an option after Rosetta admitted to overdosing her mother.
Steve Roberts & Patrick Berger’s apartment
1701 Tulip St
The Fishtown section
Philadelphia, Pa
After everything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours Steve Roberts make the decision to take the train home from Camden. On the ride he thinks over the events of the past day. Camden doesn’t have a Zeni-human squad, secret or otherwise. If Pearl Johnson comes out of her coma she could pose a problem again. The doctors at the hospital believe that a woman her age doesn’t have much of a chance to come back from a stroke as severe as the one she had today. But nobody really knows the extent of her Bernr parasite born mutation.
The other thing on his mind has been the nightmare she gave him. It was the closest he has ever come to remembering what Cynthia Steele did to him when he was a kid. The utter fear he felt at just the sight of her was like nothing he has ever experienced. Not even when he was falling out of the sky in Themyscira. Steve finally decides that his fear response was being manipulated as much as the creation of the dream by Pearl. If he were ever to meet up with that witch again things would go much differently than what happened in his dream.
The jog from Reading terminal to Fishtown clears Steve’s head as he arrives home around one in the afternoon. Steve is surprised to find Paddy home propped up in his recliner in front of the TV with an ice pack on the back of his neck. “Hey, roomy what are you doing home, hurt your neck?” Steve asks stepping into the living room.
“Where have you been all night?” Paddy asks like a worried parent.
“Weird case came into the office yesterday,” Steve replies flopping down in his chair next to Paddy.
“Seems we have that in common,” Paddy says pulling a beer from the side of his chair cushion to take a drink.
“How’d your meeting with Aspen go?” Steve asks.
“It was the beginning of an even weirder day,” Paddy begins. “I think he was trying to blackmail me into sneaking around behind Olpere’s back.”
“How so?” Steve questioned puzzled that a man he respected would do such a thing.
“He implied that if I did as he asked, I would get promoted to Detective,” Paddy responds sliding the beer bottle back down the side of the chair.
“What did he want you to do?” Steve asks curiously.
“Seems he wants a private meeting with Master Warrior and Olpere isn’t getting it for him,” Paddy smirks at his roommate. “He thinks since I’m out in the field more I might have a better chance of getting the big lug to his office.”
“What did you tell him?” Steve asks not sure what he will hear.
“I told him, I’d see what I could do,” Paddy answers. “I didn’t want to say no to the top Cop in the city.”
“I can understand that, but what are you doing home?” Steve asks reclining back in his chair.
“After that I went back to the office to have Olpere assign me a new partner,” Paddy explains. “Detective Paul Grimes, a transfer from Chicago.” “She expected me to show him around like some glorified tour guide.” “I confronted her, asked why a street officer is training a Detective?” “I couldn’t believe her answer.” “She pulls my file out of her desk, like she had been hiding it there for all this time.” “Gives me this song and dance that I passed the Detective’s exam with the highest score ever!” “She was just waiting for me to come to her.”
“Highest score ever?” Steve repeats. “No offence, I respect you as a cop, but….”
“I know that is what I thought too,” Paddy agrees. “Olpere had another explanation, she thinks I’m a Zeni-human.” “That is why I had a spinal tap today.” “The Commander told me all I had to do was have the Zeni-human marker test and she would give me my Detective’s shield.” “It was a better offer than Aspen’s.”
“It still doesn’t sound right,” Steve replies standing up to pull off his shirt. “I need a hot shower, before my date.” “Why wouldn’t she come out with her suspicious as soon as she got the test results?”
“Oh that’s right you’ve got a date with Julie’s friend Carol,” Paddy grins at Steve. “Do you think you’re going to get lucky tonight?”
“Luck has nothing to do with it,” Steve says throwing his shirt over his shoulder as he walks for his room realizing. “Hey, didn’t you say you had a tough case?” he asks turning back to the living room.
“I did, Olpere gave it to the new guy while I’m off,” Paddy replies. “Apparent homicide of a doctor, no body only an office covered in his blood.” “Most normal case I’ve gotten since starting this with unit.” Steve start back to his room when Paddy calls, “Hey, do you think I’m a Zeni?”
Steve returns to the living room only wearing his jockey shorts. “I don’t know, have you had any traumatic experiences recently?” “Trauma can sometimes trigger it.”
“You mean other than my roommate becoming a Superhero?” Paddy suggests getting up from his chair.
“Other than that, have you been doing a lot of heroin, maybe?” Steve suggests hoping Janet didn’t expose him to a Bernr parasite like she apparently did with him and Pearl Johnson.
“No, but couldn’t I have always had this mental thing and just didn’t know it until now?” Paddy replies walking to the kitchen with his melted ice pack.
“It’s possible but I think it is just the fact that you have done the job for so long and you learned more on the job than most guys taking the test,” Steve suggests.