Wednesday, March 30, 1988
Cassandra Estate Manor
Scarlett, The Isle of Man,
United Kingdom
Master Warrior awakes alone in a medieval dungeon of some sort. The only light in the dungeon comes from torches that burn on the wall. His wrist and ankles are chained to the cold stone wall. Again he has the odd feeling that he indeed is not alone at all. “Hello!” he calls as he tries to force the shackles loose.
“You are such an idiot!” A voice he does not recognize says from nearby. Master Warrior looks up to see a shimmer of light in the dank vault. Then a tall young woman with short cropped blue hair dressed in a form fitting blue jumpsuit with yellow diamonds appears from nowhere. The light of a torch reflects momentarily off of a yellow diamond in the center of her forehead.
“Who are you?” Master Warrior asks the strange looking young woman.
“I’m the one who is going to save your ass,” Powersurge replies. “Why didn’t you just leave the first day?” “By staying the witch’s spell only got stronger, took a better hold on you!” “For the record I am no stranger looking than you!”
“I needed to know what was going on here,” Master Warrior tells the girl as he continues to strain against the chains. “Clearly I was brought here for a reason.” “What witch are you talking about?” “Again who are you?”
“You can stop fighting those chains, before you pull your arm off,” she tells him, avoiding his questions. “The blacksmith that created them made them specially equipped for your strength.” “I on the other hand don’t have those physical restrictions.” The diamond on Powersurge’s forehead glows and the shackles that hold Master Warrior release him and he falls a few feet to the floor.
Landing on his feet, Master Warrior rolls his shoulders. He looks at the young woman asking, “How did you do that?”
“There are other forms of power than brute force, like the power of the mind,” she replies, tapping her index finger to the side of her head. “Now, I’ve found a way out of here under the witch’s magic,” Powersurge tells him. “We have to get out of here now that you’ve spoiled her plan!” “Or at least slowed it down.”
“No, we have to free my Uncle!” Master Warrior insists.
“Look around us!” Powersurge shouts. “We are in a dungeon!” “I have found our one way out, an offer that will not be repeated and all you care about is the old man?” “I’m pretty sure he broke free of the spell when you refused to kill him.”
Master Warrior listens to the selfish sounding girl’s words and he realizes something. “You’re not from around here are you?” he asks. “You sound American, how did you end up here?”
*Do I sound American to you now?* Powersurge questions telepathically in Master Warrior’s mind.
There is something familiar about this girl that he can not lay his finger on. But if he lets her leave without him, he might never learn the role she plays in all of this drama. “Why do you think we need to leave and not help?” he asks.
“I think you need to leave!” Powersurge says with intent. “Medea’s plan has been centered on you!” “If there is any hope of defeating her, I must do it!”
“Medea?” Master Warrior repeats the name. “The Witch Maiden?” “My family has history with her!” “She is the witch that helped imprison the Amazon Queen.” “My mother says she is not to be trusted.” “She only helped to imprison Orana for her own gain.” “Clearly that gain was immortality.”
Even through her illusion Powersurge appears shocked by Master Warrior’s revelation. Clearly not being trained by their mother has left a large gap in her education. “So that is why she hates you, that is even more reason why you must leave and let me handle this!” “All of her magic is focused on you!” “She has no idea I am here.” “Let me do what I must and get you out of here.”
“How do you possibly think you can do that?” Master Warrior questions. “The moment I leave this dungeon I am prey to her spells?”
“This dungeon has a passage to the church that is also immune to magic.” Powersurge explains. “We need to get you through the tunnel and away from the Manor.” “There you will be safe from the spell while I deal with Medea.”
“You must be joking, I’m Master Warrior!” he states firmly. “Medea is my responsibility to handle!” “I have no intention of running from this fight!” “I am more than willing to listen to any suggestions you may have, but we are going to defeat Medea together.”
“I thought you might react this way,” Powersurge retorts as she waves her hand at the wall. The chains that held Master Warrior lurch out again rebinding his left wrist. He is jerked back against the wall as he draws out his arsenal in the form of a sword that he uses to slice through the second chain that comes for him. Powersurge reacts by using a mental blast to dislodge the sword from his hand, sending it across the cell and out the open door. “Why don’t you understand?” “Those promises you made to the people at the church, you can’t fulfill them.”
Master Warrior is left with one arm chained to the wall and one free. “Why are you doing this?” he shouts at the young girl as he moves to try and free himself by hand. “I only want to help you do what is right!”
“Those chains were designed by the greatest warrior of the Cartridge line to hold his greatest foe,” Powersurge announced. “He must not have taken into consideration whatever your arsenal is made from.”
“How do you know that?” Master Warrior asks as he pulls on the chain that binds his left wrist with both hands.
“I do a lot of reading,” she smirks. “Now stop being such a blockhead and accept that this is the safest place for you.” Master Warrior stops fighting the chain at the sound of her words. He turns and looks at the strange young woman in confusion. “That is more like it, I will make sure Mrs Charmers comes to free you when this is all over.”
“Why did you call me a blockhead?” Master Warrior asks. “I’ve only known one person in my life to call me a blockhead.”
Powersurge panics, she has blown her cover. “This is why!” she says lunging at him to touch his face. Instantly she is probing his mind for the memories of the last few minutes. Master Warrior’s will is stronger than anyone she has ever tried to do this to before. But she is confident she can do it. She must erase the last few minutes when she slipped up. Powersurge can feel him fighting back against her invasion of his mind, but she is ever so slightly stronger as she accomplishes her task. Both of them fall back away from each other dizzied by the mental struggle.
“What did you just do?” Master Warrior demands as his back rests against the cold stone wall. “What just happened?”
Powersurge stands a few feet away, her knees trembling slightly as she replies, “You just agreed to wait here until I come back.” The blue haired girl turns and runs for the door to the dungeon that she slams shut behind her.
Master Warrior can hear her slide the heavy metal bolt across the door sealing him in the cell. “Wait, come back here!” he shouts as he returns to trying to break the massive chain.
Hoffman Warehouse Private Storage
575 Riverside Dr
New York, NY 10031
In the search for their friend Steve Roberts, Private Detective David Rogers and Philadelphia Police Detective Patrick Berger have found themselves pinned down in a warehouse by armed gunmen. Their investigation of Jayson Roberts also known as the Badger led them to this warehouse that the man once owned. Jayson used the place for illegal trafficking nearly a decade ago. Neither of the Detectives can be sure if the men shooting at them are involved with the Badger all they know for sure is that the men shooting have no intention of letting them leave alive.
The two men sit with their backs against a large wooden shipping crate as bullets sail past them down the aisle. “I’m open for suggestions, they clearly don’t care who we are,” Paddy says, holding his gun at his side. “It appears all they care about is the fact that we found their stash.” Paddy quickly leans around the corner to fire a bullet back at the unknown number of men that are firing on them.
“I have to admit this is one of those times when I regret not carrying a gun,” David replies. “Usually when Steve and I are in a jam like this something unexpected happens.” “In retrospect it kind of makes more sense now.”
“Well I can guarantee that I am not going to pull out some bulletproof shield to get us out of here,” Paddy snipes. “Sooner or later they are going to realize I don’t have an endless supply of bullets.” “We need to find another way out of this place that isn’t past them.”
“Wait a second, do you hear that?” David asks at the sudden silents. “The shooting has stopped!”
Paddy leans around the corner of the shipping crate that they hide behind with his gun ready to fire. The first thing he sees is a red knee high boot with a yellow topper standing in the aisle. He looks up the shapely leg above it to the even more shapely woman it is attached to. “Wow,” Paddy mumbles softly.
“What is it?” “What do you see?” David inquires as Miracle Maiden steps around the end of the piled up shipping crates. “Oh…”
“You gentlemen seem to have gotten yourselves in some trouble here,” Miracle Maiden commented at the sight of the two men huddled on the floor. Both men are speechless at her appearance, not even taking notice of the concealment of her face. “I was following a lead when I heard the shots being fired.” “I’ve taken care of Rutherford’s thugs, you can get up now,” she tells the men still stunned by her arrival.
“I’m beginning to think we have some kind of order of protection,” Paddy whispers to David as they stand up to look around. Most of the crates on the aisle have bullet holes in them. The back wall of the warehouse looks like swiss cheese as they step into the aisle next to Miracle Maiden. “Thank you for your help, ahh…” Paddy isn’t sure what to call her.
“Miracle Maiden,” she fills in the blank. “What are you gentlemen doing here and what did you do to piss these guys off?”
David steps forward eager to be closer to the incredible woman to turn on the charm. “We’re from out of town and we are looking for the guy who used to own this place,” he explains. “Calls himself the Badger now?” “Ever heard of him?”
“Can’t say I have,” Miracle Maiden replies.
Paddy takes David by the shoulder to intervene. “We accidentally stumbled upon these gun smugglers, it wasn’t something they were interested in letting us talk about,” the undercover police detective explains. “All of the guns that we saw appear to be military grade.”
“I figured as much,” Miracle Maiden says to them. “I suspected that this place was being used as a storage depot for off the books military weapons purchases.” “I can’t risk being here when the police arrive.” “If you could not mention my name when the police got here I would appreciate it greatly.”
“How are we ever going to explain how we stopped these guys from killing us?” David asks.
“You need to ask for Detective Sergeant Nathan Prussia, he is the only one you can tell I was here,” Miracle Maiden tells them. “He will be able to explain this away to you.” With that statement Miracle Maiden vanishes.
“What the FUCK!” David exclaims. “I thought Master Warrior was a pain in the ass!” “This chick is going to get us locked up!”
“You have to admit, she was hot,” Paddy grins at David. “Made you forget all about Julie.” David does not reply to the accusation. “Besides, isn’t Prussia the cop Steve met when he was here?”
“Never mind that we should have told her we are friends with Master Warrior,” David argues.
“That would have been a mistake,” Paddy tells the private eye. “Steve told me that she hated him, and called him a Showboat.”
Cassandra Estate Manor
The Attic room
Scarlett, The Isle of Man,
United Kingdom
Powersurge makes one last attempt to defeat Medea before doing what she fears she will have to do. She enters the attic room knowing that the invisibility that has hidden her up until now is gone. She will face this witch down one on one! Stepping openly into the attic for the first time she is preparing for battle. The golden diamond on her forehead glows like a beacon in the dim lit room.
Christine Roberts rarely spent anytime on Magic Island while her brother trained with their mother. It was the summer she was nine when her father first brought her along to Magic Island. Her father was there to teach Steve about guns and ammo. She was always a curious child and when left alone she explored Magic Island. Christine even watched one of her mother’s training sessions with Steve. She had never seen her mother so aggressive. Now Christine understands why her mother was so insistent with Steve that he must never let his guard down. Be prepared for anything!
Powersurge steps cautiously into the attic room that Medea has been sequestered in for the past week. The room smells of incense as Powersurge walks over the old floor boards. The morning sun rises to shine through the small windows. She has lost track of the time she spent in the dungeon waiting on her brother to wake. As the rays of the rising sun hit the high backed chair that faces the window, she fires at Mental Blast at it. The force of her power sends the old chair forward through the window taking out a large chunk of the wall with it.
Powersurge stands in the center of the attic room waiting to see the results of her handiwork. There is nothing, no movement in the room, no movement outside the hole in the wall. She steps forward toward the window. She walks right into it, her face crushed against an invisible barrier. It is like one of her force fields. She raises her hands to touch the surface of the barrier. Feeling along it searching for the edge, she has moved nearly 180 degrees before she looks down to the floor. There is a circle of white powder on the floor at the base of the barrier.
Madea steps out of the shadows to approach the trapped girl. “I have no idea who you are or why you are here,” the witch tells her. “But I know you are a fool to think you can stop me with your silly power of the mind.” “I have the power of a Goddess and soon the power of this Estate at my disposal.”
As the sun spreads over the room Powersurge can see other markings on the floor at her feet. “Shit,” Powersurge whispers the moment she realizes what is happening. A light brighter than the sun washes over Powersurge from the floor. The floor beneath her feet becomes immaterial and she begins to fall downward.
Cassandra Estate Manor
The Dungeon
Scarlett, The Isle of Man,
United Kingdom
Master Warrior has fought hard for the past hour to free his left wrist from the shackle on the wall. The only thing he has managed to do is work up a sweat in the cold underground cell. He leans his back against the cold wall to rest for a minute. Perhaps he has been going about this all wrong.
He studies the dark fleur-de-lee pattern on his gauntlet that extends beyond the maniacal over it, then to his free wrist. The thickness of the swirling lines in the pattern represent the amount of power stored in the gauntlets. The dark lines are very thin over the brighter gold background. There is barely enough power to fire a blast that would reach a few feet from him, but he doesn’t need to blast something at a distance. He needs only to release that energy in hope of shattering the maniacal on his left wrist.
Unfortunately he has no idea what releasing that blast so close to his body will do to him. Master Warrior thinks back to remember what the last energy was that he absorbed. Knowing what is contained in his gauntlets will give him an idea of the risk of what he intends to do next. The electricity of Voltage is the last thing he can remember being touched by his gauntlets. Unlike the force of momentum that he usually takes into the gauntlets, electricity can be more unpredictable to handle. Turning to face the wall he decides he has no other option. Whatever it is Powersurge intends to do she can not do it alone!
Raising his right arm, he holds out his chained left wrist. Then he brings down his right gauntlet to meet his left at the edge of the maniacal that is over it. He uses force just short of what it would take to shatter his femur. The electrical charge contained with his gauntlets is released on impact. The bolt strikes out hitting the stone wall in front of him and is reflected back. The concussive force of the electrical charge sends Master Warrior sailing back across the dungeon cell to strike the opposite wall. He is knocked unconscious but he is free of the near indestructible chain that bound him to the dungeon wall.
19th Police Precinct
153 E 67th St
New York City, NY
Paddy Berger and David Rogers have been sitting in an interview room for nearly two hours when Paddy’s old friend from the Police Academy enters the room. “Well Detective Berger, when I talked to you on the phone this is not how I expected to meet up with you during your visit to the Big Apple,” Captain Forester announces as he sits down at the table across from the two men.
“Believe me Marc this was not my intention either,” the out of jurisdiction Detective replies. “We just came here looking for a friend by following a lead on his cousin.” “We had no idea what we would find at that warehouse.”
“My Detectives on the case say the two of you can’t or won’t explain how you took down a whole crew of gun runners,” Forester tells them. “Say you want to talk to Detective Sergeant Nathan Prussia.” “Prussia has an iffy at best rep at this precinct.” Captain Forester gets up from the table to pace the floor in front of them. “I gave your Commander Olpere a call,” he tells Paddy. “She seemed surprised to hear from me.” “I am sure she was covering for you, she had no idea where you were.” “Wouldn’t explain much about your unit either.” “When you first called and told me you finally became a Detective it sounded strange to me.” “Twenty years on the job and you never once made any advancement from beat cop.” “Then overnight it seems you are a Detective.” “Kind of like Prussia, he was on shaky ground here, then suddenly the powers that be make him part of a NYPD-FBI task force.” Forester leans across the table at his old Police Academy friend. “Which makes me want to know why you are really in New York?”
Paddy grins at Forester, he is not just some thug off of the street with a guilty conscience. “I must admit you still got it for a paper pushing Captain,” he replies. “You may not have heard but my wife, Michelle passed away a few years back and I needed a change of scenery.” “That is why I decided I had enough of being a street cop.” “As far as me being here, think of it as the time your son got wrapped up with that crew in Boston.” “I’m here to help a friend who might be in serious trouble.”
“How did you find out about my son?” Forester questioned a look of fear on his face. “No one was supposed to know about that!”
“I know that Jordan would have gone to prison for a crime he didn’t commit if you hadn’t intervened,” Paddy continues. “Now I am sure we can clear this all up if you just let us speak with Detective Prussia.” “There is no need for this to get any messier.”
Captain Forester gets an angry look on his face as if he has just been punched in the gut. “I see you have learned a lot since the Academy,” Forester states as he walks to the door. “Prussia’s office is at city hall, I’ll have a patrolman run you over their A.S.A.P.” Captain Forester steps out of the interview room, closing the door hard, just short of slamming it.
David looks to Paddy with a new respect, “Wow Detective, did you just blackmail that guy?” “I didn’t think you had that in you!” “You always struck me as a by the book kinda cop.”
“I simply made a comparison to something Forester was familiar with from his past,” Paddy replies. “There was no ransom involved.” “Let’s just leave it at, Steve has taught me a few things too.” “Marc was mistaken to think he is the only cop I know outside of Philly.”
Outside, Cassandra Estate Manor
Scarlett, The Isle of Man,
United Kingdom
Powersurge comes to a landing on the road outside the main gate to the Estate. It is locked as it is on most days. Cassandra Estate is self contained and needs little from the outside world. She approaches the gate to take hold of the lock. It is old and rusted, probably wouldn’t even open if she had the key. Pulling on the old lock it should be easy for her to break open. To her surprise it is not. Letting go of the lock she shakes the rust crumbs from her hand.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to Powerpulse that the lock is enchanted like everything else on the Estate. When she tries to use her telekinesis on the lock something else becomes clear to her. On the inside of the Estate she has the Wrath on her side, allowing her power to work on mystically enchanted objects, outside she does not. So Powersurge is effectively locked out. Being locked out is an obstacle she can get around. Backing up she looks at the height of the old iron gate. It stands fifteen feet high. Showing her physical prowess is something Christine Roberts rarely likes to do. She even refused to arm wrestle her mother because she knows it is a trick that is meant to reveal her hidden strength.
Backing up a few more yards Powersurge gets a running start to take her leap at the fence. Bounding high into the air she can easily clear the top of the pointed rods of the gate. Then suddenly she hits an invisible barrier that sends her back to the ground outside the gate. “Damn!” she announces, sitting up holding her head, in the grass. “That shouldn’t be there!” Clearly Medea has added more defenses to keep her from returning.
Luckily with all of the studying Christine has done on the Manor Estate she knows much more about it that Medea ever could. The old witch has only one thing in mind and that is to steal the magic of the Estate. Medea appears to have no idea about the true nature of the power held within the grounds of this place. Nor does she care about the history or the safeguards that Lord Cartridge built into it.
Powersurge stands up inspecting the area to determine exactly where she is in regard to where she wants to be. There are three gates to Cassandra Estate; the North, the West and the South gate. The Eastern border of the Estates is alone the cliffs at the shore line that are much too steep for anyone to climb. She stands at the West gate to the Estate and where she needs to be is just past the Southern gate before the property meets the cliffs. Powersurge gazes to the sky for one last look to find the correct direction and then she begins to run due south along the wall that surrounds the ancient Estate.
Cassandra Estate Manor
The Dungeon
Scarlett, The Isle of Man,
United Kingdom
Master Warrior wakes up on the cold floor of the cell. His vision is hazy with spots dancing in front of his eyes from the brightness of the blast. He blinks several times to help his eyes heal. His mind races with the memories of the past days. The things he has seen Powersurge do, she has been here with him all along. She was the ghost. She has been a witness to everything he has been through. Clearly he misjudged her. He should have trusted her when she said she knew more about this place than he did.
Powersurge told him that magic didn’t work in this dungeon. She also said there was a passage to the church that was immune to magic. Master Warrior remembers his visit to the church now. He remembers all of the people hiding there from the evil. The evil he now knows is Medea. He needs to avoid Medea’s magic until he can come up with a plan to stop her.
Getting up from the floor he heads for the cell door that he easily tears from its hinges. Clearly the door was not designed by the greatest warrior of the Cartridge line. As he escapes into the center of the dungeon he wonders who that warrior could have been. He stops to scan the room. Clearly the passage to the tunnel would be hidden, or every prisoner of this dungeon would have used it to escape.
Master Warrior’s sharp eyes begin to scan every stone in the walls of the dungeon. He searches for something out of place. On the farthest wall from the entrance to the dungeon Master Warrior spots a loose stone with the mark of a snake eating its tail on it. It is unlike anything else in the dimly lit chamber. Master Warrior crosses the room in an instant to the wall triggering a passage to slide open. He doesn’t think twice as he charges into the dark tunnel.
Detective Sgt. Prussia and Special Agent Lei’s office
Third floor
New York City Hall
City Hall Park
New York, NY
David and Paddy are led through the corridors of City Hall by two uniformed officers. They stand in the elevator as it moves upward, none of them speak. Paddy and David exchange looks but say nothing. Arriving in the empty office the men are amazed at the technology in the room. The Philly natives are placed in chairs as the uniformed officers stand over them.
“I am a Philadelphia Police Detective,” Paddy says, showing his badge to the officers. “We are fine here alone.”
“We are under special orders from the Commissioner to keep the two of you under guard,” one of the officers tells them.
“Looks like your badge has no sway here,” David whispers.
It isn’t a long wait until Detective Prussia arrives. The tall muscular African-american man enters the room. He carries with him several files. Detective Prussia takes a seat behind his desk not speaking as he looks over the files. Glancing up from the files Prussia directs the uniformed officers to leave.
“Are you Detective Prussia?” David asks. “Look, the last time I was in NYC I was with my associate Steve Roberts.” “I think you met him.”
The Detective Sgt. looks up from the files unimpressed. “When Roberts was here I told him to go home,” Prussia tells them. “I would tell you to do the same but the two of you appear to have a lot of explaining to do.”
“Like we told the Detectives on sight and Captain Forester we had no idea what we were walking into at that warehouse,” Paddy explains again. “We were tracking a former local named Jayson Roberts, he goes by the Badger now.”
“At any rate your local Super Heroine, Miracle Maiden came to our rescue and told us to say nothing to anyone except you,” David adds. “For some reason she didn’t want anyone to know she was even there.”
“With good reason, the guns in that warehouse were all military issues,” Prussia explains. Detective Sgt. Prussia sits back in his chair laying the files out on his desk. “Unlike Captain Forester, when I spoke with your Commander Olpere, Detective Berger, I got answers.” “My FBI collaboration unit is the first of its kind in the country and officials like her know all about it.” “She tells me that you have a kind of, shall we say, relationship with Master Warrior.”
David and Paddy look at each other not sure if Prussia is lying to prod information out of them or telling the truth. “Be that as it may, I might mention that Miracle Maiden insisted that we talk only to you about what happened at the warehouse,” Paddy retaliates.
“Sounds to me like you have a kind of, shall we say, relationship with Miracle Maiden,” David adds. “Neither of those facts have anything to do with why we are here.” “We are looking for our missing friend Steve and there is a chance his cousin Jayson might know where he is.”
“Now there is some new information,” Prussia replies, sitting forward in his chair up to the desk. “It is not the Badger you are looking for but your friend.” “Why would you believe Jayson Roberts has anything to do with Steve Roberts’ disappearance?”
Paddy takes a less defensive tone as he speaks, “A few years back when Steve was still on the force he learned about Jayson’s activities.” “Steve arrested Jayson who was taken to a hospital where he escaped not long afterward.” “Jayson appeared to completely vanish after that for a time.” “Working with an officer in San Diego, I pieced together that Jayson had taken on the name Badger as well as a career as a paid assassin.” “He has left a trail of hits across the country headed back this way to the east coast.” “Our theory is that he might have taken Steve before returning home to New York.”
“I’ve read the file on the Badger, no one has ever connected him with a real name,” Detective Sgt. Prussia reveals. “How is it that you two have made that connection?”
David is silent, he is new at this whole sidekick thing. Paddy sits in the office chair thinking over his words carefully. “When Jayson Roberts was arrested he was identified as a Zeni-human by my unit.” “For the short time he was in custody he was studied.” “His power was to create an orange matter that was found at all the scenes of the Badger murders.”
Prussia pulls a small evidence bag from his shirt pocket. He tosses it down on the desk in front of the two men. “Like this?”
Paddy reaches to pick up the small bag to examine it closer. “Sure looks like the stuff to me,” Paddy assures. “Where did you get this?”
“It was found at the back door of the warehouse the cops found the two of you at,” Prussia explains. “It would appear that your Badger was at that warehouse, but took off when the shooting started.” “Probably figured he was out gunned.”
Cassandra Estate Manor
The Church in the village
Scarlett, The Isle of Man,
United Kingdom
The young boy Chris returns to the church sanctuary where he finds Valerie Goldsmith. He silently sits down next to her in a pew, he does not want to draw any attention to himself. He touches Valerie’s hand. She turns to him to grab his hand and silently leads him out of the sanctuary down the aisle, holding his face close to her side to hide it. Once they are in the choir rehearsal room she jerks him around to look him in the face. “What are you doing back here!? she demands. “After the speech you made you better be bringing good news!”
“Master Warrior has proven to be something of an obstacle,” the boy replies, pulling his arm free of the woman. “I’ve managed to contain him but stopping the witch is going to be harder than I originally thought it would be.” “I need to know more about what you have been told about the Wrath and how to access it.”
“The Wrath?” Valerie repeats. “If you are to save the Estate you should already know all you need to know about the Wrath!” “You should know what it is that you must do!”
“I know what I think I must do, but I just need someone to say it out loud,” Chris replies. “I need to know if what I need to do to defeat the witch is really the only way.”
Valerie looks at the sad boy that she knows is nothing of the kind. The legends of Cassandra Estate and the Wrath that have been passed down through her family have always given one way to rebuild the defenses of the Estate that have been lost. She knows that she can not say the words to a child the same age as her son, who looks so much like a young boy that recently died. “I need to see your true face, your true form to say what you want to hear,” Valerie insists.
Chris steps back away from Valerie and the visage of a seven year old boy fades away to be replaced by a fifteen year old Christine Roberts. “From what I’ve learned about the Wrath, I must do the same thing Cassandra before me did,” Christine says softly, completely out of character for her. “But unlike Cassandra I do not have the history with this place that she did.” “Before last week I didn’t even know it existed, much less that it was my ancestral home.”
“Nevertheless if you are to save the Estate and all of us who live here you must give everything that you are to the Wrath,” Valerie says sadly. “There is no other way.” “If you think you can carry the burden of leaving the Estate to the evil that has invaded it, then go!” “After all, any crack in your faith will lead to failure just the same.”
“So it is my life or the life of everyone on the Estate.” Christine says making it all clear in one ultimatum.
Valerie sadly nods her head. “Either you are the hero we need or you are not!”
Outside in the graveyard Master Warrior arrives emerging from a large crypt. This time his costume does not vanish to be replaced by the clothing created in the Manor. It is clear to him that whatever has happened in the past hours has made him immune to Medea’s spell, but there is no guarantee it will stay that way. He plods across the cemetery toward the church with a mission. This time when his eye is drawn to the newly covered grave he spots the framed photos at the back of the stone. He takes a moment to view the frames of the child with his family and friends. There is something familiar about him. He reviews the faces of the children he saw in the church on the day he visited. It is a silly thought but the one boy that sat with Valerie Goldsmith had some of the Palmer boy’s features, only he was heavier.
Master Warrior continues on to the church, around to the front door again. When he enters Pastor McGregor, Chuck Goldsmith and another man who Master Warrior recognizes as Leonard Palmer’s father from the photos greet him. “Is it done?” Chuck demands. “Have you vanquished the evil?”
“Not yet, It would appear that the moment I left here I fell back under the witch’s spell,” Master Warrior explains. “But now that I have broken free of the spell, I realize that I can not defeat this witch alone.” “There was a young woman at the Manor who claimed she knew how to stop the witch from stealing the power of Cassandra Estate, she had blue hair.” “Have any of you seen here?”
“Yes,” Pastor McGregor says. “She appeared soon after you left.”
A gloating Chuck Goldsmith grins, “She said you couldn’t do it, because you were under the witch’s spell.” “From what you have said she was right.”
It is then that Mr. Palmer speaks up, “I still say we should all take what remains of our families and leave before we end up like my son!”
“I’m so sorry Mr. Palmer, how did your son die?” Master Warrior asks, trying to sound as sincere as possible.
“It was the curse of the Wrath, he was the first omen,” the mourning father explains. “We have all heard the legends of how one day a new evil would come to Cassandra Estate.” “Most of us have been told the omens since we were children.” “The first and second would be the death of a child, who would return to an impossible place.” “The third was the arrival of two strangers who would fight to defeat the evil”
“Then that has all come to pass?” Master Warrior asks. “Has your son returned from the dead?”
“Not exactly,” the boy Chris says, returning from the Choir Rehearsal room looking identical to Leonard Palmer again. There are gasps from the people closest to the appearance of the child. Leonard’s mother sobs out loud in the crowd as Valerie makes her way to comfort the grieving mother. “I needed a disguise to blend in with the people of the village, I hoped that no one would recognize me.” As the seven year old boy steps down the aisle his appearance changes again to that of the tall blue haired young woman called Powersurge. “I had no idea about the omens when I did it.” “There was no mention of the omen in any of the books I read.” “It was almost like they were left out on purpose.”
“I realize now that I can’t stop Medea alone, I need your help,” Master Warrior says to Powersurge. “I know if we work together we can defeat Medea, once and for all.”
“It is clear to me that I can not convince you to leave nor can I hold you captive out of the way so I really don’t have any other choice,” Powersurge replies, her disguised race showing irritation. “Do I?”
“Not really,” Master Warrior smiles his toothy grin that has been known to charm women. It had no effect on Powersurge. Turning to the pastor, Master Warrior asks. “Is there somewhere we could talk alone, compare notes, make a plan?”
Pastor McGregor is somber as he replies, “Yes, but I would like to be involved in your plans.”
“As would I,” Valerie Goldsmith says, stepping forward.
“Val!” her husband Chuck chides.
“It will be fine, I am the historian after all,” Valerie says looking at Powersurge and Master Warrior. “I know more about this Estate than either of you.”
“I think she could be helpful,” Powersurge says to Master Warrior.
“Of course, we could use all the help we can get,” Master Warrior tells them.
“My study is this way,” Pastor McGregor tells them, leading them toward the front of the church.
Harlem Tour Motel
33 W 106th St
New York, NY
“Well, that was an interesting day,” David comments, collapsing onto the squeaky old twin bed. “Felt like Steve was watching over us the whole time.” “Is it just me or is it very odd that Miracle Maiden showed up when she did?”
Paddy removes his shoulder holster to tuck his gun in the nightstand drawer between the beds. “There is something I’ve noticed once you are aware of the world you are traveling in.” “Events usually don’t happen by chance.” “In a way since I’ve joined the Elite Squad I’ve become a big believer in destiny.” Paddy unbuttons his shirt to remove it and toss it on his suitcase in the corner.
“Destiny huh?” David replies. “I’m thinking more like luck, sooner or later I’m thinking that luck will run out.” “Don’t get me wrong, I like Steve, hell I’ve known him since he was a kid, but I wonder if having him around is good for my health.”
“Nothing has changed about your health unless you let it,” Paddy tells David as he heads into the small dirty bathroom. “Don’t put your health at risk thinking you have an ace up your sleeve.” “We did not walk into that warehouse today expecting a gunfight.” “At least that is what I told Commander Olpere.” “It just happened and by the grace of God it all worked out.” “No signal watch required.” “Just the same she was not happy, probably for the best that she ordered me back to work tomorrow.”
“Does Olpere know Steve’s secret?” David asks curiously.
“No, but I think she suspects,” Paddy confesses, beginning to shave in the mirror. “Believe it or not, when Steve’s DNA was tested when we joined the Elite Squad, he came back negative on the Zeni-human gene.” “He thinks it was because his powers are inborn, not acquired.”
“So you think this whole trip was a bust?” David asks, sitting up on the squeaky bed. “We just throw in the towel and go home with our respective tails between our legs?”
“Not exactly, Commander Olpere doesn’t expect me until noon and she gave me something of another lead,” Paddy grins, closing the bathroom door.
David can’t help but to wonder if going on a rescue mission for a guy who can fly and lift cars was a foolish endeavor. He has trained in several Martial Arts and there are times when people have warned him that he is overconfident in his skills will one day be his downfall. For the first time he wonders if those naysayers are right. This world of Zeni-humans is much more dangerous than any street fight.
Thursday, March 31, 1988
Cassandra Estate Manor
The Church in the village
Scarlett, The Isle of Man,
United Kingdom
After a late night of planning and a few hours of sleep, Master Warrior and Powersurge eat a breakfast prepared by Valerie Goldsmith. “Okay so the first thing we will do is find Uncle Basile and get him out of the Manor so Medea doesn’t try to get me to kill him again,” Master Warrior says, finishing his eggs.
“Then we split up and you distract Medea while I go to the hot spring,” Powersurge adds, drinking the last of her glass of milk. “We need to do it just right in case she has weakened the Wrath enough to escape that attic room.”
Master Warrior can’t help to feel that there is something familiar about this young woman. It is clear to him that she can change her appearance at will so there is no way he can guess what she truly looks like.
Pastor McGregor enters the kitchen with a disturbed look on his face. “I think we have a new problem.” “There has been a development overnight.” The Pastor walks over to the back door to open it. The two heroes get up from the table to walk to the door. There is a crowd of figures standing in the early morning sun between the church and the cemetary. At the front of the group is a partially decayed Leonard Palmer.
“What the hell?” Master Warrior announces. “Is this Dawn of the Dead?”
“Medea has raised the dead to block our return to the Manor,” Powersurge exclaims.
“If you intend to fight your way through them the people in this church will not be happy to see you attack their loved ones,” Pastor McGregor tells them.
“That will not be a problem, I can block them from seeing anything that happens if I still have my powers when I step out of this church,” Powersurge tells the Pastor. She turns to Master Warrior. “There is a chance that when I leave the church the power of the Wrath will make me imperceivable to everyone.”
“What?” Master Warrior asks in confusion.
“I’ve been here for the whole week,” Powersurge explains. “It is just that the Wrath wanted me to be hidden from everyone, except Mrs. Charmers.” “The only place I could be seen was here and in the dungeon.” “But when I challenged Medea she had no problem seeing me and casting me out of the Estate grounds.”
“Well let’s hope that spell has been broken too,” Master Warrior states. “Because we have no other way back to the Manor.” “Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Powersurge says as she turns back to the church raising her hands to reach out her mind to everyone within the building. She has never done this on this large of scale so she must manipulate their perceptions in a minimal way. The other people in the room can see the strain on her face as the diamond on her forehead dims. “I think that should do it.” “Val, what do you see when you look out the window?”
Valerie Goldsmith moves to look out the window over the sink. “Nothing, it is like a heavy fog has rolled in over the graveyard,” she tells them.
“It worked, usually I just put people into a dark soundless void, with this many people my power is stretched thin,” Powersurge explains. “Let’s go, I don’t know how long I can hold all of this together.”
Master Warrior leaps up from the back steps of the church to extend his arsenal in the form of a six foot long staff. He comes back down on the grass swinging the staff to knock the zombies aside. His trip to Ghaza has taught him to keep his distance from the living dead as he makes his way through the moaning crowd.
Powersurge takes a different approach as she runs across the graveyard following behind Master Warrior. She concentrates on keeping the people from seeing anything other than the thick fog that they disappear into. Master Warrior is making quick work of the village dead as she follows behind him allowing her to stay focused on hiding what he is doing. By the time they are half way through the cemetery back to the tunnel that leads to the Manor the zombies begin to close in behind them. Powersurge has no choice but to begin using Telekinetic blasts to fend off the attacking dead from behind them.
“Medea is using the stolen power of a Goddess to raise the dead!” Powersurge shouts to Master Warrior. “I am fairly sure we have no need to fear contamination from these things!” “Nor can they harm the people inside the church!”
“Then why are we wasting our Time here?” Master Warrior asks as he turns to grab Powersurge around the waist to lift her from the ground. The two heroes fly up over the trees of the forest that separates the graveyard from the Manor. Holding the young woman in his arms for the first time he can get a better idea of what she might look like. She is clearly not as tall as she appears to him. But her weight seems heavier than someone that size, just as his dense muscle structure makes him heavier than people would suspect.
“You should keep your mind on this fight,” Powersurge comments, shifting her weight in his grasp. “Walking back in the front door is not part of the plan.”
“Neither was fighting zombies in the graveyard,” Master Warrior tells her as he comes to a landing on the roof of the Manor. “Our goal is the same, we just have to improvise to get to them.” “I could tell that you were not up to your full strength back there.” “You were too focused on hiding the dead from the living.” “I took down the recent corpses, so hopefully the ones that remain no one will recognize.” “You can stop focusing on the villagers now.”
The diamond on Powersurges forehead glows brighter as she reclaims the power she exerted to keep the zombies hidden from the villagers back at the church. “Something has changed,” she tells her unwelcome partner. “Somehow, I can feel that the Wrath has become weaker.”
“What do you mean, weaker?” Master Warrior asks as he scans the roof of the old manor house. “I thought you said the Wrath had the power to hold Medea at bay.”
“It did, but now I realize that I could feel the power it had over me and it is gone now,” Powersurge says as she begins to run across the peak of the old slate roof. She is much more nimble than Master Warrior suspected, she moves like a gymnast on a balance beam. He follows after her until she reaches the place in the roof over the room where Medea was held. She leaps straight up to release a mental blast down on the roof, blowing open a hole two yards wide. She falls down into the hole in the roof.
Master Warrior follows after her down the twelve foot jump to the attic floor. There is no question in his mind now that this mysterious young woman has physical attributes as well as mental ones. Scanning the room he can see that there is no one in the dusty old room. “Is this the room where Medea was hiding?” he asks.
“It was more than hiding, she was trapped here,” Powersurge insists. “Something has changed.” “I need to get to the hot spring now!” “There is no time to search for Uncle Basile!” She runs for the door leading to the passage to the front hall.
“No, that is not the plan, we need to protect Uncle Basile!” Master Warrior shouts charging after to grab her shoulder. “If we lose him all is lost!”
“You always think you know everything!” Powersurge shouts at him pulling back on his middle finger to break his grip on her. “You have no idea what is at stake here or what I have to do!” A burst of mental force comes from the diamond in her forehead to send Master Warrior back into the attic room. Master Warrior strikes the wall with enough force to collapse all the plaster on the wall on top of him.
Ritz Autopark
114 S Front St
Philadelphia, PA
Outside the parking garage Paddy and David sit in a rental car discussing their next move. “Are you sure about this?” David asks. David sits uncomfortably behind the wheel.
“I’ve done some research in the past on this Tom Vizard guy,” Detective Berger replies. “If it is information on Zeni-humans criminals we want this Tom Vizard is the guy in the know.” “When I spoke to my Commander yesterday she agreed, she had heard of this Vizard guy too through the grapevine.” “This is our last shot, after this Steve is on his own.”
“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one driving up there alone,” David grumbles. “We’ve already been in one shoot out since we started this search and rescue mission, I hope this isn’t our second.”
“Look it will be fine, I’ve got my piece,” Paddy confirms touching his left side. “I will be in the elevator on the floor below, if there is any sign of trouble just use the password and I will be up there.” Paddy exits the rental car to start walking for the foot entrance to the parking garage.
This whole situation is out of David’s comfort zone as he drives up to pull into the parking garage to collect the automated ticket. He feels more than a little claustrophobic in the car. He much prefers meeting with questionable typed face to face out in the open where he can fight if need be.
David drives the car to the top floor of the garage where he backs into a parking spot along the edge of the roof. He turns off the engine to sit watching the entrance ramp to the level.
It isn’t long before a late model Buick arrives up the ramp. The car parks at the far side of the level across from David. He stares at the car trying to see in the tinted windows. He can not tell who is driving or how many people are in the car. This situation makes David even more uncomfortable than he was before he drove up here. Then a man steps out of the passenger side, he is dressed in tweed pants and a leather jacket. He stands tall and broad shoulders glaring at David’s car. Then he gestures to signal David to get out of the car.
In a way this is what David wanted all along as he moved to open the car door. Stepping out into the open David feels much more at ease with this situation. When the man he assumes is Tom Vizard begins to walk towards the center of the roof. David does the same until the two men stand only several yards apart. “Are you Tom Vizard?” David asks.
“I am,” the man glares at him with his stone face and chiseled features. “What is it that makes you think you can save Master Warrior?”
David is taken back by the stranger’s question. “How do you know what I am here to ask?”
The stone faced man almost smiles, “I know everything I need to know.” “So there is no need to lie.” “In fact lying or calling for your friend down below would not be beneficial to you.”
David remains calm at the revelations of the stranger. “I don’t believe I can save Master Warrior.” “I believe I can help my friend.”
Vizard stands with a raised eyebrow, “You are a brave man, that is to be sure.” “Many have told you that bravery will be your undoing.” “You fear that this friend you want to help will be your undoing.”
“So Jedi Master, which will it be?” David asks sarcastically.”
“Only time will tell which is right,” Vizard replies. “But that is not the answer you seek.” “You want to know what has become of your friend.” “That is one thing that is beyond my knowledge, but I can tell you that you are on the wrong path.” Vizard then reaches inside his leather jacket to take a business card out. He hands it to David, printed on it is the name, Theodore O’Connell. Without another word Tom Vizard’s driver pulls the car up behind him and he gets in. The car is gone down the ramp before David can even return to his car.
Cassandra Estate Manor
The attic room
Scarlett, The Isle of Man,
United Kingdom
Master Warrior strikes the wall with enough force to collapse all the plaster on it down on top of himself. It takes him a few seconds to shake off the shock of what has just happened. He crawls out from under the debris to look down at his hand. That move is one of the first things his mother taught him.
Pulling himself from the rubble he charges after Powersurge down the hidden iron spiral staircase. Arriving in the front hall he finds the young woman standing in the middle of the floor in awl. “It is worse than I thought,” she says, turning back to him.
The front hall is empty of everything that he remembers from the previous days. The furniture, the carpet, even the paintings on the walls are gone. “What’s going on?” Master Warrior asks. “Was any of it even real?”
“Yes, yes it was!” Powersurge exclaims. “Medea must have found a way to siphon the power of the Wrath.” “As a result physical matter is being dissolved back into it as a defense.” “I need to stop Medea before she absorbs everything!”
“You mean we need to stop Medea!” Master Warrior states firmly as he turns to look back up the staircase as the carpet vanishes one step at a time. “I need to find Uncle Basile!” He can see the anger in Powersurge’s eyes even though she tries to hide it. “I can not let you take all of the responsibility for my family legacy.”
“Steve, don’t be a blockhead for once in your life!” Powersurge says as he begins to walk away up the staircase. “Uncle Basile no longer matters!” “All that matters is stopping Medea!”
Master Warrior stops dead in his tracks on the second step to turn back to the blue haired girl standing in the center of the front hall. “What did you call me?” he asks. “Wait, that is the second time you called me that.” “How could I forget I was about to…” “Oh my god, Christine?” “You did it didn’t you?” he says softly. “You erased my memory of what I had guessed.” He watches in shock as the image of the tall, 5 foot-ten, blue haired Powersurge fades to reveal his brown haired 5 foot-four sister, who is dressed in a yellow and blue pair of stretchy pants with a matching top, socks and sneakers.
“Medea’s spell worked better than she thought,” Christine says. “She cast it to draw the youngest and most powerful of the Roberts line here.” “That includes me.” “That is what I believed at first, then it became clear that it was the Wrath that brought me here.” Unlike you the Wrath kept me hidden.” “Medea never even knew I was here until I rescued you in the dungeon.”
Master Warrior steps closer to his sister to give her a big bear hug, the kind she hates, but this time she doesn’t pull away. “This power you have, do Mom and Dad know?” he asks.
“No, it has been developing for years now,” Christine explains as they part from the hug. “I can’t tell Dad, he can’t know.” she says with a desperate look on her face that Master Warrior has never seen. “I was the normal one, the one he always had something in common with.” “This superhero thing happened by accident, I never meant for it to continue.” “It was going to be one and done.”
“Once you start, it isn’t so easy to stop,” Master Warrior smiles. “I’m proud of you.” “But you have to tell Mom and Dad, you can’t lie to them by omission.” “But right now we need to stick to the plan.”
“I’m sorry big bro, but I can’t do that!” Christine says pushing him away to retake her Powersurge persona. “This whole thing has been about me, I am the heir to the Wrath and I must take her place to stop Medea.” “Tell Dad and Mom that I love them!”
“What does that even mean?” Master Warrior questions stepping forward to be hit with a powerful mental blast. The blast is of both telekinetic and mental force that slams him back against the wall where he falls to the floor momentarily unconscious.
“Sorry Big Bro, you left me no other choice,” she says as she turns away to run for the door to the Study. She is more determined than she has ever been in her short life. Inside the Study, all that remains is the large oak desk, a huge glass fronted armoire, and an oversized mahogany and leather sofa. Moving toward the secret passage she stop to turn back. It takes only a thought to will every piece of the heavy remaining furniture in the room to barricade the door. Powersurge knows it will do little more than slow her brother down as she enters the secret passage that leads to the spring room.
She is about to make the ultimate sacrifice for a world she has barely experienced. Powersurge lashes out with her mind again to tear open the hidden doorway. All of the things she has yet to experience flash through her mind; falling in love, getting married, having a child. Descending the old stone staircase leading down into darkness, Christine Roberts has come to terms with those sacrifices in this last day. She fully understands what is at stake here. It is not just some magically protected United Kingdom Estate, it is much farther reaching. If Medea steals the power of the Estate what will she go after next? How many lives does she put at risk if she does not make this sacrifice?
As the air turns colder Powersurge can hear cries of pain that come from below her on the staircase. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs she enters the spring room where she learns the origin of the cries. Her guess that Medea had escaped the attic room was correct. The witch stands at the edge of the hot spring pool in the floor. In her hand she holds the throat of Uncle Basile whose body dangles waist deep in the water. It is Basile that cries out in pain. It is instantly clear to Powersurge that Medea has found another way to siphon off the power of the Wrath.
“Stop that!” “Leave him be!” Powersurge shouts lashing out at Medea with a blast like the one she used on Master Warrior moments ago. The witch is caught off guard by the attack as she is staggered back dropping the old feeble man into the water.
Powersurge’s blast has little lasting effect on Medea as she steadies herself again. “So little heroine, you have found your way back in!” the witch cackles with a grin. Medea’s smile droops as she realizes something unexpected. “The power you use, it is familiar.”
Powersurge does not speak as she lets loose another bolt to drive Medea a few more steps back from the pool’s edge. A third and forth bolt slowly moves the witch step by step back toward the wall as Powersurge moves closer to the pool. “You can’t win!” the young heroine shouts. “I will not let you!”
“Your power is so sweet,” Medea says, looking slightly confused. “Why is it like you are a little Wrath yourself!” “One I might consume as dessert.”
“NO!” Master Warrior shouts charging into the cavernous room. He throws his arsenal in the form of a broadsword at the witch. It sails across the room toward her chest.
Medea smiles as she raises her hand to the sword. She is more powerful than she has ever been. A vibrating pulse stops the sword mid-air. The weapon floats for a moment before it dissolves into a mercury-like blob that falls to the floor with a splat. “Foolish amazon-boy!” “Now for you my lovely.”
Master Warrior’s distraction had given Powersurge enough time to lift Basile from the pool to lay him on the cavern floor. “I don’t think so,” the young heroine says as she steps backwards into the pool.
“Christine, what are you doing?” Master Warrior shouts as he takes two steps toward the edge of the pool intending to take flight. Not far away Medea prepares to cast a spell to strike him down. As Powersurge disappears below the surface of the hot spring pool a wave of energy erupts from it. It instantly washes over everything in the hot spring chamber, freezing time in place. The wave continues up through the ground to the Manor where the Charmer have been preparing for the worst. Instantly brother and sister are completely still. The wave continues out over the Estate, not even a spider in the attic or a blade of grass in the lawn moves as all touched by the wave is frozen in time. The wave reaches the village putting an end to the movement of the zombies that still flounder in the graveyard. Not even the people in the church go untouched by the effect of the wave. The time freezing wave continues to the edge of the Estate property where it stops.
Philadelphia Elite Squad
1st Precinct
Philadelphia, Pa
David Rogers sits in the chair next to Detective Berger’s desk wearing a Visitor’s Pass on his shirt collar. The other Elite Squad officers are either out to lunch or on the street working cases. Paddy returns to the office with the file for which he believes they are searching. “Theodore O’Connell,” he announced, sitting down at his desk to open the file. “He’s got a few B&Es, some disorderly and assaulting an officer.” “This is interesting, last time he was arrested it was by our own Patrolman Steve Roberts.” “Wait a minute,” Paddy says, reflecting. “I think I remember this guy,” Paddy comments looking at the mugshot in the folder. “It was one of the first busts I let Steve make on his own.” Paddy sits back in his chair laying the file out on the desk for David to view.
“Final entry in the file says he escaped during a transfer.” “Is something wrong?” David asks as he looks over the paperwork and some handwritten notes that he recognizes as Steve’s handwriting.
“Just running back over the case in my mind, if I knew then what I know now,” Paddy says, reaching for his cold cup of coffee. “Steve took a special interest in this guy.” “Visited him several times while he was in holding.” “When I asked Steve about it he told me he saw a misguided potential in O’Connell.” Paddy leans forward to flip through the pages in the file again looking for something. “It’s not here.”
“What’s not here?” David asks.
“This must have been before the department started Zeni-gene testing on offenders,” Paddy answers. “There is no DNA work up.”
“Is that even legal?” David asks. “Running DNA on someone without permission?”
“There hasn’t been any official ruling on it yet, it falls under a general health order,” the detective explains. “Steve also said that this guy was a slippery one.” “Makes me think he might have had a benign Zeni-human power.” “Something under the radar.” Paddy stares at the photos of Theodore O’Connell. “There is something else, last year I thought someone broke into our apartment, Steve’s room in particular.” “When I checked the room the window was open.” “We are not on the first floor so I figured no one could have come in through it, but I do remember seeing someone on the street that kinda looked like this guy.”
“How could you possibly remember that?” David questions.
Since learning the results of his own Zeni-gene testing Paddy has come to realize that he remembers almost every detail of his life since he was two years old, he only needs to think about it. Until he learned the meaning of Zeni-human power he always believed everyone had a memory like his, never questioning its uniqueness. “Got a steel trap up here,” he smiles, touching his left index finger to his forehead. Then he turns to his bottom desk drawer where files are stored. He fingers through the folders to pull out one in particular. Laying it down on top of O’Connell’s file he opens it. “After this guy showed up calling himself Hellion. Steve told me he lied about nothing missing from his room.” In the folder are photos taken from a News helicopter that the police confiscated; showing Master Warrior fighting Hellion in the sky over the streets of Philly. “Steve told me a black suit that he was given by someone he didn’t want to talk about was missing from his dresser drawer.” “He was sure it was the suit this guy was wearing.” “It was made from a strange fabric that was unmistakable.”
“So you think that Theodore O’Connell and Hellion are one in the same?” David puts together.
“Seems reasonable,” Paddy replies. “The real question is why would Vizard put us on to this guy?” “How could he have had anything to do with Steve’s disappearance?”
“Maybe he doesn’t, maybe Hellion only knows what happened to Steve,” David suggested. “At any rate, I think this is out of my league.” “This is something more attuned for your Elite Squad than a P.I.” “I’m gonna head home, get some sleep.” “Give me a call when you find Steve.”
SUNDAY, April 3, 1988
Dona & Steven Roberts’ house
3005 NW 14th St
Miami, Florida
Steve glares at his sister across the dining room table holding back his anger. He gives her a painful smile, “Christine, might I speak with you outside?” The parents are left at the dinner table wondering what has suddenly come over their children as the brother and sister get up from the table to walk out the back door onto the patio.
“Can you make it so Mom can’t hear us?” Steve questions feeling no desire to hide his anger.
“Already done,” Christine replies as her brother gets in her face.
“Why did you do that?” “Again!” Steve demands with disappointment in his eyes. “Why did you wipe my memory of everything that happened at Cassandra Manor Estate?” “Don’t you realize how dangerous that could be, Medea is still on the loose!”
“You should be grateful I made you forget,” Christine charges, pushing back at him. “I’ve got a photographic memory and I have to remember your big hairy ass the rest of my life!”
“My ass is not that big and just how much did you see while you were ghosting me?” Steve shouts, more than a little embarrassed.
“Too much!” Christine replies. “This is exactly why I used some of the Wrath’s power to make you forget!” “I know you’re going to go in there and tell Dad!”
“No, you are, like I said before!” Steve insists. “Are you forgetting that being the Master of Cassandra Manor Estate is Dad’s destiny?” “Your powers are clearly from being a descendant of Lady Cassandra!” “You having powers is not going to change how he feels about you!”
“Can you be sure of that?” Christine asks as tears well in her eyes. “Dad has never once mentioned being the heir to Cassandra Manor.” “He might not even remember going there.”
“Is this why you have been so distant since I got my powers?” Steve asks, catching her off guard. “You’re jealous of what Mom and I have.” Both siblings are silent for a moment. “Do you have any idea of how lucky you are to not have had Mom training you as a teenager?” “When I should have been dating and hanging out with my friends I was on Magic Island with her kicking my ass!” “Even our family vacation to Greece became a test!” Steve almost has a tear in his eye as he says, “I spent all of those years trying to escape by savoring every moment I spent with Dad!” “If anyone has a right to be jealous, it is me!” It is then that he can not hold the tears back as they run down his cheeks. “You had a normal childhood.” “Not one of being bullied and hiding who you really are!”
Christine is speechless. She has never seen her brother cry, not even when all seemed lost at Cassandra Manor. She remembers the flashes that she saw in his mind of when Cynthia Steel kidnapped him. Now more than ever she is sure that he does not remember them. As a student of Psychology she has learned that just because someone does not remember trauma that does not mean it has no impact on their life decisions. Sitting down on an adirondack chair on the patio Christine glares at her brother. “I thought I was going to die to save Cassandra Manor.” she finally says. “Everything I learned told me that I had to make the ultimate sacrifice like Cassandra did to defeat Medea.”
Steve’s tears are replaced with a grin, “So you made the hero’s choice?” “Even without Mom’s bootcamp you made the right choice.” “I think both of our parents would be proud of you.” “You don’t give Dad enough credit.” “Stop being Daddy’s little girl and be your own woman for once!” “At least you didn’t have to break both your ankles to prove yourself.” “Now tell me what happened after you jumped in the water?”
“I became one with the Wrath,” Christine replies. “I finally understood everything, not just the things I had learned from the books.” “I experienced it all.” “I suppose that is another thing that would make Mom happy.”
“What is that?” Steve asks.
“I got my nose out of the books finally,” Christine smiles. “I believed that Cassandra Payne gave her life to create the Wrath, everything pointed to that fact.” “That is not what she did, she sacrificed a piece of her soul and all of her power.” “Most of all her jealousy and anger.” “After that Cassandra and Cartridge lived out their lives on the Estate as normal humans.” “With no magic or mental powers.”
“The Wrath was created to be a kind of synthetic life formed from both Cartridge’s magic and Cassandra’s mental power,” Christine explains. “The Paynes gave birth to a new kind of child that day, something that would guard and protect the Estate from anything that threatened it or its inhabitants.” “The Wrath was getting old it’s power was no longer enough to defend against the magic Medea welded.” “In a way the Wrath needed a recharge.” “You are right my power is the same as Cassandra, even the jealousy and anger was the same.” “A recharge would not take nearly as much power as birthing the Wrath.” “Together with the Wrath I was able to cast Medea out.” “The Charm of Isis that she was using was resisting the way she was using it, that made it easy for us to steal it away from her.”
“You stole a Charm from Medea?” Steve exclaims. “What did you do with it?”
“The magic in the Charm was similar to the Wrath and it aided in what needed to be done,” Christine explians. “Casting Medea out was just the beginning, we needed to repair the damage she had done.” “It took days to fix everything on the Estate.” “All the while you and the others in the village church were in a state of suspension.”
“What became of Medea?” Steve asks. “While the rest of us were sleeping?”
“I’m not sure, but I know she has no memory of what happened at Cassandra Estate or that it even exists,” Christine explains. “Unlike you, her mind is not strong enough to recover from what the Wrath did to her.” “She should not even remember stealing the Charm of Isis.”
“So what is her ultimate plan?” Steve asks. “Where would she go next?”
“I can’t be sure, I wasn’t in control, the Wrath was in charge and it wanted only one thing, Medea gone,” Christine reveals. “If I had been in control I would have completely probed Medea’s mind, all I can say is she wants more power.” “Medea has a bigger goal that will take all the magic she can find.”
“When Mom and I crossed paths with Medea at the Renaissance Faire, Mom told me that at her core Medea is a thief,” Steve explains. “Like most witches she is always seeking more.” The one thing that Mom couldn’t understand was why Medea had been silent for so long.” “Most of all how is Uncle Basile, is he okay?” Steve questions.
“He is fine, he will be serving as Lord of the Estate for many years to come,” Christine explains. “The Wrath was very pleased with his strength to resist Medea for as long as he did.” “He was given a bit of a reward by the power of Isis.”
“What about you, what did you sacrifice?” Steve says sitting down next to his sister. “Your power?”
“No, only my jealousy and anger of course,” she replies, looking at her feet. “Anger is a powerful emotion, it is what keeps the Wrath focused on defending the Estate.” “The magic of Isis acted as a bandage to recharge the Wrath without taking all of my power.” “Before separating from the Wrath I wiped your memory and returned us home.”
“So you will no longer be able to feel jealousy and anger?” Steve questions.
“Of course I will, it was just all of that stored up shit I had pushed down inside over the years that the Wrath took as food in a way,” Christine explains. “I guess you lucked out Big Bro, I’ve lost my jealousy for you and actually gained some respect for what you do as Master Warrior.”
“So does that mean you are going to be my new teen sidekick?” Steve chuckles.
“I’m afraid I might have caused you permanent brain damage, because you have clearly lost your mind!” Christine replies, getting up from the chair to head back inside.