GO WEST

Chapter 10: "Où Vont les Coeurs Brisés?"

Doug hurried into the living wing as fast as he dared, Marie-Ange held securely in his arms. Catseye followed behind him silently. "Warlock, wake up!" Doug shouted into the whatever-room. "I need your help, quick!"

"Where can put her?" Catseye asked. "Been long time since rested."

After looking around the wing, Doug judged the couch to be too short, the beanbag to be too inappropriate, and the floor to be out of the question. "My room," he told her. "This way."

He turned sideways to squeeze through the open doorway with her. "Sharon, could you clear the covers off the bed?"

"Of course," she smiled wearily, grabbing Doug's blankets and pulling them off. Doug carefully set Marie-Ange down on the bed, then, and propped her head up on pillows. He checked her throat for a pulse, and found it vague, but steady.

"Christ on a crutch, Catseye, where have you two been?" Doug asked, looking over Marie-Ange first, then Catseye herself.

"Been coming here," Catseye told him. "Was long trip, and ended up taking long way."

"How long has she been like this?" Doug asked, opening one of Angie's eyes and checking for any signs of consciousness.

"Long time now," Catseye sighed. "Redhair was much hurt, goldenmane, and Catseye didn't know where else to take her."

"I know about what happened," Doug nodded. "I talked to Jenny and Haroun at the Mutant Fair, and they told me all about it. Brainwash, Camouflage, all of it."

Catseye seemed about to reply when Warlock came into the room. "Self is awake, frienDoug. Self came as quickly as self could construct body..."

His mechanical voice trailed off as he got a look at Catseye. "Alarm!" he said, softly.

Sharon leaned forward, sniffed him a few times, then smiled hugely. "'Lectro!" she sang happily, giving him a cat-hug. "Good to see you!"

"Self responds equivalently," Warlock replied. "It is good to see HellionentityCatseye alive!"

"'Lock, I need a full scan, here," Doug requested, indicating the unconscious Marie-Ange. "See if you can figure out what's wrong with her."

"Self is on the job, frienDoug," Warlock nodded. He immediately started reconfiguring himself, and flowed like liquid onto the bed, forming into a semi-cylindrical shell over most of Tarot's body, reminiscent of a sick-bay bed from a sci-fi TV series. He also extended a couple of electrodes to her forehead.

"Hey!" Catseye frowned, reaching forward to grab part of him. "Cut that out, 'Lectro!"

"It's okay, Sharon, it's okay," Doug assured her, restraining her with both arms. "He's not going to hurt her."

At about that moment, Dani wandered in, tying up the sash of her robe. "Okay, Doug, what the hell's going on in... holy shit!"

"Sorry to wake you, Chief," said Doug, giving her a half-grin.

"Wishbringer!" Catseye smiled, bounding over to give Dani an embrace that nearly knocked her over. Doug wondered where she was getting all that energy from...

"Sharon, how did you know to find us out here?" he asked her.

"Ah," Catseye nodded, pointing one finger skyward. "Do not be mad, goldenmane, but redhair told Catseye about old friends in newhome long while ago. Catseye remembered address from letter redhair wrote you. But do not worry. No one found out from Catseye."

"I can believe that," Dani nodded. "So how'd you get away from those two guys that caught you?"

"Scan complete," Warlock interrupted. "EntityTarot's vital signs are steady. Very slight malnutrition and dehydration. Minor scrapes and contusions, healing. Extremely high brainwave readings, but no conscious thought." He poked a head up from the structure and looked up at them. "Brainwave patterns similar to others self has witnessed... Self believes that entityTarot is dreaming."

"Dreaming?" Doug repeated. "Dreaming for two weeks?"

"Where's a telepath when we need one?" Dani grumped.

Doug and Warlock both looked right at her. "Other than me!" she waved them off. I'm only a partial telepath anyway."

"Well, it might help a little," Doug suggested.

Dani sighed. "Okay, okay." She brought her hands to her head in an effort to clear it, and then concentrated. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes. "I must be too tired. I'm not getting anything at all, from any of you."

Finally, as had to happen eventually, Rahne entered the room, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Why's ev'ryone makin' s'much noise?" she yawned. She blinked a few times to focus, and the first thing she saw was Marie-Ange lying in Doug's bed. "What's she doin' here?!" she asked, placing a not-entirely-friendly accent on the word "she."

Here, Catseye finally seemed to reach reunion critical mass. "Pretty redfur!" she gasped, picking Rahne up off the floor and hugging the smaller girl to her. "Oooh, Catseye feel much heartgood to see small furfriend!"

"Catseye!" Rahne gasped, when she caught her breath. "How in the name o' holy Mary did ye get here?"

"Well, walked some, rode some, even drove some..." Sharon began.

Dani took Rahne's shoulder. "Hey, Rahney, what say you and I go and make some coffee, and clear the room a little bit? Let's give 'em a little room to work, okay?"

"But..." Rahne began, as Dani led her out of the room. She never did get the sentence finished, though.

Catseye let herself collapse at the chair in front of Doug's computer desk. "Phoo. Been longtime since Catseye slept well, goldenmane. But glad that Catseye came. Goldenmane and other friends will help Catseye look after redhair now, yes?"

"Of course we will," Doug nodded, reaching for the cordless phone on his nightstand. He stretched out the antenna and started dialing.

Like a shot, Catseye leaped up out of the chair and intercepted his hand, switching the call off. "Calling who, goldenmane?"

"I'm calling the Academy," Doug told her. "They're worried out of their minds about the two of you."

"No!" Catseye insisted, grabbing Doug's shoulders and forcing him to look at her. "Do not call schoolplace, goldenmane, please."

"Why the hell not?"

Catseye sighed and looked down. "Trust Catseye, please? Do not call. Cannot tell Frostlady where gone to."

"Okay, to hell with Miss Frost, then. What about Jenny, Sharon? She's been worried sick about you two! She probably thinks you're dead!"

"Catseye knows," she nodded, "and is bad thing, yes. But if Jennyluck knows, Frostlady knows. Please, goldenmane. Catseye does not want to go back to schoolhome. Please, let Catseye and redhair stay, and not let Frostlady know."

Doug was confused. "Why don't you want to go back? You were always so happy there. Has... Miss Frost been her old self, or what?"

"Bad things... happened there," Catseye said, quietly. "Very bad things. Bad memories. Would be bad to go back now. Would be much better to stay here with friends and be happy here, yes?"

"And not tell Jenny or anyone about it? You'd do that to your own friends? Sharon, unless you can come up with some pretty compelling reasons, I'm calling Jenny."

Catseye took a deep breath, and let it out in a sigh. "Okay. Reason. If goldenmane tells Jennyluck or Frostlady that Catseye and redhair are here, then Catseye must take redhair and leave, and find other place to stay, and not see friends again. Would be better for redhair to be here, though."

Doug blinked a few times as he looked into Sharon's cat-eyes. "Are you blackmailing me, Catseye?" he asked, astonished.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Just saying what must happen if goldenmane calls schoolplace. No threat, just truth."

After a while, Doug collapsed the antenna and set the phone down. "Okay," he nodded. "But I hope you've got a good explanation for this."

"Trust Catseye," she nodded. "Will tell later. Must sleep now."

Smiling wearily at Doug, Catseye shifted into her cat-shape, jumped up on the end of Doug's bed, and curled up at Marie-Ange's feet. In seconds, she looked dead asleep.

Warlock, by this time, had disassembled, and he re-formed himself next to Doug. "Self expresses confusion, frienDoug. Why does entityCatseye not wish to give selfstatus data to friends and leader?"

"I don't know," Doug said quietly, considering it. "But there has to be a good reason. Catseye's always been loyal to her friends; it must be something bad."

"Perhaps entityCatseye fears that villain-entities Brainwash and Camouflage would look for them at MassAc."

"Yeah," Doug nodded. "Could be that. Thanks for the scan, by the way."

"Self is glad to be of assistance."

"I hope she's okay," Doug whispered, looking down at Marie-Ange. "We should probably get her cleaned up, but... we probably ought to let Catseye handle that."

"Agreed. Considering current state and recent events, entityTarot may not react well to physical contact."

Doug nodded slowly. "Yeah, something like that." He then picked up one of the discarded blankets from the floor, and carefully spread it across the bed to cover her from shoulders to feet.

Catseye slept, a contented smile upon her feline face.

Heartbreak Hotel, near Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, 13 November 1993 8:40 am

The morning hadn't exactly been one of Ric's favorites. He'd awakened with a splitting headache, and after putting considerable effort into getting dressed, he wandered downstairs and into the kitchen, where Kate had been working on breakfast. She took pity on him and gave him coffee, then put him to work chopping vegetables to give him something mindless to do while he waited for the caffeine to take effect.

After about ten minutes of this, Ric could almost say he was enjoying himself. It gave him some small sense of accomplishment in the wake of his semi-hung-over state to be able to mince these veggies into tiny bits.

"I don't know you," came a quiet voice, then.

Ric looked up to see someone standing in the door that led from the kitchen to the dining room. She was a woman of about medium height, with the kind of build that caused traffic accidents. She had long, silky hair, bleached almost white by either sun or peroxide (Ric couldn't tell which, and anyway, didn't pay much attention to her hair) that outlined a distinctly European face. Her eyes were wide and dark, and seemed huge by comparison. She was wearing a white terrycloth robe and apparently nothing else, and was showing off far too much cleavage for Ric to be able to appreciate at not-even-nine in the morning. She also seemed to be hovering about three inches from the ground, and she was staring right at Ric.

Kate looked over from the stove and smiled. "Morning, Sybil. When did you get in?"

"Last night," Sybil replied, in the same vague, sleepy voice. "Who are you?" she then asked Ric, skimming along the tiled floor to stand opposite his cutting board.

"This is Ric Torres, Sybil," Kate said by way of introduction. "Ric, this is Sybil Dvorak."

"Hi," Ric smiled, putting one hand out to shake. She looked at it, then looked back at him with a blank expression. Ric remembered, then, that someone had mentioned she didn't like to be touched, so he retracted the hand. "Nice to meet you," he offered, instead.

She gave him a tiny smile, tilting her head to one side, apparently studying his face. "Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked.

Ric pulled a blank. "Excuse me?"

Sybil reached up with one hand and caressed her face, tracing down her neck, and along the hem of her robe. "Do you think I'm pretty?" she repeated, in her delirious tone.

Briefly, Ric glanced away from Sybil's demonstration to see that Kate was giving him what appeared to be a meaningful look, but the meaning was lost to him.

He decided to answer honestly. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, actually, I think you're beautiful." He smiled as nicely as his headache allowed.

Sybil smiled in return, a large, radiant, drowsy smile, and she took a long, slow breath that threatened to split her robe. "Thank you," she sighed. Then, quite suddenly, she turned her head to the other side. "'Bye."

And then she was gone, floating out one of the other doors and not even glancing back. Ric watched until she disappeared through the door, then looked back over at Kate. "Whoa," he said, simply.

"Yeah, she takes some getting used to," Kate nodded. "Poor girl."

"What do you mean?"

Kate considered this. "Well, she's got a weird background. She used to be something of a criminal, and then something of a hero. She called herself 'Gypsy Moth.' Up until just recently, she lived not too far from here, and she had an honest-to-goodness cult of followers that worshipped her for her power, and for her beauty. They brought her soft things as offerings, like silk, feathers, furs... She was a complete hedonist."

"Wow," Ric nodded. "Yeah, she is cute, but I don't know if I'd bow down and worship her or anything."

"Southern California," Kate shrugged, summing it all up with those two words.

"Well, is this cult still around?"

"Apparently not," Kate frowned, shaking her head. "I gather they disbanded a while ago, for whatever reason. Maybe they found some other idol to worship. Well, she was borderline already, from what I'm told, and this knocked her over the edge. That's why she's a little... off right at the present. Poor girl. But you did good, telling her she was pretty. She needs to hear that."

"I'll keep it in mind," Ric nodded.

Kate finished what she was doing, and came over to Ric's cutting board. "Finished?"

"Yeah. Got anything else I can do?"

"You mean you're volunteering?" Kate gasped, sarcastically.

"I dunno, I just feel like bein' domestic."

"Wonderful," Kate smiled. "You mind peeling potatoes? Mashed potatoes with dinner tonight."

"Sure, no problem."

It turned out to be a rather large sack of potatoes, and Ric found himself wondering how many people they were planning to serve tonight. But it kept his mind off of everything. Kate eventually left, telling him she'd be back in a little while.

Not long after he started, Lucy came downstairs and found her way to the coffee. She smiled wearily at him as she came in, and he nodded and smiled back. She took a mug down from one of the hooks on the wall, poured for herself, and added sugar, all without a word.

"What'cha doing?" she asked at length.

"Just peelin' potatoes," he shrugged.

She came over beside the board, reached over to grab his left hand and the potato, then adjusted his grip on it. "Do it like this," she told him, indicating the peeler in his right hand. "If you have your fingers sticking up like that, you're liable to take little bits off if the peeler slips."

"Thanks," he nodded, trying it her way. Lo and behold, it worked.

"Listen," she sighed, seeming a bit reluctant. "I'm sorry I bit your head off last night. What you said just really hit a nerve, that's all."

"Really?" Ric replied, giving her a questioning look. "I'm sorry. What happened?"

She looked away, then down, then the other way, and finally spoke. "The way you described what happened to you and Rahne... I got this awful sense of déjà vû. Y'see, back before I came here, I had this boyfriend at school. We were really close for months and months, and finally... well, we did what we thought we were supposed to do, and slept together."

Ric noticed that she was starting to turn red. "Hey, you don't have to talk about it if you don't wanna," he assured her.

"No, it's okay," she went on, managing something of a smile. "Anyway, I hadn't known... just how much it'd... hurt. I thought it was something he did on purpose. I remember crying a lot, and telling him I never wanted to see him again, and then... well, I didn't. And that was the worst part. He just avoided me. Told all his friends I was a tease. I was fifteen, Ric... Everyone in the school knew, and they all... looked down at me, like I was some kind of slut. I couldn't take it. That's how I eventually wound up here.

"The worst part, though, was that I still loved him, even when he did those things. I couldn't help wondering what would have happened if I hadn't driven him away. We might have been able to talk it out. Now I'll never know."

She took a deep breath before finishing. "Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think you should find her and talk to her, if you still care about her. Just my opinion." That said, she turned to go.

"Hey, Lucy," Ric called. Lucy looked back around, and he stepped up and gave her a hug, taking care not to get potato juice on her clothes. "Thanks. And sorry."

"It's okay," she smiled, softly. "It's... been a while since I told anyone about that."

"I appreciate it," he nodded. "Thanks."

"Anytime," she nodded back. "I'll be in the garden."

And then she was gone as well. Ric got back to the potatoes. He'd done eight so far, but there were still plenty to go.

Chance wandered in next. Even at this early hour, she wore the leather jacket over the T-shirt and jeans. She spared Ric just the briefest of nods before making a beeline for the coffee. The two carried on in silence, as Chance poured a mug for herself, drained it black, then poured another. "Ain't seen you in the kitchen much," she said at last, her tone just above a grunt.

"Just peelin' potatoes," Ric repeated. "You just wakin' up?"

"Yeah," she muttered, sipping at this second mugful.

There was a long silence. Finally, Ric set down his peeler and the potato he was working on, and turned around to face her. "Chance?"

"Yo?"

"Did we... do it last night?"

She leaned back against the counter, set down her mug, and crossed her arms at him. "What if we did?"

"Well, that's just it, I don't know if we did. I don't remember a goddamned thing last night past getting to my room."

For a while, she just gave him a defiant look from underneath her messy black hair. Then, at length, she shook her head. "No, we didn't."

"Ah," Ric sighed, looking relieved. "That's good."

Chance exploded. "Torres, you're an insensitive pig, y'know that?! Well, I'm just over-fucking-joyed that you're so relieved you didn't screw the little chink bitch!"

"Hey, I didn't say that!" Ric shouted back. The shouting made his head pound, though, so he toned it down. "It's not that I didn't wanna sleep with you, Chance; I didn't wanna sleep with anyone."

"What's the matter, Torres, I'm not good enough for you?"

"That's not what I'm saying!"

"Oh, sure," she nodded. "Come on, Torres, you're single, remember? Or are you still pining after little what's-her-bitch back home with the weather report name?"

Ric's eyes narrowed. "Don't you even talk about her like that."

"Oho!" Chance crowed. "Called it, didn't I? She walks all over you, and you're still whipped, aren't you?"

"Chance," Ric grated, quickly losing his patience, "I'm sorry if it looked like I wanted to sleep with you last night, 'cause I didn't. It would'a been wrong."

"Well, if it ain't jolly old Saint Ric," she scowled. "Well, you can keep your right and wrong to yourself from now on. I'm outta here."

She stormed out of the room, leaving her coffee behind. Ric inhaled and counted to ten, biting his tongue to keep from calling after her.

He went back to peeling the potatoes, but his hands were starting to shake with suppressed anger. He nearly cut himself several times before he was able to calm down a little.

The next visitor to the kitchen was Hector. "Hey, Ric!" he called.

"Just peelin' potatoes," Ric said again.

Hector looked him over. "Jesus, man, you look awful. What's up?"

Ric set down the potato and peeler, and looked at him. "Well, Hector, first I alienated one girl by sleeping with her, and now I just alienated another girl by not sleeping with her. Go figure that one out."

"That's messed up," Hector grimaced. He looked genuinely sympathetic for all of four seconds before his earlier look of suppressed anxiety returned. "Hey, man, I need to ask you a favor."

"Shoot."

"Do you wanna take a road trip to Santa Barbara tomorrow? There's gonna be a memorial service at the school for Shad, and... I'd kinda like to be there."

"Well, I would, but the bug's thrashed."

"How about if I help you fix it?"

Ric shrugged. "Sure. I guess I need a road trip right about now."

McAudry house, 10:12 am

Dani peeked into Doug's room to see that he was still keeping watch in his chair beside the bed. He looked up, gave her a weary smile, then nodded for her to come in. She slipped through the door quietly, then sat down beside him.

Marie-Ange was still lying in the bed, but with more covers now, and Catseye was still curled in the vicinity of her feet, with a blanket wrapped around her cat-shape. "They been asleep all this time?" Dani asked Doug.

He shook his head. "Sharon was up about three hours ago. I convinced her to give Angie a bath, then herself, so at least they're clean now. They went through a lot of weird stuff, looks like. Look at Angie's hair."

Dani studied the loose red braid draped over the blankets to dry. "What about it?"

"It's about two feet shorter than it used to be. Sharon says they were in a flyer that crashed, and she got them away, but not without getting singed around the edges."

"That might've been when they got away from those two guys," Dani nodded.

"I guess. Warlock's been monitoring them both. Angie seems to be okay, apart from the obvious, but Sharon was about ready to drop from exhaustion by the time she got here, from what he could tell. She also seems to be coming down with a cold, but with her immune system, she'll probably shake it off pretty quickly."

Dani nodded, then looked around the room. "Where is Warlock, anyway?"

"Recharging," Doug replied. "He was doing that when they arrived last night, so he needed to get back to it before too long."

"Uh huh. How about you?"

"What about me?"

"You slept at all since they got here?"

Doug shook his head. "Nope. You?"

"Yeah, for a while. I had to calm Rahne down first, but then we both got some rest."

"How's she taking this?"

Dani almost smiled. "Well, she's a little bit freaked out, but I am too, for that matter. She said to tell you she's sorry she reacted the way she did, but it was kind of surprising to wake up and find Angie lying in your bed."

"Yeah, I imagine," Doug nodded. "Rahne never got along with her, did she?"

"Scots Presbyterian and the occult?" Dani shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. She'll deal with it. Besides, she and Catseye were always good friends."

"Good to know."

There was silence for almost two full minutes, then Doug spoke again. "You know it's strange. For some reason, this reminds me of something that happened when I was a kid."

"What was that?"

Doug got a faraway look in his eyes. "I lived in this house until I was about eleven. Anyway, back when I was maybe ten or so, we used to have a cat here in the house. She was a cute little thing we got from the animal shelter when she was still a kitten. Fluffy grey cat, blind in one eye, but the most affectionate thing you've ever seen. We never got around to getting her spayed, though, because we always figured she was too young to go into heat. Wrong answer. She wandered off, got pregnant, and a while later, had two teeny little kittens of her own, and she was still barely more than a kitten herself."

"I know how that felt," Dani told him. "We used to pretty much let our cats run wild at the ranch when I was a kid, and they were having litters every year, it seemed."

"Yeah," Doug sighed. "It was really sad, though. She was too young to be able to take care of them, even with only two. We tried to feed them with these little tiny bottles, and we kept them in the warmest part of the house, but one of them died before it was even two days old, and the other one didn't look much better. I think they were born too early."

"That's awful," Dani grimaced.

"Anyway, after about a week, we were thinking the other one just might pull through. But then one night, I remember waking up, and I found Fluff, our cat... real original name, eh?... sitting on my bed, right next to me. After I focused, I realized that the second kitten was lying at her feet, and it was dead. She'd brought it to me after it had died."

"What did you do?"

"Well, I very quietly freaked out. I got out of bed, and ran down to the kitchen, where Mom was still awake. I told her about it, nearly in tears, and she told me she was sorry, and that I should take it out in the yard and bury it near where we'd buried the other. So I got a little plastic baggie, wrapped the poor thing up, took it out into the side yard, dug it a little hole with a garden shovel, and buried it."

"That's sad," she frowned.

"But that's not the weird part," Doug continued. "All the while I was doing this, Fluff followed me, purring at the top of her lungs. Even when I was wrapping up her dead kitten and putting it in a hole in the ground, she was sitting right next to me, purring. And that scared me. I went and told Mom, and she said that Fluff was probably happy because she thought I was going to be able to make her kitten all better."

Dani shivered involuntarily. "I'm sorry, Doug," she said, softly.

Doug pointed at Catseye, still sound asleep on the bed. "She's been so happy since she got here. I think she's fully convinced that now that they're here, we're going to be able to make Angie better, just like Fluff was. And you know what? I don't know how, just like I didn't know then."

They carried on in silence for a while. "I'm not sure what to say," Dani remarked at length.

"Neither am I."

"Tell you what," she went on. "What say I tell you my depressing cat story?"

He looked over at her and creased his forehead. "If you want to."

Dani took a deep breath. "It's something I've never been able to forget, especially during the time I spent with the Valkyries. Like I told you, we had bunches of cats at the ranch when I was a kid. I used to take great pleasure in finding where they hid their new litters, and in naming all of the little ones. It went in themes -- every year, I had a different topic to name them after: a book I'd read, mythology, or whatever. All the while, as they grew up, some of them would get lost, or get caught by coyotes up in the mountains, or whatever, but that was just part of the whole thing. Sometimes the cats just didn't come back, and I could deal with that.

"But there was one time, when I was little... maybe nine... when I was out in the barn, pitching hay with a fork that was way too big for me, all by myself. I suddenly heard a commotion, and one of the cats was making some noise. I didn't think anything of it for a while, but it kept going, so I went to check it out. Over in this one part of the barn, we had a bunch of old bicycles sitting next to each other, with some boxes of books and tools and other junk stacked all around them. The noise was coming from in there, so I figured one of them must have caught a mouse or something."

She paused to take a breath before she went on. "When I looked closer, I saw Boots -- I'd named him that 'cause he was all white with little black boots on all four paws -- had been messing around near the bikes, and he'd somehow gotten tangled up in one of the chains. It was wrapped around his neck, and he was hanging by it, and thrashing around."

"Good Christ," Doug whispered.

"I never moved so fast in my life. I started yelling for Mom and Dad, and started throwing all the boxes aside, grabbed the bike in front and tossed it, and quick as I could, I reached in there and got him untangled from the chain, just in time for him to die in my hands."

This time, Doug said nothing. He just shook his head, looking almost ill.

"That was the first time I really had to experience death up close," Dani continued, "and there have been plenty more since then. When I was with the Valkyries, I saw death more times than I want to remember, 'cause we were there to carry the spirits of the fallen heroes to Valhalla. That was what we did. Death was part of everyday life. And every time I witnessed another falling hero, I remembered poor Boots, and how helpless I felt that day."

Here, Dani managed a smile. "But there's a happy moral to this one, Doug. Being a Valkyrie, I can sense death. I know when someone's about to die; I can see it lingering over them, waiting. All part of the job description, I guess. But I don't sense any death in this room. You have my word as a Valkyrie, kid. Angie's going to pull through."

Doug yawned, and let this breath out in a sigh. "Thanks, Dani."

"Ya velcome. Come on, why don't you get some sleep? I'll take the next watch."

He considered this, then nodded and stood, looking perhaps just a bit wobbly. "Right. I'll be crashed on the couch."

"Why don't you use Ric's room?" she asked.

Doug shook his head. "I don't know. Bad vibes?"

"You still think he's coming back?"

"I honestly don't know."

University of California, Santa Barbara
Sunday, 14 November 1993 11:25 am PST

The memorial for Shadowwing was held in UCSB's Storke Plaza, or rather, what was left of it. As Hector explained before he and Rictor got too close, the big fight Thursday before last had taken place in part at the plaza, and during the fight, the bottom of Storke Tower had been smashed, sending the entire tower falling down into the plaza below. Shadowwing had caught the tower with his mind powers long enough for all of the students to get clear, but then the strain had become too much, and he'd let it fall, at the same time going unconscious. That had led to his capture and Hector's.

By this time, the remnants of the tower had been lifted out of the plaza by a crane, and the place was mostly cleared of debris. Now, on this Sunday morning, several hundred students had gathered for the memorial. Ric and Hector stayed toward the back of the crowd, watching. Hector was disguised by a baseball cap and shades, hoping that no one would recognize him as Wolfsong. Thankfully, no one did.

The service was more an open-mike rally than anything else. A platform was set up at the far end of the plaza, below where the tower had once stood, and one by one, speakers got up, took the mike, and gave their thoughts on UCSB's fallen heroes. Many were supportive, saying that both Shadowwing and Wolfsong had been doing a good thing for the school, keeping the drug trade down and keeping the place safe from violent crime. Others were not so sympathetic, stating the view shared by the University: that superheroes had no place on a college campus, as they ended up bringing their battles with them. They pointed to the wreckage around them and asked the crowd if UCSB really needed a hero. Others called the duo simply misguided, for their concentration on drug traffic, when there were so many other, less harmless crimes they could have focused on (less harmless by their standards, anyway). Still others portrayed Shadowwing as a martyr; he was a student, like all of those present, and when he'd discovered his powers, he'd done his best to use them for good, and he'd even died doing good. That was the most important thing, they said; Shadowwing hadn't been afraid to die for his ideals, and his beliefs, and he should be remembered with respect.

Later, as the service ended, Hector and Ric headed back to the car. "What do you think?" Ric asked.

"It's weird, having all these people talk about us like this," Hector sighed. "We're past tense. We're bad news that happened, and now we're done. Some folks liked us, some folks didn't. But everyone knew who we were, and that's really weird."

"You don't like the spotlight?"

"It's not that," said Hector, shaking his head. "I loved being the center of attention. I played football back in high school; I was the QB. I got used to being a hero... but never like this. Never something that would affect so many people."

Rictor fished his keys from his pocket and unlocked first Hector's door, then his own. Before he got in, though, he looked over to see that Hector was gazing back at the campus, not even blinking.

"You okay, man?" he asked.

"No," Hector sighed, shaking his head. "It's screwed up, man. I used to belong here, and now, all of a sudden, it feels like I'm lookin' at this place as an outsider. Those little fucks in their offices at Cheadle Hall took it away from me, and it sucks." He looked for a while longer, shook his head again, then got in the car. "Let's motor."

Ric got in, closed the door, strapped in, and started the car. It revved to life on the first try, to Rictor's amazement and partial chagrin. They drove out of the parking lot, and in a couple of minutes, had left the campus behind them, heading down the connecting highway that led from the front entrance of the school to highway 101.

After a while, Ric thought of something to say. "You gonna go back to school?"

"I can't," Hector shrugged. "I'm blacklisted. No school in their right mind's gonna take me now."

"Well, there're schools out there that teach mutants, y'know. You could hook up with one of them."

For a moment, Hector thought about this, but then he shook his head. "Nah. That's the other problem. Without El Espirito, I haven't got any real power. I can still do the fear-from-the-eyes thing, like I used to, but tryin' to turn into one of my wolf-forms is like breakin' my back."

"So what are you gonna do? Stay at the hotel?"

"Nah. Nice place, but I can't stick around there. Once we get back, I'll get my stuff together, hitch back south and cross the border, try to find my papa... or the guy that gave me the necklace, anyway. He might be able to help me figure out how to control it again." After a pause, he frowned. "It sucks, though. I was gonna make it, man. I had football goin' for me, I had my drawing... I would'a made it, but now I can't go back, and it pisses me off."

"Hey, I got an idea," said Ric. "I know this guy down south who could help you out. He's a kick-butt hacker, and he could set you up with a whole new identity. New name, new background, and he could probably get you into any school you wanted. You could get back into it again."

"That's temptin'," Hector nodded, slowly. "Wouldn't work, though, 'less I got plastic surgery or something. Someone's bound to have watched the news, and they'd recognize me. Nah, I think I'm just gonna go back and find this Juan Cantolobos guy, and see if he can help me out."

"You sure, man?"

Hector nodded slowly. "Tell you what, though. If I change my mind in the next couple'a hours, I'll let you know."

"That's cool. Want a ride to the border, at least?"

"Yeah," Hector replied, giving Ric a slow, thankful smile. "I'd like that. Thanks."

McAudry house, La Jolla CA
Sunday, 14 November 1993 1:49 pm PST

Day two of the new arrivals to the McAudry house found Doug once again keeping watch over the comatose Marie-Ange in his room. This time, it was just the two of them, as Warlock was in his room doing an extensive amount of homework, and Dani and Rahne had taken Catseye out to the mall to do a little shopping.

He, Warlock, Dani and Sharon had been keeping watch in shifts, but for the majority of time, it was Doug. For some reason, he felt personally responsible for looking after her and making sure she was okay. As yet, there had been no signs of consciousness, so he had taken to playing music for her, or reading her stories. Anything to help.

Eventually, though, the afternoon wore on, and the shoppers returned. Catseye poked back into the room and grinned. "Hello, goldenmane! Catseye and redfur and wishbringer are back!"

Doug gave her a small smile as she came in with a couple of packages and set them in the floor. Behind her, Dani looked in as well, carrying several large canvas sacks. "How's it going?"

"Not bad, Chief," Doug nodded, closing the book he'd been reading to Marie-Ange. "Nothing new to report, though."

She nodded. "I'll be back in a minute. We dropped by the grocery store; Rahne and I are gonna put everything away."

"Thanks," Doug nodded. Dani smiled and was off down the hallway.

Meanwhile, Catseye had dug into one of her bags and pulled out a compact disc in a long-box. "Finally found it," she beamed, showing it to Doug.

Doug squinted at the box through his glasses. "Patricia Kaas?"

"Yes, is redhair's favorite. Looked everywhere for it, in every city Catseye and redhair stopped at, and never found it. Got here, and found it first try. Is good city. May play for redhair, please?"

"Sure," Doug nodded, pointing to his CD boom-box. "You know how to use a CD player, right?"

"Of course," she admonished him, taking out the disc that had been playing a while before. She replaced it in its case, then put in the other and pressed play.

Doug listened to the first piece, a pseudo-instrumental with Kaas laying her distinctive broken contralto voice over the instrumentation on a neutral "ah." It was a haunting song, to be sure, and Doug wondered if it would be quite appropriate for the convalescing. This led into the second song, which continued much the same theme, this time with lyrics.

"What reading?" Catsye asked then, coming over to Doug and studying the book in his lap.

He showed her the cover. "WAR FOR THE OAKS, by Emma Bull," he told her. "Good book. I thought she might enjoy hearing it."

"Clever goldenmane," Catseye smiled. "Will be back. Must go and get water Catseye bought from wishbringer's grocery bags."

Doug nodded in vague agreement, and Catseye gave him a big kiss on the cheek before she left the room. Doug sighed and set down the book, letting the music wash over him for a while.

Then Marie-Ange sat bolt upright in the bed and screamed to bring the house down.

Doug was so startled that he nearly fell backwards out of his chair. He quickly regained his balance and stood up, looking at her for a moment in complete shock. Her eyes were opened wide, and her face was drawn back in a look of sheer terror.

"Angie!" he cried, springing to the bed beside her. He reached out to take her shoulders and steady her. "Angie, it's okay, it's okay!"

She was oblivious, taking a deep breath to scream again, her entire body trembling. Doug turned her to face him, though, and met her eyes with his. "Angie, it's me, Doug! It's me! You're alright, everything's okay!"

Like a shot, Catseye dashed back into the room, took one look at the situation, and leaped up onto the bed, opposite Doug, where she, too, reached out to take hold of her friend. Danielle was the next one through the door, followed by Rahne, and at last by Warlock.

Once she had run out of breath again, Marie-Ange folded up and collapsed against Doug and Sharon, sobbing. They held her close until her shaking began to subside. Behind them, Danielle had the presence of mind to shut off the CD player.

Finally, after much shushing and reassuring, Marie-Ange picked herself up, and looked from Sharon to Doug, her eyes still wide and unblinking. Then, making an effort to control her sobs, she swallowed hard and spoke. "Where am I?"

"You're at my house," Doug assured her. "Everything's fine. You're safe."

She took a couple of shuddering breaths, then looked around the room, to see a surprised Dani, Rahne and Warlock looking back at her. "How... how long?" she asked then.

"It's November fourteenth, Angie," Doug told her. "You've been unconscious about two and a half weeks. Do you remember any of it?"

"No... Nothing since... since..." She couldn't finish the thought.

Doug gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry."

"You... you brought me here?" Marie-Ange asked Sharon.

"Of course, redhair. Catseye tried to take good care of you, but had to bring you someplace safe. Is good place, yes?"

There was a pause, as Marie-Ange took a series of short breaths, but then her expression changed again to fear, and she shook her head. "Non, Sharon, why? We cannot stay here! They're going to come looking for us!" She looked at Doug, her voice quavering. "They'll come for us, and they'll find... they'll..!"

"No, they won't," Doug said in a soft voice. "Everything's going to be just fine, Angie. You'll be safe here with us. Now, just relax."

She looked like she wanted to argue the point, but she was too weak to go on. Sharon and Doug helped her to lean back, and she closed her eyes. Gradually, she stopped shaking, and her breathing became even and steady.

"Sweet mother o'God," Rahne whispered at length.

Doug looked back at his three friends. "Warlock, could you give me a scan? She hasn't slipped back under, has she?"

Changing his shape to accommodate the request, Warlock moved himself to the side of the bed and extended one arm, changing it into some sort of scanner. He placed it near Marie-Ange's head, and paused for a moment, his human face taking on a look of exaggerated thoughtfulness.

"Negative," he reported at last. "EntityTarot's brainwaves are within normal parameters for humanforms. She is sleeping, and has not reverted to comatose state."

"That's a relief," Doug nodded, looking over at Catseye.

She beamed back at him. "Catseye knew bringing redhair to goldenmane and other friends would wake her. Was good plan, yes?"

"You did good, Sharon," Doug nodded. "Thanks."

"Thank you, goldenmane!" she grinned, leaning forward to give Doug another big kiss on the cheek.

"So what do we do now?" Dani asked the room at large.

There was a pause as they considered this. "We wait," Doug replied at length. "I think that's all we can do for now."

Heartbreak Hotel, near Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, 14 November 1993 4:11 pm PST

"So you boys are leaving?"

Ric and Hector looked up from their respective packing jobs to see Kate standing in the open doorway to their room. "Well, I am, anyway," Hector replied. "I'll probably never get my full power back if I don't find the guy that gave it to me."

"Got any leads?" she asked.

Hector shrugged. "Not really. Back when he gave me the necklace, he told me that he lived in hiding someplace in Mexico. I'll just follow the stories, and see where they take me."

Kate nodded. "You're sure, now?"

"Yeah, as sure as I'll ever be. Thanks for having me, Kate. How much do I owe you?"

"Just a good 'thanks' will do," she said with an off-center smile. "How about you, Ric? What's your excuse?"

"Hey, I never said I was goin' anywhere."

She gave him a knowing look. "Then why're you gathering up all your stuff?"

"Just makin' a road trip," he told her, hands turned up in what was almost a shrug. "I might be gone a little while."

"I see," said Kate. "Well, we'll leave the light on for you, at any rate. We're always open."

"Thanks, Kate," Ric smiled. "I'll probably be back 'fore you know I was gone."

"Well, just let me know before you go, and we'll see you off." Kate gave them one last lopsided smile, then left.

"I'm gonna take this down to the car, Ric," Hector said then, heaving his suitcase off the bed. "Is it locked?"

"Nope. I'll catch up."

"Cool. See you downstairs."

Hector lifted his (extremely heavy) luggage with barely more than a grunt, and headed out of the room. Ric watched him go for about half a second, then got back to stuffing things into his pack.

He was so wrapped up in his packing that he didn't notice as Chance came into the room and sat down on Hector's bed. After a while, she cleared her throat, and he looked up at her.

"Where you goin'?" she asked, quietly.

"Just takin' a road trip with Hector."

"You're leavin', aren't you?" she went on, ignoring his reply.

"Yeah, for a while, probably. Why you askin'?"

"I'm leavin' too."

Ric blinked a couple of times. "What for?"

For a while, Chance didn't answer, but then she took a deep breath. "Mick's been talkin' t'me about this school of his. He says he's got a buddy there who's a mutant, but his power's bad news, and I could prolly help him shut it off b'fore he kills himself with it. I'll be takin' off with him when he goes back."

"Cool," Ric nodded. "I hope it works."

"Yeah, me too."

There was a pause, as neither one of them wanted to bring up the obvious topic. Finally, Chance broke the silence. "I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday."

"Ah, I probably deserved it."

"Yeah, maybe, but... It wasn't anything personal, was it?"

"It wasn't meant to be. Sorry if it turned out that way."

Chance nodded slowly. "Yeah. Ah, well. Shit happens. You take it easy, 'kay, Torres?"

She put out one hand to shake. Ric looked at it for a moment, then took it and pulled her into a hug. "Take care of yourself, kid."

"Yeah, you too."

They broke, and she gave him what almost passed for a smile before she left, leaving him alone in the room.
 
 

When Ric and Hector went downstairs to leave, they found most of the hotel's population waiting for them out by the car, to say goodbye. Kate, Lucy, Mick, Mickey, and even Sybil were all there to see them off.

Mickey, looking like he was trying very hard not to cry, came up to Ric and gave him a big hug. "Drop us a postcard, okay?"

"Don't worry, dude, I'll be in touch."

Mick gave Ric a firm handshake. "Good luck, mate," he smiled. He then turned to Hector. "And good luck findin' your dad."

"Thanks," Hector nodded, but then he stopped. "Hey, how'd you know? Did Kate tell you?"

"Juan Cantolobos," Mick went on. "He was in Ensenada last night, but he was headin' south, further into Baja."

"How... how d'you know that?" Hector repeated.

Mick just grinned. "Trust me, mate. I just hadda put my ear to the ground, that's all."

While Mick was talking to Hector, Lucy gave Ric another big hug. "You take care of yourself, okay? And please, remember what I said."

"Thanks, Lucy, I will. Who knows? Maybe it'll all work out."

"I hope so," she smiled. "Look us up next time you're in town, okay?"

Ric promised to do so, wondering why everyone seemed so sure that he wasn't coming back.

"I'll miss you," Sybil said to him then, in her whispery voice. Ric looked over at her. This time, she was wearing a silk kimono and a huge frown. Ric wondered briefly how someone who'd only met him once could possibly miss him, but he decided not to argue.

"I'll see you later, okay?" he replied. "Stay beautiful, now."

Her frown turned to a smile, and she blew him a kiss before floating over to do the same for Hector.

Finally, all goodbyes said, the two travellers got in the bug and buckled in. "You both know the address," Kate called as Ric started it up. "Don't forget to write!"

"Thanks, Kate!" Ric waved out the window. "See you all later!"

They headed down the dirt road that wound its way back to the Pacific Coast Highway, and were off.

Just in time for rush hour.

McAudry house, 7:48 pm PST

Doug craned his neck to look into the bedroom, balancing the tray he was carrying against his chest. Marie-Ange was awake, and sitting up in bed, reading Doug's copy of WAR FOR THE OAKS.

"Evening," he smiled at her. It was difficult to look around, considering that he was pretty much backing into the room thanks to the tray, but he managed the smile nonetheless.

She looked up, and managed a weak smile in reply. "Hello."

"Good to see you awake. Do you feel up for some dinner?"

"Actually, yes. It smells wonderful, whatever it is."

Doug backed into the room, then turned around and made his way to the bed, setting the small breakfast-in-bed tray down in front of her. "Let's see, we've got chicken soup, steamed white rice, fresh green beans from the garden, also steamed -- we eat a lot of steamed veggies in this house. Also a couple of fresh-baked biscuits and some jello if you're feeling adventurous. I went ahead and steamed the begeezus out of the rice and beans, to make 'em soft -- Sharon says she helped you eat while you were on the road, but I figured you might want to start with some of the easy stuff."

"Thank you," she smiled at him, picking up her spoon and giving the soup a try. "Speaking of Sharon, where is she?"

"In the dining room with the others. Rahne and Dani convinced her to tell them a few road stories over dinner. She was reluctant, though; she didn't want to leave your side. When she went out shopping earlier, I had to assure her repeatedly that I was going to stay right here with you the whole time she was gone."

Marie-Ange nodded, and paused to take another spoonful of the soup. "She's been wonderful. If not for her, I can safely say... that I would not be here with you now."

"Well, you are," Doug assured her. "And you're awake, and you're eating... rather rapidly, seems to me."

He caught her in the middle of a mouthful, and she swallowed quickly before she could laugh. "I'm sorry. I suppose I'm hungry after all."

"That's okay. I imagine it's a good sign. I'm afraid I don't know much about after-effects of catatonia, but we'll help you get better."

"Thank you," she said again, looking over to meet his eyes. "I... don't know if I can even tell you how much that means to me now."

"Well, it's true," he smiled. "We'll do everything we can for you both. I just wish we didn't have school all week."

"School," Marie-Ange almost groaned, closing her eyes. "Oh, Douglas, what shall I do about that?"

"Sharon told me that you can't go back to the Academy."

She considered this, then shook her head. "No, I suppose not."

"If you don't mind my asking, why not?"

For a long moment, she didn't answer. "Ask me again sometime," she whispered. "Tomorrow, perhaps. I... do not wish to think about it now."

"Okay," he nodded. "But as for what you can do about it, you're still welcome to stay here and go to school with us. We'll be glad to have you."

"You will?" she asked, her empty grey eyes meeting his again.

Doug paused. He knew that Dani and Warlock wouldn't have any problems with it, simply because both of them had backed his asking her to join them back at the end of summer. Rahne was another matter, of course, seeing as she'd never been terribly fond of Marie-Ange. Doug knew, however, that Rahne would never turn out someone in need, and regardless, she and Catseye were very close, and she'd probably be willing to endure living with a "pagan" if it meant having Sharon around as well.

"Yes, we will," he assured her. "Believe me."

She continued eating, and Doug picked up the book from where it was lying. "How do you like it so far?"

"I haven't read much, but it's interesting. It's strange... I almost feel like I remember parts of the beginning. Were you... reading it to me while I slept, Douglas?"

"Actually, yes," he smiled, somewhat self-consciously.

"Thank you," she whispered. "It was kind of you."

"Anytime. In fact, I'll read you some more now, if you like."

"That would be wonderful. Though if I should fall asleep, please try not to be insulted. It's maddening... I've been unconscious for over two weeks; why am I so exhausted?"

"You've had a rough trip over. Don't worry, though. You'll get better."

He found the place where she'd left off, and started reading. He read while she finished her dinner, and when she was done, he cleared away the tray and went on reading to her. Doug was always good with voicings, and he was able to give each character their own very specific way of speaking. He'd also read the book numerous times, so he practically had it memorized.

At the end of the third chapter, Marie-Ange looked as though she were on the verge of sleep, but she was smiling up at him from where she lay. "Shall we continue this later?" he asked her.

"You have a beautiful voice," she remarked. "I never really noticed until now."

"Thank you," Doug nodded, with a sudden twinge of shyness.

"Do you sing, Douglas?" she asked him. "I seem to recall you saying something about being in choirs."

"Yeah, I do. I used to sing in choirs all the time until I got to Xavier's, and I got back into it again here."

She nodded slowly. "Would you sing something for me?"

"Well... what would you like to hear?"

"Anything," she replied, sleepily.

Silence fell, as Doug considered his options. The only sound in the room was the vague hum from his alarm clock. She watched him, blinking a few times to keep her eyes from closing entirely. Finally, Doug took a breath, and quietly began to sing.

Sleep, sleep tonight...
And may your dreams be realized
If the thundercloud passes rain
So let it rain... rain on me...
So let it be... so let it be...

"Pleasant dreams, chère," he whispered back into the room as he turned out the light.

Sharon was waiting for him just outside as he made his exit. He probably should have been startled to see her, but by this time, he was well beyond that. "Hey," he whispered, smiling wearily.

She gave him a wide, befanged smile, then rubbed the side of her face against his, purring quietly. "Much thanks, goldenmane," she said in his ear. Then, she quickly changed into her cat-form, slipped into the room, and carefully jumped up onto the bed to curl up at Marie-Ange's feet, still purring.

U.S./Mexico Int'l Border, San Ysidro, CA
Sunday, 14 November 1993 8:03 pm PST

They parked the bug somewhere in San Ysidro proper rather than drive it through the border, simply because it'd be faster for Hector to walk the rest of the way rather than wait in the line at the end of I-5.

"You sure you don't want me to come with?" Ric asked, as they walked through the complicated series of ramps and bridges that led to the border itself. "I've got plenty of power. We'd make a good team."

"Thanks, Ric, that's nice of you to offer, but... this is really a personal thing. It's family, you know? I'd rather just be on my own, so's I don't drag anyone else into trouble with me. I already had one partner get killed."

"Hey, man, it's not your fault about Shad."

"Yeah, I know, but... I'd rather go solo on this one."

"You're sure?" Ric asked again, as they reached the border. The crossing point was indoors, in a large, well-lit corridor with INS agents watching all around. There was a pretty decent amount of traffic even at this hour, mostly from high-school and college students getting back from their weekends in Tijuana, and in the midst of all that, no one paid the two mutants much attention.

Hector stopped, set down his suitcase, and turned to look Ric in the eye. "I'm sure, man. Really, I don't mean no offense by it. You've been an amigo, and it was good hangin' around with you, but I've gotta go figure this one out on my own."

"Yeah, I guess," Ric nodded. "If it turns out you do need some help, though, look me up."

"Look you up where?" Hector asked. "Where you goin' from here?"

Ric thought about this. "I don't know," he admitted. "Just write to the hotel, and I'll probably get word of it soon enough."

"That works," Hector grinned. He put out his hand, and grabbed Ric's forearm in a warrior-handshake. "Thanks, Ric. And if it means anything, I think you should go find her and clear things up. I walked away when Shad and I had that fight, and now I couldn't fix it if I tried. Life's too short for that crap, man."

Ric nodded slowly. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

Hector shrugged, as if to say 'Of course I am.' "Adios, mi amigo."

"Vaya con dios, hermano."

With one last hearty slap to Ric's shoulder, Hector picked up his suitcase and headed off, stopping only to give the INS folks his name and destination before he crossed the border.

McAudry house, 8:48 pm PST

Doug circled around to the kitchen, where he found Dani washing the dishes and Warlock drying them. "Salutations, frienDoug," Warlock said in greeting, extending a third arm to wave to his partner.

"Gaaaaah," Doug said quietly, pulling up a stool at the bar-style tiled counter that separated the kitchen from the main hall. He very quietly put his head down on the cool tiles and just lay there for a while.

"You okay, Doug?" Dani asked.

"Getting there. Where's Rahne?"

"She went back to her room to finish up her weekend reading, I think," Dani replied. "Careful, Warlock, that one's fragile."

"FrienDoug demonstrates signs of suppressed anxiety," Warlock observed. "Query: for what reason?"

"I don't know what to think," Doug sighed, shaking his head.

"About Marie-Ange and Sharon?" Dani asked him.

"Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Well, if it means anything to you," Dani went on, "the three of us talked things out with Sharon over dinner while you were in the other room, and we're all for letting them stay here."

"Great," Doug nodded. "That's good to know. Still..."

"Elaboration please, frienDoug?"

Doug almost laughed at Warlock's phrasing, but his smile passed. "I felt like I was on eggshells the whole time I was in the room with her. I mean, what do you say to someone whose most recent memories include getting raped? What do you tell her to make her feel better? I don't know if I should ignore the whole thing, or if I should try to get her to talk about it, or what. Does she really need to think about it now?"

"Apologies, frienDoug. Self is not aware of protocol required in such instances as these."

"Neither am I, 'Lock. Neither am I."

"I think you should just go by what you feel," Dani suggested. "I'm sure she knows you mean well. She'll probably talk about it when she's ready to face it."

"I hope so," said Doug. "At the same time, I feel weird about having them here. I mean, I'm really glad to see them, and I'm especially glad Angie's here, but... is this what had to happen for her to come out here? Couldn't there have been an easier way?"

"Self perceives questions as rhetorical," Warlock ventured, looking confused in spite of his words.

"Yeah, something like that," Doug nodded.

"One thing's for sure," Dani smiled, softly. "Things are going to be pretty weird here with the two of them around."

Just before she finished her sentence, the front-gate buzzer sounded. Doug hopped down from his stool and went to the nearest intercom panel, located on one of the inner walls of the main hall. "Who is it?" he asked, pressing down the transmit button.

There was a long pause, then the speaker came to life. "Hey, ah, Doug? Could you open the gate, man? I, ah, forgot the code."

Doug looked back at Dani and Warlock. By their expressions, they, too, had recognized his voice. Doug pressed the button again. "Ah, yeah, sure, Ric. Just a second, okay?"

"Alarm!" Warlock noted, quietly.

After taking a deep breath to steady himself, Doug punched in 4, 2, and the pound key to open the front gate. In the distance, there was the sound of the gate, followed by the unmistakable roar of a Volkswagen engine as the bug rolled down the driveway.

Dani took a deep breath herself, then. "Oh, shit," she said, very quietly.

"Yeah," Doug nodded. "Well, Dani, looks like things are going to be weirder than we thought."
 
 

Next: "Circumstances"

Go West #10: "Où Vont les Coeurs Brisés?"
by Jeremy Bottroff, 4 January 1994

This story (c) 1994, 1999 Jeremy Bottroff

"Où Vont les Coeurs Brisés" ("Where do Broken Hearts Go") performed by Patricia Kaas, words and music by T. Delianis and C. France, (c) 1990, 1999 ADN Music, from the album SCENE DE VIE

"M.L.K." performed by U2, words and music by Clayton, Hewson, Evans and Mullen, from the album THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE.  The King's Singers also do a wonderful six-part vocal arrangement of it on the album GOOD VIBRATIONS

Haroun Al-Rashid (Jetstream), Chance, Marie-Ange Colbert (Tarot), Sybil Dvorak (Gypsy Moth), Emma Frost (White Queen), Kate The Owner, Danielle Moonstar (Mirage), Douglas Ramsey (Cypher), Rictor, Mickey Silk (Poltergeist), Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane), Sharon Smith (Catseye), Jennifer Stavros (Roulette), Lucy Sterling, Warlock, Hellions, Heartbreak Hotel, Massachusetts Academy (c) 1999 Marvel Entertainment Group

William Buchwald (Camouflage), Juan Cantolobos, Gerald Corvus Jr. (Shadowwing), Michael MacPherson (Dreamwalker), Hector Sanchez/Cantolobos (Wolfsong), El Espirito del Cantolobos created by and (c) 1999 Jeremy Bottroff

Devin Johnson (Brainwash) and the Greenbriar Academy created by Michael Jones, (c) 1999 Michael Jones/Everbard

If you haven't read The Mutant Fair yet, you really should.  It may be found elsewhere on this page (specifically on the Greenbriar menu)

WAR FOR THE OAKS was written by Emma Bull, and is highly, highly recommended.  Wow.

Cheadle Hall and Storke Plaza are real places on the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara, and one night as the writer was walking through the latter on his way from his dorm to Isla Vista, he wondered to himself "What would happen if this place got demolished in a superhero battle?"