Radiant Ranger Roleplay
Chris B
Chris B
Gotham
Chris B
1. Do you want to complete this on the boards or in 4 weeks? I am fine with reducing a complication.
Chris B
Chris B
Chris B
Gotham
Denny O'Neil stood among some tables sweeping the floor. As soon as Lauren saw him, she smiled wide and walked quickly at him. She didn't come to a stop until her body ran into his, causing him to sway slightly, her arms wrapping around his midsection. She kissed him on the cheek and placed the side of her face on his chest. Tearing up briefly, she said softly, "thank you Papa Denny."<you may now respond, lol, unless you don't want to play>
Gotham
Chris B
Denny O'Neil stood among some tables sweeping the floor. As soon as Lauren saw him, she smiled wide and walked quickly at him. She didn't come to a stop until her body ran into his, causing him to sway slightly, her arms wrapping around his midsection. She kissed him on the cheek and placed the side of her face on his chest. Tearing up briefly, she said softly, "thank you Papa Denny."
"Are you just happy to be back at the bar or you just happy in general today?"
Chris B
"Come in," a muffled voice said. Lauren opened the door an walked through, gently closing it behind her. "Professor Smith? I'm Lauren Michaels," she said nervously. She was always nervous around professors from other colleges, as she didn't want to say anything weird in case they were to sit on the dissertation defense board. "I sent you the email this morning to talk about Public relations.""You did, care to go in depth about what you will be using the media equipment for?"
Gotham
Chris B
"I'm happy; because, there are still great people in this world, and you are one of them." She pulls away and rubs her eyes. "Can we sit and chat? Please?"Denny takes a seat "I always tend to drive people away from my bar. A happy person tends not to come back here." He places the broom against the wall near him. "Is this bad news or good?"
Gotham
Chris B
"Well, my friends decided I should look into it, and since you are the foremost Professor of Communication at the school, I was hoping you might have a few moments to suggest some literature on the subject, some examples to review, or examples of good PR to start my research. I was also hoping one of your grad students may be willing to 'show me the ropes' of the inner workings of media equipment and how it may be effectively used to get our point across.""I do, but he is currently looking more for an intern at this time. Do you want me to tell him that you are looking for one if so how should he contact you?"
Gotham
Lauren pulls out a Post-It note and writes her cell and school email address on it along with her name, then hands the note to the professor. She then pulls out a spiral pad of paper, "are there any suggested books to read or websites to review to help me get an understanding of Public Relations?"
Chris B
"It's good... I think," she said, taking a seat next to his. "You are a wise and caring man, and you know just what to say even if you don't say it. How are Jessie and Melissa?""They are good, both are in school right now. Did you know the school bus comes here just 2 block down? Gotham never surprises me." He looks at you "So why all the excitement this afternoon?"
Chris B
Lauren pulls out a Post-It note and writes her cell and school email address on it along with her name, then hands the note to the professor. She then pulls out a spiral pad of paper, "are there any suggested books to read or websites to review to help me get an understanding of Public Relations?""I believe the media 101 course book would be an excellent book for you to check out" He shows you the large book sitting on his desk. You notice his name is listed on the cover as the author. "And if you are serious about learning more you should take some of my classes"
Gotham
She quickly regained control, "So I had to leave for the funeral, and I'm sorry I didn't finish our conversation until now."
Chris B
She quickly regained control, "So I had to leave for the funeral, and I'm sorry I didn't finish our conversation until now.""That wasn't my intention but you always need to look for the signs to guide you" He looks at you "So which color pill did you choose?"
Gotham
Chris B
Looking down at the table, she pulled her hands together in front of her, one on top of the other, and started to gently rub them together. After a brief moment, she looked up and said, "Denny, I have something I want to tell you, but I'm not sure if I should. Sometimes not knowing is better and safer, but you deserve to know.""What is really safe in Gotham?"
Gotham
Shifting in her seat, she became timid once again, rubbing her hands together. "This is really difficult; because, I'm scared of what you'll say and how you'll judge me afterwards, but.." she paused to take a deep breath, trembling. In a barely audible voice she said, "..Papa Denny... I'm the Radiant Ranger."
Chris B
Shifting in her seat, she became timid once again, rubbing her hands together. "This is really difficult; because, I'm scared of what you'll say and how you'll judge me afterwards, but.." she paused to take a deep breath, trembling. In a barely audible voice she said, "..Papa Denny... I'm the Radiant Ranger."He looks at you intently with a serious face, gaging your words to see how true they are. He face then brightens up and he smiles "Well all good things do come back around." He gets up and hugs you "Thank you for saving my life"
Chris B
Gotham
Chris B
"This is Cade." You hear over the phone when you call up. He picks up on the 2nd ring.
Gotham
Chris B
"I'm sorry, who is this? You said you are part of the Sentinels in Gotham? May I ask how you got my number?"
Gotham
Chris B
"Hold on, you said Radiant Ranger"*you hear typing in the background r-a-d-i...*"Ah here you are. Yes the FBI requested we come out there"
Gotham
Chris B
"Which findings are you talking about? Shouldn't you be discussing this with the Mayor?"
Gotham
Chris B
"Sure, I have some time to spare. How can I help you?"
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Gotham
Chris B
Chris B
Gotham
Chris B
"the team promotes itself as long as it is seen with good intention towards the people"A pause"Speaking of intentions, why are you a hero with sentinels?"
Gotham
Chris B
"You are one of the original Sentinels that formed after PRIMAS and the prisoners where transfer down to New Mexico correct"
"Where were you at the time we had a meeting with the team and why are you part of the team?"
Gotham
Chris B
Gotham
Chris B
Wait, whoa! Someone is looking into the Bat alley blog?This is what you find out there -They have more sightings of Batman than what you have seen on the news and heard.They show a small clip of when Batman went into Wayne Tower in the window. After just a bit you see Batman stand up with his mask damaged and what appears to be Bruce Wayne putting back on the mask correctly then stepping down below the window again. The Blog shows Bruce Wayne's picture and the blurry picture of what can be seen from the recording and it does seem to fit his profile. (This was at the clock tower incident).They have a few videos of Batman being at the stadium (no more than what the news had).You also see an amature video of after the stadium incident. It seems to have just been recently posted. It isn't good quality but you see the Penguin and Batman fighting it out inside the Zoo near the penguin area. The Penguin pulls out his umbrella and what seems to fire off some type of projectile. Batman dodges then does a kick to Penguins face. Penguin falls into the frigid waters and the video stops.
Chris B
For all the other things you research you build up a knowledge of skills (which I assume you will be spending CP points on these?)
Chris B
Gotham
Chris B
On Tue, Jun 4, 2019 at 4:18 PM Gotham <portlan...@gmail.com> wrote:Shifting in her seat, she became timid once again, rubbing her hands together. "This is really difficult; because, I'm scared of what you'll say and how you'll judge me afterwards, but.." she paused to take a deep breath, trembling. In a barely audible voice she said, "..Papa Denny... I'm the Radiant Ranger."He looks at you intently with a serious face, gaging your words to see how true they are. He face then brightens up and he smiles "Well all good things do come back around." He gets up and hugs you "Thank you for saving my life"Lauren stands holds her mentor, friend, and surrogate parent tight and starts to cry, this time tears of joy. "Bheh, thank you," she says softly.After a few moments, they release their embrace. "I'm so sorry for not coming after you sooner. I wanted to; really," she said blowing her nose into a paper napkin from the table. "I almost went into the clocktower immediately, but then I saw the gunmen shooting randomly... mowing down innocent people, and I had to help them. Then the balloon fell and the gas knocked out a dozen or so, so I had to take care of that and..."Lauren caught herself rambling as she used another napkin to wipe away the tears as she sniffled once more. "I'm just grateful you made it safely," she finished.
Chris B
Yes and no. 😁 She is on her laptop in her apartment, but is using a VPN into the base's computer, and she is sending from her Sentinel email account.No VPN was ever installed.
Gotham
Chris B
Your lucky your characters even know what electricity is.So back to not having a VPN... You going to have Alchemist call up Amazon to install a VPN and server for it now?
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Gotham
Chris B
Gotham
Chris B
Chris B
Lauren Reveals Her Identity to Her Mentor
It's around 11:30AM on Monday. The night before, the Sentinels responded to an attack by the Penguin on the wake for Victor Cruz at Griffin Stadium. The Sentinels just completed their after action meeting and reports. Once everything felt done at Sentinel HQ, The Radiant Ranger had another matter she needed to attend to, a great thank you for a friend.
After a few minutes, Lauren pulls on the door handle to Paddy's Sports Bar. The dim sunshine of winter streaks through the large windows at the front of the establishment, augmented by the warm overhead lights. The televisions remained quiet, and only one person was there.
Denny O'Neil stood among some tables sweeping the floor. As soon as Lauren saw him, she smiled wide and walked quickly at him. She didn't come to a stop until her body ran into his, causing him to sway slightly, her arms wrapping around his midsection. She kissed him on the cheek and placed the side of her face on his chest. Tearing up briefly, she said softly, "thank you Papa Denny."
"Are you just happy to be back at the bar or you just happy in general today?"
"I'm happy; because, there are still great people in this world, and you are one of them." She pulls away and rubs her eyes. "Can we sit and chat? Please?"
Denny takes a seat "I always tend to drive people away from my bar. A happy person tends not to come back here." He places the broom against the wall near him. "Is this bad news or good?"
"It's good... I think," she said, taking a seat next to his. "You are a wise and caring man, and you know just what to say even if you don't say it. How are Jessie and Melissa?"
"They are good, both are in school right now. Did you know the school bus comes here just 2 block down? Gotham always surprises me." He looks at you, "So why all the excitement this afternoon?"
"Well, I wanted to let you know how grateful I am for helping me yesterday. Thank you so much for sharing the story about Carlos and his family. Honestly, I've been in a bad spot ever since the Groundhog Day Parade," she said as a slight shiver coursed through her body. "It's been a tough year in spots, and things seemed to get really rough over this last month."
Looking through him she continued, "I was in really bad shape Saturday, and it seemed as though my life was breaking apart and I had no control over it. In fact I cried a lot."
Snapping out of her memories, she once again focused on Denny, "Then, on Sunday, you gave me two choices. It was almost like The Matrix: the Blue pill was the bottle of Gin and empty glass. You gave me permission to drink my worries away, abandon all of the things that caused me pain, and fall back into my normal life."
"The Red pill was the TV remote. I could recognize and embrace the reality of what has happened and move forward with all of the knowledge that life is screwed up, and that I screwed up and people got hurt," she said too lost in her words to recognize the information she was giving.
"However, I, and I don't think you, expected a third option to appear. Jessie provided the Green pill," she said perking up a bit. "When he came out and left his homework, his sketchbook fell out. When you two left to help Melissa, I opened it and saw what he was drawing. It was a Superhero, and not just any hero, it was the Green Lantern, a hero of light."
"He also has drawings of the Radiant Ranger," she said as her bottom lip started to quiver once again fighting to hold back the emotion. "This little boy... who lost everything; he could see the good in the Ranger and use her for personal strength to fight his demons. How many other Gothamites feel the same way?" she asked rhetorically as her eyes started to water.
She quickly regained control, "So I had to leave for the funeral, and I'm sorry I didn't finish our conversation until now."
"That wasn't my intention but you always need to look for the signs to guide you." He looks at her, "So which color pill did you choose?"
Her lips closed into a long smile and looked in his eyes as hers teared up again. "I chose the green one," she said softly then looked away to blink a few times. "If Jessie can believe in me... her, then I need to believe in who I am and what I am, too," she said.
Looking down at the table, she pulled her hands together in front of her, one on top of the other, and started to gently rub them together. After a brief moment, she looked up and said, "Denny, I have something I want to tell you, but I'm not sure if I should. Sometimes not knowing is better and safer, but you deserve to know."
"What is really safe in Gotham?"
She looked at him and let out a little chuckle, "well not the penguins, I can assure you."
Shifting in her seat, she became timid once again, rubbing her hands together. "This is really difficult; because, I'm scared of what you'll say and how you'll judge me afterwards, but..." she paused to take a deep breath, trembling. In a barely audible voice she said, "...Papa Denny... I'm the Radiant Ranger."
After a very long pause, he looks at her intently with a serious face, gaging her words to see how true they are. His face then brightens up, and he smiles, "Well all good things do come back around." He gets up and hugs her, "Thank you for saving my life."
Lauren stands and holds her mentor, friend, and surrogate parent tight and starts to cry, this time tears of joy. "Bheh, thank you," she says softly.
After a few moments, they release their embrace. "I'm so sorry for not coming after you sooner. I wanted to; really," she said blowing her nose into a paper napkin from the table. "I almost went into the clock tower immediately, but then I saw the gunmen shooting randomly... mowing down innocent people, and I had to help them. Then the balloon fell and the gas knocked out a dozen or so, so I had to take care of that and..."
Lauren caught herself rambling as she used another napkin to wipe away the tears as she sniffled once more. "I'm just grateful you made it safely," she finished.
Denny stood there gathering his thoughts.
"There is one thing I was hoping to ask," Lauren said. "Would it be ok if I met Jessie and Melissa and spent some time with them? I want them to know someone else is here for them, too."
"You can come by once the school bus drops them off. They should be here just before happy hour starts. They will come through the back room"
You remember the backroom from the first original meetings the group used to have here.
"Great, thanks!" Lauren gave him one more hug and a kiss on the cheek, then turned to head out the door. It was lunch time, and she was starving.
Chris B
1) Lauren needs to thank Denny, tell him she is the Radiant Ranger (he's earned the right to know), and interact more with his foster kids. When you have time, can you send the write-up for Denny's advice, so I can remember all of it? Thanks! Also, I will likely spend some of the awarded CP to remove the "only in alternate ID" from her DNPC Complication. I feel it just expanded to cover the kids, too.
2) Talk to her PhD adviser about changing her dissertation to examine the interaction between light and physical objects, and how light waves may be attenuated to stop physical damage.
3) Research and setup a PR shop for Sentinels LLC. Likely allocate CP for this, so we need to discuss what skills to get (everyone can join this part). her first "mission" in this capacity is to announce Erulim as team leader to Gotham and answer questions about the recent incident regarding the Batman and Penguin (exclusives go to Susan Smith at Channel 7).
4) Find Kick Ass's family and meet them to mourn his death (as Lauren, a college friend). The Sentinels could send something to them if they knew about his hero ID.
Ian Sheadel
Yes, someone needs to! We should have VPN on all of our devices, so we can't be tracked by the bad guys while we flutter about the town using the interwebs, work from home, and such. I bet the ultra paranoid boss ain't gonna like that we don't have it...
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Chris B
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Chris B
On Thu, Jun 6, 2019 at 1:28 PM Chris B <chrisj...@gmail.com> wrote:I get an angry text from Lauren: "I thought we had a VPN to the base? Why don't we have a VPN to the base?"Erulim responds: " Yeah that makes sense. I don't know, I wasn't here when you set it up." I then roll a 5 to succeed by 9 at System Operations to implement or define a VPN. If you want me to roll Security Systems, I almost crit fail with a role of 16.
Ian Sheadel
Chris B
Gotham
Chris B
That said, I (Chris Brower) likely have some computer related skill IRL. That that said, some of the people who work from home in my office most definitely do not beyond what they need to get their job done, yet they use the company's encryption tools.Yup, and most likely they spent one point in a KS of company comminations because IT rode their butt to make sure they didn't screw up anything.You as Chris most likely have many more points into either KS of it or computers altogether.
NOPE! I'm funna just log into Tumbler using my ScienceBallGirl credentials and send them an email signed Radiant Ranger!You get a reply back from Science...@hostservicenet.com "Look out your window" You look outside your window and see none other than Batman!
I then roll a 5 to succeed by 9 at System Operations to implement or define a VPN. If you want me to roll Security Systems, I almost crit fail with a role of 16.You will start to work on this just before the airport thing (meaning it will not be completed until after that whole airport thing is done).Remember I said this whole scene with the Bat Alley blog will occur just before the airport darkness (at most 30 minutes before).
Gotham
Chris B
Yep. I built my PC at home, and i have an MBA with a concentration on Information Technology, so I have at least an 8- 😋And this is why you think everyone has an everyman skill with computers. Just because YOU Chris know this stuff does not mean your character does.If you want to point fingers at your own character and make fun of her because she doesn't know jack about computer feel free too :)
Hmm, so we find more about Batman just before we see Batman? Interesting...What makes you think you will see Batman again? He defeated Penguin. His job saving Gotham is done.
Gotham
Chris B
Chris B
The Ride with the Radiant Ranger
Denny O’Neil sat at a table under one of the
large front windows of Paddy’s Sports Bar, gazing toward the sidewalk. Next to him were his two foster kids. Jesse Perez stood, excitedly chattering with
anticipation while rifling through his sketchbook. Mellissa Perez sat to Denny’s right, drawing
on a piece of paper, her legs swinging back and forth as she doodled.
A flash of light streaked across the late Saturday morning sky, arching towards
the sports bar. The Radiant Ranger
softly glided to a hover above the sidewalk in front of the door, then gently
placed her feet on the concrete as she landed.
All three of the bar’s occupants watched from their window seats. “Well, it looks like she’s here,” Denny said.
The Radiant Ranger grabbed the large handle and pulled on the door. As she took a few steps to enter, Denny
leaned heavily on the table to stand.
Mellissa set a crayon down and stared at the tall glowing woman, while
Jesse began to excitedly bounce up and down.
Denny placed his hands on Jesse’s shoulders to fix him in place, while he
scooted around the boy. Walking toward
the glowing woman, he smiled and extended his hand. “Radiant Ranger,” he said. “Thank you for coming.”
“Mr. O’Neil,” the Ranger replied accepting his handshake, “It’s good to see
you, sir. How are things?”
“They are well. The bar is going good,
and we’re looking forward to baseball season,” he replied. “Let me introduce you to my kids. This is Jesse,” he said extending his arm
toward the boy who was once again bouncing up and down with excitement.
Jesse took a couple of steps forward to stand beside his uncle, clutching his
sketchbook against his chest. The
Radiant Ranger reciprocated by lowering herself to one knee in front of him. “It’s nice to meet you Jesse,” she said.
“Wow, you’re real!” he stated, touching his index finger to her left shoulder.
“Jesse,” Denny admonished. “You need to
ask permission before you touch someone.”
“It’s quite alright,” the Radiant Ranger said.
“I get that a lot. People want to
see if I’m solid or just made of pure light.
What is that book you have,” she asked while looking at the boy’s
sketchbook.
“It’s my book of superheroes! I drew
them myself, and you’re in it,” he said excitedly. “Do you want to see?”
“Sure, but let me meet your friend first,” she said looking at Mellissa.
“That’s not my friend; it’s my sister,” he corrected her.
Mellissa just sat there, staring at the woman of light. Feeling safe behind the table, she was
reluctant to move.
Denny interjected, “you can come over, Mellissa. It’s okay.
She’s a friend of mine.”
Mellissa slowly slid out of her seat, circled behind the chair Denny evacuated,
then reluctantly moved to the chief barman’s left side, standing very
close. The little girl clutched his left
hand, her big brown eyes open wide.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mellissa,” the Ranger said. “How old are you?”
“Ten,” she replied softly.
“Ten?
That’s terrific! I bet you’re
popular in school, then.”
Melissa blushed, and the Radiant Ranger stood.
“Well, I’d love to see the sketchbook, Jesse, if you have time,” she said
turning her attention to the boy.
“Sure! Come this way.” Jesse reached out and grabbed the Ranger’s
left hand and started pulling her towards a table in the center of the room
closer to the bar. The Radiant Ranger
allowed him to lead, then took a seat.
Mellissa stayed next to her guardian.
Denny turned and looked down at Mellissa.
“Do you want to go sit with Jesse and the superhero?” he asked. Mellissa paused. “Well, let me walk you over there,” he added
and began to walk toward the table.
When the two arrived, Jesse was already showing the Ranger the pictures on the
first couple of pages. Denny guided
Mellissa into a chair opposite the Radiant Ranger, and she sat.
“Well, I need to get some drinks for everyone.
Do you mind keeping our guest company?” he asked the kids.
“No, sir,” Jesse exclaimed, while Mellissa shook her head slightly.
Denny left the table for the bar, as Jesse continued the tour of the drawings
he made, enthusiastically explaining each one.
The Radiant Ranger seemed excited to hear every detail and asked a lot
of questions.
When they got to the end, Jesse eagerly asked, “would you mind signing one of
my pictures?”
The Ranger thought about it for a second then
replied, “sure. Which one?”
“This one,” he said. The portrait was a
side angle of the Radiant Ranger lifting off with her right arm and left leg
retracted tight against her body, and the left arm and right leg extended
outward. Jesse spun the book around and
handed her a pen.
The Radiant Ranger looked at the picture, and in a blank space near the bottom,
she wrote:
For my friend
Jesse,
Always remember:
Even in the darkest night, there still exists the faintest light, and Light is
Hope!
Your friend,
The Radiant Ranger
She placed the pen on the page and spun the book around. Jesse looked down with wide eyes and
exclaimed, “Awesome! Thank you!” He then quickly stood, grabbed the book, and
ran toward the bar. “Uncle Denny,
look! She signed my picture!”
This left Mellissa alone at the table with the Radiant Ranger. Mellissa smiled as she watched her happy
brother all the way to the bar. Then,
her attention returned to the woman across from her at the table.
“So, Mellissa, it’s my understanding you are really good at checkers,” the
Radiant Ranger said, leaning forward with a smile. “Would you like to play, sweetie?”
Mellissa looked a bit puzzled as she made her decision, then nodded in
agreement. The Ranger stood and walked
over to the bar. “Mr. O’Neil, do you
have a checkerboard?”
“Sure, here you go,” Denny replied pulling the board and checkers from beneath
the bar. The Ranger accepted the game,
then returned to the table.
As she placed the game on the table and began to lay out the board, Jesse came
running up. “Be careful, Miss Ranger, my
sister is really good.”
“Is she,” the Ranger asked looking at Jesse then back to Mellissa. “Well, I need to be on my best game then.”
The two began to play, with Jesse watching.
Mellissa won the first two games, then Jesse asked to play. This went on for about an hour, each of them
taking turns in stand-by.
Eventually, Denny walked over to the table carrying a box. “So, shall we give them their surprise?”
The Radiant Ranger looked up at him.
“Sure. You do the honors.”
Denny sat in the empty fourth chair and placed the box in his lap. The two kids stretched their necks trying to
see what was inside, but the flaps were closed.
“Well,” he started to say while looking at his children, “the reason the
Radiant Ranger is here was to give you a surprise. Do you remember when I sent the two of you to
the sporting goods store with Miss Lauren last weekend?”
Jesse and Mellissa looked at him and nodded.
“Well,” he continued, “that climbing gear you bought isn’t really for
climbing. Instead, it’s for tandem
skydiving.”
The two kids looked confused, so Denny opened the box. He pulled out the two smaller harnesses and
handed them to the respective kid. He
then handed a third to the Radiant Ranger.
“How it works, is you’ll put these on, and the Radiant Ranger will put her’s
on,” he said as the two kids immediately looked at the glowing woman. “Then, they are designed to be latched
together with those carabiners,” he pointed to the latches and d-rings on the
harness. “Once latched, the Radiant
Ranger has offered to take you on a short flight around the city.” Denny paused to gauge the kids’ reaction.
Jesse was quick to respond. His face lit
up and he jumped out of his seat so fast it tipped the chair over. “YES!” he exclaimed loudly. “Are you serious!?”
“Yes,” Denny said with a chuckle and a large smile.
“Here Uncle Denny, help me get this on,” Jesse said flinging the harness into
his hands.
Denny set the box on the table and began to unwind the boy’s harness. Mellissa was less enthused.
“Are you ok, sweetie,” the Ranger asked with a soft concerned tone.
Mellissa nodded reluctantly. “Yes. I just don’t like flying all that much,” the
girl said with a frown.
“Well, that’s okay. I’m afraid of the
dark, so I know how you feel,” Lauren revealed.
“However, sometimes when we do things we are afraid of, it makes us less
afraid of them. I would like you to feel
what it’s like, so we’ll stay really close to the ground and move slowly. Would that be okay?”
Mellissa nodded reluctantly, but her face still showed signs of concern.
“Plus, I’ll hold on very very tight!” the Ranger said scrunching up her face to
emphasize the last word. “Here, let me
help you with the harness.”
The Radiant Ranger stood and pushed her chair under the table. Mellissa also stood, and the Ranger moved
behind her. “Now, I’m going to lift you
up to show you how high you’ll be. Is
that okay?”
Mellissa reluctantly nodded, and the Ranger placed her glowing hands around the
child’s waist. Mellissa flinched when
the hands clamped around her and lifted her to the Ranger’s chest.
“This is where you will be with the harnesses attached. And this,” she said as she lifted the girl
more, “…is where we’ll be in the air.”
The Ranger then lowered Mellissa to the ground. “Is that okay?”
Mellissa nodded with a little more enthusiasm and appeared less worried.
The Ranger helped Mellissa into her harness first, then donned her own, triple
checking the straps on both.
Looking at Denny, the Ranger asked, “Sir, did you give them the Dramamine?”
“Yes, they took it this morning, as you asked.”
“Great! So, I know you want to go first,
Jesse,” the hero said watching the beaming boy bounce up and down. “But I’d like to take your sister first. Her flight will be much slower and much
shorter, which would be best to start with.”
Jesse looked disappointed. “Yes, ma’am,”
he said with a slight frown.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you,” she added with a wry grin. This lifted his spirits.
Turning to Mellissa, she said, “Alright, sweetie. Are you ready?”
Mellissa looked worried again.
“Okay, stand on this chair facing toward the back.” Mellissa complied.
The Ranger stepped up to her and began to hook the harnesses together. Once finished and double checked, the hero
said, “Okay, I’m going to turn us around.
Are you ready?” Mellissa nodded,
and the Ranger took a step backward.
The harnesses tightened around each of them, as it transferred the weight of
the child to the hero. “Alright! How’s
that?” the Ranger asked.
“Good,” Mellissa answered.
“Are you comfortable, sweetie?”
“Sort of,” came the reply.
The Radiant Ranger smiled. “Ok,
great. Uncle Denny, could you check the
connections one more time and put her helmet and goggles on?”
“Sure.” Reaching into the box, he pulled
out two child size helmets (one blue and one pink) and two sets of child
goggles. He handed one of each to Jesse,
who grabbed it enthusiastically and started to put it on. He took the pink one and placed it on
Mellissa’s head, securing it snuggly.
“Alright, it looks like we’re all set,” the Radiant Ranger said. “Let’s go outside and give it a go.”
The hero walked out of the bar and stood on the sidewalk. Passer-byes started to stop and look at the
pair, as Denny and Jessie followed.
“Okay. Mellissa, I’m going to lift off
just a few inches off the ground, so we can get our balance and get used to
being in the air. Are you ready?”
Mellissa nodded once again; her face revealed her reluctance.
The Ranger wrapped her arms tightly around the girl then lifted off, and they
began to drift very slightly to the right.
Mellissa clamped down hard on the Ranger’s arms, a bit of fear coursing
through her body.
“Well, sweetie, that’s it. This is
flying.” The Radiant Ranger held this
position for a few minutes to allow Mellissa to become acclimated. She knew when the child was ready, as
Mellissa’s grip lessened.
“Okay, we’re going to move forward slightly and go up about a foot or two. It’s low enough so that you can safely reach
the ground if you need to, okay?”
Mellissa nodded once more in acknowledgement, and she added, “Okay.”
The Radiant Ranger smiled at the verbal cue, which was few and far between
before. “Here we go.” The pair moved onto the empty street and
forward at a rate of 5 miles per hour and drifted upward about two feet.
The wind moved quickly across Mellissa’s face, and she started to smile.
“I’m going to head for the park,” the Ranger stated, and made a wide arching
left turn. The people along the
sidewalks stopped to watch as the pair flew by, some pointing and others taking
pictures. It was a spectacle, for sure.
“Okay sweetie, we have a car behind us, so I’m going to speed up a little, so
we don’t block traffic, okay?”
Mellissa nodded once more, and the Ranger accelerated to 35 mph.
Mellissa’s grip grew a little tighter, and it didn’t take long for the pair to
break the plane into the park. The
Ranger slowed, as they glided across the grass.
“Look,” The Radiant Ranger said, pointing to a tree where a bird was
landing. “Want to go see it’s nest?”
Mellissa nodded and said, “okay.”
The Ranger began a slow ascent toward the tree and came to a stop when they
reached a point near the top where the bird entered. Peering in, the two looked for the bird’s
nest.
People on the ground began collecting beneath them, some watching and others
taking pictures and video of the pair.
“There! You see it?” Mellissa said
pointing.
“Grab my right thumb with your left hand, so I can shine a light on it,” the
Radiant Ranger instructed calmly.
Mellissa grasped the right thumb with her left hand, and the Ranger
swung her left hand free and activated her flashlight at low intensity.
“Oh, I see it now,” she said to the girl.
“Look, there’s a mommy bird in the nest.”
Mellissa smiled, as the two took a minute to watch the bird. In the meantime, a male bird landed at the
top of the tree just above their position and began squawking loudly.
“Guess that’s our signal to go,” the Ranger said smiling back. “Sorry mister bird,” she stated, moving the
two slowly away from the tree.
The Radiant Ranger once again wrapped her left arm tightly around Mellissa’s
waist, and she began to slowly accelerate across the park at altitude. For her part, Mellissa once again realized
they were untethered to the ground and gripped the arm tightly. However, she seemed more relaxed than before.
“Look at the view from up here, Mellissa.
What do you think?”
“It’s pretty,” she responded, as she started to take in the detail of the
trees, grass, and people below.
“We can sure see a lot. Are you having
fun, sweetie?”
“Yes,” Mellissa answered.
The pair swung across the park and over the Gotham University grounds, ending
up near the water. “Look, there’s the
Statue of Justice,” the Ranger exclaimed.
“Let’s go have a look.”
“No!,” Mellissa said sharply, as she gripped the Ranger’s arm tighter.
“You don’t like the statue or the water,” the Radiant Ranger asked, as she slowed and began a descending left turn away from Justice Island.
“I don’t like the water,” Mellissa replied, feeling better at the change in course.
“Okay, no worries, sweetie. We’ll just make a very wide turn over Brentwood, then back to see Uncle Denny. Is that okay?”
Mellissa nodded once more, relieved they were not going over the river.
The pair glided across the Eastern half of
Brentwood in a very wide majestic left turn, and the Radiant Ranger pointed out
some things that caught her eye, such as a cat in a tree at their level and the
geese flying North above them. It was
then that Mellissa felt comfortable enough to share an observation, “Miss
Ranger, you sound like my friend Lauren.”
Caught off guard, the Ranger quickly replied, “Do I?”
“Yeah,” Mellissa answered.
“Why do you say that?”
“I dunno, you just do. Plus, you keep
calling me ‘sweetie’, which is what Lauren likes to call me.”
The Ranger cringed. Of course, Denny
knew the Radiant Ranger was the hero name of his mentee Lauren Michaels, but
the kids were never told. ‘This is a
smart and observant girl, and I need to be more careful,’ she thought to
herself. But for now…
“Well, I’m surprised more people don’t call you ‘sweetie’, since you’re so
adorable.”
Mellissa blushed, “Do you think so?”
“Absolutely! Now, let’s head back, as
your brother is probably driving Uncle Denny crazy waiting for his turn.”
The pair made another slow and wide arcing turn back toward the bar. It only took a couple of minutes before they
landed safely on the sidewalk in front of the establishment. As soon as they touched down, Denny and Jesse
came over to them.
“How was it,” they both asked in unison.
“Good,” Mellissa said.
“Excellent,” the Radiant Ranger replied as she knelt down, allowing Mellissa’s
feet to touch the ground. She began
separating the two harnesses.
“Were you scared,” Jesse excitedly asked.
“A little,” Mellissa acknowledged. “But
Miss Ranger is a nice person, and she reminds me of Lauren.”
Denny and the Ranger made eye contact, and she shrugged. “That should do it. Now, it’s your brother’s turn.”
Jesse didn’t wait. He quickly walked
over to the Radiant Ranger and spun around with his back to her. The Ranger grabbed his waist and moved him
slowly backwards until he was against her chest. Both she and Denny moved to hook them
together.
Once they were satisfied the harnesses were properly attached, she counted,
“one, two, three… up,” and she stood.
Jesse hung there giggling.
“Having fun, little man,” the Radiant Ranger asked with a broad smile.
“Yep,” he replied, anxious to fly like a real superhero.
Denny stepped forward once again and rechecked everything. Satisfied, he said, “it looks like you’re all
ready to go. Be a good boy, Jesse, and
don’t have her go too fast.”
“Yes sir, I will,” the boy replied.
“No sir, we won’t,” the Ranger replied as well.
“Well, have fun you two.” Denny then
took Mellissa’s hand and a few steps backwards.
“Ready Jesse?” she asked, then like before, the Radiant Ranger lifted a few
inches off the ground, floating. She
checked the connections again, then asked, “any requests?”
“Whoa!” came the reply as soon as they left the ground. “All over, please, as high as we can go.”
“Alright then, hold on,” the Ranger stated as
she wrapped her arms around his midsection, and they began moving quickly at a
45° angle. Unlike Mellissa, Jesse held
his arms out wide, as if they were wings.
The pair climbed and accelerate heading East toward Griffin Stadium.
“Wooooo Hooooo!” the boy screamed as the wind whipped his face. Unknown to the Ranger, Jesse pulled out his
cell phone and held it in his outstretched hand, filming their flight.
“Having fun, Jesse? Is this too fast?”
“No ma’am, I wanna go faster!”
“Well, let’s see if we can accomplish that.”
The Radiant Ranger accelerated to 80 mph by the time they reached the
stadium. Below them, the two, three, and
four story tenements gave way to larger buildings, until they hit the downtown
corridor. As they passed over the field,
the Ranger asked, “do you like baseball, Jesse?”
For his part, Jesse was in awe. He had
no idea how high they were nor how fast they were going, but it felt
really fast! He was taking in the view,
when the question came. “Not
really. I don’t play it much, but
sometimes it’s on TV while I’m drawing.”
“Well, maybe you should draw the players as superheroes. Would you like to go to the Griffin’s home
opener in a few weeks?”
“Um, sure. I haven’t been to a ball game
before. Miss Ranger, can we go faster?”
The Radiant Ranger smiled and thought to herself, ‘not yet but you may like
this’. The Ranger did a fairly tight
turn to the left that put them on a heading for Gotham Square. In the near distance, they could see Wayne
Tower.
“Whooo, that was great!” Jesse responded to the pivot, almost loosing grip on
his phone.
The Radiant Ranger then dipped downward, and they descended about 9 meters to
be mid-level with the skyscrapers downtown.
Then, she began a series of moves to slalom between the buildings. They banked on their left side to make a
relatively hard turn around the Kessler building, using the whole distance
between the buildings to complete the action before leveling out on their
belly. Then the opposite. They banked up on their right side, drifting
across the available space before leveling out once again. She did these maneuvers a few times in
downtown, as the spectators took photos from the ground and their office
windows.
Once they got to the Financial District, the Ranger turned South to head for
the Gotham Knights Dome. Gaining a
little altitude, she also increases their speed slightly back to 80mph.
“There is Knights Stadium,” she announced, trying to sound chipper.
“It’s so beautiful from up here! I wish
we could land in there,” Jesse replied.
“Sorry, kiddo. They wouldn’t like
that. But, let’s go see the football
stadium.”
The pair glided effortlessly through the sky above the Fashion District and
Park Row at 100 mph. Once they reached
Wildcats Stadium, the Ranger made another left turn, that brought them over the
water heading for the Interstate Bridge.
The Radiant Ranger then dove toward the water and did a majestic arch to level
out just 10 feet above the watery surface.
At 60 mph, Jesse could feel the sea spray as they barreled toward the
bridge.
Certain there was no shipping traffic in the lane, the Ranger slowed to 40mph
and said, “hold on, Jesse, we’re going under the bridge!” In reaction, the boy pulled his arms inward
and held the cell phone with his left fingers, facing forward to get the best
shot.
Jesse yelled the whole way in exhilaration as boats passed to either side of
them in a blur and the large structure got closer and closer, until finally,
they sped under the suspension bridge, doing a barrel roll on the other side as
they gained altitude.
As they reached the apex of the climb, Jesse yelled, “sh*t!!”
Shocked by the outburst, the Ranger went into
defensive mode and began looking around frantically. Following Jesse’s gaze, she saw what
happened; the boy’s cell phone was hurtling toward the river.
Reflexively, she angled downward, diving for the phone. With the help of gravity, the pair reached a
speed of 120mph, and Jesse felt his stomach churn. Within seconds, the Radiant Ranger reached
out and plucked the phone from the air, then slowed while executing a fairly
tight arc to level out just three meters from the water, once again slowly
gaining altitude.
“How was that,” she asked.
“That was AWESOME!” he said in a raspy voice.
The Ranger laughed, then tucked the phone into the waistband in the back of
Jesse’s jeans, then made a leisurely arching left turn toward the Statue of
Justice and accelerated once again.
“Hey, my phone!” Jesse protested.
“Not until we land, unless you want to lose it forever at the bottom of the Lawrence,” the Ranger replied with a stern smile.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jesse acquiesced and turned his
attention back to the flight.
To their left, the pair passed the chemical plant and Toxic Acres. On their right was New York State. They were right above the middle of the
shipping channel, so large container and oil ships were also visible.
They flew past Justice Island and over the statue before reaching landfall,
where the Ranger descended once more, taking another left turn toward the
University, careful to stay out of the airport’s traffic lanes.
Despite Jesse’s continued requests for more speed, the Ranger slowed to a
reasonable 50 mph for the rest of the trip.
Quickly, they were over Central Park and Paddy’s Sports Bar. As they approached, she slowed the pair, and
began a four block arching corkscrew downward, decelerating as well.
Once they reached the bar’s rooftop, she levels out the turn and slowly lowered
the pair to the ground; gently touching down.
As soon as he saw Denny and Mellissa, he yelled, “YES! THAT WAS AWESOME!!!” The Radiant Ranger just laughed. As before, she knelt and released the
carabiners that held the two together.
Denny and Mellissa walked toward them, and Jesse ran to meet them halfway. “Uncle Denny, I flew like a real
superhero! We went everywhere! Over the baseball stadiums, and UNDER the
bridge!”
Denny looked up at the Radiant Ranger.
“I’ll tell you all about it later,” she said, smiling.
Denny chuckled at the boy’s excitement and said, “Mellissa, why don’t you take
your brother inside and help him get his gear off. Then we can have lunch.”
Jesse turned and ran back to the Radiant Ranger, giving her a hug. “Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome,” she replied with a big smile.
Spinning on his heels and pulling the cell phone from the small of his back, he
took his sister’s hand and headed for the bar.
“And over the football stadium. Oh! And
we saw the top of Wayne Tower! And…”
He kept chatting as the siblings disappeared behind the bar’s front
door.
Denny turned to the Radiant Ranger, who had risen to her feet once again. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure, sir,” she said shaking his hand. “They are great kids, and I think they had
fun.” The Ranger then leaned in close to
his ear and whispered, “I’ll be by later to tell you all about it.”
Denny nodded and turned to walk back to the bar’s door. The Radiant Ranger lifted off and slowly
rose. When he turned back around, she
waved at him and he nodded to her. She
then flew away, catching cell phone camera flashes as she careened across the
city.
Kenn Durrence
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Chris B
Gotham
Chris B
Great write up Chris. When you read it you can really visualize it"The Radiant Ranger softly glided to a hover above the sidewalk in front of the door, then gently placed her feet on the concrete as she landed."and so many others within the story.
Those kids are going to get spoiled by you.
Chris B
Lauren
entered Paddy’s Sports bar in a whimsical mood. Earlier that day, she
was able to share the gift of flight with two of her favorite people,
Jesse and Mellissa Perez, the foster children of her mentor and
confidant, Denny O’Neil. Over the past month, Lauren grew close to the
13 and 10 year olds, and she loved spending time with them. Since it
was Saturday, she arrived a bit later than normal.
“Hi Denny,” Lauren said as she approached the bar with a bounce in her step. “How are you?”
“I’m
good, Lauren. You know, Jesse hasn’t stopped talking about his
adventure all day long,” the older man said with a smile. “He’s on
cloud nine. So, are you going to tell me about it?”
Looking
around, Lauren saw the usual dozen (or so) patrons at the bar this
early in the evening. A couple new faces were there, but most were
regulars. “Sure,” she said quietly, “You want to step into my office?”
Denny chuckled, “so now the corner stool of the bar is your office?”
“Why
not,” she said lightheartedly. Lauren took a seat in her usual spot, a
corner stool with a good view of three televisions that hung at or just
off the center bar.
“So, what can I get ya.”
“How about that new IPA from the Goth Brewery, and any questions you may have.”
Denny
walked over to the tap and poured a glass of the medium yellow beer,
set it down in front of Lauren, then he asked, “Well, how did it go?
Did the kids give you any problems?”
“No,
not really,” Lauren answered quietly taking a sip from the mug. “Not
sure what you’ve heard yet, but Jesse almost lost his phone.”
Denny’s face crinkled a little as Lauren continued, “we were just coming from under the bridge in a barrel roll…”
She
paused and fought unsuccessfully to repress a smile at the look forming
on her mentor’s face, “…and when we hit the apex, his little fingers
couldn’t hold on anymore, and it slipped. He let me know in no
uncertain terms that something was wrong, so I dove for it.”
Denny
grabbed a towel from his waistband and started wiping the counter right
in front of her; which was something he did when he was nervous.
Lauren understood why he was doing that, and she couldn’t help but push
it a little more.
“We
were careening toward the Lawrence at a good 80+ miles per hour, when
we caught up to the phone. Reaching out, I was able to grab it and pull
up just 30 or so feet from the water! Jesse loved every minute of it,”
she said taking another sip of the beer, smiling behind the glass.
“You’re going to need to re-shellac that spot,” she said.
Denny
paused, finally noticing he had been scrubbing the same small spot this
whole time, and he bit back, “Yeah, well, you shouldn’t take such risks
for a phone.”
“Sorry,”
Lauren said apologetically, then adopted a reassuring tone. “It was
alright, though. We were well within safe tolerances, and you know
I love those two kids dearly and would never do anything I thought
could possibly harm them. The phone was toast, if we didn’t make it the
first time.”
Denny stopped wiping and softened a bit. “ I know, but you know,” he said with a worried look.
Lauren placed her hand on top of his,
“yeah, I know Papa Denny.” Leaning back, she continued, “after that, I
took the phone away, and I really didn’t realize he pulled it out until
that time. I was Go Pro-ing
the flight, anyway. As for the route, we went from here to Griffin
Stadium, through Downtown, the Finance District, over Knights Stadium,
over the Wildcats, under the Interstate bridge, around Justice Island,
then back here. He has most of it on video.”
“I
saw,” Denny replied. It looked harrowing, but if you say it was okay,
then it was okay.” Smiling, he said, “he sure loved it, though.”
“Good,” Lauren replied. “Mellissa on the other hand, was quite apprehensive, so we took it slow.”
She
reached into her purse and pulled out the Go Pro camera. Quickly
pressing a few buttons, she flipped it around so he could see the
video. Looking around the bar to be sure the screen was hidden from the
other patrons, she pushed play with no volume.
“This is the video of Mellissa’s ride,” she said narrarating
the scenes briefly as they appeared. “She doesn’t seem to like the
water very much,” Lauren said as she shut off the camera and placed it
back in her bag.
“She’s
alright with it at the edge, and a little bit in the shallow end. I’m
not sure she can swim, though. Come to think of it, I don’t know if
Jesse can swim, either. I’ll need to ask,” Denny replied in thought.
“She doesn’t like rollercoasters, so I think the combo of flying and the
water may have been too much for her. Still, I’m very proud of her for
doing that, and I’ve told her.”
“Yeah, she’s a good girl,” Lauren added.
Taking
another sip of her IPA, she set it down and pushed it to the back
corner in a safe zone. “That’s really bitter,” she said scrunching up
her nose. I’m going to go see them, if that’s ok.”
“Sure, head on up. Knock first, to be sure they’re decent.”
“Great, I will. Oh, and I was wondering if I could take them out for dinner, so we can talk,” she asked.
“I guess that’s fine. Just have them home by eight.”
“I will, and thanks for this morning and tonight!”
Lauren
walked up the stairs to the apartments over the bar and paused at the
door. She knocked three times and waited, excited to see the kids
again.
“Who is it,” Jesse said from behind the door.
Lauren replied in as deep a voice as she could muster, “It’s the police. We have a speeding ticket for Mister Jesse Perez.”
“Yeah, right,” came the reply. “I know it’s you, Lauren,” he said opening the door.
Lauren
lunged forward and reached out, grabbing his arm. She pulled him
toward her and gave the boy a big hug. “How did you know it was me?”
“Please,” he replied squirming out of the hold. “You can’t fool anybody.”
“Nobody?”
she said feigning a hurt voice. Walking into the room behind Jesse she
shut the door. “I heard you had an adventure today.”
Jesse
reached the dining room table, where he was working on a new batch of
drawings, then he spun around, his eyes brightened. “YEAH, the Radiant
Ranger was HERE, AND she took both Mellissa and me on a ride!”
“A ride? Like at Amusement Mile?”
“Better!” he said. “She literally strapped us to her and flew around the city!”
“What?” Lauren said trying to sound surprised. “Is that legal?”
“Sure it’s legal… I think.” Anyway, do you want to see the video?
“That’d be great, but I wanted to see if you and Mellissa wanted to tell me abut it over dinner. Where is your sister?”
“Yeah, that’d be great!” he said. “Mellissa is in her room.”
“Ok, let me go ask her, and you get ready,” Lauren said and moved down the hall.
Mellissa’s door was closed, and music could be heard on the other side. Lauren knocked.
“Yes!” Mellissa said through the door, annoyed.
“Hi Sweetie, It’s Lauren. Do you want to go out to dinner with me and Jesse?”
“Sure. Let me get my shoes,” she said muffled through the door. The music came to an abrupt stop and the door opened.
“Hi,” Lauren said, turning to lead them down the hall. When the two entered the common area, Jesse was zipping up his coat.
“Alright, so where do we want to go?” Lauren asked.
“I dunno,” Jesse replied.
“How about the Indian restaurant, India Garden,” Mellissa asked while pulling on her heavy coat and hat.
“Sure, we can go there,” Lauren replied happily. “Curry isn’t a friend of mine, but I’ll find something.”
“Sounds good. I have my phone, so we can go,” Jesse added, holding up the device for everyone to see.
“Alright,
let’s transform and roll out,” Lauren said, drawing weird looks from
the kids. “What? It’s an expression from a cartoon,” she defended.
The
trio hit the bottom of the stairs and walked up to Denny at the bar.
“We’re going to the India Garden,” Lauren reported, wrapping a scarf
around her neck. “It’s over near the park, about a half-mile away.”
Denny inspected the kids to be sure they were properly dressed. “Ok, be back by eight.”
“We will,” the three said in unison.
Lauren
grabbed her coat from the rack near the door, and zipped it up, as
Jesse was chattering about the ride with the Radiant Ranger. Denny
watched as the door closed behind them, and they passed by one of the
large windows at the front of the bar. He allowed a slight smile. “My
three kids,” he thought, then went back to work.
Chris B
Lauren cleared security and walked under the infamous Arkham
Asylum archway. A cold chill ran up her spine as she stepped briskly
along the worn sidewalk. The late morning air felt unsettling, and she
continuously looked behind her as she made her way toward the second
doorway on the left.
The
large wooden door creaked loudly as she swung it open. Walking along
the hallway, she looked down at the small piece of paper in her hand
then up to the numbers and letters on the doors she passed. Eventually,
she made it to B12, and she turned to enter the room.
Lauren
had made the trip to see Scotty several times before, but he was
usually in a different room. This one reminded her of the others, but
everything was reversed. It was obviously a mirror of the previous
area. A couple of television viewing areas were set up with couches and
chairs arrayed around the devices. Multiple free-standing
tables with checker boards, crayons and paper, decks of cards, and
other such items adorned their tops, and each had two to four plastic
and metal chairs. There were quite a few occupants of the large hall,
too. Lauren guessed around 30, mostly inmates who talked (sometimes to
themselves), played games, watched TV, or stared wistfully into nothing.
Looking
around, she saw Scotty sitting at a small table next to a large
window. He was dressed in a striped shirt, jeans, and a pair of Vans
sneakers. Smiling, she headed toward him.
Reaching
the table, she stood a couple of feet away with her hands hanging at
her waist, as she was instructed. “Hi Scotty,” she said cocking her
head. Scotty turned to look at her.
“Hi Lauren, how are you.”
“I’m well, thanks. May I sit?”
“Okay,”
he replied and looked out the window again. “Do you see that nest over
there? I think there are a couple of new birds in it. I wish I could
stretch over to them, but I can’t seem to do that much anymore.”
“Well, maybe the doctors just want to be sure you’re safe,” she said at a loss for anything more coherent.
Scotty
abruptly turned and stared at her. “Don’t you say that,” he blurted
out in anger. “My mom said that too me just before she died.”
Lauren’s face betrayed her shock, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Can you forgive me?”
In a flash, his mood changed back. “Okay,” he said smiling. Want to play some games?
“Sure,” she replied. “What are you up for?”
“Well, I’d like to play Fortnight, but we aren’t allowed to do that in here,” he said jokingly. “How about Battleship?”
“Okay, I’ll go get it,” Lauren said smiling and dutifully returned with the game.
The
pair played several games over the next hour, and as they wound down a
thrilling run at Risk, Lauren said, “Hey Scotty. How are you feeling?”
“I’m… well… I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay,
I can respect that,” she said with a slight frown. She hoped he would
be able to get through this quickly, but the doctors said it would take
quite a bit of time. He needed to sort things out for himself, and no
one could determine how long that would be.
Changing
the subject, she said, “I brought a bit of a surprise.” Reaching into
her purse, Lauren produced a worn copy of The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien.
“This is mine from a decade or so ago. I wonder if you would let me
read it to you?”
Scotty
paused in thought. “Sure, that would be okay, I guess.” For comfort,
the pair moved from the table to a small couch that was under the window
behind them.
“This
is probably going to take a while to get through, so we’ll read a
chapter or three each day until we finish or you’re sick of it, okay,”
she asked.
“Yeah sure,” he said.
“Ok,
let’s get started.” Lauren opened the book to Chapter One. “In a hole
in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole,
filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare,
sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a
hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
It
had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny
yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened…”
After
an hour and a half of reading, an orderly approach the two. “Sorry
miss, we’ll need to take Scotty here to get lunch in a few minutes. Can
you wrap up your story?”
Lauren looked at Scotty, who’s head was leaning on her left shoulder. “Sure, we’ll finish up.”
The
orderly left, and she closed the book then put in back in her purse.
Scotty sat up. “Thank you for the story,” he said with a smile. “It
sure starts slow.”
Smiling back, Lauren said, “yes it does.”
Scotty
placed his head upon her shoulder again, and she started slowly rocking
back and forth while holding it. “Remember Scotty, we love you very
much and we’re here for you whenever you need us,” she said. “I have a
song I heard on the radio that I wanted to sing to you. I haven’t heard
it in a while, and it reminded me of you.”
“Okay,” he said while still snuggling.
Pulling out a small piece of paper with the lyrics, Lauren started singing softly.
“Hush now, don't you cry
Wipe away the teardrop from your eye
Lying safe in bed
It was all a bad dream
Spinning in your head
Your mind tricked you to feel the pain
Of someone close to you leaving the game of life”
Lauren’s eyes watered.
“So here it is, another chance
Wide awake you face the day
Your dream is over... or has it just begun?”
She ran her fingers lightly through his hair as she continued.
“There's a place I like to hide
A doorway that I run through in the night
Relax child, you were there
But only didn't realize and you were scared
It's a place where you will learn
To face your fears, retrace the years
And ride the whims of your mind
Commanding in another world
Suddenly you hear and see
This magic new dimension”
“I will be watching over you
I am gonna help you see it through
I will protect you in the night
I am smiling next to you, in Silent Lucidity”
With a deeper voice she recited the passage,
"Visualize your dream
Record it in the present tense
Put it into a permanent form
If you persist in your efforts
You can achieve dream control
Dream control
How's that then, better?”
Softly, she whispered into his ear, “Help me", then kissed him on his head and started to tear up again, her voice cracking a little.
“If you open your mind for me
You won't rely on open eyes to see”
“The walls you built within
Come tumbling down, and a new world will begin
Living twice at once you learn
You're safe from pain in the dream domain
A soul set free to fly
A round trip journey in your head
Master of illusion, can you realize
Your dream's alive, you can be the guide but...”
Tears started streaming down her face as she finished in a whispered voice,
“I will be watching over you
I am gonna help you see it through
I will protect you in the night
I am smiling next to you”
Once
again, she kissed him on the top of his head, then wiped her eyes with
her left hand, sniffling. “Ok kiddo, that’s all we have for today.
I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Scotty
sat up, “yes, please. Good bye Lauren, I’ll see you later.” He stood
and strode toward the orderly and the pair disappeared around the
corner.
Chris B
Regaining her Faith
Lauren sat lifeless in her office staring into the
void. Once again, she felt saddened as
the events of the past several months played over and over in her head. Her cell phone dutifully piped a somber
playlist through a set of pink earbuds into her mind, which stoked the
depression even more. Eventually, she
felt her strength build to allow her to snap out of the emptiness and back to
the present.
Looking around, she realized she was out for several minutes, and set her
forehead on her desk, taking in a slow deep breath. ‘I need to get a grip on this,’ she thought
to herself. Sitting up once again, she
took a baby wipe from a box on her desk and ran it across her face. Tossing the tissue in the trash, she pumped a
dab of hand sanitizer into her palm, then rubbed her hands together.
“That’s it, I’m getting some help,” she said with resolve and picked up the
cell phone. Activating the text app, she
pinged her parents.
Lauren: Hi MD. (short for mom & dad, plus her parents are physicians)
It took around five minutes to get a reply.
Mom: Hi Sweetie.
Lauren: I have a favor to ask. Can I stay with you Sat Night and come to
church with you & dad?
Mom: Sure, honey. You’re always welcome. Is there anything wrong?
Lauren: Why would something be wrong?
Mom: You haven’t been to church in years.
Dad: Hi Pumpkin. Is anything wrong?
Lauren: Why would… yes, but no. We can talk about it Sat, but can I come?
Dad: Absolutely. We’ll see you Saturday evening then
Mom: Of course honey. Is it about a boy?
Lauren: MOM!!
Dad: Caitlyn, leave the poor girl alone.
We’ll see you Saturday, pumpkin.
Lauren: Thanks Daddy!
Lauren placed the phone on the desk and stood up. Finding her focus, she walked into the
hallway and went to file a stack of invoices.
********
A car pulled into an arching driveway
and came to a stop in front of a modest two story colonial with a long porch
across the front. The yard had tall mature pine trees scattered about,
enough to shade the front, and short thin Bermuda grass covered the ground
under the trees.
Lauren stepped from the car and onto the concrete in
front of her parent’s house. She handed
the Uber driver a $10 bill and closed the door.
The car drove off, and Lauren turned her attention to the house. Walking up the steps, she crossed the porch
to the front door. Putting her key into
the lock, she turned it and the doorknob at the same time, causing the door to
slowly swing open. She stepped inside
and closed the door behind her.
“Hello,” she called out loudly, and unslung a backpack, placing it on the
floor.
Lauren’s father, Steven Michaels, came into the foyer from the common
area. He was a tall thin man in his late
40’s dressed in a button-down shirt, chino slacks, and a cardigan sweater. “Hi pumpkin,” he said.
“Hi daddy,” Lauren replied as she hung a denim jacket on the rack next to the
door. She took a few steps and hugged
the man. “How are you?”
“I’m good. My golf game today was
something to be ignored,” he said releasing her. “Your mother is upstairs.”
“Great, I’ll take my things upstairs,” she said, grabbing her backpack from the
floor. She started climbing the wooden
stairs, and Steven turned and walked back to the large common room.
After cresting the stairs, she turned the corner and walked a few feet down the
hallway coming to a stop in front of a door to her right. The door was open, and Laurens mother was
inside. “Hi mom,” she said with a
smile. Dropping her backpack just inside
the doorway, she gave her mother a big hug.
Caitlyn Michaels was about the same
height as Lauren, in her early 50s, with fiery red hair and deep green
eyes. Her thin build was wrapped in a green casual dress. “Hi sweetie,” she said happily with a bit of
an Irish accent. “I was just
straightenin up a bit. I added a couple
of ivy vines to the top of the window to make it more spring-like. Do you like it?”
“Yeah, it’s nice, mom,” Lauren said with a smile, admiring the changes her
mother made. It just occurred to Lauren
that her mother has made so many small tweaks and adjustments to her old room
that it doesn’t look anything like it used to.
“So, what’s going on,”
Caitlyn asked looking into her daughter’s eyes.
She tried to see behind the pupils and into Lauren’s mind.
“Nothing, mom. It’s just… As you know,
things have been tough the past few weeks… months. It seems like it’s one tragedy after
another,” Lauren said, her shoulders slouching as she confessed. “It’s getting to be a bit overwhelming.” Lauren’s eyes started to water, knowing she
was safe.
Caitlyn moved forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter, squeezing
gently. “It’s ok, sweetie. Things will get better. This is Gotham, after all,” she quipped. “Let’s go downstairs and sit with your
father. Then we can talk. I made some lemonade, if you’d like some.”
The pair walked downstairs and Lauren wiped her eyes as they traversed the steps. They turned the corner, moved down the short
hall, and entered a large L-shaped room.
To Lauren’s left was a sitting room with a couch, loveseat, and two
chairs arranged around a coffee table.
In front of her was a dining area with a large ornate wooden table and
six formal chairs. Behind the table was
a matching china cabinet. To her right
was the family room, with a large comfortable sectional sofa, a rectangular
coffee table and a TV over the fireplace.
Behind the family room was a wall with a large entrance that led to the
kitchen.
Steven was in the family room watching golf on the television when the women
walked in. “Why don’t you sit down, and
I’ll get us some drinks,” Caitlyn said, patting her daughter’s arm. Lauren walked into the family room and sat in
her spot on the sectional.
Noticing his daughter, Steven grabbed the remote and muted the television, then
set the device back onto the coffee table.
Leaning forward he asked, “So, how is school?”
“It’s good daddy,” Lauren replied nodding her head. “I’ve had a couple of breakthroughs in my
experiments, and I think I should be done with my dissertation soon. I’ve been working on it non-stop night and
day, it seems.”
“That’s great,” her father said. “I remember when I was just about finished
with all of the classwork. I looked forward
to residency, naively I might add, since that was harder than the graduate
work.” Steven let out a light chuckle,
momentarily lost in thought. “You’ll be
happy for the transition, though. How is
work?”
“Which work,” Lauren asked. “Teaching or
‘saving the world’,” she said with a hint of regret.
At that moment, Lauren’s mother entered the room with three tall glasses of
lemonade and a lemon slice perched at the top of each glass. She set the tray on the table, served the
glasses, and then sat between the two.
“So, what’d I miss?”
“Nothing really,” Steven replied.
“Just me avoiding dad’s question,” Lauren said, looking down at the table. She picked up her glass and took a long pull
on it. “Oh, that’s got kick,” she exclaimed,
her mouth puckering up. “It’s so sweet
at first, then bam, it hits!”
Lauren’s parents smiled and took a small sip of lemonade then set the glasses
on the table. “Lauren was just telling
us about school and work,” Steven said.
“Yeah, as I mentioned, school is great.
Well, the writing is getting tedious, but besides that, I might be
nearing completion of the dissertation.”
Caitlyn looked at Steven then back to Lauren, “that’s great, sweetie! Do you have a time set for your defense?”
“Actually, yes. It’ll be in about a month. You are welcome to come, if you like.”
“Sure,” Steven said, and he shifted in his seat better face Lauren.
“Great,” she replied, then took another sip.
“Workwise, teaching is fine.
Nothing new there. The semester
is winding down, and we’ll have finals next week. Love grading those tests,” she said
sarcastically clenching her fists and shaking them slightly in a mock cheer.
“How about your other job, sweetie?”
“Well, that’s tougher,” she said to her mother, her face drawing a frown. “It’s really difficult to overcome some of
the fear, anger, and helplessness, sometimes.
For instance, the other day I was sitting in my office running through
invoices, because supers still need to eat and pay bills, and out of nowhere I
felt drained. Like the life just got
sucked out of me. It was hard to get
motivated to move, let alone work. I
thought I crested the depression hill right before the Cruz funeral, but the
death of Barbara and its effect on the team, especially the kids, has been
devastating.”
Lauren started to cry, and Steven pushed a box of tissue closer to his
daughter. “I feel so lousy, even though
I know we didn’t do anything wrong. The
effect it had on young Scotty, her son, just drove him to madness, and she did
it to herself. We couldn’t save her; we
had the chance, but we didn’t know!”
Lauren placed her head in her hands and wept, hunched over. Caitlyn hopped two cushions over and rubbed
her back. “There there, sweetie. It’s going to be alright. Stress can build up, especially in your line
of work, and it’s good to get it all out.”
Lauren continued to cry for a few minutes more, then
raised her head. Her hair fell
disheveled, and the little makeup she wore began to smear. Caitlyn pulled two tissues from the box and
began to wipe her daughter’s face. Lauren grabbed a couple, as well, and used
them to dry her eyes as she sniffled.
“I’m sorry,” she said, regaining her composure.
“Ah, don’t talk like that,” her mother said dismissively. “This is what we’re here for.”
“So, this is why you wanted to go to church tomorrow,” Steven said.
Lauren nodded. “Yes, sir. I think God has helped me a lot these past
few months, and I wanted to thank him.”
Caitlyn smiled at her daughter. “Well, then you’ll need to go to
confession.” Turning to her husband, she
said, “Steven, look up confession times at Aquinas.”
Steven pulled his phone from a pocket and began to tap and flick the screen
with his thumbs. After a minute or two
he said, “Looks like confession is at 5:30 to 6. It’s 4:45 now, so we have a little time to
get ready.”
“Thanks mom, thanks dad,” Lauren said smiling.
“Your welcome, sweetie,” Caitlyn said with a smile. “Now, how is that nice boy that you told us
about… Jonathan was his name?”
Lauren smiled.
*********
Lauren walked into the main hall of St Thomas Aquinas
Catholic Church of Gotham with her parents and began to look for the area where
confessions were held. There was a sign
to the side that indicated the time and an arrow pointing to an ornate
confessional box on the side of the room.
There was one other person in the pews, who was kneeling and praying.
The three of them walked up the center aisle several steps, then slid into a
pew on the side of the confessional box.
They kneeled, and Lauren began to pray.
After a while, someone came out of the box and headed for a different part of
the pew. Looking around, Lauren saw that
no one was moving toward the confessional, so she stood.
“We’ll be here when you are done,” Cailtlyn said touching Lauren’s hand. Her father looked into her eyes and nodded in
approval.
“Thank you,” she said quietly and entered the wooden structure.
Kneeling, she placed the palms of her hands together in front of her and said,
“Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been six years since my last
confession.”
Lauren paused. What was she going to
say? Should she tell this man
everything? Priests were sworn to
secrecy by God, and any violation of that was grounds for excommunication from
the church. They were supposed to take
the information they learned in this confessional to their grave before telling
another living soul.
A soft male voice spoke from the other side, “Go ahead, my child.”
“Father, I’m scared to say what I need to, but not for myself but for others. Life has been rough these past few months to a year; rougher than normal in Gotham. Until last year, I had a normal life. I had sex out of wedlock with a single guy several times, and I even had sex with a different person last month, but I like him. I swear sometimes, but less than others. However, I’ve seen a lot of pain these past 18 months.”
Lauren took a deep breath and decided to go for it. “I have known rage against beings of pure
evil. I needed to put down a creature of
pure darkness that attacked innocents and nearly killed me after several
battles. These creatures once again
attacked the Gotham airport recently, and my friends and I killed one of them
and apprehended the other.”
Memories came flooding back like an uncontrolled torrent, and all she could do
was speak or be washed away in the anguish, fear, and horror of her life as the
Radiant Ranger. In a surprisingly calm
monotone voice, she continued. “I stood
by while a friend killed a woman. Well,
I was actually flying outside and had no knowledge about it until after the
incident, but still, I was there and should have helped. I severely beat several gang members of the
Longshore Syndicate in an attempt to stop their wicked activities. Later, I ended up working with them to curb
the activity of another rival mob organization; in leagues with the devils
themselves, I’m afraid. And then there
was the bank…”
Tears began bubbling up at the memory, then started slowly running down her
face, leaving streaks on her cheek as she continued in the same calm voice. “At the bank, I was full of hubris and so
sure of my powers that I failed to see the setup that was there. I made a fool of myself running into the bank
door, and I was shot twice for my folly.
After blinding the assailants, I went to the back alley, where a car bomb
exploded, killing two police officers, including a father, the only parent of
two beautiful little children.” Lauren paused
and swallowed hard as Jessie and Mellissa’s faces came to her. “I try to take care of them every day in
repentance.”
“Then, the Groundhog Day parade happened.
I was there in an instant hovering above the floats, but stood idly by,
shocked, confused, fearful, while innocent people were gunned down. I tried to help them, but I could only
deflect some shots. The Joker took
several people to the clocktower, but I ignored them to protect the mass of
people outside, and one of them died because I wasn’t there.”
“Then there’s Barbara Binks,” she said with anger through clenched teeth, and
the emotion tinged her voice, “she hated us with such fury and I only
antagonized her. Not to her face or in
public, but behind closed doors. She
hammered us relentlessly, and I tried to fight with positive words, hoping she
would stop and give us a chance, but she didn’t.”
Suddenly, her anger turned to compassion and pity as new images flashed before
her. “Then, she showed up to get her
son, and I was stunned. I couldn’t
believe that he was her son. I tried to
explain that the two people Scotty killed were beyond our ability to help. They tried to kill us, and almost succeeded,
but instead he was able to kill them.
They were bad guys bent on destruction, but she wouldn’t listen. She stormed in and demanded he go with her,
and he said no. The look in her eyes… of
shock, then pure rage. Rage against me,
and rage against my friends for being something we never asked for. Then…” Lauren paused and said solemnly. “…she killed herself.”
Tears again stared down her cheeks. “She
killed herself, and I tried to help her.
I tried to tell her…” Lauren
swallowed hard before continuing, “her son couldn’t take it. He stopped thinking and just shut down. He shut us all out and stopped being Scotty. Now he is in Arkham, and I visit him nearly every
day, too.”
Lauren took another deep breath to clear her thoughts
before continuing. “She also left behind another son; Scotty’s older
brother. A good compassionate man, whom
I care for deeply.”
“Father, I feel so responsible for her death.
I feel responsible for the lives of everyone on the team, past and
present and for those we effect in our work.” Lauren took a couple of tissues from the box
in the confessional to wipe her eyes and waited.
The priest was stunned. Who is this
person on the other side of the box? It
sounded like one of the Sentinels. Was
this one of the heroes of Gotham in his church?
And the voice is female, so that could only be one person…
Gathering his thoughts, he said, “You’ve had to bear a heavy burden in the name
of God. But take comfort, as he gave you
a gift that few receive, as well as the strength of heart needed to bear this
burden. I know this because you are
here, seeking his wisdom and forgiveness for events that he placed before
you. Go forth with the knowledge that
your sins are forgiven, my child, and you are not alone, as the light of the Lord
is always with you. He is guiding you
and watching over you as you do his good work.
As penance for your sins, you will need to recite the Lord’s Prayer
daily for the next month and pray the rosary once each week for the next four
weeks. However please know, the people
of this city owe you a great debt of gratitude, my child, and you are always welcome here.”
Lauren was surprised. Did he know who
she was? He couldn’t see her, but still,
did this confession break her cover? As
she fraught, she felt a wave of calm cascade through her, something soft and
comforting touched her soul, and she felt at peace. Smiling, she left the confessional and
rejoined her parents.
The next day, they attended service and she accepted communion for the first
time in years.
Chris B
Mission Statement
Jonathan laid on his side along the sectional sofa, his back against the cushions, and his head propped up by a couple of pillows as he watched a movie on Netflix. His arms were draped around Lauren, who laid on her side in front of him. Pressed against his body, her head was nestled on his chest and her hands folded under her cheek. This was a quiet time they carved out to spend with each other and enjoy each other’s company.
As they watched the show, the pair had a light back and forth conversation about a myriad of topics, and Lauren decided to bring up another one. “Jonathan, do you remember not long ago when you said that if I drop my life and replace it with yours, I may end up feeling burned out and lost, and that I should build my own life alongside yours?”
“Yes, I remember,” he said.
“Well, I thought about that for a while and the advice you gave me on clarifying a mission statement. And I realized I have two mission statements: one personal and one professional.” She paused to gather her thoughts and allow him a chance to respond.
Jonathan sat silent, rubbing her arm as she spoke.
“The professional mission statement is pretty basic: Let the citizens of Gotham have the best life possible by helping them in any way I can,” she said slowly and in a soft voice. “This hasn’t changed throughout my life, but the method of accomplishing it has changed dramatically in the past two years. Initially, I would volunteer at the food bank or at the church soup kitchen. Then when I learned to use my powers, I took direct action against the cause of their suffering by shutting down the Pumpkin Gang and fighting the Longshores. Now, I’m in charge of an organization that can have an even larger effect on people’s lives, and I’m so proud of that.”
Lauren then paused to choose her next words carefully. She felt comfortable and safe lying there with him, so she decided to be honest. Again, she spoke slowly and softly, “My personal mission, the one I’ve set for myself, is pretty basic, too. I want to find a good man and have a family filled with love. I want to have children and pass on to them the values and experience I’ve accumulated, so they can have a good life and do great things in the world. Then, I want us to grow old together, and one day die in each other’s arms, happy for what we’ve had.”
She leaned forward and twisted her torso, so she could see him, an affectionate look in her eyes. “You see, by helping you with your goals and dreams, I’m also fulfilling mine.”
********
After the movie ended, Lauren sat up. “That was nice, and I enjoyed our conversations,” she said giving Jonathan a peck on the lips. “I’m going to get some water. Do you want anything?”
“No thank you. I need to be going, anyway,” Jonathan said standing and straightening his hair and clothes.
Lauren looked disappointed. “Aww, I was hoping you might stay,” she said.
“It’s late, and I need to get up early tomorrow. If I stayed, it would probably be even later until I went to sleep. Besides, I enjoyed our conversation, as well, and it gave me a lot to think about.”
“Ok, Speedy. Run safe, and don’t get pulled over,” she said giving him a big kiss goodbye.
Jonathan left, and Lauren closed the door behind him, happy.
********
The next day (Sunday), Lauren arose early and went to church with her parents. They had lunch, then she went to spend the afternoon with the Jessie and Mellissa. The trio went to the park and flew kites. Afterwards, she cooked them dinner, then around 6:30PM, decided to visit Scotty. Once visiting hours elapsed, she returned to her apartment, turned on the Griffins ballgame, and did a little work while watching the game.
Chris B
Gargoyles
Lauren opened the front door to her parents house and walked in. “Hello?” she said loudly as she pulled her key from the doorknob and closed it behind her. Both her mother and father came into the entryway.
“Hi sweetie,” her mother said and reached out to give her a hug. Lauren reflexively took a step back, as her mother wrapped her arms around her. “Gentle mom. Ow, ow, ow…”
Caitlyn pulled her arms back and adopted a worried look. “Honey are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. We had an Op last night, late, and I got beat up pretty bad.”
“Oh my poor baby,” her mother said, concerned.
“What’s hurt, pumpkin,” Steven asked.
Lauren paused and gingerly took off a soft light-weight white colored sweater revealing her bruised and scarred arms. She handed her sweater to her mother, and her parents reacted to the sight with more worry as they visually diagnosed the injuries. “I can tell you what happened in detail when we sit down, but in summary, everything hurts, daddy,” she said with a little tear in her eye.
She was dressed in a yellow skaters dress and light colored flats, so she hiked up the bottom of her dress to reveal the wall of bandage tape wrapped around her midsection under her bra. Long scarred tissue jutted from the edges of the white bandage to the top of her chest. Gingerly lowering her dress, she winced. “I have several broken ribs, long laceration across my midsection, chest area, and on my arms. As well as bruising,” she said as she held up her arms. “Honestly, it’s only by the grace of God that I’m alive.”
Her mother began to tear up at the sight of her battered daughter, and her father’s face tightened. “Oh, my baby,” Caitlyn repeated and reached out to touch her face, the only part that appeared to be unaffected. “Is there anything you need?” she asked.
“Yeah, some breakfast would be nice,” Lauren said with a smile to try and lighten the mood. “I just got up about forty minutes ago, dressed, and came right over. I haven’t eaten anything since last night.”
“Mass starts at 9:30,” Caitlyn said looking at her watch. “It’s 8:20 now, so we have plenty of time. Steven, walk with her to the kitchen and I’ll make some eggs. She’ll need to sit in a hard backed chair in the nook.” Then, she spun on her heels and headed for the kitchen. Lauren and her dad followed.
As they walked, Steven asked, “Who patched you up, pumpkin?”
“The team doctor, Shelly Kingstone. She is very good at her job. You can call her if you’d like, but she’s sleeping now. We had her up late last night, as we all got throttled pretty badly.” Lauren walked over to the chair and sat down slowly. “Ow, ow, ow…”
“So, what happened,” her mom asked as she placed two pieces of bread in the toaster.
Lauren took a deep breath, and her father sat in a chair opposite hers. “Well, I had a nice date night with Jonathan. We watched Field of Dreams on Netflix and talked. Then about 11, he left and an hour later, I got a call from The Patrolman… one of my teammates.”
“I’ve seen him on the news,” Steven said. “Older chap.”
“Yeah. That’s him. Anyway, he’s our resident sleuth, and after ninety years at it, he’s become quite good.”
“He was tracking down some missing persons reports that appeared to be connected to a famous sculptor, Artimis Alibaster, or something like that. It seems the missing persons were people of fame, such as that weather girl Mayte Carranco.”
“That girl from channel seven that dresses indecently?” Caitlyn asked, curling her nose.
“Yep, that’s her,” Lauren said with a chuckle, which sent a sharp pain across her abdomen. Wincing, she continued.
“Well, it seems the Patrolman found a large cavern under the Silver Tree Top building, that had a bunch of statues in it matching the description of the missing persons, so he called in the team.”
“When we got there, he informed us that there was only one way into the cavern, and that was via a dedicated elevator from Artimis’ apartment. Thus, we’d need a warrant to use it. However, the cavern was city property, so if we could get in there without the elevator, it would be a legal entry. So, the Patrolman informed us that he could carry us individually through the ground and into the cavern, if we wanted.”
“Wait, so he could basically turn you into a ghost?” her mother asked.
“Yeah, I guess so. I haven’t really thought about how he did it,” Lauren replied. “We just kind of do things and rely on each other to be trustworthy.” Turning to her dad, she said, “sort of like being in the military.”
Her father nodded in reply. “How did that feel, pumpkin? Being intangible, I mean?” he asked.
“Honestly, it felt sort of weird. Like the molecules in my body were being dispersed and stretched to the point where they could just pass through the space between atoms. I was in my light form at the time, so maybe I can recreate it,” she said staring into the distance as she ran calculations in her head.
“What happened after you entered the cavern?” her mother asked as she stirred the eggs, which were making a sizzling sound. The microwave was humming, and the air filled with the smell of eggs, sausage, and toast.
“Well, I had the Patrolman put us at the bottom of the elevator shaft, so we could enter from a defensible position, while he went around and appeared from the other side of the room. The goal was to evacuate the statues as quickly and easily as possible. Obviously, that plan failed,” she said looking at her arms.
Her mother put a plate of food, flatware, and a napkin in front of Lauren and started to pour her a glass of orange juice. Lauren smiled, took the fork and began eating rapidly.
“Slow down, Lauren,” her dad said softly, placing his hand on hers. “I know you’re hungry and probably stressed but eating too fast will not be good for your injuries.”
Lauren stopped chewing and looked up, her cheeks puffy with food. Slowly, she began to chew again; Steven pulled his hand back and smiled.
“So what happened when you entered the room?” Caitlyn asked as she placed the orange juice in front of her daughter, then sat in the third chair between the two.
Lauren swallowed and took a pull from the glass. “Well, as soon as the Patrolman surfaced, a huge rock creature rose from the bedrock floor. It was massive; probably 20 to 30 feet tall and half as wide. It had these green crystals on its shoulders and was eating one of the statues.”
Lauren’s parents looked at her incredulously. In response, she looked at one then the other. “Honestly, that’s what was there! It was some sort of mythological creature that gives people the power to turn flesh to stone, like Medusa. I know it sounds crazy, but… never mind,” she said taking another bite, shaking her head.
“No, honey,” her mom and dad said talking at the same time. “It isn’t that we don’t believe you. It’s just that, well…” her mom said hunting for the right word.
“We’re trying to absorb it,” her dad chimed in. “We’re trying to picture this rock thing, and it’s, well, something I’ve never seen before. Why don’t you just continue?”
Taking another bite, she said, “Okay. So, the team moves in to try and get the statues before this creature can grab them and eat them, as we think they are the missing people turned to stone.” She paused to gage their reaction, and seeing nothing but concern, she continued.
“So we enter in the order we were lined up in the elevator shaft. That means I’m in first, since I’m the leader, and I make an “S” turn to the right and gain altitude to reconnoiter the area. Mister X enters second. He’s the new guy.”
“The one in the Defender-like suit,” her father says.
“Yeah,” Lauren says. “We call him Mister X; because, he doesn’t have a cool name yet.”
“Anyway, next in was Fast Ball, who enters to the left, and finally comes Kid Splice up the middle.” Turning to her mother, Lauren says, “That’s Dr. Asher’s kid.”
“Ugh,” her mother says and rolls her eyes.
Smiling at her mother’s reaction, Lauren continues. “So, the team moves to collect the statues and engage this rock creature. Kid Splice moves toward one of the statues and has his flying pet thing… it’s sort of like a weird pterodactyl, grab it and start to move toward the north side of the cavern. At the same time, Mr. X moves to another statue and tries to do a flying pickup, sort of like in baseball when the shortstop scoops the ball on the run then throws to first?” Lauren pauses and notices her mother’s attention span dwindles with the baseball reference. Smiling, she continues.
“However, he shoots right past it without grabbing the statue, and continues his arcing turn to the left. Right at that moment, the bane of our existence shows up,” she says with a shiver, and her face turns hard. Lauren’s parents react immediately with sympathy as they watch their daughter stare blankly into the distance. Her mom reaches out to gingerly touch the top of her arm, and Lauren looks back at them, and her face softens.
“Hmm? Oh, right, sorry,” Lauren said regaining her train of thought. “Two gargoyles come out of the elevator shaft and take up a position in front of it.”
“Gargoyles?” her mother asked.
“Yeah, gargoyles,” Lauren replied tersely. “You know, Notre Dame, stone statues that look like demons with wings and long menacing claws?” Lauren gently touches the scars on her left arm with those last words.
Her parents frowned deeply. “Is that what hurt you, pumpkin?” her dad asked cautiously.
Lauren nodded as her eyes started to water, and her face scrunched up in sadness remembering the pain. “They’re terrible,” she managed to say as a sharp pain once again shot through her from the sobbing.
“Shhhh, it’s ok, honey,” her mom said grabbing her hand. “Crying will only aggravate your injuries.”
“If you want to stop, it’s okay,” Steven said, feeling his daughter’s mental and physical pain.
Lauren shook her head slightly and regained control of herself. Taking the napkin, she wiped her eyes and nose, then continued. “So, these creatures enter the battlespace, and since I’m the closest, I move to engage,” she says clinically. “I keep my distance and unleash a flash bang on them.”
“Flash bang?” Caitlyn asked Steven.
“A flash grenade of sorts made to blind someone temporarily,” he replies.
“Yeah. It’s an effective non-lethal method of taking out the bad guys,” Lauren adds.
“Good for you to use that first, honey,” her mom adds, patting her daughter’s hand.
“So, that doesn’t work, and now they’re pissed. Since I’m the closest and brightest target, they come straight at me. One takes a swipe, and hits me in the mid-section,” she says lightly rubbing her lower chest.
“I couldn’t begin to describe the pain, and I know I screamed loudly. The cold sharp stone claws bit deep into my upper abdomen and across to my left breast, tearing everything apart. I think my ribs saved my heart, but they tore from the force and broke apart.” Looking at her mother, she said, “Luckily, we found out my lungs turn into pure light, otherwise it probably would have punctured them, too.”
Her mom jumped slightly in fear at the vivid description, and her father frowned. Both remained quiet.
“I knew I couldn’t handle another strike like that, so when the second one wound up to hit me, I reached up and blocked it with my forearm.” Lauren showed them the bruise just above the left hand.
“Angered, the first one took another swipe at me, and unfortunately, I was so turned around, I wasn’t able to block it. The gargoyle raked my exposed mid-section again, lower this time.”
All three sat there quietly for a few moments as her parents tried to visualize the information. Lauren decided to continue, her eyes reflecting the pain, sadness, and trepidation she felt. “After that, I think I went into shock. I was hemorrhaging badly, and I couldn’t feel parts of my body, and I was terrified. Then for some reason, I thought about bears, and how you’re supposed to play dead, so I did. I turned off my flight and just fell to the ground.”
“How high were you, pumpkin?” Steven asked.
“Probably 30 feet or so,” she said.
“Ouch, that’s about three stories up,” he said.
“Yeah, but I’ve fallen farther and survived. My armor absorbs the impact; however, I knew I was dead if I didn’t get those things off me. And thankfully, it worked. They left me alone and went to chase Mr. X.”
Lauren’s parents breathed an audible sigh of relief, as they remained transfixed on their daughter. They were listening both as parents and as a clinician to gage her mental state.
“By now, I was in really really bad shape, and honestly thought I was going to die, right there on that stone floor… So I prayed.” Tears began welling up as she remembered the incident. “I prayed for help from Jesus, and he answered, mom. He answered me. As I lay there unable to move and my blood started pooling on the ground beneath me, I felt a coolness wash over my body, and I swear I got brighter. My cuts began to close, my insides felt as though they were turning from flesh and bone into light, and the bleeding stopped. It was a miracle.”
Caitlyn squeezed her daughter’s hand tight and began to cry, herself. “Praise be to God,” she said. “Thank you, Jesus, for protecting our daughter.”
Steven also began to tear up at the thought of divine intervention saving his daughter’s life. “Amen,” he said and placed his hand on his wife’s.
After a few moments, Lauren composed herself again. “Things get a little fuzzy at this point, since I lost a lot of blood and was in shock. I remember laying there, and the Patrolman came over the radio saying something like, “playtime is over, you need to get over there now.”
“Oh, I forgot. While I was engaging the gargoyles, the rock creature had put a wall around Kid Splice, and he was frantically trying to blast out of his prison. I think what happened was that the Patrolman ghosted Kid Splice through the stone and brought him over to me; because, the next thing I remembered was the patrolman and Kid Splice standing over me with the Kid’s bacta needle protruding from my leg.”
“Bacta?” Caitlyn asked, as she wiped her eyes with a napkin.
“That’s what I call it. It’s a play on the healing tanks in Star Wars,” Lauren said.
“It’s my understanding that some time ago, Doctor Asher took the genetic code from cancer cells, which makes them hyper aggressive in attacking healthy cells and “spliced” that with a stem cell, creating a new breed of organism that instead aggressively finds dead and dysfunctional cells and fuses them together, creating a healthy live copy of the former’s nucleus.”
Caitlyn was impressed. “That’s amazing,” she said. “If that works, can you imagine the medical implication of it?”
“Yeah,” Lauren answered, “it works. After God bought me enough time for Kid Splice to get to me, he injected me with the bacta cells, which quickly went to work to bring me to the state I’m in now.” To magnify the point, she raised her arms to show things mostly worked.
“Doctor Asher may be a whack-a-do, but you gotta admit he’s a friggin’ genius!”
Lauren’s mom smiled, as she gained a new appreciation for the doctor’s work.
“So, now you feel better, but you’re still on the floor,” her father said.
“Yes, sir,” Lauren said breaking off a piece of toast and popping it into her mouth. After chewing for a minute, she said, “then the group finally decided to follow my advice and work together.”
“I got to my feet, and lifted off the ground, to face the second gargoyle that was now after Kid Splice and the Patrolman. However this time, all safeties were off. I realized the need to kill them quick, so I used my eye beams.”
Noticing her parents confused looks, she said, “I have laser beams that shoot from my eyes like Superman.” Looking at her father she said, “Do you remember the burn marks you’d regularly find in the firewood out back?” Steven nodded. “That was from my eye beams. I can channel a focused stream of coherent light that cuts through metal.” Lauren paused as they absorbed the information. “I can show you if you’d like,” she said as she started to stand.
“Steven reached out and gently touched her shoulder. “Not now, pumpkin. We can see it after you’ve recovered.”
Lauren nodded and slowly sat back in her chair. “Ow…”
“Anyway,” she continued, “I figured coherent light should be able to blast through rock, so I took a shot and hit one squarely in the mid-section. By its scream, I knew I did some damage, and so did my teammates.” Lauren’s eyes betrayed the raw satisfaction of hurting the creature and the fire of revenge, which caused her parents to look on her sympathetically.
“We started to throw as much energy at these monsters as we could, and we concentrated all fire on this one gargoyle. Within a few seconds, it was out of the fight, then we shifted to the other one, while Fast Ball kept the large rock creature busy. The second one dropped in short order, too, so we turned toward the master of all this pain.”
Lauren aggressively took another bite of toast and took a pull of orange juice before continuing.
“Unfortunately, we realized too late that Fast Ball was in the rock monster’s hand and had been turned to stone. The green crystals on the creature’s back were glowing as flesh turned to stone, just like Medusa does in Clash of the Titans.”
“We threw everything we had at the rock monster, and my last shot must have done some serious damage, as it decided to disengage and disappeared into the stone floor. And that was it. The rock monster was gone, the gargoyles were dead, and all we had to do was evacuate the statues.”
“We worked as a team to get them up the elevator shaft to the first floor of the Silver Tree Top building, where the GCPD were waiting due to some other activity in the building. And, that’s pretty much it,” she said taking the last bite of sausage.
“This was great, mom, thank you,” she said earnestly, smiling at Caitlyn.
“You’re welcome, sweetie.”
“Let me get that,” Steven said as he stood and took the plate from the table and placed it in the sink. “So, what happened to Fast Ball and your other teammates?”
“Well, Fast Ball is still a statue at the base, but we think we know someone that can help reverse the magic. We talked to her last night, and we need to contact the magic university in Evergreen City on Monday morning. I’m pretty confident he’ll be okay, though. The rest of the team is battered almost as much as I was. Mr. X came out with less damage, and Kid Splice was using his bacta with Doctor Kingstone to get us all patched up.”
Lauren looked at her watch, “Oh! It’s 9:10. I need to use the potty, then we can go. I’m sorry for making us late.”
“No, no, pumpkin. We’re fine,” Steven said. “Are you sure you want to go to church? Do you feel up for it?”
“Yes, I’m sure, daddy. I owe God, especially after last night.”
Steven nodded.
“Well, I need to straighten my makeup real quick,” Caitlyn said. She stood and gave Lauren a kiss on the top of her head. “I love you baby girl. Thanks for staying alive.”
“I love you too, mom,” Lauren said as her mother headed toward the stairs.
********
Ten minutes passed, and the trio gathered to leave the house. “Speaking of Jonathan, do you remember when we were talking about birth control and how you might be killed before making it to confession?” Caitlyn asked Lauren as they stepped onto the porch.
“Mooommm!” Lauren exclaimed as Steven shut the door behind them, the conversation now muffled from the entryway.
Gotham
Chris B
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Chris B
Dress Like a Superhero Day
Lauren opened the door to her apartment to see Jonathan standing in the hallway. “Come in,” she said, then turned and walked into her bedroom.
Jonathan entered and closed the door behind him. “Not ready yet?” he chided playfully as he strode into the living room.
“Almost,” she said as she returned to the common area and began to tie a red mask behind her head. Lauren wore a light blue skater dress and red Keds sneakers. A cheap red superhero cape was fastened around her neck to augment the mask. After tying the mask, she paused to get a look at Jonathan. “Who are you supposed to be,” she asked with playful mockery.
“A Terminator?” he replied with a question. Jonathan was dressed nicely and very casual. He sported a light patterned short-sleeved button down that draped un-buttoned over a navy blue t-shirt. The shirts hung loosely over the waistband of a pair of light gray Bermuda shorts. A pair of casual sneakers completed the outfit.
“You look like you just stepped out of a GQ magazine,” she replied with a smile. Walking up to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a quick kiss.
After reciprocating the kiss he said, “Hang on,” and pulled down a pair of fashionable ballistic sunglasses from the top of his head and covered his eyes. “How about now?”
“You look handsome. I’m sure the kids will be terrified,” she replied with a wry grin. The two left the apartment and walked the block and a half to Paddy’s Sports Bar, where Denny O’Neal and the Perez kids were waiting.
Denny and the Kids were sitting in a couple of chairs near the bar’s entrance when they arrived. As soon as the door opened, Jesse shot up and came right up to Lauren. “What da ya think?” he asked excitedly.
“That’s fantastic!” Lauren replied. “I’m very impressed. You may even win the contest for best Robin.”
“Wouldn’t that be awesome?” he said, spinning around in multiple hero poses.
Denny and Mellissa then stood and walked toward the couple. “Hi Lauren. Hello, Jonathan,” Denny said, offering his hand to him.
Jonathan shook the man’s hand firmly. “Hello, Mr. O’Neal. It’s good to see you.”
“Likewise,” he replied. Turning to take in Lauren’s costume he said, “Well, that’s an interesting combination. You look like you’re ready for trick and treats from the old neighborhood.”
Lauren blushed, “thanks Denny! It’s supposed to be patchwork and basic, just to get into the spirit of the thing.”
“Well, you succeeded.” Denny then turned to Mellissa, “are you ready to go, sweetheart?” Mellissa stepped forward and into view, nodding.
“Well, don’t you look ravishing,” Jonathan said.
Lauren knelt down and bowed, “Princess Diana of Themyscira.”
Embarrassed, Mellissa smiled and softly said, “Stop, Lauren. Let’s go.”
“Yes, milady,” she replied and rose to her full height. Taking Mellissa’s hand, they headed for the door.
********
After a short bus ride to Gotham Central Park, the group arrived and started to walk toward the tents and tables scattered about the center of the grounds.
“Wow, look at all of this,” Jesse said in wonder as he took in the scene. In the center of the park, there was a lot of activity. White tents of various sizes formed a makeshift perimeter around the event. Within the tents were games for the kids to play, vendors selling comic book and toy related items, a few people signing autographs, and event sponsors with displays about their connection to Gotham, Batman, or the comic book and toy industries. People, young and old, milled about in various forms of dress; from elaborate costumes that looked movie grade to regular clothing. All appeared to be having a great time.
“We need to find the Channel 22 booth!” Jesse exclaimed and started pulling on Denny’s arm to lead them faster into the fray. The group moved about, taking in the sights and making mental notes on things they’d like to see, until Jonathan spotted their target.
“There it is,” he said, and began walking in that direction. Lauren was hold his hand with her left and Mellissa’s hand with her right, and the trio started snaking through the crowd toward the Channel 22 booth. Jessie, with Denny in tow, overtook the trio and passed them heading for the booth. As they approached, they saw a long line of kids and parents winding around a hastily setup que, all waiting for their chance to get a SWAG bag and an initial evaluation of their costume.
As they approached the end of the line, Denny said, “That’s a pretty long line, Jessie. Are you sure you want to wait? It might take an hour.”
“Yes, sir,” he said with pleading eyes, happy to have his spot.
“Okay, then.” Looking at Lauren and Jonathan he said, “You three don’t need to wait. We can save your spot in line, and you can look around for a bit.”
Lauren looked at Jonathan, and he returned the gaze with a short shoulder shrug. Lauren then turned back to Denny, “sure, that would be great. However while we’re in line, why don’t you two go to the restroom and grab a beverage or something for the wait. That way you’ll be fresh.”
Denny nodded. “Come on, Jessie, let’s go to the restroom and get a snack.”
“So, are you having fun?” Lauren asked Jonathan as the pair left.
“Yeah, this is a good setup,” he said looking around. “A lot more people than I thought. I even saw some Sentinel costumes, I think.”
Lauren smiled, “guess the word is getting out.” Pulling her phone from a small black backpack style purse she wore, she found a map of the event. Squatting on the balls of her feet, she held up the phone for Mellissa. “Here’s a map of the event, sweetie. Is there anything that looks interesting to you?”
Mellissa took the phone and started scrolling, pinching, and flicking the screen. The image zoomed around at a high speed, and Lauren could hardly keep up. After five minutes, Mellissa pointed out a couple of booths she wanted to visit, then handed the device back to Lauren.
Another 15 minutes passed until the boys returned. “Wow, you got pretty far,” Denny said, impressed that the line moved a little more than half way in the time they were gone. “Your turn. Restrooms are that way, and I think your baseball friend is over there,” he said pointing toward two different areas.
“Great!” Lauren exclaimed. Looking down and hunching her back she said, “Ready sweetie?” Mellissa nodded and took her hand. “We’ll be back in a bit. If you get to the front before we return, just give us a buzz.”
“We will,” Jessie said as he added narrative to some pictures he was posting on his blog.
Lauren, Jonathan, and Mellissa headed back into the mass of superhero fans. They walked around, chatted, and looked at various booths. Both Mellissa and Lauren had SWAG bags, and they kept stuffing fliers, pictures, brochures, and other freebies into them as they walked past the booths and tables. Eventually, they made it to Fast Ball’s booth.
The new Sentinel was sitting on a cushioned barstool behind a long table. On it were a bunch of fliers and the pictures he was signing. For $10, a patron received an autographed glossy from the available selection and a receipt; as the proceeds were being donated to charity, the photo was tax deductible. The booth was colorfully adorned with a picture of Knight Stadium in the center, advertisements about the upcoming exhibition game between the Sentinels of Gotham, Champions of Millennium City, the Guardians of Evergreen City, and the Protectors of San Francisco. It also sported pictures of Fast Ball during his pitching career. He had just finished signing a picture and talking to a young fan when the trio arrived.
“Hi Mikey,” Lauren said as they approached.
“Hi Lauren,” he replied with a smile. “Who is this lovely lady,” he said flashing a picture perfect smile at Mellissa.
She blushed.
Guiding Mellissa in front of her and toward the counter, Lauren said, “This is Mellissa Perez. Mellissa, this is Mikey Delaney, also known as the Sentinel, Fast Ball.”
“It’s great to meet you, Mellissa,” Fast Ball said as he came around the counter and bent down to shake her hand. “You’re the prettiest Wonder Woman I’ve seen all day!” Nodding toward Lauren, he asked Mellissa, “She isn’t giving you any trouble, is she?”
Mellissa smiled and shook her head.
“Alright, you just let me know if she does,” he said with a wink. Standing upright, he turned to Jonathan. “So, who is this?”
“Mikey Delaney, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Jonathan Grant. Jonathan, this is Mikey Delaney.”
The two men clasped hands and gave each other a very firm shake. “Nice to meet you,” Fast Ball said feigning ignorance as to the man’s identity. He knew the team’s leader and CEO quite well, but he didn’t want to break Erulim’s cover. That didn’t mean he couldn’t take a few jabs, though. Turning to Lauren, he said with a smile, “Boyfriend, huh? Is he worth it? He looks like a mug to me.”
Lauren smiled back. “It’s true he doesn’t have your winning smile, or your spectacular Earned Run Average, which all the ladies just melt over. But, he’s mine and I wouldn’t give him up for anything,” she said wrapping her free arm around his waist and giving him a peck on the cheek.
“Well, he’s a lucky man,” Fast Ball said, releasing Jonathan.
“Yes I am,” he replied. “Anything going on,” he asked Fast Ball.
“Nope, pretty quiet. Lots of fans and we’ve sold a bunch of tickets for the exhibition game,” Fast Ball said looking around at the crowd. “Do you three want an autograph?”
“Heck yeah we want an autograph!” Lauren said with a smirk. “And a few selfies, too!” She started to dig into her purse for her cash.
“No money needed, it’s on the house,” Fast Ball said.
“Then, we’ll just donate $20 to the charity, then,” she said pushing the bill she just pulled from her purse into the slot at the top of the lock box.
“All right, then. Who should we make it out to?”
“One is for me,” Lauren said looking at Jonathan from the corner of her eye. He was shaking his head and smiling. “And the other is for Mellissa,” she said looking down at the girl and placing her palm on Mellissa’s back.
“Great! Here you go,” he said handing the pair their pictures.
Both quickly put the autograph into their SWAG bags. “Your brother is going to be jealous,” Lauren said to Mellissa, who replied with a smile.
“Now, somebody said something about selfies?”
As Fast Ball came around the counter and began to place everyone around him with the large picture of Knights stadium as the backdrop, Lauren smiled maliciously and took the opportunity to strike. Reaching into her SWAG bag, she pulled out a Gotham Griffins sticker the size of a coaster, quickly peeled off the back, then slapped it onto the bottom right corner of the display. Despite it being nearly sideways, she was pleased with her handiwork, and turned to pose for the camera.
The group took a picture with all four of them in a serious pose and a silly face, then a few pictures of each individually with Fast Ball and in pairs with him. It was a full spread. “If you have copies of any other pics you take with fans, send them my way and I’ll get them on Instagram and Facebook,” Lauren said to Fast Ball.
“Will do. Back to work,” he said as another group of people approached the booth.
“Bye, Mikey,” Mellissa said waving.
“Bye, sweetie,” he replied, causing her to smile wide and blush.
“He’s cute, isn’t he,” Lauren asked Mellissa as they walked down the row, the two girls holding hands. She nodded in reply blushing even more. Jonathan smiled at her reaction and wrapped his arm around Lauren’s waist as they walked.
Eventually, they made their way back to Channel 22’s booth to find Denny coming from the tent.
“Where’s Jessie?” Lauren asked, a little surprised.
“They’re taking him to the main stage,” Denny said, pointing to a large tent in the opposite direction. “We got to the table and picked up the goodie bag, a lady there complimented him on his costume, then invited us to see a judge. They took us behind the curtain to a small seating area with a couple of other families. As we slid down the seats, the last one would go in front of a small panel of three judges, do a little spin, answer a couple of questions about their costume, and some were handed a number. Jessie got number 56. Not long after, the judges closed the panel and took the kids with a number to another area.”
Denny looked a little worried and a bit proud, too. “We were told to go to the stage, as the kids were going to be in a parade in a few minutes. He was so excited.”
The group made their way to the large stage area and was able to filter through the crowd and get semi-close to the stage. About ten minutes later, a woman came on stage to announce the finalists in the Gotham Cartoon Channel’s First Annual Superhero Costume Contest. The crowd erupted in cheers! Jonathan picked up Mellissa and cradled his arms to form a makeshift seat, so her head was at the same height as theirs. Lauren gently snuggled his other arm and smiled, moved by the impromptu gesture.
For the next hour, the sixty finalists individually paraded around, walking on stage, twirling, dancing, shuffling, and some attempting action scenes as they were judged on their costumes. Some were more elaborate than others, and most were homemade. Parents in the crowd cheered and jeered, and most enjoyed the show as it was. When Jessie came out, Lauren, Denny, Jonathan and Mellissa all hooted and hollered as loud as they could.
Eventually, the woman came back out one final time to announce the winners. As she called them out, parents, friends, and family members hollered and yelled in excitement and the crowd applauded as the child made a victory lap. Lauren and Jonathan looked at each other and rolled their eyes when Will Asher was called as the eighth best costume.
Not long after, the woman thanked the parents for coming and reminded them to watch Channel 22, then the crowd started to disperse. People without a child on stage began to leave the area, and parents with children on stage surged forward to find their little ones. The crowd was hectic, so Lauren and the gang decided to stay put for a minute and keep an eye out for Jessie. “Mellissa, can you text your brother and find out where he is?” Lauren asked.
“Sure,” she said and pulled out her phone and began to type. Denny and Jonathan began careening their necks to see over the crowd, and then a few screams were heard. Lauren started looking around frantically for the source of the scream, and Jonathan put Mellissa back on the ground. The cries became louder and more numerous, and their words started to be understandable; their children were missing!
“Does anyone see Jessie?” Denny asked with worry.
“No,” came the reply.
“Mellissa, has your brother responded?”
Mellissa looked down at her phone, “No sir,” she said to Denny.
“I don’t like this,” he said looking at Lauren and Jonathan.
Just then, a man’s voice could be heard saying a riddle.
“Riddle me this: What two whole positive numbers have the same answer when multiplied together as when added together?”
“Here, take Mellissa, and head to the police checkpoint over there,” Lauren said pointing in the general direction. “Tell them Jessie is missing. We’ll look around here.”
Denny nodded and began to drive through the crowd, clutching Mellissa’s hand tightly. Lauren looked at Jonathan with a frown. “I’m going to call in the team. Get clear of this crowd and do a perimeter sweep to see if you can find a large group of children or any unusual vehicles in the surrounding area that might hold them. If you find a truck moving away and aren’t positive it’s them, get its plate, call it in, and keep looking. We can get GCPD on it or chase down the truck later, but I don’t want you bogged down by a red herring.” Jonathan nodded and disappeared. Pulling her own cell phone from her backpack, she unlocked it, activated the Sentinels app, and began to type.
In an instant, each Sentinel received a message,
Priority One Emergency! Children Just Taken from Superhero Costume Festival. Assemble at large stage tent in south center part of Gotham Central Park Immediately! Looks like The Riddler.
Pausing for a moment, she stopped to ponder the riddles. “The first one was…
A Mirror for the famous but informative to all. I'll show you the world but it may be small.
…which we determined was probably a television. Then this new riddle is a math problem. 2+2=4 and 2x2=4, so the answer is four… or is it 2 & 2?” she thought out loud. 22? Lauren looked back at the Channel 22 booth and paused. “Oh no…”
Flipping the cell phone over, she unlocked it again and sent a direct message to the Patrolman and Mr. X.
Priority One Override! Patrolman and Mr. X, form up and head to Channel 22’s headquarters. Conduct an extensive search of the area and look out for the children. They may not yet be there when you arrive, but Channel 22 is a likely front for the culprit.
Patrolman, DO NOT ENTER until you have backup on overwatch! Once X arrives, please search the building. If anyone finds anything, please report it immediately.
- RR
Then she shoved her phone back into the backpack and quickly zipped it up. At that moment, Fast Ball and Kid Splice arrived at the stage. Looking at Fast Ball she said, “Take the Kid and search the stage area for any clues as to how the children disappeared. They had to evac somehow, and I hope it wasn’t through teleportation. Erulim and I are going to search the perimeter. Report anything you find to the whole team. Patrolman and X are online.”
Lauren turned and made her way to a fairly discrete area. As soon as she was mostly clear of prying eyes, she shifted into the Radiant Ranger and soared into the sky to reconnoiter the area, looking for the kids or any large trucks moving away from the area.
Chris B
Foundation Gala
“Wow, this is really impressive,” Jonathan said as he and Lauren stood just inside the main entryway to the Brentwood Country Club. He was dressed in a basic black tuxedo with a bow tie, and Lauren wore a white dress, a white pearl necklace, and reddish brown shoes. Looking around the large room, he took in the scene.
The space was three quarters occupied with gala attendees representing a large portion of Gotham’s elite and semi-elite. Wait staff dressed in white shirts and black slacks darted around the room with trays of beverages and snacks. A large open bar was on one side of the room where several people gathered. In the opposite corner, a woman in a flowing gown was playing a grand piano, which could just be heard over the light murmur of conversation. Despite it being summer and the air conditioning running, a fire was blazing in the large fireplace on the far side of the room. The patrons looked dashing in their formal attire.
“Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome from all three Michaels,” Lauren replied with a smile.
“All three? Your parents were involved in this?” he asked.
Lauren nodded. “I think my mom’s quote was, if the only way we finally get to meet this wonderful man of yours is to throw him a ball, then so be it. They covered half the cost, and I covered the other half.”
Jonathan looked at her, “you shouldn’t have.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, placing her hand on his chest. “It’s a tax write off, and besides, I really don’t need all the salary I’m making.”
Jonathan smirked, “so you’re saying I’m paying you too much?”
“Let’s not get crazy,” she replied then took a sip of her Tom Collins. “We discussed a fundraiser, so here you go. This is the best I can do,” she said, raising her arms to the crowd.
Jonathan turned and kissed her near the top of her head. “Thank you,” he said softly. “Now, let’s mingle.”
The pair walked into the crowd, nodding to some guests and saying hello to others, and they approached a couple that was standing alone. “Hello Congressman. Jonathan Grant,” he said offering his hand.
The Congressman shook it, ”nice to see you, Jonathan. May I introduce my wife, Jill Colton?”
“Pleasure,” Jonathan said shaking the woman’s hand softly. Bringing his arm around Lauren’s waist he said, “and this is Lauren Michaels. Lauren, I’d like you to meet Congressman Harvey Colton and his wife Jill.”
“It’s a real pleasure, Congressman, Mrs. Colton,” she said shaking both of their hands.
“The pleasure is all ours,” he replied. “This is a very nice gathering you have. Excellent crowd.”
“Thank you,” Jonathan said. “I couldn’t have done it without help.”
“So tell me more about this Foundation of yours.”
“Well, it’s something that could really benefit both Gotham and the nation. A place where young students with special abilities can go to learn the control and discipline needed to fit in with regular society.”
“Interesting,” Colton said. “I’d like to hear more of the details.”
“Great, then I’ll leave you in the capable hands of my Chief Operations Officer,” he said, turning to look at Lauren. “She can provide all of the nitty gritty while I attend to another matter.”
Lauren flashed him a smile that said, I’d be happy to, while her eyes said, where are You going? Turning back to the couple, she said, “I’d be happy to.”
“Excellent,” Jonathan said and looked into her eyes to say Thank You before leaving them.
“So, Lauren. You wouldn’t happen to know a Doctor Steven Michaels, would you?” Colton asked.
“Why yes, he’s my father.”
“Really?” Colton asked, a bit surprised. “He’s been our family doctor for a while now. Great man, very thorough and compassionate.”
“He’s around here somewhere,” she said, taking a quick glance around the room.
“I also heard you recently graduated from Gotham University with a doctoral degree in Physics?” he asked.
“Yes, I did. Well, I will. Formal graduation will be in August, but I passed my dissertation defense and have been conferred the degree.”
“Well, Congratulations, dear,” Mrs. Colton said.
“Thank you ma’am,” Lauren replied with a smile.
“Oh, Bruce!” Colton yelled to someone behind Lauren and raised his drink high.
Turning, she saw a tall dapper man in a tuxedo approach the group. He held a glass of scotch whiskey in one hand. Lauren’s face briefly flashed with excitement, then returned to the demure status it previously held. The man walked up and stood beside Lauren.
“Bruce, I’d like you to meet, Dr. Lauren Michaels, PhD. Lauren, this is Bruce Wayne.”
Lauren turned to face him and offered her hand. “Please to meet you Mr. Wayne.”
Bruce shook her hand firmly, gauging the woman’s strength and strength of character. “A pleasure to meet you Dr. Michaels. Please call me Bruce,” he said with a smile and a gleem in his eye.
“And you may call me Lauren,” she said confidently, while butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Turning back to the Congressman, she asked, “Are there any questions I can answer about the school or foundation?”
“Yes, indeed. First off, what is the goal of all of this?” he asked raising his glass to the room.
“Well, the gala is the first of it’s kind to raise funds to provide a more sustainable endowment for the Foundation. We were hoping to raise about $100 million in order to make the institution self sufficient from any other funding source. This will allow the school to provide scholarships for those students who otherwise could not afford individual training to control their abilities.”
“Interesting,” Colton said. “Why do we need the school in the first place?”
“Excellent question, Congressman. As you know, reports come in every day about people with extraordinary abilities causing some sort of commotion around the country. Some people have the self discipline and familial stability to learn to control these abilities on their own. However, some young people lack one of these conditions in their lives, and the unfortunate fall out from that is a percentage of these youngsters turn to crime or use their abilities to seek revenge or some other less than productive use of their talents.”
“The goal of the school is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the children of Gotham who manifest these special abilities, so they can enter general society with the morality and self discipline to function safely.”
“What can the school provide that other programs and institutions cannot?” he asked.
“Well, for one, the instructor cadre will mostly consist of people with meta abilities. This will provide positive role models on proper behavior to the students. Second, the facility will have special places for the students to unleash their powers in a controlled environment, so they can learn their limits and the best methods to keep them constrained. You can imagine that PE class will be quite different than those you and I attended,” Lauren said with a chuckle.
“Lastly, children with meta abilities are beyond the scope and capabilities of the current HHS programs. Foster parents may not know how or even want to deal with a child who has the ability to fly or exceptional strength. It’s for these children, that this program must succeed. Otherwise, they may be treated harshly by parents and guardians, bullied by their peers, or just left to their own devices, and this is when people become resentful and turn against society. Our foundation can prevent this outcome in a proactive manner, and instead produce a healthy well mannered adult who can contribute positively to society.”
“Excellent answer, Dr. Michaels.” Colton said. “Because of your noble goal, I’m happy to introduce an appropriation bill into Congress next week to try and provide additional funding for your Foundation.”
“Feigning surprise, Lauren said, “That’s wonderful, Congressman, but I must respectfully decline.” Colton looked confused as she continued, “Honestly, I think we would prefer to have a $10,000 personal donation from you and Mrs.Colton over a $10 million Federal appropriation. This is to both protect the government and legislators as well as protect the Foundation. If we used federal funds, those who may not be as supportive of our cause could use this to level accusations against Congress and the Executive branch. Also, a question may arise as to why a struggling farmer in Iowa should specifically support the schooling for a meta in Gotham, which is a good question. By keeping our funding sources private, we do not bring the government under this scrutiny.”
“Now, the local, State, and Federal government will still have oversight and authority over the school, just as it does over all schools in the Gotham Public School system. However, they will not need to provide any funding if we are able to fully realize our endowment targets.”
“Excellent, Dr. Michaels,” Colton said. “Then I will have my office send a check first thing tomorrow for $10,000.”
“That’s great, Congressman, thank you so much,” Lauren replied.
“If you’ll excuse us, we’re going to refresh ur drinks,” Colton said and left.
“So… Lauren, I hear congratulations are in order,” Bruce said taking a sip of his beverage.
“How so?” Lauren asked.
“In addition to your new degree, it’s my understanding that you were also appointed as the COO and Managing Director for the Sentinels. I was curious how you achieved such a notable goal.”
Lauren smiled, “well, it’s all about what you know and who you know. In addition to his business dealings, Jonathan is also a PhD candidate in the Physics department. As school colleagues, I was able to speak at length with him about his goals and dreams, and I was able to help him with a few problems. It seems, I have a bit of a head for business, among other things.”
“That, I do not doubt,” Bruce said. Lauren felt as though he was analyzing her every word and movement. So, she decided to challenge him a bit.
“So, Bruce, is there anything the Sentinels can help you with?” she asked.
“No, thanks. Wayne Industries is doing well,” he said.
“Well, how about help with any endeavors you have outside of WI? Especially those tasks related to… public safety?” she asked and took a sip of her drink to hide the cunning smile forming on her face.
Bruce looked at her with a sideways smile of his own and a flash of intrigue in his eyes, “Dr. Michaels, to what are you referring?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said with a pronounced sigh. “Let’s just say, if a certain caped crusader needed any assistance, then the Sentinels would be willing to provide assistance.”
“Well, if such a person did need assistance, I’m sure I wouldn’t know about it,” he said with a wide smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to find Mr. Grant, so we can talk business.” Bruce said and left her standing there.
Lauren took a sip of her drink and watched the billionaire as he walked away. He’s certainly cute, she thought, but far too mysterious. Even more so than Jonathan, she realized with a smile. Quickly, Bruce Wayne was approached by another man. Well, he looks familiar, she thought, trying to remember his face.
"Bruce can we talk?" the man asked.
"Of course Kevin, how are the kids?" Bruce asked in reply.
As they walked away, the pair could be partially overheard, and Lauren realized Kevin is the Vice President in charge of Wayne Tech Enterprise’s legal firm. It then struck her that this is Kevin Freeman, the attorney that showed up within the Sentinel base months ago requesting their assistance. She also remembered that he required the team to sign an iron clad non-disclosure agreement before discussing the matter further. Unfortunately, the Radiant Ranger felt it was not prudent to do so at that time. What are you two boys discussing, she asked herself.
Coming back to reality, Lauren took a long pull from her drink and walked over to a side table to place the empty glass down. Looking around, she saw Fast Ball with a small group around him. He was obviously telling a joke and reached the punchline; because, as he swung his arms wide, they suddenly came forward and the group started laughing in unison. In another part of the room, the Patrolman was talking with an old gentleman, probably in his 90s, and a woman in her 20s that clung to the man’s arm. Will Asher was off to the side with a group of six or seven young women around him, likely interns, staff, or adult children of the party goers, all clinging to his words as he told a story. Lauren shook her head and smiled. “That’s my team,” she said softly.
Finding the mayor talking with a man that she vaguely knew was from Knight Industries, she decided to go over and see what they were discussing.
********
As the night drew to a close, Lauren finally found Jonathan again. They had met up a couple of times during the party, but it was always a fleeting thing. He spent most of the last hour at the door, saying goodbye to the guests. Now, she spotted him talking with her parents next to the silent piano. With a quizzical look, she walked over to them.
“Lauren,” her mother said loudly as she approached. “How are you, sweetie?” The men turned to look at her, as well.
“I’m good, mom,” she said as she slid next to Jonathan. “How are you, daddy?”
“I’m good, pumpkin. Great party, by the way.”
“Yes, it was magnificent,” her mother, Caitlyn, said.
“Thanks. I hope it did some good,” Lauren replied.
Jonathan was smiling. “We’ll need to do the pledge tally in the morning, but I think it was an unmitigated success. Thank you so much for all of your hard work,” he said, kissing Lauren softly on the top of her head.
Lauren’s mother smiled with excitement. “Oh, look at you two. Jonathan was just telling us a little about himself.”
“Was he,” Lauren asked, looking back at him. “Nothing too nefarious, I hope,” she said jokingly.
“No, we were talking about the challenge of balancing school work and his business ventures, and we had a little bit of military talk, as well,” Steven, her father, said.
“And religion,” Caitlyn said.
“Really,” Lauren said looking at her mother sternly. “Anything specific about religion, mom?”
“No… well, yes. Maybe the conversation steered a little bit towards children and marriage and the church’s doctrine on those topics.”
“Did it?” Lauren asked, looking back at Jonathan.
He had a wide grin and was fighting to suppress a full smile. Holding his hands up in surrender, he said, “It was an innocent conversation. No worries about anything.” Then let his hands fall to his side.
Lauren slid her arm around his waist. “Okay, but if it gets too weird, let me know.”
“Oh sweetie, it was fine,” her mother said dismissively. “Your father was standing right here.”
Steven mimicked Jonathan’s hand movements but didn’t say a word.
“Great, so... I think Jonathan and I need to settle with the coordinator, so …”
“Right!” Lauren’s mother said. “You two want to be alone. We told Jonathan that he needs to come by for dinner some time, and he agreed. I’ll let you two determine a good time.” Stepping forward, she gave Lauren a big hug. “He’s a keeper,” she whispered in Lauren’s ear.
“Thanks mom,” Lauren said as they stepped back, then she moved in to hug her father.
“Take care, Pumpkin. Drive safe and we’ll see you Sunday.”
“Thanks dad, for everything. I love you two.”
“We love you, as well, pumpkin,” her father said.
Steven and Caitlyn made their way to the door and all four said “Bye” and waived as they left the Country Club.
“Come on, let’s settle the final bill and you can tell me all about your conversation on the way home. Oh, and you’re spending the night, no getting out of it!”
“Yes ma’am,” Jonathan said with a smile as he followed Lauren to the kitchen area.
Chris B
Family Genetics and Mom / Daughter Relationships
Lauren and her mother were sitting in a small restaurant near Mercy hospital having lunch. Caitlyn requested the meeting to further discuss how they were going to investigate Lauren’s genetic mutations.
“Did you meet Doctor Asher,” Lauren asked as she picked through a Caesar salad.
“Yes, he stopped by. We had a short conversation. It seems he’s mostly interested in obtaining DNA samples, so I’m not sure how useful he will be.”
Lauren nodded as she chewed her food. “Well, what should we do then,” she asked before taking a sip of iced tea.
“Well, I’ve been thinking about this for a bit. I think this could not only provide a few answers for us, but it could also be expanded to a full research paper on the reproductive nature of super humans,” Caitlyn said, then took a bite of her pasta salad.
Lauren paused for a moment to let that sink in. “Um. What?” she said staring at her mother
Caitlyn looked back at Lauren. “I just thought,” she said playing coy, “that since we will be doing a full workup on you and getting baseline data and someday you’ll likely have children, maybe we could follow the process from pre-pregnancy, through gestation, and into child birth.”
“Are you serious?” she asked and continued to stare.
“Sure sweetie. Why not? It won’t hurt you or the baby, and we could even track the impacts on the fetus when you…” She looked around and lowered her voice, “you know... change.”
“I’m not a lab rat, mom,” Lauren replied incredulous.
“No, but you are a scientist, and you know this would be a landmark study that could help many women in your condition. Besides, wouldn’t it be interesting to find out what actually happens when a person with mutated genes passes them to their offspring?”
“We know what happens when mutated genes are passed from one generation to another,” Lauren said bluntly. “It happens all the time. It’s why you have red hair and I have blonde.”
“This is different and you know it. We are in a unique position to track a young healthy ‘super-human’ as she progresses through life. We can monitor your health from this point and even use your historical medical records to basically track your physiological life from birth to death. Doesn’t that intrigue you?”
Lauren paused again and took another bite of her salad; her mother did the same. “Well, maybe,” she admitted. “This might be useful for the scientific community. However, I’m still not sure I like being a lab rat. How would we keep my identity a secret?”
“Initially, I can keep the records sealed due to HIPAA and PII restrictions. As the lead research physician, I can ensure your name and other personally identifiable information is redacted, and you’ll be two numbers in the system.”
“Two numbers?”
“Yes, one for the Radiant Ranger, or whatever you call yourself out there,” she said waving her hand at the sidewalk. “And one for Lauren Michaels, a control specimen.”
“But since it’s the same person, it isn’t really a control,” she said after taking another pull from her tea.
“True, but we need to have both halves of you, especially if some of your organs change into light when you…” she searched for the right word, “mutate.”
“Change, mother. I change, or shape-shift,” she said, shaking her head at the lack of empathy in Caitlyn’s word choice.
“Fine, ‘change’. Bottomline, we’ll need to track both identities separate, so we’ll have a complete picture. I may even be able to get grant funding for this.”
Lauren just sat there, shaking her head slightly. This was clearly Caitlyn Michaels, teaching surgeon and scientist, not Caitlyn Michaels, mother and wife. Smiling, Lauren admitted to herself that she inherited these genes straight from her mother, as she did the same thing when presented with a scientific oddity.
“Alright. Let’s just say I’m okay with this ‘research project’. What do you propose?”
Caitlyn smiled wide and leaned in, “well, first we’ll need to do a full work up on you to get a solid baseline. CAT scan, MRI, blood work, everything.” She paused and her face grew serious for a moment, “you aren’t pregnant, are you?”
“Mom!” Lauren replied abruptly and loudly. Looking around, she lowered her voice again and she leaned in as well. “No! I’m not pregnant. Sheesh.”
Caitlyn smiled, “here’s hoping for sometime in the near future,” then she took a sip of her beverage. Lauren rolled her eyes and sat back.
Caitlyn continued, “I’ll set up an appointment for a full workup on you and the Radiant Ranger, at different times, of course. I’ll spread things out so they don’t show up too close together.”
“You’ll need a pretty solid needle, as my skin becomes as tough as steel. Plus, I have no idea if a CAT scan, MRI, or even an X-Ray would even work. OH! I’ll have the team physician contact you. She can help set up appointments for the Ranger, and it wouldn’t be weird if the team doctor asked for the workup. Plus, she may want to help.” Lauren took another bite of her salad.
“That’s a great idea, sweetie,” Caitlyn said, then a big smile formed on her lips. “All we’ll need to do after that is get you pregnant.”
Lauren dropped her fork and it went clanging to the floor. Her blank stare lasted long enough for the server to come over, pick up the fork, and hand her a new one. Lauren looked up at the waitress, smiled and thanked her, then set the utensil on her plate.
“Mother! Did you just say that out loud?” she asked in an irritated whisper.
Caitlyn just smiled. Come on, sweetie, we can talk more on the way back to the hospital.
*******
The pair walked along the sidewalk, and Caitlyn provided more depth about the project milestones, the various tests she could run, the colleagues and assistants she could bring into the project, and how the schedule might work. They rounded a corner, entered the hospital, and paged an elevator. After exiting, they walked down several hallways to Caitlyn’s office. Lauren closed the door behind her.
“So, you and Jonathan are officially dating?” Caitlyn asked, sitting on a brown leather couch in the office.
“Yeah, we made it ‘official’ last weekend after the ballgame.” Lauren sat next to her mother.
“Ahhh, so you consummated the relationship, then?”
Lauren looked at her with a sly grin, “well, that’s private, but yes. We did. He’s wonderful!”
“Wonderful is it,” she said smiling. “Care to share any details?”
Lauren spoke a bit about the ballgame, the kiss afterwards, and the passionate sex they had, twice. Caitlyn took in as many details as possible, then asked an abrupt question.
“So, you aren’t on birth control, are you?”
Lauren blinked. “Of course, I’m on birth control.”
Caitlyn frowned, “you know that’s against church doctrine, right?”
“Yes, but I’ve been taking it to regulate my period, since I’ve been... celibate… since high school,” she said disappointed, looking at the ground.
“That’s nothing to be ashamed of, sweetie. Better that then being promiscuous. So, now that you have a partner, you’ll stop taking them?”
“I don’t know yet, mom,” she said looking into Caitlyn’s eyes.
“You don’t know? The choice is pretty clear, I think. If you want to stay in God’s good grace, then you need to stop.”
“What about Jonathan? We haven’t discussed this yet, and it would be a total ambush. Besides, I can always go to confession and get absolution.”
“But what about your job, sweetie? You go into danger every day; confession is once a week. What if you’re…,” she paused and swallowed hard at the immediate thought, “killed, before you can go?”
Lauren shrugged. “It’s a risk, I guess, but this relationship is new and didn’t exactly start as I hoped.”
Caitlyn dug in. “Well, if you are going to have sex, then you need to stop taking the pill right away. Your soul is worth more than this boy.”
“Mom, I’ll handle it,” Lauren said with more authority.
Caitlyn stood to get the high ground. “You’ll listen to your mother and stop immediately! I’ll not have my daughter trolloping around with some boy who wants the fun without the consequences!”
Lauren stood as well. “I don’t want to scare him away! Jesus mom, wha– ”
“STOP!” Caitlyn barked, raising a finger to Lauren’s face. Caitlyn’s expression was stern, her eyes flashed with fire. “You will NOT talk back to me, young lady!”
Time froze for a moment, as the two women stared at each other. Then, Lauren’s expression hardened. Her brows furrowed and her lips gathered tight. She refused to be treated as a child, and she was not going to back down from her mother this time.
In contrast, Caitlyn’s expression softened, and her eyes widened in disbelief at the intense rage she felt for her daughter at that moment. Her mouth began to open, and she brought both hands up to cover it. ‘Oh my Lord, I’m so sorry,” she pleaded in a muffled voice. “I’m so sorry baby! I didn’t mean to yell at you. I’m so sorry; please forgive me!”
Lauren stood there for almost a minute, her eyes cold and calculating. Finally, her face softened, and she took another moment to gather her thoughts. “It’s ok, mom; I forgive you,” she said delicately. In reaction, Caitlyn reached out to her daughter and moved forward for a hug. Lauren opened her arms as well, and Caitlyn embraced her daughter tightly.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to yell at you like that,” she said with sadness.
“It’s okay, mom,” Lauren replied and tepidly returned the hug.
“No. it’s not okay,” Caitlyn replied. “I shouldn’t be correcting you as if you were ten. You’re a grown mature woman now, and I need to remember that.”
The two released their hug and took a half step back. “Whatever you decide in regard to the birth control, is fine with me,” she conceded, dabbing her eyes with a tissue that she pulled from a pocket. “And, you’re right. I don’t want to ruin a good relationship before it really starts. There’ll be time to worry about kids and all that.”
“Thanks mom,” Lauren replied, then gave her mother a peck on the cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetie,” she said. “Now, let’s sit so you can tell me more about this man of yours.”
********
<sometime later>
The Radiant Ranger landed at the main entrance to Mercy hospital in Gotham’s Upper West Side and entered the building. The large lobby was busy with a flurry of activity and loud chatter, that is until she stepped through the doorway. Abruptly, it appeared the place nearly came to a stop and grew quiet, as most of the occupants turned to look at her. Smiling, she walked toward the service desk in the middle of the room.
The receptionist simply stared as the being of light approached. “Hello,” the Ranger said with a smile. “I was hoping you could tell me how to find the lab.”
The receptionist blinked to clear her head. “Um, yeah. It’s on the third floor, room 302. Just take the elevators behind me to the third floor, turn right, and it’s the second door on the left.”
“Thank you,” the Ranger said and made her way to the elevators.
The doors opened on the third floor, and the handful of people in the elevator watched bewildered as the Radiant Ranger exited and turned right. Finding the correct room, she opened the door and walked in.
The lab’s waiting room was small in comparison. Like the rest of the hospital, white walls clashed with a light grain wood midway to the floor. There were wooden chairs with green cloth cushions against the walls, and six people were waiting for the lab staff. On the other side of the room was a tall counter that served as the reception desk. In front of the desk stood three people in lab coats.
The chatter between Dr. Caitlyn Michaels and her internists stopped when the door opened and the Ranger entered. Despite bracing for the encounter ahead of time, her reaction was a surprise to her; she just stared in awe. This was the very first time she saw Lauren in her full alternate form, and she was stunned. My God, she thought. THIS is MY daughter? She’s so… angelic. Tears began to build in her eyes. She’s a miracle.
The Radiant Ranger saw her mother’s expression and didn't know how to react. Adopting a smile, she walked toward the trio and extended her hand. “Doctor Michaels? I’m the Radiant Ranger. I have an appointment?”
Caitlyn looked at the glowing hand in front of her and then up to the Ranger’s eyes. Snapping out of her trance, she gingerly accepted the handshake. “Um, yes, I’m Doctor Michaels. Sorry for staring. I just haven’t seen…”
“It’s okay, Doctor. It happens quite a bit,” the Ranger said with a smile.
She even sounds like my daughter! “Remarkable,” Dr. Michaels said, looking at their clasped hands. “Your skin is soft but very firm. Not like I expected light to feel.” The two women released their grip, and Caitlyn turned.
“I’d like to introduce Dr. Shivati and Dr. Abernathy. They are my internists, and they will be assisting us in the tests.”
“Nice to meet you,” the Ranger said and shook their hands in turn. “Shall we go?”
“Of course,” Dr Michaels said and led the group behind the counter and to an examination room. “We’ll be running a large number of tests to determine how you work and what you’re made of. We’ll start with a physical exam, much like you get annually, and draw some blood, then we’ll move to more advanced testing using equipment.”
Turning to the other two physicians, Caitlyn said, “could you give us a few minutes? I’d like to talk to the Ranger alone.” Drs. Shivati and Abernathy nodded and left the room, closing the door behind them.
“Baby girl, is that really you?” she asked with a strained voice, her eyes watering again.
A bar of light cascaded from the top of her head to her feet as the bright form was replaced with a human body. Lauren was dressed in a pink polo shirt with the Griffin’s team logo embroidered on the left side, a pair of jeans, and a pair of blue Keds shoes. “Yeah mom, it’s me,” she said with a smile.
“Oh my God,” she exclaimed and immediately embraced her daughter. “You’re a miracle!”
Lauren felt uncomfortable as she returned the hug. Is this what other Gothamites feel like doing when we’re around? she thought. “It’s okay, mom. It’s just me.”
Caitlyn sniffled as she pulled back from the embrace. “I can’t describe how beautiful you are. It’s… I don’t know. It’s heavenly!” Noticing Lauren’s expression, she shuffled her feet and looked at the ground momentarily to refocus.
“Thanks mom, but it’s just me. I’m sorry I didn’t show you sooner.”
“It’s alright dear. At least I got to see you now. But all that aside, get undressed,” she ordered, shifting back into clinical mode.
“Excuse me? You want me to take off my clothes?”
“Yes, all of them. Strip down. Since the clothes are under this light thing,” she said waving her hand up and down Lauren’s body, “we need to be sure we examine you, and I can’t see the clothes when you’re lit up. Come on, doctor’s orders, chop chop!”
Lauren sighed and began to strip and neatly folded the clothes, placing them on the examination table. “What about being identified? My license and phone are in the pockets.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll put them in here for now,” she said opening a lockable cabinet. “Then I’ll move them to my office later.” Caitlyn paused for a moment, then asked, “When you’re naked, do your nipples and other bits show?”
“No, not really,” Lauren said, tugging on the other pant leg to free the garment from her body. “It looks like I’m wearing a thin swimsuit to everyone,” she said folding her jeans and placing them on top of her folded shirt.
“Have you walked around the city naked before?”
Lauren unconsciously flashed a sly grin. “Maybe, but that’s hardly doctor-client ‘need-to-know’ information, is it?”
“It’s motherly need-to-know,” she said with a grin herself. “What does it feel like walking around Gotham completely nude? It must be freeing.”
Lauren didn’t want to have this conversation with her mother. “We’ll talk about that later!” She stripped off the last of her undergarments and stood completely naked in front of her mother. It was cold in the exam room, and she couldn’t remember the last time she was totally nude in front of her.
Caitlyn looked up and down her daughter. “Well, you’re gorgeous this way, too,” she said with a smile. “Now transform, or whatever.”
Lauren sighed again and dropped her hands to her side. The same bar of light cascaded from her feet to her head, changing Lauren back into the Radiant Ranger.
“How do you feel?” Caitlyn asked as she placed the pile of clothing in the cabinet and locked it.
“Fine,” the Ranger replied.
“Good, now lie down on the table, and I’ll get my colleagues.” Dr. Michaels stepped out of the room for a moment, and Lauren hopped onto the cold table. She laid down with her arms to her side, attempting to anticipate what came next.
A short knock, then the door opened, and all three physicians came in again. They moved around the table, and the Ranger noticed Dr. Abernathy had a clipboard. “We’re going to start with a physical exam,” Dr. Michaels stated. She touched the Ranger’s abdomen, and it rippled slightly. Running her hands upward to feel the skin, she began speaking to Dr. Abernathy. “It feels pliable, like skin. Exerting pressure has the anticipated effect.”
Moving to the Ranger’s head, she felt the woman’s hair. “I’d like to get a hair sample, if that would be alright?”
“Sure,” the Ranger said.
Dr. Michaels sifted her hands through the Ranger’s hair and found a small clump near the base of the skull. Grabbing a pair of scissors, she attempted to cut the strands, and broke the scissors.
“You’ll need something beefier, like metal shears, I think,” the Ranger said, smiling.
“Right!” Dr. Shivati pulled a pair of shears meant to cut sheet metal from another tray and handed them to Dr. Michaels. The surgeon then clamped down with considerable force until the strands gave way and were cut. To her surprise, the hair strands continued to glow even when separated from the body. “Fascinating, it’s almost like holding streaks of light,” she said grabbing the cut pieces with a pair of tweezers. Placing them on another tray, she handed it to Dr. Shivati. “Please bag and label these.”
“Now, I’m going to run my hands along your body to get an idea of what we’re working with.”
“Great,” the Ranger replied aloud, but she felt awkward. What 25 year old woman allowed her mother to run her hands along their body, touching every part indiscriminately? What I won’t do for science, she thought.
Dr. Michaels started at the top of her head and ran her fingers along the Ranger’s temples, applying pressure at times, and feeling what was underneath at others. Her fingers ran across the Ranger’s facial features, then back along her neck, until the Doctor massaged the area where her head connected to her spine. Grabbing an otoscope, she flipped on the light and turned to the Ranger.
“You better get some sunglasses, if you’re going to use that,” the Ranger warned.
Looking down at the tool, Dr. Michaels said, “oh, right. Guess we don’t need the light. So, it’s illuminated in there?”
“I assume so, but I honestly haven’t looked myself,” she replied with a little sarcasm.
“Dr. Michaels put on a pair of generic sunglasses that Dr. Shivati grabbed from the alternate tray and looked into the Ranger’s ear. “Well, I can’t see anything,” she said. “Does your armor extend even to these little orifices?”
“I think so. The top of my mouth is shielded, so I assume all of my ‘openings’ are the same.”
“Interesting,” Dr. Michaels exclaimed. Replacing the otoscope to it’s holder, she asked the Ranger to open her mouth. Probing her fingers inside and around the roof, she pulled them out. “How do you breath?”
“I don’t. Well, I used to need to breath, but it seems I’ve evolved beyond that, as I don’t have that sensation anymore.”
Dr. Abernathy continued to dictate all of the facts.
“Interesting,” Dr. Michaels said. “So, you are self-contained. Do you get hungry or feel the need to urinate or defecate?”
“Yes, I still need to eat and use the restroom, even when in this form. However, I can’t seem to figure out how to do that, so I wait until I’m home and change back into my normal form.”
Dr. Michaels began to run her hands down the Ranger’s neck and on to her shoulders. Pressing firmly to feel the body’s response and the underlying muscles. She continued to the woman’s breasts. “What bra size are you?”
You know damn well what my bra size is, the Ranger thought indignantly. “34B”
The doctor ran her hands along the Ranger’s breasts as if she was examining them for cancer. “Interesting, completely smooth and no signs of areolas or nipples. Are you wearing any clothes underneath the light?” she asked for the benefit of her colleagues.
“No, ma’am,” she replied a bit too terse.
“Do you wear clothes normally while in this form?”
“Yes, but I don’t need to. I used to require warm clothing while flying around, especially in the winter. I used coats with heating elements in them and flannel jeans to keep from freezing to death, but as part of the transformation, I’m immune to cold and low pressure, it seems.”
“Let me check your heartbeat.” Dr. Michaels placed the stethoscope ear pieces in her ears and the probe on the Ranger’s chest. She moved the probe around a few times and asked her to take a few deep breaths. “I can hear a heartbeat, but the lungs are silent.” Then, the doctor placed the stethoscope around her neck.
Dr. Michaels continued to move down the Ranger’s body. When she reached the hands, she noticed there were no fingernails. Then, the doctor shifted at the pelvic area. “No signs of any openings,” she said running her fingers between the Ranger’s legs. “It’s almost like you’re wearing a latex bodysuit.”
The Ranger tried to lay still, embarrassed by the situation she was in. I was just groped by my mother, and now I’m being fondled, she thought. My mother just made it third base! In reaction, the color of her light started to pinken slightly.
The doctor continued along the legs and feet, where she discovered no toes were visible. “Interesting, it’s almost like you have shoes on,” she quipped. Dr. Michaels asked the Ranger to turn over and the same exam continued on the other side. Once they were finished, she asked the Ranger to sit up.
“We’re going to take your vital signs now, if we can.”
Doctor Shivati stepped forward with a blood pressure cuff and was able to get a normal reading. She then took the Ranger’s pulse with the same success. However, they were unable to measure the hero’s oxygen levels and didn’t get a temperature reading from the oral, ear, or forehead devices.
“Now we’re going to draw some blood, and we can move onto the next evolution.” Dr. Michaels grabbed a thick reinforced needle from the tray and moved to have a good angle on the Ranger’s arm. She paused, as she was unable to see the veins. Luckily, this was her daughter, and the doctor felt she had a good mental map of the Ranger’s interior blood system to give it a try. From memory, she aligned the needle to the best spot and pushed. It took quite a bit of effort, but the needle penetrated into her arm, and blood started to flow. The blood had a normal color and consistency but sparkled with tiny shards of light. It looked magical. They drew three vials of blood, before withdrawing the needle.
As instructed, the Ranger held her arm at an angle, with her wrist in the air, as she applied pressure with the gauze. Dr. Shivati applied a band aid to the area, which disappeared into the light. “Interesting,” she quipped.
“Ok. We’re all done here. Thank you for your help; I know that probably wasn’t pleasant. Dr. Shivati will take you down to Radiation to get an x-ray, CAT scan, and MRI. I will join you shortly.”
“Okay, great,” the Ranger replied and followed the doctor from the room.
Turning to Dr. Abernathy, Dr. Michaels said, “Can you please catalogue these samples, then meet me in Radiation?”
“Absolutely, doctor,” came the reply, and Dr. Abernathy left the room with the blood vials.
Caitlyn shook her head and smiled. My daughter, she thought. Unlocking the cabinet, she grabbed the Ranger’s clothing, then closed it. She took the apparel to her office before joining them in Radiation.
The doctors ran a battery of scans using all of the equipment they had available: CAT scan, MRI, x-ray, EKG, and ultrasound. They also ran the tests while the Radiant Ranger used her powers. Heart rate was measured while hovering versus standing, brainwaves were measured while creating holograms and while lying still, and ultrasounds were used to try and peek inside to see what organs remained and whether they functioned while she was lit. Lastly, they used the MRI to measure her nervous system under various loads, including while using her Blast. Finally, they were done.
“Thank you so much for participating in this study, Miss Ranger,” Dr. Michaels said, shaking the hero’s hand.
“It was my pleasure, doctor. I trust you will coordinate your findings with our team physician?”
“Of course. Also, if we have any follow up tests to run, would you be willing and available to conduct those?”
“I believe so, yes. If work doesn’t get in the way. You may need patience if I’m busy.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want to get in the way of saving Gotham.”
Turning to Drs. Shivati and Abernathy, Dr. Michaels said, “Doctors, could you take our notes and data to the research center and get things securely stored before leaving? I will walk the Ranger out.”
“Absolutely,” Shivati replied. “It’s been a pleasure, Miss Ranger,” she said, shaking the Ranger’s hand. Dr. Abernathy followed suit, and they left the Radiation center.
Once they were alone, Dr. Michaels turned to the Ranger. “Let’s go to my office, so you can get dressed. I wouldn’t want my daughter to be running around in public without clothes,” she said sarcastically. The Ranger smiled.
********
Once they reached Caitlyn’s office, Lauren got dressed. “That was grueling, mom, and a bit disturbing. I almost want to ask you on a date after that pat down,” Lauren said as she pulled on her shirt.
“Whad’ya think lunch was for?” came the reply.
Lauren smiled. “So, what are you going to tell dad?”
“Everything and nothing. I’ll tell him about the main battery of tests but leave out the sorted details. I’ll tell him how beautiful you are in your light form! Oh, speaking of which. I know it’s late, but I have one small request,” Caitlyn said.
Lauren wasn’t in the mood, but she patiently listened as she tied her shoes.
“Would you be willing to spend some time in the Pediatrics wing? We have some sick kids that would love to see you.”
Lauren looked into her mother’s eyes and smiled. “Absolutely, mom. How can I say no to kids?”
“That’s my girl!” Lauren changed back into the Radiant Ranger, and the pair left the office for the pediatric ward.
Chris B
Scotty’s Good News and Kupala Night
It was Saturday morning, and Lauren awoke later than planned. “9:20? Oh no, I’m going to be late!” she exclaimed. Throwing off the covers, she quickly jumped in the shower. As she washed, Lauren ran through her checklist for the day. Jonathan was going to be there at ten, so they could go see Scotty, then she had a surprise for him. Running the itinerary through her head, she mentally checked items off her list and made a note of the things that still needed to be done.
After dressing, she went into the kitchen and started to brew some coffee for them while she prepared a microwavable breakfast bowl. As the food cooked, she grabbed the television remote and turned on the news. The smell of fresh brewed coffee began to fill the air, and the microwave beeped. Lauren grabbed a plate from the cupboard, opened the microwave, slid the hot plastic bowl onto it, then took the food to the living room sectional. “Forgot a fork,” she said, admonishing herself. Setting the plate on the table, she went back into the kitchen, grabbed a fork from the drawer, shut off the coffee pot, and poured a cup of coffee. Returning to the living room, she plopped down onto the sofa and began to eat.
“...it’s been a great summer so far in Gotham,” the weatherman said, “and it looks like our luck will hold through the weekend. We’re expecting sunny skies today through Monday, then the rain returns for the heart of the work week.”
“Excellent,” Lauren said as she ate quickly. Knock knock knock! “Crap!”
Lauren jumped up and quickly headed for the door. Opening it, she saw Jonathan standing there dressed in a short sleeve button down, untucked, a pair of jeans, and a nice pair of shoes. “Hello,” she said with a smile, then left the door open and went back to the couch.
“You ready?” he asked, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind him.
“Almost,” she replied, shoveling the remainder of her breakfast bowl into her mouth while standing next to the sofa.
Jonathan chuckled. “You can slow down,” he said watching her cheeks puff out like a squirrel carrying nuts. “Besides, we’re having lunch with Scotty, remember?”
“Oh,” she said, staring at him and chewing slowly. “I’m sho shorry for beeng lade,” she said. As she chewed, she entered the kitchen, rinsed the bowl and tossed it in the recycle bin, rinsed her fork and placed it in the dishwasher, then darted into the bedroom. “I’ll be out in a minute,” she yelled as she crossed the apartment.
Jonathan took a seat, grabbed the TV remote, and started flipping through the guide as the faint sound of an electric toothbrush filled the air. Settling on ESPN, he sat back to watch. Ten minutes later, Lauren emerged from the bedroom.
“Ready,” she said with a smile. She wore a light blue t-shirt and white jeans, and light blue sneakers. A pair of white sunglasses were perched on her head and she had a white mini backpack as her purse.
Johnathan stood and pressed a button on the remote to turn off the TV. The pair left the apartment for the underground garage.
********
As they got in the car, Lauren asked, “you don’t have any plans this afternoon, evening, or tomorrow morning, do you?”
Jonathan turned to look at her while starting the car. “Why?”
Lauren grew a little nervous and adopted a meek posture as she put on the seat belt. “Well, I thought you and I could spend the evening together. I had an idea I think you’d like, but I wanted to be sure…”
“No, I don’t have any specific plans,” he said as he turned to face the road and started to drive. “I was actually planning to spend some time with you,” he said with a disarming smile.
“Good,” she said, relieved, and looked out of the front windshield. Most people wouldn’t make her feel so… submissive. In fact, she only acted this way around her father. Very interesting, indeed, she thought with a smile, then turned to look at Jonathan. She stared at him silently.
“What?” he asked in a breathy voice, daring a glance at her.
Lauren just replied with a wide tight lipped smile as she took in his features, trying to analyze him, both physically and mentally, and determine why she allowed him to dominate her.
Getting no answer after nearly a minute of scrutiny, Jonathan decided to break her concentration. “So, before I left for your place, I received a phone call from Dr. Robinson.”
“Oh?” Lauren asked, continuing her analysis.
“Yeah,” he said trying to brush off the discomfort that was slowly growing. He wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of asking her to stop, though. “He said he wanted to talk to us when we got there.” Taking a quick look at Lauren, he said, “I told him we’d be there about eleven and planned to stay until one.”
“Great,” she said, then looked away, realizing she was staring and also intrigued that it had no apparent effect on him. “Did he say what he wanted?”
“Nope,” Jonathan replied, happy the visual assault was suspended but also gratified that he apparently won whatever that was about. “So, what’s the plan for this evening?”
Lauren smirked. “You’ll just have to wait and see,” she said, satisfied that she piqued his interest.
“No hints?” he asked with a grin, trying to poke for details, knowing it’s what she wanted.
“Well, maybe if you’re good, you’ll get a hint or two,” she replied, sensing the game.
“Well, I hope it doesn’t keep me up all night,” he replied, attempting to ruffle her feathers, “I got up early and was planning to get to bed early.”
“Well, it’s not like anything is going on this weekend, anyway, right?” she asked playfully.
Jonathan winced. Tomorrow was his first birthday without any family, but he immediately hid his thoughts with a forced smile. “Not much,” he said to deflect attention.
Lauren picked up on his mood change, as brief as it was. Gently touching his right shoulder, she said, “well, you’ve been a good boy, so I’ll tell you this.” She twisted her torso as much as the seat belt would allow in order to face him, “let’s just say we’re going to be spending the night in the woods, and you’ll love it.”
This was unexpected and aroused his interest. “Really,” he said affording a quick glance at her smiling face. “This may be interesting. Do I need to bring anything?”
“Nope, it’s all packed in my apartment. We just need to grab the bags and go.”
“Go where?”
“Someplace local. Don’t worry, it’s a very short drive and we can get back to the city within an hour or two by car, or faster by powers,” she said with excitement.
“Okay, I trust you,” he said with a small smile. “Let’s focus on Scotty, then we’ll see what you have up your sleeve.”
********
The car pulled into the visitor’s lot of Arkham Asylum. “This place is creepy,” Lauren said as Jonathan turned off the ignition.
“I know, but it’s for his own good. He’s getting good care, despite the Halloween exterior,” he said with a reassuring smile. “Let’s go see my brother.”
Lauren smiled back.
The two left the car and walked through the large iconic gates and into the main building, as they had done many times before. Unlike the exterior, the inside of the building had all of the appointments of a modern healthcare facility. The walls were freshly painted in bright colors, the service desks and chairs were all relatively new, and the equipment was modern. The only indication of the building’s history were the large decorative columns that spanned the three stories to the vaulted ceiling and the decorative molding along the walls.
Instead of heading to the common area, where Scotty was likely sitting, the pair made their way to the right. “Elevator or stairs?” Jonathan asked.
“Elevator is fine. No sense in getting your competitive juices flowing.”
“Me?” Jonathan asked in a playful harrumph. “You’re the one that tries to turn everything into a contest.”
Lauren replied with a mischievous smile and pressed the button to call the elevator. The pair exited the car on the third floor and found Doctor Robinson’ office.
********
“Mister Grant; thank you for coming,” Dr. Robinson said as he entered the small waiting room. The men shook hands, then the psychiatrist turned to Lauren. “Miss Michaels. It’s good to see you.”
“You too, doctor,” she replied.
“Please come into my office,” he said and led them into a fairly large space. It was adorned with a desk placed just in front of the door, which itself was offset to the right of the room. The left side had a sofa against the far wall and two upholstered chairs facing it that were separated by a small table. Filled bookcases stretched across most of the walls, and the doctor had several books scattered about the room. A large window looking into the courtyard was to the left of the desk; long thick draperies were tied back on either side of it. “Please, have a seat,” he said motioning to two upholstered chairs with dark wood legs and trim that were across the desk.
As Jonathan and Lauren sat, the psychiatrist circled his desk and sat in a tall leather office chair. “Thank you both for coming. I had some news that I wanted to share,” he said, speaking to Jonathan. “It’s a bit sensitive, so I want to be sure it’s okay to speak freely.”
“Yes, it’s fine, doctor,” Jonathan replied turning to briefly look at Lauren then back to the psychiatrist.
Lauren was quiet as they talked.
“Right, well then,” Dr. Robinson said looking at both of them. “I’m happy to report that Scotty has responded well to his treatments. When he first arrived in March, he was suffering from Melancholia and post-traumatic stress disorder, which was likely brought on by a combination of his mother’s suicide and self-guilt over the loss of life in the smelting factory. “
Both Jonathan and Lauren frowned as the doctor restated Scotty’s initial diagnosis and reason for commitment.
“However,” the psychiatrist said, noticing their mood shift, “Scotty has improved dramatically over the past four months. The antidepressant medication initially employed was tapered back as he responded to psychological treatment, to the point where we’ve had him completely off the medication for two weeks now.”
Lauren and Jonathan looked at each other, encouraged by the news, then looked back at the doctor.
“We employed several methods to help Scotty face his mother’s death, mourn his loss, and accept what has happened.” Looking at Lauren, he unfolded his hands pointing with all fingers in her direction, “With Miss Michaels’ help, he has steadfastly kept a daily journal, which served as a good outlet for Scotty to unearth his thoughts and feelings that were deeply buried in his psyche. Once they were on paper, we were able to discuss them, and he learned that it was alright to grieve and that he was not responsible for their deaths.”
The psychiatrist folded his hands in front of him and leaned forward. “I believe he now has the coping skills he needs, and as a result of diligent practice, the melancholia has completely subsided. In fact, we would like to release him next week,” he said with a smile.
Jonathan lit up in happy surprise, and he leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on his knees and his hands under his chin. Lauren placed her right hand over her mouth as it dropped open and her eyes began to water with tears of joy. Instinctively, she reached out with her left hand and began rubbing Jonathan’s right arm, reassuringly.
Pleased with their reactions, Dr. Robinson said, “he still has vestiges of PTSD, and it’s something he’ll need to manage more than cure, but in a loving, patient family, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
Then the psychiatrist looked at them intently. “I think it’s important for you to realize that while you’re his older brother,” he said looking into Jonathan’s eyes, “and you’re a family friend, “ he said looking in Lauren’s eyes, “you two have essentially become his parents through this ordeal. I think his mental map has the two of you in those roles, and for him to have a normal childhood and possibly into adulthood, he will look to both of you for guidance, discipline, and love.”
He paused a moment to let them absorb the information before continuing. “I don’t know what sort of relationship you two have, but regardless it’s important that you realize that you are now essentially a family; with you, Jonathan, in the role of the father, and you, Lauren, in the role of the mother. He may only need this structure for a year, or he may need this structure long term. It depends on how quickly he can stand on his own.”
Jonathan continued to lean forward in the chair, thinking, and Lauren placed her right hand in her lap, but still touched Jonathan’s arm with her left. “I think we understand, Doctor,” she said looking at Jonathan then back to Dr. Robinson. “Do we need to be living together to fulfill these roles?”
“Not necessarily,” he replied. “While that would be the optimal solution, and he should live with one of you, the other will need to have a regular presence; much like kids of divorced parents. It’s just critical that he understands neither of you will abandon him and that you are there when he needs you, day or night.”
“How about school?” Jonathan asked.
“While he can attend his normal school in the fall, you may want to look into that new school for meta kids that has been on the television. They may be more trained to help Scotty with his abilities and the psychological issues that comes from having them. I’m sure he has friends in his old school, but sometimes the stigma of being committed can overshadow past peer group credibility. You may want to set up a play-date with his friends to see how they react in a smaller setting.”
“One last thing,” Dr. Robinson said. “I would like to continue to see him weekly via regular appointments, either here or at my neighborhood office. I’m also available should any incidents occur.”
“Of course, doctor,” Jonathan said. “When do you think he might be released?”
“Maybe Wednesday or Thursday of next week? We can start the transition as soon as you sign the preliminary release documents. It won’t take long, as he’s in pretty solid shape,” the psychiatrist said with a smile.
“Then I’ll take care of those. Lauren, can you run ahead and see Scotty; let him know we’re here and we’re looking forward to lunch?” Jonathan asked.
Lauren looked at him, nodded and smiled. Pulling back her arm, she grabbed her backpack and stood. The men also stood. “Thank you for the great news, doctor, and for all of your help,” she said sincerely, shaking his hand.
“It was my pleasure, Miss Michaels. I hope to see you at the weekly visits, along with Jonathan.”
‘Me too,” she said, and then left the office, closing the door behind her.
Letting out a large sigh as she paused in the hallway. I guess we’re a family now, she thought, and then turned to walk down the passageway to the elevators.
********
Lauren entered the common area and saw Scotty sitting next to the window he liked the most. “Hi Lauren,” he said standing.
“Hi sweetie,” she replied and gave him a big hug. “How was your morning?”
“It was pretty good,“ he said and began to describe a crazy lady that freaked out during breakfast with a mix of excitement and intrigue that only a teenager could muster.
********
Jonathan and Lauren walked silently through the Arkham gates and across the parking lot to Jonathan’s car. The visit with Scotty went well, and they discussed how he felt and whether he was ready to come home soon. After an emphatic Yes, they informed him of the doctor’s diagnosis and that he would probably be home by mid-week. They also assured him that they would be there for him, no matter what, as he transitioned back into civilian life. He asked about going to the Sentinel’s HQ, which garnered a ‘let’s wait and see’, response. They didn’t want to put him in a situation where he might relapse, and they were both concerned that being at the HQ might resurface bad memories of the last confrontation with his mother.
“Jonathan,” Lauren said quietly as they reached the vehicle. “We need to talk about where Scotty is going to live when he is released.”
Jonathan gave her a reassuring gaze. “Okay,” he said then entered the drivers side of the vehicle.
Lauren opened her door and sat in the passenger seat. As she closed the door and buckled in, he turned to look at her. “I’m very excited about Scotty’s release,” he said, his face soft and caring. “I’m also not terribly surprised by Dr. Robinson’s assessment. You’ve been fantastic to both of us, and I’m so grateful for your presence in our lives.” Reaching out to grasp her left hand with his right, he said, “he couldn’t have a better person as a mother figure than you.”
Lauren smiled and felt her heart warm as she looked into his eyes.
“I’m not totally set on how we’re going to do this yet, but we have a few days to figure it out. While both of us have one-bedroom apartments, it’s obvious we’ll need to upgrade in some form. The question is who, how big, and where. We can talk about it this weekend, while we’re doing…” he paused and flashed an uneven smile, “... whatever it is you have planned. So for right now, let’s be happy for the news, optimistic about the future for all three of us, and enjoy whatever whacky plan you’ve concocted for my birthday.”
Lauren replied with a broad smile, causing her eyes to scrunch up and crows feet to appear in the corners. “Okay,” she said with joy and warmth, and then turned to look at the street as Jonathan started the car. “You have no idea what we’re going to be doing in an hour, do you?” she said, the mischievous grin returning.
“No,” he said with a smirk as he put the vehicle in drive, “but I’ll bet it’s going to be interesting.”
Lauren laughed, and reached out with her left hand to rub the back of his neck. They left the parking lot and headed back to her apartment.
********
They arrived at Lauren’s apartment and she closed the door behind them.
“What do we need to get?” Jonathan asked as he overlooked the dining and living room areas for anything unusual.
“First, I need to go potty,” Lauren said teasing, then disappeared into her bedroom, which led to the bathroom.
Jonathan shrugged slightly and started to poke around the apartment. “Am I looking for something specific?” he asked loudly.
“Jonathan Grant! You better not be snooping!” he heard from behind the bathroom door.
“What if I am?” he asked playfully to raise the tension.
“Go sit on the couch, now!” Lauren ordered in a frantic and very loud voice.
Jonathan couldn’t hold back his smile as he headed for the common area. Opening the refrigerator, he grabbed a craft beer and closed the door. After popping the top, he walked onto the small balcony porch and looked around, taking a long pull from the bottle.
A few minutes later, Lauren stepped onto the porch. “You didn’t snoop, did you?” she asked sternly.
Raising his hands to his shoulders, palms forward and fingers spread he said, “I swear I’m innocent, your honor.”
Lauren looked at him with a half smile, her hands on her hips, “okay. You better not have.” Turning, she let her arms drop and went back inside. “You can follow me when you’re ready to go.”
Jonathan took another sip from his beer, and went back inside, closing and locking the sliding glass door. Setting the bottle on the kitchen counter, he started looking around the apartment for Lauren. Entering her bedroom, he found her standing with her back to him and bent over at the waist messing with a large duffle bag on the floor.
“That’s a nice view,” he said, leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed.
She glanced at him through her legs, then stood up. Twisting sideways to look at him, she said playfully, “Maybe you’ll get to see more later, if you’re a good boy. Come over here and help me.” Lauren then walked to the right side of her bed and picked up a very stuffed backpack.
Handing the pack to Jonathan she said, “Here, put this on.”
He walked over to her and grabbed it. “What’s this for, and why is it so full?”
Turning to face him, she placed her right index finger on his lips and said, “Shhhh.” The mischievous grin returned, and she bent down and picked up a matching pack then placed it on her back.
Jonathan could now see the area beside her bed. Next to the backpacks were two tightly rolled sleeping bags and a small tent in a soft blue sheath. Lauren picked up the tent, and handed it to him. “Use the strap and place it on one shoulder,” she said. Then she handed him one of the sleeping bags. She picked up the other one, then said. “I need to get something from the kitchen. You can start loading the car or…”
The apartment filled with a gush of wind and a streak replaced Jonathan. Lauren sighed and started for the bedroom door. By the time she reached the common area, Jonathan was back and standing in front of her. “I’ll take those,” he said with a satisfied smile. He grabbed the second sleeping bag and pulled the backpack from her shoulder.
“You must really…” Lauren said, then she was interrupted by another whoosh. She couldn’t help but grin, as she headed for the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator door, she pulled out two filled cloth shopping bags and a large pot. Using her shoulder to close the door, she looked around. Where is my knight in shining armor? she thought, hoping to see Jonathan, but was greeted with only an empty apartment. Shrugging, she went to the front door. Shifting the weight of the pot to her left arm and setting the bag in her right hand down, she opened the apartment door and propped it open with her foot. Reaching down, she grabbed the bag from the floor, waddled into the hallway, then set the bag down again. Pulling the door tightly, she locked the deadbolt with her key and checked the doorknob to be sure they were secure, then she picked up the bag once again. Shifting the pot’s weight to both hands, she headed for the elevator.
********
As Lauren approached the car in the underground parking lot, she saw Jonathan standing next to it. The trunk was open and he was on the phone. “A little help here,” she said as she made her way toward him.
“Sorry, I need to go,” he said into the device. “Okay, I’ll check my email in a few hours.” Then he hung up and dropped the cell phone in his pocket. Taking a few steps toward Lauren, he reached out and grabbed the pot. “What’s in here?” he asked.
“It’s Goody,” she said.
“I’m sure it’s good, but what is it?”
She stopped and gave him an incredulous look. “It’s called Goody. It’s white 'shop-bread', soaked in hot milk, and flavored with sugar and spices. I’ll cook it on the fire,” she said reaching out her arms to hand him the two full shopping bags.
“Oh, right,” he said. Turning, he placed the pot in the trunk, then spun around to take the bags. Placing them in the car, he rearranged things so the pot and bags were braced by the other gear. “That it?” he asked.
“Yep, that’s it,” she said with a grin. “Now, you’re keys, please.”
Jonathan looked at her. “You want to drive?”
“Yep,” she said, holding out her right hand.
“Do you know how to drive?”
She gave him ‘the look’ once again and rubbed her fingers together.
“I think I should drive,” he said looking back at the car. “This is a high performance machine,” he stammered, then shifted his concerned gaze back to Lauren.
She sighed and let her shoulders slump noticeably. “Fine,” she said, unhappy with the decision. “Get in.”
Closing the trunk, Jonathan looked around and headed for the driver’s side, wondering if he spoiled something. He got into the car, closed the door and started the ignition. “Are you mad?” he asked as he reached for his seat belt.
“No, not mad. Why?” Lauren said tersely, snapping her buckle with a click. She pulled her sunglasses down and looked out the front window.
“Are you sure?” Jonathan asked, looking at her.
“I’m fine. Will you just drive?” She motioned out the front window.
Jonathan put the car in drive and started toward the exit. “Where shall we go?” he asked innocently, trying to alleviate the tension.
Lauren looked at him, touched his leg in a reassuring manner, and said, “Wellesley Island State Park, please.”
Confused, Jonathan turned to look at her while they sat at a red light. “Wellesley Island? What’s there? ...Never-mind. The lady wants to go to the park, she gets to go to the park,” he said, ending with a reassuring smile of his own that Lauren returned. Pulling down his sunglasses, they set off on the hour and a half journey to the neighboring island in the St. Lawrence River.
********
The journey passed quickly. Lauren played a mix of music from her phone, mostly made of Russian and Ukrainian folk songs, and she asked about his past birthdays and the meaning of family traditions to him, while sharing some of her own. They also talked a little about their perfect homes and what they’d like to have in a family, if that ever came to pass.
Around 3:30PM, they arrived at the island and checked in. Afterwards, they got back into the car and started toward their spot.
“So, were in Eagle 62?” Jonathan asked as he slowly drove through the park.
“Yep. It doesn’t have electricity, but it’s near a bathhouse and the celebration,” Lauren said looking at the map.
“Celebration?”
“Don’t worry about it, Speedy, you’ll find out soon enough.”
The car slowly wound through the park, and Lauren took in all of the details. “This place is just as pretty as I remember it.”
“You’ve been here before?”
“When I was little, my mom and dad would bring us here to get away from the city. I really like the peace and quiet. However,” she said with a sly grin, “not much peace and quiet tonight.”
Jonathan turned to briefly look at her. What was this woman up to, he thought. Then, he had an idea. It was a faint memory, actually, just a couple of still images from his past, when his dad was still alive. An image of a large fire that burned through the night, and of his mom and dad, both happy and laughing; he couldn’t have been more than three or four years old. Jonathan smiled and was resolved to wait and see, but if it was what he thought, then he truly found a remarkable woman.
They eventually found spot 62, and Jonathan parked the car on the gravel pad. Spot 62 sloped upward slightly into a canopy of a half dozen trees. It was also right on the river. “This is beautiful,” Lauren said as she stepped from the car. Taking off her sunglasses, she surveyed the area. “Oh, Jonathan, this is perfect!” she said unable to hide her giddiness. Pointing to a shaded spot just to the right of the fire pit, she said, “let’s put the tent over there.”
The pair unloaded their gear and began to set up the tent. Once that was done, they rolled out the sleeping bags, and Lauren went over to the edge of the water. Jonathan came up to her, and put his right arm around her waist. They took in the sights from their origin point to the bank across the river, and silently stood there for five minutes, then Lauren turned to him and said. “Ok, now it’s time for your surprise.”
She grabbed his hand and led him back to the tent where the backpacks were. Squatting down, she grabbed one of the packs and unzipped the main portion. Rifling through it briefly, she stood and handed it to Jonathan. “Here you go.”
With a quizzical look, he took the backpack and unzipped it further to reveal the contents. “What is this?” he asked excitedly, pulling out a white traditional Russian shirt with blue and red decorative embroidering and a pair of traditional dark blue pants. Setting the backpack on the ground, he unfolded the garments in the sun to examine their medieval styling.
“Happy Kupala Nights, honey,” Lauren said affectionately with a broad smile.
“What,’ Jonathan said, speechless. He then turned and opened his arms wide, still grasping the clothing. Lauren took a step forward and wrapped her arms around his midsection, and he closed his around her and squeezed. Pulling back briefly, he gave her a kiss on the lips, then brought her close once again. He placed his face against hers and whispered in a surprised and sincere voice, “Thank you, baby.”
“You’re welcome,” she relied, happy for his excitement.
The pair separated and he looked at her. “So we’re going to celebrate Kupala here?” he asked, looking at the campsite.
“Not necessarily,” she replied squatting down to unzip her backpack. “There’s a larger celebration at spot 101, just over there,” she said pointing. “It’s on the peninsula, and we have tickets!” Lauren triumphantly held up a piece of copy paper. Then she laid the backpack fully horizontal on the ground and unzipped it completely. Folding the top half backward, it revealed a large pile of wild flowers, their long stems reaching up to three inches in length. She gently picked up the bouquet, unfolded it, and placed it on her head. Looking up at Jonathan, she said, “What do you think?”
“I think it’s beautiful,” he said, taking in the sight.
Smiling, she turned her attention back to the backpack, grabbed the edges of a piece of cloth, and stood. The garment unfolded to reveal a white traditional Russian dress adorned with mostly yellow embroidering, with a hint of blue and red mixed in. “This is mine,” she said, admiring the outfit. “If you look in your pack, you also have a pair of boots, three pair of socks, and two pair of underwear, just in case. I also packed a pair of shorts, t-shirt, and vans in case you wanted casual contemporary.”
“So, that’s why the backpack was so full,” he said. Standing next to her, Jonathan turned and gave Lauren another kiss. “This is going to be fun. Do you know about Kupala?”
“A little,” Lauren said. “I looked it up on the internet, so I only have book knowledge. What I do know is that we’re going to be up all night.”
“Yes we are,” Jonathan replied. “Now, who’s getting dressed first?”
********
They took turns changing in the tent, Jonathan first, then Lauren. When she emerged, Jonathan paused. Lauren had on the dress, the wreath of flowers, and an older pair of broken in white flat shoes. “Wow, you look absolutely beautiful,” he said running his gaze up and down her body.
Lauren blushed. “Thank you. You look quite handsome, yourself. You’d have done well in Medieval times,” she said. Jonathan wore the shirt, pants, and boots, all of which fit well, and he had on a traditional leather belt tied in a knot around his waist.
“It’s the Wheaties,” he replied flexing his biceps.
“Oh stop,” she said slapping his arm playfully. Looking at her watch, she said, “It’s a little after five. We should probably go.”
They walked the 300 or so yards through the campground to the small peninsula that held Eagle spot 101. Once there, they found a small group of people conversing, some in traditional outfits and others in normal clothing. Behind them was a large camping tent, a few folding chairs, and a small table. Lauren and Jonathan approached a woman that stood alone near the small table, who was also wearing a white dress and a wreath of flowers. “Excuse me,” Lauren said. “Is this where we celebrate Kupala?”
The woman turned to face them. “Yes it is,” she said. “Did you sign up already?”
“Yes, we did,” Lauren replied and handed her the now unfolded piece of copy paper.
The woman took it and examined the contents. “Thank you. The celebration is in the clearing over there,” she said pointing to an open space visible just across the bank.
“Thanks,” Lauren said. Holding up one of the grocery bags that she brought, she asked, “Do I turn the requested food items over to you?”
“Sure, I’ll take them,” the woman said with a smile, accepting the bag.
“Also, I made some Goody,” Lauren said, pointing to the large pot that Jonathan held. “It’s an Irish dish to celebrate Kupala. Traditionally, I would cook it on the bonfire. Is it ok to bring it over, myself?”
“Yes, just let one of the ceremony stewards know once the fire is lit, and they can help you.”
“Excellent, thank you so much for your help,” Lauren said sincerely.
“You’re so welcome,” the woman replied. “You two have a great night!”
From Eagle 62 they could faintly hear the celebration, however, as they approached the open space, the festivities grew louder. Once they broke the clearing, a large pile of wood caught their eye, which was surrounded by logs and stood about six feet tall and came to a point, and about 30-40 people around the area. A small stage was set up to the side with a band playing traditional Slavic music with acoustic instruments. At least half of the crowd were holding hands in a large chain, dancing around the would be campfire and singing.
Lauren was very excited and used a lot of willpower to not jump up and down like a little girl. By the look on Jonathan’s face, he felt the same. As soon as they got close enough to the center, she had him set the pot down on a small table, grabbed his hand, and dragged him to the chain of people.
The group welcomed them in, and they flitted around the would be campfire, laughing and enjoying the experience. Of course, Lauren didn’t know any of the songs, but Jonathan had vague memories and was able to throw out a word or two as they came up. After 20-30 minutes, the stewards announced the lighting ceremony.
Lauren and Jonathan followed the group as they formed a wide circle around the wood pile; families, friends, and lovers all clumped together in small sets forming the larger mass waiting for the ceremony to start.
Two men in traditional garb, both in bright red shirts and dark pants, came into the circle and began to speak. “Ivan Kupala is a celebration of the Summer Solstice that signifies the transition from the planting and growing season to the harvest. Originally a celebration of fertility, it outlines the marriage of fire and water and the purification qualities of both. In Christianity, it was appointed to the birth of John the Baptist, which was six months before the Christ child. However, on this night, we seek the promise of fertility and love through ancient purification rituals.”
The two men then came together and using the embers of a small fire started by the other steward, they walked around opposite sides of the circle and stood before the great bonfire. “It is the ancient deity Kupalo that represents the mighty sun of the summer solstice and also the goddess of joy and water. The fire represents the former and the river represents the latter. Let the might of this ancient being purify the demons from our lives and bring us fertility and love in the coming year.”
The two men bent down and dabbed the ember cloth into the base of the large wood pile. Quickly, flames began to spring up and within seconds, a large fire raged in front of them. Tossing the cloth into the fire, the lead steward said, “let this fire symbolize our zest for life and the warmth of love in our hearts.”
As his assistant came to stand beside him, the lead steward pulled a small log from the fire, whose tip was aflame. Turning, he took several steps to a smaller pile of logs that was about two feet tall and closer to the riverbank. Bending down, he lit it with the log. “Let this bonfire be a conduit to cleanse the soul with warmth in the coming year for all who can go through it.”
The crowd then let out a large cheer at the raging fires before them. Turning back to the main bonfire, the second steward brought his elder a large bowl of water. “It is the purity of water that cleanses the body, nourishes it, and brings forth the joy of life in the coming year. Let the water on these banks cleanse each of you and show you the path to love and romance in the coming year.”
Holding the water bowl high, he brought it back down, and said, “The joining of fire and water is both volatile and subsuming, much as true love inflames our hearts and extinguishes all doubts.” Scooping up a handful of water, he tossed it onto the bonfire, and with a great hiss the water evaporated and the fire dropped slightly before returning. “Let the warmth and nourishment of Kupalo guide you to your true love and fill your heart with joy!”
The crowd again erupted in cheers and the band began to play another Russian folk song.
Lauren looked at Jonathan and smiled wide. “That was great!” she said, hugging his arm.
As they looked around, they noticed a group of people lining up behind the smaller fire. As soon as the space was clear, a man took a running leap through the fire and landed on the other side. The others cheered him as the first to complete the ritual. Others followed, including couples, that held hands as they jumped over the flames.
“Oh, can we try?” she asked excitedly.
“Absolutely,” Jonathan said and they walked to get in line.
As they passed the main bonfire, Lauren broke off and walked up to one of the stewards. “Excuse me. I have a pot of Goody that I was hoping to put on the fire,” she said. “It’s an Irish food to celebrate Saint John’s day that should be cooked on the bonfire.”
“Sure, no problem. Where is it?” he asked.
“Over there,” she said pointing just a few feet way.
“I’ll put it on. You two get in line for the jump.”
“Thank you,” she said. Skipping up to Jonathan, she grabbed his left hand and said, “Let’s go!”
The pair took their place in line for the fire. “You know, if we jump together, we need to continue to hold hands, or it’s bad luck,” he said with a sly smirk.
“I read that,” she said. “So, I guess you better not let go, or else.”
Jonathan chuckled and cheered as the latest person made the jump. Most of the couples were waiting for the fire to die down a bit before jumping. Instead, they were holding hands and singing around the large bonfire, while others were chatting.
Lauren started a conversation with a small group of college kids from Syracuse that were ahead of them in line. The ladies in the co-ed group were a little nervous, but their male counterparts assured them it was going to be fine. Eventually, they were next.
The fire still blazed brightly, even though 20 minutes had passed. “Ok, so no matter what, don’t let go,” Lauren reminded Jonathan with a worried look.
“What happens if I let go?” he asked with a mischievous smile.
“Then you’ll be in serious trouble,” she said half joking and half sternly. “And as they said in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, you don’t want that kind of heat.”
Jonathan laughed. While the last of the college kids cleared the fire, they stepped up to the runway; butterflies filled Lauren’s stomach and her muscles instantly felt like jello. “Remember, we’re doing this as normals,” she said to Jonathan. “Don’t go dragging me at mach 2; my arms can’t handle it without the light.”
“Relax, sweetheart,” he said in his best Han Solo voice. Looking at her with confidence, he said, “You ready, firefly?”
Lauren exhaled deeply, smiled and nodded. Looking straight ahead, she clasped his right hand tightly in her left, and they began to run.
Jonathan ran slightly ahead of her as they gained speed. The fire blazed three feet tall in front of them, and Lauren’s heart thumped hard in her chest from nerves as the seconds turned to minutes.
Just two paces away from the fire, Jonathan squeezed her left hand tightly and pulled his right arm up and across his body in a wide arc, causing Lauren, who was hovering mid-stride, to snap into the air. Her body spun around quickly, and her legs came together parallel to the ground pointing toward Jonathan’s left side. Jonathan released his grip on her hand and instinctively placed his left arm under her knees and his right arm came across her back.
Shocked by the maneuver, Lauren reached out frantically and wrapped her arms around his neck, locking her fingers as the couple leapt into the air and through the fire. She tucked her head into his chest and closed her eyes tightly as they flew.
They landed on the other side with a thud as Jonathan continued his pace to stay upright, slowing quickly afterwards. The crowd erupted in a huge cheer, with hoots and hollers from the onlookers and some of the people around the large bonfire that witnessed the spectacle.
Coming to a stop, Jonathan let Lauren’s legs drop to the ground. She kept her hold around his neck and kissed him briefly before pulling back as the onlookers near him started to converge on the couple. The spectators patted their backs, and some men shook Jonathan’s hand, as they cleared the landing zone for the next jumper.
“That was insane!” Lauren admonished with a huge laugh. “What were you thinking?!”
“That I’m never going to let you go. Ever,” he said just audible above the crowd and with the same confident smile she saw before.
Lauren’s smile dropped and time stopped as she stared into his eyes for several long moments, taking in and parsing his words carefully. She looked deep into his soul, contemplating the meaning and assurances of what he said. Then she stepped up, placed her hands on his cheeks and brought her face close to his. “Я Тевя Лювлю; I love you Boris Binks!” she said softly but emphatically and gave him a deep passionate kiss. Lauren’s hands lightly touched his face as Jonathan kissed back. His arms came around her waist and pulled her close so their whole bodies touched. Silent fireworks exploded high above the celebration, and the world around them blurred and fell silent, as they found the true meaning of the Kupala celebration.
********
After what felt like a blissful eternity, they separated, and they noticed everyone looking skyward. Looking up themselves, they saw the sun low on the horizon and dusk was starting to set in behind it, but that was all.
“Did you see that last firework?” one person asked in the background. “Wow, that was fantastic! I didn’t know we’d have fireworks,” another was overheard in the distance. “Maybe it was from another group,” one of the stewards said to a couple who continued looking up, “we don’t have any.”
Lauren and Jonathan looked at each other and giggled softly. “Troublemaker,” he said as he looked into her eyes, his hands still on her waist.
“It’s your fault for being so darn cute,” she retorted. At that moment, the band began to play again and the revelry resumed. Lauren grabbed his hand from her waist. “Come on, before you get me in more trouble,” she said. The pair moved to the bonfire and started dancing around it, clapping, singing and having a good time.
Not long after, the stewards called for the wreath floating ceremony. “Oh!” Lauren exclaimed, then headed for the small table where she dropped her stuff. Placing the second grocery bag on the table, she pulled out a mid-sized wreath made of fresh flowers and several tea light candles.
“I’m not jumping in the river for that,” Jonathan said jokingly.
“Not even for me?” Lauren replied with pouty lips.
“Well, maybe, but I don’t want to get wet just yet.”
“I thought that was part of the celebration.”
“Not until dawn,” he replied.
“What if I want to go swimming with you before that?” she asked with a glint in her eye.
“We’ll see, but about the wreath…”
“Don’t worry, I give it to you freely,” she said with a loving smile, and handed it to him.
Accepting the wreath with both hands, he asked, “what if I give it back to you?”
Adopting a faux angry pose, she said, “Jonathan Grant, you better not.”
Jonathan chuckled. “I accept. Thank you for not making me swim for it.” And not floating it to reveal our fertility prospects this year, he thought. He then put the wreath back in the grocery bag, took her hand, and they headed for the lakeshore to watch the others float their wreaths.
As they settled into a spot along the shore, Jonathan went to find food. He quickly returned with a snack and bottled water for them. “Here is some of your Goody,” he said handing Lauren a small paper plate piled high with the ceremonial dish. Her eyes lit up, “awesome!” Taking a small bite, she said, “wow, this turned out great! Here, try it.” Holding a plastic fork with a small piece of the Irish bread on the end, she put it in his mouth, then dug out another bite for herself and ate it.
“This is pretty good,” Jonathan said and started to dig into his piece. He sat on the edge of a rock, and Lauren sat next to him, watching the events and enjoying their food.
Quite a few of the young ladies at the event brought their wreaths to the lakeshore, including the college kids she met earlier. In pairs, they entered the water, gently placed their wreath on the river, lit any candles they had, and gave it a slight push. Most started floating toward the center of the channel; a small number sank in place or soon afterwards.
Subsequently a few men, including those from Syracuse, jumped into the river to find the wreath of their love. They appeared to be careful to not disturb the other wreaths floating along the bank, which was considerate of them, Lauren thought. A few found their prize, grabbed it, and swam back to the shore. The wreath owners excited for the retrieval. Others returned empty handed. A number of the wreaths floated into the center of the river’s channel and around the island, which signified good romantic prospects that year for the woman.
Lauren and Jonathan enjoyed the event as the sun finally set and dusk fell with dark blue and orange colors. Through the evening and into the night, the revelers continued to mingle, dance, sing, and eat.
The hours passed and by 2am the large bonfire diminished to half its size. Lauren was feeling a bit tired and swoony after all of the excitement and activity of the day. About half of the group were huddled around the lead steward at the small bonfire as he told old Russian and Ukrainian folk tales; Jonathan and Lauren were among them. After the latest story, the steward asked for a short break, and the group dispersed to find food, drink, and other things.
Lauren stood and looked down at Jonathan. Offering her hand to him she said, “come on, let’s go find some fern flowers.”
Jonathan looked at her. “Ferns reproduce by spores; they can’t flower.”
Lauren smiled, “I know. Let’s go look anyway. It’ll be good to get away from the crowd for a bit and have some alone time.”
Jonathan thought for a moment, then said, “Okay. I guess it’s an important Kupala ritual, so why not.” He reached up and grabbed Lauren’s hand then stood. Brushing off the backside of his pants, he took her hand again and they walked into the nearby woods.
The area was quite dark with the moon in a waxing crescent phase. The new moon was just four days prior, so the only light in the area was starlight and the nearby fire, which faded rapidly as they moved deeper into the treeline. Luckily, the woods were well spaced, so they only needed to watch their footing on the uneven forest floor. Jonathan and Lauren walked slowly, holding hands and enjoyed the sounds of the forest. Eventually, their eyes adjusted to the darkness, and they could make out most objects in the way.
“This is intense,” Lauren said as she looked around in near darkness. “The sensory deprivation is both stimulating and terrifying at the same time.”
At that moment, Lauren’s foot began to slip on some sticks, and she started to fall. Swiftly, Jonathan was at her side. The hand that held Lauren’s tried to keep her upright while Jonathan pivoted to reach out with his other arm. He managed to wrap it around her midsection, and clutching tightly, caught her before she fell. They stood in the darkness, unable to make out each other’s features, but felt the warmth of their breath and their bodies pressing against each other.
“Hi,” Lauren swooned.
“Hi,” Jonathan whispered. “You need to be careful.”
“If I was careful, we wouldn’t be here right now, in each other’s arms. Besides, I’m not scared,” she said, as much to herself as Jonathan.
“You shouldn’t be. I’m here for you, and I always will be.”
“I know,” she said, realizing the true depth of her feelings.
Touching his face, she said, “Normally I’m terrified of the dark, but here, with you, I feel… safe. I feel loved.”
“You should,” he said with an amorous tone. “Lauren, you are my treasure. You make my soul sing when you walk into the room. And, I will always protect you. As I said before, I’m not going to let you go.”
Lauren kissed him passionately again, and he kissed her back. Slowly, they lowered themselves to the forest floor. “Make love to me,” she begged with soulful eyes.
********
Lauren and Jonathan returned to the festivities and found everything just as they had left. A couple of hours passed as they mingled and spoke with the other revelers. The conversation focused on the coming dawn and the cleansing ritual in the river. More food and drink was consumed, the latter containing caffeine at this point, and the singing and stories focused on the coming day.
As dawn broke, the stewards spoke about the purification and nourishment of water and encouraged all participants to enter the river. Lauren and Jonathan waited in line, and when it was time, they followed the procession into the St. Lawrence.
The shock of the cold water ran up her spine, and Lauren let out a little squeal as she submerged up to her neck. “Now I know why they save this for last. It wakes you up quick!”
Jonathan chuckled, breathing in gasps until he acclimated to the temperature. “Yeah, it’s invigorating,” he said. The pair followed the line in an arc and back to the shore where the small bonfire was stoked with fresh logs and the large fire now burned at the same height.
The crowds huddled around the fires as the steward spoke. “My friends, the dawn brings with it a renewed sense of hope and vitality from the darkness of night. May your body and soul be purified by the rituals you’ve undertaken, and may the love of Kapulo bring romance and fertility to you in the coming year. Thank you for sharing this celebration with us, and we hope you’ve found new friends along the journey. You may stay for the morning meal or you may depart at your discretion. Thank you.”
Once again, the crowd cheered and clapped in gratitude for the hosts. The stewards walked to a reception area where they said goodbye to those who were departing. The rest stayed and began to share a hot morning meal provided by the organizers.
“Are you tired?” Lauren asked.
“Yes, but I’m invigorated as well,” Jonathan said with glee. “Thank you so much for this wonderful surprise.”
“You’re so welcome. Happy Birthday, Speedy, and thank you for a magnificent night,” she beamed. Reaching into the second grocery bag, Lauren pulled out her cell phone. Standing next to Jonathan, she positioned the device to take a selfie of them, soaking wet in their medieval garb , with the small bonfire in the background.
“Let’s have some food, then we can go,” Jonathan said. “I’m not sure I want this evening to end.”
“Well, after we pack up and get home, we can sleep through the day, snuggled up,” Lauren said as she got a large serving of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and sausage from the serving line.
“I recommend we shower first, though, so we’re clean in your car.”
“Excellent idea,” Jonathan said with a smile.
They ate, then said goodbye and exchanged contact information with a few new friends they made, including the kids from Syracuse. After thanking the stewards and other hosts and grabbing their pot and grocery bag, they walked back to Eagle 62. Lauren started packing as Jonathan showered and dressed, then they swapped. A half hour later, they were on the road for Gotham.
********
Upon entering Lauren’s apartment, they dropped the backpacks, tent and sleeping bags in the foyer and entered the rest of the apartment. “I’ll unpack that stuff later,” she said. “Let’s just get to bed.”
The clock read 9:21am as they finally cuddled under the sheets. It didn’t take long for them to fall asleep, and Lauren was content to be here for the rest of her life.
Chris B
Chris B
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN!!!!!!Today, October 2, 2019 is the Radiant Ranger's 26th Birthday!
Let's all celebrate and have a good time!!! 🎶 😁
Chris B
Halloween, Baseball, and a Proposal
Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, click
Lauren pulled her hand away from the alarm clock and slowly sat up. Pausing to get her bearings and wakeup, she looked around the room. The place was mostly dark, lit only by a glimmer of streetlight that pierced the window blinds, casting shadows over the chair in a corner, the nightstands on either side of the bed, and a chest of drawers against one wall; a painting hung above the bed to complete the ensemble. Jonathan slept soundly beside her in the large bed, and she started to remember where she was. This was his new apartment, a two-bedroom he and Scotty moved into a few months ago.
Several moments passed, and Lauren suddenly felt a flash of excitement as she remembered something. Leaning toward the nightstand, she smiled wide as she looked at the date on her cell phone: October 31, 2019. It’s Halloween! she thought with the exhilaration of a ten-year-old. Shifting to the other side of the bed, she placed her hand on her boyfriend’s arm and shook him.
“Johnathan. Wake up. It’s Halloween!” she whispered with emphasis.
“Huh? What?” he said, raising his off the pillow looking around.
“It’s Halloween; time to get up!”
Groggy, he let his head drop back onto the pillow. “Great, I’ll be up in a minute. You go get a shower first,” he mumbled.
Lauren looked at him with slight annoyance. “Fine, but you better start waking up,” she instructed. Shifting back to her side of the bed, she stood and shuffled into the attached bathroom.
After using the toilet, showering, and brushing her teeth, she wandered back into the bedroom to see Jonathan fast asleep again. Walking to his side of the bed, she sat on the edge and started to rub his chest. “Wakey-wakey,” she said softly with a smile.
Jonathan stirred back to consciousness and stretched. “Hmmm. What time is it?”
“It’s 5:45, and time to get up.”
“Maybe in a few minutes,” he said and flipped onto his side.
Lauren bent down and kissed him gently on the nose. “Time to get up, my love. Do you know what day it is?”
“Thursday?”
“No…”
“It’s not Thursday?”
“Well, sure, but more importantly, it’s Halloween. And even more important than that, it’s baseball day!!” she said and bent to lay on top of him.
“Great. Maybe we’ll celebrate in a few more minutes,” he said quietly, desperate to squeeze a little more sleep into the schedule.
Lauren wasn’t having it. “Nope, you have a busy schedule today. You have an appearance on Morning Gotham at 7:20; then an 8 o’clock as Erulim with Bruce, Mr. Knight, Defender, The Huntsman, and Cade Connor at Wayne Tower; followed by a meeting, as Jonathan, with the Superintendent of Schools at 10; then warm-ups at 11 for our game at noon. Rise and shine, Mister Binks; the world beacons you.” Standing, she shuffled to her side of the bed to get dressed, flipping on the light along the way.
Jonathan sat up and scratched his head, taking in the room. “What are you doing this morning?” he asked.
“Well, I have a busy schedule, too. In a little over an hour, I need to be at HQ to receive our guests. Thanks to you, we have enough room to park their aircraft in a secure facility,” she said with an approving smile. “I’ll get them access to the base, show them the sleeping quarters, intro the staff, et cetera. Then while you boys are discussing world domination at eight, Bill and I have a meeting with the Mayor, Commissioner Gordon, Knight’s security, Witchcraft, Sapphire, Renegade, Dr. Wraithe, Blacklight, and Iron Maiden. We’ll be discussing shared security of the stadium and Gotham. The Champions, Defenders, and Protectors will be patrolling Gotham while we’re playing. Awesome, huh?
Jonathan stood and moved toward the bathroom. “Yeah, that’s one helluva team-up. Is that necessary?”
“Sure. With all of us in one concentrated place, it’s a target for anyone hoping to wipe us out in one stroke. Plus, Gotham may be attracting a bunch of baddies hoping to prove their mettle against the best supers in the country.”
“Alright, what else is on your plate?” Jonathan asked from the shower.
Lauren spoke louder to overcome the sound of running water and moved closer to the open bathroom door. “At nine, we’ll be splitting into teams to visit some of Gotham’s schools. The Ranger will partner with Witchcraft to visit West Side Middle School then Brentwood Elementary.”
“Isn’t West Side Mellissa and Jesse’s school?” Jonathan asked.
“Yeah, it sure is. They’ll be surprised, as I think the school is having an assembly and haven’t told the students yet. In fact, I think a couple of schools will be at each event. We’ll get there, say a few words, and take some questions, then off to Brentwood. The goal is outreach to the future residents of Gotham; let them know we’re the good guys. I’ll meet you at the stadium at eleven.”
The water stopped, and Jonathan stepped out of the shower to dry off. “Well, have fun with the kids.”
“You too,” she said with a smirk. “I’ll go make some coffee and whip something up for breakfast, then head out.” Lauren slipped on her shoes and went down the hall to Scotty’s door.
Knock, knock, knock. “Scotty,” Lauren said and slowly cracked open the door. Scotty Binks was lying in his bed asleep. “Scotty, sweetie, it’s time to get up.” She opened the door and stepped in, which caused Scotty to stir. Sitting on the edge of his bed, she gently placed her hand on his arm and rubbed it lightly. “Scotty, it’s time to get up.”
Scotty opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Lauren. She smiled.
“Hi sweetie. Happy Halloween.”
Scotty smiled briefly and stretched. “Happy Halloween. It’s baseball today, too.”
“Yes, it is,” she said with a smile. “I’ll have some breakfast ready in about ten minutes. You can eat and then get ready. The other teams will be at the base around seven, if you’re interested.”
“Sure,” he said and then sat up.
“Great,” she said then left the room closing the door behind her. Lauren walked into the kitchen and prepared some breakfast for her family. It was going to be a good day, she thought.
********
Lauren arrived at the base around 6:50AM, and ten minutes later, the first of their guests arrived.
“Tower, this is Champions V-Jet requesting vector coordinates and landing clearance,” Ironclad said over the radio.
“V-Jet this is Gotham Tower, vector 210, light winds from the southwest at two miles per hour, you are clear for vertical landing on pad one.”
“Roger that tower.” Turning to Defender, Ironclad said, “Nice. The Sentinels have tied their base air traffic into the airport’s ATC, so we can get all the info through normal channels.”
Lauren walked out to watch the famous V-Jet land on the aircraft pad in their front yard. After it touched down, the lift system began to lower the jet toward the garage as its engines powered off. She went back inside and took the elevator to Level 1. Upon exiting the lift as the Radiant Ranger, she found the other Sentinels waiting in the team mess hall. Smiling with pride, she said, “let’s greet out guests.” The group walked toward the jet as the automated systems moved the aircraft to its assigned parking spot.
The world-famous Champions of Millennium City began to deplane, led by Defender. The Sentinels approached them, and the Ranger offered her hand. “Welcome, everyone. I’m the Radiant Ranger, and this is my team: Patrolman, Fast Ball, Mr. X, and Kid Splice.”
Defender accepted the handshake. “I’m Defender, this is Witchcraft, Sapphire, Kinetik, and our pilot, Ironclad.”
“A real pleasure to meet you all. Please follow me, and we’ll get you settled in.” Turning to Ironclad, the Ranger said, “Mr. X can get you refueled and provide anything the V-Jet needs.”
“Thank you,” he replied, looking at Mr. X. The conference rooms, mess hall, and basic living quarters were on the same level, so it was a short walk to the main assembly area.
Five minutes later, Air Traffic Control called to announce the approach of the Skycruiser. “It looks like The Protectors are on final approach. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll greet our arrivals,” the Radiant Ranger said.
“Mind if I tag along?” Defender asked.
“Please, the more the merrier. Mr. X, will you ensure the Champions are comfortable. We’ll do a formal tour when everyone is here.”
The Radiant Ranger and Defender headed for the door along with Witchcraft and the Patrolman. Like before, the Skycruiser landed, was placed in a suitable spot within the garage, and the Protectors of San Francisco deplaned. The Ranger approached with Defender at her side, introduced everyone and escorted the group to the mess area. There she introduced the Huntsman to Mr. X and offered fuel and any other supplies they needed.
Not long after, the Guardians of Evergreen City arrived via portal straight into the mess area where the other three teams were enjoying coffee and donuts.
“Mr. Conner, it’s good to see you,” the Radiant Ranger said walking up to Cade and the Guardians.
“It’s good to see you as well, Radiant Ranger. So, these are the new digs?”
“Yes sir, all shiny and brand new. Please let me introduce everyone to the other teams.”
As before, the Ranger introduced everyone. After mingling for ten minutes, she split the teams into three groups and began a tour of the Sentinel’s base. She and the Patrolman took the first one, Fast Ball and Kid Splice escorted the second, and Mr. X took the third. The groups were composed of members from each team to help foster camaraderie and interaction among the groups. The Ranger’s group consisted of the team who needed to meet with the Mayor and Commissioner.
Right before the tours began, the Ranger received a phone call, then pulled Defender, the Huntsman, and Cade Connor aside. “Gentlemen, unfortunately your tour will have to wait. Erulim has a car outside ready to take you to Wayne Tower for your meeting. Please take the elevator over there to the main floor, where Erulim will greet you.”
The trio agreed and left. Turning back to the rest of her tour group, she said, “Unfortunately, this will be shorter than I’d like, but we have a meeting to attend in about thirty minutes with the Mayor and Police Commissioner.” Handing each person a badge, she said, “This is a temporary badge that will grant access to the base, the main floor, and this floor. Quarters have been arranged if you’d like to rest before and between games or if you wish to stay overnight, and I promise to do a proper tour later. I’ll show you the basics and then we can head out in about twenty minutes.”
Blacklight chimed in, “We can have The Occultist open a portal to the meeting, if you’d like, so we can have a little more time.”
“That would be great, thank you,” the Ranger replied, then began the tour. She familiarized them with the floor they are on, then took them to Level 2 to introduce the team doctor and psychologist and show them the medical and training facilities. Then the group went to the main level before departing for City Hall.
********
The Radiant Ranger arrived at Knight’s Baseball Stadium a little after 11AM. She escorted Witchcraft back to Sentinel HQ from Brentwood Elementary and ensured her access to the base before heading for the stadium. She felt elated to be flying into one of Gotham’s great sports venues, and because of that, she also felt shame for enjoying it so much. I feel like I’m betraying the Griffins, she thought as she circled overhead, recalling the only time she flew into her favorite baseball team’s house, as the Radiant Ranger, was to engage the Penguin, and that caused a lot of destruction. As she prepared to land, she decided to tuck all of that away and enjoy the moment. The Knights are a Gotham team, too! she reminded herself.
The place was massive and impressive. A state-of-the-art facility, it boasted all the latest technology and comforts, both for the fans and the staff. It’s location, right on the St. Lawrence river, was also a high point. As she arrived, there were many fans tailgating in the parking lot, lining up to enter, and some already in the stadium. News crews were also present to announce the activities and player arrivals. The Ranger received a loud cheer from the crowd as she circled the field and landed. Waiving, she entered through the player’s gate.
She walked slowly and made her way to the locker room, taking in every detail. I’ve never been behind the scenes before, she thought. This is really a treat!
Upon entering their assigned locker room, she saw most of her teammates there, including Scotty. Walking up to him, she gave him a big hug. “Hey kiddo. Pretty impressive, huh?”
“Yeah!” he replied at a loss for words. “This place is freakin’ awesome; I even have my own locker. I may become a Knights fan, after this!”
“HEY, watch your language!” the Ranger scolded.
Surprised by the sharp reply, he asked, “You don’t like freakin’?”
“No, that’s okay. But if I ever find out you’re a Knights fan, you’re grounded for a year!” she replied with a sarcastic smile and then let out a laugh. “Yeah, this place is freakin’ awesome! You need to thank Mikey for setting it up. Now, where is your brother?”
Scotty shrugged, “I dunno. Probably shaking hands with Knight or getting a snack.”
“Okay, I’m going to go see.” The Ranger changed form back into Lauren and then walked up to Fast Ball. “Mikey,” she said, “can you get the team onto the field and start warmups at 11:30?” I’ll be there, too, but I need to go see if Jesse and Mellissa are here yet.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Fast Ball said with a twinkle in his eye.
Lauren smiled. “Thanks! Oh, and great job! This is freakin’ awesome,” she said, glancing back at Scotty, who gave her a thumbs up. She left the locker room, checking to be sure she had her civilian access badge on top.
Lauren walked through the stadium until she got to the seating area where Denny, Jesse, and Mellissa were ticketed. As she approached, she saw a familiar person with them. “There you are,” she said coming up to Jonathan, who was standing with the trio.
“Lauren!” Jesse yelled and leapt from his chair charging into her legs with a tight hug. “You made it! This is sooo awesome! Look at the field! We can see everything. I’m non-stop blogging this, and getting so many replies, it’s nuts!”
Mellissa and Denny both smiled at her.
“Well, look who finally made it,” Jonathan said with a half-smile. “I thought you might miss the game, except you’re such a rabid sports fan, that would be out of character, so I was about to send the GCPD after you.”
“Sorry,” she said to him, delivering a quick kiss. Turning to the kids, she asked, “So, are you enjoying yourselves?”
“Heck yeah!” Jessie replied as he made his way back to his seat. Mellissa nodded with a beaming smile. “This place is massive and has so many great things to see and do. We’ve been here for nearly an hour, and I’m not even bored yet!” Jessie finished.
Lauren and Denny laughed, and Jonathan smiled. “Well, kiddo, there’s lots to see, including a baseball game, and you can come back for the final game tonight, if you want, too.”
Jessie’s eye lit up, and he looked at Denny. “Can we?”
Denny’s face drew a frown, “I don’t think I can make it tonight, Lauren. It’s Halloween, the third game is the final, and the Guardsmen are playing an away game. The bar is likely to be packed.”
“Well, maybe we can help,” someone said from the stairway. Turning, Lauren saw her parents walking down the stairs toward them. She smiled wide, “Mom, Dad!”
“Hi Mr. Michaels,” Jonathan said.
Denny stood, “Hello Steven.”
“Hello Denny, Jonathan,” Steven Michaels said and shook their hands in turn. Then, he kissed his daughter on the cheek, “Hello pumpkin.”
“Hi Daddy,” she said, then gave her mother a hug. “Is this your area, too?”
“It sure is,” Caitlyn Michaels replied as they broke their embrace. “I wouldn’t want to see this game any other place than next to these two fantastic children.”
Jessie beamed and Mellissa blushed. “Hi Mrs. Michaels,” Jessie said as the woman scooted down the aisle and sat next to him. “Do you want to see the pictures I took?” he asked with enthusiasm.
“I sure do!” she replied, and the two began scrolling through his cell phone.
“Denny, we can bring the kids if Lauren is um… busy, this evening.” Steven said.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to put you out,” Denny said as he took his seat.
“It’s no problem; we were planning to come back, anyway. Who could miss the championship “Supers” baseball game? Besides, we love having them around, and there will be a lot of trick and treat events starting an hour before the game, so the kids can get in their costumes and really clean up. Lauren will likely be here, too, no matter the outcome of this game.”
“Well, let me think about it, and I’ll give you an answer after the game. Can you and Caitlyn come to the bar after this for dinner?”
“Sure,” Steven said, looking at his wife, who briefly looked up to nod. “We’d love to. We can give you a ride, too, if you’d like.”
“That would be great,” Denny said. “I can get back to the bar quicker. ‘One Eye’ Jack is running things this afternoon. He’s a good lad and knows his bartending, but I don’t want to leave him alone for too long on Halloween.”
Steven chuckled and shook Denny’s hand one more time before heading to his seat.
Lauren paused to take in the scene before her. In this small spot was nearly everyone she cared for the most, and they were all smiling and having fun in each other’s company. Maybe Knight’s stadium isn’t such a bad place, after all, she thought as the moment threatened to overwhelm her.
Jonathan noticed her glassy eyes and understood. Smiling, he said, “Well, sadly, Lauren and I need to leave you for a bit. We’ll be watching from a different part of the stadium, since it’s the Sentinel’s event.”
Everyone said their goodbyes and waived, and finally, Jonathan and Lauren walked up the stairs and through the opening that led to the concession stands. “Thank you,” she said with sincerity, wiping her eyes gently.
Smiling, Jonathan said, “You’re welcome. Now, we have a game to win.”
Lauren smiled back and once again became as excited as a ten-year-old.
********
“This is Bob Carmichael, the voice of Gotham’s Golden Knights and with me is my wingman, Tim O’Leary. Tim, we have unique match-up this afternoon.”
“We sure do, Bob. In this first game, we have the Protectors of San Francisco taking on our very own Sentinels of Gotham City. It’s unusual to have an exhibition game the day after the World Series, but baseball fans, we have a dandy for you. The four superhero teams from around the country have decided to put on a show to see which team is the best, and the contest of choice is none other than America’s pastime.”
“That’s fantastic. I understand this came about due to the efforts of a local hero?”
“Yes, Bob. Mikey Delaney, last year’s top draft pick for the Gotham Griffins, is the mastermind behind all of this.”
“Folks, Mikey won the National Pitcher of the Year award two years in a row, while at Gotham U, and had a promising career in Major League Baseball ahead of him when he was involved in an unfortunate accident at Griffin’s stadium earlier this year.”
“That’s right,” O’Leary replied. “For the fans around the country, he was injured during a non-baseball event at Griffin Stadium, when it was attacked by none other than The Penguin and a bunch of his animal friends. The Sentinels arrived quickly and contained much of the destruction, but some damage did occur, including the loss of both of Mikey’s arms. The future looked grim for the all-star, but he found a home on that same superhero team not long after, and he will be pitching tonight.”
“That’s a remarkable come-back story. He certainly has a lot to be proud of. Now that we know Fast Ball, tell us more about the rest of the Sentinel’s line-up.”
“Sure thing, Bob. With Mikey on the mound, the team needs a strong catcher, and the mysterious Mister X will be in that position this afternoon.”
“It makes sense, Tim. Mr. X is in a suit of power armor; just the thing needed to contain Delaney’s fast ball, no pun intended.”
Tim chuckled, “Absolutely. The trick is to see how agile he can be in that suit, as a catcher needs to be quite maneuverable to contain passed balls and to make the throw to second.”
Bob chuckled as well, “I’m sure his targeting sensors will help with pop flies behind the plate. How about the infield?”
“Well, on first base is Kid Splice. Hailing from Evergreen City, he is the prodigy of Splicer, a member of the Guardians, who will face the Champions later this afternoon in game two. The Kid is a jack of all trades, and while not the fastest or most agile, his utility will really be the boost this team needs. Look for him to bat early in the line-up.”
“If the Sentinels and Guardians get to the final game this evening, we’ll have the first father-son superhero matchup! I understand a fan favorite is covering short stop, Tim?”
“Yes, Gotham’s own Radiant Ranger will light up the center of the infield. In speaking with her yesterday during player interviews, I found out that she is a huge Gotham sports fan, and her favorite baseball team is the Griffins. She really knows her stats! The Upper West Side should be proud having one of their own on the field.”
“There you go, folks. Next time you are watching a game in the Green Palace, you may be sitting next to one of Gotham’s heroes. However, it looks like Third Base is being covered by a real rookie.”
“Yep, in this game, the dreaded DOOMSKULL!,” Tim and Bob chuckled at the name, “is covering third and assisting with duties closer to short. At 16 years old, he is by far the youngest participant in any line-up and can stretch to great lengths. This makes him both an excellent choice to cover the left field gap and he is likely to be an ace in stealing bases. Look for him to do whatever he can to get on base early.”
“From youngest to oldest, we have The Patroman.”
“That’s right. Nobody knows anything about him, but it appears he is likely an apparition. In our pre-game conversation, he mentioned that he’s been around since the thirties, and saw the Bronx bomber in action, as well as Mantle, Robinson, Gehrig, and many of the other greats. He’ll be covering second in this game.”
“Last, but certainly not least, is the Sentinel’s leader, Erulim.”
“That’s right, Bob. He is incredibly humbled to be on the field with his crew and to participate in this game for all baseball fans. As a speedster, he’ll be covering the outfield, himself. You can look for this same placement mirrored by Kinetik when the Champions take the field, after this game.”
“And that’s your Gotham Sentinel’s lineup, folks. After this commercial message, we’ll have the roster for the Protectors of San Francisco.”
********
Lauren and Jonathan headed back to the team locker room, made a quick change, grabbed their gloves, and the Sentinels left for the game. As they exited the tunnel onto the field, the Radiant Ranger stopped and gazed in awe at the sight before her. Around them 20,000 fans and school kids erupted in cheer, as the Sentinels took the field. “Wow,” she stammered.
Erulim stopped beside her and smiled as he took in the sheer joy on her face. “Impressive, huh? This must be remarkable for such a huge fan, being on the field and all.”
The Ranger just looked at him, her mouth agape.
“Well, don’t keep your fans waiting,” he said, waving his arm in a wide arc at the stands. “Go up there and makes some fireworks.”
She looked at him, then the stands, then back at him, then the Ranger smiled and bit her lower lip and launched high into the sky. She flew in an arc across the stadium, no higher than the top, trailing a stream of sparkling light. Turning back and diving, she hit the center of the stadium and let out a huge barrage of fireworks just above its top. The stadium’s Soundmaster improvised a soundtrack for the brief light display that mimicked fireworks and a laser light show. The crowd erupted in applause and cheering at the spectacle, and the Radiant Ranger took her spot on the field at shortstop.
********
The game against the Protectors went well. The new rules implemented by Major League Baseball for meta-human play were mostly followed, and the umpires were quick to call out any discrepancies and just as quick to offer leniency. The lead exchanged hands several times, and finally at the bottom of the eighth inning, Kid Splice hit a single to bring in the go ahead run. Fast Ball and the Sentinels were able to hold the lead through the ninth inning to win the first game.
The team entered the locker room tired but ecstatic. “We won! I can’t believe we won!” Doomskull exclaimed.
“Yeah, that was fantastic!” Kid Splice replied high fiving his friend, which burst into a high-five fest between all of his teammates.
“Great hit,” the Ranger said to Kid Splice. “That was masterful, dragging your swing to send it into the sweet spot between third and short.”
Kid Splice paused then adopted a confident look, “Yeah, pretty solid, huh?”
“Dork, you totally didn’t do that on purpose,” Doomskull chided.
Kid Splice looked at him with a wry grin, “Maybe, maybe not. Guess, you’ll never know. I’m just glad you paid enough attention to make it home.”
“Well, when you can stretch most of the way to the next bag while still sitting on your own, it’s easy to steal a base or two,” Doomskull said with a bit of smugness.
“All right, all right. Everyone did fantastic out there,” Fast Ball said taking charge of the room. “It’s four o’clock, and we have about three hours until we need to be back for the next game. Kid, I’m going to need some healing for my arm, then it’s up to the boss as to what’s next.”
“Thanks, Mikey. As the team lead, I’m very proud of you for all your effort. We came a long way from our first practice, and we left it all on the field. And as a lifelong baseball fan,” the Ranger paused to gather her thoughts, “that was the most exhilarating and jacked up baseball game I have ever seen!” she said laughing. “Man, we were all over the place! Most of those moves would be illegal as all get out in the MLB, but new rules are new rules, and you did fantastic! Thank you, for myself, and all baseball fans!”
The group laughed with her, giving each other high-fives again and pats on the shoulder and back before coming back to focus on the Ranger.
“Now, we have a patrol schedule to keep. You have your Protector partner and your time slot. We have seven pairs, so each pair will have a 45-minute patrol. When not on active patrol, you are still on alert status, just in case. Get something to eat and relax, show your Protector partner the highlights Gotham, as they will be on patrol while we play the for the championship!”
The team clapped and nodded again, then broke up and started talking to each other. Some showered, and the others refreshed themselves in other ways, then the group met the Protectors in a common room. After exchanging congratulations, the teams paired off and went their separate ways to patrol Gotham and relax before the next game.
The Radiant Ranger asked Doc Sonic for a few minutes before heading out, and the Protector agreed. Finding a private spot and changing back into Lauren, the Sentinel leader went to meet her family near Knight’s Gear in the southside of the stadium. At the rendezvous, she accepted their congratulations and the group talked for five minutes before she let them know her schedule. Denny agreed to allow the Michaels to bring Jesse and Mellissa back for the finale, in large part due to the kids’ asking and the fact that they had no school the next day. He was also sad that he couldn’t attend, but let Lauren know that he would be watching closely from the bar. She smiled, gave them all hugs, and returned to the locker room area, where she and Doc Sonic took off for their patrol area.
********
“Happy Halloween everyone. This is Bob Carmichael, the voice of your Gotham Knights, and with me once again this evening is my partner Tim O’Leary.”
“Hello everyone.”
“Tim, we have a spectacular matchup on deck between Gotham’s own Sentinels and the world-famous Champions of Millennium City. They’ll be playing for bragging rights, so what should we look for in this matchup?”
“Well, for one, the Champions are boosting up their roster a bit. They added two heroes to match the Sentinel’s numbers. First, is Rose from San Angelo. She is a flier and pretty strong, so look for her to be a significant batting and base running prospect. The second is Nik Blade, a martial artist from Philadelphia. He is slated to play short stop, as it’s a position that demands quick reflexes. Both teams agreed to bolster the Champions instead of reducing the Sentinels.”
The crowd cheered loudly behind the two announcers, and the camera switched to the field. “And here comes the Sentinels, wearing Gotham’s traditional gold and black, ready to take the field. Looks like we are about to start, so we’ll take a quick commercial break and be back in time for the first pitch.”
********
“...it’s a pop fly to left center field. Erulim races under it and makes the catch to retire the side! At the top of the seventh, it’s the Sentinels holding their lead over the Champions seven to five. We’ll be right back after this for the seventh inning stretch.”
“Nice catch, man,” Fast Ball said as Erulim entered the dugout, accepting high fives from his teammates. Looking at Erulim and the Ranger, he said, “better get changed for the ceremony. We’ll hold things here.”
“Roger that, boss,” the Ranger replied with a wink. Fast Ball smiled. The two Sentinels walked up the dugout steps and into the tunnel, there they made a quick change into their civilian identities, then made their way to the gathering area for the stretch event.
As they arrived, they saw a makeshift stage being finalized between the pitcher’s mound and home plate. A woman in a business suit walked up to them. “There you are. They are just about finished with the stage. Are you ready to address the crowd?” Knight’s PR manager asked Jonathan.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Thank you for this opportunity Mrs. Singleton.”
“It’s our pleasure,” she said. Looking the pair up and down, Singleton paused. “Nice Griffin’s jersey.”
“You like it? I wasn’t sure how you’d react,” Lauren said in mock ignorance. She knew perfectly well how Knight’s people would react to her wearing a green and white jersey instead of the Knight’s gold and black. But she didn’t care, the Griffins were her team, and she was proud to show the colors.
“Well, of course we’d prefer a Golden Knights jersey, but it’ll have to do,” Singleton said.
“I just thought since Jonathan is sporting a Knights jersey, at your request, that we should show Gotham solidarity, so I brought my Griffin’s jersey,” Lauren said with a wide smile.
“Of course.” Looking out toward the field briefly, Singleton turned back to the Sentinels. “That’s your que, have fun out there and don’t be nervous!”
“Let’s give it up for a couple of Gotham’s finest. The CEO and Operations Officer for your Gotham Sentinels; Jonathan Grant and Lauren Hope Michaels!” the stadium announcer said.
Jonathan looked at Lauren, and she nodded, then the two walked onto the field and on top of the small stage as the crowd applauded. Jonathan walked up to a microphone and removed it from the stand.
“Thank you. Thank you everyone. Hasn’t this been a great tournament?” The crowd erupted in cheer. “I want to start by giving a round of thanks to some special people. First, Gotham’s own Mikey Delany.” Rotating to look at the dugout, Jonathan motioned with his free hand for Fast Ball to come out. “Come on out, Mikey.” Turning back to the crowd, he said, “As you may know, Mikey is the mastermind behind this project. Wanting to give something back to the community and raise awareness for kids with special needs, he devised this whole event, and I was happy to give him the green light to proceed.”
The crowd cheered as Fast Ball stepped out of the dugout and took off his hat in salute.
“Thanks Mikey. Next, I want to thank our sponsors. This would not be possible if it wasn’t for the extremely generous donations by the Knight Foundation and Wayne Technologies. Mr. Knight, you have an amazing venue here.” The crowd cheered loudly.
“Third, I want to thank the athletes that came all the way to Gotham to participate today. The Champions, Protectors, and Guardians are truly an amazing group of people that I have recently had the honor of spending time with and working beside. Generous and professional are just two words that speak volumes of their magnanimous care for the community and the nation. Thank you so much for being here and being such great competitors!” The crowd cheered as members of the Champions exited the visitors' dugout and the Protectors and Guardians in the area came out to accept the accolades by the crowd.”
“I wanted to also thank the people of Gotham and our out of town visitors who came to this great event and to all of those who generously donated to our cause. I will turn the mic over to Lauren, who is the Sentinels Operations Officer to discuss the charity.”
“Thanks Jonathan,” Lauren said causing the speakers to squeal a little as she spoke too close to the microphone. “That’s better. As you may know, Jonathan started the Gifted Youngsters Foundation to reach out to children with special capabilities within our community. The initial goal is to help those kids who find themselves in the extraordinary situation of developing abilities that exceed those of their peers, or more straight forward, “superpowers” that we call meta-abilities.”
“This is usually a terrifying situation for the child, their parents, and the community in general, as weird things seem to suddenly happen and the child is left trying to control their newfound talents on their own accord. They may be ostracized by their peers or seen as dangerous by the adults in their life if their secret got out, so most keep it hidden. Almost all of these children didn’t ask for their gifts, but they have them, and many people don’t know what to do. In Gotham alone, we’ve seen a 20% increase in reports of meta incidents, most of which are children trying to control their powers.”
“To cope with this, Jonathan started the Gifted Youngsters Foundation and the accompanying boarding school, which provides a safe space for children with meta abilities to gather and learn how to control their powers, as well as, gain the moral compass needed to know what is acceptable use and what isn’t. The purpose is to make the world safer for all of us.”
“I know many Gothamites, and Americans, are fearful of people with meta abilities. And you have a right to be. We’ve seen the awesome power some criminals wielded against our city and nation. This foundation was created with you in mind, so we can get our youngsters, who have these special talents, the proper training and discipline they need to become productive and thoughtful members of society.”
“To that end, we hope this tournament was a good way for us to showcase our abilities in a manner that display their positive use in society, beyond law enforcement. For instance, just think of how much easier that construction job would be if someone with powers were there to lift that heavy girder, fly down several stories to get that special tool, or squeeze into that small space to tighten some screws. Now, the number of people with meta abilities are so small that they could never take your jobs away. Instead, they can help make your time on site more productive and easier.”
“Again, thank you for your support and for coming out to the ballgame on this special holiday night. And thank you so very much for your generosity to this cause,” Lauren said and handed the microphone back to Jonathan. The crowd applauded.
“Isn’t she special? Let’s give it up one more time for Lauren,” Jonathan said, pointing his arm at Lauren as the cheers grew louder. “Now, we’re about to get back to the ballgame, but there is one last thing that needs to be done.”
Music began to play lightly from the stadium’s speakers.
Jonathan turned toward Lauren, looked her in the eyes, and said, “Lauren, over the past ten months, you have been a beacon of light for the Sentinels, for Gotham, and especially for me, in ways most people don’t even realize. Since the team’s inception, you have been the heart and conscious for all of us; a friend, a teacher, a confidant, and caretaker. You’ve help me at my lowest and celebrated with me at my highest, and all of this wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for your caring and compassion. I love you, Lauren, and before all of Gotham, I wanted to ask...” In one fluid motion he pulled a small box from his pocket and placed his right knee on the stage. Holding it up, he opened it to reveal a diamond ring.
Shocked, Lauren suddenly realized what was happening. She inhaled deeply, began to tremble, and quickly brought her hands up to cover her mouth, a look of joyful surprise on her face.
“...will you marry me?”
Lauren stood there for what felt like an eternity, the stadium and the world closed in, so it was just her and Jonathan. Was this really happening? Oh, my Lord, is he proposing? He is asking me to be his wife?! Yes, YES!!
Outwardly, Lauren immediately began to nod. Slightly at first, then in a long emphatic gesture. “Yes!” she said loudly, her eyes watering, “YES! I will marry you! I love you so much!”
Jonathan stood, and stepped forward to embrace her. Lauren opened her arms wide, wrapped them tightly around his waist and lifted her feet from the ground, dangling in his strong arms. The two kissed passionately as Lauren lowered one foot to the ground. Pulling back, Jonathan placed the microphone on the ground, took the ring from the box, and put it on her left hand. Then they hugged, her head against his shoulder, tears of joy running down her cheek.
In the stands, her mother, in complete shock, leapt to her feet. “Steven, he just proposed! He Just Proposed!! My baby girl is getting married!” she said and began to cry herself. Steven smiled wide, stood, and placed an arm around her waist. She turned and hugged him tightly.
“What just happened?” Jessie asked with great concern as he looked up from his phone.
Mellissa started clapping with the rest of the fans and stood herself. “Lauren is getting married, Jessie!” she said to her brother.
“What? Did he? She is?”
The two began jumping up and down, screaming. Cailtlyn and Steven looked down at the Perez kids and smiled wide. They turned and pulled the kids into a large four-way hug.
At Paddy’s Sports Bar, the packed house erupted is a very loud cheer. Smiling wide, Denny sat down on a nearby barstool, pulled out his handkerchief, and started to wipe his eyes, as the patrons began patting him on the back, congratulating Lauren’s mentor. The place broke into song as glasses clanked together and some danced.
Regaining his composure, Denny stood and said, “This round’s on me, boys!” The place erupted in cheer once again and the singing continued.
Back on the stage, Lauren and Jonathan separated from their embrace. Holding hands, they waived to the crowd with their free hand, and turned to acknowledge each section, who cheered for them. Afterwards, Lauren wiped her eyes as Jonathan picked up the microphone and said, “Thank you. Thank you very much. Now, let’s play ball!” He handed the device to a stagehand, who had come out to move the platform, then holding Lauren’s hand, walked back toward the staging area.
“Congratulations,” said Mrs. Singleton to Lauren.
“Thank you so much,” she replied with a sniffle. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Well, it’s the least we could do. Now, I need to get the press releases written and do an interview. That was pretty magical. Great job, Jonathan.”
“Thank you,” he said, then smiled at Lauren. “Come on, you still have a couple of innings to play, and you better stay focused.”
“Yeah, fat chance of that,” she replied with a chuckle then a sniff. The two returned to the locker room to congratulations and shocked replies from the other Sentinels. Scotty came up to offer his sentiments, and Lauren scooped him up in a big hug and squeezed tightly.
“I didn’t know, I swear,” he said in mock suffocation. Lauren just smiled, kissed him on the head, and finally let him go. Changing back into her Sentinel jersey, they all transformed into their alter egos and re-entered the field.
In the end, the Sentinels held their lead and won the game 9 – 8. After she got cleaned up and the crowd dispersed, Lauren walked back onto the field one last time to take a final mental photo of the place. Looking at her ring then back up to the stands, she thought, Maybe Knights stadium is actually the best place on Earth.
Jonathan stepped beside her and slid his arm around her waist. She kissed him briefly then looked around. “What a day,” she said with twinkling eyes.
“Come on. We’re due for a celebration at Paddy’s, and I bet Jessie has the whole thing on video.”
Lauren smiled at Jonathan, placed her arm around his waist, and they walked back into the tunnel together.