Ke's Tales-"The New Punk on the Block" (FEEDBACK ENCOURAGED!)

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Here it is! Ke’s Tales: The New Punk on the Block. I shall add more sections as I get them edited, so check back from time to time!

Just in case if you forgot who’s who and what’s what, here’s a refresher.

Ke Blazer- a teenage SAVIOR agent; has ghost powers; a bit of a spitfire; has short, strait blond hair and teal eyes.
Rose Flagg- teenage friend of Ke’s; has healing powers; under SAVIOR’s protection after Ke found her cryogenically frozen; short wavy blond hair and blue eyes.
“Hydra” Notan- a hydra; Ke’s loyal “assistant” and friend; natural abilities include strength and the traditional hydra ability of growing heads back; a purple lizard creature that’s about the size of a horse.

What is SAVIOR?
A secret government agency that deals with paranormal and supernatural threats; lead by General Charles Commandal.

What are “professionals” and “freelancers”?
Professionals are people who work for government agencies like SAVIOR. Freelancers are people who fight such threats by their own free will; like superheroes or paranormal detectives.

What is the PS Building?
The Paranormal and Supernatural Building (AKA the PS Building) serves many purposes. It’s functions include interplanetary/dimensional customs stop, travel station, duty-free market, archives of paranormal and supernatural knowledge, and political meeting center. Located in Centeropolis, Michigan.

What is Northtown?
Ke’s hometown. An urban city in the southwest Michigan area.

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Part One: Enter the Jerk!

Ke's Tales

The New Punk on the Block

“C’mon, guys!” a twelve-year-old Asian boy with short, spiked hair and black clothing said as he hopped down the fence of Hesslin Tracks, an abandoned train yard in southwestern Michigan. On the boy’s backs hung a dull yellow backpack with an elegant insignia on their flaps. His two cohorts descended down the sturdy wooden fence. Like their friend, the two boys were also twelve years old, wore black clothing, and had the same dull yellow backpacks. One boy was Caucasian and had a mop of wavy, red hair on his head. The third boy, who was African-American, had short cut hair. They took a few moments to stare at the weed-ridden train tracks, the aged train cars, and the dark, abandoned buildings with wooden boards sealing its broken windows. The morning sun that hung overhead bathed the train yard in a light orange-red glow. Silence griped this place, save for the boys’ breath and chains swaying in the wind.

“So, what now?” the Caucasian boy of the group asked.

“Whaddya mean ‘what now?’ Tate?” the Asian remarked.

“W-Well Johnny, we’re in the train yard like we told those guys we’d be, now what are we supposed to do?” Tate said.

“We need to do something to prove that we were actually here.” Johnny said.

“How about we take something?” the African-American boy of this trio suggested, “Y’know, something that could only come from here?”

“Good idea, Ben!” Tate complimented.

“Okay, let’s go with that.” Johnny said. The three boys began to walk into the deeper reaches of the train yard. Ben spied a rusty loose train spike on the ground as they walked near the tracks.

“How about this thing?” Ben said as he picked up the spike and displayed it to their friends.

“It’s cool, but the other guys might think we got it somewhere else.” Tate said.

“But keep it just in case we don’t find anything else.” Johnny said.

“I was going to anyway.” Ben said, “It’s cool.”

“Maybe we can look in one of the cars.” Tate said.

“Wait, I’ve got it!” Johnny proclaimed, “Maybe we can go in there!” He pointed to a large, red brick building with faded letters saying “Main Building” written on a sign suspended over the doorway.

“Yeah!” Ben said, “Maybe the head guy’s desk still has something in it!”

“I dunno, guys.” Tate said with speculation in his voice, “What if the floors in there are
loose? They could collapse under our weight.”

“We’ll be fine! C’mon!” Johnny assured. Ben and Johnny began to walk towards the building.

“This really isn’t a good idea!” Tate cried to his friends, “Guys? Guys?!” Tate let out a groan as he rushed to the side of his friends. His friends noticed him and smiled.

“Alright, Tate’s on board!” Johnny cried.

“Yeah, well, I still say this is a bad idea.” Tate groaned.

Hesslin Tracks was considered a dangerous place by many. The history and inhabitants of this place were wrapped in a shroud of urban legend. People would often exchange many versions of what lurked around Hesslin Tracks. One story goes that it was a meeting place for a cult, whose rites involved sacrifices and cannibalism. Another story goes that a serial killer who buried the bodies of his victims at that place lived there, killing people who have the misfortune of straying into Hesslin Tracks. Yet others say that the violent ghosts of those that died working on that railroad wander around that God-forsaken place, attacking those who enter the grounds.

“That’s all a load of crud!” Johnny said as he walked alongside his friends, “My big brother works in the archives, and he found out the real story! The reason no one comes here is because of Byron Vante!”

“Byron who?” Ben asked.

“Byron Vante. I’ll tell you the real story!” Johnny proclaimed. He took a deep breath and began to tell his dark tale.

“Ol’ Byron was a con artist from the eighteen hundreds. He conned alotta people outta their life savings. His shining moment of greed was when he swindled a church outta their funds. However, his greed-ridden lifestyle caught up with him. Eventually, he was cursed by the Xantu curse of greed.”

“The what?” Ben asked.

“The Xantu curse of greed.” Johnny explained, “There are seven of ‘em, each based on one’ve the seven deadly sins. Y’know, lust, sloth, wrath, all that stuff. If you get cursed by one you become a demonoid and get a demonic second form. Anyway, Byron ended up pulling some strings so that the curse would make him immortal. It’s a fact that Byron set up shop here for his new business.”

“Which is?” Tate asked.
“You can make deals with him.” Johnny explained, “Y’know, kinda like that whole ‘making a deal with the devil’ bit. ‘Cept in this case, you don’t lose your soul if you make a deal with him. Instead, you pay him off with things like huge amounts of money, or priceless information That’s how he got some criminal connections.”

“What if you can’t pay him off?” Tate asked. Johnny turned to him with wide eyes and a smug.

“There’ll be hell to pay.” He said before he let out a deep, creepy laugh.

“That’s a load of bull.” Ben said, “If this Byron Vante guy was real, why hasn’t anyone locked him up yet?”

“A bunch of reasons.” Johnny answered, “Mostly because any records of any criminal acts he committed are reserved to that of the Mystic Council, which is way out of any professional agency’s jurisdiction. But I know he’s real. My cousin even saw one of his patchwork men.”

“Patchwork men?” Ben asked.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he has henchmen.” Johnny said, “They’re made up of pieces of corpses sewn together. Y’know, like Frankenstein.”

“Oh yeah, you’re making this up.” Ben said.

“Am not!” Johnny said. The boys finally reached the old wood doors of the Main Building. Using some force to open the doors, the boys entered the dark building, shining a bit of light onto the vast building’s insides. Many of the furniture used by this building’s old occupants had been left behind and had collected dust and cobwebs over the years. A dozen thin beams of morning light shot through available entries in the boards nailed against the windows. The stale and dust-ridden air of the place alone almost seemed to choke the boys. The boys pulled out yellow flashlights and turned them on, casting beams of light. The boys began to carefully walk forward, the wooden floor groaning at every step they took. The light cast from their flashlights darted around the room, revealing overturned chairs and potted plants that had long since died. Tate’s teeth began to chatter a bit from fear as Ben’s shoulders rose slightly in caution and Johnny’s hands began to shake, causing the beam cast by his flashlight to shake too.

“I-I gotta really bad feeling about this!” Tate said with worry in his voice, “We should leave.”

“Why?” Johnny asked.

“’Cause this is dumb.” Tate said.

“’Cause we could get into trouble.” Ben said in a similar volume.

“’Cause you can get eaten.” the voice of a teenage girl said behind them. The trio’s faces widened in surprise and they cried out a bit. They quickly spun around to see Ke Blazer standing behind them with her arms crossed, wearing a short skirted purple dress and knee-high black boots.

“Johnny…is that Byron?” Tate meekly asked, causing Ke to sigh and smile a bit.

“I seriously doubt it is, Tate.” Johnny quickly responded.

“H-Hey, aren’t you Ke Blazer from SAVIOR?” Ben asked.

“Uh-huh.” Ke said, still keeping that smile, “And by the looks of the emblems on your
backpacks, you’re professionals-in-trainin’.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ben said.

“Huh, so answer this.” Ke said with a puzzled face, “Why are three trainees walkin’ around here? Doesn’t seem like a hot spot to meet girls.”

“It’s a dare, ma’am. Fr-From the other cadets.” Johnny explained.

“I see. And what do you get from this dare?” Ke asked. The boys looked sheepishly at their feet.

“Everyone’s tater tots for a week.” Tate (ironically?) answered.

“Ah.” Ke said, “Okay, is the facility you go to far from here?”

“N-No, ma’am. It’s the Newberry Facility.” Ben reported.

“Now let me ask you this. Can any of you fly?” Ke asked.

******

Ke flew carefully flew high through the air, Johnny riding on her back and Tate and Ben
under both her arms. Johnny looked down at the ground thousands of feet bellow and began to shake.

“A-Are you sure I won’t fall ma’am?” he shakily asked.

“As long as you got some sorta grip on me, you’re as weightless in the air as I am.” Ke explained.

“So are you going to turn us in?” Tate asked.

“Thankfully for you, no. I don’t have the heart to do that.” Ke responded, “Honestly, couldn’t you boys have been doin’ something more safer, like T.P.-in’ the head guy’s office or somethin’?”

“Actually, there is something else we could do.” Johnny explained, “But it involves you.”

“What?” Ke asked.

“Well, we need a certain article of clothing from you and…Well, have you ever seen Sixteen Candles?”

Silence gripped Ke’s tongue and her eyes widened for a second.

“Congratulations.” she said, “You’ve given me a reason to pad lock my underwear drawer.”

******

The boys of the Newberry Facility slept in a long room lined with bunk beds. They were all still lying in their beds when Ke flew up to one of the room’s windows and knocked on it. The boys in the bunks near the window looked over and cried out when they saw Ke. This grabbed the other boys’ attention and caused them surprise. One of the nearby boys opened the window, allowing Ke to set the boys down into the room through the open window.

“Now, listen carefully.” Ke said when the boys were safely inside, “Stay. Away. From. That. Train yard.” After spreading those last words of advice, Ke flew off, leaving the boys to their kudos granted from the other boys.

“So you did go there? Wow!” one boys said.

“Where there any dead bodies or cult members?” another boy asked.

“Was I right? Is there a ghost there?” yet another boy asked.

“Did you get that Blazer-girl’s panties?” a fourth boy said.

******

Ke was still flying through the air when her cell phone went off. She dug the phone out of her pocket and answered it, silencing her ring tone rendition of “Holiday” by Green Day.

“Hello?” Ke asked into her phone. The voice of Rose Flagg floated through the phone.

“[Ke? It’s me, Rose.]” she said.

“Oh, hey.” Ke responded.

“[ Where are you? You said you’d come shopping with me and Hydra at the Duty-Free Plaza.]” Rose said, referring to a shopping plaza in the PS Building.

“I know, I know. It’s just that I was on my way there when I saw these professionals-in-trainin’ tryin’ to go into Hesslin Tracks. I had to take ‘em back to their trainin’ facility.”

“[Oh, I see.]”

“Look, I’ll be there in a couple of minutes, okay? I can see the PS Building from here.”

“[Okay, we’ll be by....Lenny’s Arm Shack? Goodness. Well, see you then.]”

“Okay, ‘bye.”

“[‘Bye.]”

******

The shopping plaza of the massive PS building was flooded with people of many species at a variety of shops. Posters and plasma screens set in the large hall sported advertisements with vibrant colors and in many different languages. It took a few minutes of swimming through the crowds of people until Ke made her way to Lenny’s Arm Shack. The shop itself had arms set on shelves and sticking out of wooden barrels. Signs that said things like “Arms- the perfect side dish and centerpiece” and “Don’t buy her chocolates, buy her an arm” hung on the wall. Ke spotted Hydra standing next to one of the barrels with Rose standing by his side, who was wearing dull pink summer dress. Hydra was talking to the heavyset, pig-like owner of the store. Ke could almost make out their conversation.

“What I’m saying is that you have extra heads from time to time, right?” the owner said.

“Well, yeah.” Hydra said.

“So wouldn’t some extra arms go well with them?” the owner commented, “And I’m having a sale today: buy two arms and you can pick out an arm for free from the bargain pile.” Owner cocked his head in the direction of “the bargain pile”, which was a metal crate containing a large pile of “double or more used arms” and potential buyers looking at them.

“I still don’t know if I should.” said Hydra.

“I don’t think you should buy an arm, Hydra.” Rose said quietly, “You’ll have trouble finding clothes if you have extra arms.”

“But I don’t wear clothes, Miss Flagg.” Hydra said. Ke finally made it to their side.

“Trust me, Hydra. You don’t need another arm.” Ke said, getting her friends’ attention.

“Miss Blazer! You finally made it here.” Hydra said with a smile.

“Yeah, sorry I’m late.” Ke said.

“It’s okay, Ke.” Rose said. The group began to walk down the crowded hall. As for the shop owner, he turned his sights to a salamander-like man who wanted to know how an extra arm could improve his love life, as stated by a poster.

As the group of shoppers walked down the plaza, magazines displayed outside a bookstore caught Rose’s eye. On most of the shiny, vibrant covers was a teenage, Caucasian boy with spiked blond hair. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the pictures. The covers showed doing things like him surfing on a wave, accepting an award from an important-looking man in a suit, and just sitting in a casual manner. From reading the large print on the magazine covers, Rose learned that the young man’s name was Brad Dackerson. The name brought back memories of recent news stories on the rare-to-get PS channel.

“Um, Ke?” asked Rose, “Who’s Brad Dackerson?”

“Hm?” Ke said as she turned to Rose.

“Brad Dackerson. He’s on those magazine covers.” Rose explained as she pointed to said literature, “I think I also saw stories about him on News 65.”

“Oh, him. He’s a professional-in-trainin’. He’s also a Harry Potter kid.” Ke said after looking at the covers.

“A what?”

“A Harry Potter kid. Y’know, some punk whose trainin’ to be something cool and ends up seein’ more action than the thing he’s trainin’ to be, thus earning fame and recognition.”

“You just made that term up, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. But you gotta admit, it sounds cool. Anyway, ol’ Brad’s been gettin’ into alotta epic battles and adventures, all while still trainin’ to be a professional. In fact, that’s why he’s not a professional by now; all that stuff he gets into distracts him from doin’ any actual trainin’. But hell, he get all that publicity anyway.”

“Um, excuse me,” Hydra said, “but I would like to go to this store.” The girls turned to see a shop called “Tropical Planet Wear”.

“Ooo, that looks nice.” Rose commented. The group began to walk over there when Ke’s cell phone called out from her pocket.

“Uh, I’ll be right with you guys.” Ke told her friends as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone.

“Okay, Ke.” Rose said as she turned to Ke for a brief second and then followed Hydra into the summer wear store. The young professional flipped opened her phone and held it up to her ear.

“Hello?” Ke said into the phone, only to be greeted by the voice of General
Commandal.

“[Blazer, it’s General Commandal.]” he said.

“Oh, hello sir.” Ke responded, “What’cha need?”

“[Blazer, I know this is short notice, but I have an assignment for you.]”

“Um, aren’t missions usually short notice, sir?”

“[This isn’t exactly a mission. It’s more of a...request.]”

“Huh?”

“[Let me cut to the chase. Blazer, do you know who Brad Dackerson is?]”

“Uh, yeah, sir. Can’t walk five feet around work without hearin’ anything about him.”

“[Anyway, a few days ago, Dackerson actually completed his training, and now he’s coming to SAVIOR.]”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“[But, before he actually goes to work, I want him to be...adjusted. See, he lives and works near your area, and he’s been training in Hawaii and other places that are nowhere near there. I want you to escort him around for a day. You know, get him used to the local systems, acquaint him with some locals, and brief him about local criminals, that sort of thing. Plus, I would feel better if you helped him get around to press conferences and wherever he has to go.]” Ke’s mind and expression went blank.

“Um...sir...you want me to be this guy’s bodyguard?”

“[Escort around the area, Blazer.]”

“Sir, look, no offense, but you’ve been stickin’ me with these kinda jobs ever since I found....”

Ke quickly looked at Rose, who was trying on a pair of sunglasses.

“[Blazer, please. You’re the only SAVIOR agent in the area where his tram is docking.]”

“Wait, he’s coming today?”

“[Yes, by underground cross-county tram. The guy I originally wanted to do this called in sick. I’ll will pay you the normal mission wage if you do this.]” Ke remained silent until the temptation of money allowed her to speak.

“*Sigh* Okay, sir.”

“[Good. Now, his tram number’s 910 from Hawaii, which will arrive in about a half an hour. There’ll be a limo waiting for you guys outside to take him to a press conference at a local meeting hall. I’ll send you a copy of his schedule to your cell phone. Do you understand?]”

“Yes sir.”

“[Oh, and Blazer? It’s very important that Dackerson remains in one piece, do you hear me?]”

“Of course sir.”

“[Very good. Good-bye.]” A click from the other end signaled the end of the conversation. Ke sighed as she closed her phone and put it back into her pocket.

******

“Really? You have to escort Brad Dackerson around town? What a coincidence.” Rose happily said after Ke explained her predicament to her friends, “I mean, we were just talking about him a minute ago.”

“Yeah, and he’s showin’ up in about thirty minutes.” Ke said, still grasping unhappiness in her mind.

“Can we come along?” Hydra asked as he stood next to Rose.

“You actually wanna?” Ke skeptically responded.

“Sure! It’ll be way more exciting than this!” Rose said, “So can we?”

“Don’t see why not.” Ke said scratching her head. But the thought going through her mind was: “I’m gonna pay for this later.”

******

The tram station sat in a lower area beyond steps adorned with white tiles. Four, thick white pillars that reached to the high ceiling stood around the two parallel tracks, which stretched from one set of tunnels to the other set. A draft accompanied by a hollow sound drifted from the dark underground tunnels that traveled across America in a system of other tunnels. A large one-way window on a wall allowed bright sunlight to enter the large, spacious station. Ke, Hydra, and Rose traveled past the ticket booth and down the stairs to find a large group of young people (mostly girls) and reporters loitering around the station. While the reporters were equipped with their usual tools of cameras, notebooks, and pens, Ke saw that the young people had vibrant signs, all sporting Brad Dackerson’s name.

“Wow, the fans got here early.” Ke muttered to her friends, “Think I’ll have to beat ’em all up like that guy did in Bodyguard?”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up, Miss Blazer.” Hydra responded. Rose dug into her shopping bag from Tropical Planet Wear and pulled out the latest issue of Professional News Weekly, which featured an image of a giant robot panda/dragon/mermaid/armadillo/chicken/janitor/fruit bat/Norwegian wrestler/obscure duck/opera singer/yak.

“Hey Ke, I bought this magazine back at the shop, and it has an article about Brad in it.” Rose said as she read the five-dollar piece of literature, “Do you wanna read it?”


“Sure, why not?” Ke said as she took the periodical from Rose’s offering hands. Ke flipped through the smooth pages until she found said article and began to read it silently to herself.

“Huh, lookit that.” Ke said after reading the article for a few moments, “He saved some explorers he was traveling with in Egypt from some mummies in the Tomb of Ganza. Apparently, a curse on the tomb reanimated them and caused them to attack....Whoa, he also saved bizzies from becoming extinct.”

“Bizzies?” Rose asked with wide, happy eyes, “Oh, are those the little creatures that look like neon colored fuzz balls with arms, legs, antennae, and eyes? Ohh, they’re sooo cute!”

“Yeah, apparently they were dying left and right when their quarantined environment got contaminated.” Ke said, her sight still poised at the pages. Hydra looked over at the magazine as well.

“Oh, it also says Mr. Dackerson stopped an erupting volcano from destroying a village.” he commented.

“And he wasn’t even an agent yet.” Ke said, “Like I said; a Harry Potter kid.”

“Ke, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were jealous of Brad.” Rose said with a smile, quickly causing Ke’s eyes to widen.

“N-Nuh-uh!” Ke said the magazine, “I’m just sayin’ he....well...” A quiet screeching sound crept from one of the tunnels, grabbing the attention of everyone in the tram station.

“[Tram 910 from Hawaii now arriving on track number one.]” a female voice over the loudspeaker announced.

“That’s him.” Ke pointed out. The fans began to stand up, grasping their signs of praise for Brad Dackerson. Reporters began to man their tools of journalism. Quiet whooshing and clicking sounds began to come from the tunnel, which grew louder by the second. After ten seconds, a train of silver, capsule-shaped tram cars glided out of the tunnels and out into the open. Each tram had two sliding doors and darkly tinted windows. The wind created by the tram’s actions caused everything light and loose to wave in the air. The tram eventually screeched to a stop, steam pouring out from the underside when it reached a full stop. The doors let out a quiet airy sound as they gently open, allowing people to exit the tram. Ke scanned through the passengers, but didn’t see the young man pictured on the magazine.

“Hey, where’s Brad?” Ke asked, “You guys see him?”

“Nuh-uh.” Rose reported.

“I don’t see him either, Miss Blazer.” Hydra said, “Are you sure this it the correct tram?”

“Well, the general said tram 910.” Ke explained, “And it is comin’ from Hawaii, so-”

A young man’s voice crying “Whoooooo!” erupted from one of the tram’s car as Brad Dackerson, clad in khaki pants, a white undershirt, and a loose, short-sleeved, open, blue over shirt, soared out on a skate board. The fans’ faces lit up and they let out cries of excitement. Cameras flashed as Brad began performing tricks around the tram station. Ke and her friends stood still, awe struck, silent, and unable to look away from this spectacle..

“Uh, I see him, Ke.” Rose said.

“Yeah, thanks Rose.” Ke responded. Eventually, Brad landed gracefully on a stand of a obscure, iron statue, waving, grinning, and bowing.

“Thank you, thank you.” Brad said, soaking up the vast amount of attention being offered to him. Reporters and fans began to flock around Brad’s feet. Fans began to scream things like “We love you, Brad!” and reporters began to volley him with press questions. Ke, meanwhile, smiled and cracked her knuckles.

“Welp, it’s bodyguard time.” she said. Ke floated over to Brad, who was currently facing away from her.

“Mr. Dackerson?” Ke asked getting no response. Her smile faded. “Uh, Brad?” Still no response. Annoyance crossed Ke Blazer’s face. “Yo, rock star!” the young professional got
Brad’s attention and causing him to turn to her.

“Oh, hey.” he said with a smile, “Come for my autograph?”

“Uh, not at the moment.” Ke said, “I was sent by the general to escort you around town.”

“Oh, you’re my bodyguard.” Brad said.

“Escort.” Ke sternly corrected, “I need to take you outside to your limo. You have a press conference.”

“Well, I really can’t go with you at the moment.” Brad said as he turned back to his fans and reporters, “But tell ya what. If you can get me through all these people, then I’ll leave. Otherwise, it won’t be a pretty sight trying to get me outta here.” Annoyance and slight anger appeared on Ke’s face.

“Okay, fine.” she muttered. She looked back to see Rose and Hydra standing on the edge of the crowd.

“Start headin’ for the entrance.” Ke called to them. The two people began to make their way towards higher ground as Ke floated to the side edge of people. She turned to a far area and widened her eyes in false surprise.

“Ohmygod!” she cried, adopting a valley girl accent, “Is that, like, ET?!” Upon hearing this, the people of the crowd immediately stopped what they were doing and also reacted in surprise.

“ET?!” a fan girl holding a sigh saying “B is for brilliant, R is for radiant, A is for awesome, and D is for ‘Dang, that guy’s super cool!’” cried. The people began to quickly turn around to see the celebrity claimed to be in their presence.

“ET’s the biggest alien life form!” a male reporter said to a cameraman that fallowed him here, “Right next Yoda, Marvin the Martian, Alf, and Invader Zim!” But disappointment gripped the people when they saw that the short, brown alien that warmed the hearts of millions was not present.

“Hey, he’s not here!” a young man in the crowd cried out. But they felt even more disappointed when they turned to see that Brad Dackerson had vanished.

******

Two parallel rows of blossoming trees ran alongside the pavement that lead into the brick building. Rose and Hydra stood near a black limousine parked by the pavement’s edge. As if out of nowhere, Ke appeared in the path as she landed from floating. She had Brad’s right hand in her left.

“Wow! Floating, being invisible, and even using intangibility!” Brad exclaimed smiling, “That was cool!”

“Thanks.” Ke said with a smile. The two people began walking towards the limo.

“Well, I’d admit, it wasn’t as cool as the times I’ve been invisible.” Brad boasted with a smug expression on his face. Ke’s eyes widened, only to narrow in harsh skepticism.

“Oh, you’ve been invisible?” Ke asked, holding back bitterness.

“Yeah, lots of times.” Brad gloated, “Like this one time I was at this old forbidden ruins, and I found this alien device that made me invisible and....Well, long story short, I saved the day for the billionth time and got on the front page of the news.”

“Wait, those ruins were forbidden?” Ke asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah.”

“Then why were you able to go into them?”

“Special privileges. But apparently, you don’t seem to get that kinda clearance.” Ke’s face quickly turned a light shade of red and her eyes became locked into a glare.

Oh he did not just say that! Ke thought as they finally made it to the side of the limo.

“You finally made it here!” Rose said with a smile.

“Oh, is this your posse?” Brad asked with his face turned to Ke.

“I don’t use the word ‘posse’.” Ke said in an annoyed tone. “But yeah, they’re my friends.” Brad offered his hand to Rose, who quickly grasped it and began to shake it.

“Brad Dackerson.” he said, still shaking Rose hand.

“R-Rose Flagg.” Rose said smiling. Brad suddenly knelt down on the ground, still holding her hand.

“Enchante.” Brad smoothly purred before he gently kissed her hand. Rose’s eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink.

“O-Oh.” she said as she shyly smiled. Brad got up and walked over to Hydra. An amazed look crossed Brad’s face.

“Hey, you’re a hydra, aren’t you?” Brad commented.

“Yes. In fact, that’s my nickname.” Hydra responded.

“Well in my opinion, hydras are one of the coolest animals around.” Brad said as he shook Hydra’s hand.

“Oh, why, thank you, Mr. Dackerson!” Hydra said smiling. Ke rolled her eyes upon watching this scene, walked over to Brad, and grasped his shoulder.

“Uh, we might wanna get goin’.” she said, “Those fans and reporters might pick up your scent soon.”

“Oh, of course.” Brad said. He walked over to the limo and opened the door. “After you.” Hydra and Rose thanked Brad as they went into the limo. However, Brad stopped Ke when she approached the limo door.

“I haven’t caught your name.” Brad said with a smile. Ke allowed a smile and shook Brad’s hand.

“Name’s Ke Blazer.” she said, making Brad’s expression widen in surprise.

“Ke Blazer?” he said with excitement, “I’ve heard about you!”

“Yeah?” Ke asked.

“Yeah!” Brad said, “You’re that hooligan agent that gets in trouble with the general a lot.” Ke’s smile deflated, leaving a dull look.

“Yep...that’s me.” she said. Brad followed her and shut the door. The limo soon drove down the driveway and entered the road.



The inside of the limo had deep red carpeting, black walls, and brown seats lining the back interior. The car windows were tinted, allowing little natural light to enter the automobile, but the sun roof granted sufficient lighting. Ke sat next to Brad in the backmost seat, her arms folded and her face locked in a frown. Brad, however, didn’t seem to notice her bitter expression. Rose and Hydra sat across from the two SAVIOR agents.

“So, Ke, where am I going first?” Brad asked. Ke whipped out her cell phone and began to press some buttons.

“Well, first there’s a press conference at the Grant Wentworth Conference Hall. Then you have to go to the Heroics Museum for the opening of a gallery devoted to you. Then you have to go on the Jay Talk radio show. Then there’s some downtime until you go onto that talk show Four ’O Clock Chat Time With Perry Yarttow. Finally, you’ve got that party at JZZ Mike’s penthouse.” Ke reported.

“Wow, busy day.” Brad said, “Ah, well, no surprise, considering how famous I am.” Ke sighed, then looked down to see that she still held the new issue of Professional News Weekly. Another part of her mission reentered her mind.

“Hey Brad. This magazine has a section mentioning some local criminals. Maybe you should look through it. Y’know, to familiarize yourself with the local scum.” Ke said, offering Brad the magazine.

“Alright.” Brad responded. He took the magazine from Ke’s hands and began to look at the article. On the current page sat a section about local mad scientist Dr. Jacobim Volkman with his mug shot was also pictured on the page. It displayed a man standing six foot one with brown hair, brown eyes, and a moustache in orange prison uniform.

“Dr. Volkman?” Brad asked.

“He’s a mad scientist.” Ke explained, “Ex-good scientist, wants to take over the world to make it a better place, all that good stuff.”

“Oh, so he’s a souped-up nerd.” Brad said with a smug grin, “I’ve faced worse.” A slight frown appeared on Ke’s face.

“Okay.” she said as she reached over and flipped to another page. This time, the person in the mug shot was a young woman standing at five foot nine. Her blue skin and wavy blue-green hair accented her gray prison uniform.

“Fiona Quidlan, AKA ‘Aquafiona’.” Ke explained, “She has water elemental powers.” Excitement gripped Brad’s expression.

“Really? Wow. I faced an elemental once.” Brad closed his eyes as a boastful look appeared on his face. “But the one I faced controlled more than one element.” Ke’s frown became more intense and defined, but Brad didn’t seem to notice.

“Okay.” Ke said as she held back the urge to punch Brad. She flipped to another page, revealing a three foot ten, bald, green alien with yellow eyes and a orange prison jump suit.

“Mordar the Garrek.” Ke explained, “A really mean and really small alien from Garrekai Seven. He wants to conquer the world to one-up the rulers of his home planet.”

“Does he have telepathic powers and can shoot death lasers form his eyes?” Brad asked with the boastful look still on his face (but his eyes open), “Because that’s the only kind of aliens I faced.”

“You know what? How about you read this by yourself?” Ke snapped, “I bet you can read quite well without me.” Ke began to walk to Rose and Hydra’s half of the limo.

Yeesh. Brad thought, What’s her problem? Ke planted her rear next to Rose’s.

“Ke, you have to be nice to him.” Rose whispered.

“Say’s who? You saw what happened there right?” Ke whispered back, “The general said I had to show him around. He did not mention anything about being nice.” Ke leaned back in the seat and sighed. “Man, of all kinds of agents I could get stuck with, why’d it have to be some ego-ridden jerk like him.”

“Oh Miss Blazer, be reasonable.” Hydra whispered, “Maybe he’s just fired up because it’s his first day being an agent.”

“Yeah, weren’t you like that?” Rose asked, still whispering.

“Hardly.” Ke scoffed in a whispering voice, “Something tells me overexposure from camera’s did this to him.” As they were having this conversation, Brad continued to look at the rogue’s gallery in the magazine given to him by Ke. Every time he read about the criminal pictured, he awarded them with a word like “boring” or “lame”.

That is, until he arrived on the page about Byron Vante.

In place of an actual picture, the picture space had a milky blue color and black letters saying “No Picture Available”. Brad’s eyebrow raised in intrigue. He began to read the information offered to him about this villain; a story of a former con artist-turned-demonic creature who grants people their every desire.

“Hey Ke?” he called, “Can you come over here?” Ke quickly honored Brad’s wishes and went over to him.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“Who’s this Byron Vante guy?” Brad asked, eyes still glued to the article, “And why isn’t there a picture of him?” Ke leaned over and looked at the article, quickly skimming through it’s contents.

“Well, what’cha see here is what there is. He’s one of the most feared criminals in the area.” Ke said, “There’s no mug shot because he’s never been arrested, and no picture because no one had the chance to take one.”

“Ooo, you mean they were dead before they had a chance to take it?” Brad asked excitedly, as if a child seeing something truly interesting.

“More or less.” Ke responded.

“This guy sounds cool.” Brad said, amazement still living in his voice and expression, “Did you face him before, Ke?”

“Well, once.” Ke said. Suddenly, Ke’s eyes widened in realization. “Hey wait, Byron interests you? I figured you would’ve faced enough tough ol’ demons not to be interested in him.” Brad’s eyes widened quickly in surprise, then thinned into a arrogant, conceded look.

“Uh, well, no. Not a high leveled one. But I faced tougher things than some demon like Byron.” Ke smiled slyly and crossed her arms.

“Byron’s not a demon. He’s a demonoid.”

“Whatever. I’m just surprised that there’s actually a cool bad guy around here.”

“Alright. Whatever you say, Brad.” The limo gently reached a total stop, causing everyone to rock a bit from the slight G-force.

“Well, we’re here.” Ke reported, losing her smug look. Ke went over to the limo door, got out, and was greeted by flashing camera bulbs and voices of reporters and fans chanting Brad’s name. Both the flashing and the cries stopped when they realized it was Ke, not Brad, who stood on the red carpet leading up the stairs and to the podium placed at the conference hall entrance.

“Hey that’s not Brad!” a man called.

“Where’s Brad?!” a woman yelled.

“Wait, I think it’s that chick from the PS Building who said she saw ET!” a young girl cried. Brad quickly popped out of the limo and lightly pushed Ke to the side.

“Step aside, Ke.” he said with a grin on his face, “I have to give the people what they want. He began to walk down the carpet, causing the people standing behind the velvet ropes lining the carpet to erupt in joy and rapture. Ke shot Brad an angry glare as Rose and Hydra followed him. Ke crossed her arms again and brought up the rear of this group of four. Ke looked on in bitterness as Brad waved, preformed pointing gestures, and blew kissed to his fans and the paparazzi.

Lookit him. Ke thought, That sonuva ***** is just eatin’ this stuff up, and the crowd just loves him. They walked up the carpet and climbed the stairs of the white marble building, which laid in the middle of its beautifully tended grounds, secluded in a gated area and hidden from public view, save for the media allowed to enter the property. Other bureaucratic buildings for paranormal and supernatural purposes neighbored this building. When they reached the top of the stairs, Brad stood behind the brown, wooden podium that stood in front of the building doors, as Ke, Rose, and Hydra stood to the side, next to one of the pillars on the stairs’ landing.

“Thank you, thank you.” Brad spoke into the many microphones attached to the podium, “It’s great to be here. I’m glad that I’m finally a professional...I’ll actually start to get paid for all the amazing things I do.” Courtesy laughter fluttered throughout the on looking crowd. Brad cleared his voice. “But seriously, it’s great. I know that my coworkers will be supportive and friendly....At least, most of them.” Ke’s jaw dropped and a scoff came from her mouth.

“I think he’s taking about you, Miss Blazer. And not in a good way.” Hydra whispered.

“What gives you that idea?” Ke whispered back (once again) crossing her arms.

“Okay, so, what questions do you have for me?” Brad asked. A redheaded female reporter with glasses, a dark blue dress suit, and a notebook raised her hand, which held a pen.

“Mr. Dackerson, I’m with Professional News Weekly.” she said, “What’s your position and class as an agent?”

“I’m a first class investigation and action agent.” Brad reported, “Next question?” A brunette man in a green sweater vest, a dull green-yellow shirt, and black pants raised a tape recorder in front of him.

“Brad, I’m with The Strange Days Press. Is it true you’re dating Jupiterian pop star Missy Pink Nova?” he asked.

“We’re just friends, and she was only paying me back with a dinner for my saving her.” Brad asked, “Next question?” A young Hispanic woman with long black hair tied hack in a
ponytail, a pink top, and jeans raised her hand.

“Brad, I’m with Mystic Info Monthly.” she said, putting a pen to her notebook page, “It’s a fact you’re an avid magic user. What kind of magic to you excel in?”

“Light and electricity-based magic.” Brad responded, “Though I can use many other types of magic. Next question?” An thirty-something Asian woman with a green pants suit (accompanied by a camera man) raised her microphone in Brad’s direction.

“Brad Dackerson. I’m Sandra Bewel with News 65.” the reported informed, “Are you worried with dealing with any of the big time criminals of this area?” Brad’s eyebrow raised in questioning.

“Big time criminals?” A smile returned to Brad’s face. “Oh, you mean villains and stuff! I’m not used to that term. I’ll have you know that none of them intimidated me whatsoever! Not even Byron Vante!”

Well, okay, I’ll admit. That’s true. You were just interested in Byron. Ke thought.

“In fact, I have something to say about ol’ Byron.” Brad said, grinning wide, “He’s the biggest loser in the US! He’s so stupid, he’s got more air in his head than the sky!” As soon as this phrase escaped Brad’s lips, the crowd broke out into laughter and Ke’s eyes widened in shock.

Huh?! What’s he doin’?! Ke thought.

“Byron Vante’s so wimpy, that he tried to break a toothpick and broke his arms!” Brad cried, earning the same response from the crowd. Ke stared at Brad with surprise and sheer concern.

“Ix-nay, Brad! Ix-nay!” Ke whispered loudly. Brad, however, didn’t seem to be slowing down his train of criticism and interest of the gratification he was getting.

“Byron’s so ugly, that a blind man looked at him and died of shock!” Brad proclaimed, causing the crowd to laugh once again.

“Brad, cut it out!” Ke whispered, her voice louder than last time.

“Byron’s so ugly, that he walked outside and got arrested for indecent exposure!” Brad, a bottomless pit of insults, called out to the heavens, only to be answered by the laughter of the people that stood before him. Ke quickly began to float over to Brad. “Byron’s so impotent,
he-”

Ke’s right hand quickly clasped Brad’s mouth before he could utter another word.

“Uh, sorry folks, we gotta get goin’.” Ke casually explained into the many microphones of the podium, “Professional business.” Ke began to “escort” Brad off stage as she muttered “C’mon Elvis”. Brad pulled Ke’s hand away from his mouth.

“But I wasn’t finished.” he said.

“You would’ve been in more ways than one if you continued.” Ke responded. After fighting through a tenacious crowd of fans and reporters, Ke, Brad, Rose, and Hydra finally made it to the limo, where the driver was leaning against the car reading a book.

“We would like to go to the next stop please.” Ke requested.

“Not me.” Brad, still in Ke’s grip, commented in an annoyed tone.

“You have no say in this.” Ke said, shooting him a fierce stare.

“Right away, ma’am.” the driver said as he closed his book and opened the door for them. After closing the door, stifling the flashing of camera bulbs and the cries of people from the group, the diver got behind the wheel and drove off for the Heroics Museum.



“What was up with that?!” Brad cried angrily at Ke.

“I was about to ask you the same thing!” Ke sternly responded, “Where’d you get off makin’ fun of Byron like that?!”

“I was just giving the press what they wanted.” Brad said with a conceitedly annoyed tone that matched the expression on his face, “It’s proper press conference etiquette....Then again, you haven’t been in that situation before, so you wouldn’t know that.” Instead of submitting to blind fury, Ke only sighed.

“Brad, please, listen to the voice of something else that isn’t your ego.” Ke said with a stern look on her face, “You can’t go around rippin’ new one in people like Byron! It doesn’t take a professional to know what someone like him would do to you if he found out what you just said about him!”

“You make fun of bad guys.” Brad commented.

“Yes, only when it’s appropriate! Like during battle or when they’re actually doin’ somethin’ bad!” Ke sharply replied, “I mean, you don’t see me walkin’ up to the godfather while he’s eatin’ breakfast and start insultin’ him!”

“Ke, I’m pretty sure I can handle some one like Byron.” Brad said with a smug on his face.

“Ha! That’s what Bill Corsa from Foreign Relations said about Queen Tikka from Planet Catska before he made fun of her!”

“Wait, I think I met him in Hawaii. He’s a pig guy who farts bubbles, right?”

“Wasn’t before he made fun of Queen Tikka!”

“But Byron’s not a queen. So I shouldn’t have to worry.”

“Brad!”

“Alright, alright. I get what you’re trying to say. You want me to not make fun of Byron.”

“Or any other criminal!”

“Okay! Sheesh. Chill for a minute. It wouldn’t kill you.” Brad leaned back onto the leather seat. Ke sighed once again and regained her cool.

“Brad…look…I just don’t want you to get killed or anything. Byron would have you whacked if he got wind of what you said.” Ke said with a sincere look on her face, “Plus if the general found out, he’d lay into you like ya wouldn’t believe; star or not. Trust me.”

“Why would you know?” Brad asked with a skeptical expression, “You aren’t a star.” Ke’s face quickly turned red with anger.

“What?!” Ke cried. Rose and Hydra quickly rushed over to hold Ke back from destroying Brad.

“Why you-! I can’t believe-! How can you even-?!” Ke spat.

“Easy, Miss Blazer!” Hydra cried.

“Remember your paycheck!” Rose cried. Ke’s face eventually lost its scarlet color. Ke shot Brad a look of fury as he just sat back with a casual smug on his face. Ke pointed a quivering finger at him.

“You…have been warned.” Ke said, still shaking with rage. Hydra and Rose began to guide the angry young lady to the other side of the limo.

“C’mon, Ke.” Rose gently whispered.

“He’s askin’ for it.” Ke muttered.

“I know, Ke.” Rose whispered, “I know.”

******

A yellow cab pulled in front of the PS Building. Out stepped a teenage girl with strait,
mid-neck length brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a lime, short-sleeved top, dark blue
flare jeans, and brown sandals. Around her shoulder hung a dark pink purse. After the driver was paid, the girl started to make her way into the building. She traveled across the reflective floors of the spacious lobby and eventually made her way to the information desk, which was occupied by an older, gray-haired woman in a white sweater, flowered skirt, and reading glasses. The girl approached the desk and the woman looked up from a gardening magazine she was reading.

“Can I help you?” the information clerk asked with a courteous smile.

“Yes, I was wondering if you can page someone for me.” the girl asked, returning the clerk’s smile, “His name’s Brad Dackerson.” The clerks eyes widened a bit, but her smile remained.

“Oh? You mean that heroic young man who just joined SAVIOR?” the clerk asked.

“That’s him.” the girl answered, nodding her head.

“I’m sorry, but I saw him leave about a half-hour ago.” the clerk said.

“Oh, well, is a Miss....” The girl reached in her pocket and pulled out a small, square piece of yellow paper. “...Ke Blazer still here?”

“I think that’s the girl I saw leave with him. If I remember the memo sent to us by General Commandal, she’s been assigned to escort him around town, so she’d be with him.”

“Oh....I see.” the girl said with slight disappointment in her voice, “Thanks” The girl began to walk to the shopping area of the building.

Well...I’ll see Brad tomorrow. the girl thought, Maybe I could look around this place while I’m here.

******

The limo was parked inside a parking garage that stood between an abandoned, brick building and a building belonging to WallTech, a company specializing in computer software. The surprisingly large Heroics Museum of Northtown actually laid underground below the abandoned building, in order to be kept secret from the public. The inside of the museum, accessed through a elevator hidden in a janitor’s closet, had a Greek style. Pillars stretched to the artificially-lit ceiling and arching doorways opened up portals to exhibits. Upon white stone pedestals and within glass boxes sat the mementos of heroes alive and dead. Photos of professionals. Capes of freelancers. Statues resembling heroes that conquered many threats in the world. Only to name a few things found here.

The entrance of a new wing had the name “Brad Dackerson” chiseled above the archway. Within the hall sat pictures, framed newspaper articles, and spoils from old adventures. In the center of the large circular room that the hall leads to stood a large, eight-foot marble statue of Brad, hands on his hips, chest out, and giving a toothy grin into the distance.

However, all this sat behind a red ribbon hung horizontally across the doorway. The ribbon sat between the blades of a pair of scissors, held by none other than Brad Dackerson himself. The museum’s curator, a gray-haired, older gentleman in a dark green suit, stood across from Brad, smiling because he was in the great Brad Dackerson’s presence and also because of all the publicity his museum was getting because of Brad. A crowd of reporters sat with their cameras poised in Brad’s direction. To the far left side of the crowd stood Ke, Hydra and Rose. Rose leaned over to Ke, who sported a angry look and crossed arms (yet again!).

“Ke, you really should try to enjoy this.” Rose whispered.

“Enjoy what?” Ke whispered back, “The stupid and arrogant bein’ put on the pedestal?”

“Okay, I know Brad’s been a bit of a jerk.”

“A bit of a jerk?”

“Ke, my point is that you should try to move past your bitterness for Brad. It can’t be good for you…or anyone else for that matter. As rude as Brad is, you might accidentally take your anger out on someone else.”

“*Sigh* I’ll try, Rose….I’ll just try.”

“I’d like to thank Mr. Johanson for opening this wing in my name. I only hope that the sights here will inspire other people in similar lines of work to achieve greatness.” Brad announced to the crowd, “And without further ado…I now open this wing.” Brad snipped the ribbon, causing the halves to drift to the ground. The cameras began to flash, reflecting ever so slightly on the marble floors. Museum patrons and reporters began to filter into the museum wing. Ke, Hydra, and Rose were looking at a picture of Brad standing by some Tibetan temple in the mountains. He was holding a orange flag and standing next to some monks dressed in orange robes.

“Wow, it says here that Mr. Dackerson saved this temple from and ancient demon that was once sealed in a nearby cave.” Hydra said.

“See, Ke?” Rose said, “He’s still a good person, no matter how arrogant he may seem. He helps the world.”

“Hitler thought he was helpin’ the world.” Ke commented, still looking at the picture. Rose shot Ke a look.

“Ke, that’s irrelevant.” she said.

“I know.” Ke sighed, “It’s just that I’m runnin’ outta things to say about ol’ buttface.” Hydra looked over to the side. His eyes widened and he tapped Ke on the shoulder.

“I don’ t think Mr. Dackerson ran out of things to say about the locals, Miss Blazer.” he said. Ke looked over in the direction which Hydra was pointing and saw Brad talking into the microphones held by news reporters. By the way the newscasters were laughing, Ke had a broad idea of what sort of things Brad was saying to them.

“Yeah, I’ve seen contenders tougher than Byron in a sick ward.” Brad said, causing the reporters to laugh. Ke looked on in anger as Rose and Hydra looked on in worry.

“I turn my back on him for one measly minute...” Ke muttered bitterly.

“You’re not going to kill him, are you Ke?” Rose asked, actually serious about her question.

“N-No....I can’t....Too many witnesses.” Ke said. Suddenly, Ke’s cell phone began to ring. Her angry look began to fade as she pulled out the phone and answered it.

“Hello?” she said into the phone. On the other end was General Commandal.

“[Is Dackerson with you, Blazer?]” the general asked, “[I need to speak with him about what he’s been saying on TV.]” A diabolical smile crossed Ke’s face.

Surly the boss of SAVIOR could do way more damage to Brad than she ever could.

Brad and the reporters were laughing at a joke the earlier just cracked.

“And don’t get me started about Byron’s mother!” Brad said, wiping tears of joy from his face.

“Hey, superstar!” Ke called to Brad. The people looked over to see Ke holding her cell phone out to Brad. She had a look on her face as if she just told a very funny and very dirty joke. “Phone call for you.”

“Tell them I’m busy.” Brad said with a smug as he did a shooing gesture with his hand. Ke put her phone up to her ear as an emotionless look crawled onto her face.

“Oh I’m sorry, General Commandal.” she casually said, causing Brad to quickly react in shock, “Brad says he’s too busy to talk to you about what he said on TV.” A look of worry crossed Brad’s face.

“H-He saw the news bulletin?” Brad asked timidly. The smile Ke had when she came over returned to her face.

“He saw the news bulletin.” she said.



“[Dackerson, you should listen to Blazer’s warnings!]” the general yelled though the speaker-phone function on Ke’s phone. Ke smiled as she held the phone in front of her and Brad. The agent concerned in this discussion still sported a look of worry. The reporters and the cameramen who followed them looked on at this scene.

[And what was this ‘he said he was to busy to talk’ business?!]” the general “eagerly” asked though the phone.

“I-I’m sorry, sir.” Brad stammered, “I th-thought you w-were....”

“[Someone else?]”

“W-Well...”

“[Dackerson, my point is that you shouldn’t make fun of people like Byron Vante. He could have you killed.]”

“Sir, may I ask you something?” Ke asked, joining into the conversation.

“[Yes, Blazer?]”

“What’s the normal punishment for an agent that does this sort of thing?” Ke asked, shooting a diabolically happy look at Brad, causing him to seem even more nervous.

“[Well, it varies from agency to agency. But in our case, the normal punishment is six months suspension.]” Brad gasped quietly and broke out into a cold sweat.

Alright, buddy boy! Let’s see you get outta this mess! Ke thought triumphantly. The moment of a young man who seemed to weasel his way out of every problem finally getting shot down seemed to be at hand.

“[But in this case, I’m willing to let it go.]”

Those words spoken by the general seemed to echo throughout the museum. A
relieved smile crossed Brad’s face, as Ke’s expression faded into shock, then outrage.

“What?!” Ke cried, “With all do respect general, you cannot be serious!”

“[Blazer, it’s his first day. There have been cases where first day agents do stupid things like this.]” Ke looked over to Brad, who shot her a wicked smug. Worry appeared on Ke’s expression.

“B-But, sir!” Ke protested as she gripped the phone so hard, her knuckles began to turn white.

“[I’m not finished, Blazer.]” the general calmly-but-firmly said, “[Should any comment
Dackerson have made result in a dangerous situation involving himself or others, he will be in
more trouble than you will have or ever be in. This also applies to any remarks he makes in the future...Of course, I shouldn’t have to worry about that. Shouldn’t I, Dackerson?]”

“Not at all, sir!” Brad assured.

“[Good. Keep an eye on him until that party he has to go to tonight, Blazer.]” the general added. A defeated look embraced Ke’s entire body.

“Yes...sir” Ke quietly responded.

“[Now, if there isn’t anything else to discuss, I have other matters to tend to.]” the
general said, “[Feel free to contact me if there are any further problems.]” A quiet click sounded from the other end of the phone line. Brad popped the collar of his blue shirt, a smirk adorning his face.

“Well, now that’s over with, I have some fans to attend to.” he spitefully gloated. Ke, however, did not respond nor look over at him at the slightest, most insignificant degree. She just stood there, staring at the phone she held in her hands with a heart-breaking, hollow look of total defeat and disappointment. Her blond hair hung down from her head, which was slightly drooped forward, concealing her face. Brad noticed this and leaned over to Ke. He had an expression of puzzlement and slight, genuine worry.

“Ke?” Brad asked, earning no response from Ke. He backed away a bit, shrugging his shoulders. “Ah, well, you know where I’ll be.” Brad walked away and reentered the crowd of museum spectators.

For a total of two and a half minutes, Ke Blazer didn’t move from that position. She held so still, that at first, people thought she was a statue displayed in the museum. When they saw that she wasn’t, they sank into theories, such as that she was a girl whose boyfriend had broken up with her on the phone. The emotions that radiated from her face and body language also clouded her mind. A few moments before, her boss, the only person she thought could put Brad in his place, buckled under the new agent’s fame. But no! No! He was not that sort of man! Ke would think. He would never let that happen! Perhaps he actually thought what he had said, that Brad was overly excited from this being his first day on the job. Or maybe Brad was so persuasive, so charismatic, that he even talked General Commandal out of wreaking a swift punishment.

You really disappointed me, sir. Ke thought, You really disappointed me.

******

Two miles underground below Hesslin Tracks sat a red cavern that spanned miles. Stalactites and stalagmites littered the cavern. Flames belched out of pits that lead to nowhere. Screams echoed from within the rocky walls. A man ran across a rock bridge that spanned over a sea of flames. He wore worn brown pants and a brown shirt and his skin looked like patches of different colors crudely stitched together. Holding a newspaper under his right arm, he approached a pair of high, brown, wooden doors that stood on the other side of the bridge. He creaked open the door, ever so slightly, and crept into a cavernous, red room that had paintings depicting demonic scenes hanging on the walls, a three foot wide TV mounted on the furthest wall, and a leather chair, whose back was turned to the entrance, facing the television. The TV was currently displaying the news footage of Brad shot at the museum. The man quietly approached the side of the chair.

“M-Master.” the man said, “I brought a newspaper about the one who’s been making fun of you.” The man offered the paper, which was quickly snatched away by a man sitting in the chair. The man in the chair began to look at it, growling slightly at the headline, “‘Byron Vante Sucks Beyond All Reason!’ Says Dackerson”.

“I’ll have to take care of this little annoyance.” the chair man said. The paper began to combust in his hands. The paper was casually thrown to the side. The flames consumed the paper. The last thing it burned was the picture of Brad displayed on the front page.

[162]

Part Two: Brad Gets Burned

(And now, for better or worse, the story continues!)

Rose sat at the restaurant counter, holding and reading the same periodical that was burned in the place bellow Hesslin Tracks. She was currently sitting next to Ke and Hydra in the
Shrimp Hut, a seafood restaurant overlooking Lake Michigan meant for people of "abnormal status" to eat in peace. The walls and floors were made of dark room and the scenery was littered with ocean-based decorations. Hydra and Ke were looking at the menu. Ke had her head leaned upon her right arm, a look of sadness still on her face.

“Wow, the press works quite fast.” Rose said, complimenting the newspaper’s agility on getting the current story of Brad she was reading out into public. Hydra looked away from his menu and at Ke. He began to lightly pat her back.

“Cheer up, Miss Blazer.” Hydra said with sympathy in his voice, “Maybe things will get better. I mean, perhaps Mr. Dackerson’s fame only depended on him being a trainee and doing those things. Once he begins his work, he’ll probably be no more famous than you...Though, I’m
not saying you aren’t regarded as a heroine, mind you.”

“I appreciate you tryin’ to cheer me up, Hydra.” Ke said, failing to move from her current position, “But it’s not his fame that bothers me...It’s the fact that he got away with doing something really stupid and dangerous; something that I’d get the choppin’block for. Not to mention that he’s puttin’ his life on the line and he doesn’t even care.”

“Are you really worried about Brad, Ke?” Rose asked, looking at her friend.

“Yeah. Believe it or not, I am.” Ke responded.

“Well, General Commandal told him to stop,” Hydra said, “so maybe he will.”

“I guess.”

“C’mon, Miss Blazer.” Hydra said, “Mr. Dackerson was dropped off at that radio station, and he’ll be there for quite a bit. So why don’t you just sit back and enjoy yourself.”

“Yeah!” Rose concurred, nodding her head. A smile crossed Ke’s face.

“You guys know what? You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I should enjoy this break from Brad....And maybe he’ll wise up and things’ll get better.”

“There you go!” Hydra said. A man working behind the counter turned on a radio. From the other end came a man’s voice.

“[Hey all you cool cats out there, this is Jay Pulse and you’re listening to Jay Talk.]” the voice said.

“Hey Ke, isn’t that the radio show Brad’s supposed to be on?” Rose asked.

“Hey yeah, it is.” Ke responded.

“[I’m here today with an astounding young man.]” Jay said, “[He’s graced front pages as a professional trainee and now he’s finally going to join SAVIOR’s ranks. Please welcome Brad Dackerson.]”

Speak of the devil. Ke thought.

“[It’s great to be here, Jay.]” Brad said over the radio.

“[Now Brad, you’ve been saying quite a few...interesting things about Byron Vante. Are you aware of what kind of person he is?]”

“[Yes I am, sir.]”

“[Are you afraid of any consequences whatsoever?]”

“[Actually Jay, there’s something I want to clear up about that matter. I’ve been doing some thinking and I came to a conclusion that I don’t think Byron’s the biggest loser in the US.]”

“Hey, I guess he did clean up his act.” Ke said.

“[He’s the biggest loser in the world.]”

The eyes of Ke, Hydra, and Rose widened in shock.

“Oh he didn’t just....Did he just say what I think he just said?” Ke asked with a bit of anger in her voice.

“[Byron’s so stupid, he tried to go swimming inside a seashell when he held it up to his ear and heard the ocean!]” Brad joked. Jay’s laughter was heard coming from the radio. Rose cautiously looked at Ke, as if she was about to burst into flames.

“Ke?” Rose cautiously asked, getting no response from her friend. Ke stared at the radio in pure, raw anger.

“[Oh wait, oh wait!]” Brad said, struggling to catch his breath, “[Bryon’s mother is so fat, she jumped into the air and got stuck!]” Jay’s laughter returned over the radio waves.

“Miss Blazer?” Hydra carefully beckoned to Ke, also failing to get any feedback from her. Ke’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the counter’s edge very firmly.

“[Back in Hawaii, I saw some jellyfish,]” Brad said over the radio, “[but even they had more of a spine than ol’ Byron!]”

“That sonuva…” Ke muttered, barely concealing fury in her voice. As Jay began to laugh, Ke shot up from her seat and began to walk towards the front area.

“Ke?” Rose asked as she and Hydra looked at her, “Where are you going?” Ke took a left turn around a wooden wall the blocked the view of the front door area. The bell that rang when someone came though the front door sounded off.

“I wonder what she’s doing.” Hydra asked out loud.

“Whatever it is, it can’t be good…At least, for Brad.” Rose said. The radio show still played from the radio.

“[We’re now taking calls. The number is 555-JAYTALK. That’s 555-419-8144.]” Jay said, “[Hello, you’re on Jay Talk.]”

To everyone’s surprise, the angered voice of Ke Blazer came from the radio.

“[Yeah, I have a question for Brad.]” Ke asked, causing Rose and Hydra to look at the radio with surprised wide eyes, “[Just how stupid are you?!]”

“[U-Uh…Ke?]” Brad cautiously asked.

“[Yeah, it’s Ke!]” Ke cried, “[Dude, are you just tryin’ to get yourself killed?!]”

“[Wait, is this Ke Blazer? That agent from SAVIOR who gets in trouble a lot?]” Jay asked.

“[Unfortunately.]” Brad added, “[Why don’t you just let me be, lady?]”

“[Ask me that when Byron’s gettin’ you whacked!]” Ke cried, “[The general told you to stop makin’ jokes about him, Brad! Do you know what General Commandal will do to you once he finds out about this?!]” Rose and Hydra sat there, listening to this vocal duel of professionals. The man who turned on the radio stared at the machine, arms crossed and a look of awe on his face.

“[No. The general said I’ll only get in trouble if something bad happens because of my opinions.]” Brad corrected.

“[Your opinions?! I’d be shocked if someone didn’t try to kill you because of your opinions!]”

“[Freedom of speech, Ke. Last time I checked, we had it.]” A pause came from Ke’s end of the argument.

“[Okay, first I thought you were already…gutsy enough for you to make fun of Byron. But now you have the nerve to try to use one of this nation’s greatest rights to excuse your stupidity!]”

“[Oh yeah? Well I can’t believe you’re trying to use my so-called stupidity to excuse your jealousy!]”

“[What?! Why you candy-assed, air-headed, mother-]”

“[Okay.]” Jay interrupted with a slight chuckle, “[I think we should move on to our next caller. Thank you, Miss Blazer.]” Ke’s voiced ceased to cry out from the radio. The counter worker smiled and chuckled lightly.

“Damn! That girl can rant!” he muttered to himself. The front door bell rang again and Ke casually walked up to the counter side, sat into her seat, and picked up her menu. Rose, Hydra, and the counter man looked at her as if waiting for her to do a trick.

“Uh, I wanna get fries instead of coslaw on the fish nuggets special. Will that cost extra?” Ke asked in a calm voice.

“Not for you, sweetie.” the counter man said with a smile, “I’ve been hearin’ about that little jerk all day, and it’s about time somebody told him off.”

******

The limo was parked outside the radio station, a gray building with reflective windows sitting in the cityscape of Northtown. Brad walked out of the revolving doors and entered the limo. He sat across from Ke, Rose and Hydra. Ke had her arms (you guessed it) crossed and a fierce glare in her eyes. Brad shot Ke a look of bitter skepticism.

“I take it you’re not going to apologize for being a jerk?” Brad asked.

“Me? The jerk of this group?” Ke responded, “I won’t even answer that.” The eyes of Ke Blazer and Brad Dackerson remained locked for a few moments of dueling.

“So, um, we have a couple of hours before you have to go onto that TV show.” Rose said, breaking the tension, “What do you wanna do?”

“Actually, are there any magic shops around here?” Brad asked, “I’ve been meaning to look into some new lightning spells.”

“Well, there’s this shop nearby.” Rose said, “I think it would have something like that.”

“That sounds nice. I think I’d like to go there.” Brad said. His eyes suddenly became more closed into a squint. “Unless Miss Ke would have a problem with that.”

“No, sounds cool.” Ke said.

******

“Welcome, Ke, Rose, and Hydra. I haven’t seen you in a while.” Rido Sakai of the Mystic Corner shop said as he stood by the entrance smiling. He wore a green silk robe with the image of a prancing deer on the chest. He wore his long, strait black hair back in a ponytail, allowing his green eyes to shimmer in the shop light.

“What can I say?” Ke said smiling as she stood with the group in the shop’s foyer, “Been busy.” Rido looked over to Brad, his eyes widening upon doing so.

“Um, excuse me...but you wouldn’t happen to be Brad Dackerson, would you?” Rido asked. Brad smiled proudly.

“Why, yes I am.” A smile crossed Rido’s face as he began to shake Brad’s hand.

“O-Oh, Mr. Dackerson. I’ve heard about your achievements with elemental magic. Not many people your age are able to perform the Ten Element Strike Spell.”

“Oh stop.” Brad said, feigning modesty in his voice.

Yes, Rido. Please do. Ke bitterly thought. Rido turned towards the left, into the doorway that lead to the shop’s merchandise area.

“My sister would want to meet you. Nida?” Rido said, beckoning to his twin sister. Nida came from behind a open cabinet displaying objects that stood in the large room.. She was wearing her black hair in a bun and a blue silk robe with an image of a sea turtle swimming on the chest.

“Yes? What is it Rido?” Then she saw Brad, causing her to gasp in surprise. “Oh...my...god...Is this Brad Dackerson?”

“The same.” Rido said. Nida ran over and began to shake Brad’s hand, giving him praise for some past accomplishment. Brad revealed what he came here for and the twins promptly directed him towards some magic books and scrolls. After finding what he wanted, Brad began to look around the shop, the other group members already doing the same. From the shop foyer, the shop split into three paths: left and right doorways leading to areas displaying objects which eventually met, creating a loop, and some stairs leading upstairs into the Sakai twin’s home. The large, looping, item area were composed of opens rooms that lead to one another, most having their own theme (such as mystic literature, water-based objects, etc.). Objects up for sale sat in or upon tables, shelves, open cabinets, stands, or glass cases. Ke and Hydra were standing in a room littered with oriental objects such as statues embodying ancient emperors or beautiful scrolls depicting peaceful scenes of nature.

“Miss Blazer, I know you hate this. Not to mention Mr. Dackerson is being such a jerk. There must be something you can do.” Hydra said as he stood next to her, studying a hanging scroll picturing a robin perched on a thin tree limb.

“There’s nothin’ I can do.” Ke said as she looked at a beautiful jade statue of a dragon, “I hate to say it, but Brad’s right. Nobody’s gettin’ hurt, so he’s not technically breakin’ the general’s orders. Plus it’s not like I can beat him up or anything.”

“Something tells me that Mr. Dackerson is about to get what he deserves.” Hydra quietly commented.

“Ah, so you know a hit man we can afford?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Brad, with a large book of spells in hand, entered a yellow room that didn’t seem to have a theme; the objects contained in there seemed to have no definite thing in common. Brad began to survey the things offered for selling.

Then something caught Brad’s eye. On a Greek-like pedestal sat a urn with a picture of two women dancing in a garden painted on it. The urn was held shut with a lid with a clasp. Surrounding the urn were many hanging signs that said things like “Do NOT Open!” or “If Interested In Buying This, Please Consult Shopkeepers First”. Brad immediately saw the signs upon setting his sights on the urn....But still, something in his mind still urged him to disobey the signs’ warnings.

Rose stood in a nearby green room, which displayed dried herbs in glass jars or baskets, books about healing, and hanging charts about herbs and their effects. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brad and quickly turned her head to see him reaching for the urn.

“Maybe you can file a complaint, Miss Blazer.” Hydra suggested as they looked at a suit of jade armor.

“It’s worth a shot.” Ke said. Suddenly, a roar and a crash filled the air, accompanied by a cry from Brad. Ke grabbed Hydra and, causing him to float alongside her and flew them through walls and object displays (using intangibility) and towards the direction of the cry. They entered the yellow room just in time to see Brad shoot a bolt of lightning from his hands at a large, orange, three-horned, four-eyed lizard. The lizard fell unconsciously onto the ground, causing nearby objects displayed to rattle a bit.

“Holy crap.” Ke said as she and Hydra stood there, gazing at the fallen monster in shocked awe. Rose stood in the doorway of the room she was in, eyes wide. Nida rushed in and gasped in shock at what she saw.

“Gracious!” she cried. To everyone’s horror, the monster began to twitch ever-so-slightly. With lightning-fast reflexes, Nida grabbed the urn and aimed the opening towards the monster. A cloud of pink mist quickly crept out of the urn and surrounded the monster. After the monster disappeared into it, the mist crawled back into the urn, wherein Nida closed the lid. Rido rushed into the room.

“What’s going on in here?!” he asked.

“A-A monster got loose!” Brad quickly answered. Everyone turned their sights towards him. “That’s right. I was nearby the vase when the lid just popped open!” Rose shot him a slight look of outrage.

“It just opened by itself?” Nida asked, causing Brad to nod his head, “That’s strange. Very strange.”

“Perhaps the sealing spells on the urn are weakening.” Rido commented.

“What is this thing anyway?” Brad asked looking at the urn held in Nida’s hands.

“It’s a jar used in ancient Greece to seal a monster away.” Rido explained, “The same monster you took down.” Nida began to survey the damage caused by the monster’s emergence. Nearby glass cases were either broken or cracked, fragile items stood busted on their shelves, and shards of broken merchandise littered the floor. Despair filled Nida’s eyes and voice.

“Oh...look at this mess.” Nida despaired. Brad quickly reached in his pocket and pulled out a navy checkbook and pen and began to make out a check.

“How about this?” Brad said as he wrote out a check, “I’ll give enough money to pay for the damages.” The eyes of the twins widened.

“O-Oh Mr. Dackerson,” Rido began, “that’s not necessary.”

“No, I insist. My family has a lot of money.” Brad encouraged, “How much would cover the tab?”

“Oh…I estimate about seventeen thousand dollars.” Rida reluctantly said.

“And who should I make it out to?” Brad asked as he wrote the check.

“The Mystic Corner.” Rido said. Brad finished up the check, ripped it out, and handed it to Rido.

“Here you go, sir.” Brad said with a grin.

“Oh thank you, Mr. Dackerson!” Rido praised, smiling.

“Not at all.” Brad said, “Now, if I can just by this book?”

“Oh yes! Of course!” Rido said. The twins and Brad went to the register and began the
process of selling/buying that book. Ke, Hydra, and Rose began to walk towards the foyer.

“Huh, I’ll admit,” Ke said, “Brad can fight.” The cash register rang up, Brad handed over the right amount of money and left, saying his fair wells. Ke, Hydra, and Rose walked over to the Sakai twins, who still stood at the register.

“He is one class act, that Brad Dackerson.” Rido said.

“You said it.” Nida agreed. Hydra turned to Ke.

“See, Miss Blazer?” Hydra said, “Mr. Dackerson isn’t so bad.” Suddenly, Rose’s voice rang out.

“Don’t be too sure.” Rose bitterly said. Everyone turned to her to see that she had her arms crossed and her expression locked in anger.

“Whaddya mean, Rose?” Ke asked.

“You were right, Ke; Brad’s not so good after all.” Rose said, “He lied to you guys.”

“What are you talking about?” Nida asked. Rose’s eyes became slimmer and she took a deep breath.

“I…I saw Brad open that urn.” she said. Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What?!” Nida cried.

“But why would he…?” Hydra asked, his voice trailing off.

“Weren’t there these big-assed signs near the thing?” Ke asked, “I think I ‘em from a couple rooms away.”

“I don’t know why he did it. I just know that he did!” Rose said. Ke turned to Rido.

“Whaddya say?” she asked, “Should we bust him?” Rido was looking sternly at the front door.

“No....If I knew such I thing earlier, all I would’ve done is force Brad to pay for the damages caused by his...actions. And since he did that already...there would be no point in pointing fingers.” The group of three, after saying their good-byes, left the shop. Ke had her hands in her pockets and her eyes bitterly to the ground as she and the others walked to the limo.

Brad gets away again. Ke thought, Damn it, he must have some sorta dark power on his side.

******

The limo was en route to the television station. Rose, Ke, and Hydra sat across from Brad in the back seat. He looked at his watch.

“Well, only a few more hours until JZZ Mike’s party.” Brad said. He turned his gaze to Rose, who had her arms crossed as she looked out the window. “Say Rose, would you be willing to be my escort to the party? I need a lovely lady for the job.”

“You got me.” Ke said.

“I said I needed a lovely lady.” Brad said, not even looking at Ke, “Besides, JZZ wouldn’t let someone of....your unique qualities in his party.”

Don’t say anything, Ke. Ke thought as she clenched her fists, Not a word.

“So, Rose, whaddya say?” Brad said. Rose looked over and met Brad’s eyes in a angry gaze.

“I’ll go, only because I heard a music star I like will be there.” Rose said, “Otherwise I wouldn’t like going to such a thing with a liar.” Brad’s eyes widened.

Liar? Brad thought, Me?...Wait…does she know about...?Could she know about that? Brad turned to Hydra, who was giving Brad a stern look.

“H-Hey, you wanna come with?” Brad said with un uneasy smile.

“Sure.” Hydra said, smiling a sneaky smug, “Just don’t cramp my style.” Brad’s eyes widened again.

Him too?! Brad thought. Brad turned to Ke with a bitter look on his face.

“Oh, what about you?” he said, “I was going to go to the party right after the show, and I don’t need you at the show taping. Do you just wanna wait in the car?” Ke crossed her arms.

“Actually, you can drop me off at the PS Building.” she said, “It’s on the way and I have a coupon for a restaurant there.”

******

The TV mounted on the wall glimmered in the dimly-lit restaurant known as the “Starlight Lounge”, casting light on Ke’s face as she watched Brad on a talk show. Her head rested on her hand and a dull look sat on her face. She sat at a small, red round table and the surrounding decor consisted of vibrant paintings of starry scenes and pictures of movies stars. In front of her sat a glass of dark soda, a cheeseburger, and a pile of fries. On the TV, Brad was sitting on a red, cushioned chair in a lounge-like room with a large widow in the background, displaying a painted cityscape, glimmering in the night. Sitting behind the nearby wooden desk sat a dark-haired man in his forties, laughing at a joke Brad just told.

“[And then I said to the guy, ‘I think I will take that car after all’!]” Brad said before he and the talk show host (Perry Yarttow) burst into laughter.

I think I’m gonna be sick. Ke bitterly thought. Two teenage girls with shopping bags in their hands entered the restaurant. One was a blond, pony-tailed Caucasian girl with a pink T-shirt and jeans, while the other was an African-American girl with long, dark hair held back by a blue headband, a blue blouse, and olive Capri pants. Their chatter they where speaking as they entered the restaurant stopped when they saw Ke.

“Ohmygod Stephanie, I think that’s her!” the African-American girl whispered to her friend.

“Yeah Judy, I think you’re right!” the Caucasian girl (Stephanie) said. Stephanie and Judy made their way to Ke’s side. Ke saw them out of the corner of her eye and turned to them.

“Hi, um, are you….Ke Blazer?” Stephanie asked.

“Last time I checked.” Ke said with a smile.

“So, we saw you on TV.” Judy said, “I think you were at that press conference this morning.”

“I believe so.”

“Well…we were just wondering if you could….” Stephanie said, her voice trailing off.

“If I could what?” Stephanie quickly reached into one of her shopping bags and produced a Hot Agents Monthly magazine that had a smiling Brad on the cover.

“If you could get Brad to autograph this?” Stephanie asked with excitement. Ke’s expression widened in shock as her heart quickly sank.

“He’s just soooo cute!” Judy squealed.

“I know!” Stephanie cried joyfully. A look of annoyed shock slowly grew on Ke’s face as
the girls quickly exchanged praises for Brad.

This. Can. NOT. Be. Happenin’! Ke thought, Did I, like, do something bad in a previous life or somethin’?!

“I think I heard about this dumb bink who keeps badgering Brad.” Judy said, getting Ke’s attention.

“Oh yeah!” Stephanie said, “She kept yelling at Brad for no good reason. That idiot *****.” Ke’s expression faded into sheer anger as the girls began to laugh at Ke’s so-called idiocy. Ke’s nails began to dig into the nylon covering of the table she was sitting at. They turned to her, but didn’t seem to notice her furious expression.

“So, will you get us an autograph from Brad?” Stephanie asked. Ke paused any response for a few seconds as she glared at them.

“Walk away.” Ke dryly said, holding every once of blind fury that was born from her mind. The girls’ happy expressions faded into skepticism.

“Excuse me?” Stephanie asked.

“Walk away.” Ke said with more firmness and visible anger in her voice. The girls scoffed and began to walk away.

“Let’s go, Stephanie.” Judy said, “Obviously the some of people who eat here that aren’t so classy.” As the girls walked out, the brunette girl who asked the information clerk earlier in this story walked through the restaurant doorway, looking at the girls who passed her bay. She looked over and saw Ke, who had her back turned to her as she was facing her meal once again.

It’s her! the girl thought. She began to make her way to Ke.

It’s not fair! Ke thought with a more calm look on her face, Why’s someone so stupid bein’ praised?! The girl approached Ke.

“Ke Blazer?” she beckoned.

Oh man, here we go again. Ke thought as she turned to the girl, I’m gonna regret this.

“Can I help you?” Ke asked.

“I need to talk to you about Brad Dackerson.”

I knew it. Ke thought.

“Look, I already told those girls that I won’t give ‘em Brad’s autograph.” Ke sighed.

“No, I’m not here about that.” the brunette girl said, “My name’s Marcy Hightower. I’m Brad’s cousin.”

“Oh?” Ke asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, I heard about how Brad been making fun of that Vante-guy, and how you’ve been trying to stop Brad from doing that. I’ve come to try to help you.” Marcy said, “Or at least give you may sympathies for being stuck with him all day.”

“Have a seat.” Ke said with a smile. Marcy sat down across from Ke. “So, you traveled all this way to deal with your cousin?”

“I don’t live far from here.” Marcy explained, “So, where is Brad? Running from fan girls?”

“No, he’s at some talk show.” Ke explained. She pointed to the TV that she was watching a few moments before. “You can see him right on there.” Marcy turned just in time to see Brad cracking a joke, causing Perry to laugh again. Marcy’s brow furrowed at the sight.

There was bitterness in Marcy’s voice. “Ever so confident, and yet ever so ignorant.”

******

Rose and Hydra stood in the side area beside the stage, watching Brad speak with Perry.

“Seriously Brad, in only one day you’ve been here, you’ve stirred up a bit of controversy with your remarks about local bad guy Byron Vante.” Perry said with a casual smile on his face. “You are aware of what kind of person he is, right?”

“I’ve been told one or two things.” Brad said as he confidently smiled.

“And you aren’t afraid of him?” Perry asked.

“Well Perry, let me tell you something.” Brad said, “In my career, or at least the period before my professional career started, I’ve face a lot of trouble. Things that are way more worse than ol’ Byron. But I should tell you who should be afraid of Byron.”

“Who, Brad?” Perry asked.

“Any person who sees him before he puts the paper sack on his head.” Brad said with a grin. Naturally, Perry and the audience laughed, save for Rose and Hydra. The show hour-long was twenty-five minutes towards ending when something caught Rose’s eye. For a split second, she could have sworn she saw a strange, multi-colored man run down the cat walk from above.

“Hey, Hydra?” Rose whispered as she nudged Hydra.

“Yes, Miss Flagg?” he whispered back.

“Did you just see that?”

“See what?

“That man running down….oh, never mind. It’s probably just my imagination.” The two people continued to watch the show.

Unbeknownst to them, however, there was indeed a man running ever so stealthilydown the catwalk. Like the man in the fiery place under Hesslin Tracks, his skin was like a crudely stitched quilt of different colors of skin patches. He wore tattered brown shorts, boots, and a headset communicator. He took shelter in the darkness of the catwalk, peering down at Brad.

“Boss, I see the Dackerson boy.” the man whispered into the headset, “Do I get him now?” The voice of the man who burned the newspaper under Hesslin Tracks came through the headset ant into the man’s ears.

“[No, I only sent you to confirm that he was following that schedule we hacked from Ke Blazer’s phone.]” the voice said, “[Leave Mr. Dackerson to me.]”

******

“So, Brad’s stayin’ with you and your parents?” Ke asked as she finished up her drink. Marcy decided to join Ke for a meal and ordered a fish sandwich, which she was now working on.

“Yeah. My aunt and uncle are traveling the world.” Marcy explained, “Last thing I head, they were in Cancun.”

“And I understand the Dackersons have alotta money.” Ke asked.

“Oh yeah. From running some explorers-for-hire business they had.” Marcy responded, “Fortunately for me and my parents, they’re nice enough to loan us some money once in a while.

“Now, we talkin’ Bill Gates rich?” Ke asked.

“Well, no, but they have enough to live very comfortably.” Marcy explained.

“Ah.” Ke took a bite from her burger. “Y’know, I figured Brad would be old enough to stay home by himself.”

“Well, he was originally, but…”

“But?” A pause came from Marcy.

“Well…I’m not sure how it happened…but to my understanding, Brad went into this vault where his parents kept some…‘souvenirs’ from their old adventuring days, which he wasn’t supposed to do because some of the stuff’s dangerous. Long story short, Brad releases some slime creature from some gem, defeats it in some huge battle, and moves in with us until his parents come home because of some court order.”

“Sheesh.” Ke’s eyes suddenly widened. “Hey wait, I heard about that bit. But I didn’t hear anything about that court order or Brad releasin’ that creature.”

“I’m not surprised. The battle got so much publicity that the other stuff was overlooked, even when that fact was posted in a magazine.”

“No kiddin’?”

“Nope….In fact, that’s the thing about Brad.” Ke looked at Marcy with skepticism.

“What is?”

Marcy sighed a deep, exasperated sigh, as if she told the following story many times before. “For as long as I’ve known Brad, he’s had this….quark. If you tell him not to do something or go somewhere, he immediately does otherwise. Trust me, Brad’s never met a ‘Do Not Touch’ sign he didn’t like. And it’s not because he’s spoiled or anything, it’s like he has an urge to do it that sort of thing. My aunt and uncle says it’s curiosity, but the family shrink says it’s obsessive compulsive disorder.”

Something clicked in Ke’s mind. Her eyes were wide and looking into the distance. Marcy noticed this.

“Hey? Are you alright?” she asked. Ke snapped out of her trance and looked at Marcy.

“O-Oh yeah…This day’s just startin’ to make sense, that’s all.” Ke explained, “Brad’s been doin’ some things that…perplexed me. Like at this one shop, he ignored these huge signs tellin’ him not to open an urn and did anyway.”

“Let me guess, a monster came out?”

“Y-Yeah. And then there’s him ignorin’ all my warnings to stop makin’ fun of Byron.”

“Well, okay, that was either his quark or just him being a jerk.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess that could go either way.”

“But you’d be surprised what Brad’s quark did for him and his publicity.”

“Whaddaya mean?”

“Take a look at Brad’s mission reports.” Marcy, of course, was referring to reports written about an agent’s mission, stating its details. “He put them out into public to be studied by other agents and adored by his fans.” During this statement, the waiter had come over and dropped off the check. After a few moments of thinking, Ke reached into her pocket and pulled out a coupon and some money.

“I think I will.” Ke said as she set the money down. She stood up and began to leave. “Thanks, Marcy.”

“With pleasure.” Marcy said as she was finishing up her sandwich.

******

Ke sat at one of the computers in the computer lounge of the PS Building, which was a large room consisting of long tables with computers on them. She was currently surfing Brad’s official web page, braddackerson.com (not to be mistaken for fan sites like bradssoawsome.com, bradsmyidol.com, or bradsbetterthansupermanjamesbondandspidermanputtogether.com). In the sidebar of links available on the left of the screen, she clicked “Mission Reports” and found herself face to face with a list of mission titles and their one sentence long descriptions. After looking at the list for a moment, Ke clicked on one that caught her eye: “Mission at the Tomb of Ganza”.

I think that’s the one where Brad saved those explorers he was travelin’ with in Egypt from those mummies. Ke thought. She clicked on it and a mission report appeared in front of her. Ke began to read it, learning how Brad originally went to the tomb when he won a contest in The Area 51 Report, a magazine that displayed paranormal news on a monthly basis. In the contest, Brad would be taken to some of the many mystical ruins in Egypt. Brad was in the inner reaches of the tomb when he-

What?! Ke thought when she read the rest of the line. She read that line over again a couple more times, trying to see if she misunderstood it somehow.

She didn’t.

Ke went back to the mission report list and selected the “Saving the Bizzies” mission report. This was the report that told how Brad saved the last of the bizzies from extinction. The bizzies were endangered creatures from a destroyed planet, and could only survive in an environment similar to that of their destroyed home world. Brad was on a tour of the government facility where the bizzies were kept in a delicate environment. They started dying off when Brad-

Again?! No way! Ke thought when she finished that line. She began to go from mission report to mission report, finding the same pattern that shocked her so.

“The Eruption of Mt. Kikumaya”, where Brad saves a village from a erupting volcano.

“The Mikal Ruins Incident”, where Brad goes to some forbidden ruins and becomes invisible.

“Rescuing Missy Pink Nova”, where Brad saves a pop star from Jupiter from a falling asteroid.

“The Sho Wang Temple Battle”, where Brad saves a temple from an ancient demon that was sealed away in a cave.

All of these missions had the same pattern. All of Brad’s award-winning, fan hailed, media attention grabbing, product-endorsing missions did.

“Sonuva *****.” Ke muttered to herself.

******

Brad, Rose, and Hydra walked out into the spacious TV station lobby twenty-six minutes later (after Brad spoke with Perry Yarttow a bit after the show and signed a few autographs). Beyond glass front doors, reporters and the paparazzi stood ready to bombard Brad with the forces of media. Rose held Brad’s cell phone in her hands as she tried to call Ke (her cell phone’s battery died). So far, there was no response.

“Hmm…Ke’s not answering.” she said.

“Why would you call her now?” Brad asked.

“I wanted to tell her we’re not coming by to pick her up.” Rose said as she looked at Brad with a hint of annoyance. Like Ke and Hydra, she couldn’t wait for this day to end.

“Eh, she’ll figure it out.” Brad said. Suddenly, Ke’s voice sounded out.

“Oh yeah?” Ke said, causing the trio to react and stop dead in their tracks halfway to the front door, “When? When I was waitin’ in the dark ‘til dawn?” Ke appeared in midair in front of them. Holding her hand and floating beside her was Marcy. She floated on the ground before them.

“Entering with style now, Ke?” Brad asked, glaring at her.

“Hey, flight, invisibility, and intangibility rocks.” Ke said.

“What are you doing here, Marcy?” Brad asked, turning his attention to his cousin.

“Just trying to keep you out of trouble.” Marcy said.

“Um, Miss Blazer?” Hydra asked, “Who’s this young lady?”

“This is Marcy Hightower…Brad’s cousin.” Ke explained.

“Great, are the two of you going to nag me now?” Brad sarcastically asked with his arms crossed.

“Here’s your last warning, Brad.” Ke said, “Stop. Makin’. Fun. Of. Byron.”

“And hear this, Ke.” Brad said, “It’s. Not. Hurting. Anyone.”

“Yet!” Ke snapped, almost reaching her limit. As the two argued, their stares seemed to dual, fighting to see which was superior.

“I know what I’m doing, Ke. Nothing bad’s going to happen. I just know that.” Brad said, “I am the super-agent that I am.” Ke’s serious expression became a bit more angry.

“Oh, and speakin’ of your fame, I’ve been doin’ some research about you’re so-called adventures!” Brad raised an eyebrow in questioning.

“So-called?"

“Yeah, that’s right! I looked at your mission reports and found out something very interesting! It seems that you have a strange urge to disobey rules within minutes of learnin’ ‘em!” Brad looked at Marcy in surprise and slight worry.

“You told her about that?!” he cried.

“So what if I did?” she said with a stern expression and crossed arms.

“Anyway, it also seems that any trouble you faced was caused by you when your little quark took over ya! The only reason you’re famous is because you stopped the trouble in some epic battle or something!”

“That can’t be true!” Brad scoffed with a conceited look on his face, “What about the time I saved those explorers in that tomb in Egypt?”

“The only reasons those mummies came to life was because you messed with some cursed treasure that was in that place after those explorers clearly warned you not to!” Ke retorted.

“Oh, well, okay, true.” Brad said with slight annoyance, “But what about when I saved the bizzies from extinction?”

“They were dyin’ in the first place because ya wandered away from the tour group you were with, ignored any warnin’ signs, went into the bizzies’ restricted environment, and contaminated it!” Worry started to grow ever-so-lightly on his face, and would continue to do so as Ke exposed Brad continuously.

“Uh…okay…What about the village I saved from that volcano?”

“You were throwin’ pop cans and garbage into the volcano, despite any ‘do not litter’ signs you saw!”

“Oh, um, well, what about when I turned invisible in those forbidden ruins?”

“You weren’t even allowed in those forbidden ruins, ya lyin' jerk!”

“W-Well, what about when I saved Missy Pink Nova from that asteroid?”

“You’re the one who knocked the asteroid outta it’s asteroid belt in the first place when you were joyridin’ in a top secret space ship!”

“Then what about when I saved that mountain temple from that demon?”

“You blasted the cave it was sealed in open with a bazooka you weren’t even supposed to touch!” Brad was wide-eyed and sweating slightly at this point. Ke glared sternly into his eyes. “I don’t think you’re in any position to say that you know ya won’t get in trouble, Brad.” Brad found strength inside his mind and his expression became spitefully conceited.

“But I am famous, aren’t I Ke?” Brad asked with his mouth curved in a smile. Ke stared at him in silence for a few moments.

“Yes.” she muttered just loud enough for Brad to hear. Brad’s expression became less spiteful.

“No matter what, Ke.” Brad said, “Face it, people love an adventurer. And an adventurer’s an adventurer, trouble prone or not. And if I do have a track record for getting into and out of trouble, I should be fine if Byron does do something.”

“That’s not true, Brad.” Ke said, “You might-”

“But I don’t personally think that this is about Byron.” Brad said with a happy conceited look on his face, “I think that you’re bothering me because you’re jealous.” Ke’s eyes became locked into an angry stare.

“Excuse me?” Ke asked, shocked at what Brad just said.

“That’s right.” Brad said with a smug on his face, “You’re jealous of me and my accomplishments, because I’m the male equivalent of everything you want to be as a professional. I bet it just kills you to see me in my famous element.”

That was it for Ke Blazer. She had reached her breaking point.

“That’s it Brad!” Ke cried in sheer anger, “That. Is. It! I’m sick of you and your goddamned pride! You are puttin’ yourself in harm’s way and you couldn’t care less!” As Ke vented Brad looked at her with nonchalance. “You may not realize it, but I, no, Hydra, Rose, and I had to put up with alotta crap today because of you! We had to put up with that giant monster of an ego of yours, we had to put up with your lyin’, and we had to put up with your stupidity! And not only that, I wasted my breath tryin’ to talk some sense into ya! Well no more! You don’t wanna listen? Fine! But don’t ***** to me when Byron’s got your legs hacked off! The general said that I only had to baby-sit you until your little party, so here’s the end of the line of me carin’ if ya die or not!”

“Okay, fine.” Brad said as he smiled and shrugged his shoulders, “Whatever works for you.” Ke let out an exasperated cry and began to walk towards the front door. Marcy, Rose, and Hydra began to fallow her.

“Wait, you two are going with her?” Brad asked Rose and Hydra with a raised eyebrow. Both stopped and looked at him with seriousness on their faces.

“Mr. Dackerson, it just wouldn’t feel right to.” Hydra explained.

“Yeah.” Rose agreed.

“Fine.” Brad scoffed, “You two wanna be losers? That’s just fine. A shame, but fine.”

******

“Well, this day was a bust.” Ke commented as she flew Marcy, Hydra, and Rose gracefully through the air. Rose was grabbing Ke’s left arm, Marcy Ke’s right hand, and Hydra her left foot. Hydra looked back at the TV station in the distance, seeing the limousine that had been riding all day drive off, carrying Brad aboard. The sun was to the left of the group and an indigo color choked the other side of the sky.

“Well, at least it’s over, Miss Blazer.” Hydra said.

Unbeknownst to them, however, a man stood in the shadow of a water tower on a nearby rooftop. Ke thought she sensed a presence as she passed by the unseen man, but she dismissed it as nothing. The man watched the group fly away, and then turned his sights on the limousine that carried Brad away. The man smiled wickedly at the sight.

“Okay kid, get ready.” the man quietly said in the voice of the man under Hesslin Tracks, “You’re about to see just how….wimpy I am.”

******

Supernatural hip-hop star JZZ Mike owned the top two floors of Haraldson Towers, a luxury apartment building for the rich and famous of the secret world Ke and Brad constantly dealt with. Tonight, the superstar was holding a party for all his illustrious friends and acquaintances. His spacious, two-story penthouse was filled with the finest of everything. Shiny trinkets on shelves, tables, and the like shined like stars under the lights of this not-so-humble abode. Music performed by the famous party host played on a two-thousand and something dollar CD player. The stylish furniture that littered the living room Brad was currently standing in was made of the hides of creatures that have long since become endangered (from being hunted for their hides by furniture manufacturers no less). Brad currently stood in the middle of a crowd of people, talking about himself.

“And that’s how I found the lost treasure of Emperor Saku Kala Hissdan.” Brad said, earning the praise of those in his company. Brad had just told the story of how he found a hidden treasure of an ancient emperor when he was on a training expedition in the Amazon. Actually, in reality, Brad had snuck out past curfew while there, stumbled upon a temple filled with giant spiders, which he defeated in a huge battle, and found the treasure in one of the chambers. Then JZZ Mike made his way to Brad. He was a twenty(ish) black man with a dark blue leisure suit and dark shades. He walked up to Brad and wrapped his right arm around his shoulders.

“Brad, my bud!” he said with a wide smile, “How are you likin’ the party?”

“It’s excellent!” Brad said.

“So, I’ve been hearin’ how that Ke Blazer has been getting on your back all day.” JZZ Mike said, “Wasn’t it over you makin’ fun of that Byron Vante guy?”

“Yeah.” Brad said, “But she’s gone and I’ll never have to see or hear her again…Well, okay, maybe at work.”

“Still man, she does have a point.” JZZ Mike said.

“Not you too.” Brad sighed as he rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious! I’ve heard about what this Byron guy’s done! He’s nobody you wanna mess with.” Brad grinned.

“I can take care of myself! Look at all the dangerous stuff I’ve done so far! I’m pretty sure I can handle someone like Byron Suck-face.” The people he was previously talking to laughed lightly.

“Hey, tell us more about what you think about Byron.” A girl with magenta hair and black clothing said.

“I will, but first I have to go to the men’s room.” Brad said. He began to walk down a nearby hall.

“Oh, wait, I think I saw a guy go in there a second ago.” JZZ Mike said, “He looked like he was about to puke, so I think he’ll be in there for a while.” Brad turned to JZZ Mike.

“Isn’t there another one near the kitchen?” Brad asked.

“I wouldn’t.” A girl with teal hair said, “I saw a couple go in there, and, well, they haven’t come out for a while.”

“Oh…great.” Brad said.

“Hey man, there’s another bathroom downstairs.” JZZ Mike said.

“Oh, okay. Thanks.” Brad said as he made his was towards the elevator. The red-walled hallway the gold elevator doors stood in was devoid of any partygoers. Brad came to the elevator doors and pressed solitary down button. A quiet whirring came from behind the gold doors.

I don’t see what the problem is. Brad thought, It’s like nothing bad’s gonna happen to-

Suddenly, when the elevator doors opened, flames belched out of the elevator and seemed to reach for Brad. His expression widened in surprise and a cry escaped his throat. Before falling into unconsciousness, all Brad saw was the bright light emitted by the flames.

******

Meanwhile, Ke, Rose, Hydra, and Marcy were above a department store, en route to Marcy and Brad’s house, when Rose realized that she still clutched Brad’s cell phone in her hands.

“Oh! I’ve still got Brad’s cell phone!” Rose reported.

“What?” Ke asked.

“I barrowed his cell phone to call you because my phone battery died out.” Rose explained, “I guess with all that fuss, I forgot to give it back to him.”

“Well, I’m sure Miss Hightower could just return it to Mr. Dackerson when he returns home.

“Uh...I can’t.” Marcy said, “He got a deal from the Majesty Cliffs Hotel to stay in one of it’s suites. Y’know, for a promotional thing. Well, can’t Ke just give the phone back to Brad at work tomorrow or something?”

Ke shook her head. “Nuh-uh, no way. I plan on avoidin’ Brad at work for about a month. Would any of you have a problem poppin’ over to JZZ-what-his-face’s for a minute?” The group said they wouldn’t have a problem and Ke turned to go to the hip-hop star’s home.

******

It was ten minutes later by the time Ke and the others made their way to Haraldson Towers, and by then authority vehicles had camped outside its doors.

“Uh oh.” Ke said.

“Well that can’t be good.” Hydra said. Ke landed on the balcony of JZZ Mike’s second story. The music star himself was answering questions with a pair of policemen. The group approached JZZ Mike.

“Hey, Mike.” Marcy said as she tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to her and smiled.

“Oh hey, you’re Brad’s cousin.” he said, “Marcy, right?”

Marcy smiled. “You remember me? But we only saw each other once; at that charity function.”

“It’s hard to forget a pretty girl.” JZZ Mike flirted.

As Marcy blushed, Ke stepped in to rekindle the original purpose of coming to this place. “What happened here?” The music star’s expression became more serious as he turned to Ke.

“It’s Brad Dackerson.” he said, “He…well…disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Ke asked.

“Well, I’m not sure if you’d put it that way.” JZZ Mike said, “Brad was headin’ over to the elevator, he screamed, there was some sort of bright light, and he was just, well, gone.” Ke began to make her way to the elevator hallway, which had been closed off by yellow tape. “There wasn’t even a pile of dust or anything. Man, I hope Brad’s still alive….somehow.”

Suddenly, a smell entered her nostrils, causing a foul attack of scent to her sense of smell. She couldn’t take another step after detecting this pungent odor and her heart skipped a beat when she realized what the smell was.

Brimstone.

Oh no.

Don’t tell me it happened! Not this soon! I figured Brad would have more time!

Ke walked to the beginning of the path to the elevator. From those ten feet away from the door, something caught her eye. Something streaked across the wall and floor sections closest to the door and the door’s edge itself.

Despite what Ke hoped and thought, Brad Dackerson didn’t have enough time to right the wrongs he had foolishly committed. However, she knew who was responsible for Brad’s little disappearance (if you didn’t by now, work on your observational skills). Ke also knew that Brad was indeed alive, because the person who did this would do something different to Brad than killing him….Something far worse. All this became clear when Ke saw that certain thing in the elevator area. Ke didn’t have to be any closer to tell what it was.

She could make out those scorch marks from where she stood.

******

Brad’s vision was blurred at first when he slowly came to. Then the ninety-degree range heat of this place was the first to stimulate his senses. When his vision cleared up, he found himself in an immense, red-rocked cave. He noticed that he was lying on the hard rock ground, and slowly and shakily made his way to his feet. As he did this, Brad tried to get a grip on what happened minutes before. He remembered going to the elevator in JZZ Mike’s two-story penthouse. He remembered the doors opening and wild flames blazing out of the elevator to greet him. Then, he remembered blacking out. Finally, the obvious question popped in Brad’s mind.

Where am I? he thought, Oh this doesn’t look to good.

He tried to summon a navigational spell to give him an idea of where he was, but something blocked his mind. Brad looked down at his wrists and say two silver shackles with engravings on them clasping his wrists. He recognized them as shackles used to suppress mystical powers. Suddenly, Brad’s hearing detected a phrase of quiet, male chuckling. Brad quickly turned to the source of this laughter. His eyes widened in shock.

In the darker side of the cave, a massive horde of beings stood in the shadows. Although consumed by the shadows, Brad could make out these creatures’ mildly to monstrously obscured shapes. Some of them looked like normal people, while others had more sinister forms; such as that of some sort of four-legged beast, or of a spiny snake person.

No…this isn’t good. Brad thought on terror, This isn’t good at all. Suddenly, a man’s voice rang out from the darkness; the same voice that had been leading a hidden conspiracy against Brad all day.

“Hello, Brad! Welcome to my humble abode!” the voice said. The voice’s owner stepped from the shadowy blanket that concealed him and his monsters.

His appearance shocked Brad a bit. The man’s skin was a dull shade of red; a sort of light maroon. Two, light maroon, slightly-curved, thumb-sized horns protruded his forehead. When this man talked, Brad could see two fangs replacing his canine teeth. Pointy ears, at least six inches long in length, ran beside his head. His short, straight, black hair was slicked back, and a thin mustache rested above a slick smile. This man, who looked like he was in his thirties, wore a black suit with a crimson shirt under it and a scarlet neck tie (adorned with a ruby tie-pin) securing his neck. A few of the monsters in the darkness came out as well. Their skin looked like a crudely stitched quilt of different colors. Numbers began to add up in Brad’s mind, and when they all did, he looked upon this demonic man in fear.

Because despite the fact that Brad never saw what he looked like, he could tell he was looking at Byron Vante.

“It’s so good to finally meet you.” Byron said as he gazed into Brad’s eyes, the red irises in his eyes burning like embers, “The new blood in SAVIOR. It’s really something, huh? First day you’re officially on the job and you get to meet one of the most feared people in the business.” Normally Brad would have made a remark that he had already faced someone worse than Byron, but he was currently too scared to even blink.

“Well don’t you worry, Mr. Dackerson.” Byron said. His expression became more happily wicked and his eyes glowed crimson. “We’ll make sure you have a pleasant time here.”

Brad just stood there, gulped, and thought “Oh crap!”

[162]

Part Three: Saving An Idiot

“You know what happened to Brad, don’t you?” Ke asked JZZ Mike after spying the condemning evidence at the crime scene.

The hip-hop singer was silent for a few moments with a look of slight worry on his face. “I have an idea.”

“Press is gonna have a field day with this.” Ke commented.

“They won’t have the chance to.” JZZ Mike said.

“What?” Ke asked as she looked up at him with skepticism. JZZ Mike crossed his arms and had a firm expression.

“I’m not lettin’ the press get a hold of what just happened. Everyone at the party also agreed not to tell.” Ke had an annoyed look on her face and her hands on her hips.

“Why?”

“Because Brad might get into serious trouble, and we don’t want that. I mean, with Brad makin’ all his little comments all day and…this happenin‘, his image might get messed up.”

“Well, you’re right. That might happen.” Ke responded, knowing all to well that Brad would get into trouble, “But I’m still obligated to report such things to my boss. Me havin’ to be responsible and all.”

“I guess I can stop you if it’s a legal thing.” JZZ Mike said, “It’s a shame. I’ll admit, Brad may be a jerk from time to time, but deep down, he’s really a good kid.” Ke walked into the kitchen, the only quiet place in the entire penthouse, with her friends following her.

“Ke, do you know what happened to Brad?” Rose inquired.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Ke asked as she reached into her pocket.

“Well, yeah; with what Brad’s been saying and all.” Rose said. Ke pulled out her cell phone and opened it.

“So you’re calling the general, Miss Blazer?” Hydra asked.

“Oh hell yeah!” Ke said as she began to input a number, “All I need to do is call the general, get some guys to bust into Byron’s place and find Brad, and bam! Good-bye Brad!”

Suddenly, Ke froze. The two words she just said buzzed in her mind like an angry bee caught in a jar. She could call General Commandal and teach Brad a lesson in the most ultimate way possible…But what would happen to Brad?

“Should any comment Dackerson have made result in a dangerous situation involving himself or others, he will be in more trouble than you have or will ever be in.”

Those were the general’s exact words back at the museum earlier that day. More trouble that she, Ke Blazer, would ever be in; did such a thing really exist? It was hard to imagine. What would those consequences be? Suspension? Demotion?

No…It would be a lot worse than that.

Ke wondered what to do; she now faced a dilemma. On one hand, she could call the general and get Brad into serious trouble….But on the other hand, she could…

Ke began to think about the three boys she caught sneaking into Hesslin Tracks that very morning. She didn’t turn them in, but why? Because she knew that such a thing on their records could ruin their careers. A career Ke herself treasured. Lord only knows what Brad’s current situation would do to his. Would she do that to him? Could she do that to him?

Ke closed her phone, muttering “Damn it” under her breath. She began to make her way to the kitchen door.

“C’mon.” she said without facing her friends. They began to fallow her.

“Where are we going?” Rose asked.

“We’re gonna save Brad.” Ke said after a moment of silence. Surprise grew on the faces of her present company.

“What?” Hydra asked.

“We’re gonna save Brad.” Ke responded, enunciating her words more strongly. They approached the balcony.

Rose couldn’t believe was Ke was saying. “So…you’re not going to call the general?”

“Nope. Somehow we’ve got to figure out where Byron took Brad. I’d say Hesslin Tracks, but he also could’ve taken him somewhere else.”

“I think I can help you out with that.” Marcy said. The three people turned to see her holding a gray, PDA-like object and smiling awkwardly. “With all the stuff Brad gets himself into…we kinda…well…put a microchip in him.” They looked at her with questioning surprise.

“Are you kiddin’?” Ke asked after a pause.

“No.” Marcy confessed, “He doesn’t know about it, though…It was kinda done while he was sleeping.” There was an awkward silence between the group of four people.

“Eh, giddiyup.” Ke said shrugging her shoulders.

“Works for me.” Rose said.

“I guess it would be unwise if you didn’t have that done.” Hydra concurred.

Ke flew her cohorts high in the air as Marcy guided them to Brad’s location. Because as much Ke disliked Brad, and how much Brad Dackerson was a jerk to her, she couldn’t let Brad or his career suffer that horribly.

Brad, ya idiot, Ke thought, you owe me big time!

******

An elevator quickly descended down into the deeper depths of Bryon’s lair. Byron was in the elevator, checking his fingernails for filth and standing next to Brad, who was being held by a large patchwork man.

“Pl-Please, there must be some mistake!” Brad pleaded. Byron let out a “Ha!” and turned to the captive professional and pointed a finger in Brad’s face (….not that finger, though).

“The only mistake made is you saying all those things about me!” Byron said with a spiteful sneer. Brad’s eyes widened.

“Wait…you actually heard all that?”

“Every wisecrack, monologue, and yo’ momma joke on every front page, interview, and news bulletin.” Byron said, “What? Did you expect me not to hear it?”

“Well…kinda.”

“Why?”

“Well…I dunno…I just thought demons wouldn’t care to have things like cable.”

“And here I was thinking you weren’t just stupid.” Brad’s ego stung at Byron’s sarcastic remark.
Ow, my pride!

The elevator stopped at a floor with a “ding!” The elevator gates opened to reveal a hallway leading to a pair of red double doors. Byron began to make his way to the doors, Brad being forced to follow behind him.

“Okay, so, maybe I did say one or two things about you.” Brad confessed with a worried smile on his face. Byron stopped in front of the doors and spun towards Brad, shooting him a look that would give a blind man chills.

The devil man raised an eyebrow. “One or two things?” Bryon opened to doors, leading Brad and the patchwork man in. Within the red stone room stood tower after tower of sheets of paper, each varying in height. Byron began to guide Brad and the guard towards a group of them.

“These are written records of what you’ve said about me throughout the course of the day.” Byron explained, “Apparently you have quite the blabbermouth.” Byron approached a shorter tower of paper whose height reached up to his waist and took the top sheet of paper. “Why don’t we take a look at what you think about me?”

“Oh that’s not necessary-” Brad tried to say, but Byron disregarded him and began to read the sheet‘s content aloud.

“‘Byron Vante’s so wimpy, that when he tried to break a toothpick, he broke his arms.’” Bryon read, Brad shirking as Byron did so. “‘Back in Hawaii, I saw some jellyfish, but even they had more of a spine than ol’ Byron.’ ‘But I should tell you who should be afraid of Byron.’ ‘Who, Brad?’ ‘Any person who sees him before he puts the paper sack on his head.’” Byron looked up at Brad with a bitter smile. “Okay, I’ll admit, I laughed at that one a bit.” Beads of sweat raced down Brad’s face as the devil man’s fiery gaze pierced him.

He took a gulp before finding his fear-filled voice. “What…What are you going to do to me?” A look of wonder appeared on Byron’s face and he began to scratch his head.

“Y’know….I haven’t really thought about that.” he said. Byron looked at Brad for a minute. Suddenly, with sudden action, Byron made his way towards the elevator with a quick pace. As he passed the large patchwork man that held Brad, Byron snapped his fingers, causing the stitched creature to promptly follow him. The trio boarded the elevator and set off for a lower floor. The elevator stopped and the gate opened, revealing a huge area with row after row of long tables. Many patchwork men were at the tables, busily working at some task. Byron guided his company between two of the tables, giving Brad a better look at what the creatures at the table were doing. Brad’s jaw dropped when he saw what he did.

They were making patchwork men.

With thread and needle in hand, these creatures were taking severed body parts that sat in piles on the table and matching them up, as if working on some grotesque jigsaw puzzle. After finding a decent combination of limbs and sewing them together, they put their newly-assembled comrade into a passing cart to be taken to another room, presumably to be reanimated. The trio approached a doorway leading to a downward stairway illuminated only by torches.

Byron stopped and turned himself and Brad to see the production. “Perhaps I could harvest your limbs for making patchwork men with. After all, that’s how I usually get decent limbs; having people who **** me off get hacked apart…Well, okay, that’s usually people who fail to pay me back for a wish.” Byron flicked his wrist and a meat cleaver appeared in his hands. He held the blade near the fearful Brad’s throat.

“Of course, I’m not the one who usually does the hacking, but I think I’d take care of this personally, seeing how you ripped up my reputation quite a bit.” Byron hissed, his mouth contorted in a wicked, evil smile, “So whaddya think? Think you have the right limbs for the job?” Brad was too terrified to respond. He only stood there, shaking, wide-eyed, and sweating. Byron took away his hand and flicked it, causing the cleaver to disappear.

“Then again, maybe not.” Byron said as took the group down the staircase, “That’s probably not an…adequate punishment for what you did. It just doesn’t seem as severe as I need it to be.”

“Why are you doing this to me?!” Brad cried desperately to Byron, who shot him an angry look.

“You made a mockery out of me! In the one day-long course of your ridicule, my reputation suffered a quite a bit because of you!”

“C-Come on! There must be somebody else who ****** you off more than I do!” Brad cried, trying to talk some sort of sense into Byron.

“There is no one that comes to mind.” Byron snapped.

“J-Just let me explain!” Brad stuttered, “It was just trying to appeal to the locals! That’s all!”

“Well you should’ve chosen a different method!” Byron retorted. The staircase came to an end. They found themselves in a hallway, which Byron began to lead his henchmen and his captive down. The walls were made of red rock and had torches hanging on it, while the floor was laid with red and orange tiles.

“Maybe I could sell you on the slave trade. I could make a killing off that.” Byron said, greedily rubbing his hands together, “Besides, there are plenty of people you screwed over on your past adventures that would just love to whip you around.”

Then Byron looked over to Brad slightly, shooting him a sharp, spiteful look. “But then again, that might also be too good for you.” The group made it’s way through a wooden door at the end of the hall and were now standing in a dingy, filthy dungeon with two jail cells (one on the left and one on the right), and only one torch on the far wall to lighten the entire room. Byron gestured to the cell on the left, prompting the patchwork man to throw Brad into the cell like a small cat being throw outside for the night. The cell door was slammed shut and Byron approached the bars with an evil grin on his face and his arms crossed with pride.

“So until I decide what to do with you, Mr. Dackerson,” Byron said, “I’ll let you stay in here.” Byron turned to his henchmen. “Watch him.”

“Yes, boss.” the patchwork man said with a nod. Byron made his way to the door.

“Have a nice stay, Mr. Dackerson.” he called out. He began to wickedly laugh quietly, and that laugh grew to a mad, chilling intensity when the wood door closed behind Byron.

******

“There it is!” Marcy announced as the group approached Hesslin Tracks by air.

“Guess my hunch was right.” Ke said. Ke carefully landed herself and her allies in front of the train yard’s main building, being sure that Byron nor any patchwork men were waiting to ambush them. Ke turned to Marcy.

“Marcy, do you wanna come with us or wait out here or something?” Ke asked.

“I’ll come with you.” Marcy responded, “I’ve been learning quite a few useful spells from the books Brad buys.” Marcy took another look at the PDA and a puzzled look appeared on her face. “That’s weird. This thing says that Brad’s a couple miles underground.”

“Actually, that’s no surprise.” Hydra said, “Mr. Vante’s hideout is underground. Miss Blazer and I can show you the way.” The group made their way to the main building’s front door and carefully entered.

“Okay, follow me and Hydra.” Ke whispered. The two people began to guide Rose and Marcy past all the desks and to a windowed door with the words “Head Administrator” painted in black across the glass.

Those boys from this morning had no idea how close they were to the entrance to Byron’s place. Ke thought to herself. She turned invisible, causing Marcy to jump a bit, and looked past the door and into the room using intangibility (i.e. sticking her head through the door). There was on old desk, and overturned spinning chair, a dead potted plant in one corner, and a dusty couch against the wall, but no one was watching the entryway to Byron’s lair.

She pulled her head out, turned visible, and turned to the others. “All clear.” The group made their way through the office and to the left wall. Ke and Hydra start lightly pressing up against the wall, looking for the section that seems a bit more loose that the rest of the wall. The one that wobbles ever-so-slightly. Hydra found it, pressed on it…

…and the five-foot wide section of the wall vanished.

To Rose and Marcy’s surprise, there was a circular tunnel at least twenty feet in diameter heading strait downward into a fiery abyss. A spiraling, stone staircase attached to the red rocked walls of the tunnel, leading all those who went down it into whatever lied below.

“Wow.” Rose commented in disbelief.

“So…are you gonna fly us down there or something?” Marcy asked, her attention turned to Ke.

“Nope.” Ke responded. Surprised reactions erupted on Rose and Marcy’s faces.
“What?" Marcy asked, seeing if Ke was actually serious.

“Byron’s got these alarms that’ll go off if someone uses their powers down there.” Ke explained, “Or at least enough to set ‘em off. At best, I’ll only be able to turn invisible for a bit or go through walls, but not much else.”

“I can’t use any of my powers without setting those alarms off?” Rose asked, “I mean I can’t actually hurt anyone with them, but they still can be useful.”

“Well, you can, but nothing too big. Maybe you can heal a smaller wound, but nothing too serious.” Ke explained.

“So we’ll have to climb down all those stairs?” Marcy said with dread in her voice.

“Well, we could…or…” Ke said.

“Or?” Marcy said in anticipation.

Ke was silent for a moment. “Or we could jump.” Her comrades looked at her in unbelieving skepticism and surprise. “When we get near the bottom, I could used a bit of my power to slow down our fall.”

Marcy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you serious?!” Marcy turned to Rose and Hydra. “Is she serious?!”

After a few minutes of convincing the hysterical Marcy Hightower into following through Ke’s plan, the group lined up on the edge of the stairway’s landing; Ke was holding Rose and Hydra’s hands (or claws in Hydra’s case), and Rose was holding Marcy’s hand.

“On three.” Ke instructed. Everyone bent their knees.

“One…” Marcy was sweating like a glass of cool water on a hot summer day.

“Two…” Hydra shook slightly and Rose’s heart raced.

Okay Brad, you stupid, egotistical ass. Ke thought in the painfully slow second between the number two and three, We’re coming to get you.

“Three!”

Almost uniformly, the undead government agent, the big lizard, the healer, and the concerned cousin jumped from the landing.

******

Brad quivered with fear as he sat against the walls of his prison, huddled up in a ball; quite an embarrassing pose for someone of Brad Dackerson’s pride and image. Despair and trepidation swarmed his mind like crows in an unprotected cornfield. Brad knew that whatever Byron had in mind, it would not be good. He also began to contemplate on how he should have heeded Ke’s warnings. How he should have put his pride away to save his own life. If only he had listen to even one of Ke’s warnings, he probably wouldn’t have been in this mess.

The patchwork man watching Brad was polishing a short sword he kept with him, leaning back in his wooden chair and chuckling at Brad.

“You’re in trouble now, boy. I’ve seen the boss do terrible things when he get as mad as he usually does, but I haven’t seen him this mad before.” Brad’s back was turned to the patchwork man and he didn’t look over his shoulder at the mocking creature. The patchwork man’s cruel, taunting laughter was enough to make Brad cold with fear.

Suddenly, the laughter was interrupted with a surprised statement.

“Hey, who are you?!” The sound of blows being landed and grunts from the patchwork man lasted only a few moments before it was replaced by the sound of Ke’s voice.

“Nice place.” Brad turned to see Ke inspecting the cell from the other side of the bars. The patchwork man sat over to the left with his head put through the wall, still as calm water. “Needs some decoratin’, though. Maybe some flowers, some throw pillows, maybe a lamp. Otherwise it’s very spacious.”

An overjoyed smile and relieved, wide eyes appeared on Brad’s face; he had never been so happy to see Ke. “Ke! Oh thank God!”

“You still remember my name, Mr. Big Shot?” Ke remarked. Brad rushed to the bars and gripped two of them with his hands, his expression now wide-eyed desperate.

“Get me outta here! C’mon!” Ke put her right pointer finger to her temple and her right elbow in her left hand in a pose of mock thought.

“Gee, I dunno. Maybe this is the right method for you actually learnin’ your lesson.”

“Ke!”

“And besides, it saves me and the bureaucrats at SAVIOR a bunch of paperwork if you just vanished.”

“KE!!!”

“Oh alright, I’ll get you outta here.” Ke reached her hand through the bars, grabbed Brad, and fazed him out of the jail cell. “Your cousin and the others are outside. Don’t use alotta your power or else some alarms will go off.”

Brad scoffed and raised his shackled wrists. “I can’t, anyway. These shackles are sealing my powers away.” Ke looked at the shackles a bit.

“Hmm…better leave them on until we get outta here.” she said after a moment of thinking, causing Brad to shot her a look of outrage.

“What?!” A stern look from Ke met Brad’s outrage.

“Takin’ ‘em off might set off an alarm, too. Let’s just go already!” They began to walk to the door. Ke began to mutter under her breath. “Besides, those things might keep you from touching things you shouldn’t like you seem to do.”

Brad gave Ke an opened-mouthed, bitter look and Ke smiled when she sensed the emotion.

Ke carefully opened and shut the door as she and Brad regrouped with the other members of the team, as not to alert any nearby guards of what was taking place. The group began to quietly and cautiously make their way up the staircase.

“Okay, I don’t think there are any guards around here.” Hydra whispered, “At least, I don’t hear any near here.”

“Good.” Ke quietly responded.

Brad was looking forward to Ke with an innocent, worried look on his face; the one a child might have if they were trying to get themselves out of a punishment.

“H-Hey, Ke?” Brad whispered, “You remember what the general said would happen to me if I got into this sort of mess? Well, I was wondering...”

“Don't worry Brad, I didn't tell him....” Ke responded. Brad quietly sighed in relief. “....yet.” Brad broke out in a sweat.

Suddenly, Ke’s senses screamed in her head and sent a chill down her spine. Something bad was nearby; something very bad. But before Ke could alert her comrades of the dark sensation, Byron Vante’s voice rang out.

“And where do you think you’re going?” The group reacted in shock and turned to see Byron standing at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed and a giving glare that would set a person on fire if able.

“Oh crap.” Ke muttered under her breath, “Run.”

“We can't, Ke.” Rose fearfully reported. Ke turned to see about seven adequately lethal patchwork men standing on the stairs in front of the group, ready to kill at their master's order like trained attack dogs.

“I think I remember you.” Byron said, directing this comment to Ke, “You're the one who stopped some of my men when they were trying to steal that diamond from that humanitarian benefit, aren't you?”

Ke faced Byron with a look of hot-blooded fearlessness. “That's me. But I don't think I stopped ’em as much as I did pummel them into patchwork mush.”

Byron raised an eyebrow. “Well, either way, I should've known your boss would send someone to save a comrade.”

“Oh no, I came here on my own pity and free will.” Ke put a hand on Brad's shoulder. “This here's my idiot and it doesn't look good for me if he dies on my watch.”

Brad looked over to Ke in an expression of bitter, angry, hurt pride. A slim, almost razorblade-like grin slid onto Byron’s face.

“How noble.” he said with darkness in his words, “You’re willing to sacrifice your life for a selfish jerk you probably don’t even like. And such nobility also lies with your allies. They’re willing to follow you through with such a fruitless attempt to save Mr. Dackerson. But enough chit-chat.” Byron snapped his fingers and his grin grew even sharper.

“Kill them.”

Those words being said, the patchwork men began to make their way towards their prey. With a pack of patchwork men to one side and Byron Vante to the other, the band of heroes (and Brad) were trapped. Hydra got close to Ke.

“Miss Blazer, I’m not squeamish towards fighting, but do you have any….other ideas about what to do right now?” Hydra muttered.

“Yeah,” Ke muttered, “screw the alarms! Hold onto each other!” Ke grabbed onto Hydra and Brad, and Hydra grabbed Rose and Marcy with his tail. In the blink of an eye, they were in the air and going through floors. Byron’s furious voice echoed through the halls.

“Some people are helping Brad Dackerson escape! Stop them!” Patchwork men leaped from every corridor, catwalk, and hole in the wall and pounced towards the escaping heroes. Most missed, grasping only at air or the tips of clothing or limbs and falling to the ground below. Unfortunately, winged patchwork men and patchwork with superior jumping and timing skills began to grab onto the escaping people and started attacking them.

“Agh, Ke!” Brad cried as a patchwork man pulled at his shirt and wrapped an arm around Brad’s neck, “B-Become intangible! Then these guys’ll fall off!”

“I doesn’t work like that with me!” Ke responded, a patchwork man pulling her hair with both hands, “All that’ll do is make these guys intangible with us!”

The patchwork man messing with Ke began to cover her face with his hands, blinding her long enough to have her slam directly into a wall of the massive chamber they were in. The impact was great enough to make Ke dizzy and unable to concentrate enough to fly. The group and attacking patchwork men began to fall to the ground.

As the group fell, Brad grasped Ke’s shoulders and desperately shoot her. “Ke! Wake up! For God’s sakes snap out of it!” Hydra, instead, was the one who took action. He made sure his grip on Marcy and Rose were good, grabbed Ke and Brad under his left arm, and grabbed onto a niche in the wall with the right. The impact was forceful enough to shake the attacking patchwork men off the group and send them yelling to the ground. Flying patchwork men made their way to the escaping group.

“S-Somebody….get these shackles off!” Brad cried. Marcy reached over, and with a fingertip glowing teal and her saying “Open”, the shackles opened themselves up. For a few, wide-eyed seconds, Brad looked at his wrists as if they were made of gold. Then he looked up to Marcy in the same expression.

“Marcy…how did you…?”

“You leave your magic books open on the kitchen table a lot more than you think.” Marcy explained, “Now would you kindly save our backs?”

Heeding his cousin’s words, Brad reached out his hand and lightning bolts branched out, shocking the attacking patchwork men. Twitching and writhing from electrical shock, the winged, undead creatures fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Ke was slowly and clumsily entering back into the conscious world. When her blurry vision focused, she looked down to see sneering patchwork men climbing up the stone wall.

“Oh geez!” she cried, “Patchwork men, comin’ from below!” The others looked down to see the approaching enemies.

“Oh great!” Brad half-moan, half-yelled, “Now what do we do?!” Ke thought for few moments before an idea came to mind.

“We’ll do what we did at the entrance!” Ke called.
Brad looked over to Ke. “What are you talking about?! What entrance?!”

“Hydra, jump!” Hydra immediately took Ke’s instructions into action and launched himself (and the others) from the side of the wall. As they fell, Brad was screaming louder than an upset child.

“Are you insane?! You just jumped off the wall! You’re going to kill us! You are insane!” However, Ke used her floating ability to slow the speed of the fall. As the momentum went down, Brad became a less upset and more quiet. They landed safely onto a high platform that stood nearby. Brad, realizing the fuss he recently made, straightened his over-shirt collar; a desperate attempt to regain his proud, cool image.

“You know, I can fly.” he said with struggling dignity in his voice.

“I didn’t hear you volunteerin’ to do so.” Ke firmly responded.

The banter of the two professionals was cut off by the cries of patchwork men. “There they are! Get them!” The group turned to see patchwork men climbing from over the edge of the platform and making their way to the wanted group.

“You’re about to see me do that now!” Brad cried. Brad jumped up into the air and took flight, soaring up into the air like a falcon. Streams of dissolving, yellow-white light emulated from his feet as he cut through the air.

“Brad, y’know you could have taken one of us up with you!” Ke cried.

“Oh, right…Uh, sorry!” Brad cried back, looking down at his cohorts.

Great. Irresponsible, stuck-up, and bad under pressure. Ke thought bitterly to herself. She charged the attacking patchwork men, her hands blazing in purple energy. Hydra grabbed Rose with his tail and began to leap from raised area to raised area. Marcy uttered a spell and made nearby patchwork men freeze in their footsteps like statues. As the rescuing group took their actions, the intended-rescued continued to soar upward, debating on what to do next.

Unfortunately, to his shock, Brad felt his arms being griped and suddenly found himself face-to-face with Byron the devil man. Brad uttered a yelp of surprise, while Bryon’s face was contorted in fury.

“You little putz! You think you can get away?!” Byron cried. Brad’s eyes shined with weakened determination and his fingertips flickered with electricity, but a violet glow from Byron’s eyes and hands seemed to quell the sparks and snuff out the last hint of bravery the young SAVIOR agent had.

“You gotta be kidding me! First you make a mockery outta me, and now you have the nerve to try to take me out like that!?” Byron snapped, his voice strong with anger. “Well I don’t need shackles to silence your power.” Ke took care of the last attacking patchwork man, looked up for a moment, and saw what was happening.
Oh that’s just fantastic. Ke thought, Now what do I do?

She spied the lumpy, red, rock sealing above. An idea entered her mind and a sly smile crossed her face.

“I’ve decided what I’m going to do with you, Mr. Dackerson.” Byron said, basking in Brad’s fear, “I’m just going to save time and burn you right here. A little anti-climatic, yes, but still very much satisfying!”

A quiet, whining sound got Byron’s attention. He looked down in time to see a purple energy ball sent from Ke whiz right past him. Byron looked down at Ke in a deviant, mocking smile.

“Ha! You missed me, punk girl!” the crime boss mocked. Ke returned a smug.

“Says who?” she called back.

“What are you talking-?”

A rock knocked down from the ceiling by the energy bolt sent by Ke conked Byron on the top of his head, sending a wave of pain through his skull and down his spine. The shock caused him to inadvertently let go of Brad and grip his pain-ridden head. Byron spat a long string of curses and claims that Ke was the illegitimate daughter of a prostitute and that he would kill her with his bare hands. Ke launched herself up into the air, catching the falling, screaming Brad. She began to zip through the air, pursued by flying patchwork men and a very angry Byron Vante.

“Faster! Faster!” Brad cried, “Move it!”

“You realize I can drop you at any time, right?” Ke responded in an annoyed voice. Ke began to dart up into the air. The flying patchwork men could successfully turn directions well, but fury and anger gave Byron a superior edge, allowing him to gain on his prey.

“Ke, listen!” Byron beckoned, “You don’t like Brad, and I don’t like Brad!” They began flying towards the right. “So how about be cut a deal?! You give me Brad, I’ll forget you and your cohorts ever interfered!” The turned left. “Brad will vanish without you being responsible, we’ll both be free of this annoyance, and there’ll be no harm or foul in your department!”

As horrible as Brad was, it didn’t take more than five seconds for Ke to come up with the more honorable answer. “Forget it, Byron. As tempting as that sounds, my conscious couldn’t handle do that to Brad!” Byron’s eyes glowed crimson.

“Suit yourself, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!” Byron sent a fireball Ke’s way.

“Watch out!!!” Brad cried to Ke when he turned to see the infernal missile coming their way. Ke successfully dodged it, causing it to explode on a wall up ahead.

“I know, I know! I sensed it!” Ke responded. Byron began to sent fireball after fireball of hellfire towards the heroic pair, but each were successfully evaded.

I can’t keep this up! We have to get outta this place! But how?! Ke thought as she and Byron continued their dog fight. Ke began to run ideas through her head, but none seemed to stick.

Then she saw the hallway going into the side of the wall. She saw how it took a corner to the left. A grin appeared on her face and an idea entered her mind as she remembered how she got Brad away from the fans at the PS Building that very morning. To make sure the plan was sound, Ke looked around to see where Hydra, Rose, and Marcy were.

“Brad,” Ke muttered, “when you get to one of the others, tell them to head to that hallway in the side of the wall.”

Brad looked at her in confusion. “Huh? What are you talking about?”

“You’ll see.” Ke looked back at Byron. “Byron, wait, I give! You win! I‘ll give you Brad!” Brad now looked up at Ke in extreme shock and trepidation.

“What are you doing?!” Brad cried, “You can’t do that!”

Byron stopped chasing after Ke and began floating in midair; Ke did the same. The two faced each other, several feet apart.

“I’m glad you see it my way.” Byron said, grinning like the devilish thing he was.

“You’ll keep your side of the deal?” Ke asked, slowly making her way towards Byron.

“Of course! I’m not exacting the most upstanding person, but I am completely honest when it comes to the deals I make!”

Ke held Brad out in front of her. “Alright, Byron. Here he is.” Byron began floating towards Ke and Brad. However, a glint in Ke Blazer’s eyes set some alarms off in the crime boss’ mind. It was only when the glint grew to a defiant facial expression and Ke shifted her grip to Brad’s hands did Byron truly know that there was something amiss.

“Come and get him! Hydra!” Ke tilted Brad back and flung him into the air like a trapeze artist. Brad screamed as he made his was to Hydra and Rose, who were hanging on a grated wall of a red, stone pillar. Hydra grabbed Brad and jumped from available surface to surface.

“K-Ke said you have to go to that hallway in the side of the wall.” Brad reported pointing to said hallway.

“Why?” Hydra asked.

“I don’t know. It’s what Ke said. I think I have to tell Marcy, too.”

Rose looked down to see Marcy dealing with a few patchwork men on the same platform she shared with Ke a minute before; directly below them.


“Drop him.” Rose said.

Brad looked over to Rose in shock. “Excuse me?!”

“Just do it, Hydra. I can protect him.” Rose asserted. Hydra questioningly looked at Rose for a bit, unsure whether or not Rose was sane. But the sureness in her eyes stifled any concern Hydra had, and he let go of Brad. As Brad fell, yelling his vocal chords into oblivion, Rose used her defensive powers to wrap him in a shield of light blue energy. Brad gracefully hit the platform, bouncing slightly. The shield faded away, and Brad didn’t have a scratch on him. Marcy finished off a patchwork man before helping her cousin back onto his feet.

“You alright?”

“I think I lost some bladder control and I’m shaking like an old person, but otherwise I’m fine.” Brad reported, “Ke says we have to head for that hallway over there.”

Marcy looked in the direction the Brad was pointing a swaying finger at. “Which hallway?”

Suddenly, to the youths’ shock, something swooped from behind them and grabbed their hands. They feared that it was Byron or a patchwork man, but where relieved to see Ke being the one guiding them through the air in flight.

“How about I show you?” Ke said with a smile on her face. Meanwhile, Hydra and Rose were making their way to the designated hallway. On the groups trail was a furious Byron and an army of patchwork men. The group reached the hallway’s threshold and followed Ke around the corner. Byron and his thugs, moments later, also made it to the hallway.

“I suppose you know it’s a dead end by now.” Byron called to his prey, “I tried being nice about this, but now you’ve forced me to be rash!” Byron and his patchwork men rounded the corner, ready to kill whatever laid around it.

But to their shock, all that laid before them was an empty dead end.

Byron’s jaw dropped. A pool of anger and fury began to boil in his mind and his entire body flared hellfire. His patchwork men hid behind one another, knowing of their boss’ tendency to take his anger out on nearby thugs.
“Where are they?!” Byron cried, his voice ringing throughout his whole lair.

******

The environment outside in Hesslin Tracks was calm and serene, completely disguising the chaos that laid below in Byron’s lair. In the sunset-painted sky, the group reappeared. Ke held onto Brad, and Hydra held onto Marcy, Rose, and Ke’s leg. Ke had used her invisibility and intangibility to escape from Byron’s lair, as she did with Brad back at the PS Building.

“Well, that was an experience.” Hydra said. The group flew in silence for a few moments before Brad had the nerve to break the silence.

“So, Ke, um, is this the part where I say how I’ve learned my lesson, one of us says something witty, and we all have a big laugh?” Brad meekly asked, smiling a worried smile.

Ke shot him a look of anger. “No, this is the part where I take you to the general, explained what happened because of your stupidity, and leave you there to be chewed out!” Brad’s expression became pitiful and solemn as he turned his gaze to the ground hundreds of feet below. Ke sighed and her expression became that of a sympathetic smile. “Or this can be the part where you promise not to do something like this again….and I forget about the whole thing.”

Brad’s face lit up with relief and joy. “You mean it?!”

“Yep…Oh and you have to….I dunno…be my servant for two weeks.”

“Deal! Thank you Ke, you won’t regret it!”

“I think I’ll end up doing that, but thanks for the thought. You also better thank JZZ Mike, he gave me the idea…Oh, and maybe three professionals-in-trainin’. Same reason.”

“I’ve learned my lesson now, Ke. I think I’ll go thank those guys as soon as I get home.”

“Actually, I have one or two things for you to do already.”

Brad’s eyebrow raised. “What are you taking about?”

“Don’t you remember? You agreed to be my slave for two weeks, and those two weeks are startin’ now!”

A feeling of impending doom ridded Brad’s mind.

******

Every time Brad took a step, he winced. He was carrying a pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator in his kitchen to the counter. He loosened the straps to the frilly, pink apron Ke made him wear, grumbling to himself. Marcy walked in through the kitchen side door that lead to the garage, returning from a movie she had gone to see.

“I’m home.” she called. She noticed Brad’s apron and giggled. “Ke make you wear that?”

Brad stared at Marcy with a sour look. “None other.” Brad picked up the pitcher and began to painfully make his way to the sliding glass door that lead to the backyard. Marcy noticed the way he walked.

“You hurt yourself?” Brad set the pitcher down on a nearby counter and lifted up his pant leg, showing one of the brown boots he was forced into wearing.

“Ke’s making me break in her new combat boots.” Brad miserably explained, “I’m a size thirteen, she’s a size ten.”

“Ouch.”

Ke’s voice rang out from the backyard. “Brad, where’s our lemonade?”

“Coming, you highness!” Brad called back, barely hiding bitterness. Marcy followed Brad out the sliding door, where Ke, Rose, and Hydra laid on sun chairs by the side of an impressive pool, all wearing sunglasses. Ke looked over to Brad and presented her empty glass.

“It’s about time.” she said. Brad hobbled over and filled her glass.

“I would’ve gotten here earlier if you didn’t make me wear these boots.” Brad snapped slightly.

“Do they hurt you that much?”

“Yes!”

“Oh, okay, you can take them off.”

Brad went to a nearby table, set down the pitcher, sat down in a chair, and began to pull the offending boots off. “Thank you.”

“Marcy, there’s one more seat.” Ke said when she noticed Marcy, “Why don’t you take a load off?” Marcy smilingly obliged and sat down in the empty seat next to Hydra.

Ke snapped her fingers. “Brad, a glass of lemonade for your cousin.”

“And us too.” Rose chimed in, she and Hydra raising their glasses. Brad grumbled as he walked over to Rose and Hydra and poured lemonade into their glasses.

“Doesn’t Brad look pretty?” Ke asked.

“Stunning.” Rose said smiling.

“An image of male beauty.” Hydra reported. Brad began to walk back to the kitchen.

“I’ll be right back, I need to get a glass for Marcy.” he grumpily said before going into the kitchen.

“Oh, Brad, I need you to run to the store and get me some pads.” Ke called.

“What?!” Brad called through the open window in the kitchen, “But I got you some yesterday!”

“They were the wrong kind! I wanted the one that had the orange stripe on the package!”

“But it was embarrassing! The paparazzi was there and they took pictures of me last time!” Brad whined as he came through the door.

“But it’s going to be more embarrassing today. You have to go in that get-up.” Brad opened his mouth to protest. “Unless you want me to remember something I forgot about.” Brad angrily shut his mouth and went over to the table to pour the lemonade into Marcy’s glass.

“Y’know Brad, this whole ordeal could’ve been a whole lot worse.” Ke said, sipping her lemonade.

“Yeah? How so?” Brad sharply asked. He began to make his way to Marcy.

“Well, A.) Byron doesn’t seem to be coming back for revenge, seeing how that whole stunt he pulled seemed to boost his reputation back up, and B.) you only made fun of Byron.” Brad was handing Marcy her lemonade when he reacted to this statement.

“Excuse me? What was that last part?” he urgently asked.

“I said, at least you only made fun of Byron, and not any other criminals. Right Brad?”

The lack of response from Brad drew Ke’s attention. She turned to him and lowered her sunglasses.

“Brad….why aren’t you sayin’ anything?” Brad was sweating crazily and his hands shook, causing the lemonade to splash out of the pitcher a bit.

“Uh, ha, about that. It’s actually a funny story.” Brad said, trying to hide worry, “I was running out of material to say about Byron so I took another look at that villain list-article and-”

The ground began to shake, causing the pool water to ripple and anything not bound to the ground to shake. A gigantic figure suddenly bolted up from the nearby forest that laid beyond the high stone, fence. The figure turned out to be a gigantic, humanoid robot.

“[‘Big, bumbling idiot’, huh?!]” said a voice thorough the robot’s speaker system, which Ke recognized to belong to Dr. Volkman the mad scientist.

The pool water began to swirl and rise up as the form gigantic of Aquafiona began to take shape in it.

“Brad Dackerson, how dare you saw those awful things about me?!” she roared.

To make matters even better (sarcasm), a flying saucer hovered down from the clouds above. The voice of Mordar the Garrek projected through the craft’s sound system.

“[I’ll teach you to mock a Garrek!]”

Ke, Brad, Rose, Hydra, and Marcy sat in the shadows of these three titans for a few moments in absolute silence and shock. Ke looked over to Brad with a angry expression, her fury-ridden eyes sending him into a sweat.

“You jerk."


END

[162]

A Sincere Apology

It's pretty obvious that this story is far from perfect. Please, I invite your feedback as to better this piece of work.

[162]

Re: Ke's Tales-"The New Punk on the Block" (FEEDBACK ENCOURAGED!)

Nuh-uh. The bible's two pages longer than this story!

Did you at least try to read it? And if so, what did you think of the portion you did read?

(I wonder, is it right to call this piece a short story? 'Cause it ended up being fifty pages long, but it's still not big enough to be a novel? So what would one call it?)

[Jamos]

Re: Ke's Tales-"The New Punk on the Block" (FEEDBACK ENCOURAGED!)

I tried reading through the thing. It has some interesting ideas and whatnot, but as Mr. Glooms said, it is way too long. Mainly just wordy. These events could have been done in a rather quick and to the point fashion. I didn't need to read through all of that text to know about how much Ke dislikes the way Brad acts. In order to keep people interested you should focus more on the big events rather than making the the less important events drag on. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell if the story was going anywhere and I kept wandering off into my own little world. Don't make things so wordy then the story could probably be much better.

[162]

Re: Ke's Tales-"The New Punk on the Block" (FEEDBACK ENCOURAGED!)

Ah, yeah, I see what you guys mean....There are some places I can cut back a bit on.

However, at some parts, I was trying to establish aspects of the story:

Beginning-Phone call: establishment of Hesslin tracks and Byron Vante
PS Building-Phone call: establishment of Brad's identity.
Picking-up Brad-Limo ride: establishment of Brad's past accomplishments (also laying groundwork for future part).
Brad reading the magazine: laying groundwork for ending/establishing Brad's interest in Byron.
Brad's first "show": establishment of conflict.
And so on....

But, there are a lot of things I can cut out. Huh, I never would've figured length as an issue.

Thanks for the tip guys.

...And Jamos, when did you die, man? (Sorry I missed the funeral.)

[hitogoroshi]

Re: Ke's Tales-"The New Punk on the Block" (FEEDBACK ENCOURAGED!)

Didn't read the whole thing, but I scanned. Couple things. First, I'd cut down on words a bit. Let me find a random sentence...

Every time Brad took a step, he winced. He was carrying a pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator in his kitchen to the counter. He loosened the straps to the frilly, pink apron Ke made him wear, grumbling to himself. Marcy walked in through the kitchen side door that lead to the garage, returning from a movie she had gone to see.

Too many words. If it's frilly, I'd guess it's pink. I don't care where the door leads to, and I can figure out that if she went to a movie she went to see it instead of something else. So you could easily make it-

Brad winced with every step. He was carrying a pitcher of lemonade to the counter. He loosened the straps to the frilly apron Ke made him wear, grumbling to himself. Marcy walked in through the kitchen side door, returning from a movie.

That might solve the aforementioned length issues.

Also, I think you have modifiers to dialogue a little too much. Back and fourth flows better, and while sometimes "Ke asked" or something might be helpful, I can safely say it'd be benefical to cut back.

[162]

Re: Ke's Tales-"The New Punk on the Block" (FEEDBACK ENCOURAGED!)

Ah...yes...I have a tendency to do that sometimes. (Add a bunch of of word I don't need.)